Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Gu Yannian listened quietly, a hint of understanding flashing in his deep eyes.

Excessive thirst, excessive appetite, frequent urination, obesity, fatigue and weakness, coupled with slow wound healing.

These symptoms, taken together, were all too obvious to a time traveler with common sense from the future.

Diabetes mellitus, also known as Xiao Ke Zheng, is what later generations called diabetes.

Moreover, judging from Zhu Gaochi's condition, he was already terminally ill.

Historically, Emperor Hongxi died suddenly after reigning for only ten months.

Historical records are vague about the cause of his death, often attributing it to excessive indulgence in sex or mental illness.

But Gu Yannian saw it all. This kind of unrestrained intake of high-sugar and high-fat foods, coupled with the heavy pressure of government affairs, was alarming.

Zhu Gaochi's already riddled body was at risk of collapsing completely at any moment due to complications.

Inside the main hall, the old eunuch served another bowl of lily and lotus seed soup made with honey.

Just as Zhu Gaochi was about to reach out to take it, Gu Yannian suddenly stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

Zhu Gaochi paused, and seeing Gu Yannian's solemn expression, he waved for the eunuch to take the soup away.

"Yan Nian, between you and me, the sovereign and his subject, why the need for such beating around the bush? Has something gone wrong with the Ministry of Revenue?"

"This is not a matter concerning the Ministry of Revenue, but rather a matter concerning His Majesty's health."

Gu Yannian stepped forward, his gaze falling on the sweet pastries on the small table.

"Your Majesty, I just noticed that you were drinking sweet soup and that you had a cold sweat on your face. In my younger days, I traveled to the countryside and met a wandering Taoist priest who was well-versed in traditional Chinese medicine."

"The Taoist priest once said that there is a disease in the world called diabetes."

Zhu Gaochi's brows twitched slightly: "Diabetes? The imperial physicians have also mentioned this name, only saying that it is caused by heat in the lungs and stomach."

"What the Taoist priest said is slightly different from what the imperial physician said."

Gu Yannian spoke in a calm and measured tone, recounting his story in a gentle and detailed manner.

"The Taoist priest said that this disease often occurs in people who are plump and often eat rich and greasy food. The root of the disease is not external heat, but the abnormal 'transformation' in the body. If we compare the human body to a mill, the grains are the grains fed into the mill. In an ordinary person, the mill runs smoothly, turning the grains into strength."

"For those suffering from diabetes, the mill is already worn out. If they are given large amounts of extremely sweet and refined foods, not only will they not be able to convert them into strength, but they will also accumulate in their blood vessels and turn into poison."

He paused, then pointed to Zhu Gaochi's legs.

"When the toxins in the blood accumulate, they will damage the skin and pores, causing wounds to ulcerate, ooze pus, and fail to heal for a long time."

"If this continues, the poison will attack the heart, and there is a risk to life."

Zhu Gaochi felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

The imperial physicians always spoke in a cryptic and obscure way, quoting classical texts, leaving him completely bewildered.

Gu Yannian's metaphor of a "mill" is easy to understand and hits the nail on the head.

What alarmed him even more was that Gu Yannian's description of the festering wound and blood stasis was exactly the same as his own experience!

"This... then according to the old Taoist priest, how should this illness be treated?"

Zhu Gaochi asked anxiously, his clothes soaked with sweat.

Gu Yannian remained calm and composed.

"The Taoist priest left behind a set of methods for maintaining health. The most important of these is to control one's appetite."

"Any sweets with added honey or maltose are strictly prohibited. Refined white rice and white flour should be reduced, and more whole grains such as brown rice and millet should be consumed."

"As for that kind of grilled fatty meat, you should stay away from it and eat light vegetables and stewed fish instead."

"Especially bitter melon and winter melon, which are very beneficial for this disease."

"besides,"

Gu Yannian glanced at Zhu Gaochi's massive body.

"You still need to exercise your muscles and bones every day. It doesn't have to be strenuous. Just take a slow walk in the Imperial Garden for half an hour to improve blood circulation and help the mill get back on track."

The main hall was completely silent.

Zhu Gaochi looked at the pastries he usually loved on the table, swallowed hard, his eyes filled with reluctance and struggle.

For a fat man who loves to eat, giving up sweets and barbecue is harder than cutting off his own flesh.

"This... we can't even have any meat or sweets?"

Zhu Gaochi asked with a bitter face.

Gu Yannian lowered his head and looked away.

"Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease. Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, with the whole country in your heart. You are implementing new policies, and the Ming Dynasty still needs Your Majesty to steer it."

"If the emperor's health were harmed due to momentary gluttony, wouldn't it cause the people of the world to lament and sigh with regret?"

These words struck Zhu Gaochi right where it hurt.

His reign was short, and his great undertaking of abolishing corrupt practices and redressing wrongful convictions had only just begun.

Although Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji remained in Nanjing, undercurrents were still swirling among figures like the Prince of Han in the court.

He desperately wanted to live, desperately wanted to witness firsthand the creation of a truly peaceful and prosperous world.

Zhu Gaochi gritted his teeth, a resolute look appearing on his fat face.

"Alright! I'll listen to you!"

He slammed his hand on the armrest.

"Guards! Remove all these sweet and cloying dishes! Issue an edict to the Imperial Kitchen: from this day forward, all my meals shall be prepared according to the rules set forth by Vice Minister Gu!!"

The eunuchs outside the hall were so frightened that they rushed inside and cleared the food off the table.

Upon seeing this, Gu Yannian bowed slightly.

"Your Majesty is wise and steadfast; your health will surely remain good. Your humble servant in the Ministry of Revenue still has a few salt tax accounts to settle. If Your Majesty has no further instructions, I shall take my leave."

"Go on, go on. The Ministry of Revenue has a heavy burden, so don't overwork yourself. When it's time to leave the office at dusk, do so. Don't ruin your health like I have."

Zhu Gaochi now trusted Gu Yannian completely.

Gu Yannian left Qianqing Palace and looked at the sky.

The sun was blazing.

He walked steadily toward the Ministry of Revenue.

A sense of curiosity, which he himself was unaware of, arose in his heart.

Zhu Gaochi, in history, died in May of the first year of the Hongxi reign.

Can my dietary intervention today, based on common sense in modern medicine, really pull this terminally ill, obese emperor back from the brink of death in this ancient world without insulin?

Those who live long do not wish to be tainted by karma.

But now that he has entered the court to govern, he is already in the midst of it.

He relieved Zhu Gaochi of the heaviest financial burden of the Ministry of Revenue, saving the emperor from the torment of working late into the night on paperwork.

Now they've adjusted his fatal eating habits.

"If he could really live for another three to five years, or even ten or eight years..."

Gu Yannian's lips curled into a slight smile.

Then the history of the Ming Dynasty truly deviated from its original course.

Without Emperor Xuande's hasty ascension to the throne, Prince Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion might have been nipped in the bud.

Those figures who were originally destined to make their mark in the torrent of history will also face unknown twists and turns in their fates.

For a spectator who has been watching the same boring "script" for decades, this is undoubtedly a highly attractive change.

He was eager to see just how much of a storm he, this butterfly that had inadvertently flapped its wings, could stir up in the Ming Dynasty.