The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

"Zhu——Ming——"

A furious shout from Empress Ma immediately resounded throughout the entire hall.

However, when she turned around, Zhu Ming was nowhere to be seen.

It turned out that the moment Empress Ma put down the bowl, the little guy's hair stood on end.

Just like Peter Parker's spider sense!

not good!

You're going to get beaten up!

Without saying a word, Zhu Ming took off running.

That speed is faster than a rabbit!

result,

He had just reached the door when he bumped into Huang Zi'an, who was rushing in.

"Bang!!!"

Huang Zian flew out with a "whoosh".

Huang Zi'an: "???"

He was completely stunned.

He felt like he had just bumped into a wall...

No, it crashed into a stone pillar!

It's made of iron!

With a "plop".

Huang Zi'an fell heavily to the ground, feeling dizzy and seeing stars.

And what about the Ming Dynasty?

He stood still, completely motionless, as if nothing had happened.

Good heavens, the Sixth Prince's physique is far too tough!

Zhu Ming glanced down at the person on the ground and casually said, "Sorry, sorry, I'll treat you to dinner later."

After saying that, he lifted his foot to continue his escape.

"Your Highness, please wait!"

Ignoring the pain all over his body, Huang Zi'an scrambled to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Something terrible has happened!"

Zhu Ming paused, turned around and glanced at him.

"Hmm? What's the rush? Could it be that the Purple Sweet Potato Spirit has attacked?"

"Li... wait, what is a sweet potato spirit?" Huang Zian was completely bewildered.

Zhu Ming laughed and waved his hand casually, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, please continue!"

Suppressing his curiosity, Huang Zi'an quickly reported what he had learned: "It's the Li family. I found out this morning that they're preparing to open their granaries and distribute grain at the city gate!"

"When I arrived, everyone in town had gone to drink porridge!"

Zhu Ming tilted his head, looking puzzled, and said, "Opening the granaries and distributing grain? Isn't that a good thing?"

Huang Zi'an stamped his feet in frustration: "Your Highness, you are unaware of the truth!"

"The Li family's opening of the granary to distribute grain was just a ruse!"

"His real purpose was to spread rumors under the guise of distributing grain!"

"What rumors?" Zhu Ming asked.

Huang Zi'an explained, "That bastard Li Shouren deliberately spread the word that this grain was released because his daughter cared about the people!"

"They also said his daughter was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see people starving; she had long ago advised him to open the granaries to provide disaster relief!"

"Now that Miss Li has been wrongfully detained by His Highness, the people... are all crying out for her justice!"

"The whole city is buzzing with rumors that Your Highness is indiscriminately detaining innocent people and exploiting the common folk!"

"If this continues, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the entire city will kneel before your door, begging you to release them!"

And at this moment,

Empress Ma and Xu Miaoyun also chased after them.

The two men, who had come with great momentum to settle scores with Zhu Ming, stopped in their tracks upon hearing Huang Zi'an's words.

"Open the granaries and distribute grain?"

"Spreading rumors?"

"Are you using the people's voices to force us to release them?"

Empress Ma's beautiful brows furrowed slightly.

I never expected the Li family to have this trick up their sleeve.

She glanced at Zhu Ming, wanting to test her youngest son, and asked:

"Ming'er, given this situation, what are your plans for next?"

Zhu Ming's eyes lit up, and he instantly had an idea. A confident smile appeared on his lips.

"Mother, don't worry, I already have a solution."

"but……"

He blinked, keeping everyone in suspense:

"Please allow me to keep you in suspense for now; you'll find out soon enough!"

Empress Ma shook her head helplessly at his cunning expression.

This child...

What time is it? Why are you still keeping us in suspense?

However, seeing his confident demeanor, she felt somewhat relieved.

"Alright, Mother is waiting to see what you've got."

Zhu Ming chuckled and turned to look at Huang Zi'an:

"Huang Zi'an".

"This humble subject is here!"

Huang Zi'an quickly agreed.

"You lead the way."

"Take me to see where the Li family opened their granary to distribute grain."

"Alright! Your Highness, this way please!"

Without saying a word, Huang Zi'an eagerly led the way.

Zhu Ming, Empress Ma, and Xu Miaoyun then set off with him.

When we arrived at the city gate—

The sight before them stunned everyone.

The porridge stall was packed with people.

Men, women, young and old, were all dressed in rags, their faces sallow and emaciated.

One by one, they held broken bowls, lined up in a long queue, and stared longingly at the steaming pot in front of them.

The queue stretched for over a hundred feet, winding from the city gate all the way to the end of the street.

Some people were standing on tiptoe, straining to look ahead;

Someone was tightly guarding the broken bowl in their hands, as if afraid it would be knocked away by someone else;

Several children, perched on their parents' shoulders, stared longingly at the pot of porridge, constantly swallowing their saliva.

Empress Ma's face went from gloomy at the beginning to turning ashen at the end.

As the Empress, she believed that under Zhu Yuanzhang's rule, the Ming Dynasty was peaceful and prosperous, and the people lived in peace and contentment.

But what she saw before her was like a resounding slap across the face.

Within the Great Ming Dynasty, there are still so many people who can't even get a meal!

She took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: "This year, the officials of the court have all submitted memorials praising the favorable weather and abundant harvests in various regions!"

"But what harvest is there right now?"

"What kind of peace and security is this?!"

Empress Ma's chest heaved violently with anger, her eyes filled with heartache and fury.

She wasn't unaware that there were always places in the world that concealed or falsified information.

But she never expected—

This cover-up and false reporting has gone to such an extreme!

The memorial to the emperor proclaimed a year of favorable weather and abundant harvests, but in reality, the city was filled with starving people, and every household was hanging white banners!

Zhu Ming stood beside her, watching the scene before him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He wasn't as surprised as Empress Ma.

after all……

He already saw it when he came yesterday.

So when he heard Empress Ma's angry question...

The little guy muttered something to himself.

"We only report good news, not bad news."

"Those at the top want political achievements, so those at the bottom make up lies, layer by layer, until in the end, everyone in the world claims it's a bumper year."

Zhu Ming was pondering this in his mind, but his steps did not stop.

He squeezed to the front of the porridge stall and peered into the large pot.

Good guy.

All I could see in the pot was a thin, watery broth with a few lonely grains of rice floating on top.

There were so few grains of rice that if you stirred it with a spoon, you could see your reflection in it.

It's less like a pot of porridge and more like a pot of dishwater.

Zhu Ming curled his lip and couldn't help but complain, "This can be called porridge? Looks like the Li family isn't very powerful!"

"Since you're going to open the granaries and distribute grain, why not at least get something good? This bland, watery broth—what good will it do?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Huang Zi'an, who was standing nearby, quickly lowered his voice and leaned closer, saying, "Your Highness, you are unaware of this."

"The Li family's distribution of grain is just for show; how could they possibly be willing to give away grain that's worth real money?"

"This porridge is just something to fool the people into thinking it's good, so they can gain some reputation for it."

Zhu Ming chuckled, about to say something more...

Suddenly, a murmur of conversation came from not far away.