Outside Xianyang, a manor had appeared at some unknown point.
Inside the manor, a man and a woman were preparing to eat. The meal was lavish, its fragrance filling the air.
"Brother Ling, will Ying Zheng really show up?"
"Of course. Believe me when I say someone will knock on the door in a moment?"
"Of course Susu believes what you say, Brother Ling."
As soon as she finished speaking, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
These two were none other than Ling Yi and Lü Su, who had arrived in Xianyang more than ten days earlier.
But meeting Ying Zheng still required some maneuvering. Since Ling Yi intended to play things out with a scheme, he naturally couldn't just barge into the imperial palace.
Ling Yi used some power of rules to influence certain chains of cause and effect, making Ying Zheng leave the palace of his own accord to meet him.
"Brother Ling, could that really be Ying Zheng?" Lü Su asked in surprise.
Ling Yi nodded, walked slowly to the courtyard entrance, and opened the gate.
The visitors were none other than Ying Zheng and the current chancellor, Li Si.
Ling Yi put on a curious expression and asked, "May I ask who you two are...?"
Ying Zheng was just about to speak when he suddenly heard a voice in his mind.
Interesting. These two clearly have extraordinary bearing and an air of nobility, yet they insist on dressing like farmers. Do they think everyone else is an idiot?
Ying Zheng stared at Ling Yi in astonishment. The man before him clearly hadn't opened his mouth, so where had that voice come from?
Seeing that Ying Zheng remained silent, Li Si, though unsure why, spoke up. "Young man, we missed the inn. It's noon now, and we're rather hungry and thirsty. Please do us a kindness and spare us some food."
"Oh, I see. Please, come in. This place is indeed a little far from town. Meeting is a matter of fate, and my wife and I were just about to eat. If you don't mind, you're welcome to join us. We rarely have visitors at this manor."
"Thank you, young man," Li Si said promptly.
Ying Zheng and Li Si couldn't help looking around the manor. It was quite elegant, with flower beds, rockeries, a pond, and a pavilion. One glance told them its owner was a man of refined tastes.
"My dear, bring out two more sets of bowls and chopsticks," Ling Yi called to Lü Su.
Lü Su answered and deliberately took a look at Ying Zheng and Li Si before leaving.
Then Ying Zheng and Li Si were involuntarily drawn to the fragrance of the food on the table. More importantly, they didn't recognize a single dish.
One was an emperor and the other the current chancellor. They could certainly be called knowledgeable and experienced, yet at this moment, they were filled with curiosity about the delicacies before them.
Just then, Ying Zheng heard that voice again.
Heh heh, never seen food like this, have you? These delicacies come from thousands of years in the future. It would be strange if you had.
"What?" Ying Zheng's expression changed in shock. The words "thousands of years in the future" made him cry out despite himself.
When Ling Yi looked over, Ying Zheng realized he had lost his composure. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down before saying, "Forgive me, young man. We've never seen dishes like these before, hence our surprise."
By now, Ying Zheng had begun to suspect that he could hear the thoughts of the man before him. Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, another voice rang out in his mind.
It would be strange if you weren't surprised. There aren't any stir-fried dishes in the Qin dynasty at this point, and seasonings are limited too. Most dishes only get a little salt. They taste awful. Once these two try the food, they'll probably be even more shocked.
By then, Lü Su had come out with the bowls and chopsticks and placed them before Ying Zheng and Li Si.
"Please, help yourselves. Most people never get a chance to taste my cooking."
"These are stir-fried shredded potatoes, braised pork ribs, sweet-and-sour pork, and this is sweet potato porridge..."
Naturally, neither Ying Zheng nor Li Si had heard any of these dish names. Seeing Ling Yi eat as he spoke, the two, already drawn in by the fragrance, couldn't help picking up their chopsticks.
"These stir-fried shredded potatoes are actually this delicious? We... I never knew!" Ying Zheng felt that everything he had eaten before had been pig feed.
The moment Ying Zheng finished speaking, that voice rang out in his mind again.
These delicacies won't appear until a thousand years from now. If you'd eaten them before, that really would be like seeing a ghost.
Ying Zheng abruptly froze. At last, he understood: the voice in his mind was probably this young man's inner thoughts.
Why he could hear this man's thoughts wasn't important. What mattered was that this young man was actually from the future! Didn't that mean he knew what lay ahead for Great Qin?
At that moment, Ying Zheng felt that the shredded potatoes in his mouth had lost their flavor. He desperately wanted to know whether Great Qin would endure for ten thousand years, undying.
"Young man, this dish is shredded potatoes, but what exactly are potatoes?"
Ling Yi smiled. Things were starting to feel right.
"They're just wild vegetables from the mountains. There aren't many. I only came across them by chance."
Still reeling in shock, Ying Zheng was pulled back to his senses by Ling Yi's thoughts.
Potatoes are good stuff. They yield at least fifty shi per mu, and they're easy to grow. You only need to cut them into chunks and bury them in the soil. If they could be spread throughout Great Qin, perhaps no one in Great Qin would ever starve to death again.
Unfortunately, although the State of Qin now looks unified and powerful, it actually faces plenty of troubles both within and without. Once the First Emperor of Qin dies, the realm will inevitably descend into chaos. Add Zhao Gao's trick of pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, and the seeds are sown for Qin to fall under its second emperor.
Once war breaks out, no one who gets involved will come to a good end. I'll lie low for now and wait until the First Emperor of Qin dies.
The Second Emperor of Qin was only the lead-in, not the true reason for Great Qin's downfall. Ling Yi merely wanted to leave thoughts like these in the First Emperor of Qin's mind so he would have some idea of what lay ahead.
Ying Zheng's face instantly turned deathly pale. Great Qin would fall? Under its second emperor? Though he didn't know what Zhao Gao's pointing at a deer and calling it a horse meant, it certainly wasn't anything good. Could it be because Zhao Gao sought to seize power?
And what could Zhao Gao rely on to seize power? Zhao Gao had started as a cook and was a eunuch. Though Ying Zheng had entrusted him with a certain amount of authority, a eunuch was still a eunuch. That left Zhao Gao only one source of support... successfully installing an imperial prince on the throne.
Which prince would Zhao Gao support? Hu Hai. Zhao Gao was Hu Hai's teacher, so Hu Hai was the only one he could support.
Yet he had never regarded Hu Hai as an imperial prince. Even if he died and left an imperial testament, he would never choose Hu Hai.
Then there were only two possibilities: either he died too suddenly to leave an imperial testament, or...
Hu Hai was shortsighted, lacked ambition, and had no mind of his own. If Hu Hai took the throne, Zhao Gao really could twist him around his finger.
Zhao Gao! Killing intent seethed in Ying Zheng's heart.
What's wrong with this old man? He's gritting his teeth. Does the food taste bad? Ling Yi's voice sounded in Ying Zheng's mind again.
Ying Zheng instantly came to his senses. This wasn't the time to think about that. He still needed to judge whether these thoughts were true or false.
Right, what had this young man just said? These potatoes yielded fifty shi per mu?
What did fifty shi mean? At this time, Great Qin's average grain yield was only ten shi per mu. Fifty shi was five times that. If this were true, no one in Great Qin would ever starve to death again, and its national strength would increase tenfold, a hundredfold.
This was a divine treasure that could save the nation! Now, looking at the shredded potatoes on the plate, Ying Zheng felt his heart ache.
"Sir, these potatoes taste excellent. Could they be used as a staple food?" Coming back to himself, Ying Zheng asked with an eager gaze.
By now, Ying Zheng's form of address for Ling Yi had changed from "young man" to "sir." His standing had risen rapidly.
"You can eat them after boiling them in water. They taste fairly good. Dip them in seasonings, and they taste even better."
"Sir, do you have any potato seeds? If so, I could purchase them. Otherwise, it would be a great regret if I could never enjoy such delicious food again."
Ling Yi smiled. "I have some left. Do you really want to buy them?"
Ying Zheng gave Li Si a look. Li Si understood instantly, took a lump of gold from inside his robes, and placed it on the table.
Ling Yi's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he put away the gold, then hurried into a room. A moment later, he came out carrying a bamboo basket holding more than twenty potatoes.
Ying Zheng stood to receive it and carefully set it by his feet. His spirits instantly lifted, and even his earlier gloom was swept away.
By the end of the meal, everyone was chatting and laughing freely, and they had learned a little about one another. Ying Zheng claimed his surname was Wang, while Li Si merely said his surname was Li.
Ling Yi found it amusing and played along with their act.
Li Si frowned. It was already getting late, and they ought to return to the palace. Yet Ying Zheng seemed unwilling to leave, and his attitude toward this young man was somewhat unusual.
"Master, it's getting late. We should head back," Li Si couldn't help reminding him.
Ying Zheng truly didn't want to return. He had just heard Ling Yi's thoughts again and learned that Ling Yi was from the future. He was curious about the future, especially Great Qin's future, so naturally, he didn't want to leave.
But he also knew he had been too eager earlier. Ling Yi's thoughts had clearly begun to show impatience.
There will be plenty of time.
In the carriage back to Xianyang, Ying Zheng hugged the bamboo basket of potatoes tightly to his chest, as though holding some rare and priceless treasure.
This left Li Si thoroughly puzzled.