Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
Chapter 116:

“Master apparently had a great night’s sleep since he was properly lying down on his bed. His complexion and mood are both great this morning.”

The old woman chattered while leading Yui Mei and General Li to the bedroom.

The stench of alcohol started to cloy to their nostrils as they drew nearer.

It seemed Ming was really here, but it was a bit unpleasant to be identified with that odor.

“He reeks, really turned into a booze- crazed guy, huh. This is a lot more severe than what I’ve heard.”

General Li muttered.

The old woman entered the room first and started talking to Ming.

“Master, the person who tended to you last night is back.”

“Whaaat? Liii Yooong?”

A voice that was obviously Ming’s floated from inside the room. 

Yui Mei and Li Yong didn’t introduce themselves last night, but the old woman remembered his name when Yui Mei called out to him.

.

“Unfortunately, it is not Li Yong.”

That’s when General Li barged in.

“Your Excellency!? Why are you here!?”

Ming blurted out in surprise. Unfortunately, General Li was standing in front of Yui Mei and she couldn’t see what was going on. Nevertheless, she was curious about his complexion since the old woman mentioned that it was better, so she poked her head out from behind General Li.

Ming was sitting on the bed. He looked disheveled and listless as he blankly stared at General Li.

Indeed, his complexion was a lot better compared to yesterday.

‘Yup, as expected, sleep is essential.’

The moment Yui Mei nodded, her eyes met Ming’s.

Suddenly, Ming’s eyes widened in shock, and all the color drained from his face, which rapidly turned as white as a sheet of paper.

Yui Mei was also taken aback with such transformation.

“N-no way, Hui….!?”

He suddenly shrieked, and at the same time, he curled himself into a ball.

“Eh..eh?”

“Sorry, forgive me!!!”

Yui Mei could only tilt her head in confusion at his strange behaviour, while Ming kept on screaming the same thing over and over again.

“What’s this, what happened? What is he talking about?”

General Li was also taken aback, so he asked, but Yui Mei could only shake her head, because she didn’t have an inkling about this.

“Master, what happened!?”

The old woman shook Ming, but Ming only muttered “sorry, sorry” while tears streamed down his face.

General Li had been observing the situation, but he eventually sighed deeply.

“Seems like nothing will come out of this. Let’s go.”

“Indeed.”

Yui Mei also agreed that they wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation, given how frightened the poor soul was.

“Oy, Ming, stop drinking for a while! I’m watching you!”

General Li bellowed at the cowering Ming before leaving that place.

“I am deeply sorry, even though you went out of your way to visit him.”

The old woman ran after them, bowing deeply in apology.

“It’s fine, we’ll come again.”

“We will visit you again.”

General Li waved his hand in dismissal and Yui Mei smiled, then they left the mansion.

Silence reigned between them for a while as they strode on. Theyhad turned a corner, and the mansion was no longer in sight, when General Li suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Pretty sure His Majesty will be depressed if he learned about Ming’s state.”

General Li reluctantly muttered.

“His Majesty the Emperor…!?”

The sudden mention of the unexpected name gave Yui Mei a jolt. General Li rubbed his chin as he continued.

“That Ming was once His Majesty the Emperor’s favorite attendant.”

Yui Mei blinked in surprise when she heard that.

“Is that like how it is with Li Yong, the Crown Prince’s attendant?”

“Well, something like that.”

 General Li nodded.

Yui Mei heard from Li Yong that Ming was so excellent that even the generals eyed him, but she didn’t expect that he even caught the eye of the emperor himself.

“His Majesty had great faith in him, and he even made the shadow guards escort him.”

“That’s… the emperor regarded him highly and relied on him, then.”

Yui Mei responded to General Li with such words while thinking about the story the crown prince told her.

‘He would take his favorite outside and they would travel incognito.’

There was also another point that bothered her.

‘Hui’, the name that Ming shouted earlier…that was Yui Mei’s mother — in other words, it was Lady Zhang’s former name.

–––––

T/N: Ohh!! So Ming knew something about the past, huh? Maybe we’re going to learn more about what really happened to Lady Zhang.

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