Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

Li Yong carried Ming on his back, and he was grimacing.

There were several times when Ming almost fell off, and Li Yong had to repeatedly adjust his position. 

“…He’s stinky.”

Yui Mei smiled wryly when Li Yong grumbled.

“You’re right, even his body odor reeks of alcohol, too.”

Yui Mei said that, but she was keeping her distance away from the obnoxious smell of alcohol, and Li Yong could only look at her reproachfully.

Anyway, let us set that aside.

To reiterate, most of the liquor that was generally available was usually toned down until it was almost water.

Thus, unless a person had a constitution that couldn’t tolerate alcohol, it was almost impossible to get drunk to the point that even the body odor itself would reek of booze.

He must be a very wealthy person since he could drink high quality liquor until he became like this.

‘Well, he’s probably rich since he is probably one of the high ranking imperial guards.’

Yui Mei kept a reasonable distance away from Li Yong as he carried Ming on his back. They passed through the gate that separated the Outer City from the Inner City.

However, it was not the gate that they passed through earlier when they left the Inner City, but the one on the eastern side, used to transport goods such as liquor.

The reason for that was simply because it was closer.

Yui Mei thought it was strangely amusing that they were bringing in a drunkard reeking of booze through a gate that was used for liquor transportation. She couldn’t help but laugh.

She tried to hold back her giggles as Li Yong presented his imperial guard identification. They let Yui Mei in without further ado because she was wearing her court lady uniform.

“Please come in.”

They entered the gate without a hitch, and finally they were inside the Inner City.

The scenery that greeted them was akin to an exclusive residential district.

The reason why the streets were wide was because carriages were frequently running here.

There was enough space for two carriages to pass by each other. No matter where she looked, the houses that lined the streets were all mansions with well maintained gardens.

‘Hmmm, even the ambiance is oozing with weath! That’s how it feels!’

It was Yui Mei’s first time to set foot in the Inner City proper, and she was taking it all in with deep interest as she looked around.

“This way, come on.”

Li Yong didn’t concern himself with Yui Mei as he hurriedly strode on.

Apparently, he wanted to get rid of the stink of alcohol as soon as possible.

He must be suffering from the odor. Ming’s face rested on Li Yong’s shoulder as he carried him, and the stinky breath would hit his nose whenever Ming exhaled.

If he carried Ming as if he was a baggage, then he would be able to escape from the smelly breath; but then, the classic repercussion of “blehhh” would be waiting for him.

Carrying him in his arms would definitely be more stinky.

Thus, it was decided that he would carry Ming this way after considering that.

Even his clothes must have soaked in the booze stink by now.

Yui Mei couldn’t help but pity Li Yong now that she thought about it, so she suppressed her curiosity and quickened her pace, almost running behind him.

She also asked a few questions about Ming while they were walking.

Ming’s full name was Ming Yong, and he was one of the major players in the army as the captain, and even the generals recognized him.

He must be very capable if even the generals remembered him, but now, he has become a disappointing wreck of a drunkard.

Yui Mei was curious about his work, so she asked Li Yong, but he only told her that “he is on leave because his body is not well.”

‘So does that mean that even if he’s on leave, he is still wasting his time being drunk?’

How to say this, what a good-for-nothing person.

Yui Mei further asked about the fundamental issue that Yang entrusted to her.

“You mentioned that his body isn’t well, but what do you mean by that? Can you be more specific about it?”

Li Yong shot a glance behind his back, before answering in a hushed voice.

“You also hear about it occasionally, right? How the joints of the body ache so badly to the point that you can’t work — it’s that strange disease. Because of that, it had been difficult for him to do his job as a soldier, but he still gained many meritorious awards. It was said that the disease heals from time to time, so he was told to rest his body in the hopes that his body will heal.”

So, the troops were waiting for him to return.

“But he won’t heal at this rate even if he can, if he’s going to live like this.”

“He doesn’t like mingling with doctors, to boot.”

Yui Mei pointed that out, while Li Yong heaved a deep sigh.

According to Li Yong, the imperial guards also tried to take care of him, but the person himself was too stubborn, and didn’t welcome any of that, choosing to remain in this state.

‘Hmm, I think I get his situation now.’

So that’s the reason why Yang was worried about him, and Yui Mei agreed.

Yang normally didn’t say anything beyond the job, but because it was an unusual request for her, Yui mei decided to accept it out of sheer curiosity, but now, it made her want to poke her nose and meddle a bit.

They finally reached his residence while talking about it.

It was a splendid mansion of a different caliber compared to the other mansions so far. 

––––

T/N: I forgot to mention, I based the translation of 内城 on China’s Inner City and not Japanese’s Inner Fort/ Palace (Naijou), and the crown prince’s surname Ming (明) has the same character as this drunkard Ming ? I’m itching to know if Author-sama has a purpose for that. Anyway, Ming means bright and clear, Yong here means eternal.

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