With the passing of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, it naturally meant that the original Eastern Palace staff needed to be rebuilt. In fact, at the beginning of the dynasty, Emperor Zhu generously selected meritorious and virtuous elders to serve as tutors to the Crown Prince, essentially meaning that the emperor and the Crown Prince shared the same staff.

Over the years, the original core group of the Crown Prince's staff has dwindled to very few, not to mention that now they are preparing a core group for the Crown Prince.

Old Zhu and Great Zhu had discussed this matter before, but at that time there was no need to rush. But now, things are different. The Crown Prince is gone, and Old Zhu is also worried about his age; many things cannot be delayed.

The system of officials in the Eastern Palace originated in the Yin and Zhou dynasties, and underwent some changes throughout the dynasties. Just like the present Ming Dynasty had the Dabentang, which stored ancient and modern books and summoned famous scholars from all over the country to instruct the Crown Prince and princes. After the Crown Prince resided in the Wenhuatang, he was attended by scholars and selected talented people to accompany him in his studies.

Old Zhu sat up again and carefully studied the list he had drafted.

He was well aware that while the official system for the Eastern Palace had specific regulations throughout history, the actual setup, staffing, and power all depended on the Crown Prince's situation. If there was no Crown Prince, all officials in the system would be dismissed. If the Crown Prince fell out of favor, the Eastern Palace officials would be weaker and more frequently subjected to attacks and exclusion; otherwise, the opposite would be true.

The presence, absence, and deposition of a crown prince directly affect the stability of the political situation and the hearts of the people. The quality of the crown prince is related to the rise and fall of the dynasty and the continuity of the imperial power. Because the crown prince is the "foundation of the nation," it naturally means that the cultivation of a successor has always been highly valued by both the court and the public.

For civil and military officials and nobles, although the ranks of the officials in the Eastern Palace were not high and they did not hold real power, they were highly honored. Moreover, the establishment of the Eastern Palace official system formed a power system centered on the Crown Prince, and these people were also the candidates for important ministers after the Crown Prince ascended the throne.

Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince: Old Zhu was still wavering between Lan Yu and Fu Youde after much deliberation. In fact, Feng Sheng was also qualified. The three founding dukes already had prestige, and moreover, their special relationship with Zhu Xiong Ying naturally meant that they could be given important responsibilities.

These are the so-called three tutors of the Crown Prince, the most important members of the Eastern Palace's staff.

Mei Yin, the son-in-law of the Right Grand Chamberlain, was Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite son-in-law. Liu Zhi and Li Qi were appointed as Associate Grand Chamberlains, while Ru Chang, a confidant of Zhu Xiong Ying, concurrently served as Deputy Grand Chamberlain. Lian Zining had to be removed because he was the father of the Crown Prince's concubine and was unsuitable to hold a position in the Eastern Palace.

When workaholic Lao Zhu gets into work mode, he naturally forgets to eat and sleep until Shuangquan reminds him.

After glancing at Shuangquan, Old Zhu said with a stern face, "You are not allowed to tell the Crown Prince about what happened today."

Shuangquan immediately knelt down. As a eunuch sent by the Crown Prince to His Majesty the Emperor, Shuangquan's stance was upright. "Your Majesty, please spare this servant!"

"You good-for-nothing!" Old Zhu sneered, saying irritably, "If you don't tell me, how will the Crown Prince know?"

Shuangquan knelt down to help Old Zhu put on his shoes, then said, "Your Majesty, His Highness sends Wang Chengen to inquire about this every day, how could this servant dare to conceal anything? If this servant were to conceal anything, His Highness, with his wisdom and insight, would naturally know."

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said irritably, "Our Qianqing Palace can't even keep a single thing a secret?! Ridiculous!"

Shuangquan dared not respond, but he knew that there were no 'secrets' in the Qianqing Palace, all thanks to the Emperor's indulgence. Otherwise, even the former Crown Prince, now the Grandson of the Emperor, would not have known about the affairs of the Qianqing Palace, much less interfered in the Emperor's daily life.

Zhu felt a headache coming on, guessing that he would be nagged again after court, and that the Crown Prince would definitely stay in the Qianqing Palace at night.

Lian Qiongqiong served Zhu Xiong Ying's daily needs, and her eyes sparkled as she watched Zhu Xiong Ying put on his python robe.

"There's a banquet in the inner palace today. Go and help the Crown Prince's wife," Zhu Xiong Ying said slowly. "Take a good look and tell me later."

Lian Qiongqiong readily agreed. Today, she was to summon the wives of Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuntong from the inner palace. As the eldest brother, she was like a father, which also meant that the eldest sister-in-law was like a mother. Lian Qiongqiong was naturally not qualified to summon her brothers' wives, but she needed to help the Crown Prince's wife to do so.

In truth, everyone understood that Zhu Yunwen's principal wife was merely a formality. The real focus of attention was Zhu Yunwen's wife. As Zhu Xiong Ying's wife, Lian Qiongqiong was acutely aware of how much the Crown Prince valued his younger siblings.

Remembering something, Zhu Xiong Ying said, "Remember to tell the Crown Princess that the imperial carriage is going to pick up the Princess."

Zhu Xiong Ying's younger sister is pregnant. Zhu Xi is currently far away in Yunnan, and she has given Zhu Xiong Ying a niece. Meanwhile, Zhu Yue, who married Feng Cheng, is also pregnant, and Zhu Xiong Ying is currently doting on her.

Whether it exceeds the rules or not is actually not important. Because it is a specific reference, there is naturally no question of exceeding the rules.

Wang Chengen followed Zhu Xiong Ying the moment he left the East Palace and whispered, "Your Highness, Mao Xiang is dead."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and said calmly, "He's dead, so be it. Don't make things difficult for his descendants. Send him away and reward him with a hundred households. Keep him in Xi'an; he may not have made any great contributions, but he has certainly put in the effort."

Mao Xiang could be considered the first commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was also Zhu Yuanzhang's best assistant in slaughtering meritorious officials. However, now that the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked. It is quite normal that Mao Xiang did not have a good end, or rather, that he died under mysterious circumstances.

After all, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had done a lot of things over the years, which had drawn much criticism, and Mao Xiang's head was used to quell public anger.

Zhu Xiong Ying understood that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been illegally abusing and mistreating prisoners over the years. Furthermore, in their pursuit of merit and rewards, they fabricated charges and ruthlessly expanded the scope of those implicated, resulting in countless wrongful convictions. Therefore, it was time to impose some restrictions on the Embroidered Uniform Guard's power.

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