My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Zhu Di walked to the door, looked down at the pitch-black building below, turned his head and looked at Old Zhu with a look of utter despair.

"It's so dark down there, I can't see anything at all!"

"Give!"

Liu Che pulled out a flashlight from somewhere.

He pushed the switch, and the flashlight immediately shone a beam of light.

Zhu Di: ? ? ?

"Where did you come from?"

I saw it at Manager Chen's shop and bought it because I thought it was interesting.

Liu Che handed the flashlight to Zhu Di.

"It just so happens that I need it now!"

"Remember to get me a bucket too, I want it spicy!"

After Li Shimin heard this...

"Then please get me a bucket as well."

Ying Zheng saw this.

"Then I want one too!"

Zhu Di looked at Li Shimin and the others who did nothing but offer opinions.

"You fucking...you're all pushing your luck, trying to freeload, aren't you?"

Zhu Di immediately cursed him.

"Go get it yourself if you want some!!! I'm only taking two buckets anyway!"

"Then give me back my flashlight!!!"

Liu Che extended his hand.

Zhu Di: ...

"Okay, okay! Here, take it!"

"As for the others..."

"The instant noodles you took were bought with my money!"

Li Shimin said expressionlessly.

"So, theoretically speaking, you're eating my instant noodles."

Zhu Di frowned.

"So what do you want?"

"It's simple, just get me a bucket too, I want the spicy one! And preferably a bottle of cola as well."

"grass!!!"

Zhu Di cursed and was about to leave when he turned back before even stepping out the door.

"By the way, what do instant noodles look like?"

"It's a flour bucket, one of those bucket-type containers! It's about this big, you can tell just by touching it, it should be in the kitchen area."

Liu Che gestured to his name.

Zhu Di nodded and gently closed the door.

Ying Zheng's voice came from behind.

"Don't forget to bring this for me!"

"Fine, fine! One or two bastards!"

Zhu Di cursed under his breath, grabbed a flashlight, and followed the handrail down the stairs.

My foot had just stepped on it.

"Crunch...creak..."

A very faint sound came from the soles of my feet.

Although small, it was exceptionally clear in the deathly quiet courtyard.

Zhu Di's muscles tensed instantly, and his ears stood up straight.

A few seconds passed, and there was only silence.

He slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding and discovered that his back was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"What kind of lousy ladder is this! And it even makes noise!"

Zhu Di cursed angrily, but his voice was very soft.

Then he felt like something was wrong.

No!

All I did was go get some instant noodles.

Why are you so nervous?

Zhu Di thought to himself.

But she still tiptoed downstairs.

The lobby was even darker than upstairs, but thankfully there were flashlights, so Zhu Di could still see roughly what was going on.

The familiar counters, tables, and chairs appeared somewhat strange and even menacing in the dim light.

He looked into Chen Mo's room; it was pitch black.

"That kid goes to bed pretty early."

Zhu Di grumbled and, relying on his memory, made his way into the kitchen.

He tiptoed, his fingertips lightly brushing against the cold walls and table edges, afraid of touching anything that might wake Chen Mo.

Finally, my fingertips touched the rough wood grain of the low cabinet.

He crouched down, held his breath, and carefully opened the cabinet door—

"Squeak—"

Another screeching sound amplified in the silence.

Zhu Di felt a chill run down his spine and immediately stopped what he was doing, focusing intently on listening once more.

Fortunately, there were still only faint chirping sounds of night insects in the distance.

"Damn it! How can Chen's hotel be so awful! They don't even know how to put oil on it!"

Zhu Di cursed inwardly as he reached into the cabinet.

There were quite a few things inside, and the textures were mixed.

There was the rustling of plastic bags, the sharp edges of cardboard boxes, and round jars.

Cylindrical...

found it!

When his fingers touched that familiar barrel-shaped outline, Zhu Di felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment and excitement.

The feeling came so suddenly that even he was taken aback.

When he commanded thousands of troops to conquer Nanjing and led five expeditions to the northern deserts, forcing the Mongol tribes to submit, he felt boundless pride and the exhilaration of being in complete control.

And now, in this unfamiliar, dark night of the future, like the most clumsy thief, he successfully stole a few buckets of cheap instant noodles.

What welled up inside me was a completely different kind of excitement, one that was both taboo and comical.

Wait a moment?

This isn't right!

Would the mighty Emperor Yongle be excited to secretly take a bowl of instant noodles?

The feeling was like... like sneaking out of school as a child to steal birds' nests, hiding behind the strict teacher.

Even though he knew he would be beaten by his father if he was caught, he still did it often.

That secret joy of both fearing discovery and indulging in breaking the rules.

Since becoming emperor, I have rarely felt this way again.

Oh shit!

What are you thinking!

We need to grab some instant noodles right away!

Zhu Di snapped out of his daze and carefully pulled the instant noodles out of the cabinet door, which was only slightly ajar.

One bucket... two buckets... three buckets... five buckets!

Mission accomplished, retreat!

Zhu Di quietly closed the cabinet door, then turned around with his spoils in hand.

He then realized that because he was holding the instant noodles, he couldn't use a flashlight at all.

If you can't take it, then don't take it!

Zhu Di gritted his teeth.

They walked outside in the dark.

"Bang!"

"Bang—crash!"

Zhu Di's knee slammed directly into the corner of a hard wooden table.

The top bucket of instant noodles slipped from his arms and fell to the ground with a thud.

Finished!

Zhu Di's mind went blank for a moment, and he froze on the spot, only internally cursing Ying Zheng and Liu Che...

Why the hell did he have to carry so many buckets?!

His body remained stiff for a long time before he finally breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that there was still no movement in Chen Mo's room.

"That kid is just like a pig!"

Zhu Di sighed inwardly, picked up the instant noodles, and tiptoed back upstairs to the second floor.

As soon as he closed the door, Zhu Di put down the instant noodles.

"Damn it! They insisted I go get it; I almost lost my reputation as the Yongle Emperor!!!"

Zhu Di cursed angrily.

Liu Che and the others exchanged glances. Seeing the annoyed Zhu Di, they didn't refute him much, but instead smiled and said...

"Okay, okay! You choose first then?"

"That's more like it!"

Zhu Di's gaze swept over several buckets of instant noodles, finally settling on the chicken soup.

"I want this one."

"Then I'll have the spicy one!"

"Let's have this mushroom and chicken soup too!"

The group then selected what they wanted.

"How should this be eaten?"

Old Zhu looked at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin chuckled, picked up the freshly boiled water, tore open the instant noodle cup, put in the seasoning packet, and poured it in.

Instantly, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Both Zhu Di (the Hongwu Emperor) and Ying Zheng (the Qin Emperor) were dumbfounded.

They also followed Li Shimin's example and poured in the hot water.

Smelling the chicken soup inside, Old Zhu looked on incredulously.

"How is that possible?"

"Just pouring some water is fine?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Li Shimin chuckled.

"It's that simple."

"Therefore, I have ordered a large quantity to boost the morale of my soldiers before the battle!"

"interesting."

Old Zhu stroked his chin.

"I just don't know how it tastes."

Li Shimin smiled but said nothing.

After a while

"Slurp—"

Old Zhu took a big bite first, his breath coming in gasps from the heat, but his eyes lit up.

"Hmm! This stuff has a strong flavor, salty and savory, much better than the dry biscuits we ate on the march! It's just that the meat is a bit of a rip-off."

"It really does smell...it really does smell good!"

Zhu Di slurped his instant noodles, speaking indistinctly.

"Shopkeeper Chen has such good stuff, why didn't you bring it out sooner!"

Ying Zheng was also slurping up instant noodles, unable to stop.

Liu Che slurped up a mouthful of instant noodles and clicked his tongue.

He said this stuff has no nutritional value and is too oily and salty.

"That brat's gotten too used to the good life!"

Old Zhu snorted with displeasure.

"Let him come visit us sometime! He'll see what a wonderful life he's living when he gets back!"

"If he dared to be that arrogant back home, we'd make sure he knew what it meant to be born into this world."