The Emperor of Tea

In ancient China, the people have gone hungry and all are dying of diseases, that was till the Divine Farmer; Shennong came.
The man, who may have been a god, taught the people on how to farm and the knowledge of medicine.
In gratitude, the Chinese people made Shennong Emperor, some even called him; the Yellow Emperor.
Emperor Shennong lives in the Imperial Summer Palace within the Permitted City at the heart of the kingdom.
Thanks to the genius of Youchao, ancient China looks like a land from a fairy tale, in the sense that magical creatures live alongside the humans, the mythological beings even help out the humans.
China has become a place where mythology and history co-exists.
Now for the protagonists, yes, plural.
Thomas Rolfe and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas.
(I shall be referring to Thomas-Alexandre as Alex)
Thomas and Alex have made their way to this magical land.
As they look around; they see dragons flying in the sky, they see tigers and lions napping, and a group of red-crowned cranes fly over their heads.
" Woah... " uttered the two boys, both amazed.
Alex now noticed a funny looking mushroom.
" It looks strange, " said Alex, as he picked up the mushroom.
" That mushroom is worth more than your life, " said a girl, who was about the same age as the two boys.
Alex looked at the girl, he then looked back at the mushroom, he then said;
" This thing? "
The girl took the mushroom out of Alex's hand, Alex tried to get it back, but the girl simply, easily, threw Alex to the ground.
" Damn... " said Thomas.
The girl now looked at Thomas, Thomas raised his hands as a sign that he would not be so foolish.
" Xi Shi, where are you? " said a voice.
" Over here, your majesty " said Xi Shi, as she took her foot off Alex's chest.
An elderly looking man now came forth, and with the man was a diamond lion-dog.
The Emperor noticed Alex on the ground.
" Are you okay? " said Shennong, as he helped Alex back up on his feet; " What happened? "
Alex looked at the girl.
" Xi Shi, I have told you to be more kind to others, " said the Emperor, as this was not the first incident.
" He insulted the Ling Zhi! " exclaimed Xi Shi with passion.
" It is just a mushroom? " said Alex.
The Emperor giggled.
" This mushroom saved my life once, " said Shennong, as he looked at the Ling Zhi with gratitude.
" Really? " said Thomas.
The Emperor nodded.
Shennong asked the two boys who they were and where they came from. Their answers intrigued the Emperor, and seeing that Thomas and Alex had no place to call home, Shennong offered that they could stay in the Permitted City, and the two boys humbly accepted the Emperor's offer.
" I can't believe that they are going to live with us... " said Xi Shi.
" The Emperor is kind to all, " said Yan Di, who was the diamond lion-dog.