Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

* * *

A lot of things happened, so it was very late already by the time Li Yong returned. Ming Xian and Xiu Ling were waiting in the crown prince’s palace.

“How did it go? How is Xu Zi?”

Ming Xian immediately asked Li Yong without even greeting him first.

It seemed that he had been anxiously waiting for the latter’s return.

And apparently, asking Xu Zi was just on the surface; his real intent was to know what was going on within the penitentiary.

‘Well, it’s understandable, since you need a very good reason to step foot inside the penitentiary, after all.’

Ming Xian was probably interested in the Ministry of Justice’s system.

That’s probably the reason why he readily agreed to Li Yong’s request to accompany Yui Mei and Chen as their guarantor.

The Ministry of Justice wasn’t actually secretive, far from it. It was just that they were inherently suspicious of people given the nature of their work.

In this sense, it was actually a rare case that Yui Mei, a lowly courtlady, was immediately allowed to accompany Xu Zi despite it being the latter’s first interview.

The Ministry of Justice must’ve gotten their hands on some information that would guarantee Yui Mei’s safety.

Moreover, Li Yong himself believed that he had been sent to accompany her so that in case she recklessly behaved inside the penitentiary, he would have to bear the responsibility, so he had been allowed to tag along.

Yui Mei was very inquisitive compared to other people, but she was still harmless despite that. Even so, they must’ve thought that the person backing her must be someone to be feared.

Li Yong also understood their sentiments.

“I have returned.”

Ming Xian seemed like he was itching for Li Yong to spill the beans, so he promptly started his report after greeting the crown prince.

“Doctor Chen confirmed that Xu Zi’s condition will not worsen and will turn for the better. However, a problem occurred.”

“Problem? Did something happen in the penitentiary, perhaps?”

Ming Xian was taken aback. Li Yong confirmed that ‘something’ did happen.

He sipped the freshly brewed tea served by Xiu Ling as he explained the events that occurred in the penitentiary. Both Ming Xian and Xiu Ling’s jaws dropped after hearing about the incident.

“Lajiao? They smuggled something like that? And you’re saying the culprit has it?”

“What a relief that nothing overly serious happened. Still, what a waste. The chef of the crown prince’s palace wanted it so badly to the point of tears.”

Ming Xian said with widened eyes, and Xiu Ling also remarked her thoughts with a sigh.

“What a relief Yui Mei knew how to handle the situation so it didn’t turn into a disaster. Just the thought of what could happen if she didn’t know is giving me the chills.”

Ming Xian said when he heard about the accident that befell the government official because of the chili powder.

“According to Yui Mei, we don’t have to worry about the after effects of getting doused in lajiao powder. They just have to wash it off and the affected parts will heal naturally. Still, the patient must’ve suffered for a long time.”

Li Yong felt sympathy towards the official that took the brunt of the chili powder.

If it had been sichuan pepper instead of chili, it might be a bit better since they were familiar with it, being frequently used to add flavor to the food. Even so, sichuan pepper could also be very painful if it gets into the eyes.

Yui Mei told them that that would be much more painful than just getting sprayed on, and it was an experience she didn’t want anyone to go through with.

Afterward, they gathered all the people who had been in the crime scene when the incident happened, and they were all doused in cold water.

They would surely catch a cold in this cold weather.

Li Yong shivered at the thought, when Ming Xian spoke.

“The only thing they miscalculated was that the doted daughter has a father secretly keeping an eye on his beloved daughter since he can’t get enough of her adorableness. Since the incident happened right in front of Yui Mei, her father probably heard of it by now.”

Ming Xian grinned, but Li Yong frowned in response.

“…Indeed. Based on the circumstances, it is highly probable that there are some eastern spies among the government officials, moreso if the position that could do the impossible. However, it would be easy to trace their footsteps and pursue them if they were exposed so quickly like in today’s incident.”

Although it was surprising that Yui Mei knew the name of that chili pepper, it should also be considered that Du, the suspicious ‘eunuch’, had brought some luxury moon cakes with chili before.

Since Yui Mei is such a gluttony, it’s also possible that she examined that mooncake afterward.

She could also freely move from palace to palace as a housekeeper, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if she came across chili from the kitchen of one of those palaces.

Regardless, the source of her knowledge on how to handle the damage caused by pepper was still a mystery.

There was no way Doctor Chen wasn’t interested in the source of Yui Mei’s mysterious knowledge, but it seemed like he didn’t have any intention of pursuing the matter.

If one were to ask Yui Mei, she would probably reply that she heard it from a traveller.

She knew it was an absurd excuse, but she seemed determined to stand with this reasoning of hers. 

Li Yong’s thoughts were veering towards a strange direction.

“So it’s the East again, huh. East’s Enshuu will probably be in turmoil.”

Ming Xian muttered to himself. Xiu Ling also commented with her hand on her cheek as she stared into space pensively.

“Hasn’t Enshu been changing the Grand Dukes one after another in the past few years?”

“I heard the current Grand Duke of Enshuu is a boy who hasn’t come of age yet.”

Ming Xian replied while rubbing his chin.

The current emperor’s reign had continued peacefully for a long time, but it seemed that trouble was brewing soon.

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