Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Well, next time." Victoria nodded, "We still have a long, long time to spend together. There's no need to rush."

She leaned back and said, "Let's go, Grani."

The car started. As if she was the master, Grani obeyed her orders. This was the coercion from the functional structure, different from submission to Shangluo, but the result was similar.

"Ahahahahaha!" Victoria suddenly laughed after the car drove a few steps.

"What happened?"

"The name Fat Brother is so funny, why did I think of it?"

"You know it's funny too! I almost couldn't hold it in just now. And why is your sense of humour as long as a sloth's?"

“Well, my brain was so fresh just now that I think I haven’t yet loaded the funny part. Ahahahaha~~”

"I'm so scared." Looking at Victoria who was laughing wildly, Shangluo hunched his shoulders, "I'm starting to worry about my future."

[What did I say? He has a different personality in the morning, afternoon and evening. I have a new feeling every day. I will never get tired of him. Isn’t he cute~~]

“Ahahaha~~” She pounded Shangluo’s shoulder, “It’s okay, I’m here. Ahaha~~ I’ve been holding it in for so long, my sense of humor is as long as a sloth’s, and it’s even funnier. Ahahaha~~”

Chapter 1002 Menu

"So, Victoria is really coming?" Zhu Ling asked Phaethon behind the big menu.

"Yeah. I confirmed with Apollonia, she's really coming."

"I say." Yanqiu, who was sitting in the middle, tilted her head and asked, "The Roman emperor is here. Is it not good for me to sit in the middle?"

This meal was her treat, because she lived in Jinling Hotel, and she arrived earlier than the other two. She didn't actually sit facing the door, but when Phaethon came in, he sat on her left, and Zhu Ling sat on the right, so she was sitting in the middle.

Although for other ordinary high school students of this age, this doesn't matter at all. After all, many people call their parents "godfathers" or "godmothers" or something like that, and many of them may already have children and grandchildren or parents everywhere.

But Victoria is coming today. Theoretically, she is outside the "circle". Yanqiu feels that she can no longer be so casual.

She knew how to sit when she was not being casual. After all, she and Sa Tianshi had gone out to eat together more than once or twice. They had to eat when filming was about to end, and they had to eat while discussing roles.

"That's fine. Just sit there." Phaethon pointed to the right, "In Roman banquets, those who sit on the right are the most respected."

As a true Roman, Phaethon spoke his common sense.

"That's great." Zhu Ling said, "Let Victoria sit there. What do you think, Yanqiu?"

"Yeah." Yanqiu nodded, "But can I ask what the reason is?"

This is a good opportunity. Yanqiu wants to learn more about foreign customs, maybe it will come in handy someday. Later, there may be a segment to be processed for cooperation with Rome, and then I am afraid that I will have to eat with the Romans.

"That's what happened." Phaethon pointed at the half circle of the round table and gestured to cut a semicircle:

"At Roman banquets, people sit on an Ω-shaped, semicircular sofa, and the dishes are placed in the middle. The size of the banquet is usually very small, about four or five people, usually no more than six people. Because there is generally no need for so many people of the same level to gather together to discuss."

"Then why must it be on the right side?" Yanqiu asked.

"That's actually why." Phaethon drew a swastika in the air.

"In the beginning, it was not a semicircular seat, but three couches stacked on top of each other. One seat was left for serving food, and the remaining three seats were for lying down to eat. But it was inconvenient to turn around when eating, so they had to talk face to face. In other words, the host and the guest had to sit opposite each other, and the others sat in the middle. If you were not the host, you had to sit in the best seat, because sometimes you might need something from the guest, or an important elder would come to visit. So the most distinguished person, not the host, sat on the right."

"I see." Yanqiu dotted in the air and took notes, "Then how should the remaining people sit?"

"From left to right, the importance gradually increases. So the least important, youngest guest sits next to the host. This is because Roman nobles had the habit of supporting each other, so letting young people and powerful people sit closer is more conducive to communication."

Yanqiu suddenly stopped. She looked at Phaethon and asked, "Is this the kind of communication I was thinking of?"

Phaethon nodded: "It's the kind of communication you think."

"Sure enough, there are no shortage of such people everywhere. This is also an inevitable part of social interaction." Yanqiu closed the notebook, "I roughly understand it. But there is a question - if Emperor Victoria sits on the right here, who will sit on the left?"

"I will." Zhu Ling sat over by herself. "Although my brother has entrusted the government affairs to Shangluo, I still have to take care of the household affairs. The emperor of Rome is visiting, even if he is only coming in private, I have to receive him solemnly. Miss Yanqiu, I am just borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha this time? Can you please sign for me next time?"

"???" Yan Qiu was stunned for a moment, "Why do I seem to be the one who suffers the loss this time and next time?"

"Didn't I tell you the recipe for that... that steamed bread that someone likes the most?"

"Ah! Yes, that's right." Yanqiu immediately stood up and walked to the left, pulling out a seat for Yanqiu: "Your Highness, please take a seat. Please take care of me next time."

"You're welcome." Zhu Ling sat over. "Next time if you collect any peripherals, can we share them with you?"

"Okay, okay. Next time I definitely won't eat it all by myself."

"." Phaethon covered his forehead and looked at the phone screen helplessly. Shangluo was probably coming soon, fortunately he was not here.

[Tsk, tsk, tsk.] Apollonia sighed, [Fortunately you are not in the box now, otherwise you would see something very interesting.]

“I’m a little scared.”

Victoria sat next to him. The current Victoria was Victoria at eight in the morning, and her aura was as dazzling as the sun. Sitting here, even Shanglu felt a little cramped.

"Are you thinking about me?"

"???"

"Don't be too surprised. This is a manifestation of disharmony. Right now, my perception is at its peak, and I can easily influence others. But as time goes by, my perception peak will reverse to a trough, and I will slide into the pit of 'being influenced by others'. Do I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"I feel that your perception is everywhere." Shangluo answered truthfully, "Even Grani obeys your orders directly."

"I hope to settle into one of the two. What do you think?"

"Um, I don't know which one you want to be stable in?"

Victoria's gaze swept over, and Shangluo felt that her eyes were radiating light invisibly - the light was so bright that she could even see into Victoria's heart.

She longed for the latter.

"???" Shang Luo was stunned for a moment, "I can actually sense what you are thinking?"

"When you gaze at the sun, the sun is also gazing at you. Being able to transmit your divine thoughts is the sun - a power that only gods have. But you can also see that if I have a choice, I would rather choose the latter."

"why?"

"Because... I get tired sometimes." She answered truthfully, "If possible, I would like to not make any choices, not take any responsibilities, and just lazily accept everything."

[In fact, if she chooses the latter, she will become a demon-like existence. Just like the seventy-two demons sealed in the ceremony. Unlike those gods under the sun, demons are inert. ]

"I'll try to make you back to normal." Shangluo looked into her eyes.

"." Victoria was silent for a while, "It's up to you. I trust your decision. If you want to see what I look like at that time."

Chapter 1003 Seat

She glanced at the time. "If nothing goes wrong, it will be around tomorrow morning. I'm still adjusting to jet lag, and tomorrow morning is the time of day that's closest to me. If you think that's when it's more appropriate for me to freeze, then I'll accept your choice."

Shangluo nodded: "Well, wish us good luck. I am quite confident in the medical process, but I still need to figure out the working principle of the stone heart."

"We all have to figure it out in the process. I'm sorry, but this is my personal matter and should have been dealt with when you were more free. Now, you still have to deal with the affairs of the Automaton Kingdom, right?"

"That's fine. I'm busy all the time, not just now. Rather, I have a question for you. Someone just sent me the menu for tonight."

Shangluo forwarded the name of one of the dishes to Victoria:

"So what is this milk-fed snail?"

"A very laborious Roman dish. Let me ask you first, can you accept snails?"

"It's about the same as snails. It's not unacceptable."

"Then the way to eat snails is like this - choose clean snails that are raised in an artificial environment and feed them with milk with salt. This process is mainly to remove dirt from the snail's body and add the flavor of milk."

"Oh, I understand. If you catch aquatic animals with shells, you have to spit out the sand."

"The principle is to spit out the sand. During the soaking process, the milk should be changed frequently to clean the dirt until the dirt is completely spit out."

"I have a question. What if the snail retreats into its shell and can't spit out everything?"

"So you need to use salted milk to soak the snails so that they can't shrink back - this takes about a day to marinate, then remove the internal organs and fry them in oil. The taste is very similar to sea cucumber, with a strong milky aroma and a soft and tough texture. If cooked properly, there should be no odor during the whole process."

"Oh, that's it," Shangluo nodded.

Actually, he had eaten snails before, but he had only eaten snails roasted and spiced in a ceramic dish.

Feeding with milk requires frequent cleaning by manpower, which seems a bit too particular. He has never eaten it.

[Hey, by the way, it seems that it is rare to see such exotic ingredients in banquets here? ]

"Because his Zhu family doesn't like it." Shangluo shook his head. "The Zhu family likes to eat chicken, duck, goose, pig, cattle and sheep. They like to eat big chunks of meat. Even adding some green onions is considered vegetarian."

"I think that's great," Victoria replied. "My father is such a carnivore. He loves meat."

"What about you? What do you like to eat?"

"It's hard for me to say what I really like to eat. I don't pay much attention to the desire for food. But if you ask me what I really like to eat..."

Asking questions from the bottom of your heart, questions that you have never thought about before, even your newly started brain has to think about them.

"Yes, that's it - I like fried bullfrog."

"Fried bullfrog?"

"You guys like bullfrogs, too, right? The way I like to eat them is to grill the bullfrog legs like chicken legs, and eat them like small chicken legs, one bite at a time. As for the sauce, I like the traditional lemon herb sauce, which can neutralize the greasiness of the grilled bullfrogs - because they have to be marinated with oil before grilling."

"Oh, this tastes good."

"Do you want to eat?"

“Can you do it???” Shangluo was stunned.

"How could I possibly cook? I mean, if you want to eat, we can eat tomorrow morning. I can serve the food from my palace."

"Ah, this is great!" Shangluo felt the benefit of having a large group of people living in his house. Is this the treatment an emperor should have? Someone prepared roasted bullfrog for him early in the morning.

[Woo woo woo, your brother has to order takeout if he wants to eat pork elbow in the morning. ]

"He's an exception. His takeout is better than what Guanglu Temple makes."

"My dish is also an exception." Victoria looked at him.

"Ah? What exception?"

Victoria turned her head away, not letting Shangluo look into her eyes: "Guess. It doesn't matter if you can't guess right, you'll know tomorrow morning."

Jinling Hotel, the familiar 3rd floor, which was also the private room where Yanqiu often came to eat.

"I knew it. If we're in this box, Yanqiu is here too, right?"

【I guessed half right.】

"Is Zhu Ling here too?! What is she doing here?"

"Am I redundant here, classmate Shangluo? You are increasingly neglecting the overall situation." Zhu Ling's chat box appeared below.

"When did you join the group?!"

"Didn't you notice that you were talking to her in the group we were having dinner with tonight? Since you walked in just now. Next time you talk, check the group title first."

"No. How many groups do you have? Why do you seem to have a new group every time I see you?"

"Because this group is for Victoria. I'm inviting her." Zhu Ling replied, "My brother is not here, so I should come forward to handle this kind of household affairs. In addition, this is a public place after all, and someone will have to serve the food later, so we can just chat privately in the group. Victoria also has a device in her hand, right? Is it functioning normally?"

"No problem, she's already in the group."

"Ah, welcome, welcome." Yanqiu opened the door of the box from the inside, "This is His Majesty Emperor Victoria, right? Nice to meet you."

"Are you Yanqiu?"

"Does Rome know me?"

"Not now, but we may know everything in the future. I always heard Shangluo talk about him, and after seeing him in person, he is even more handsome than I remembered."

"When did I tell you this?" Shangluo quickly asked in private.

[Look, you have also created a small group. There is still a demand for this. ]

Victoria didn't reply, pretending she hadn't heard him. She looked inside and saw the people sitting in a half-moon shape, and also saw the best seat reserved for her.

On the right side of the room. According to Roman custom, that is the seat for the most important person in the whole banquet. The second most important person sits opposite. And the least important person should sit next to the number one guest for easy communication.

"Ah" she nodded slightly, greeted Yanqiu, reached out and took Shangluo's arm and walked in.

Shangluo staggered as she pulled him. This "eight o'clock in the morning" force actually made him feel somewhat irresistible, as if it was even stronger than Phaethon's.