Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

Li Yong also strengthened his resolve and tasted his own portion when he saw that Yui Mei was in a blissful daze as she ate the grilled squid. 

“…It has a strange mouthfeel, but yeah, it is delicious.”

“Right? Hating it without tasting is a no-no.”

Li Yong’s eyes widened in surprise, while Yui Mei had a complacent smile plastered on her face.

The sauce was a bit different from the one she was used to in Japan, nevertheless, she was extremely satisfied with it.

They then divided a freshly grilled one into half and ate it.

“Yui Mei, wipe the sauce around your mouth.”

Li Yong wiped the sauce from Yui Mei’s mouth.

Indeed, her face was messy and sticky. However, it was only natural when eating grilled squid.

He wiped it for her with a silk handkerchief; the texture was great, but it was not absorbent, so she thought cotton would have been better.

Still, they ate the same way, but Li Yong’s mouth and lips were clean.

What was different?

Perhaps, it was the difference in breeding?

Yui Mei finished off her grilled squid while thinking about that, then she looked around once again, looking for more seafood to try. 

“Ah, what’s that!?”

A new fragrant seafood dish wafted, and she tried to dash off after a sniff.

“Whoa!?”

She almost collided to a man accompanied by a woman, when Li Yong grabbed the scruff of her neck to stop her.

‘But I’m not a cat, you know.’

However, thanks to him, she was able to avoid bumping and falling over, so she still had to give her thanks.

“Ahm, thank you very much.”

She glanced upward to Li Yong, but he wasn’t looking at her.

He had seized another person with his other hand that wasn’t holding Yui Mei.

It was the guy Yui Mei almost bumped into, and he was well-dressed.

Besides, she felt like she had seen this guy somewhere….

“What are you doing in such a place, Lord Li Min?”

“Ah!?”

Indeed, he was Li Min, the husband of Princess Pan.

Li Min, who was caught by Li Yong, looked really dumbfounded.

“….I should be the one asking you that. What are importantcity folks like you doing in this harbor? Normally, you guys hate this place, right, saying stuff like ‘This kind of dirty place.’”

Indeed, normally, the big shots of the city didn’t like going to the port.

“No way, of course we came here in order to eat delicious seafood dishes. We came here looking for grilled squids, especially.”

“I am her escort.”

Li Min was a little bit taken aback when Yui Mei honestly stated her goal.

“A city guy and squid? Don’t city folks normally kick up a fuss when they see that, saying it’s a monster.”

Li Min was grumbling, but Yui Mei didn’t have anything to do with that kind of ‘normal’.

If it’s Li Yong, then perhaps he did think it was a monster.

‘Eh, but didn’t Princess Pan say that she also asked Lord Li Min to take her to the harbor, right?’

Perhaps, this was a nonsensical behavior for a person from the city.

In that case, Princess Pan has that drive to act despite being a person with low self-esteem.

Anyway, they’re in the way if they were to talk here.

Nevertheless, Li Yong stated that ‘we need to talk’, and he stood his ground, so Li Min didn’t have a choice but to agree despite complaining, ‘can’t be helped then’. He led Yui Mei and Li Yong and they entered a certain shop.

It was a restaurant, and it was quite crowded.

“Hey, gonna use the room at the end, ‘kay.”

“Gotcha, enjoy your stay.”

Li Min called out to the shop assistant, and got a hearty reply.

It seemed that it was a friendly shop.

By the way, the woman that was with Li Min disappeared without a trace before they knew it. She probably inferred that he was caught in a dispute.

Anyway, Li Min was incredibly familiar with this place, and they followed him towards a private room at the deepest part of the restaurant.

As soon as they entered, Li Min sat on the chair with a thud.

“So? You guys got any complaints? Kai is like my house, so there’s no problem even if I go wherever, right?”

He glared daggers at Li Yong.

‘What a punk!?’

Li Min’s rough, rude words was totally different from how he spoke back at the mansion, so Yui Mei was shocked.

“I see, so that’s your true nature.”

Li Yong still had a poker face on. 

“Lord Li Min was such a calm guy back then.”

When Yui Mei mumbled that, Li Yong glanced at her.

“I already told you, the men of the Huang family are seafarers. Seamen don’t talk so eloquently like the government officials in the Imperial Palace, in the first place.”

Well, now that he put it that way, it was true; his current bearing was more consistent to her image of a seafarer.

Yui Mei agreed, then they also took their seats, and immediately asked Li Min to talk.

“So. What were you doing, not returning to the mansion and leaving Princess Pan all by herself?”

Li Min shrugged at Li Yong’s question.

“Nah, just thought that she’d be relieved if I didn’t hang around, you know. Anyway, she probably didn’t come here ‘coz she wanted to, right. I don’t like a suffocating life myself, so we’re just even.”

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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