Free Web NovelChapter 1386: Chapter 1360: Presenting a Treasure
Ye Chen looked at the man in front of him, both familiar and unfamiliar, with a somewhat surprised expression.
At the same time, he was also clear about which era he had arrived in—the Han Dynasty—and the man before him was Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.
"Bold! Why haven’t you knelt down yet, daring to stare at the Emperor like that?" A minister in the court pointed at Ye Chen and said.
Ye Chen looked at the two guards beside him, both of them had already kneeled on the ground.
"Reporting to His Majesty, we found this man sneaking around at the entrance of the hall, suspecting him to be an assassin, so we apprehended him," a guard said with his head lowered.
Liu Che looked at Ye Chen with displeasure on his face, thinking what kind of person would be bold enough to try to assassinate him—it must be someone sent by another country.
After observing Ye Chen’s attire, he was more certain, as he’d never seen someone dressed like this before.
"Who are you, and who sent you to assassinate me?" Liu Che stared at Ye Chen and asked.
"No one sent me. I came to deliver food to you," Ye Chen said blandly.
During this period, there was no such term as delivery service, so everyone was puzzled by his words.
They only knew that other countries might send envoys to offer treasures; could this person be such an envoy?
"Are you here to offer treasures to His Majesty?" A minister looked at the food box in Ye Chen’s hand and asked.
"Yes," Ye Chen nodded and said.
He knew people at this time had no concept of delivery service, and explaining too much would be pointless, so he went along with their assumption.
After all, Ye Chen didn’t bother explaining further; completing the delivery order was all that mattered.
"What’s your name?" The minister continued to ask.
"I’m Ye Chen," Ye Chen replied.
Though it was clear that Ye Chen wasn’t an assassin but rather an envoy from another country offering treasures, Emperor Wu of Han had no interest in such things.
Anything placed before him didn’t seem remarkable; what he needed most these days was not treasures but a solution to his lack of appetite.
"I have no interest in your offerings; you should leave now," Emperor Wu of Han said impatiently, waving his hand.
Seeing Emperor Wu’s reaction, everyone considered the envoy named Ye Chen to be extremely fortunate.
In the court, everyone’s mood was tense because the Imperial Kitchen’s chefs had failed to prepare anything that would stimulate his appetite, and many people had been punished.
The ministers sensed a crisis; it’s said that being close to the Emperor is like being close to a tiger—they feared they might be next in line for punishment.
In other words, whoever managed to leave the hall could avoid punishment.
"Majesty, you haven’t even seen what I’ve brought and yet you speak so rashly," Ye Chen said, not leaving.
The entire crowd thought Ye Chen must be crazy; they all wished to leave the hall quickly, yet Ye Chen insisted on staying.
"The Emperor has already told you to leave; why haven’t you gone yet? Do you wish to defy the imperial edict and risk your life?" a minister said.
"I haven’t completed my task, so I can’t leave," Ye Chen said and walked towards Emperor Wu of Han.
Everyone thought Ye Chen was referring to the mission of offering treasures, whereas he meant his delivery task wasn’t completed.
"I don’t want to see your treasures," Emperor Wu of Han said impatiently.
At this time, two ministers blocked Ye Chen’s path.
"Stop, don’t move any further," the two ministers shouted sternly.
Seeing Ye Chen approaching him, getting closer and closer, Emperor Wu of Han also felt a bit nervous.
Ye Chen saw he was being stopped and didn’t move further. Instead, he stood still and opened the box.
The ministers became more anxious upon seeing this, fearing Ye Chen would pull out a dagger and attack the person on the throne.
Emperor Wu of Han looked cautiously at what Ye Chen held, afraid it might be a dagger.
The atmosphere in the hall turned tense, as if the air had frozen, with everyone holding their breath and focusing on Ye Chen’s actions.
When Ye Chen took out a string of candied hawthorn, everyone was stunned.
"What exactly is this thing? It looks crystal-clear; could it be some rare treasure?"
"He actually strung these beads together with bamboo skewers; how interesting."
"It’s so red and pleasing to the eye."
The ministers discussed among themselves, completely forgetting they were in the hall, with Emperor Wu still seated on the throne.
When they snapped back to reality, they looked tense, afraid that Emperor Wu might blame them.
To everyone’s surprise, Emperor Wu not only seemed unperturbed but also smiled.
The reason for his reaction was that when Emperor Wu saw what Ye Chen was holding, he suddenly felt hungry, though he didn’t know why.
"Ye Chen, what’s that you’re holding?" Emperor Wu asked, looking at Ye Chen.
"It’s candied hawthorn; you could try it," Ye Chen said with a smile.
Emperor Wu looked puzzled at the item in Ye Chen’s hand and then signaled to the eunuch beside him.
Proving himself to be in tune with the Emperor, the eunuch walked over to Ye Chen.
Approaching Ye Chen, the eunuch said, "Hand it over so I can present it to His Majesty."
Ye Chen nodded and handed the candied hawthorn to the eunuch.
The eunuch received the candied hawthorn carefully and took out a silver needle to test it, ensuring no harm before handing it to Emperor Wu.
"Your Majesty," the eunuch said respectfully.
Observing the eunuch’s actions, Ye Chen thought ancient emperors must have had quite a tiring existence, always on guard against harm.
Even eating required testing with a silver needle first.
Emperor Wu held the bright red candied hawthorn, first taking a small bite, chewing and swallowing it.
Soon, he began to eat voraciously, completely disregarding his image.
For some reason, the more Emperor Wu ate, the greater his appetite became. After finishing the first skewer, he asked Ye Chen, "Do you have more?"
"There’s one more," Ye Chen said hastily, pulling another string of candied hawthorn from the delivery box.
The ministers watched Emperor Wu eat with such relish, swallowed hard.
Some of them even wanted to taste the candied hawthorn, as merely smelling it stirred an irresistible craving.
