Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

After getting out of the carriage, Li Yuanzhao strolled along, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings.

His first time leaving the palace was when he rushed straight to Taoyuan County under the cover of night, and he hadn't had the chance to properly see the capital yet.

However, Li Yuanzhao quickly felt greatly disappointed.

Clearly, the surrounding environment was not good. The road was just a dirt road that had been compacted, and because it had rained not long ago, it was somewhat muddy.

There were even some small puddles in many places.

Every few steps, he could smell a strange odor. The smells were not all the same; some were foul, some were fishy, but none were fragrant.

In such an environment, even if there were a fragrance mixed in the air, it would become extremely strange.

The surrounding houses were also not like those in Taoyuan County, built with bricks and stones, but rather made of rammed earth and wood.

The exterior walls were uneven and completely lacked any aesthetic appeal.

Upon closer inspection, one could see sections of round wood protruding from the walls.

The window frames and door panels were also made of wood, but the quality of the wood was visibly poor. The inferior wood had even begun to turn grayish-white and crack due to prolonged exposure to wind and rain.

Only the door panel was different. The area around the door had been pushed and pulled by people for many years, and the middle part was covered with a thick layer of black paste.

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

The pedestrians on the street also lacked vitality, which, coupled with the dirty and chaotic environment, gave off a sense of walking corpses.

Li Yuanzhao stood in place, a trace of confusion beginning to appear in his eyes, and even a look of astonishment on his face.

The teachers in the palace had originally described the scenes outside the palace to him, saying that the common people, not having been enlightened by sages, did not understand education.

Therefore, their manners were particularly 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 Son of Heaven, it was as different as clouds and mud compared to Taoyuan County. Could it be that Fang Zheng was a sage?

No, impossible!

The books that the people of Taoyuan County read were not the books of sages either, so why were the streets clean, the houses orderly, and the people full of vitality?

Just as he was stunned, Guo Tianyang had quickly arranged for the guards and was quietly following behind Li Yuanzhao.

Li Yuanzhao frowned, carefully trying to step on dry ground to avoid getting mud on his boots.

Hearing a sound behind him, he turned around and saw that it was Guo Tianyang, so he asked, "Eunuch Guo, where is this place?"

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

"Now that we have reached the capital, why is it so dirty and chaotic? It's even far inferior to Taoyuan County."

Guo Tianyang smiled and said, "Your Highness, this is your first time leaving the palace, so you don't understand the situation. This outer city is newly built in the last two years."

"This part near the inner city gate was also expanded later. In the past two years, people from all over the country have gathered here, most of whom are refugees."

"If you walk further in, it will be better!"

Li Yuanzhao pursed his lips and looked back at the outer city: "No! This prince wants to go to the outer city and take a look."

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

The emperor was worrying, and this little ancestor was also not letting people worry.

The outer city had all sorts of people, and it was dirty. What was there to see!

The prince was wearing silk and satin, no different from a little white sheep entering a wolf's den!

So he flattered in a low voice: "Your Highness, let's go early and come back early... Don't let His Majesty wait anxiously."

Li Yuanzhao felt inexplicably irritable, waved his hand, and then raised his foot and walked away.

Guo Tianyang quickly waved his hand.

The surrounding hidden guards also quietly followed.

Arriving at the outer city, it was almost the same as the vicinity of the inner city gate.

Perhaps because there were no soldiers guarding it, the number of people was much larger than in the inner city.

Many children were playing outside, and those selling vegetables and washing clothes were all working by the street.

The strange smell in the air was therefore even stronger.

Guo Tianyang really wanted to cover his nose. The smell was really unpleasant, his nose felt sore, and he felt nauseous.

But seeing that the prince didn't move, Guo Tianyang could only endure the nausea and follow behind.

Suddenly, halfway down the road, a family suddenly opened the door and splashed a basin of dirty waste onto the street.

The basin contained dirty water and other miscellaneous things, with a strong fishy smell.

Li Yuanzhao agilely jumped back but was still unable to escape. Spots of dirty water splashed on his boots.

Li Yuanzhao frowned, looked down at his boots, and then looked at the filth that the woman had just splashed out.

In a pool of blood, besides a few rotten vegetable leaves, there were also fish heads, fish scales, and various small internal organs...

Then, the fishy smell rushed straight to his head, and Li Yuanzhao couldn't help but cover his mouth and retch.

Seeing this, Guo Tianyang quickly covered his nose and mouth, then jumped out and pointed at the woman, angrily saying: "You lowly woman! How dare you splash garbage on the street and stain my young master's boots! What is your crime worth!"

The surrounding guards immediately became vigilant and put their hands on their waists.

The woman quickly glanced at Li Yuanzhao, and seeing that he was wearing luxurious clothes and looked like a young master from a high-ranking official's family, she dropped the basin in her hand in fright.

She quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

"This commoner didn't do it intentionally! This commoner didn't do it intentionally..."

The woman knelt on the ground, trembling non-stop, repeating these two sentences over and over again.

Li Yuanzhao had now adapted to the fishy smell. Although he felt a little nauseous, he could still bear it.

Walking in front of the woman, he originally wanted to scold her, but seeing the woman constantly begging for mercy and kneeling on the muddy ground, the anger in his heart suddenly disappeared by more than half for some reason.

Then, he asked, as if possessed, "What are you eating?"

"Ah?" The woman's mind went blank upon hearing his question.

After a while, she said hesitantly, "Fish... stewed fish..."

"Get up, let me take a look." Then, Li Yuanzhao walked past the woman and unceremoniously entered the room.

Guo Tianyang was stunned. What was wrong with the prince!

After staying in Taoyuan County for two days, he had come back a changed man!

What was so interesting about the common people's stewed fish? He even went into their house. What was so good about that broken place!?

Seeing that the prince had already slipped into the house, Guo Tianyang quickly followed.

People began to approach the house sporadically.

Inside the house, it seemed somewhat dim. The small room only had one window for light.

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

The soup in the pot on the stove was still bubbling. It was unknown what was added to it, but the fish soup, which should have been milky white, was now a turbid yellow.

The smell was also not very pleasant.

Li Yuanzhao kept looking around the room, wondering what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he turned to the woman and said, "You eat this?"

The woman stood timidly in the corner, unable to figure out the thoughts of this noble young master.

Hearing him ask, she quickly replied: "No, no, no, this is prepared for the commoner's man. He is injured... and needs fish soup to nourish his body."

Then, she took a step forward and pulled open the cloth curtain between the kitchen and the bedroom.

Inside, a man with a sallow complexion was lying asleep, his right leg wrapped tightly.

"What happened to his leg?"

"He broke his leg while going out to work a few days ago...."

"Then what do you usually eat?"