frightfiction Chapter 21 Muzan's Marriage Contract
Chapter 21 Muzan's Marriage Contract
However, at the age of twenty, Shugo inevitably faces a big problem.
Pressure to get married from elders.
At the age of sixteen, the head of the Fujiwara family originally thought his son was very career-minded because he was focused on his work and didn't care much about finding women.
Once he turned twenty, the head of the Fujiwara Hoku family changed.
They started looking for women for him.
This is just as unreasonable as parents wanting you not to date before high school but then demanding you get married immediately after graduating from university.
Hiiragi refused in every way.
"What kind of woman do you like? Even a royal princess wouldn't be out of the question." The retired head of the Fujiwara family was exasperated. "You're an old man! Hurry up and get married and have kids so he can hold his grandchildren!"
Over the years, the head of the Fujiwara family had recommended potential wives to his sons, and look what happened!
She recommended so many women to her son, but he didn't like any of them.
"You don't even want the renowned Heian-kyo's Wakashi-hime? What exactly do you want?" The head of the Fujiwara Kita family thought for a moment and looked suspiciously at his son kneeling before him.
"You didn't take a fancy to that sickly fellow from the Ubuyashiki family, did you? So you brought him home to raise him?" The head of the Fujiwara Kita family twisted his wrinkled old face.
The illustrious name of Genji, the Prince of Light, is still widely known among the nobility.
Shugo loosened his grip on the teacup, set it down with a look of astonishment, and put it down.
"What are you talking about! How could I possibly learn from Genji!" Shugo's expression twisted as he realized what his adoptive father meant.
Genji, that lolicon, that pervert, that scumbag.
He's not a lolicon; he likes mature women and young girls, all of whom are of legal age!
He's a normal person!
"Then tell me why you won't marry!" The head of the Fujiwara family slammed his fist on the table.
Shugo rubbed his forehead, gave his answer expressionlessly, and said decisively.
"Because they're too ugly! I'm afraid I'd be scared to death if I married one of those ugly women."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The expression on Fujiwara Kita's face gradually changed, finally settling on a strange look. The way he looked at his son was as if he were looking at a strange human that walked on its hands.
ugly?
The head of the Fujiwara family couldn't understand it; all the women he introduced to his son were beauties.
White powder, black teeth, wearing a twelve-layered kimono, and with smooth, jet-black hair—this is the aristocratic woman of the time, and also the standard of beauty.
Shugo is also desperate when faced with the beauties of the moment.
With makeup even paler than Muzan's face and black teeth, she would look exactly like a female ghost if you saw her at night!
It would be ridiculous for a time traveler to die from a heart attack.
Moreover, cosmetics were "expensive" in both modern and ancient times; the former cost money, and the latter cost lives!
For example, when it came to makeup powder, poor women used rice powder made from ground rice, while nobles used expensive white lead powder.
In the eyes of the nobility, using rare and expensive cosmetics made from heavy metals could not only demonstrate their status and differentiate them from commoners, but also enhance the effect of their makeup.
In Shugo's eyes, they were a bunch of guys who ate poison every day and didn't care how long their lives were going to last.
White lead powder is highly addictive; once you start using it, you'll basically have to use it for life. It can cause skin damage and even turn blue or black, forcing you to cover it up with white powder.
Shugo even suspects that the reason why wives in Heian-kyo don't want their husbands to see their "morning face (the original face without makeup in the morning)" is because of white lead powder.
If he and his wife were to kiss and end up with a mouthful of white lead powder, Hiiragi would shudder just imagining it.
The level of horror is no less than exchanging bodily fluids with an AZ patient.
Fujiwara no Hokuke was speechless.
"As for an heir, I'll just adopt Yorimitsu's son later," Shugo offered his solution.
Whether due to his own mindset or the prevailing aristocratic aesthetic, Hiiragi Goto had no intention of leaving any descendants.
Lai Tong and his half-brother are in the same interest of all parties and will not cause any major problems.
The head of the Fujiwara family, with a fierce expression and earnest words of advice, puffed out his beard and glared at the enemy.
Hiiragi goes in through his left ear and out through his right.
Why would you marry a perfectly good person?
The conversation ended without a conclusion.
However, the head of the Fujiwara family did not give up. He still suspected that his son, Yoshimichi, was in love with Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko.
After all, his son had shown Yueyan a great deal of preferential treatment.
He carefully collected information about his eldest son and the sickly child of the Umayashiki family.
This intelligence further corroborated his suspicions.
Putting everything else aside, Tsukihiko was a stunning beauty, a delicate, sickly beauty who perfectly matched the aesthetic of the Heian-kyo nobility.
Looking at the treatment he received, including sleeping in the same bed and being told stories to lull him to sleep—treatment he didn't even have with his own younger brother—and the handmade Renguang items that even his own father didn't receive every year...
The head of the Fujiwara family was heartbroken!
What a loss! What a loss!
In an attempt to win over a rising nobleman, he sacrificed his son.
However, it seems that the two are still in a cold war.
No, we need to think of a solution.
Let Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko get married first?
Thinking of his son's indifferent nature towards everything (Shūgo, who has no interest in daily life or work: I can do whatever I want), the only thing he seems to care about these past few years is this Tsukihiko.
Fujiwara no Hokuge's face turned ashen; things weren't looking good.
No, no, no, no.
He seriously doubted that even a married man could stop his son. The methods his son had used in officialdom over the years... he found them to be vicious, insidious, despicable, and shameless.
Hiiragi, inheriting the wisdom of his ancestors: Achoo!
Wait, does Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko have this idea?
The head of the Fujiwara family fell into deep thought.
The next day, the head of the Ubuyashiki family, who had been invited by the head of the Fujiwara Kita family, overheard these words.
"It's time for your son to settle down and start a family."
The implication is very strong.
The head of the Ubuyashiki family immediately understood and readily agreed to follow their arrangements.
What difference does it make who you marry?
Marriage among nobles was also a form of power alliance.
With the head of the Fujiwara family personally acting as matchmaker, things can't be too bad. If they go wrong, it won't just be a loss of face for him; it will only add another layer to Fujiwara's reputation for arrogance and domineering behavior.
But why suddenly want my son to get married?
The head of the Ubuyashiki family wore a fake social smile, trying to please the regent, while various thoughts swirled in his mind.
He currently has only one adult son, Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko.
It's not uncommon for ten-year-olds to get married, but it's far too early.
Ten years old is not twenty years old... A flash of inspiration crossed the mind of the head of the Ubuyashiki family.
Wait a minute, it seems that Fujiwara Shugo is not yet married.
After the thought process aligned with that of the Fujiwara Kita family head, the Ubuyashiki family head understood.
As a result, Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko gained a fiancée from the Fujiwara Kita family, and they would get married in a few years.
Muzan, who was unexpectedly betrothed; ??
Mucan frowned as he looked at his father and asked, puzzled.
"engagement?"
The head of the Ubuyashiki family, observing his son's expression, casually put down his teacup and smiled.
"That way you won't have to worry about those waka poems that are sent to you, right?"
After Muzan's coming-of-age ceremony, his beautiful appearance became known, and many noble ladies who saw his portrait began to have designs on him.
During this period, Muzan received many waka poems that angered him.
(In ancient Japan, men and women would express their feelings and pledge their love through waka poems before marriage, which were essentially love letters.)