Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

After the starter round whet their appetites, the main dishes were brought in one after the other, and scrumptious aroma wafted from there.

And most surprising of all –

‘There’s a fish dish!’

They were not dried fish, moreover.

The entire fish was baked in a pan, garnished with ginger and other various herbs, and drizzled with hot oil.

It was a perfect example of a dish made from fresh fish.

They could also eat fish in the Inner Palace, but it was mostly freshwater fishes, or dried fish with too much salt.

Nevertheless, the chefs worked their magic, so they were still palatable.

Since they were not using dried fish here, this city must be located some distance away from a fishing harbor, near enough to have fish delivered here.

“Ahm, is the sea near this place?”

The crown prince widened his eyes, saying that ‘it’s surprising that you notice it’. He then explained.

“Kei has a huge harbor, and it’s only a half-day trip from here. It’s also our destination, though.”

Oh, so that means the rumored princess was living in a port city.

How fortunate for her to marry into a place where she could eat fresh fish to her heart’s content.

“It’s a port, so that’s why there were many imported items here.”

Yui Mei had never seen the sea in this world before.

Was the sea here blue, too?

Yui Mei’s thoughts rushed to the sea as the crown prince stared at her.

“Since we’re already here, might as well stretch our legs at the port on the way back. I’m sure there must be a lot of things that are rare for you.”

The crown prince offered such a proposal.

Apparently, he mistakenly thought that Yui Mei didn’t knew anything about the sea, so he suggested something that would make her very happy.

‘Maybe I can eat fresh fish, then!?’

Yui Mei’s heart started to race in anticipation – she’d immediately go there, if she could.

However, before enjoying those tasty seafoods, she must first focus on the dinner right in front of her.

Just like earlier, she took bite-sized portions once again from all the dishes. Everything tasted heavenly.

The egg cai tang, or egg soup, was simple, but the flavor was rich. The gyoza was also juicy, but more than that, she was truly moved by the delectable fish cuisine.

But Yui Mei wasn’t the only one who was touched.

“The happiness of savoring freshly made food is truly exceptional.”

The crown prince heartily said that from across the table.

Freshly-cooked dishes were also beyond the concubines means.

The crown prince had been staying in the Inner Palace since birth, so it was rare for him to taste warm foods.

‘As I thought, being an eminent person is awfully hard.’

Yui Mei could sympathize with the crown prince, who carried on.

“Also, the dishes you can eat outside the palace are far more delectable than those served inside. Isn’t it incredible? Even though all the ingredients in the palace are of the highest quality.”

The crown prince found it ridiculous, but it wasn’t really that strange.

“That’s only natural, meals should be enjoyed with the five senses, after all.”

Yui Mei looked as if she was stating the obvious, but both the crown prince and Li Yong just gaped at her.

“…What do you mean by ‘five senses’?”

Yui Mei tilted her head after being asked with a strange expression.

‘Eh, you mean to say this kind of thinking isn’t normal?’

She apparently said something peculiar, but she couldn’t get her words back.

Since it couldn’t be helped, Yui Mei explained the principles of dietetics from her previous life.

“Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste and Smell – these are what we call the five senses. Lord Ming usually eats the meals that had been tested for poison, so a considerable amount of time has already passed since they were prepared, and they’re no longer in the best condition.”

And so, he couldn’t enjoy the crackling sound of hot oil, nor the piping hot temperature of freshly made foods, and the aroma would also be gone.

So it couldn’t be helped that the dishes would become unpalatable.

That was also precisely why he enjoyed the food from outside the palace all the more, because he could savor it using his five senses.

“I see, so there’s a proper reason why foods from the outside were far more delicious.”

The crown prince was moved. He then softly laughed before muttering ‘so that’s why’ under his breath.

“You know, Father also loved to sneak out with his beloved maiden, and they apparently enjoyed eating dishes from the stalls.The girl was a commoner, so she was used to walking around the town. Apparently, she was the one who taught him about the world he couldn’t see while being cooped up in the palace.”

Yui Mei’s heart jumped at the unexpected reminiscent tale about the emperor.

‘That must be about Mother.’

In that case, her mother sure did a great job, since she was able to go on a sneaky date to the street stalls with the emperor.

Yui Mei couldn’t help but treat her mother as a tragic heroine.

She felt relieved that her mother also had some fun memories, and not just the suffering from living in the Inner Palace.

It was also great that she got to eat with the crown prince and Li Yong while having fun conversing with each other.

‘This might be what they call as happy family circle.’

Yui Mei grew up with the nuns, so she was trained not to speak while eating.

However, because she had the memories of bustling meals during her previous life, the contrast made her feel lonelier.

Consequently, the lively atmosphere during meal times with the other court ladies was fresh to her, and this amiable conversation while eating was also enjoyable.

‘Fun meals make the food more delicious.’

After that reaffirmation, Yui Mei grinned. The crown prince and Li Yong who were looking at her only exchanged glances, but they did not say anything.

And so, Yui Mei returned to her room after eating that scrumptious meal until she’s full. The blankets seemed to beckon to her, but she still had something to do, so she resisted.

Indeed, she had to sew her panties first.

She spread the cloth they brought earlier, but since she did not have shears with her, she made do with the thread cutter, finally cutting the pieces.

She’s already used to doing this so she was fast. Two panties were completed after a while.

‘Alright, this would do!’

She immediately changed, then she went to the laundry area that the innkeeper pointed her to, and washed her used ones. She then hung them inside the room to dry.

She could finally sleep, so she jumped right into the blanket, and promptly sank into dreamland.

———-

T/N: Bonus chapter for today, we hit our goal for reviews (it’s 50 now at NU)! Rating is absolutely not mandatory, this is just my way of saying thank you for all those stars ? Thank you so much everyone for supporting Hundred Blossom Palace! ?

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. 

Please feel free to join us at our discord channel for release updates and more! Hope to see you there! We also have our Novel Updates page, if you enjoy what you are reading, feel free to leave a star rating and review, we appreciate it. I’ll be releasing an extra chapter for every 25 ratings we receive, as my token of appreciation.

I also finally launched my patreon! If you enjoyed the chapters and feel like you want to read more, please feel free to drop by. ;D Currently, you can get 5 advance chapters. This is not mandatory, but I’ll be forever grateful for your support! ?

My Ko-Fi page is also up! Please do check it out if you would like to support me as I strive to provide high quality, manually translated chapters. Extra chapters will be released when Ko-fi goal is met! Thank you very much (deep bow)! I’ll continue doing my best!