Thinking of this, Zhu Di waved his hand slightly, signaling Zhu Gaochi to leave.

Zhu Gaochi bowed slightly, then turned and left.

Then Zhu Di rubbed his forehead and muttered to himself:

"I'm afraid this grandson's trip to the north isn't so simple. What exactly is he up to? What is he trying to do?"

He was incredibly confused. If Zhu Yunwen had become the crown prince and come to the north, he wouldn't have had so many wild thoughts.

However, Zhu Yunwen's performance during this period was quite remarkable, which made Zhu Di more cautious.

In fact, Zhu Di still hoped that Zhu Yunwen would become the crown prince.

He felt that Zhu Yunwen would be easier to deal with as the crown prince.

However, although Zhu Yunwen was very bad before, he now has a kind of unfathomable feeling.

The things they did were quite skillful.

He easily removed Zhu Yunwen, who had been greatly favored by Zhu Yuanzhang, and directly made Zhu Yuanzhang appoint him as the crown prince. This is enough to show that Zhu Yunwen was no ordinary person.

Faced with such a suddenly rising grandson, Zhu Di was still somewhat uncertain.

...

Meanwhile, after Zhu Yunwen set off in a grand manner, officials were waiting in advance to receive him in the prefectures and counties he passed through.

This was very different from Zhu Yunwen's two previous secret departures from the palace. On those two occasions, he always witnessed the suffering of the people and the tragic state of the world.

This time, however, he made a grand trip to the north as the grandson of the emperor, but wherever he went, he did not see the common suffering of the people that should have been so prevalent.

Even some people who are not well-off have never seen it.

It was as if leaving the capital this time meant entering another world, a world without any injustice, tragedy, or people worrying about not having enough to eat, and without so many unfair things.

However, this very fact made Zhu Yunwen feel somewhat sad.

Sure enough, appearing as the Crown Prince meant he couldn't see what he was supposed to see.

What he saw was what officials in various places wanted him to see.

This approach actually angered Zhu Yunwen even more. This kind of concealment and acting was a hateful act of deceiving superiors and subordinates.

Especially when Zhu Yunwen passed by a field where there was almost no harvest.

But when he saw dozens of people in a village eating rice, flour, steamed buns, and even vegetables and meat, he finally couldn't suppress his anger.

Zhu Yunwen was passing through this village at that moment, so he entered the village to rest.

After wandering around the village, he returned to the farmer's house where he had rested, and his face turned gloomy as he sat down.

Zhao Qingzhu, who was standing to the side, said to Zhu Yunwen:

"The villagers here eat and drink well, so why are you still unhappy?"

Zhu Yunwen snorted and said:

Do you really think those people are ordinary citizens?

Zhao Qingzhu paused for a moment and said:

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? If they aren't commoners, then what are they?"

Zhu Yunwen sighed and said:

“Look at the people in those villages, look at their hands, look at their feet, look at the clothes they wear, how can they be considered people living in such a poor place?”

They're all clearly pampered people, yet they eat so well? Does this place not need them to grow food, but instead have rice, flour, and steamed buns fall from the sky for them to eat and drink?

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Zhao Qingzhu hesitated for a moment, thought carefully, and then said:

"It seems so. Not only are their clothes clean and tidy, but their shoes are also good and not muddy."

That's not all; their hands, which I saw earlier, weren't rough at all, not like the hands of someone who does manual labor. Indeed, hands like theirs clearly haven't done farm work before.

Furthermore, the crops in the surrounding fields seem to be yielding poor harvests. It's quite strange that they're still able to eat rice, flour, and steamed buns.

Zhu Yunwen said, "That's not all. There are probably even more unexpected things in the future."

As he spoke, Zhu Yunwen looked at four of the ten Jinyiwei centurions and said to them:

"Go investigate, but don't let the local officials know. Investigate secretly."

The four Imperial Guards bowed and left. At that moment, a county magistrate dressed in a seventh-rank blue official robe cautiously entered, cupped his hands, and said:

"Your Highness, it's lunchtime. Would you like some food brought in?"

Zhu Yunwen paused for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Then let's have lunch!"

With a wave of his hand, the magistrate sent seven or eight beautiful young women carrying platters of delicacies into the house and placing them on the table.

Zhu Yunwen walked over and took a look. There were chickens, ducks, fish, meat, and even bear paws on the table.

It's not surprising that there are black bears in the mountains near the north, but Zhu Yunwen really had no interest in eating bear paws.

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and invited Zhao Qingzhu to sit down and eat with him.

He immediately spoke to the county magistrate:

"The people in this village seem to live a very comfortable life, and they eat quite well. I suppose you, the county magistrate, are quite capable."

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's praise, the county magistrate became excited and said:

"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. I will certainly govern this area well."

Zhu Yunwen snorted, however. He was now just waiting for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to return and report the truth to him.