Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

‘Eh, what, am I gonna get scolded for peeping?’

While Yui Mei was torn whether she should hurry up and return to her cleaning job, or if she should just stay for fear that she would be disrespectful if she ignored the man, he steadily walked towards her, only stopping when he reached a respectful distance from her.

“Hey, you, the court lady over there, are you cleaning?”

“Ah, yes!”

Yui Mei straightened her back and answered the man’s query.

However, what came out was a muffled, unintelligible reply because her nose was still covered. 

The man from the Ministry of Justice just raised a brow, but he didn’t comment on the matter.

“I heard that there’s something stinky buried around here. Guide me to that place.”

Rather than pursuing the matter, he even ordered her.

He didn’t ask “where” or “do you know about it?” but directly told her to guide him over there.

‘Yeah, I do know where it is, but…’

What if the one he encountered was a clueless court lady? How will she answer him then?

And so, they headed towards the hole that she had reburied yesterday. That’s when he noticed that the man didn’t even cover his nose with a handkerchief.

“…Ahm, aren’t you bothered by the stench?”

Yui Mei timidly asked, but there wasn’t so much as a ripple in the man’s expression.

“His Majesty the Emperor himself gave the order, so carrying out this task is far more important than being bothered by such a trivial thing as stench.”

‘Oh, so it’s His Majesty the Emperor’s authoritative pronouncement, huh.’

Yui Mei inferred various things based on the man’s reply.

Apparently, the crown prince diligently informed the emperor about yesterday’s matter.

And this guy was apparently enduring the stink to the best that he could.

The way he spoke was quite weird, so he probably stopped breathing through his nose.

“This way, please.”

Yui Mei dug the place again and called out to the man, so he nodded once before approaching the hole.

“I see, this stench is really something. I can’t for the life of me understand what’s so good about smoking this.”

The man apparently took a whiff before showing a spectacular grimace then she clapped his hand.

“Take everything.”

The man raised his voice, and men clad in black gathered around the hole.

“Uhyah!”

Yui Mei jumped in shock when the Ministry of Justice’s men appeared out of the blue without any warning.

‘Wait, aren’t there more of them now!?’

Yui Mei shuddered when she recalled how they looked like they multiplied. The man beside her was the only one who didn’t join in, and now he called out to her.

“You’re the one who submitted this stinky thing to the higher-ups, right?”

Yui Mei was baffled, unsure what he wanted to say, so she told him what happened.

“Eh~ rather than the higher-ups, I just packed a little sample and brought it to somebody I know.”

“As expected. You seem to know what you’re doing while guiding me, so that’s what I thought.”

The man nodded in understanding.

‘Eh, so it’s better if I denied it and said ‘I don’t know’ back then?’

Yui Mei then recalled the man’s unreasonable attitude earlier, as if he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

But then, Yui Mei didn’t have any reason to deny it, so she would’ve still guided him even if she knew about that. 

Yui Mei inwardly pouted, but the man drily stared at her. 

“Well then, we will take you away now, so please do not resist nor kick up a fuss.”

‘Eh, you’re taking me?’

Yui Mei thought she would be scolded for sure.

“Got it, I won’t go anywhere.”

A woman’s voice resounded from behind Yui Mei, so she turned around in surprise.

“Xu?”

Yes, Xu was standing behind Yui Mei before she noticed it.

—–

T/N: Sorry guys, sched had been pretty hectic, so sorry for the erratic posting. Will make-up for it soon, this is Friday’s missed chap ?