The lady's room on the top floor of the Red Rose Hotel was renovated in Japanese style and turned into a Japanese suite with a bedroom, living room, etc. It is now the residence of Erika Ashikaga.
In the living room.
Lu Ming and the extremely quiet Ashikaga Erika were kneeling on the tatami.
Across the tea table were Erika's parents, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Ashikaga Yoko.
However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu changed his surname to Lu Yoshimitsu.
Because the surname Ashikaga is so eye-catching and easily arouses people's associations, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's identity in the Montenegro household registration is Lu Yoshimitsu, and he has lived in Montenegro since he was a child.
He wanted to change his name to Zhongzhou, so he used the largest surname in Black Mountain, because he admired the strong.
However, now that he had arrived in Shengjing, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu adopted a new Japanese identity, calling himself Odawara Yoshimitsu to the outside world.
At this time, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was talking about his interactions with new immigrants from Japan.
In fact, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's current identity is an employee of the Strategy Analysis Department of Montenegro Investment Company, a job that Lu Ming randomly found for him. Although he majored in finance in college and was a top student at Kyoto University, one of the best universities in Japan, he has been away from this industry for a long time. It's just that having a job saves him from worrying about the Ashikaga family's affairs all day long.
However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was very concerned about the plight of Japanese immigrants and often visited there.
Lu Ming was quite interested, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu kept talking.
Beside her, Erika yawned slightly and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Lu Ming looked at her and smiled: "Are you sleepy?"
“No…” Erika shook her head quickly.
"Ah, Commissioner, we are leaving too! Thank you for your hospitality!" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who was kneeling, bowed deeply, and Ashikaga Yoko, who was sitting behind him, also bowed.
"Okay, I'll take you there!" Lu Ming looked at Erika, "Just go to sleep, no need to wait for me."
"Yeah..." Erika nodded obediently.
However, Lu Ming saw that she looked a little reluctant. It was obvious that although she was sleepy, she was still willing to spend more time with her parents. He said, "How about this, why don't you stay at your parents' house for a few days?"
Erika's face immediately showed joy and she said, "Okay!"
Ashikaga Yoko has been watching her daughter and her "son-in-law" get along with concern, and a look of relief appeared on her face. She probably felt that although the "son-in-law" was not chosen by herself, and even she and her husband, as well as Erika, had no right to choose, it seemed that the "son-in-law" still doted on Erika, and at least Erika would not suffer in life. As a mother, she could not protect her daughter, but she was slightly comforted by the fact that her daughter was living a good life.
…
The Ashikaga couple lived in the Akihito Apartment in the Montenegro Concession, a seven-story high-end apartment complex where there were naturally no problems with public security.
Qing'e Nineteen stayed behind, and she would accompany Erika whenever she went out. She also once executed a young master of the Kawamoto family in Okugoshimichi, Japan, to protect Erika.
Lu Ming drank a cup of tea and said goodbye, but Ashikaga Yoshimitsu followed him out.
Next to the car in front of the apartment building, Lu Ming said with a smile: "Uncle Ashikaga, you don't have to see me off. I can't leave if you keep sending me off like this."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu probably didn't expect that even without Erika, Commissioner Zhang would still call him "Uncle". He was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Commissioner, I told you to just call me Yoshimitsu."
Lu Ming nodded: "Must I call you Yoshimitsu? Does that mean that Uncle Ashikaga still has deep regrets about Erika's fate and does not recognize me as his son-in-law at all? So, it's not that you are being polite to me, but that you subconsciously don't want to acknowledge the existence of me as your son-in-law. I understand psychology, am I right?"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's face turned pale and he wanted to say something, but Lu Ming waved his hand and said, "Uncle Ashikaga, let's go for a drink. Just the two of us men, no women needed. Come on, get in the car!" As he spoke, he took Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's arm and got in the car. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did not dare to refuse and had to follow him in.
What Ashikaga Yoshimitsu didn't expect was that the black car drove out of the Montenegro Concession, passed through several blocks in the bustling Central District, and finally entered the Japanese Concession.
The concession area has been run by Japanese people in Shengjing for a long time. It is like entering their Kyoto. Various Japanese-style shops are hung with red lanterns, and colorful lights are flashing on the cherry trees. The environment is extremely elegant.
This place is different from the "Rizhao New District" that the pioneering team is building. Most of the new immigrants here are poor Japanese.
The black car stopped in front of a very quiet izakaya. Lu Ming smiled and said, "Don't be fooled by this place's inconspicuous appearance. I heard that this is authentic Kyoto cuisine. Uncle Ashikaga, this should be the taste you like."
"Come here? Commissioner, is it convenient for you?" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was extremely surprised.
After all, the "son-in-law" is the biggest one in Montenegro, but he has come far away from his own territory to the Japanese concession area, so he must not get into trouble.
Although he was far away from the upper echelons of information, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu also knew that the Montenegrin people and the Japanese people seemed to be incompatible.
That "son-in-law" is simply walking into a tiger's den alone.
"It's okay, as long as you like it!" The guy in the baseball cap outside had already opened the car door, and Lu Ming got out. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had no choice but to follow him out.
The black car had a license plate from the Montenegro Concession. A few drunken samurai who were trying to peel apples with samurai swords in front of a fruit shop not far away noticed it and staggered over.
There were also people who were curious about the situation who came over.
Lu Ming ignored them and went into the pub on his own. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu shook his head and sighed, but he had no choice but to follow him.
The izakaya was not big, but very clean and elegant. The proprietress with a gentle smile on her face led Lu Ming and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu into a private room.
Lu Ming gestured at the menu and ordered all the Kyoto specialties, such as "Knife Fish Sashimi" and "Yakiyaki", and also ordered two bottles of sake.
“Drink less…” Ashikaga Yoshimitsu waved his hands repeatedly.
Lu Ming smiled: "I know you can drink a lot, uncle, but you haven't drunk much in recent years, right? Today it's just you and me, let's drink more."
After the proprietress brought the wine, Lu Ming personally poured a full glass for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
"Commissioner, I toast to you..." Just as Ashikaga Yoshimitsu raised his glass, Lu Ming waved his hand, "No one should toast to anyone else, let's just be casual. I want to toast you, thank you uncle for having a good daughter, but it seems a bit shameless. Your toast to me is nothing more than a few words, thanking me for rescuing you and your wife, thanking me for taking care of Erika, which is meaningless."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu put the wine glass back in embarrassment.
Lu Ming fiddled with the wine glass, "Actually, Erika is at the age of innocent and bright playfulness. I love her like a younger sister and have never done anything wrong."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was stunned and extremely surprised, but this topic was a bit awkward and he didn't know how to continue.
"As for me, I don't really have a good impression of Japan. When I was in the East China Sea, I followed General Lu, and the first sensational lawsuit I filed was to send a demon from Japan to the gallows..." Lu Ming looked as if he was recalling something. "Also, personally, although I have no prejudice against any ethnic group, I always feel that people on small islands with few people often have a strong sense of crisis, are too aggressive, and tend to go to extremes. Of course, it also depends on the cultural traditions formed by history. In fact, the people of Central China are also very aggressive, but in a different way."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu lowered his head and said nothing.
Lu Ming raised his glass and clinked it with him. "We've strayed off topic. My uncle's family has suffered. You must have mixed feelings when you hear me criticize my homeland. But sometimes, it's a good thing for people to look at things beyond their own ethnicity. Unfortunately, there is always competition between ethnic groups. The Imperial Federation was originally a way for ethnic groups to live in harmony. Unfortunately, it is gradually coming to an end."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu tilted his head back, drank half a cup of wine, and sighed, "You're right. I'm on the run, my father is under house arrest, most of my relatives are in prison, and some of them have probably died long ago... Oh, what can I think about, what can I do? I'm like a living zombie, sometimes I can't sleep in the middle of the night, I can only try not to think about these things..."
However, it was Lu Ming who started to talk nonsense, which suddenly made him feel the urge to talk nonsense.