The Togawa family was not a particularly large family more than a hundred years ago. Although they were one of the kazoku, they were only in the lower-middle ranks among them, incomparable to the Fujiwara family, and even inferior to the Shinomiya family at that time.
Families with numerical names like Ichijo, Nijo, Shinomiya, and so on had almost all branched off from the Fujiwara family back then.
A thousand years ago, the Fujiwara family was the largest surname in Japan and also the most powerful family.
With the changes of the times over the past millennium, the Fujiwara family gradually branched out, leading to the various top kazoku later on, and the genealogies of these kazoku could almost all be traced back to the Fujiwara family.
It could be said that the Fujiwara family had been in decline for a thousand years, but that thousand-year foundation was also the reason why the Fujiwara family had remained standing and was still the foremost political family in Japan today.
In the last century, the previously unknown Togawa family suddenly rose to prominence, mainly because they completely abandoned Japan's traditions, and the entire family became almost fully Westernized.
By leveraging the Industrial Revolution in Western countries in modern times, the Togawa family also rose in Japan.
For example, at the funeral, the Togawa family did not follow Japan's old traditions but held a Western-style funeral.
In the cemetery, after the priest finished reading the eulogy, a group of men and women dressed in black suits or long black dresses bowed their heads and prayed silently, giving a final farewell to this former young lady of the Togawa family.
Immediately after, these core members of the Togawa family came to Sakiko's side and gently comforted her.
After exchanging a few words with Sakiko, they left separately and boarded the various luxury cars parked outside the cemetery.
Sakiko maintained the etiquette of a young lady of the Togawa family. Even though she was heartbroken and her eyes were red, she remained polite and did not cry in the cemetery.
Facing each core member of the Togawa Group who came to speak with her, facing these uncles and aunts, she still smiled appropriately and spoke softly with them, not showing any shyness or emotional collapse.
This perfect demeanor also earned Sakiko the praise and approval of these core members of the Togawa Group.
As the only daughter of the Togawa family's main line, Sakiko would inevitably inherit the entire Togawa Group in the future.
If this young lady had no ability, then these core members would probably have to consider how to sideline her within the Togawa Group and then collectively maintain the group's future.
After all, the wealth and future of every single one of them were closely tied to the Togawa Group, and they would never allow the leader to be too incompetent.
Oko of the Shinomiya family had already proven that when the leader was too incompetent, even a giant like the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, such a financial empire, could collapse at any time.
The current plight of the Shinomiya family was almost a warning to every zaibatsu and group, telling them the terrible consequences of having an incompetent leader.
And clearly, Sakiko's performance was approved of, which also reassured the executives.
Unless absolutely necessary, who would truly be willing to commit insubordination? With good luck, they might advance further, but with bad luck, their families could be ruined immediately.
At their level of wealth, to be honest, most people had nowhere further to go. Their only requirement was to protect their family's wealth.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the number of people in the cemetery gradually decreased. The misty rain and shallow fog added to the heavy atmosphere of sadness.
Sakiko stood in front of the tombstone, standing quietly.
Her grandfather, the head of the Togawa family, slowly walked to her side.
Several bodyguards stood behind the two of them holding black umbrellas, but the head of the Togawa family waved his hand, indicating that they did not need to hold umbrellas for them.
"Grandfather..."
Sakiko lowered her head and softly called out to her grandfather. Now that there were no outsiders, her delicate shoulders trembled, and she looked as if she might cry at any moment.
The rain fell on the old man's head, making his hair seem even grayer, and his face looked much older.
A parent burying a child always made people feel even more sorrow.
Fortunately, although his daughter was gone, his granddaughter was still here, and his granddaughter was obedient, well-behaved, resilient, and capable. Even without him, the Togawa family would not have problems.
Of course, Old Master Togawa's health was still good. He still had a long time to nurture his granddaughter, help her pave the way, and allow her to inherit the entire family smoothly.
"Please accept my condolences, Sakiko. The dead are gone, and the living must keep moving forward."
"Don't be sad, and don't give up. I believe your mother's spirit in heaven also hopes that you can grow up healthy and strong."
Old Master Togawa placed one hand on Sakiko's shoulder. His old arm gripped tightly, as if he wanted to pass his courage and warmth to Sakiko...
"I won't disappoint Mother. I will become the excellent daughter in her eyes, so that she can also watch me smiling from heaven."
Sakiko tried her best to smile. She sniffled, strong and brave.
"I believe you will be your mother's pride. Go, Sakiko. Go fulfill your wishes and work hard for your goals."
Old Master Togawa's words made Sakiko hesitate a little.
Sensing her emotions, Old Master smiled. "I know what you want to say. You want to say that you won't form that band and that you want to stay by my side to learn, right?"
Sakiko nodded vigorously.
Having witnessed the death of her most beloved person and experienced life and death, Sakiko also seemed to have become more mature.
She had already been a strong and mature girl in the past, and at this moment, she seemed to have changed again.
Old Master Togawa shook his head. "Sakiko, go achieve your wishes and your dreams. Don't let yourself regret it when you are old."
"Your mother liked music when she was young, but I didn't understand her heart at that time and insisted that she give up music, and even made her marry that man."
"This is my greatest regret. Your mother didn't fulfill her dream, and she must have had some regrets too."
"I don't want to hurt my granddaughter after hurting my daughter, Sakiko. Grandfather will support you, support your dream."
"You only need to work hard to learn how to become an excellent helmsman in the intervals between achieving your dreams. That is enough."
"Times have changed. There are foundations, trust institutions, and professional managers now. You don't need to know everything. You only need to master the correct knowledge, and that is not difficult."
Old Master Togawa squeezed Sakiko's shoulder again. He turned his head and left with the bodyguards. Before leaving, he said to Sakiko, "Be careful. Don't catch a cold from the rain."
Even though he was also standing in the rain, he was still concerned about Sakiko's health.
"You too, Grandfather."
Old Master Togawa smiled and left with some emotion.
After walking a few steps toward the roadside, he nodded at Toru, who had been standing there.
It was not until Sakiko's relatives left that Toru stepped forward and came to Sakiko's side.
(To be continued.)