In the ninth year of Ji Mingchen's reign, the dense fog surrounding the Azure Cloud Realm suddenly dissipated, revealing several new islands.
The entire nation was in an uproar, with ministers submitting memorials one after another, urging military action to seize these islands before others could strike first.
Ji Mingchen himself was inclined to lead the expedition personally. However, Hai Qing had just become pregnant, and he couldn't bear to leave her at such a time. Thus, he had no choice but to select talents from the court.
After much deliberation, he found none who matched his own capabilities, making it impossible to appoint a commander-in-chief.
Headmaster Qin grew impatient and said to him, "If you insist on finding someone of your caliber, the only option would be to recall the retired emperor."
Ji Mingchen pursed his lips at this. "A year ago, Father wrote saying he'd discovered a method for building houses in Newgrass City and was thoroughly enjoying himself. He wouldn't be willing to return."
Despite his words, he still dispatched a covert agent to search for the carefree couple who had lost themselves in their pleasures.
Though the agent was highly skilled, he had never met the retired emperor before. He had only heard rumors of a ruthless and decisive man who could single-handedly take on a hundred enemies on the battlefield—a man who had killed more people than the agent had eaten meals in his lifetime.
Clutching the token, the agent scanned the faces of every menacing-looking person he encountered along the way. As he searched, he grumbled inwardly about why he had accepted such a mission. Finding the retired emperor was one thing, but what if, upon locating him, the emperor took offense and decided to kill him too?
Newgrass City was lush with vegetation, and its buildings were bizarrely constructed—some hung from trees, others nestled within tree hollows, and some built on flat ground—though the latter were often toppled by newly sprouted plants bursting from the earth.
The agent painstakingly searched the city, scrutinizing every menacing face he could find. After enduring several beatings, he still hadn't found anyone who recognized the token as belonging to the retired emperor.
Just as he was about to despair, someone suddenly called out to him, "Hey, young man, lend me a hand."
Turning around, the agent was startled to see a small wooden house being lifted into the air by a newly grown, enormous plant. A kind-faced middle-aged man was holding a rope, attempting to tie the house to the plant's branches.
The agent quickly took the rope and helped secure it.
"Uncle, this house is already being lifted—it's dangerous. Why not move somewhere else?" he suggested kindly.
The man waved his hand dismissively and said firmly, "Once it's tied down, it'll be fine to live in."
He wore simple linen clothes, yet there was an air of elegance about him, making him seem like a recluse.
The agent couldn't help but study him for a moment longer, sighing inwardly. Truly, even heroes can be brought low by a single Shell Coin. Who would willingly live in such a precarious dwelling unless they were truly destitute?
After a moment's thought, the agent pulled out a small gold nugget. "I'll be staying in the city for a while. Why don't you take this and buy a bigger, better house? You can let me stay there for a few days in return."
The man stared silently at the fingernail-sized gold nugget in the agent's hand.
Thinking the man might not recognize it, the agent hastily explained, "This is gold—far more valuable than Shell Coins. This much could buy you a small house."
When the man still didn't react, the agent generously pressed the gold nugget into his hand. "Don't worry, I'm giving this to you freely—no tricks, no strings attached. I just need a place to stay for a few days while I search for someone."
As if to prove his sincerity, he pulled the man along and jumped down from the plant's stem to inspect a nearby treehouse."When I was little, my family was poor too. My parents lived in makeshift sheds. Sadly, by the time I made something of myself, one had passed from illness and the other from depression. I never even got to buy them a proper house." The spy sighed regretfully. "You look about my father's age, so consider this my filial duty."
He wasn't wrong—a single gold nugget could buy a spacious treehouse in Newgrass City.
Yet the elderly man hesitated before the treehouse, reluctant to enter.
"Never lived in such a nice place before, have you?" The spy nodded understandingly, helping him inside. "There are three rooms here. One for when you find a partner, one for future children, and another as a guest room."
At this, the hermit finally spoke: "I have a partner. She's not old."
The spy blinked, then laughed apologetically. "My mistake then. Where's your wife? Should I fetch her?"
"Someone pulled up the scallions we planted behind our house. She went to confront them—she'll be back soon."
But they'd moved locations now. Would she find them? The spy wondered.
Yet before long, a woman appeared carrying a bundle of scallions, grumbling as she walked: "What good is replacing the scallions? That's not the point!"
Before the spy could rise, the previously taciturn hermit suddenly darted out—moving faster than the eye could follow—to take the scallions from her hands, smiling. "What my wife wants is justice."
"Exactly! They kept saying 'the child didn't know better,' trying to brush me off."
"Who? Who said that?" The hermit planted his hands on his hips, eyes blazing. "You're still a child to me too. If they're all children, why should ours yield to theirs? Come on, let's go settle this!"
"Wait, wait!" The woman grabbed his arm, torn between laughter and exasperation. "I was just venting. We'll still be neighbors—if you kill someone, who'd dare live near us?"
Seeing her point, the hermit set down the scallions.
Turning, the woman finally noticed the dumbfounded stranger in the room.
"And this is?" she asked, arching a brow.
The hermit hurriedly explained: "A kind soul. Saw our house got lifted by a tree and spent gold to buy us this treehouse."
Lies. Who'd buy strangers a house out of nowhere?
The woman eyed the hermit suspiciously.
He raised his hands in surrender: "I didn't hit him or threaten him. He thought we were too poor and insisted on buying it."
"..."
Though confused, the spy sensed something amiss: "You two... aren't actually poor?"
"Not exactly." The hermit waved a hand, producing a gold ingot to return. "We appreciate the thought, but take this back before my wife accuses me of bullying honest folk."
The palm-sized gold piece nearly broke his wrist when dropped into his hand.
Stunned, the spy looked between the hermit, the woman, and the gold.
The woman studied him, then suddenly asked: "From the Palace City?"
The spy startled. In his line of work, being recognized was dangerous. He wore plain black—no identifying marks. How did she know?
"Your accent does sound Palace City-ish," the hermit added.
His stomach dropped. A terrible suspicion formed.
"Do you... recognize this?" He produced Your Majesty's token.The two plainly dressed, ordinary-looking couple in front of him suddenly rolled their eyes in unison. "What trouble has Mingchen gotten himself into this time?"
"Only he would have the nerve to use his childhood swaddling clothes as a token."
"You should write him a letter someday and teach him that tokens should be proper items—jade pendants or gold medals would do. With his behavior, does the imperial family have no dignity left?"
"As you wish, my lady."
The spy stood frozen in place, listening to their back-and-forth banter.
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