Royal Gold Magistrate

After getting off the carriage, Li Yuanzhao walked at a leisurely pace, his eyes constantly surveying his surroundings.

This was his first time leaving the palace, and he had rushed straight to Taoyuan County under the cover of night, not even having the chance to properly see the capital.

However, Li Yuanzhao quickly felt greatly disappointed.

Clearly, the environment he saw was not good. The road was merely a dirt path that had been trampled solid, and due to the recent rain, it was now slightly muddy.

There were even quite a few small puddles in many places.

Every few steps, he could smell a strange odor. These smells varied, some stinky, some fishy, but none pleasant.

In such an environment, even if there was a fragrant scent mixed in the air, it would have become incredibly bizarre.

The surrounding houses were not like those in Taoyuan County, built with bricks and stones. Instead, they were made of compacted earth and stacked with wooden materials.

The outer walls were uneven, completely lacking any aesthetic appeal.

Upon closer observation, one could even see protruding round logs from the walls.

The window frames and door panels were indeed made of wood, but the quality of the wood was visibly poor. The inferior wood had already started to turn grayish-white and crack due to long-term exposure to wind and rain.

Only the door panels were different. The middle part, where people had pushed and pulled for years, was already covered with a thick layer of black grime.

Compared to this, the houses in Taoyuan County could simply be described as having carved beams and painted pillars!

The pedestrians on the street also lacked any spirit, matching this dirty and chaotic environment, giving a sense of walking corpses.

Li Yuanzhao stood in place, his eyes beginning to show traces of confusion, and his face even revealed a surprised expression.

The palace tutors had originally depicted the scene outside the palace to him, saying that the common people had not been enlightened by sages and did not recognize the teachings.

Therefore, their upbringing was exceptionally poor, and they used this to instruct him to read more books.

This scene was even more cruel than he had imagined.

But now, standing within the capital, at the foot of the Emperor, it was a world of difference compared to Taoyuan County. Could it be that Fang Zheng was a sage?

No, impossible!

The books read by the people of Taoyuan County were not the books of sages, so why were the streets clean, the houses well-built, and the people lively?

Just as he was in a daze, Guo Tianyang had already quickly arranged the guards and was quietly following behind Li Yuanzhao.

Li Yuanzhao walked with furrowed brows, carefully trying to step on the dry ground to avoid getting mud on his boots.

Hearing a sound behind him, he turned his head and saw Guo Tianyang. He asked, “Eunuch Guo, where is this place?”

“Your Highness, this is the north gate of the inner city.”

“Since it’s already within the scope of the capital, why is it so dirty and messy? It’s even far inferior to Taoyuan County.”

Guo Tianyang smiled. “Your Highness, this is your first time leaving the palace, so you don’t understand the situation. The outer city has only emerged in the past two years.”

“This part near the inner city gate was also later expanded into it. In the past two years, people from all over the country have gathered here, most of them refugees.”

“If you walk further inside, it will get better!”

Li Yuanzhao pursed his lips and turned his head to look at the outer city. “No! I want to see the outer city.”

Guo Tianyang immediately felt a headache coming on and quickly signaled the surrounding guards with his eyes.

The Emperor was already a handful, and this little ancestor was also not giving him any peace.

The outer city had all kinds of people from all walks of life, and it was filthy. What was there to see?

The Crown Prince was dressed in brocade, no different from a little lamb entering a wolf’s den!

So he said in a low voice, trying to please, “Your Highness, let’s go and return early… Don’t keep His Majesty waiting.”

Li Yuanzhao felt inexplicably irritated. He waved his hand and then lifted his feet to walk.

Guo Tianyang quickly waved his hand.

The hidden guards around also quietly followed.

When they reached the outer city, it was almost no different from the area near the inner city gate.

Perhaps because there were no official guards, the number of people was indeed higher than in the inner city.

Many children were playing outside, while vegetable sellers and laundry washers were all working by the roadside.

The strange smell in the air was even stronger because of this.

Guo Tianyang really wanted to cover his nose and mouth. The smell was truly unbearable, making his nose sting and causing nausea.

But seeing that the Crown Prince made no movement, Guo Tianyang could only endure the nausea and follow behind.

Suddenly, halfway through, a household abruptly opened their door and dumped a basin of filthy waste onto the street.

The basin contained dirty water and various other random things, giving off a strong fishy smell.

Li Yuanzhao nimbly jumped back but still couldn’t avoid misfortune. The dirty water splashed on his boots in small droplets.

Li Yuanzhao frowned, looked down at his boots, and then looked at the filthy waste the woman had just dumped.

In a puddle of bloody water, apart from a few rotten vegetable leaves, there were fish heads, fish scales, and various small entrails…

Then, that pungent smell rushed straight to his head, and Li Yuanzhao couldn’t help covering his mouth and retching.

Seeing this, Guo Tianyang quickly covered his nose and mouth first, then jumped out and angrily pointed at the woman. “You lowly woman! How dare you dump garbage on the street and even sully my young master’s boots! What crime should you be charged with?”

The surrounding attendants instantly became alert, all placing their hands on their waists.

The woman quickly glanced at Li Yuanzhao and saw that he was dressed in a grand and luxurious manner, like a young master from an official’s family. She was so startled that she dropped the basin in her hand.

She immediately knelt down and pleaded for forgiveness.

“This commoner didn’t do it on purpose! This commoner didn’t do it on purpose…”

The woman knelt on the ground, shaking nonstop, repeating just these two sentences.

By this time, Li Yuanzhao had also adapted to that fishy smell. Although it was a bit nauseating, it was still bearable.

He walked up to the woman, originally wanting to angrily reprimand her, but seeing the woman continuously begging for mercy and kneeling in the mud, the anger in his heart inexplicably dissipated more than half.

Then, as if possessed, he asked a strange question, “What are you eating?”

“Huh?” The woman was stunned by his question, her mind unable to process it.

After a moment, she stammered, “Fish… stewed fish…”

“Get up. Let me take a look.” Then, Li Yuanzhao bypassed the woman and entered the house without any courtesy.

Guo Tianyang was shocked and dumbfounded. What was wrong with the Crown Prince?

After staying in Taoyuan County for two days, he had come back abnormal!

What was so good about the stewed fish in a commoner’s home? And he even barged into someone’s house. What was so good about that broken-down place?

Seeing that the Crown Prince had already slipped into the house, Guo Tianyang hurriedly followed.

People gradually began to approach the surrounding area of the house.

Inside the house, it was a bit dim. The small room had only one window for lighting.

The house had only two rooms, separated by a cloth curtain. The inner room was obviously the bedroom, while the outer room served as the kitchen and small hall.

The pot on the stove was still boiling, and it was unknown what had been added to it. The originally milky white fish soup now appeared as a turbid yellow color.

The smell was not very pleasant either.

Li Yuanzhao kept observing the house, his mind pondering over something unknown.

Suddenly, he turned to the woman and asked, “You just eat this?”

The woman stood trembling in the corner, unable to fathom the intentions of this noble young master in front of her.

Hearing his question, she quickly replied, “No, no, no. This is prepared for this commoner’s husband. He’s injured… and needs fish soup to nourish his body.”

Then she stepped forward and pulled open the cloth curtain between the kitchen and the bedroom.

Inside, a pale and sickly man was sleeping, his right leg tightly bandaged.

“What happened to his leg?”

“A few days ago, he went out to work and broke his leg…”

“Then what do you usually eat?”