December 31, 1991.
Hongo, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
The Saionji Main Residence was bustling with a rare liveliness.
For several days, the entire household had been busy preparing to welcome the New Year.
The kadomatsu on both sides of the main gate had been set up days ago, the entryway was adorned with shimenawa, and the alcove in the main house was decorated with kagami mochi and New Year floral arrangements.
The pine trees in the garden had been pruned, their branches dusted with a thin layer of frost from the previous night, and occasionally someone would hurry past under the veranda carrying freshly changed cushions.
The kitchen area was even livelier.
Several chefs were gathered around a long table preparing ingredients, lacquer boxes for osechi ryori were lined up nearby, and servants delivering sake passed by the doorway from time to time.
The old butler, Fujita, held a guest list and was pacing back and forth between the entryway and the great hall, checking the details.
"Where has the car from Kyoto reached?"
"They called just a moment ago to say they have already exited the Shuto Expressway and should be here in about twenty minutes."
"Are the guest rooms all arranged?"
"Yes. According to the list you confirmed yesterday, the west guest rooms are all prepared."
"That is good."
Fujita picked up a fountain pen and made a mark on the list.
Today was New Year's Eve.
According to the long-standing tradition of the Saionji House, the heads of the branch families and key relatives would come to the Saionji Main Residence at the end of the year to offer their year-end greetings to the head of the house.
Close family members would also bring their wives and children along to attend the family banquet in the evening.
Before the war, such gatherings were on a much larger scale.
However, after the abolition of the Kazoku system, many cumbersome rituals had gradually been simplified, and the New Year visits that originally required several days to conduct had been merged significantly.
Nevertheless, the Saionji House was, after all, an old family that had endured for centuries, and some customs had been preserved to this day.
In the past few years, the Saionji Main Residence had actually held these events as usual.
It was just that Satsuki had never had any interest in such family gatherings; she would usually just make an appearance, accompany her father to meet a few important elders, and then find an excuse to slip back to her room.
The elders in the family dared not have any objections.
After all, this Eldest Miss was simply too busy.
But this year was different.
A few days ago, when Fujita submitted the arrangements for the year-end family rites to Satsuki as per tradition, he had originally expected her to participate in only a small portion, just like in previous years.
To his surprise, Satsuki flipped through the list and agreed quite readily.
"Hmm... Uncle is also coming back this year, so it would be nice to have a bit more liveliness."
That was what she had said at the time.
Consequently, the number of branch family members who received invitations this year was significantly higher than in previous years.
Hearing that Satsuki would be officially attending, even some of the elders who rarely returned to Tokyo had made a special effort to rush back early.
This should have been a joyous occasion.
However, as the afternoon family rites drew near, the guests arriving at the Saionji Main Residence were behaving somewhat strangely.
...
At a little past one in the afternoon, a black sedan pulled up outside the Saionji Main Residence.
In the backseat, Saionji Takayuki adjusted his haori for the third time.
His wife finally couldn't watch it anymore.
"Your collar is already very neat."
"I know."
Takayuki lowered his hand, paused for two seconds, and then touched his cuffs.
His wife turned to look at him with some confusion.
"You were never this nervous when you came to the Saionji Main Residence before."
"The past is the past."
Takayuki replied in a low voice.
He had been the head of a branch family for over a decade and should have long been accustomed to such occasions.
However, the economic climate in Japan was growing colder by the day. Several of his friends among the Former Kazoku, with whom he had good personal relationships, had started selling off famous paintings and ancient books last year, and this year, they had even quietly put their ancestral Kamakura villas on the market to liquidate assets.
But his family was different; relying on the expansion of the Saionji House over the past few years, they were actually living more comfortably and respectably than even during the peak of the bubble mania.
Nowadays, even people who were previously unwilling to associate with him were coming to ask him to introduce them to the Saionji House. He was naturally pleased, and he was well aware of where this prestige came from.
"When we meet Lord Shuichi later, you must lead the children in bowing first."
"I remember."
"And then regarding the Eldest Miss, you must be especially, especially careful—"
"I remember it all."
His wife gently held his hand, her tone gentle.
"You have already reminded me three times at home. Rest assured, I will take good care of the children and will not be impolite."
Takayuki glanced at his wife and sighed softly.
"It's not that I'm worried about you..."
"I know."
His wife smoothed his sleeves for him.
"But you shouldn't be so nervous either. Today is about the family spending the New Year together; you can't be on edge from the moment you enter until you leave, can you?"
Takayuki thought about it and felt that his wife made sense, finally relaxing a little.
The car slowly drove into the main gate.
...
On the other side of the Saionji Main Residence, Kenjiro was standing in front of a mirror, head bowed, fiddling with the belt at his waist.
He first tightened it firmly, looked left and right in the mirror, felt it was a bit uncomfortably tight, and was just about to retie it when a sound of light footsteps came from behind him.
"Alright, stop fussing, let me do it."
A pair of hands reached over from the side and gently pushed his fingers away.
The person who came was his wife, Saionji Shino.
She was a woman in her thirties with gentle features, wearing a kimono with a simple and elegant color, her long black hair carefully coiled at the back of her head, making her look dignified and soft.
When Kenjiro was expelled from the family six years ago, Shino had always stayed by his side.
The couple had spent six years living a hard life outside, and now that they had finally returned to the Saionji House, although they had servants to take care of their daily needs, she was still accustomed to doing small things like tidying her husband's clothes herself.
Kenjiro had long been accustomed to his wife's care; seeing her come over, he honestly let go, slightly raised his arms to make it easier for her to adjust his collar.
Shino first retied his belt for him, then reached out to smooth the wrinkles on his chest, and only after confirming that everything was in order did she step back half a step.
"Hmm, this is fine."
She nodded with satisfaction, her eyes carrying a touch of gentle laughter.
Kenjiro lowered his head, reached out to touch his waist, and turned to look in the mirror again.
"I haven't worn this outfit in six years; it really feels a bit unfamiliar."
"I actually think it fits much better than before."
Shino stood behind him, carefully examining her husband in the mirror, her gaze slowly dropping from his shoulders to his waist, the corners of her mouth curling up involuntarily.
"Especially here; it wasn't this loose before."
Kenjiro followed her gaze and looked down, immediately understanding his wife's meaning.
"Hey, I wasn't that fat before, was I?"
"Is that so?"
Shino pretended to think seriously, then reached out to smooth out the last wrinkle by his belt.
"But I remember that every time you wore this outfit before, you would complain that the belt was too short."
"That was the tailor's fault."
Kenjiro answered righteously, even reaching out to gesture.
"I've said it before, the tailor the house used to hire always liked to measure on the smaller side when taking measurements."
"But even after we changed tailors, you still said that."
Shino looked up, the smile in her eyes no longer hidden.
Kenjiro opened his mouth, originally wanting to defend himself a few words, but looking at his wife's expression, he finally shook his head helplessly.
"Fine, fine, even if I was a little fat before."
"Just a little?"
"Shino..."
Seeing that her husband couldn't hold his own, Shino finally stopped teasing him, reached out to put the haori on him, then moved to his front to carefully adjust his collar.
Kenjiro lowered his head, letting his wife fuss over him.
Actually, Shino wasn't wrong.
Six years ago, he lived a pampered life; he had a driver to take him out, most of the company matters were left to subordinates to handle, and he didn't know how to exercise restraint in eating and drinking.
Later, after doing manual labor outside for a few years, the excess flesh on his body had long since faded away. Even now that he had returned to the Saionji Main Residence, running between the headquarters and several companies every day, he rarely had the opportunity to be as idle as before.
However, Kenjiro looked at himself in the mirror and actually felt that this current appearance wasn't bad.
"Oh, right."
Shino finished adjusting his collar and suddenly remembered something.
"Mr. Kensuke will be coming today too, right? It's been many years since I last saw the old gentleman."
"Of course he will come."
Kenjiro answered casually and was just about to turn to get something when he noticed his wife's hand was still resting lightly on his sleeve.
He looked down, then raised his eyes to look at Shino.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Shino shook her head and smoothed his cuffs again.
"It's just that having not returned for so many years, I don't know how to greet everyone properly."
She spoke lightly, but the movements of her hands were slower than before.
Over the past six years, Shino had lived with her husband in a housing complex in Minami-Senju, had gone out to do cleaning work, and had once had to carefully budget for every month's rent and living expenses.
Now that she had returned to Saionji House, moved into a spacious room, and had servants to look after her daily needs, she occasionally found it all a bit unreal.
Especially today.
Thinking of all the long-unseen relatives she was about to meet, she couldn't help feeling somewhat nervous.
Looking at his wife's lowered brows and eyes, Kenjiro reached out and took her hand, which was still resting on his sleeve.
"What is there to worry about?"
He gently cupped his wife's hand in his palm, his tone softening considerably.
"Big Brother and Satsuki have already allowed us to return. What happened in the past is all in the past, too; everyone will be more than overjoyed to see you."
Shino looked up at him, her gaze gradually softening.
"I know."
"Then what are you worried about?"
"I am not really worried about myself."
"Oh?"
Kenjiro was somewhat surprised.
"Then who are you worried about?"
Shino looked at her husband and deliberately paused for a moment.
"Of course I am worried about you."
"Me?"
"Mm."
She nodded earnestly, then straightened the lapels of her husband's clothes.
"It is rare to see so many old friends today. You must not get so happy that you drink yourself senseless and make me carry you back in the end."
Kenjiro froze for a moment, then straightened his back defiantly.
"Hey, that was from how many years ago!"
He patted his chest.
"I know my limits now."
"Yes, yes."
Shino nodded meekly and reached out to readjust the lapels he had patted askew.
"I know, you are the most sensible one now."
Her tone was extremely gentle, but Kenjiro always felt that his wife didn't completely believe his words.
Just as he was about to emphasize it further, Shino had already picked up the handbag placed to the side and turned to walk towards the door.
"All right, if we don't leave now, we really will be late."
Watching his wife's back, Kenjiro couldn't help shaking his head slightly, then quickly followed after her.
When they reached the door, Shino slowed her pace slightly, waiting for her husband to come to her side before reaching out to link her arm through his.
Kenjiro glanced down and naturally bent his arm slightly to make it more comfortable for his wife to hold.
The couple walked out of the room side by side just like that.
...
At two o'clock in the afternoon, in the main hall of the Saionji Main Residence.
Several shoji doors stood open, and the cushions in the hall had been arranged according to the seating order of each family.
Several early-arriving elders were exchanging low pleasantries, and the steam from their teacups, mixed with a faint scent of incense, slowly drifted through the warm room.
Shuichi sat at the head, holding a photograph of the old residence sent from Kyoto, discussing repairs with Kensuke.
"...The tiles are still sturdy, but the color has faded severely. The people over in Kyoto said we might as well replace them all during this renovation."
Kensuke took the photo, put on his glasses to look closely at it, and furrowed his brow slightly.
"These tiles have been used for at least several decades. If we replace them all with new ones, I am afraid even the character of that house will be lost."
Satsuki was sitting right beside her father, wearing a plainly colored kimono with her cuffs neatly tucked beside her knees.
She had been holding her teacup, but upon hearing the two of them mention the old residence in Kyoto, she leaned over to take a look at the photograph.
"Satsuki, what do you think?"
Shuichi noticed his daughter's movement and casually handed the photo a bit closer to her.
"Hmm... Since they can still be used, let's repair them according to the original appearance."
Satsuki looked at it for a moment, returned the photograph to her father, and spoke in a rather casual tone.
"Didn't Father say before that you liked the old-fashioned look of that house the most? If you replace everything with new ones, you will just complain that it looks unappealing when you return."
"When have I ever been so picky?"
Shuichi refuted verbally, but still very contentedly placed the photo back on the table, turning instead to instruct Kensuke to have the craftsmen in Kyoto preserve the original tiles as much as possible and replace only the broken ones piece by piece.
Hearing this, Satsuki continued drinking her tea.
However, as members of the branch families arrived one after another, the atmosphere in the hall noticeably tightened.
According to old custom, the year-end farewell greetings were first paid to the current head, Shuichi.
Shuichi accepted the greetings as usual, occasionally asking about the elders' health or what grade their children were in.
Satsuki accompanied him by his side, slightly bowing in response whenever someone saluted her.
The first few families went smoothly enough.
When it was Saionji Ryuji's turn, an unexpected mistake occurred that no one anticipated.
When Ryuji entered the door, he first wiped his palms lightly on the hem of his clothes before walking to the designated spot.
He had repeatedly lectured his wife on etiquette in the car, but at this moment, looking at the father and daughter sitting side by side at the head, his mind suddenly went blank.
Just then, Satsuki put her teacup back onto the lacquer tray and looked up.
Ryuji's gaze met hers, his back instinctively tensing, and almost without a second thought, he lowered his head.
"Eldest Miss, this year I am indebted to you—"
Halfway through his words, his whole body froze.
Oh no!
Who did he just call out to? Today, he was supposed to pay his respects to the head of the house first!
Ryuji's waist was already half-bent, yet he stopped abruptly there, the color draining significantly from his face.
He suddenly straightened up, turned to Shuichi, his voice even changing tune.
"I-I am rude! Lord Shuichi! Thank you for the Main Family's care this past year, really..."
He bent his waist again, this time lowering his forehead almost to his chest.
An elder nearby was holding a teacup, but upon hearing that flustered apology, the movement of his hand stopped.
Several younger members by the door also fell silent, their gazes turning toward Shuichi in unison.
Ryuji's wife sat a little further back, originally still tidying her child's sleeves, but at this moment her fingers tightened as well.
Shuichi was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand with a somewhat amused air.
"Oh my, Ryuji, what are you doing? I remember you used to be the most particular about etiquette; why are you so nervous today instead?"
Seeing that Ryuji still maintained his head-down posture, he simply put the fan in his hand to the side.
"Alright, alright, we are all family, just meeting for the New Year, what does it matter who goes first or last? Hurry up and get up to take a seat."
The more relaxed Shuichi's tone was, the less Ryuji dared to raise his head.
That shout of "Eldest Miss" was heard by the entire hall.
He saluted the family head's daughter first, and then hurriedly made up for it by saluting the family head; if others were to read deeply into this, wouldn't it make it seem like he no longer took Shuichi seriously?
Yet Shuichi was still comforting him, and Ryuji didn't even know where to begin his defense.
Standing in the rear, Kenjiro watched this scene, his brows involuntarily furrowing.
He had known Ryuji for many years.
That fellow loved talking about rules the most on ordinary days; who stood where during sacrifices or which door to enter could be nagged about for ages, yet today he would actually commit such a mistake?
Was it really just nervousness?
The clan members all knew in their hearts who was actually making the decisions in Saionji now.
But after all, his older brother was still the current head of the house; bowing to Satsuki first in public was simply too glaring.
If someone deliberately used Ryuji's hand to test Big Brother, or wanted to make Big Brother feel a bit displeased with Satsuki...
The more Kenjiro thought about it, the more he felt it deserved attention, but unsure whether Ryuji actually had such guts, he shifted his gaze to his older brother at the head.
As a result, he saw Shuichi turning his head slightly, an undisguisable smugness lingering in his brows and eyes.
"Satsuki, take a look."
Shuichi raised his chin toward the still bewildered Ryuji, his tone carrying a bit of teasing.
"Now people are even more nervous seeing you than seeing me. When you were little, they weren't like this."
Satsuki glanced at her father, then looked at Ryuji, whose expression was growing increasingly ugly, and finally spoke with some helplessness.
"Father, please stop making jokes at Uncle's expense."
She put down her teacup, her gaze falling upon Ryuji.
"Uncle Ryuji, since Father has said it doesn't matter, please take your seat with peace of mind. Thank you for your hard work this year."
Her voice was steady, without the slightest hint of blame.
Only then did Ryuji dare to raise his head and hurriedly bow again.
"Yes, thank you, Eldest Miss."
After returning to his cushion, Ryuji discovered that his palms were already full of sweat.
His wife cast an inquiring glance, and he shook his head slightly, signaling that the matter had passed, before finally daring to pick up his teacup and take a sip.
Kenjiro, however, was still sizing up Shuichi.
Big Brother had already picked up the photograph again, enthusiastically explaining the window frame issue of the old Kyoto residence to Kensuke; that matter just now seemed to have been cast behind his mind in the blink of an eye.
That appearance—Kenjiro was far too familiar with it.
Kenjiro lowered his head to pick up his teacup, feeling somewhat between laughter and tears in his heart.
He had probably really overthought things.
To rely on such petty tricks to drive a wedge between this father and daughter, he might as well go tear down Saionji Tower; at least the latter sounded like an engineering problem.