After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Xiao Jing had no choice but to follow, and gave Mu Bin a wink.

Mu Bin understood and quietly waved his hand, and several Jinyiwei followers dispersed without making a sound.

When the Hongzhi Emperor arrived at the thatched hut, he found that it was even more dilapidated than it appeared from a distance.

Some sheds were half collapsed and blocked with straw, and the ground was full of mud, making a crunching sound when you stepped on it.

The Hongzhi Emperor stopped in front of a shed. The door was ajar, and he pushed it open gently.

The room was dimly lit, and a musty smell wafted out.

Who is it?

An old woman's voice came from inside the house.

Emperor Hongzhi hesitated for a moment, but still stepped inside.

"Is that Dayong? Dayong is back?"

The voice came from the inner room, sounding somewhat anxious.

Yang Shen entered the house first and said, "Grandpa, it's me!"

The Hongzhi Emperor then followed him in and saw several bundles of dry grass on the ground, covered with straw mats.

An old woman sat on a straw mat, squinting for a long time before finally recognizing the person. A smile spread across her face: "Oh, it's the owner! Please sit down! Oh dear, the house is dirty, please don't mind..."

She tried to get out of bed, but her legs seemed to be weak, and she couldn't move after a couple of attempts.

Yang Shen quickly helped her up: "Grandma, don't move. We were just passing by and thought we'd take a look."

The old woman had no choice but to sit back down, muttering, "Please wait a moment, I'll boil some water for you. We don't have any tea leaves, please don't mind..."

The Hongzhi Emperor stepped forward and said with a smile, "Old man, there's no need to bother, we're not thirsty."

The old woman looked up and asked, "And this is...?"

Yang Shen said, "This is another owner of our business, Master Zhu."

The old woman quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Mr. Zhu! Please have a seat!"

The Hongzhi Emperor looked around and, finding no place to sit, said, "Old man, I've heard you're different from those refugees; you're a local from Wuqing County. What brings you to the workshop?"

The old woman sighed, "We've lost all our land. What's the difference between us and refugees?"

The Hongzhi Emperor frowned slightly and asked, "How could the land be gone? What does this mean?"

The old woman said, "My family used to own ten mu of land, which was registered under the name of Master Wu..."

The Hongzhi Emperor then asked, "Registered under someone's name? What does this mean?"

The old woman said, "Master Wu has the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the county level), so he is exempt from taxes. My family's ten mu of land is registered under his name, and we pay him two shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain every year. That's enough to feed our whole family. If we grow our own land, the government will collect taxes and we won't have much left."

The Hongzhi Emperor paused for a moment, then asked, "The government's taxes are more than the landlords' rent?"

The old woman gave a wry smile: "That's right! People like Master Wu, who have official titles, don't have to pay taxes. Aren't all the taxes collected by the government passed on to us ordinary people?"

The Hongzhi Emperor's expression was rather unpleasant.

Xiao Jing and Mu Bin exchanged a glance, neither daring to utter a sound.

The Hongzhi Emperor then asked, "And then?"

The old woman continued, "Later, Dayong's father fell ill and had no money for treatment, so he borrowed two strings of cash from Master Wu. In the end, the illness was not cured, and the two strings of cash accrued interest, so he had to repay fifteen taels in the end."

The Hongzhi Emperor frowned: "Such high interest rates? Why not borrow from a money lender?"

The old woman shook her head: "It's the same no matter where you borrow from. The interest rates at money shops aren't low, and you have to take collateral. Our family has nothing but those ten acres of land, and the land is all under Master Wu's name, so we can't use it as collateral."

The Hongzhi Emperor fell silent.

The old woman continued, "Dayong's father passed away, and we had no money to repay, so we mortgaged those ten acres of land to Master Wu. Master Wu said that we could continue to farm it, but the rent would be increased to five shi of grain."

The Hongzhi Emperor asked, "How much will be left at the end of the year?"

The old woman's face was full of bitter smiles as she said, "Ten acres of land, in a good year, can yield twenty bushels of grain. After paying five bushels in rent, what's left is just enough for my mother and me to eat and drink. There's not even enough for seeds. In a year of disaster, we have to borrow grain, and if we borrow grain, next year will be even tighter."

The Hongzhi Emperor looked at her without saying a word.

The old woman suddenly smiled and said, "Luckily, someone in the village works in the workshop. He told Dayong that there was a very kind person in Wuqing County who had opened a workshop. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can make money. So Dayong brought me here."

The Hongzhi Emperor asked, "How is it here?"

The old woman smiled and said, "We only found out when we got here that the Crown Prince also has a share in this business! Everyone says that the Emperor is considerate of the people and specially opened this workshop to give us poor people a place to eat. Dayong works at the brick kiln and earns six hundred coins a month, which includes one meal. Yesterday, he even bought a piece of floral cloth to make me new clothes."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, "To be honest, my poor Dayong has never worn new clothes since he was a child. Now that he has money, he still thinks about this old woman like me..."

The Hongzhi Emperor suddenly turned his head away.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. Then he crawled out of the thatched hut.

Yang Shen quickly said to the old woman, "Grandma, please rest well. Master Zhu still has other places to visit."

The old woman bowed slightly: "This old woman's legs are weak, so I won't see you off any further. Take care, sir/madam Zhu. Please come again soon..."

The Hongzhi Emperor stood outside the tent.

The sky was overcast, and snowflakes began to fall again.

He felt a tightness in his chest and gasped for breath of the cold air.

Xiao Jing cautiously approached: "Master, it's cold outside, why don't we go back inside first..."

After a long silence, the Hongzhi Emperor suddenly spoke: "Yang Shen, come here!"

After saying that, he took a few steps forward, away from the crowd.

Yang Shen's heart skipped a beat, but he steeled himself and followed.

The others wisely stayed where they were and kept their distance.

The Hongzhi Emperor turned around, his eyes red-rimmed, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you going to do?"

"what……"

Yang Shen was stunned and at a loss for what to do.

The Hongzhi Emperor stared into his eyes and continued, "Those things you just mentioned, you prepared them especially for me, didn't you? You wanted me to know that in Wuqing County, which is only fifty li from the capital, the people live in poverty, and the problem of wealthy households hiding their land is commonplace! If it's like this right under the emperor's nose, what about the other prefectures and counties in the country? My Ming Dynasty is completely rotten, isn't it?"

Yang Shen's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud: "I didn't mean that!"

He inwardly groaned, "You insisted on going on this incognito trip, why are you getting so worked up now!"

The Hongzhi Emperor barked, "Stand up for me!"

Yang Shen quickly got up, lowered his head, and dared not speak.

The Hongzhi Emperor, his eyes red, continued, "I had considered that the lives of ordinary people were difficult, and I had thought that the wording in those memorials might be exaggerated, but I never imagined it would be like this... just pure fluff!"

Yang Shen was filled with fear, but still dared not speak.

The Hongzhi Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "You just wanted me to see the real lives of ordinary people, didn't you? Fine, you succeeded! And then what? Tell me, what's next? Don't you dare say you don't know! Otherwise, I'll think you're toying with me! Do you believe I'll punish you for deceiving the emperor?!"