Let's Eat Hot Pot Together

"Yes, of course, be careful," Shirou replied. It seemed BB was planning to come stay at his house afterward. However, knowing her personality, Shirou felt it would be better to keep an eye on her with him.

"Yes..." the purple-haired girl replied in a drawn-out voice, muttering as she left through the online world, "Senior is like a mother to me. Although BB doesn't have a mother, I still have this feeling."

Afterwards, Shirou used the power of his Magic Eye to teleport directly to the office building belonging to Chaldea.

Chapter 289 Let's have hot pot together!

Inside a lounge in an office building, two female voices were talking.

"Speaking of which, how is the person I invited doing now?"

"Yes, he fractured his arm, but it seems he took precautions to reduce the strain. It looks like his arm should recover in three months, and he's currently recuperating in the hospital."

"Lin Xianming is no ordinary nobody; he's one of the top assassins in the industry. I personally interviewed him, and he was a perfect fit, yet he was knocked down in an instant and had to feign unconsciousness to escape."

"What kind of monster was that guy who escaped from the office building?"

"An investigation has already begun here, so please don't take any risks."

"I know, anyway, I definitely don't want to face that kind of monster again. It doesn't matter if I take my revenge later."

"It's so good that you understand."

"Forget the formalities. In this day and age, people don't have that kind of respect anymore. To be called the emperor, one must first bear the weight of the throne. Since no one needs the emperor anymore, I will just abandon this useless title. Now, I am just Wu Zhao sitting here."

"Is that so? As expected, you are truly special as the only female emperor of the Celestial Empire, and the female emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the peak of Chinese civilization. How do you feel about your new body? To be honest, even a genius like me never expected that you would directly use the Holy Grail to exchange for a physical body to operate in this world, and then come directly to negotiate with me."

"Haha, don't worry about it. Da Vinci, our cooperation will be very pleasant. Right now, it's a win-win situation for both of us, isn't it? We can't control how many are still around in different places, and you need Emperor like me to stabilize the situation, right?"

As he walked into the rest area, he overheard someone talking to Da Vinci on the Chaldea Projection screen. Approaching, Shirou was startled to see two almost identical twin-tailed girls sitting on the sofa.

"Oh, Shirou, you're back just in time. Our conversation was just coming to an end."

"Meimei?" Shirou asked in surprise as he recognized the two girls who turned around at the sound.

"Ah~! Shirou, you're back! That's great! You're alright! That woman was super dangerous!" One of the girls, swinging her two ponytails, stood up happily.

"Oh, young man, thank you for saving me earlier. I will reward you handsomely once I return to China and establish myself. Just tell me if you want anything," Wu Zetian said with a smile, her hair now black like Meimei's.

"No... no need. Is this the way Emperor speaks? What's going on? Is it Da Vinci?" Shirou asked, turning his gaze to the woman on the screen.

"Ahaha, in any case, they're now Chaldea's companions," Da Vinci said with a dry laugh.

"Huh? Did you two make some kind of shady deal?" Shirou looked at Wu Zetian with surprise, then at Da Vinci on the screen.

Da Vinci, seemingly hurt, corrected him, "Shirou... what do you really think of me? Because we're so short-handed, everyone we can talk to wants to stay. And considering there are still many unknown Child Warriors in the world who haven't come here yet, Chaldea needs some allies too."

"Hmph, that's how it is. Are you happy to be on the same side as me? I happen to need allies, and it's great that Chaldea can be persuaded. Anyway, please guide me from now on, young man. Although I will be developing my own country with Meimei and the others from now on."

"I don't know why, but hearing you say it makes me feel uneasy," Shirou said with some concern.

"How rude! Haha! Don't worry, understanding the ways of the world and people's hearts is also Lord's duty. I have no intention of rebuilding the Wu Zhou Dynasty now. But it's great that there aren't those old men who chatter and tell fortunes all day long over there. Even without force, I can relax." Wu Zetian said with a confident smile.

"Well then, I have urgent business to attend to, so we'll end our conversation here for now. Miss Wu Zhao, I'll keep in touch with you regularly in the future."

"Yes, I look forward to our next conversation," Wu Zetian said with a smile.

"Well then, goodbye..." Da Vinci seemed to remember something and reminded him, "Oh, right! Shirou, you'd better hurry home. I've already Shirou your sister and Artoria home first."

Shirou nodded and replied, "I understand."

"Oh right, oh right, Shirou ~! We agreed before, right? Take me to your house! I want to meet your family~!" Chou Meimei skipped around, hugged the boy's shoulders, and said proactively.

"Eh? Now? Sure, it's possible. My parents are busy with work, but my sister is home. We did agree beforehand that we'd take good care of you when you come here. On the way back, let's stop by the supermarket." Shirou readily agreed.

"Waaah... that's not what I meant. Actually, there's no need to rush. You have to be 20 to get married..." Chou Meimei muttered softly, her face flushed.

The two girls who were following them exchanged a glance.

"Princess, it seems we need to help!"

"A strong yet gentle guy, it would be a shame not to go for him!"

So the two of them opened their arms and stepped forward, hugging Shirou's arms from behind.

"Oh, Shirou, please take us with you too!"

"Hmm, what a slowpoke... well, he's quite interesting. I'm actually rather intrigued, so I'll go along." Wu Zetian said with a mischievous grin, leaning closer.

"Okay, okay, stop pulling, it's really inconvenient to walk like this." Shirou said helplessly to the four girls hanging on his arms, thinking to himself, 'Everyone says that Chinese people are warm and hospitable, is this how they treat guests?'

So Shirou was pulled into the limousine driven by Zhang Qing, and they drove towards his house without him asking a single question, before turning the corner in the right direction.

"Wait, why do you seem so familiar with my house?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Hey, actually I asked Da Vinci to do some research for me beforehand," Chou Meimei said, sticking out her tongue.

"I feel like it's best not to delve too deeply into these issues," Shirou said, covering his face in exasperation.

"Okay! Zhang Qing, go to the nearest shopping mall." Chou Meimei agreed with a smile.

So the group went into the supermarket and did a big shopping spree. After more than ten minutes, the car stopped again and returned to the boy's house.

"I'll call you later. If I don't call you before 9 PM, then you don't need to come," Chou Meimei said to the driver.

"Haha, I must say, she truly lives up to her reputation as my former host." Wu Zetian looked at the girl with admiration.

"As expected of Princess!" The two attendants gripped each other's hands tightly and said excitedly.

"Is it okay, Shirou?" Chou Meimei shook her arm and said coquettishly, clinging to the boy's arm.

"Okay, driver, you can go and rest now. If it gets late, I'll make sure they get back to the hotel safely," Shirou smiled, patted the little girl with pigtails on the head, and assured her.

"Wait a minute!!!" Chou Meimei slapped Shirou's hand away and said, wildly swinging her twin ponytails.

"Pfft, hahaha." Wu Zetian, supporting Lingyue, burst into laughter.

At that moment, the people inside the house also heard the noise coming from outside through the living room window, and then they heard the sound of a key opening the door.

"Welcome back, brother!"

"Shirou!"

"..." Komachi, Artoria, and Jeanne d'Arc rushed to the entrance with great excitement, but the next moment, they were all stunned.

Because the boy was accompanied by four girls he had never met before, each of them clinging to Shirou's arms and back, appearing quite intimate.

"I'm back, Komachi, Artoria, Jeanne d'Arc, Mashiro," Shirou greeted with a smile.

An awkward silence fell over the entrance hall as the three girls stared coldly at the boy.

"Haha, excuse me!" Wu Zetian sized up the girls inside. They were all of very high quality. With the idea of helping Meimei, she put her hands behind her back, casually took off her shoes at Xuan Guang's place, and walked in by herself. She displayed an arrogant attitude that completely disregarded the three girls.

"Hello, hello~! This is Shirou's villa? It's really nice, two floors, each floor is over 150 or 170 square meters, plus an attic, a spacious courtyard and garage." Lingyue and Wan'er, who were following behind, understood and walked in boldly, looking around the environment and praising it.

"No, it's just an ordinary house," Shirou said, waving his hand. "The rich live in villas with gardens and swimming pools, the middle class lives in luxury apartments, and only the poor live in houses like this."

"Wait, you lot. Ah, I'm really sorry to bother you!" Chou Meimei tried to stop them, but the three of them had already gone inside.

"I'm sorry, that was rude!" Chou Meimei could only apologize on behalf of her companions.

Just then, the cheerful shouts of the girl who was following her came from inside.

"Ah! Next is the second floor, where is Shirou's room?!"

"Adventures always feel so fun!"

"Really? I really want to see!" Chou Meimei's eyes widened, showing great interest.

Moreover, these expressions were seen by the three girls opposite. The next moment, Chou Meimei felt the gazes of the three girls inside the room, lowered her head shyly, and quickly slipped inside, wanting to join the adventure team.

Shirou looked helplessly at the three unruly children. He wanted to stop them, but the three girls blocked the doorway, leaving him standing there with the groceries.

"Huh? What's going on? Wait! You? Huh? A Chinese person?" Komachi blinked in surprise.

"Ah, they are friends I met when I traveled in China. They're here as guests at our home," Shirou explained.

"Wait! Brother? What happened? Before Da Vinci contacted us, we were in complete chaos trying to find you. Sister Ria even summoned her motorcycle and was about to drive all over Tokyo. And Sister Jenny was waving a flag and almost sped off!"

Komachi, in a fit of rage, grabbed Shirou by the collar and said in a low, menacing voice.

"And what have you done? You suddenly disappeared, didn't contact us, and now you've brought so many girls back? And they're foreigners too! Are you trying to turn your house into the Crystal Palace of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council?!"

"No, that's not it," Shirou protested.

"Hmph~! Is that so, Shirou..." Artoria stared coldly at the boy.

"That's not how it works, Artoria? It's an unforeseen event over there."

Artoria turned around and walked inside.

"Jeanne d'Arc? I'm sorry, I made you worry." Shirou then looked at the silver-haired girl leaning against the wall.

"Huh!? Who's worried about you! Don't follow me!" Jeanne d'Arc glared at the boy and said fiercely before turning and walking inside.

"Asura Field? A large-scale car accident!" Mashiro pondered, tilting her head slightly, then picked up a pen and began to slowly jot something down on the drawing paper.

"Well... brother, just use all your energy to make a good meal first, and then explain things properly," Komachi said helplessly.

"Huh? Shouldn't you apologize first? Otherwise, the food won't taste good either," Shirou asked.

Komachi patted her brother on the back and said earnestly, "Sigh... brother is hopeless. Listen carefully, if a girl is angry with you to your face, it means she's willing to forgive you. She's just hinting that you should quickly apologize and apologize so she can adjust her mood and be with you again."

Shirou, looking at his younger sister with a puzzled expression, asked, "Huh? Is that so? Komachi, why do you know so much about this? Could it be that you... you've already had a boyfriend?"

Komachi rolled her eyes at her brother, annoyed, and said, "Do you think this is the first time I've seen a girl act like this since I've been by your side since we were Komachi? Don't worry, I won't leave the Komachi until I send you out. Hurry up and go inside, a fight is about to break out."

"Oh? Oh..." Shirou felt that something was wrong, but Komachi still pushed him into the living room.

Chou Meimei, Wu Zetian, and others who had come to visit were seated on sofas on either side of the table, along with Artoria and Jeanne d'Arc of Wu Zetian.

"Judging from your demeanor, cold and ruthless, majestic and with the aura of a king, are you perhaps a queen from somewhere?" Wu Zetian asked, sizing up Artoria opposite her.

"And who are you?" Artoria asked.

"Ah, she's an ally of Chaldea," Shirou explained.

"There's no need for this world to hide things like this. I am Wu Zetian, ah... perhaps you'd remember me better if I used another name: Wu Zetian, the Great Sage Empress."

"The Empress of the Tang Dynasty, please excuse my rudeness. I am Artoria Pendragon, and most people called me 'King of Knights' during my lifetime," Artoria said.

"What? The King of Knights chosen by the sword in mythology? Well, then there's no comparison." Wu Zetian seemed to have lost interest in Artoria.

"Is there something you're unhappy about with me?" Artoria asked, frowning as she looked at the girl.

"No, I just feel regretful. I thought I could find like-minded companions to chat with," Wu Zetian said, shrugging.

Jeanne d'Arc of Arc, standing to the side, said impatiently, "Anyway, that's another matter. Who cares which King or emperor you are? Your dynasties have long since collapsed."

"Then, who are you?" Wu Zetian asked with a smile, not at all angry.

"Just call me Jeanne d'Arc of Arc! Let me make this clear beforehand, I don't think any of you queens or empresses are anything special. In the end, aren't you all just people who were burned to ashes?"

"Haha, you might actually get along quite well with me," Wu Zetian said with a hearty laugh.

"I don't think so. I really dislike Lord Wang and all that. Well, whether we get along or not, we'll only know after we get to know each other. Speaking of which, what's the matter with you and Shirou here? Ah! I don't care at all, I was just asking casually." Jeanne d'Arc asked, glancing away.

"Well, if I had to say something, it would be the relationship between the emperor of the Sovereign state and Shirou was a vassal state. After all, in my time, the Kingdom of Wa was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, so it wouldn't be wrong to say that Shirou was my subject," Wu Zetian said.

At that time, the Tang Empire, as the world's top empire, was regarded as a beacon by neighboring countries, who vied to pay tribute every year for the protection of the great power, conduct trade activities, and learn advanced ideas and technologies, such as writing, Confucianism, Buddhism, and crafts. They even sent students abroad and specially set up women to entertain the Tang people, even if it was just for one night. All of this was to obtain Han blood and raise the status of their families.

For two thousand years, the influence of the Han Chinese empire on these Chinese cultural spheres has been so profound that it is necessary to use statements like "after the Yamen Cliff, there was no more China" to whitewash it; otherwise, it would be morally untenable to take advantage of the chaos and launch an invasion.

So much so that even countries within the Chinese cultural sphere, which occupied the capital of China for eight years, did not cause any damage to the Forbidden City or other places, and still retained a sense of awe in their hearts.

Even if such invaders wanted to emulate the Manchu Qing dynasty and replace it, they would have chosen the orthodox path of abdication. This is fundamentally different from the Eight-Nation Alliance, which had no exposure to Chinese culture.

"Ha! There's a limit to your sophistry. Are you still trying to use things from a thousand years ago?" Jeanne d'Arc raised an eyebrow and said.

"Well, of course I won't ignore the changing times, but my recruitment of Shirou is genuine. Everyone here is very welcoming, right?" Wu Zetian said with a smile.

"Mmm!" The two girls who were following along nodded in agreement.

"Oh right, Shirou, you like forging weapons, right? If you come with me to Luoyang in the future, I can open my palace Noble Phantasm. Inside, there are invincible Tang Dynasty elite armor, Tang swords of various military weapon standards, and even documents on forging techniques that have been lost in modern times that I can show you," Wu Zetian said.

"Huh? Is that okay?" Shirou asked, very interested.

"Shirou! You don't need it, right?" the girls on the other side asked in a low voice.

"Huh?" The boy caught in the middle felt as if sparks were flying in the air, and there seemed to be a sense of tension and burning.

Fortunately, a savior arrived at this crucial moment.

"Please use! nihao~xiexie~! jiaozi, tianjingfan, yingcha~! Hehehe." At this moment, Komachi brought over the brewed black tea, laughing and saying the Chinese words she knew, and respectfully handed them to the guests one by one.