No. 18, Fengshun Lane.
Lu Ming sat at a small square table, facing the main seat where he could see the green scenery of the garden when the wooden lattice door was opened.
On both sides of the square table, Ashikaga Erika and Xue Ruo were kneeling.
Xue Ruo was also sent to live with Ashikaga Erika. Both of them had tragic life experiences and were like little lambs who were easily frightened. They might sympathize with each other and gradually become friends.
In fact, from the perspective of past life psychology, it might be better for both of them to make a friend with a more cheerful personality.
But it is difficult for things in this world to be perfect, and it is not easy to find true friends with cheerful personalities.
"Thank you, Master..." Ashikaga Erika suddenly thanked with gratitude on her pretty face.
This is the third time since we sat down at the dinner table.
Bringing Kyoko back to her side made the gloom on her brow less severe.
She always wore brightly colored girlish kimonos, but she rarely showed the cheerfulness of a girl and always looked like she was worried about something.
But today, her pretty little face was filled with a rare look of happiness.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "No need to say more, let's eat."
The rice, fish soup, etc. on the table were all made by Kyoko. Although she was a good cook and the fish soup with rice was fresh and not greasy, it seemed too simple for the people of Nakasu who were used to a table full of dishes.
"Prepare two more dishes next time. Eating is not just about eating, it's also about looking at it, the color, aroma and taste! Your white rice, soup, and side dishes look too plain. At least add two stir-fried dishes." Lu Ming smiled and said, "If the household allowance is not enough, give me more next month."
The amount that Granny Tuolong gave to No. 18 for household expenses will definitely not be small, that’s all I say.
He smiled again and said, "Eat less rice and more meat. It's good for your health and won't make you fat. Besides, you're so thin, it's okay to gain some weight."
Erika nodded gently: "Oh..."
"Master, I originally wanted to cook a few more dishes, but the young lady wouldn't let me. The master gave a lot of household expenses, but the young lady still wanted to live frugally." The one who spoke was Ashikaga Kyoko, who brought the fruit plate. She was actually a young girl of eighteen or nineteen with a beautiful face, but her hair was tied in a bun at the back of her head, dressed like a young Japanese woman.
Hearing her words, Lu Ming smiled inwardly, thinking that it was probably your idea.
The traditional thinking of a maid nowadays is to please her master and give advice to her mistress.
I don’t know what she has been through, let alone whether she has been turned into a minion by Asaba Yoshiko.
But besides her, there are two Qing'e here, and they will know about any movement.
The neighbors, No. 17 and No. 19, are also home to several female secret service agents, ensuring the safety of the house from multiple levels.
"Xue Ruo, I'll find a school for you later. Go to school." Lu Ming looked at the timid girl on the other side.
Wearing snow-white silk clothes and white socks, kneeling at the table, Xueruo looked even more beautiful and lovely.
"Yes..." She naturally had no idea what to say, so she listened to Lu Ming and agreed in a low voice.
For her, whether she goes to school or not, it probably doesn't make her happy or sad. What she is looking forward to day and night now is news from her mother.
"Oh, Kyoko, please send some pastries over to Courtyard 20. I almost forgot what I promised you last time." Lu Ming just tasted the fish soup and remembered it again.
Ashikaga Kyoko, who was kneeling at the outer table serving the masters' meal, bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
…
The fish soup with rice was quite filling.
Lu Ming lay on the tatami. Although he didn't have the habit of taking a nap, he could quickly recover his energy by lying lazily and comfortably for a while.
I feel that this place is more like a home than the official residence left behind by Chen Rongfu. Although it looks magnificent on the outside, it always feels a bit eerie. After all, there are countless wronged souls in Chen Rongfu's hands, and some of them may have been imprisoned in the dungeon of his official residence.
However, the layout of this Japanese house is too exquisite. The house is not big and the space is extremely economical and compact. For example, my bedroom has a living room right after the wooden door in front, where I can meet guests and it was also the place where I had my meal.
The wooden door on the left side of his dormitory opened. In theory, it was his wife and daughter's dormitory, but currently Erika and Xueruo were living there.
The wooden gate on the right opened, and it was the maid's bedroom. If I were here, then Xiao Guo and Xiao Guo would live in the maid's bedroom. If I was not here, it would be empty. Ashikaga Kyoko and the other two Qing'e lived in a remote maid's bedroom.
The lattice door was covered with shoji paper, so there was almost no sound insulation. I could hear the two sisters hugging each other and whispering. The two sisters were so angry with each other yesterday that they almost fell down all day, and today they were kissing each other again.
There was no sound from the other side. Erika and Xueruo seemed to be trying their best to make no sound when breathing.
"Xue Ruo..." Lu Ming called out.
“Ah…” Xueruo responded with a small sound, then she sat up hurriedly and straightened her clothes.
"No need to come over, just talk like this, it's time to lie down..."
"Yes..." But looking at the figure in the paper window, Xueruo still came to the grille door and knelt towards him.
"Are you used to living here? Can you adapt to the food and clothes?" Lu Ming asked.
I really don't care about this little girl. They have only met a few times. However, she is quite close to Grandma Tuolong.
Not to mention that he and she used to be father and daughter, even if Qin Xia Nu had asked him to do so, he should have taken good care of her and shown her more concern.
That female knight Qin had the spirit of a knight-errant that could only be seen in literary works of the previous life. She was heroic and had great perseverance. I don't know what dangerous thing she was investigating, and I haven't had any news from her.
"Habit..." Xueruo said timidly in a low voice.
Lu Ming nodded. Although Qin and Grandma Tuolong had similar abilities, for some reason, she might have concealed the fact from her husband that her family had always been very poor. After all, the escort business was already a declining industry, and her husband was just an ordinary low-level escort master working in a small escort business.
Of course, even if Qin showed her abilities, if she was unwilling to work as a guard for the gentry and did not commit crimes, then the size of her abilities would not be linked to her family's economic conditions.
Xueru's current living environment is definitely a hundred times better than before, but she is all alone, without parents or any relatives around her. No matter how good the environment is, she is still lonely and helpless. She thinks that no place like home is worse than her own. This is probably her psychological state.
"Well, take a nap. When I come back from work in the afternoon, I will take you and Erika out to play..." He paused. Erika's current situation was obviously not suitable for her to show up in public often. After all, the incident with the Seventh Concubine happened in Nanping not long ago. If a stunningly beautiful Japanese girl appeared in Nanping and flaunted herself in the streets, and the news spread too much, sooner or later someone would make associations.
He coughed and said, "I'll talk to you when I get back."
"Yes." Xueruo responded and waited for a long time. Seeing that Lu Ming had nothing to say, the little figure seemed to leave the grille door.
Lu Ming then picked up the letter next to the pillow and started reading it.
It was mainly an investigation into Ichiro Okagawa and several Japanese gendarmerie squadron leaders. However, there was no intelligence network in Japan after all, so there were only some things that could be verified through official documents.