After the formal greetings concluded, the family banquet was gradually served.
Hot dishes were brought in one by one, and the sake had already been warmed.
Relatives from several branch families who hadn't seen each other for a long time sat together, and Shuichi specially raised his glass to wish everyone health and peace in the coming year, adding that since it was a rare reunion, they should feel free to relax.
Everyone raised their glasses in response, their etiquette so thorough that not a single flaw could be found.
However, after the wine glasses were put down, the atmosphere at the banquet remained somewhat constrained.
Several heads of the branch families who had originally intended to exchange pleasantries with their neighbors would instinctively glance up toward the head seat while speaking, as if confirming something.
Someone had just started talking about their own family affairs when they noticed Satsuki happened to look over in this direction, so they subconsciously lowered their voice and swallowed back the joke they were originally going to say.
The others were much the same.
Many family members chatted with the people beside them while quietly keeping an eye on the movements at the head seat, especially Satsuki's reaction.
When she picked up her teacup, some would pause mid-sentence; when she occasionally glanced in a certain direction, the people nearby would involuntarily straighten up a bit.
The banquet thus maintained an eerie sense of tension.
Yet the father and daughter who were the focus of everyone's attention were completely oblivious to all of this.
Shuichi didn't care at all, chatting cheerfully with Kenjiro about something, occasionally raising his cup for a sip with a very casual tone.
Satsuki quietly sat by her father's side, picking up a piece of cuisine from time to time, and only looked up to chime in when she heard an interesting topic.
As for the relatives' reactions... she felt something seemed a bit off, but simply assumed that everyone hadn't seen each other for a long time, felt a bit estranged, and needed time to warm up to each other again.
Yet the more she acted like this, the harder it was for everyone to fathom the eldest miss's thoughts, fearing they might accidentally say something wrong and leave her with a bad impression.
Therefore, although there were still sounds of conversation at the banquet, it could never truly liven up, and even those elders who were usually quite talkative appeared exceptionally cautious today.
At that moment, Kensuke just happened to ask one of the branch family heads where his son was currently working.
"He just entered a securities company this spring, has only been working for half a year, and is still learning from his seniors."
When the family head spoke of his son, there had originally been a hint of pride on his face. But as soon as his voice fell, he saw Satsuki looking over toward them.
The other party immediately straightened his body and hurriedly explained, "Of course, the child went to take the exams all by himself, and we didn't dare to ask anyone for special favors in the main family's name."
Kensuke was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
"Is that so."
Satsuki nodded, her tone very ordinary.
"That's quite good. It's not bad for young people to get more training."
"Yes, what the eldest miss says is right."
The other party agreed repeatedly, and only after Satsuki averted her gaze did he pick up his wine glass to take a sip as if to cover up his embarrassment.
Before long, Kensuke and Shuichi began discussing the schedule for next year's Spring Festival.
"Then let's arrange it according to previous years' dates," Shuichi said. "It's not easy for the elders to travel around, so don't fuss with too many new tricks."
Kensuke nodded in agreement, hesitated for a moment, but then turned back to Satsuki.
"Eldest Miss, do you think next year's Spring Festival should still be held according to past custom?"
Satsuki put down her chopsticks.
"Holding it as usual is fine. Grandfather Kensuke, you are much more familiar with these matters than I am."
She glanced toward her father's side.
"Father has also agreed, so just arrange it as you see fit."
"Yes. This old man understands."
Kensuke bowed respectfully, then had someone note down the date.
Watching the old man sit straight again, Satsuki couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing in her heart.
Back then, over the matter of selling the ancestral land, this Elder Kensuke had dared to oppose her to her face.
Later, in order to fool Tsutsumi Yoshiaki, she had specially made him step forward to play a good show of the conservative faction's elders seizing power, taking the blame for her in liquidating the family's assets.
The old man played that role with great effort; it was said that in front of Tsutsumi Yoshiaki, he scolded her even more fiercely than when the family meeting was first held, successfully spinning that Seibu chairman around in circles.
As a result, look at things now—even a Spring Festival had to ask for her opinion first.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't hard to understand.
As for what ultimately happened to those lands that had caused the elders such heartache back then, everyone could see it clearly now. Saionji's current industries and wealth had long since left those accounts of yesteryear far behind.
Furthermore, the lives of the Former Kazoku outside grew worse by the year, while Saionji, under her leadership, expanded all the way, eventually becoming a behemoth capable of influencing the American financial market.
Old men like Kensuke had watched the family step by step reach today with their own eyes, so their attitude toward her was naturally vastly different from the past.
Satsuki picked up her teacup and didn't dwell on it much longer.
It was just that she quickly noticed that the elders who had been conversing just moments ago seemed to have lowered their voices considerably because she had glanced at them a few extra times.
...Is it really that exaggerated?
Just as she was feeling somewhat strange, a crisp sound suddenly came from the side.
A teacup had tipped over on the tatami mat, tea water seeping out along the edge of the mat, and two small pastries nearby had rolled away.
A six or seven-year-old boy froze in place, his hand still reaching toward the plate where the pastries had just been. Clearly, he had wanted to grab a piece of pastry, but hadn't noticed his sleeve knocking over the teacup.
"Shota!"
The mother sitting next to him was startled and hurriedly pulled her son back to her side, her very first reaction being to press her son's head down to apologize to the head seat while quickly bowing down herself.
"Terribly sorry! This child is usually too naughty, I will definitely discipline him properly when we get back..."
The little boy shrank his neck in fright at his mother's suddenly stern tone, looked at the tea on the floor, then secretly gazed toward the head seat, his eye sockets quickly turning red.
Several nearby relatives also stopped their chopsticks, some frowning as they looked toward the child's father, who hurriedly followed suit by lowering his head to apologize.
Satsuki put down her teacup and looked at the teacup on the floor.
"Were you scalded?"
Shota froze for a moment, raised his head, looked at his mother beside him, and then cautiously shook his head.
"That's good."
Satsuki turned to the servant beside her.
"Clean this up. Also, bring another portion of the pastries from just now."
"Yes, Eldest Miss."
Seeing that the mother was still keeping her head down, Satsuki added another sentence:
"It's inevitable for children to be careless sometimes. As long as he wasn't hurt, it's fine, there's no need to be so nervous."
"Yes... Thank you, Eldest Miss."
Only then did the mother straighten up, gently patting her son's back and telling him to quickly thank Satsuki.
With red eyes, Shota stuttered out a thank you, and then sat closely against his mother, not daring to touch the newly delivered pastries again.
Seeing this, Satsuki felt even more strange in her heart.
Wasn't it just knocking over a teacup?
She looked around and found that many people were still paying attention to the movements on her side. Some held their wine cups properly, while others who had clearly prepared to converse with their neighbors swallowed their words back when they saw her raise her head.
Thinking back to the disheveled state when Ryuji entered earlier, and how Kensuke had to report even a Spring Festival to her for instructions...
Satsuki finally vaguely realized where the problem lay.
These people really seemed to be afraid of her.
Of course she knew she had a lot of prestige within the family.
After all, Saionji's development over the years was obvious to all, and those opposition factions within the family had long been dealt with by her until they were completely obedient.
For certain fellows who refused to behave or even attempted to challenge her authority, she had indeed adopted some rather tough methods.
It could also be considered solidifying Saionji's foundation, letting them shine and generate heat for the family in another form.
But there were reasons for all of that!
Satsuki even felt a little aggrieved in her heart.
She admitted that when handling these matters, her methods might have been slightly stern, but that was also for the good of the entire family.
Besides, she had never made things difficult for anyone for no reason. As long as they behaved themselves and did their jobs well, when had she ever been stingy with the treatment and benefits due to the family members?
Nowadays everyone lived in spacious mansions, received generous profits, and even had more choices for the next generation's future compared to the past; their lives were countless times better than before.
Yet look at how things turned out.
Every single one of them, upon seeing her, acted just like mice seeing a cat.
The more Satsuki thought about it, the more wronged she felt—was she really that scary?
Today was clearly just New Year's, and she had originally thought that since it was rare for so many relatives to return, it should have been very lively.
Instead, everyone sat upright one by one, and even a child knocking over a teacup made them this nervous.
Satsuki glanced at her father.
Shuichi was talking in low tones with Kenjiro about something, occasionally raising his cup toward his younger brother, obviously not paying much attention to these subtle changes at the banquet.
Thinking about it, she still gently put down the chopsticks in her hand.
"Everyone."
Her voice wasn't high, but the grand hall became quiet almost instantly.
The people who had been chatting turned to look toward the head of the table, and even a young man near the door who was about to pour wine for his elders instinctively stopped his movement.
Satsuki looked at the crowd and slowly spoke.
"Everyone has worked hard this year."
As she spoke, she gently placed her hands in front of her knees and slightly bowed toward the gathering to show her gratitude.
Just as she lowered her head, several heads of the branch families bowed down almost simultaneously. The house elder nearby and other relatives hurriedly followed suit in bowing, and even the young children quickly lowered their heads at the prompt of their parents.
In the blink of an eye, everyone in the entire grand hall, regardless of gender or age, had lowered their heads toward her.
"We wouldn't dare."
"Eldest Miss, you exaggerate."
"These are all things we ought to do..."
Several elders responded one after another, their attitudes exceedingly respectful.
Satsuki didn't say anything more, simply accepting the bow with composure.
Her style of doing things within the family over the years had indeed made quite a few people hold her in awe and reverence. And she had never intended to change that in the first place.
However, dignity was dignity, but the New Year should still look a bit like the New Year, shouldn't it?
It was rare for her to be in the mood to gather with everyone today, and she didn't want to watch a group of people sitting there trembling with fear from beginning to end.
Therefore, after everyone sat back down, Satsuki continued:
"Father and Kensuke have always looked after matters at home. I know about it and feel very at ease."
"In the future, for matters like ancestral rites and family gatherings, everyone can just arrange them according to past rules. There's no need to specially come and ask me about everything."
She glanced around the room and continued:
"As for the matters regarding the company, we'll talk about them after the New Year."
"It's rare for so many people to return today. I hope everyone can relax a bit and properly spend the New Year."
When Satsuki reached this point, her tone became slightly lighter.
"Besides, I've been busy for so long this year and finally get a holiday. Surely everyone wouldn't still want me to hold meetings at home, right?"
The gathering was quiet for a moment.
Kensuke glanced at Satsuki's expression and instantly understood.
Oh, so the Eldest Miss wanted a relaxed atmosphere.
Thus, he was the first to bow slightly, then turned his head to greet everyone.
"What the Eldest Miss says is true. At this rare year-end, we truly should let everyone gather properly."
Satsuki withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and picked up her chopsticks again.
Since she had already said so, presumably everyone should understand her meaning.
Shuichi finally noticed everyone's overly constrained appearance earlier and nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
"Exactly! I was just wondering why everyone is so solemn today, even drinking much more refinedly than in past years."
He raised his wine glass, looked around, and suddenly thought of something.
"Right, Uncle Kensuke."
Kensuke hurriedly raised his head.
"Head of the family?"
"Please tell these youngsters about that New Year's Eve in the 22nd year of Showa."
Shuichi raised his chin toward the few young relatives sitting below.
"Every single one of them was born later; I'm afraid they don't even know what the family was like back then."
Hearing this, Kensuke was slightly startled, and then a trace of nostalgia emerged in his eyes.
He subconsciously glanced at Satsuki.
Satsuki was just picking up a piece of duck meat. Sensing the old man's gaze, she looked up and nodded gently at him.
Only then did Kensuke put down his wine glass and clear his throat.
"Showa 22..."
The old man seemed to be searching for those distant memories in his mind, and after a moment, he slowly began to speak.
"That year, the Kazoku system had just been abolished, and everyone's days were hard."
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze involuntarily fell toward the entrance of the grand hall.
"I still remember, at that time, more than half of the servants in the main residence had left. By the end of the year, they couldn't even bear to light more lamps in this grand hall."
"In the past, during festivals and holidays, people were coming and going all over the mansion. But on New Year's Eve that year, the huge house was desolate and quiet, and you couldn't even hear a few footsteps."
The young relatives who had originally been listening casually gradually straightened up.
When they were born, although Saionji had long lost the political privileges of the Former Kazoku, it still retained a considerable family estate. How could they imagine a situation where the main residence couldn't even bear to light extra lamps?
Kensuke reached out and gestured.
"The kagami mochi that year was only this big, and it was pounded by my mother and several maids themselves. There weren't many good things left in the kitchen either. New Year's Eve soba was made, but each person didn't get much of a share."
When he reached this point, he himself felt some emotion.
"Shuichi's grandfather was still around back then. To raise money to maintain the family's expenses, the old man even sent a hanging scroll passed down by their ancestors to the pawnshop."
"By New Year's Eve, he sat alone on the engawa drinking, drinking for the better part of the night. No matter who went over to persuade him, he refused to return to his room."
Hearing this, Shuichi's hand holding the wine glass paused slightly.
At that time he was still young and didn't know very much about many things, but he vaguely remembered that the family had indeed experienced a very difficult period.
"Speaking of that hanging scroll..."
A head of a Kyoto branch family sitting slightly further away suddenly picked up the conversation.
"I remember it was redeemed later, wasn't it? It seems my father even helped find the person."
Kensuke turned to look at him, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Really? I remember that hanging scroll stayed in the pawnshop until it was found again after the 30th year of Showa."
"That's not right. I clearly remember it was the 27th year of Showa!"
"The one redeemed in the 27th year of Showa was another one, the one with pines and cranes painted on it!"
That Kyoto family head instantly perked up, put down his wine glass, and earnestly began to argue with Kensuke.
"Uncle Kensuke, did you mix up the two things? I saw that painting of pines and cranes when I was a child, and it wasn't the one pawned back then."
"How could I mix them up? I was the one who personally accompanied him there back then!"
Another old man couldn't help chiming in.
"I remember the hanging scroll did come back later, but as for which year it actually was, it's really hard to say..."
The topic became lively bit by bit like this.
That Kyoto family head then talked about his own family's plight back then, saying that in order to make a living, even a part of the Kyoto villa was sold, and the money exchanged barely helped them get through the most difficult years.
Another old man talked about when transportation was just restored after the war, rushing back to Tokyo from Osaka. He couldn't even buy a decent train ticket, and after squeezing all the way, when he arrived at Hongo, he discovered that the outer wall of the main residence hadn't been repaired for a long time.
With everyone chipping in, the debate originally centered around that hanging scroll unconsciously dragged up many old stories from decades ago.
Even Shuichi didn't know some of these things. He listened with great interest and occasionally chimed in, which instead prompted the old men to vie with each other in correcting his memory.
The young relatives sitting in the back also began to ask their elders about the past. Someone asked about the family's past properties, and another was curious about how many people actually lived in the ancestral home back then.
Those elders who always wore stern faces on ordinary days all perked up when talking about past events now, unable to even spare a hand to put down their wine glasses.
Satsuki sat beside her father, listening quietly.
As for Saionji in Showa 22, she actually didn't know all that much.
After all, back then, let alone her, even Shuichi was still a child.
Listening to Kensuke and the others talk about past events now, she discovered that this mansion had once experienced such a straitened time.
Looking again at the grand hall that had become lively once more, she felt somewhat emotional in her heart.
Meanwhile, the children sitting on the side could no longer understand the past events the old men were arguing about.
Someone stealthily shoved a mikan into Shota's hand, and another child leaned over and said something while pointing at the mikan in his hand.
Shota's eyes had originally been red, but at this moment he finally raised his head, extended his small hand, and earnestly began peeling the mandarin orange skin. Before long, he started comparing with the child next to him to see whose peel was more intact.
The children's mothers originally wanted to remind them of some rules, but seeing that Satsuki was listening to the old men's conversation with relish, they didn't go over to disturb them.
Wine glasses clashed together again, and several relatives who hadn't seen each other for many years began to ask about each other's recent circumstances. Someone nearby called out to the servants to refill a pot of sake.
The excessively constrained atmosphere from earlier finally dissipated bit by bit.
Satsuki picked up her teacup, looking at these old men who argued until their faces turned red when talking about their youth, and then looking at the children over there who finally dared to play and make a fuss. The corners of her mouth couldn't help curling up slightly.
This was more like celebrating the New Year.