Mission 24

Shi Nian was hauled back to her room.

She landed heavily on the floor, and as she looked up, she saw Zhu Houzhao lightly flicking his robe before sitting down on the bench across from her with effortless grace. She had not yet recovered from the shock; her mind was a chaotic mess, and her gaze wandered instinctively until she realized the two mountain bandits she had just dealt with were right beside her. They had likely just regained consciousness and hadn't even had their wounds tended to; one of them was covered in blood, looking truly gruesome.

Shi Nian felt too guilty to look again, but Zhu Houzhao would not let her off. He asked with a smile, "Tell me, how did you manage to take them down?"

Shi Nian bit her lip. Zhu Houzhao stroked his chin. "Old Eight said you used some strange hidden weapon, and he was caught off guard, which is why you succeeded. Can you tell me what kind of hidden weapon it was?"

Shi Nian: "..."

Nonsense, of course... she couldn't!

Shi Nian coughed and forced a smile. "No, I didn't use any hidden weapon. I just... launched a sneak attack..."

Zhu Houzhao’s smile deepened. "Oh, so you, a little girl with no strength to truss a chicken, just launched a casual sneak attack and took down two grown men from my Canglong Stronghold?"

Shi Nian was about to nod, but she suddenly realized something was off about that phrasing. Sure enough, in the next second, Zhu Houzhao’s face darkened, and he said coldly, "Then I see they are nothing but useless eaters! The Canglong Stronghold does not keep trash. Drag these two cowards away and beat them to death!"

The two bandits’ legs went weak with terror, and they begged for mercy, but it was useless. People immediately stepped forward to haul them away. Shi Nian’s heart tightened. She knew he was just forcing her to tell the truth, but given his style, it wasn't impossible that he would actually have them killed. Although they were mountain bandits, they had no personal grudge against her; she had already injured them—could she really let them lose their lives as well?

Seeing them being dragged to the door, she suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Zhu Houzhao’s lips curled slightly. He signaled for them to stop and looked at Shi Nian. She took a deep breath, pulled something from her clothes, and held it out. Zhu Houzhao took it and saw it was just an unremarkable stick. He raised an eyebrow. "This?"

Shi Nian nodded. "Yes, I used this to hit them. I’m not lying to you. It’s this—if you don't believe me, look, there’s even blood on it!"

There was indeed dried blood on the tip. Zhu Houzhao remained skeptical. Could this thing alone really have been used to ambush two guards he had personally handpicked?

Shi Nian looked calm. She had figured it out: the taser was out of battery anyway and useless to keep, so giving it to him wouldn't reveal her secret, and she could just find a chance to steal it back before leaving.

With that in mind, she simply spread her hands. "It’s really just this. If you don't believe me, have someone search me. Anything you find is yours."

The girl had a rogue-like expression that was actually quite full of character. Zhu Houzhao raised his eyebrows in amusement, his gaze sweeping over her with a subtle glint. "Anything I find is mine?"

Shi Nian shivered and instinctively covered her chest, her face full of defensiveness. Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao laughed languidly. "Rest assured, this stronghold leader does not force a young lady into things she is unwilling to do."

Shi Nian blinked, wondering uncertainly what he meant. Was he letting her go?

In the next second, Zhu Houzhao yawned. "However, since you do not wish to be my mistress of the stronghold, it is no longer appropriate for you to stay here. You two, lock her in the prisoner camp on the west side. That is where she belongs."

He turned on her just like that!

Shi Nian was stunned for three seconds. Looking at the man’s cold eyes, she slowly stood up, but stopped at the door. "Wait, one more thing."

Zhu Houzhao’s tone was mocking. "What, having regrets?"

Shi Nian shook her head. "Can you answer one question?"

"Speak."

"What year is this?"

Zhu Houzhao was startled, almost suspecting she was joking, yet her expression was incredibly serious. The room remained quiet for a long time until one of the bandits finally answered for him: "The eighth year of Zhengde, November."

Shi Nian let out an "Oh," and ignoring the strange looks from everyone, she muttered, "As I thought..."

This really was the Zhengde Emperor!

As someone poor in history, Shi Nian had no concept of most ancient Chinese emperors, and the Ming Dynasty was even more unfamiliar. Even so, she had heard the name of this Zhengde Emperor—mostly thanks to various TV dramas.

Shi Nian remembered watching a TV series called *Gorgeous Twins* when she was little, a movie called *Chinese Odyssey 2002*, and the famous Peking Opera *The Dragon Playing with the Phoenix*, all of which told stories of the Zhengde Emperor traveling incognito to fall in love with common beauties. After learning that Su Geng and Lu Zhiyao were heading to the Zhengde era, she had temporarily skimmed some materials, learning about his construction of the "Leopard House," his gathering of beauties, and his neglect of imperial duties. She had initially concluded that, unlike the ambitious Liu Che, this was an absurd, fun-loving emperor.

Still, she never expected he would be fun-loving to this extent!

Shi Nian sat in the crude room and sighed heavily. A perfectly good emperor, traveling all the way from Beijing to Hebei, becoming a bandit, and kidnapping a woman—it was truly hard to know what to say about him... but she was the one who was even unluckier, stuck being locked in this place instead of sleeping in a soft bed.

This "prisoner camp" was just a row of simple houses. Recently, it had been filled with bandits captured from the Crouching Tiger Stronghold. Those men were hot-tempered and cursed from morning until night, leaving no peace. Fortunately, the people at the Canglong Stronghold, considering that Shi Nian was a girl, gave her a single room so she didn't have to share with them.

But this wasn't a long-term solution. Shi Nian held her face, deeply worried about her future.

No equipment, no allies, and even her only taser had been confiscated. What was she supposed to do now?

Of course, more importantly, she thought frantically, "Nie Cheng, you bastard, where the hell are you?!"

"Missed me?"

Shi Nian jumped in fright and turned to see Nie Cheng, who had appeared in the room at some point, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching her. Shi Nian stood up in surprise. "You're not dead? How did you get in?!"

As she spoke, she looked toward the door, worried about being discovered. Nie Cheng said, "Don't worry, I lured them all away. We have fifteen minutes."

Shi Nian looked Nie Cheng over and noticed he was wearing winter clothes he must have gotten from somewhere. He looked fine, not like someone who had spent the night freezing in the wilderness, which eased her mind. She had been worried that since he hadn't shown up, something might have happened to him...

"What happened yesterday? Didn't we come together? Where did you go?"

Nie Cheng asked instead of answering, "You encountered Zhu Houzhao the moment you arrived, didn't you?"

Shi Nian wasn't surprised that he knew the stronghold leader was Zhu Houzhao, just as she wasn't surprised he could find her. She nodded. "Yes."

"That makes sense."

"W-what do you mean?"

"The last time was the same. You encountered Liu Che the moment you arrived. Actually, under normal circumstances, when we all travel together, we should stay together, but not you. The first time, you were separated from us."

That time, they had been two streets apart. This time, it was even further; Shi Nian had landed at Crouching Tiger Mountain, while he had landed directly at Canglong Mountain.

Shi Nian said blankly, "So..."

Nie Cheng stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly smiled and flicked her forehead. "So, I suspect your GPS is different from ours; it has an automatic function to search for target characters."

Shi Nian was stunned. What kind of function was that!

She suddenly remembered her special sensitivity to dragon veins—that was an ability they didn't seem to have either...

In the next second, Shi Nian noticed another key point in his words. "Target character? You mean, Zhu Houzhao is our target character?"

Nie Cheng: "Yes. Have you ever heard of Zhu Houzhao being a bandit?"

Shi Nian struggled to recall. She remembered that Zhu Houzhao had appointed himself a general and a Duke of the State, and had personally led troops into battle, but there was indeed no record of him being a bandit...

"So, this is the shifted history?!"

"It should be. If the Ming Wuzong Emperor were to accidentally die while being a bandit, it would be an event significant enough to affect the progress of the Ming Dynasty..."

Shi Nian’s mind raced. If that was the case, what they needed to do next was obvious. Zhu Houzhao shouldn't be here at this time; they had to find a way to make him return to the palace...

But how were they supposed to make him go back?

Shi Nian felt a chill. She looked up and met Nie Cheng’s gaze, covering her chest again. "Don't tell me, you want me to sell my charms again?!"

Nie Cheng: "Who said you had to sell your charms? Miss Shi is so smart, you’ll surely think of another way. Didn't you do a great job with Liu Che last time?"

He only knew how to say nice things at times like this! Shi Nian was furious, but she knew this was indeed the best method at the moment, which made her even angrier. "Why is it always a man? Don't we have any female target characters? You should come and do this kind of work too!"

It was meant as a vent, but unexpectedly, Nie Cheng said, "I have."

"Eh?"

Shi Nian widened her eyes in surprise. Nie Cheng said, "There was one time in the Tang Dynasty. We had to get close to a princess. We originally planned to give her treasures, but she didn't care for the treasures; she took a fancy to me. After a vote, the others unanimously decided to push me to sacrifice myself..."

Shi Nian wanted to laugh, but seeing Nie Cheng’s expression, she restrained herself and feigned seriousness. "Is that so? What did that princess look like? Was she beautiful?"

"Quite beautiful."

"Then you took advantage of it! A beautiful princess—you were defiled, what are you complaining about?"

"Well, the princess's husband probably thought so too, so he sent eight masters to assassinate me. I really lost half my life that time..."

Shi Nian gasped. She hadn't expected it to be so intense. Thinking of someone with his personality being hunted by a princess's husband because of a private affair, she found it hilarious, but she struggled to keep from laughing.

Nie Cheng said, "Now that you've heard my tragic past, is your psychological balance restored?"

Shi Nian coughed lightly. "A little bit."

Seeing that she had quickly settled into her role, Nie Cheng said, "Good. Miss Shi, feel free to improvise in the stronghold. I will also find a way to get in and meet up with you soon."

Shi Nian waved for him to get lost, but remembered something else. "Right, what about Su Geng and Lu Zhiyao?"

"I don't know," Nie Cheng said. "I can only sense they are further north. Judging by the distance, it should be the capital, but we won't know what happened until we meet them."

So, they had to reach the capital as soon as possible, but before that, they had to get Zhu Houzhao to agree to return to the capital.

Shi Nian was full of regrets. If she had known this, she wouldn't have offended Zhu Houzhao last night. Looking at his attitude, he seemed quite annoyed by her, and she didn't know if he would even see her again. If he just threw her to the back of his mind, wouldn't she have no room to maneuver?

With this thought, Shi Nian spent the afternoon feeling nervous, until she finally heard the door open in the evening. "The stronghold leader wants to see you."

Zhu Houzhao was sitting at a stone table in the courtyard. There were wine and food on the table, and he was drinking and enjoying the moonlight, looking very leisurely. It was freezing cold, and yet he could sit there blowing in the wind; Shi Nian admired him.

Seeing Shi Nian, Zhu Houzhao asked with a smile, "How was your day, little beauty?"

Shi Nian thought for a moment and shook her head. "Not very good."

The little beauty was softening her stance, Zhu Houzhao thought, raising an eyebrow. "How so?"

"I didn't eat well, I didn't sleep well, nothing was good."

So quick to surrender? Zhu Houzhao was surprised, and even felt a little bored. He picked up his chopsticks to eat a dish, but immediately spat it out. "What is this? Didn't I tell you to hire a new chef?!"

Qian Ning said awkwardly, "Master, I sent people to look, but it takes time..."

He had indeed said to hire a new chef, but who would dare come to this bandit den? Plus, they had to be careful not to have their identities revealed...

Zhu Houzhao snorted and took another drink. Shi Nian’s eyes rolled, and she said softly, "Master."

The voice was melodic and pleasant, making him feel a tingle. He couldn't help but smile. "What? Have you thought it over? Want to be my mistress of the stronghold?"

He fully expected an affirmative answer, but Shi Nian shook her head. "I won't be your mistress, but I can be something else for you."

Zhu Houzhao’s smile paused, and he mocked, "Besides being my mistress, what else could you be?"

"Many things. For example—a chef. I see the food in this stronghold doesn't seem to suit your taste. I learned to cook at home, and there are many dishes that perhaps even you have never tasted..."

Zhu Houzhao hadn't felt much until that last part, at which he scoffed, "Big talk. Dishes I've never tasted? It would be hard to find a dish in this world that I haven't eaten."

The others chimed in with laughter, but no one took it seriously. Only Shi Nian knew that he was telling the truth; after all, he was the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty—what delicacies had he not tried?

Shi Nian smiled. "If you don't believe me, you'll know after trying. I can make it for you right now. But I have a condition: if you like it, I hope you will grant me a request."

Zhu Houzhao smiled enigmatically. "And if I don't like it? Shouldn't you agree to a request of mine?"

The implication in his eyes was obvious. Shi Nian hesitated, but then steeled herself. "If you don't like it, I will grant you one request!"

"Deal!" Zhu Houzhao jumped up and clapped his hands in delight. "Go and make it now. I want to see what this unique culinary skill of yours is!"

As soon as Shi Nian entered the kitchen, she closed the door and took two deep breaths.

Joking aside, she didn't know how to cook anything! With her mediocre culinary skills, she could only guarantee not poisoning herself; wanting to fool an emperor who had seen everything was a pipe dream!

Shi Nian rubbed her face, almost wanting to go out and tell Zhu Houzhao she took it back, that the bet didn't count. But she had come this far; this was her only chance. She touched her chest and felt a little more at ease. Nie Cheng’s trip hadn't just brought her the next task; he had also returned her backpack.

Now, she was relying entirely on this secret weapon!

Zhu Houzhao hummed a tune, waiting for the dish the little beauty was making. Qian Ning laughed, "That girl wouldn't let anyone watch. She shut the door and busied herself inside; who knows what she'll make."

Zhu Houzhao smiled. "I'm looking forward to it too."

"I have my doubts. The little girl is naive; she probably thinks you're just some uncultured bandit who hasn't eaten anything good."

Zhu Houzhao was in a good mood. He didn't think Shi Nian could make a dish that would surprise him, but he enjoyed the process, like taming a hawk—balancing firmness and gentleness, watching it struggle repeatedly, only to eventually submit obediently.

He believed this little hawk would also eventually come into his arms.

He had expected to wait a long time, but in the time it took to boil a cup of tea, Shi Nian returned with a tray. There weren't any large plates or dishes on the tray; there was only a small blue-and-white porcelain bowl covered with a plate.

Zhu Houzhao: "This is the dish you made? So small?"

Shi Nian said gravely, "Yes. Master, don't underestimate this dish. Let me tell you, there is a consensus in the culinary world: big fish and heavy meat don't test a chef's skill. It is these seemingly simple dishes that are the hardest to master! It is the return to simplicity; those who can make this well have real talent!"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned by her words, and Qian Ning also looked like he was hearing this for the first time. The two exchanged glances, and Zhu Houzhao looked at the bowl with unexpected anticipation. He raised his hand and lifted the plate. Inside the small porcelain bowl, the sauce was thick, and the noodles were curly, soaked within, with two green vegetables nestled on top.

She had actually just cooked a bowl of noodles!

Zhu Houzhao’s enthusiasm plummeted, and he was about to say "What the hell," but suddenly paused. He twitched his nose and sniffed, then sniffed again.

What was this? He seemed to smell a strange, intoxicating fragrance he had never encountered before...

"W-what kind of noodles are these?"

*Master Kong* Braised Beef Noodles...

Shi Nian answered silently in her heart. That's right, this was her secret weapon! She had brought it to eat herself, but tonight, seeing Zhu Houzhao’s meal, she had a sudden inspiration—surely the Ming Emperor had never eaten instant noodles...

She eagerly handed over the chopsticks. "Would you like to try it, Master?"

Zhu Houzhao stared at the instant noodles, clearly baffled. As anyone with experience knows, with instant noodles, the taste is secondary; the fragrance of the broth is what kills! Especially on a cold winter night, almost no one who smells it can escape! Everyone has to have a bowl!

Qian Ning swallowed his saliva. "Master, this... should I try it for you first?"

This was originally an imperial custom—the monarch’s food had to be tasted by someone else—but the way Qian Ning said it now seemed to have ulterior motives. Zhu Houzhao glared at him, picked up the bowl himself, took a large mouthful of noodles, and ate them.

Shi Nian stared at him intently. "How is it?"

Zhu Houzhao chewed, swallowed, and then fell silent. Shi Nian’s heart was in her throat. Just as she was about to lose her composure, he finally shouted, "This is too delicious!"

In the next second, the man acted like a starving tiger, holding the bowl and slurping it down, finishing the entire bowl of instant noodles in just a few bites!

*Clang.*

He put down the empty bowl and looked at Shi Nian, his eyes shining. "Is there more? Is there more? I want another bowl!"

Shi Nian was silent for three seconds, cheering loudly in her heart: "Long live! The victory of junk food!"

On a distant rooftop, Nie Cheng was hiding in the shadows, watching the scene from afar, feeling a mix of amusement and disbelief. To think she could come up with such a trick—she truly was a girl steeped in romance novels and manga...

After watching for a while, he turned and quietly left. It seemed there was no immediate danger here, so he could proceed with his own plan.

In the courtyard, Zhu Houzhao was still asking for more. Shi Nian looked at him, wiped her face, put her hands on her hips, and instantly revealed her true, demanding nature. "There is. But before that, shouldn't you fulfill your promise, Master?"

Zhu Houzhao blinked and said slowly, "Fine. So... what request do you want me to grant?"