...

The conversation involved a few Dōshin from the South Division whom Aoto did not recognize.

Listening to their conversation just now, Aoto thought to himself:

——It seems the news of Ii Dairou personally attending and presiding over today’s examination has already spread completely...

Aoto had never met Ii Naosuke, after all, he was just a lowly Dōshin, with a humble status, and did not have the opportunity to meet this country’s current supreme power holder. He had only heard some anecdotes about Ii Naosuke.

According to what Aoto knew, Ii Naosuke was a legendary and remarkable man.

He was originally the 13th Daimyo of the Hikone Domain: the 14th son born to Ii Naomasa and his concubine.

Ranked 14th... theoretically, no matter how it was turned, he would never have a chance to inherit the position of Daimyo.

But the world is unpredictable, the 13 brothers before him either died or were sent away as adoptive sons, so remarkably, he succeeded as the new Daimyo of the Hikone Domain in 1846.

As soon as he took office, with brilliant political tactics and a strong hand in governance, he reformed the domain administration drastically, boosting the domain’s national strength significantly. Due to his outstanding achievements, Ii Naosuke was acknowledged as a wise ruler by countless people at that time.

When the gates of Japan were knocked open by Western Powers and the country fell into an unprecedented peril, he took a mission at a critical moment and ascended to the position of "Tairō," holding the reins of this country up to now.

From being the 14th son that no one paid attention to, he gradually rose to become "below one person and above ten thousand," indeed, his life was nothing short of legendary.

Besides his superior political ability, Ii Naosuke displayed outstanding talents in other areas as well.

He was skilled in both literary and martial arts.

A master in Iaido, he was widely acclaimed and created a new Iaido school: "New Heart New Stream."

He could write Waka, Kyōgen, Noh, and was well-versed in tea ceremony, being a renowned figure in Tea Ceremony.

In short, just by looking at his resume, one could perceive his extraordinary nature.

At this time, all the officials of the South and North Guard Stations’ "Three Times" had arrived.

The members of the "Tojo Group," which often opposed and competed with the "Arima Group," were all present too.

Because today’s examination conference was not a meeting to be taken lightly, the usually scruffy Tojo had dressed himself up decently, a rare occasion indeed.

His hair was combed neatly, and his clothes were clean.

But even so, his actions were still too slovenly to look at directly.

Yawning heavily, he extended his right index finger to pick his ear, and after that, he put the same finger he just used to pick earwax up his nose to pick boogers...

Standing slightly behind Tojo was Nishino, half-closing his eyes, looking down with his gaze steady.

At this moment, the group led by Tojo noticed Aoto and the others standing not far from them.

Tojo cracked a smile, revealing slightly yellowed teeth, and then swaggered over with subordinates led by Nishino towards Aoto’s group.

"Greetings, Lord Arima."

Arima smiled and nodded towards Tojo: "Greetings, Lord Tojo."

Although Tojo was the head of the "Tojo Group," neither Aoto nor the three others – Horse, Pig, and Ox – felt much aversion towards this scruffy big man.

Tojo... to put it nicely, he was "carefree," but frankly, "he was sloppy."

The affairs he was in charge of were handled with an attitude of "as long as the job gets done," never doing less, but certainly not doing more.

He basically adopted a "free-range policy" towards his subordinates like Nishino, rarely managing their day-to-day activities unless it was something exceedingly serious, he wouldn’t intervene in their matters.

Therefore, Tojo almost never actively participated in the "achievement competition" with the "Arima Group," it was mostly his three subordinates led by Nishino who were actively competing with the "Arima Group" for cases and achievements.

Because the relationship with the "Arima Group" was neither tense nor antagonistic, Tojo could naturally greet Arima like this.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Arima, he turned his gaze slightly to look at Aoto standing beside.

"Mr. Tachibana," Tojo said to Aoto in a detached tone, "have the injuries you sustained while fighting the ’Radical Anti-foreigner Faction’ healed?"

"Thank you for your concern," Aoto replied, "I’ve fully recovered without any issues."

"That’s good," Tojo grinned wider, "you said you were a changed person back then... looks like you were not just saying that without meaning it."

"Now, no one can call you ’Blockhead Don’ anymore."

As Tojo was praising Aoto with a calm tone, Nishino, standing behind Tojo, raised his gaze and cast a complicated look at Aoto.

The other two Dōshin from the "Tojo Group" also looked at Aoto with the same complexity. Unlike Nishino, a hint of jealousy could be seen in their eyes...

Suddenly, at this moment — Hosoi, with his plump figure, rushed from outside into the room hurriedly.

Behind him followed a very slim middle-aged man — this person was the Town Magistrate of the South Guard Station, Atsukawa Chogoro.

Upon seeing these two "Edo City Mayors" hastily enter the room, Hosoi at the front then composed his face and said sternly:

"Everyone, quiet down, quiet down! Ii Dairou is here! Quickly, sit down! Sit down!"

At Hosoi’s words, the expressions of everyone in the meeting room immediately became serious.