Chapter 41: Suspicious Man
Yui Mei’s heart received a slight blow after being thought as ‘manju-loving’ by Imperial Prince Youren, but she couldn’t just leave him while he offered the manju to her.
While she was inwardly debating whether she would receive this, the girl attending to Imperial Prince Youren spoke to her.
“Ahm, would you like to have tea over there if you will eat it?”
The girl said timidly, or to be more precise, she said so with nervous diffidence.
Even though there was no need for her to be so scared, somehow, she was frightened.
This reaction was somewhat similar to that of the maiden serving Yu Xiu.
She and this girl, why would they be so awkward in front of Yui Mei?
‘Am I scary? Or do I look imposing?’
She had been told she was ‘exuding the aura of a veteran’ since she was young in her previous world, but was it the same in this world?
On the other hand, Imperial Prince Youren’s eyes were shining as he looked up at her, perhaps anticipating that she would eat together with him.
If she rejected him outright, he would probably become dejected.
Besides, there were court ladies who did not return for a long time after going to the washroom, so they must have been taking a breather somewhere else.
And so, Yui Mei decided to imitate them.
“Then, please let me accompany you for a little while.”
“…! Well then, let’s go to that mat over there!”
When Yui Mei nodded, Imperial Prince Youren quickly took her hand and pulled her towards the mat.
“Your Highness, you will fall down if you hurry like that!”
“I’m fine!”
Imperial Prince Youren ignored the maid’s warning.
Nevertheless, why did it seem like Imperial Prince Youren was having a picnic in such a place?
Ordinarily, he should be one of the VIPs at the banquet’s main venue; it was unnatural that there were only the two of them in this place.
However, Yui Mei was also aware of the reason.
Because of the incident with Imperial Prince Youren’s food hypersensitivity, the empress dowager’s declaration had been negated, causing her displeasure.
Imperial Concubine Hu must have secretly arranged for him to have the flower viewing here in order to avoid harassment from being within the empress dowager’s surroundings.
She must have feared that since it was already known that Imperial Prince Youren could not eat eggs, somebody might intentionally feed him by mixing it with the other dishes.
‘But it’s unexpectedly more enjoyable this way, probably.’
Even though there were only the two of them, it was more pleasant by a long shot compared to the banquet they had at the main venue.
It would not be fun for a child if he had to look at the complexions of the adults around him while looking at the flowers.
In this way, Yui Mei enjoyed the cherry blossom viewing with Imperial Prince Youren without worry for a short time.
After interacting with Imperial Prince Youren, Yui Mei then made her way back to the banquet.
‘Alright, I’ll do my best for the remaining time!’
Yui Mei’s footsteps were lighter after her body was warmed by the manju and tea she received.
Yui Mei happily walked through the corridor, then she could see the garden where the feast was being held from afar. It was at that time.
“Hey, that court lady over there.”
From a secret place in the corridor, a young man’s voice stopped her.
“Yes?”
Yui Mei answered as she turned towards the direction of the voice.
There was a man who obviously did not have the bearing of a eunuch.
If he was not a eunuch, then he must be an imperial prince.
However, the strange thing about it was that he did not have a single attendant with him.
“Excuse me, how may I help you?”
In order to avoid unnecessary connections with this man, Yui Mei softly inquired with a smile.
There had been plenty of men making merry among the imperial princes who came for the once-a-year visit to the Inner Palace.
She also observed some of them energetically drinking, and there were also those who behaved carelessly.
She also agreed with Libin’s comment that wearing a hairpin would be for her self-defense after watching those guys.
In short, she could see at a glance that it would be terrible to have anything to do with those guys.
If the imperial princes went out of the city towards the red light district, they would find plenty of playmates over there.
It would be a good plan to avoid those who deliberately mess around with a woman looking after them and assaulting her.
On the other hand, however, Yui Mei could sense that the man before her was different from them.
He did not have the smell of alcohol on him, he didn’t seem drunk, and he didn’t look like he made merry.
‘Rather than that, was this imperial prince in that garden?’
She could see that he was young, probably around her age.
If he was an imperial prince, then he must be the brother of the crown prince, but Yui Mei did not remember seeing him in the garden.
Besides, even if he was not in the garden and was staying at another place, him being alone without a single attendant gave her a sense of unease.
“I see, the blue hair is just like the rumors…”
She heard his faint whisper.
‘What’s with this person….’
Yui Mei knit her brows.
Did this person call out to stop her because of her bluish hair?
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