Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
Chapter 149: The True Form of the Smell

“It’s the first time that I’ve become aware that such a stinky smell exists.”

The crown prince seriously stated while drinking tea.

In her previous life, this ammonia smell was described as “medicinal scent”, but in this world, such a description was used for the smell of herbs, so it was an eccentric smell that was unfamiliar to most people.

‘This kind of smell that lingers forever inside the nose isn’t that common, after all.’

The crown prince posed a query to Yui Mei when he saw that everyone was comfortable after having tea.

“So, Yui Mei, what is that thing?”

Yui Mei was eating one of the pastries that had been served with the tea, so she hurriedly gulped it down before she replied.

“I think that’s juice extracted from poppy. I discovered it buried in the ground at the Jiaofang while I was cleaning, but there’s no doubt about that distinctive smell.”

“Jiaofang?”

It was Libin who reacted to what Yui Mei said.

“Yui Mei, did you perhaps go to see Xu?”

Libin said, and the crown prince’s eyes widened when he heard that.

“I already heard about Xu Zi from Libin. So, do you have any progress with her?”

Yui Mei wasn’t surprised that what she and Libin discussed reached the crown prince. She only thought that it was natural.

“There’s no luck with Xu, but this is a different matter altogether.”

Yui Mei made an intro first before discussing the particulars about her discovery.

“Actually, Aunty Yang told me that nobody wanted to go to the Jiaofang to clean that place, so she requested me to replace the reason. But I suddenly ran into that reason.”

“So you’re saying that the reason is that stench? But you said it’s poppy juice.”

The crown prince asked while glancing outside the window.

“Yes. That poppy juice, the source of that stench, is extracted from the flowers of poppy and processed. It’s used as an oral painkiller medicine. I heard from Physician Chen that poppy juice is an imported product from a foreign country.”

“Poppy flowers?”

Xiuling tilted her head in confusion when she heard Yui Mei’s explanation.

“Poppy, those flowers that bloom in the backyard?”

As expected of Xiuling, elite maids even know the name of the flowers.

“Oral medicine? But that looked like tobacco ash, though?”

The crown prince looked perplexed, so Yui Mei continued.

“Indeed, in medicinal arts, you don’t inhale poppy juice like a tobacco. If one inhaled the smoke like you do with tobacco, then it’s for a separate purpose or there’s another intention.”

The crown prince and the rest glanced at each other.

“I can’t imagine any other use other than as a medicine.”

“There are medicines that can be used as an ingredient to make the food delicious. Is it something like that?”

“No, Mother, it’s tobacco so it is not for food.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not for something as peaceful as that.”

The crown prince and the others tried to come up with the answer, so Yui Mei answered them.

“If you inhale the poppy juice’s smoke like you do with tobacco, you’re going to experience extreme euphoria.”

“Euphoria?”

“It’s a bit hard to give an example, but let me try. It’s like the person will feel that he became omnipotent, and he will experience a pleasant feeling for an extended period of time. In short, it’s like being in a state of having thoughts such as “I feel so great, this is super awesome, I’m the best in the world!”.”

“…I see. And then?”

The crown prince looked as if he’s teetering between comprehension and bafflement, but he urged her to continue anyway.

“The reason why people suck on it like tobacco instead of taking it as pills is that smoking brings a stronger effect on the brain — er, the organ inside your head that controls your thoughts — compared to ingesting it as pills. As you see, the stronger the usage, the crazier the effect, resulting in euphoria.”

Yui Mei pointed to her head as she explained. Libin had a complicated expression when he heard this, so he posed another query.

“So you’re saying that it’s a similar feeling to what the drunkards say when they can’t stop drinking after having too much booze. Like, ‘I feel pleasant when I’m drinking”. But then, what’s the difference with this one?”

‘Ahh, yeah, just like how Lord Ming was before.’

Yui Mei immediately understood who Libin was tacitly referring to.