Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

And so, Yui Mei gratefully accepted her day off, and she set off towards the port — and for some reason, Li Yong was also with her.

Well, it would be unfair if Li Yong didn’t take a break, too.

However, it was a mystery why he had to go with her.

“I’m fine even if I’m alone, you know?”

Yui Mei looked up at Li Yong as they walked side by side. He glared at her in response.

“Your status right now is that of the Crown Prince’s attendant. You’ll invite unnecessary trouble if you act like you always do at the Inner Palace.”

He then retorted.

‘Well, that’s true.’

There might be people who would kidnap Yui Mei in order to have her relay their words to the Crown Prince. 

She’s also fully aware of that fact.

However, she wanted to eat around the port, and Li Yong’s presence beside her bothered her a bit.

“It feels like I’m being guarded, so I won’t be able to enjoy this.”

She grumbled as she led Li Yong towards the harbor, when the scent of seafood wafted to Yui Mei’s nose.

‘Ahhh, what should I eat, huh.’

Yui Mei giggled, unable to contain her excitement at that moment.

She was happy with whatever fresh food cuisine was available, but her main goal was grilled squid.

“It’ll be nice if there’s squid, squid~y squid squid~♪”

Li Yong glanced down at Yui Mei as she skipped to her own song.

“…aren’t you having fun.”

Yui Mei heard Li Yong’s whisper, but it was just a trivial matter compared to the seafood cuisine that’s waiting for her.

They finally reached their destination while having this conversation.

The ambience in the port didn’t change despite this being another world.

Various fishes and seafoods were being hauled to the fishing boats that lined up the harbor.

And there! There were the food stalls that cooked those fish!

‘Paradise, that’s the paradise!’

Yui Mei was about to pounce a food cart with her eyes shining, but Li Yong stopped her.

“Don’t recklessly plunge into a crowd of people. You’re a stranger here, so you’re the prime targets of pickpockets.”

“Hmpf…”

Yui Mei stopped on her tracks when she heard Li Yong’s fair reasoning. She felt like a dog being told ‘stay’.

However, everything that she had now was given to her by the crown prince, of course she didn’t want to be robbed.

In case she needed to do reparations, her entire salary as a mere housekeeper would never be enough.

“I’ll go with you, so promise me you won’t leave my side. So, which store caught your eye?”

Li Yong will apparently lead her, so he asked.

“I’ll start with the stores at the edge for now.”

Yui Mei answered.

If he’s going to insist walking with her, then might as well treat him as a ‘second stomach’, then.

If there’s too much food, then she could share it with Li Yong.

And so, just like what she said, they started walking towards the end of the row of stalls to buy seafood.

There were skewered foods, grilled foods, and boiled foods in the stall. They had plenty of options.

The skewered, large shellfish was especially popular.

It was spicy, and many seamen around them were eating this with a sake in one hand.

If Yui Mei was also an adult here, she probably would have eaten this with alcohol, too.

She also tried the grilled fish that was dried and salted overnight; it was spongy, and the broth with a whole shrimp was also a superb masterpiece.

As for delicacies, they also sell turban shells and sea urchins.

Yui Mei was currently holding a turban shell that was cooked in its shell.

“Hmmmm!! Sooo yummmy!!!!!”

Yui Mei’s face was stuffed as she ate the turban shell.

“….It’s amazing how you can eat that stuff.”

Li Yong was looking at Yui Mei as she’s something weird.

Apparently, this guy was not that familiar with seafood.

‘Well, there are folks who can’t accept this appearance, right.’

It also had a unique bitter taste, so people who weren’t used to it probably wouldn’t try this dish.

However, if they get used to it, it would become a habit.

And so, Yui Mei kept on eating a lot of things, and when she thought she couldn’t eat anymore, she would pass it to Li Yong.

Well, she didn’t give him the ones she directly bit into, so she made him accept them.

Just when they already finished their eating tour halfway through most of the stalls, something caught Yui Mei’s eye.

They were hung to airdry like laundry in front of the shop.

‘That’s….Squid!!??’

And the thing being grilled beside the hanging squids, brushed with a fragrant sauce, was no other than grilled squid.

“That, I want to eat that!!!”

“Another weird thing…”

Yui Mei’s eyes were shining brightly, while Li Yong grimaced beside her.

“Don’t say that it’s weird, that’s too rude! It’s super tasty, you know!”

Yui Mei left those words, briskly striding away, and Li Yong could only follow.

“Please!”

“Yeah, thanks for buying!”

Finally, she secured a grilled squid wrapped in oil paper from the stall.

For the sake of squid novice Li Yong, Yui Mei requested the shopkeeper to chop it in bite size pieces, then she handed a relatively small piece to Li Yong.

‘Thanks for the food!’

Yui Mei immediately bit into the grilled squid.

“Ahhhh, I’m in heaven….”

Yui Mei was spellbound as the fragrance of the grilled squid spread throughout her mouth, combined with the exquisite taste of sauce.

–––––

T/N: (Provisionary) First date! 

Although it’s more like the chaperone taking a kid to the amusement park ahahah.

(:3)

Li Yong: Promise me you won’t leave my side.

Yui Mei: Gotcha, binge eat with me then!!

Li Yong: …………………… Sigh.

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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