Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

“Excuse me, excuse me!”

Li Yong raised his voice as he stood in front of the door.

However, it was not the front entrance, but the back door.

Li Yong considered Ming’s face, and in order not to display his drunken, wasted appearance to the public in front of the mansion’s main entrance, they opted to do this instead.

“Yes, who might it be?”

The door opened slightly, and an old woman poked her face out.

“Oh, Master.”

Her eyes widened the instant she saw Ming on Li Yong’s back.

“We came here to send the boss home, but is it alright if we come in?”

Li Yong asked, and the old woman opened the door wider in answer. She then invited them in.

“Come in.”

“Then please excuse us.”

“Sorry to disturb you.”

They entered the house, and Yui Mei whispered to Li Yong.

“Is she a member of his family?”

“Nah, she’s a servant. Lord Ming is a bachelor, as far as I know.”

‘Oh, so a drunkard bachelor, huh. What a complicated guy.’

Of course there were bachelors who could take care of themselves even if they lived alone, but there were also some who would turn to alcohol as a form of escapism from the loneliness of an empty home with nobody waiting for them.

Yui Mei and Li Yong walked in silence after that as they followed the old lady deeper into the mansion. Finally, she led them to a bedroom.

“Please bring Master here.”

“Yeah, got it.”

The old woman prompted Li Yong, and he lowered the snoring Ming onto the floor.

He finally got rid of the stinky smell of alcohol on his back, so he took deep breaths while the old woman bowed her head deeply.

“Master’s subordinates, I could only thank you deeply for bringing the Master back home. With regards to the Master, sleeping on the bed properly is still the best for his body.”

The old lady grumbled as she gave her thanks.

It seemed that she thought Yui Mei was also one of Ming’s subordinates, so did that mean there were also maids at the imperial guard’s workplace?

Well, there were probably some maids in charge of cleaning up and taking care of miscellaneous duties. Besides, the uniforms of the lower ranks were similarly designed, be it a maid or a court lady, so it was understandable that she would be mistaken.

Rather than clarifying it, Yui Mei asked the thing that bothered her.

“Does Lord Ming not sleep in his own home, perhaps?”

When Yui Mei asked that, the old woman heaved a deep sigh.

“Indeed, he always returned in the morning, reeking of alcohol. I wish he would consider the servants who stayed up all night waiting just in case he would return in the middle of the night.”

Perhaps it was because the grudges had piled up within the old lady, but she couldn’t help but complain in front of Yui Mei and Li Yong.

“And then, will he return to drink again after resting for a while?”

“That’s right.”

The old lady nodded at Yui Mei’s question.

‘That’s bad for his health.’

Falling asleep after drinking, then drinking again after waking up — his lifestyle could already be considered crippled.

“Does Lord Ming love liquor that much?”

Yui Mei asked again, and Li Yong tilted his head in thought.

“As far as I know, he can no longer let go of drinking.”

“Oh, so it’s been like this since long ago.”

“No.”

Yui Mei reaffirmed, but the old lady refuted it.

“Master didn’t touch a single cup of wine back when he was a young lad. Besides, he was even considered weak against liquor, because he couldn’t even tolerate cheap booze.”

The old lady’s detailed explanation took Yui Mei by surprise, so she exchanged glances with Li Yong.

“Have you known Lord Ming for a long time?”

Yui Mei posed another question, and the old lady nodded exaggeratingly.

“Yes, I even washed his nappies back then.”

Oh, it’s no wonder then that she ran her mouth without any reserve since earlier.

“Then, I wonder if he messed up his work or if something bad happened, and I’m not sure when it started, but he started drinking every single night, until he reached his current situation. Really, how pathetic…”

The old lady coudn’t stop talking now. Li Yong, on the other hand, seemed like he wanted to disappear as he stepped back.

This guy seemed to be weak against his own mother Xiuling, too. Actually, he must be someone weak against women. Or, maybe it was more accurate to say that his personality was such that he couldn’t behave assertively against women.

“Hmmm…”

Yui Mei, on the other hand, was considering the old woman’s words.

‘Weak against liquor, yet getting drunk, huh.’

Maybe there was a reason for that, but that would be a separate story.

In short, Ming’s body constitution couldn’t metabolize alcohol well.

“There are some things that I want to confirm, but can I please touch Lord Ming for a bit?”

“Yes, you can, but young girls like you don’t like touching drunk men, isn’t that so?”

Yui Mei requested permission, and the old lady nodded while staring at her like she’s someone commendable.

Hi everyone, Hanazakura here, thanks for reading, I’m grateful to you guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace schedule of release is every Mon, Wed and Fri. 

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