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 Mei‟s father.

Yui Mei wanted to steal a glance at the person‟s face, but Libin‟s 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, it’s 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.

“Aren‟t you someone from Ming Xian‟s 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.

‘It’s poor taste to hear the crown prince’s attendant being close to the emperor’s concubine,
after all.’

Taking advantage of the moment Libin‟s hands loosened while he was talking to the emperor,
Yui Mei slightly raised her head. The first thing that she saw was the emperor‟s 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… Don’t 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, Libin‟s strength
seemingly returned. Because of that, her forehead almost touched her knees.

“Ouch!”

‘My back and waist hurts!! I’m bending too much!’

Did the emperor hear Yui Mei‟s 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 won‟t
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 Mei‟s worry.
“You…you just saw His Majesty the Emperor, you know? Isn‟t there something else that you
should be saying instead of that?”

Libin thought that she was unbelievable; thinking of manju even though the emperor‟s 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 don‟t think there‟s 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 Mei‟s carefree appearance.

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

“It‟s really delicious, right.”

“It‟s 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, you‟re 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
couldn‟t be helped, since their status as emperor and court lady was like heaven and earth.

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T/N: *Lol at Yui Mei‟s reasoning. She always thought it was for food. First, Libin came for the
manju, then the emperor came rushing for tea. I‟m not sure anymore if she‟s wise, or she‟s
naïve 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 other‟s eyes :) Can‟t blame Yui Mei for
callously treating Father Emperor in her heart though. Though I‟m guessing (not a spoiler, pure
speculation) Father Emperor‟s 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.

Chapter 22 The Crown Prince‟s Confidant and the Women of the Inner Palace

Ming Xian was reading memorials in the study. Even though the ministers were responsible in
doing government affairs, the final decision was still handed over to him. The emperor and
crown prince were supposedly sharing the burden, but recently, the emperor lost his motivation,
so Ming Xian‟s workload increased.

Ming Xian‟s work revolved around reading the memorials and stamping them.

“Your Highness Ming Xian, this one has returned.”

The subordinate called out while knocking on the door of the study room.

“Come in.”

Li Yong entered once he obtained permission to do so. He was Ming Xian‟s foster brother, and
the man that he trusted the most. He was currently one of the Imperial Guards, and to ensure
the crown prince‟s safety, he also went as far as fabricating his personal documents to work as
a eunuch by his side. He was called Libin when disguised as a eunuch, posing as the twin
brother of Li Yong.

He was deployed to investigate the rumors currently circulating around.

“You are all dismissed.”

Ming Xian declared to the ministers, and they wordlessly left the room. After making sure they
were already far away, Li Yong closed the door.

“How was it?”

Li Yong faced Ming Xian and replied.

“Yes. Yui Mei was indeed harassed by the senior court ladies.”
Indeed, the rumors regarding Yui Mei became widespread, to the point that it also reached the
crown prince‟s palace. Those rumors were proactively spread by the eunuchs who did not help
Yu Xiu, along with those senior court ladies who bore ill intentions towards Yui Mei.

The crown prince could not turn a blind eye against the incident, so he had Li Yong investigate
directly.

“It was also true that she was driven out to live in the storage room.”

Ming Xian furrowed his brows as he listened to Li Yong‟s words.

The palace was currently experiencing shortage of manpower, so it was not the time to bully the
novices. If they did not have any connections, then their actions would surely affect their
promotion. Apparently, those senior court ladies did not come from well-connected families.

The true villainess living in the Inner Palace would achieve her goals without lifting a finger
herself. The rumors this time revealed the perpetrators; their methodology was inept. They were
extremely stupid.

‘There are also women like that here in the Crown Prince’s palace, though. They were just born
in the capital of Kyou, yet they were so full of themselves, thinking they were better than anyone
else.’

With regards to being a court lady, they would indeed be in a higher position if they were given
allowances from their own home. However, being a concubine was a different matter altogether.
Concubines were chosen based on strict standards.

The court ladies would be selected based on the assessment of their lifestyle and work; their
physical appearance would not have that much bearing. Rather than that, it was imperative that
they were healthy. As for the reason, it was because all the women in the palace had the
possibility of bearing the emperor‟s child. The most important criterion was whether they would
be able to give birth to a healthy child.

On the other hand, it was a different story for the maids accompanying the women who were
sent to the palace as concubines. If something happened to their master, they would be
candidates to replace the concubine. Therefore,it was necessary to exercise vigilance against
the women attending to the concubines . It was precisely due to this reason that Yu Xiu suffered
from illness.

The circumstances of those women should be set aside for now. As for Yui Mei –

“So, what is Yui Mei doing now?”

He did not believe Yang, the court ladies‟ manager, was someone who would tolerate
outrageous demands such as driving one to live in the storage room.

Li Yong surprisingly made a complicated expression at Ming Xian‟s question.

“She was ecstatic about moving out to the storage room, saying that she obtained her own
room.”
Ming Xian blanked out for a moment after hearing that.

Wouldn‟t one normally get mad, or else complain in tears when in that outrageous situation?

The truth was, he sent Li Yong in order to intervene. He thought Yui Mei could become a maid,
instead.

“…What a peculiar girl.”

“I also thought the same.”

Li Yong also agreed after he finally expressed his impression.

“I tried to glean the details while I asked whether she was dissatisfied, but our conversation was
cut short because Lady Wang arrived.”

Apparently, Yui Mei was summoned to clean Lady Wang‟s residence, and was offered manju
after her work was done. Lady Wang must be pleased with her, since she even prepared
snacks for a court lady with low status.

“I was also invited to join them since we were together, but His Majesty came, and they
accidentally met.”

So his father sneaked out of the study, and went to his favored woman. It‟s no wonder the
amount of memorials suddenly increased.

“How was it?”

„What reaction did Yui Mei have in front of the emperor?’

Ming Xian leaned forward on his desk. Li Yong solemnly replied.

“Apparently, she thought manju was more important than His Majesty.”

Although she was initially shocked at meeting the emperor, she did not show any extraordinary
reaction. She was even concerned at the manju‟s outcome, because the emperor came.

For her, the emperor‟s priority was way below the manju she got after working.

“…What a peculiar girl.”

Ming Xian repeated, and Li Yong once again agreed.

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T/N: Lol, how could the ML (?) win the heart of the maiden, when he‟s going around as a
eunuch lol.. The road to a dense wifey is quite long, too.. :)

*I can‟t bring myself to include (–sama), it‟s been an ongoing internal debate, really. Having the
Japanese honorifics retained would make it a lot easier to express reverence, but on the other
hand, the setting of the story is China, so that would be totally weird.
Technically, it would be: “Ming Xian -sama, I have returned”. But I feel it‟s weird, considering he
was addressing the crown prince after all, and Ancient China placed great importance on
distinction of status.

And so, instead of saying “I” directly, I resorted to using “this one”, “this servant” “this humble
one” etc. since those were commonly terms used in chinese web novels I read :D Ah, but when
they were alone, Li Yong naturally used “I”, though his tone was definitely formal compared to
how he addressed Yui Mei.

What do you guys think? :)