Chapter 38: Six Hundred Years After the Hongwu Era?

Seeing Zhang Bo return looking somewhat dejected, Zhu Biao stepped forward and asked, "Proprietor, are you perhaps looking for the three people who just left?"

"Oh? Has the Crown Prince already met them?"

"We did cross paths, but we did not speak much. I wonder why you were pursuing them? Could it be that they failed to pay their bill?"

Zhang Bo gave a bitter smile and waved his hand. He had only wanted to let the Han and Ming dynasties meet, and then have Liu Ju take Zhu Biao to the Western Han, which would have saved him the trouble of explaining the ins and outs.

"Your Highness, it is not a matter of payment. It is... well, it is a long story. Let us head to the stone table and talk it over slowly." Having said this, Zhang Bo gestured for Zhu Biao to move toward the stone table.

"Proprietor, wait. I have a question I was hoping you could answer for me." Zhang Bo turned back, looking at Zhu Biao with curiosity. "What is your question, Your Highness?"

Zhu Biao pointed his left hand toward a vine hanging with several tomatoes. "Proprietor, I wonder what this is."

Zhang Bo paused, startled. Had Zhu Biao never seen a tomato? After a moment of reflection, he recalled the information he had looked up regarding corn, tomatoes, and potatoes—that these crops were introduced to the Ming Dynasty by Western missionaries around the Wanli period. It was only natural that Zhu Biao, living in the Hongwu era, would not have seen them.

"Your Highness, this is called a tomato, or you could also call it a 'Western Persimmon'."

Tomato? Western Persimmon? Zhu Biao frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on the fruit hanging from the vine, deep in thought. He searched his mind for any records of these names in the classics he had studied, but it was a futile effort.

"Proprietor, where did you obtain this?"

"Your Highness, that is a long story. Shall we sit at the table and discuss it at length?" Zhu Biao nodded slightly, agreeing to the suggestion.

A quarter of an hour later, the two sat on opposite sides of the stone table. Before them sat a stainless steel basin filled with freshly picked, natural, and pesticide-free cucumbers, muskmelons, and tomatoes. Zhu Biao was gnawing on a sliced muskmelon, and a cucumber stem lay before him—he had clearly already polished off a cucumber.

At this moment, an expression of genuine appreciation graced Zhu Biao’s features. These items from the eatery provided him with an experience unlike anything he had known. The cucumber was not only crisp and refreshing with a delicious flavor, but it was also incredibly juicy, as if it were an entirely different variety from those found in Yingtian Prefecture.

The muskmelon was two or three times the size of any he had seen before. When he bit into it, it was crisp, succulent, and exceptionally sweet—a sweetness that did not cloy, but rather refreshed both body and mind. Compared to this, the melons of Yingtian Prefecture paled in comparison.

After finishing the melon, Zhu Biao's gaze naturally returned to the tomatoes. He had not forgotten his original question. "Proprietor, where did you obtain these tomatoes? And why are the cucumbers and melons so delicious?"

Facing the inquisitive Crown Prince, Zhang Bo swallowed a piece of melon and replied, "Your Highness, the current year in the Ming Dynasty is the fifteenth year of Hongwu, correct?"

Zhu Biao was confused. In his memory, he had already told this proprietor the year; why ask again? "Yes, that is correct."

"And Your Highness likely assumes that it is also the fifteenth year of Hongwu here as well?"

Zhu Biao was baffled. He did not understand what Zhang Bo was implying. "Is it not?"

"In fact, Your Highness, I am over six hundred years beyond the fifteenth year of Hongwu."

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Biao momentarily doubted his own ears. Six hundred years after the fifteenth year of Hongwu? How could that be? "If you say this is six hundred years later, then why would I, from the fifteenth year of Hongwu, be here?"

Zhang Bo folded his arms across his chest and shook his head helplessly. Truth be told, he did not know either. Why Liu Ju of the Western Han, Liu Bei of the Eastern Han, and now Zhu Biao could all arrive here—and judging by the situation, more might come in the future—was something only quantum mechanics could explain.

"Your Highness, I know this may be difficult to accept, but it is the truth. You are not the first historical figure to arrive here; Liu Ju of the Western Han and Liu Bei of the Eastern Han have also come."

"Liu Ju! Liu Bei!" As a figure from later history, Zhu Biao was well-acquainted with these names: the ill-fated Crown Prince Liu Ju and Emperor Zhaolie, Liu Bei. One had lived fourteen hundred years before the Ming, and the other eleven hundred. How could they be here?

Zhu Biao looked deeply at Zhang Bo. Although the man spoke with conviction and was a savior to his son, Xiong Ying, Zhu Biao had been the Crown Prince of the Ming for five years. He was not a man to be easily swayed by mere words.

"This... Proprietor, do you have any proof?"

"These tomatoes are proof. Of course, a single tomato is likely not enough to convince you. Please, Your Highness, wait a moment. I will return shortly."

Zhang Bo left the table. Zhu Biao remained, gazing at the tomatoes in the stainless steel basin, lost in thought. Soon, Zhang Bo returned, holding half a book. He walked to the table and placed it gently upon the stone.

Zhu Biao looked at the title on the cover. This time, he recognized the characters: *Veritable Records of the Ming*!

The term "Veritable Records" was not unfamiliar to him; they were typically titled by a later emperor using the temple name or posthumous title of a predecessor to record the major events of their reign. For example, the *Veritable Records of Emperor Liang* or the *Veritable Records of Taizong* from the Tang Dynasty. But what did *Veritable Records of the Ming* mean?

A daring thought struck Zhu Biao. Could the "Ming" in the title refer to his own dynasty? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Setting aside the fact that there had never been records titled by a dynasty name, the Ming had only just been founded—how could there be records already?

However, recalling Zhang Bo's earlier words, Zhu Biao swallowed hard and asked, "Proprietor, what is this book?"

"Your Highness, as the title suggests, this is a record of the Ming Dynasty."

Records of the Ming? How could it be!

Seeing Zhu Biao's skepticism, Zhang Bo did not argue. He simply pulled the first volume from the set and handed it to him. Zhu Biao took it with trembling hands. But upon seeing the title on the cover, the Crown Prince was struck as if by lightning. He stood frozen, his eyes wide, reflecting an expression of utter disbelief.

For on the cover of the book, he saw the words: *Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu Gao*.