「そなたは、名はなんと?」
けれどこの質問に、雨妹はニコリと微笑んだ。
「名乗るほどのものではありません。
「掃除係だと......? その威圧感で?」
――私、この人キライだな。
雨妹はそう心に刻みつつ、言葉を続ける。
「ただ、頼まれてたまに看護をすることはございますが。
思えば初めてまともに会話が成立していると言える明が、目を丸くする。
そして、ようやく本来の頼みごとに取り掛かれるのかと、ここまでの長い道のりにため息を吐く。
――全く、手のかかる大人だなぁ、この人って!
「そういうことで、ここからが私の本当のお仕事です。
「なに......!?」
「おうよ、まかせろ!」
怯える明を、李将軍は下着姿にしてしまうまで、さして時間はかからなかった。
それから、どうなったかというと。
明は特別に、医局の
「こんなにわかりやすい症状が全部出ているとは、すごいな!」
雨妹から事前に話を聞いていた陳も、いっそ明の状態に感動したようで、あらかじめ連れて来ていた知り合いの絵師に明の姿を描かせていた。
「これで、医術が一歩前進しますね」
そう言って「ハハハ」と笑い合う雨妹と陳の会話を、明が震えながら恐ろし気に眺めている。
「おめぇは、妙なところで肝っ玉が小せぇなぁ」
その様子を、明の上司として立ち会っている李将軍が呆れた様子で見るのだった。
そんなことをやっていると、いつの間にか中秋節となっていた。
中秋節は、どこの宮の台所でも月餅作りに忙しい。
季節の行事を華やかに行うことが、宮の格を上げることになるからだ。
そんな中、
月餅はおそらくあちらでも既に手に入れているだろうが、たとえ被ったとしても、雨妹であれば食べ比べができると喜ぶだろうと思っている。
そして宦官服に着替えるため、隠し部屋のある物置に入ろうとして、一応周囲を確認していると。
そう背後から呼ばれ、見れば李将軍がいた。
「......そうです」
李将軍からの問いかけに、立勇は頷くに留める。
そんな彼が、わざわざ立勇を呼び止めるとは、なにかのっぴきならない用事でもあるのだろうか?
そう考えた立勇が緊張していると。
「あのいつかお前さんが連れていた娘っ子、ずいぶんな貫禄だなぁ。
言われたことは、雨妹についてであった。
――あの後、李将軍が雨妹の外出に付き添ったのだったか。
明賢が気にしていた情報の一つを思い浮かべ、立勇は眉をひそめる。
李将軍を動かせるのは、皇帝を置いて他にいない。
かのお方は、一体どういうつもりで李将軍を雨妹に付き添わせたのか?
そしてそれほどのことが、あの明にあるのか?
明賢はそこをとても気にしていた。
「......あの娘、なにかやらかしましたか?」
立勇が慎重に問いかけるのに、李将軍が「そうじゃねぇが」と首を横に振って話すには。
「まあそれは、わかりますが」
雨妹が底知れないというか、たまに意味不明な言動をするのは、立勇にとってはいつものことであるのだが。
しかし、続いた言葉にギョッとする。
まるで戦場での陛下のようであった」
――李将軍の前でなにをしたのだ、あの娘は!?
頭痛がしそうになるのを堪える立勇に、李将軍がにやけ顔ながらも鋭い目を向けてくる。
「生まれ以外にもありゃあ、なにか不思議があるぞ?」
戦場で敵を見分けるようなその目に、立勇はぐっと背筋に力を入れる。
「それがなんなのか、気にならねぇか?」
立勇の言葉に、畳みかけるように李将軍が聞いてくる。
これに、立勇は微かに迷った末、口を開く。
「気にならないと言えば、嘘になりますが。
「ほぅ」
キッパリと断言する立勇に、李将軍が眉を上げる。
「多少おかしな言動がありますが。
立勇の言葉に、李将軍が目を丸くすると、「ガハハ」と大口を開けて笑った。
「なるほど、そうかもしれねぇな!」
そう告げて、満足そうな顔をした李将軍は、ふらりとどこかへと去っていく。
――全く、気を揉まされることだ。
あの娘は離れていても心臓に悪いことをしてくれる、と立勇は大きく息を吐いた。
"What's your name?"
However, Yui Mei just smiled in response.
"I'm not a person who is important enough to name herself. I'm just a lowly housekeeper at the Hundred Blossom Palace."
"Housekeeper?... With that intimidating aura of yours?"
'Ah, I hate this guy.'
Yui Mei etched that grudge in her mind, then she retorted.
"Well, I occasionally provide nursing care upon request. Just like this time, I'm here because Aunty Yang asked me to come."
It could be said that it was the first time they could hold a proper conversation with this Ming, whose eyes were currently popping out in shock.
Yui Mei heaved a sigh. It had been quite a ride before they could finally start the errand that was entrusted to her.
'Argh, what a troublesome adult guy you are!'
"And so, my true job begins now. I'm going to do a quick full body examination, so General Li, please strip this guy's clothes!"
"What...!?"
"Gotcha, leave it to me!"
It didn't take long for General Li to strip the frightened Ming down to his underwear.
So what happened after that?
They requested Doctor Chen to especially pay a visit to Ming's mansion.
"Whoa, all the symptoms are so obvious and they're so easy to grasp!! Amazing!!"
Chen already heard the situation from Yui Mei beforehand, but he was still brimming with excitement when he saw Ming's condition. He asked his painter friend that he had taken along with him to draw Ming's portrait.
"The medical arts will advance thanks to this, right."
Yui Mei and Chen were laughing together while Ming shivered in terror as he stared at them.
"You're a chicken-hearted guy in a strange way, huh."
General Li, who was present as his supervisor, watched him with disgust.
With all these happenings, it was already the Mid- Autumn Festival before they noticed.
The kitchens of all palaces were busy making mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The festive events of the seasons were held as flamboyantly as possible, because it was said to raise the prestige of the palace.
In the midst of such festivities, Li Yong carried some sweet dumplings and mooncakes wrapped in the bundle as he passed through the Qianqing Gate on his way to the Inner Palace.
She probably already had some mooncakes too, but knowing Yui Mei, even if it was redundant, she would still happily gobble them up while comparing the taste.
He checked his surroundings first. He was about to enter the storage house and go to the hidden room he used when changing into his eunuch garb, when --
Somebody called from behind him. General Li was standing there when he turned around.
"...yes."
Li Yong stopped and nodded in response to General Li's query.
Such a person purposely went out of his way to call out and stop him, so maybe he had something urgent that he wanted to discuss?
Li Yong became nervous at the thought.
"That lassie that you took along that time -- she's quite a dignified girl, isn't she. I really can't see her as a little chick that has just come of age."
So it was about Yui Mei.
'So, it's true that General Li accompanied Yui Mei on her trip after that.'
Li Yong frowned when he recalled one of the pieces of information that bothered Ming Xian.
There was no one else who could order General Li except for the emperor.
Then, what was that esteemed person's purpose for making General Li accompany Yui Mei?
And was Ming important enough to make him do that?
Ming Xian was extremely bothered about this point.
"... Did that girl do something?"
Li Yong carefully asked, but General Li shocked his head in response.
"Well, I do understand where you're coming from."
Rather than unfathomable, Yui Mei was a person who said and did things that usually didn't make sense, and Li Yong was already used to it.
However, General Li's next words caught him off guard.
"Yeah, that roar isn't something that belongs to a lassie who doesn't really know anything about the world. She sounded just like His Majesty when he was on the battlefield."
'What the heck did that girl do in front of General Li!'
Li Yong was about to have a headache so he tried to endure it, when General Li suddenly turned his sharp gaze towards him while broadly grinning.
"Aside from her birth, there are a lot of things about her that make you wonder, no?"
That gaze of his was like looking at the enemy on the battlefield, so Li Yong straighten his back.
"You're not curious about what those are?"
It sounded as if General Li was grilling him for answers.
Li Yong hesitated for a bit, before answering him.
"It will be a lie if I say that I'm not bothered. Perhaps, she must be "Yui Mei", with all that queerness included. His Highness Ming Xian must have also thought the same."
"Hoh."
Li Yong responded flatly, so General Li raised a brow.
"The way she speak and act is strange, more or less. But if it weren't for those things, wouldn't it make you feel a bit unsatisfied?"
General Li widened his eyes when he heard Li Yong's words, then he burst into laughter.
"I see, that's probably true!"
General Li looked satisfied, then he turned and drifted away to somewhere else.
'Good grief, making me all worked up.'
Li Yong heaved a deep sigh. That girl was really bad for the heart, even though she was not with him.
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ