Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

Chapter 23: The Skinny Child

A few days had passed since the first encounter with the emperor.

Lets clean up !

Yui Mei was cleaning vigorously today, too.

She just met the emperor who was possibly her father, yet she was still calm.

I was shocked that my heart wasnt moved the slightest, even though I say so myself.

When the moment of the actual encounter with the emperor came, Yui Mei expected it would be like the drama she watched in her previous life, with lines like That is my father! coupled with overflowing emotions.

However, when they actually met, she could only muster enough emotion to think that Ah, hmm, so thats the emperor.

They are my biological parents in this life, but I cant feel anything for them.

It was no wonder since she couldnt remember receiving any warmth from them. Her mother already passed away by the time she developed an awareness, so she didnt have any special feelings toward her mom. 

She died due to the fate of being a woman in the inner harem. 

To Yui Mei, that information was all she was.

Her father was the same. She never met him, and they were like heaven and earth, so it was only natural that she didnt feel anything for him.

She might seem heartless, but humans were generally like this. Rather than the parents who did not appear in her memories, she treasured Mei Na who gave her sweets more.

Yui Meis job for today was cleaning the corridors with another court lady. The corridors of the Inner Palace were very long, so even if the work was divided among a few people, the area they had to clean was still relatively huge.

If somebody slacked here, it would be really difficult to make up for the loss.

Yui Mei could already foresee her hardship should a slacker like Mei be assigned here. For the time being, the other court lady in charge seemed to be cleaning properly, so Yui Mei was relieved. She continued cleaning, and it was already noon by the time she finished her charge.

Alright, break time!

Yui Mei finished tidying up her tools, and she looked around for a place to rest. She spotted a boulder that was hard to see from the corridor. She promptly went to that stone and sat down. She removed her mask, and gulped water from the bamboo container.

Fufufu.

Yui Mei beamed as she took a package from her bosom. It contained some delectable manju that she got from Mei Na.

Thank you for the food!

Yui Mei wanted to immediately gobble her food. Just as she was about to sink her teeth into the manju

Rustle.

It was the sound of the thicket shaking behind her.

Is it an animal?

This was an expansive site, afterall.

No matter how good the management was, there were instances when stray dogs, stray cats and sometimes, even monkeys got in. Yui Mei deftly wrapped the manju again and placed it in her bosom. She did not want it to be snatched away by those animals.

She stared at the thicket, waiting for whoever it was to go away, but instead of leaving, she heard it approach. 

Finally, it appeared.

Ah.

The one who poked his head out of the thicket was just a boy.

He didnt expect Yui Mei to be there, so he batted his big eyes. He had well groomed black hair, and blue eyes.

The only children who lived inside the Inner Palace were the emperors, or the crown princes. The crown prince supposedly did not have a child yet. Then he must be one of the emperors children.

In that case, then this is

Yui Mei suddenly remembered her manners, and she hurriedly jumped off the boulder, and respectfully bowed her head.

I apologize for surprising you. I am just in the middle of taking a break.

The prince wordlessly climbed out of the thicket. He did not say anything regarding Yui Meis attitude.

She did not know where he came from, but he was covered all over with leaves, although he was wearing magnificent and luxurious garments.

Ahm, there are a lot of leaves sticking to you. Would you like me to remove them?

?

She had a sense of discomfort, but she ignored it, and took out all the leaves.

Look, youre all clean now.

Thank you.

Yui Mei smiled brightly, so the boy gave thanks in a tiny voice.

Regardless, His Highness was a prince, so he could have walked normally through the corridors. Why would he go through the thicket to come to this hidden place?

Yui Mei was perplexed, then she remembered her uneasy feeling earlier.

Isnt this child too skinny? Children this age should be a little bit more rounded.

However, this prince was malnourished, and he had a sickly pallor.

What on earth was happening here?

Yui Mei held her suspicions, and they stared at each other wordlessly.

What are you doing?

A male voice came from the corridor. Yui Mei directed her gaze towards it. It was the eunuch, whose appearance she had totally become accustomed to seeing.

Ah, Libin.

You, if youre taking a break then be more

Libin started to complain about Yui Meis resting place as he walked towards her. However, the princes figure entered his field of vision, and their eyes met for an instant.

Come here for a bit.

Libin beckoned to Yui Mei.

T/L Thoughts: Its the start of a new arc, with another blue-eyed prince! 

Hi everyone, Hanazakura here, thanks for reading, Im grateful to you guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. We reached our 10th chapter milestone, hurray! Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace will now have a set schedule!  We will be releasing a chapter three times a week from now on. It will be every Mon, Wed and Fri, at 8:00 GMT. 

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