In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

Chapter 94 Huai En is still alive

The two walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the main hall they had just left.

"Old Man Song!"

"Little Yi! You brat, all these years have passed, and you don't even greet your grandpa when we meet!"

"Who made you disappear without a trace? You caused me to be discharged from the army and go home."

"If you hadn't switched careers and gone home, hadn't taken over the restaurant, would you have been able to come here?"

"Anyway, you're always right."

"Your Majesty, please have your meal first. After you've finished talking, may you have him come home with me to see them?"

"Of course you can. Why don't you go back and prepare first, Lao Song?" Zhu Youcheng said, then pulled Song Xiaoyi to sit down facing him.

"Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that I really can't leave today. Old Master Huai'en is not feeling well, and I have to go and see him."

"Huai'en? Huai'en is still alive?! Oh, Brother Zhu is here, it's normal that Huai'en is alive. Grandpa, don't worry, I know medicine and I brought some medicine. I'll go see him after dinner."

"Brother Xiao Yi, you brought medicine? Western or Chinese medicine?!" Upon hearing that Song Xiao Yi had brought medicine and knew medicine, Zhu Youcheng's eyes suddenly lit up. He abruptly stood up, grabbed Song Xiao Yi's wrist, and said, "Come with me to treat Grandpa Huai En first!"

He practically dragged the person out.

Let's not eat it for now. Song Xiaoyi has already had her fill of shocking gossip all day.

"Wait a minute, I'll take these vegetables first."

Storing the food in the spatial dimension would both keep it warm and prevent poisoning, and avoid waste. Otherwise, once the three of them left, this carefully prepared meal would only benefit the palace servants.

Zhu Youcheng pulled Song Xiaoyi straight to Huai'en's residence. Song Xiaoyi originally thought that Huai'en had fallen ill due to the severe cold in the palace, but unexpectedly, there was a coal stove for heating in the hall, making it warm and cozy.

Come to think of it, they are all time travelers, and making coal stoves, a common survival tool in folk culture, is a basic skill.

"Brother Zhu, this palace isn't as cold as I imagined," Song Xiaoyi said after taking Old Huai'en's pulse. "It seems that Grandpa Huai'en's illness originated from his time guarding the imperial tombs."

"Your Majesty, this old servant is too old to walk and should have joined the late Emperor long ago. Why bother finding a doctor for this old servant?"

"Grandpa Huai, Tang'er will not allow you to die. I want you to watch Tang'er rebuild this Ming Dynasty."

"Xiao Yi, is there any medicine to treat Grandpa's illness?"

"Of course there are. Let me tell you, this is an advanced medical skill given to me by the system. There is no disease that I cannot cure."

Song Xiaoyi took out a large pile of Western and Chinese medicine from his spatial storage, arranged them in order, and assigned them to each meal perfectly.

After Huai'en took the medicine, Song Xiaoyi placed the hot dishes on the stone table in the courtyard and took out osmanthus wine. "Brother Zhu, why don't you have a meal here and try this wine?"

"The food is still hot! Your space is amazing! Is time frozen inside?"

"Yes, because time stood still, the hot dishes were perfectly preserved."

As the medicine took effect, a sliver of color returned to Huai'en's face. Old Man Song gently pushed the wheelchair into the courtyard and settled the old man into a bamboo recliner. Huai'en closed his eyes, basking in the warm sunlight; his wrinkles smoothed out, as if he had finally shed a heavy burden of many years.

"Brother Zhu, can you taste anything in this wine?"

"Osmanthus wine, but it doesn't taste as good as the osmanthus wine brewed by Lao Song."

"Hehe, this is modern Meijian, a mass-produced wine from a factory. I used it to fool Tang Bohu and the others."

"Didn't see it?"

"Meijian, there was no Meijian in the era before you came? Then what year did you come from?"

"23 years? Or 22 years? Sigh—"

"22 years, nine months, and three days. This old servant has remembered it for you."

"It's been almost 23 years? It's 2018 now, did you travel back in 1996?"

"That's right, it was 1996. Springtime."

"No, Brother Zhu, does Old Huai'en know you're from another time?"

"He knew perfectly well what was going on. When Zhu Youcheng died and I came here, he knew I wasn't alone anymore. But he still protected me without hesitation. I always thought he didn't know, until I ascended the throne and brought him back from the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum, and only then did he tell the truth."

"You're so tight-lipped!"

"Young man, if you can't keep your mouth shut, will you live to see Tang'er ascend the throne?"

Hahaha~~

"Old Song, he looks a lot like you. Those two brothers don't even hide their conversation from you. Is he your grandson?"

They say you're senile, but I say you're not senile at all, and it's true.

"Alas, I am old and frail, and should have joined the late emperor in the underworld."

"Xiao Yi, how's Lao Song's cooking?"

"It's on par with my skills. I'm not bragging, but I've surpassed my teacher."

"You little brat, you're really not being polite."

After finishing their meal in Huai'en's courtyard, Old Song called in a young eunuch from the imperial kitchen to clean up the mess. Zhu Youcheng then led Song Xiaoyi out of Huai'en's room and headed back.

"Little Yi, look, my palace is right next door." Zhu Youcheng gestured as he walked, introducing the houses along the way. "I had Grandpa Huai'en live next door so that if there's a problem, I can find out immediately. It's all thanks to your grandfather that Grandpa Huai'en came; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived three years ago."

"I find that strange too. According to history, Huaien should have died the year you ascended the throne, right? Why is it that he should have died three years ago?"

"The historical records are inaccurate. When I ascended the throne, my grandfather was in very good health, but there were too many enemies at the time. In order to protect him, I deliberately announced his death to the public."

"You guys really know how to have fun."

"In the following years, there were many changes in the palace. Grandpa Huai's health deteriorated and his emotions became unstable."

"Until more than three years ago, when your grandfather came, I put him in charge of the imperial kitchen. He used food therapy to regulate Grandpa Huai's body and would push him out to bask in the sun whenever he had free time. The two old men often chatted, and Grandpa Huai's health and mood improved a lot."

"Brother Zhu, your feelings for Old Huai'en are so sincere. It must have been very dangerous back then, didn't it?"

"Surviving in the palace is no easy feat. Even though I was a time traveler back then, I was still just a child. Without any help, how could I possibly defeat Consort Wan's faction? I could barely save my own life!"

"Don't let Grandpa Huai's status as a eunuch and his timid demeanor fool you; his wisdom and experience in struggle are no less than those of the officials."

"Just as you said, if it weren't for Huai En back then, I, a time traveler, wouldn't be alive today."

"Brother Zhu, you said over there that the Yongle Encyclopedia was your mission, what's that all about? And why don't you go back?"

"Go back? How can I go back? I've traveled back from another time, can I? I can't even leave this palace."

"They can't even leave the palace?"

"Whenever I leave the palace, I inevitably fall into the water; there's no way to avoid it."

"If you don't leave the palace, can you remain emperor for a few more years?"

"I understand what you mean. According to historical records, I lived until my death in the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, which is 1505 AD, right?"

"The time limit indicated by my system is until that time. During this period, I can do whatever I want, as long as I don't change history or go too far, there will be no major problems."