"Not at all," Tokugawa Iemochi smiled gently, "Not only should ministers relieve the monarch's burdens, but the monarch should also consider the ministers."
Among the common folk, there were always those spreading bold assertions—Ii Naosuke was an ambitious power-hungry minister! He currently dominated the shogunate by claiming "the General is young," but once the General grows up, Ii Naosuke will undoubtedly continue to grasp power tightly, unwilling to return it to Tokugawa Iemochi.
If people who closely interacted with Tokugawa Iemochi and Ii Naosuke heard these rumors, they would definitely scoff.
Anyone with even a slight understanding of their relationship knew clearly—Tokugawa Iemochi and Ii Naosuke, who stood together during the "Hitotsubashi-Nanji Conflict," had a relationship much closer than some common people assumed.
