Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

Chapter 21: An Encounter, At Last

According to Libin, the person who appeared in the garden was no other than His Majesty, the emperor. This man was standing at the pinnacle of this country, and was speculated as being Yui Meis father.

Yui Mei wanted to steal a glance at the persons face, but Libins hand exerted strength to prevent her from doing so.

It hurts, let me raise my head for a bit!

Yui Mei was fine with just one peek, so she kept on trying, while Libin kept on pushing her head. All the while, Lady Wang calmly was calmly talking to the emperor.

Oh, Your Majesty, it is rare for you to be here at this hour.

I wanted to spend a while and drink tea with you.

Unexpectedly, the emperor rushed to visit because of tea.*

It seemed his affection might run deep, considering she was a concubine with a low status, and she had been staying near the edge of the Inner Palace.

In that case, its only natural that her place was left dirty.

It must be the work of somebody who wanted to distance her from the emperor.

While she was having a silent battle with Libin, the emperor glanced at her. 

Arent you someone from Ming Xians place?

He addressed Libin, who was beside her.

It was not surprising that the emperor was familiar with him, since he was a eunuch attending the crown prince, after all.

Libin slightly raised his head, since the emperor already noticed him.

Yes, this servant** arrived at this place by chance while searching for this court lady.

Libin explained, apparently making it clear that he did not come here for Lady Wang.

Its poor taste to hear the crown princes attendant being close to the emperors concubine , after all.

Taking advantage of the moment Libins hands loosened while he was talking to the emperor, Yui Mei slightly raised her head. The first thing that she saw was the emperors blue eyes.

Yui Mei only met two people who had blue eyes in her entire life. First was the crown prince, and second was the emperor.

This is Dont tell me.

Just when Yui Mei was stupefied at the possible meaning behind those blue eyes, the emperor turned. It was like a spark flew between them as their eyes met.

Yui Mei was flustered and she hurriedly bowed her head; at the same time, Libins strength seemingly returned. Because of that, her forehead almost touched her knees.

Ouch!

My back and waist hurts!! Im bending too much!

Did the emperor hear Yui Meis groan?

Libin retracted some of his strength, so Yui Mei was able to revert back to a 90 degree bow. Unfortunately, the emperor was staring hard at her.

 Your Majesty, I have prepared warm tea, so please come in.

Lady Wang invited the emperor inside the residence, since she realized Yui Mei and Libin wont be able to get up as long as the emperor was still there.

Is that so.

Eventually, the emperor removed his gaze, and he followed Lady Wang.

The remaining two people had their heads bowed still, only raising them after a while had passed. Yui Mei lost her strength, and she collapsed on the floor.

Whoah..So scared

Although she knew the emperor lived in the Inner Palace, only a handful of people could see him in person. A lowly court lady should prepare her heart first before meeting the noblest personage.

Ah, but compared to meeting the crown prince back at the clinic, this encounter was quite ordinary.

It was natural for the emperor to visit his own concubine. Yui Mei was caught by surprise, but that was only because she had been careless.

Nevertheless, the shock made her hungry.

Is it alright to eat the manju?

Yui Mei thought whether she would actually get the manju Lady Wang offered as a snack. Libin was dumbfounded at Yui Meis worry.

Youyou just saw His Majesty the Emperor, you know? Isnt there something else that you should be saying instead of that?

Libin thought that she was unbelievable; thinking of manju even though the emperors and her eyes met, albeit for a second.

Yui Mei also began to question herself. In the first place, Yui Mei did not harbour any special feelings towards the emperor. Even if the story she heard at the nunnery was true, her mother was just one of the many wives of the emperor. That was why since a long time ago, she already conditioned herself not to seek him out.

As for the matter of interest and concern, what happened for her to become this way when it came to choosing between manju and the emperor.

Ah nope, I dont think theres something else other than manju.

Libin looked at her as if she was some kind of exotic animal.

You are

Apparently, Libin wanted to say something, but he ended up swallowing his words. Yui Mei waved her hands to him.

I thought it was good luck that we met. Will there be anything good for tomorrow?

Libin heaved a deep sigh as he looked at Yui Meis carefree appearance.

As for the conclusion, Lady Wangs maid gave them their share of manju, so she decided to eat it with him.

Its really delicious, right.

Its just the ordinary taste of manju, though.

Yui Mei was chuckled happily as she munched, while Libin woodenly chewed.

The conversation ended. It was a subtle, calm time suitable for eating snacks.

Afterward, Yui Mei talked to Mei Na as the latter plated food for her during dinner.

I saw His Majesty today.

Oh, youre lucky, Ah Mei. Something good will happen, for sure.

Mei Na replied as she ladled soup into the bowl.

Just like Yui Mei, she treated the emperor as a lucky charm. However, that was the only thing they could do with regards to the emperor. His existence for them only amounted to such. It couldnt be helped, since their status as emperor and court lady was like heaven and earth.

T/L Corner:

We have a triple release for today, since we reached our goals! Our ko-fi goal was achieved again thanks to our very generous supporter, I.M. Gibbon. ? Thanks to all of you for the 25 ratings in NU! Though this is not mandatory, I nevertheless feel happy that readers enjoy the novel, and it pumps me up! ?

Thoughts:

*Lol at Yui Meis reasoning. She always thought it was for food. First, Libin came for the manju, then the emperor came rushing for tea. Im not sure anymore if shes wise, or shes nave lol.. Makes her so adorable. (Yes, I like the MC, I bet you already notice lol). The fateful meeting with Father Emperor finally happened! Libin was hell bent on not letting them meet probably, though. At least, they were able to look at each others eyes ? Cant blame Yui Mei for callously treating Father Emperor in her heart though. Though Im guessing (not a spoiler, pure speculation) Father Emperors interest was piqued due to the sanitizer Ming Xian brought him so he went to the inner harem? That, or he just wanted to be soothed by his calm concubine. Nevertheless, did he recognize her blue eyes? What do you guys think?

**Japanese do not typically use pronouns (even watashi is used sparingly in conversations). So I took liberties and used this servant so it would be appropriate for addressing the emperor to make the reading experience smoother. Original phrase and translation would be as follows:

Yes, I was looking for this court lady due to some matters, and I accidentally came here.

Which is, you know, not the way Chinese people addressed their emperor at the time, so please pardon me >,<>

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. 

Please feel free to join us at our discord channel for release updates and more! Hope to see you there! We also have our Novel Updates page, if you enjoy what you are reading, feel free to leave a star rating and review, we appreciate it. Ill be releasing an extra chapter for every 25 ratings we receive, as my token of appreciation.

I also launched my Ko-Fi page! Please do check it out if you would like to support me as I strive to provide high quality, manually translated chapters. Extra chapters will be released when Ko-fi goal is met! Thank you very much (deep bow)! Ill continue doing my best!-