Chapter 245 Revealing the Secret Again

March 12, Kyoto.

Two days later, time returned to normal. In the blink of an eye, it changed from the scorching summer to the bright and gentle spring.

The Ooka family is located in the suburbs of Kyoto. Unlike the gorgeous and noble Western-style house of the Tie family, the main house of the Ooka family is a traditional Japanese courtyard-style building.

There is no way to know how many times the courtyard is in and out. Perhaps you can only get a glimpse of its full view from the sky. It is located in the suburbs of the city, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The green tiles and colored glaze in it have both a modern feel and a classical flavor.

To a certain extent, even the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda District, Tokyo, may not be more than this.

After all, even the Imperial Palace is now surrounded by countless steel high-rise buildings and locked in the center of the city. Living in it for a long time may even make you breathless.

In March, the mountains and fields are full of cherry blossoms. If this place can be opened as a cherry blossom viewing attraction, I am afraid that the visiting tourists will be desperate for a room.

"This spring, the hall is full of flowers, and the flowers are blooming and fragrant." (Singing)

A middle-aged maid in a plain kimono kneeled on the wooden corridor floor. She stretched out her voice, as if she was singing, but her singing was not good, or in other words, it did not conform to the style of contemporary pop music.

It was more like a simple folk tune, but this was the most authentic singing style in the game of karuta.

As soon as she opened her mouth and said two syllables, there was a light "pop" sound, and on a bamboo mat in front of her, with Ooka Hongye's swift and neat wave of her hand, a light blue card flew to the side. .

"Flowers bloom in Naniwa-jin--, and the cold winter closes its face in shame--."

And at the moment of waving, Hongye's usually gentle and generous eyes became particularly sharp, with a strong edge and aura, and a young maid opposite her who was also wearing a plain kimono was immediately shocked for a few seconds.

The game of Karata has another more well-known name, "Karuta", which comes from the Portuguese word "Carta". It originated in the Edo period and was a unique court game among Japanese nobles. Now, it has become a unique card game in Japan.

The rules are complicated, but in the simplest way, it is a game in which the chanter, that is, the reader (reading hand), sings the first line of a waka poem (reading hand), and the competitor, that is, the card grabber (take hand), competes to see who can grab the card with the second line of the waka poem first (take hand).

The faster the speed, the winner is the one who grabs the most take hand.

Of course, whether everyone succeeds in grabbing or not, the chanter will continue to read after reading the read hand to reveal the answer.

Since Karata competitions are often fierce and tense, competitive Karata is also called "fighting skills on tatami".

Hongye, today, is as beautiful and generous as ever, with surging waves. Even this feather-white, wide kimono with cherry blossom patterns cannot completely cover her figure.

Her short curly brown hair has a moist luster. She should have just taken a bath not long ago. Her snow-white skin is slightly rosy. Every time she moves, the unrestrained waves in the kimono will ripple with a wave of Poland that makes people feel distracted.

In the courtyard, the cherry blossom petals flying from the mountains and fields are like silent spring rain. The breeze at nine o'clock in the morning blows by. Hongye adjusts her clothes and quickly presses her hands back to the ground (this is the rule), with a focused expression.

The Queen of Karatsu - this is an honorary title that requires countless sweat and practice.

This is also the only thing she can regard as her own glory.

So, she will never forget the game three years ago, that day, all the words that Shimizu Koji said.

She really likes Shimizu Koji, because he is her hero, twice.

But in fact, there is another important reason why she is so obsessed. She wants to defeat him.

For herself, for the karuta, and to vindicate her missing teacher.

So, in fact, from the beginning, Hongye's feelings for Shimizu Koji were not all immature, but now, it is probably.

Shimizu Koji's experience, the two intersections of fate between him and her, Shimizu Koji's appearance, his mature and stable personality compared to his peers, and his perfect height

As a normal girl, it is difficult for Hongye to find a point that she doesn't like or accept.

As for family background, it is not important, at least for her.

"The rapids and long rocks block the way——, and the two are separated——"

Hearing this verse, Hongye's eyes fluctuated and she was in a trance. She also reacted to which verse this was when the maid sang the second syllable, including the location of the corresponding karuta in the next sentence.

The young maid on the opposite side still reacted slowly, after all, she was just a sparring partner.

This time, Hongye still didn't give a chance. Although she was stunned for a while, she still acted quickly.

However, this time, she did not "snap" the card away like before. Instead, she held it down with one hand and then picked it up.

"That's it, it's over, Xiaohui, Ms. Nagano, you go and rest."

Hongye suddenly sat up and spoke, which made the two maids stunned for a moment. This was an unprecedented situation. They were very surprised, and they almost didn't need to observe. They actually found that the eldest lady who came home this time was very different from before.

"Yes."

They stood up respectfully and left lightly, just like cherry blossoms, leaving nothing behind.

Sooner or later, we will meet, and my worries are getting deeper.

On the pale blue card, this Japanese poem written in katakana made Hongye stunned, even a little absent-minded.

On the half card in her amulet, it was exactly this Japanese poem.

And today, even the maid could see that Hongye was a little different from the past, because she came back today to see her mother.

She naturally didn't live here normally. When she was in school, she lived in a villa in Kyoto.

Hongye put the card back and sorted out the cards scattered on the side, and then stood up from the ground.

Turning around, Iori Muga was not here. A trace of worry rose between her eyebrows, but in her eyes, there was more determination, a kind of unprecedented determination.

"Ah~, Hongye, you came to me for that boy's matter, right?"

Walking to the yard where her mother was, as soon as she entered the gate, she saw a beautiful young woman standing by the pond in the yard, with cherry blossoms in her hands, as if she was feeding the fish, but more accurately, she was teasing the fish.

Just like she spoke directly without raising her head, Hongye's original preparations were disrupted in an instant.

Hongye thought deeply for more than a day. She thought that her mother would be very cold and would not mention this matter at all.

But now, she was a little caught off guard.

She walked into the yard silently and walked to her mother's side. Her mother was very young and looked not much older than her, but she did have a kind of graceful and noble air, which was very similar to Tetsu Michiko.

She smiled, glanced at Hongye, and then looked into the pond again.

The pond was filled with green water, and several fish swam back and forth. Petals fell on the water surface, causing them to scramble for them. But in the end, they found that it was just a petal, and several fish scattered. The corners of Ooka's mother's mouth also slightly raised an intriguing smile.

"Three years ago, these fish were just raised here. At that time, they were only the size of fingers. Hongye, do you really like him?"

Hongye was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."

"If you like him, bring him to me."

"Hmm?"

Hongye was a little puzzled this time. Just now, she could actually understand what her mother meant. Comparing the little fish to herself when she was still young at that time was a way of speaking that her mother liked very much.

But, bring Shimizu Koji to see her——?

Hongye was a little stunned for a while and couldn't figure it out.

And Ooka's mother didn't continue to speak, because there was no hidden meaning in her words, just the literal meaning.

What Ooka Hongye did at the Suzuki family banquet had naturally reached her ears a long time ago, including the rejection of Shimizu Koji.

And until just now, she couldn't help laughing when she thought of her daughter's personality and the expression of being rejected by a boy in that situation.

"Because that boy doesn't seem to like you." Seeing Hongye's puzzled eyes, Ooka's mother smiled slightly and explained.

Hongye's face froze when she heard it, and then she blushed faintly. In front of her mother, it was difficult for her to maintain her calmness and elegance outside, because she was born a daughter.

"That's your fault, mother!" Hongye's cheeks were slightly red, and she refuted seriously.

"My fault? No, it's not."

Throwing the last few petals into the water, Ooka's mother seemed to have lost her patience to tease the fish, but of course, she did not lose her patience to face her daughter.

"Hongye, you must think that your mother gave that boy some strange instructions, just like what happened in the TV series?"

Hongye's eyes suddenly became unnatural, and her cheeks became more and more red, like a little girl whose thoughts were exposed, because thinking about her mother in this way was obviously a very bad behavior.

And this was said directly to her face, so her mother definitely didn't do that.

"Hehe~~, it turns out that Hongye would also misunderstand her mother like this~~, it seems that she has a lover~."

Hongye glanced to the side subconsciously, lowered her head and did not dare to refute. She suddenly felt that she was very similar to the fish in the pond. From the beginning, she was played around by her mother.

Her personality is different from Tie Zhuyu. Although they are both facing their majestic and gentle mothers, if it were Tie Zhuyu, in this situation, she would have shouted "Mom" and started to act coquettishly.

"No, mom just asked someone to give that child some compensation. His parents were your grandfather's trusted subordinates at the time, and they died in that accident."

"Mom, how could I make things difficult for a child who lost his parents?"

Hongye was stunned. All the secrets were revealed again at this moment, but compared with her previous speculation, it was much clearer.

So, this is what happened

"So, you can bring that boy back, if you really like him, and you can make him like you too."

Ooka's mother smiled slightly and turned away.