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The hundreds of guards who accompanied him barely squeezed into the yard temporarily, but it became unbearable over time.

Among those guards, many were the scions of distinguished families. They had never endured such hardship before, and they all flocked to the attending ministers to complain.

“This isn’t a military expedition. We are always crowded in these tents, and even using the latrine requires queuing. Minister Lv, why not request the village chief of this village find us brothers an alternative place to stay, as long as it doesn’t affect our duties?”

Minister Lv, who was the Empress Lv’s biological brother and one of the ministers who moved into Dongchen Village with the retired Emperor. He thought for a moment and felt the guards’ request was reasonable.

The homes in this village were quite spacious, and by requisitioning two or three courtyards they could accommodate all the guards.

He rushed to report to the Emperor, only to receive Zhou Wuchang’s response: “If that’s the case, let them return to Beijing. I am safe here, even safer than in the Imperial Palace. There’s no need for so many people to disrupt the peace here.”

Resignedly, Minister Lv instructed the guards to whittle over five hundred bamboo sticks, painting one end of a hundred of them black with ink. Once dry, the sticks were mixed together and placed black end internally into a large pen holder.

Then, he gathered all the men and asked them to draw sticks. Those who drew a stick with a black end were to stay, while those who did not were to immediately return to Beijing.

The guards were left speechless when they heard this.

However, some willingly chose to return as, after all, there was no possible advancement for them in the countryside.

The clever guards quickly traded their white sticks for the black ones held by those willing to leave, and those who were slow were left without the opportunity to switch.

While many were still debating whether to stay or go, those holding black sticks were already registering with Minister Lv.

Next, the guards with white sticks packed their bags, preparing to return to Beijing the next day.

Many of them felt regret.

As martial artists, they could easily gauge the condition of their bodies and since moving in, they all felt a profound sense of wellbeing. Even after exercising with stone locks, just a brief rest would completely alleviate any muscular pain.

Now that the Emperor was asking them to leave, it was likely they wouldn’t be allowed to return.

The guards had lived in the village for a couple of months and could see people lingering outside every day. They had started since the first of the month, families taking turns to wait in line, hoping they could enter the village on the fifteenth and worship the Divine Tree within.

Some guards had seen villagers accepting bribes from outsiders, letting a few of them stroll through the village, picking a handful of fresh vegetables for them, and the outsiders would leave happily, without any complaints.

The scene echoed in the minds of the guards, filling them with apprehension.

“I don’t want to leave!” One guard shouted, running up to Minister Lv with a grimace. “Minister, I wish to stay here to serve the retired Emperor.”

Minister Lv responded helplessly: “The Emperor intends to retreat here. He doesn’t need so many people. You all go first, and we’ll talk about your duty rotation later.” If these guards were intended to stay here permanently, there would have to be a time limit. The long-term stay could be two or three years, and the short-term stay could be a year or half a year. Afterwards, who could or couldn’t come back was uncertain.

The guard knelt on one knee, “I don’t wish to return, I just want to stay here and guard the Emperor.”

Minister Lv stroked his beard, pondering for a moment, and said: “The draw has already been done, and I cannot show favoritism. If you really want to stay, you might try to find someone outside to swap with.”

This young man was the grandson of a Song family in Beijing, whose grandfather was the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel. Minister Lv knew the family, so he treated the boy politely.

Song Yu saw Minister Lv was not willing to relent, so he had to try and swap with someone again.

In the end, he spent ten coins to swap his white stick for a black one from a poor guard.

People laughed at him for being foolish, spending ten coins for a chance to stay, wondering what his motivations were.

Song Yu did not argue with them. He cheerfully carried his luggage back to the large courtyard.

In a blink of an eye, several months had passed, and the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn grown in Dongchen Village had all ripened.

The villagers each boiled a pot of sweet potatoes and potatoes. If they couldn’t finish it, they gave the leftovers to the pigs.

Chen Zhao found that roasted sweet potatoes tasted sweet and persistent, so he had someone make a roasting stove and put it outside his tavern to sell roasted sweet potatoes.

Sure enough, the roasted sweet potato business was very popular, mainly purchased by wealthy foreigners.

People from outside the village were seeing this food for the first time, so they came over to inquire, even buying some raw sweet potatoes to bring back with plans of growing them as main crops next year.

In the meantime, Wei Zhan gathered the County Magistrate of Qinchuan County and Zhouhe County and gave them a batch of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, asking them to distribute it to the villages, making sure that these crops were spread throughout the entire county.

Before we knew it, it was the fifteenth of August.

Dongchen Village was bustling because many old ministers had come from Beijing wanting to pay their respects to the retired Emperor.

Their carriages soon packed Chuanhe Town, and outside Dongchen Village, there was a continuous flow of horses and carriages.

The market at Dongchen Village was as busy as a temple fair, with all the vendors and merchants picking up money like mad, so busy they could hardly cope.

The inns were even more overcrowded, and the price of an ordinary guest room was more than ten times the usual rate.

Despite this, the demand was still greater than the supply. Chen Xubao had no choice but to clear out their house rooms for guests to stay in.

Chen Changping saw so many distinguished guests arriving, which sharpened his mind considerably. He focused on helping his son manage the inn, occasionally making conversation with the distinguished guests.

When these high-ranking officials learnt that he had once been a scholar, but then was dismissed, they felt some sympathy for him and introduced him to several influential families, suggesting that he take up a staff position.

After careful consideration, Chen Changping eventually decided not to go.

He was in his twilight years, his mindset was calm, and seeing all these distinguished people coming to stay in his small village triggered a sense of pride in his heart unexpectedly.

Thinking about it in a different way, he felt that living like this for a lifetime wouldn’t be so bad.

His son Xubao’s inn business was booming, and he generously gave his father a coin every month as pocket money. As long as he did not gamble, he could buy and eat what he liked with this money. Moreover, he was not interested in women and occasionally taught his grandson. His life was pleasant and satisfying.

Upon this realization, the resentment in Chen Changping’s heart suddenly faded, and he started to behave more kindly towards others.

Even when he saw the much younger Jiang family, he remained calm.

Today, Zhou Wuchang was receiving ministers in the fruit orchard of Yingbao’s home.

Many types of fruit were arranged on the stone table in front of him, including mare’s milk grapes from the Western Region, pears, tangerines, papayas, ripened persimmons, and a variety of sesame candies and hibiscus pastries. All these gifts were given by Yingbao and were said to be cultivated in a way that they possessed abundant spiritual energy. Eating them could prolong any person’s life.

Two old ministers approached Zhou Wuchang, weeping behind their hands, “We’ve missed Your Majesty so much… ”

Zhou Wuchang’s face twitched, and he ordered his attendants to bring stools for them to sit on.

These old ministers were fathers or grandfathers of imperial consorts, and he had to treat them with some respect.

Consort Yao’s eighty-year-old grandfather shakily sat down, trying his eyes and said, “Your Majesty, I wish to stay here with you.”