Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
Chapter 110: I Can Go Anywhere for the Sake of Food

Yui Mei and Li Yong headed towards the imperial guards’ dining hall in order to have their dinner.

Yui Mei donned her trusty headscarf before they entered the Outer Court. She removed it earlier so that she wouldn’t stand out too much. 

‘You never know where someone might be!’

The night was dark so it was supposedly okay even if she was seen, but she still wore it just in case.

She didn’t know if a person like the perverted, hair-cutting prince she encountered before was lurking somewhere nearby.

Finally, Li Yong led her to the imperial guards’ building, and true enough, it was at the edge of the Outer Court.

Bigwigs would gather here for some chit chat from time to time, so the design was different from that of the court ladies’ lodging house.

In the first place, imperial guards were not stay-in unlike the court ladies, so there was no reason for them to gather around to have their meals together at the same time. On the other hand, the imperial guards worked on a shift basis, and someone would be working , so there was no way they could follow the twice-a-day meal schedule.  

Thus, they would basically prepare the meals even until late at night, and even if they went there now, there would still be meals available.

“This way.”

Li Yong led Yui Mei into the building. The first thought that came across her mind the moment she set her foot in was —

‘Uh, the air reeks of men…somehow..’

She probably felt this way because she had been spending almost all her time surrounded with women ever since she came to the capital.

It wasn’t clear if the lights were turned off. Although there was a faint light, it was predominantly dim inside the building, and it was quite eerie.

Combined with the stench of men’s sweat, the atmosphere gave Yui Mei an explicable feeling.

After finally getting through that agony, she could see a bright space at the end of the hallway.

A delicious aroma wafted through the air, so that must be the dining hall.

“Wow, it’s pretty neat in here.”

“Hey, just what kind of impression do you have of an imperial guard, huh?”

Yui Mei unwittingly mumbled her true thoughts, so Li Yong retorted.

“Ah, no, well, think about it, you’re all men, right?”

Yui Mei replied ambiguously with a laugh.

Cleaning and being able to keep things tidy and orderly didn’t really depend on the gender, but based on Yui Mei’s observation in her previous world and in this world, too, there was a tendency for a place to be dirty if it was filled with only men.

“The hall was reeking with men’s body odor, and it can’t be helped that I think of this place as such, right?”

Yui Mei honestly said. Li Yong raised a brow, and replied with “Yeah”.

“Holding my breath when walking down that hallway became my habit, I guess. The stench leaks out from the storerooms, so that’s why it is so stinky. They should’ve just washed the weapons right away instead of piling them.”

“That’s dangerous, isn’t it? Weird insects will come, you know, attracted to the smell, I’m pretty sure of it.”

Yui Mei warned Li Yong as she looked around the dining hall.

The imperial guards weren’t the only ones inside the hall. There were also eunuchs and civil officials here and there.

She wondered whether they came here for a reason, and were having their meals while at it.

Some of them were drinking booze when she looked around, so they were probably having a drink after work.

‘They don’t have to go out of their way to the Outer City if they can drink here.’

What a good thing to do — Yui Mei was amazed, when suddenly —

“Hey, Li Yong, it’s rare for you to bring a woman here, huh!” 

Somebody called out from the side.

When she turned around, a brawny, huge man wearing simple clothes was standing in front of them before she noticed it.

Yui Mei was dumbfounded as she raised her head to look up at the bear-like man, when suddenly, the bear man grabbed her head.

“And it’s an unfamiliar chick, to boot.”

 ‘Wa-wait, you’re too strong, too strong!!’

The bear man turned her face from side to side vigorously, and Yui Mei desperately clutched the hood on her head because it was about to fall off.

“I took her outside because of an errand, but we missed dinner. She complained about it too much, so I brought her along with me here.”

Li Yong respectfully replied to the bear man.

Based on the way he phrased things, Yui Mei seemed like a glutton and that irritated her, but she couldn’t mutter any complaints because it was true that it’d be painful if she had to remain hungry.

“I see, I get it now, that’s also possible, huh! If you’re hungry you can’t swing the sword, and you’re going to die on the battlefield if you have a stick for a body!”

The bear man continued pressing Yui Mei’s head, but it felt like her back would break so she wanted him to stop.

Besides, Yui Mei would only get fat if she ate a lot more than usual, and she didn’t have any plans of going to the battlefield.

However, she understood that the bear man didn’t stop her from eating a meal at this dining hall, so she hurriedly bowed her head and scampered away from his hand.

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