Ma Zhou was the legendary figure in history who made Li Shimin exclude chicken from the category of "meat."

Originally, His Majesty Li Er, in order to combat corruption and to avoid wasting resources, issued an order: When the Imperial Censor inspects various places, extravagant waste is prohibited, and eating meat is forbidden!

It’s similar to today’s various restrictions on entertaining officials, only the Tang Dynasty was poor, and eating meat was considered a luxury.

But Ma Zhou happened to be a foodie, believing that wine and meat were part of life’s meaning, making it impossible for him to quit.

Just imagine, someone so poor that they had to pawn clothes to buy wine and meat—could he eat vegetarian?

Therefore, during his time as an Imperial Censor inspecting the land, he continued to drink wine and eat chicken daily; he could not neglect his appetite.

This matter soon drew attention from those who disapproved of Ma Zhou’s rapid rise and sought to expose him.

They were struggling to find faults, and here he was directly defying the royal decree and delivering evidence on a platter! Watch me take the moral high ground and strongly denounce you!

But when His Majesty Li Er saw the complaint from the local officials, he surprisingly said, "I forbid the Imperial Censor from eating meat to prevent excessive local expenses, but what harm is there in eating chicken?"

What’s the meaning here?

In simple terms, I prohibit the Imperial Censor from eating meat to prevent the counties from overspending, but how can eating chicken be considered meat?

Chicken at the time was a household staple with comparatively lower prices than lamb; eating chicken was by no means extravagant waste.

To translate further—don’t be so blind, waving chicken feathers as if they were command arrows, over-interpreting, and whining about my minister enjoying some cheap chicken.

What’s wrong with him eating chicken? What’s wrong with him eating chicken?! He hasn’t eaten your local delicacies and treasures!

Since then, chicken meat was officially removed from the category of meat.

Lin Wanwan returned to the modern world and enjoyed a good night’s sleep, sleeping eight hours before traveling back to the Great Tang, appearing to others as if she’d only napped for an hour.

By then the person delivering the message had already left.

She picked up the letter Ma Zhou had sent and learned that he was about to embark on a journey soon, so she immediately mobilized her servants. Once little Qingyu finished school, she took her along with Xiao Yixun, and called Heng Wu to hurry to Xiaoxi Town.

The newly minted golden thigh, the future casual Prime Minister, the now sworn brother Ma Zhou was leaving, and Lin Wanwan naturally had to send him off properly to leave a good impression and strengthen their friendship.

Back when Li Bai was tricked by Wang Lun into visiting the so-called "Taohua Pond," they indulged in food and entertainment. Upon parting, the top brother Wang Lun gave Li Bai numerous gold ingots, creating an eternal legend.

Now that Ma Zhou was leaving, how could Lin Wanwan, as his wealthy sworn sister, not show a bit of gesture?

At the very least, she couldn’t be far behind his top sister Wang!

Snatching the top sister position of a historical figure for venture capital—that’s one of Lin Wanwan’s dreams!

She’s only afraid of not being able to invest, not even worried about spending money on rewards for these legendary "streamers."

After all, in the Great Tang, making money was as easy as picking up money! With modern resources as her backing, who could compare with her financial strength?

Who else?!

It’s just that her martial prowess and foundation don’t quite match up, lacking enough talents under her to be too arrogant in a society full of gate valves, otherwise, Lin Wanwan could walk sideways!

Once Baye Feng matures, having turned the ragtag militia at his command into elite soldiers, Lin Wanwan could stand even taller.

Speaking of Ma Zhou, during these days inspecting Mao County, he was straightforwardly staying at Lin Wanwan’s house in Xiaoxi Town unceremoniously.

After all, Lin Wanwan was already his sworn sister, sharing blessings and hardships as agreed.

When he had sought refuge with Widow Wang without fame or status, he shamelessly freeloaded for several months. Now, as a rightful sworn elder brother, what’s wrong with staying in the little sister’s house?

Ma Zhou carried a bit of a rogue aura, but despite appearances, he actually maintained precise boundaries.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been valued highly by Li Shimin, Li Zhi, and Wu Zetian, nor praised endlessly by the founder of New Huaxia.

Not to mention, the people of the Great Tang shouldn’t be judged by modern standards; they valued boldness and generosity, disregarding minor details.

Lin Wanwan’s mansion was already quite large, with many empty guest rooms, and she and Qingyu all lived out in the countryside.

Having Ma Zhou and his attendants stay there naturally posed no inconvenience.

Ma Zhou and Lin Wanwan hit it off at first sight, and he even regarded Xiao Chong as a lifelong friend.

Speaking of Lin Xiao, this pair of unmarried couple, they were indeed invincible to his taste!

If he hadn’t already sworn brotherhood with Lin Wanwan, and Lin and Xiao were not engaged, he certainly would have pulled Xiao Chong for another brotherhood.

Lin Wanwan had impressed him initially by leveraging historical information, memorizing articles written by Ma Zhou himself—essentially catering to his interests opportunistically.

Whereas Xiao Chong and Ma Zhou were truly compatible, their philosophies aligning, their mutual admiration was unsurprising.

Regarding the farewell banquet for Ma Zhou, Lin Wanwan held it in the floral hall of her Xiaoxi Town mansion.

Bringing out wine from the modern world, allowing Ma Zhou, Xiao Chong, and Dugu Di, these three old drunkards, to indulge fully while Lin Wanwan and Xiao Ce could only be considered as background.

With good wine, naturally, there couldn’t be a lack of fried chicken!

KFC and McDonald’s Orleans chicken wings, crispy fried chicken, golden chicken nuggets, and various chicken delicacies were served, along with beggar’s chicken specially prepared by a five-star chef, satisfying chicken lover Ma Zhou for once!

It was Ma Zhou’s first time tasting such delicacies, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, "I never thought such a small chicken could have so many ways to cook it. Le’an sister is truly impressive. Having this feast, I can say my life wasn’t in vain!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Lin Wanwan politely covered her mouth with a sleeve, humbly said a few words, then smoothly turned the conversation towards checking Ma Zhou’s pulse.

In historical records, Ma Zhou only lived to forty-eight virtual years, dying from diabetes.

Diabetes is the modern term for "thirst disease" in traditional Chinese medicine.

His condition was quite severe, with numerous complications leading to his death.

Ma Zhou’s passing was deeply mourned by both Li Shimin and Li Zhi.

Originally, Li Shimin had even thought of entrusting Ma Zhou with the care of Li Zhi, keeping him by his side given that he was a truly excellent minister both in governing and still young.

But who would have expected fate to be so unpredictable, brilliance leading to harm?

Lin Wanwan wanted to take advantage of Ma Zhou’s current healthy state, advising him to pay more attention to his health, offering some conditioning to prevent early onset diabetes.

Even if he were to develop diabetes in the future, early diagnosis and control would definitely keep it from becoming life-threatening.

Lin Wanwan believed firmly that since she could change Xiao Chong’s fate, she could naturally alter Ma Zhou’s life.

Her medical skills were personally taught by the famous physician Sun Simiao, and she was also appointed as the Imperial Physician, so her reputation preceded her.

Thus, her medical advice for preventing diabetes was naturally taken to heart by Ma Zhou.

After finishing the chicken and checking the pulse, as the wine flowed, everyone started singing and dancing.

Although Lin Wanwan’s music and dance couldn’t compare with these native Tang performers, she had a cheat item!

As the sun set, Lin Wanwan sang Li Shutong’s "Farewell," with Xiao Chong playing the zither, Dugu Di blowing the flute, Xiao Ce playing the pipe, Ma Zhou strumming the pipa, and Heng Wu plucking the konghou, creating a high-level Tang Dynasty music ensemble.

"Outside the pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass extends beyond the horizon. The evening breeze brushes the willows, the flute music fades, and the sunset sets beyond the mountains. The ends of the earth and the corners of the world, friends are scattered. A pot of cloudy wine exhausts the remaining joy, and tonight’s dreams are cold..."

Causing the servants on the side to be deeply moved, tears pouring down their faces.