Chapter 459 The Hero of the Hunger Strike! His Highness the Crown Prince's "Culinary Diplomacy"!

Looking at Wang Defu, the head of the imperial kitchen, who was crying his eyes out and practically wailing over her leg, Lin Wanwan felt a headache coming on.

Almost immediately, she imagined in her mind that chaotic, "massive social death" scene.

Her precious son, with his hands behind his back, looked like a little devil in the imperial kitchen, calling out names one by one.

"You want to eat braised pork!"

"You want to drink plum juice!"

"You're trying to sneak a bite of the snacks!"

Just imagining that scene... makes you want to dig your toes into the ground.

This is amazing!

This is such a great deal!

This is nothing short of a brutal and inhumane "dimensional reduction attack" on all the "working people" in the imperial kitchen!

In the end, this "disaster day in the imperial kitchen" ended with Lin Wanwan personally taking action to forcibly "apprehend" the still unsatisfied "Little Yama."

Afterwards, Lin Wanwan and Xiao Che gave Tuanzi a profound "moral education".

They told him that although he could see the "good food on other people's heads," it was very impolite to casually reveal other people's "little secrets."

The little dumpling doesn't quite understand what "impoliteness" means yet.

However, seeing his mother's unprecedentedly serious expression, he still nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

From then on, the little dumpling no longer ordered food casually.

However, his large, dark eyes were always filled with endless curiosity about the world.

Looking at her son's increasingly mature "talent," Lin Wanwan felt both amused and vaguely aware that perhaps... this seemingly "funny" ability would come in handy in the future.

But this day came sooner than she had imagined.

...

On this day, Lin Wanwan and Xiao Che, along with Tuanzi, left the palace incognito.

They were going to visit a distinguished veteran official—General Shen Ce, the commander of the capital's military camp.

General Shen is a veteran general in the army and a trusted confidant whom Xiao Che promoted himself.

Three years ago, during that dramatic palace coup, it was Shen Ce who, at the most critical moment, led the troops of the capital region camp to arrive in time and crushed the regent's rebellion in one fell swoop, thus establishing an unparalleled achievement.

It can be said that without Chen Ce, there would be no prosperous and peaceful era we enjoy today.

However, even heroes grow old.

During that palace coup, General Shen was stabbed several times while protecting Xiao Che. Although he was eventually saved from death by the imperial physician, he was left with a host of injuries.

Now, though only in his early fifties, he is already bedridden with a full head of white hair.

Recently, an even more troublesome message reached the palace.

General Shen has begun a hunger strike.

He refused to take any herbal medicine or eat any tonics sent by the imperial kitchen.

The imperial physicians took turns trying to treat the patients, but all of them were helpless.

Xiao Che sent several groups of envoys, but they were all scolded away by the stubborn old general.

In the old general's words: "I am now a cripple, unable to wield a sword or ride a horse! To live on is nothing more than a waste of the court's salary! I beg Your Majesty to grant this old minister permission to end my own life!"

He's determined to die.

Xiao Che was both angry and anxious, yet he was powerless to do anything about this old hero who had risked his life for him.

In the end, he decided to personally take the Empress and the Crown Prince to the General's Mansion to pay them a visit.

Hopefully, the grace of the Emperor and the warmth of family can move this old general, whose heart is ashen.

...

Inside the general's mansion, a solemn atmosphere prevailed.

The air was filled with a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine.

Lin Wanwan and Xiao Che, with Tuanzi in tow, entered General Shen Ce's bedroom.

On the bed lay a gaunt old man.

His eyes were closed, his face was ashen, his lips were cracked, and his breathing was so weak that it seemed as if it would stop at any moment.

If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, he would have looked like a dying man who had already lost all life.

Where is this the same majestic and awe-inspiring general who protected the country three years ago, clad in armor?

Lin Wanwan's heart sank suddenly.

“Shen Qing.” Xiao Che’s voice carried a hint of suppressed sorrow.

The old man on the bed slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes, once sharp as an eagle's, were now murky and devoid of any light.

Upon seeing that it was His Majesty the Emperor himself, he struggled to rise and pay his respects.

"This old minister...pays his respects..."

"No need for formalities!" Xiao Che stepped forward quickly, pressed his hand on his shoulder, his voice choked with emotion, "Shen Qing, why are you doing this to yourself!"

General Shen chuckled self-deprecatingly, his voice hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"Your Majesty... this old minister is now a cripple... I really dare not... trouble Your Majesty any longer..."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Che shouted sternly, "You are a meritorious official of the Dali Dynasty! You are my trusted advisor! What do you mean by 'useless'!"

He turned his head and ordered the palace servants behind him, "Quickly! Bring up the ginseng soup that the imperial kitchen prepared for the general!"

Soon, a bowl of steaming hot ginseng soup, exuding a rich aroma, was brought over.

Xiao Che personally took the soup bowl and was about to feed it to General Shen.

However, General Shen stubbornly turned his head away, tightly shut his mouth, and looked resolute, as if to say, "I'd rather die than drink."

"Your Majesty... even if you kill this old minister... this old minister... still cannot drink it..."

He is completely unyielding, refusing to be persuaded by either force or persuasion.

Xiao Che was so angry that his face turned ashen, but he was completely helpless against him.

Lin Wanwan was also standing by, gently comforting him for a long time.

"General Shen, look, His Majesty and the Crown Prince have both come to see you. Please take care of your health, for His Majesty's sake and for the sake of Dali."

General Chen, however, simply shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with a deathly stillness.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Everyone in the room was at a loss.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, a child's voice, sweet and innocent, suddenly rang out.

The little dumpling, who had been held in Lin Wanwan's hand all along, had somehow managed to break free from her mother's grasp.

He walked to the bedside, opened his big, dark eyes, and looked up curiously at the thin, bony old man on the bed.

He didn't say anything.

Because his mother had taught him that he should not casually reveal other people's "little secrets".

So he simply watched quietly.

Look at the top of the old general's head.

He watched it for a very, very long time.

So long that even Xiao Che began to grow impatient and was about to have Lin Wanwan take the child out—

Suddenly, the little dumpling spoke softly.

His voice was very soft and gentle, like a feather gently falling into the still air.

"Grandpa..."

He looked at General Shen, tilting his fluffy little head.

"You...don't want to eat the imperial cuisine."

General Shen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

The little dumpling, however, seemed oblivious and continued speaking in his innocent childish voice.

"You want to eat... 'home'."

"You want to eat..."

He paused, seemingly trying to discern what, in his view, was a somewhat simple "image".

Then, he spoke clearly, word by word:

“A bowl of… ‘plain noodles without scallions’.”

boom!

These words were like a thunderclap, exploding loudly in the ears of everyone in the room!

The entire room fell into an instant, deathly silence!

Everyone stared in disbelief at the little prince, who was looking up with an innocent expression.

On the bed, the old general, who had been heartbroken and unyielding, suddenly shuddered!

He slowly, very slowly, turned his head.

Those eyes, which were originally cloudy and murky, were now fixed on the small figure by the bedside.

The next second, two lines of turbid, scalding tears, without warning, gushed out from his dry eye sockets!

"Wow--"

The long-suppressed, sorrowful cries suddenly resounded throughout the entire room!

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan were so shocked that they couldn't even speak.

General Shen was crying like a child. He stretched out his withered, trembling hand, pointed at the little dumpling, and nodded heavily as he cried.

“…That, that is…”

His voice, broken by emotion and choked with sobs, became fragmented.

"...My mother..."

"...the taste of..."

The moment the words left her lips, Lin Wanwan and Xiao Che suddenly exchanged a glance!

Both of them saw the same shock in each other's eyes, a shock that had stirred up a storm!

Dumpling's abilities...

It seems that it's not just about being able to see "what you want to eat"!

What he can see is...the deepest...desire in people's hearts!