Old Zhu and Zhu Xiong Ying were not surprised at all; they knew Mu Ying's feelings for Empress Ma and the First Prince. When Empress Ma passed away, Mu Ying was so grief-stricken that she coughed up blood. And now that the First Prince had died, Mu Ying, overwhelmed with grief, had also fallen ill.

"Grandfather, let the Marquis of Xiping be buried in the capital. Let him be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum." Zhu Xiong Ying sighed and said, "The Marquis of Xiping and my imperial family are indeed different from ordinary rulers and their subjects."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "You handle this matter. Let Mu Chun inherit the title. Make Mu Lin the heir apparent. This will also be a way to give Xi'er an explanation."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded. His younger sister, Zhu Xi, was Mu Ying's daughter-in-law. Mu Chun inherited the title, and Mu Chun's son, Mu Lin, was naturally the heir apparent to the Marquis of Xiping. Zhu Xiong Ying's nephew was no ordinary nephew; he was personally given the name by Zhu Xiong Ying, and the name 'Lin' alone revealed Zhu Xiong Ying's high expectations for this nephew.

What was supposed to be a joyous celebration has become so depressing because of this news. Little Zhu, oblivious, is still carefree and playing around.

These heavy news items are depressing, but there's really nothing we can do. So many things just happen, and so many things don't go as planned, leaving us feeling caught off guard.

The news of Mu Ying's death caused a great uproar in the court. The passing of another important minister made many people worry about the situation on the relatively peaceful Yunnan border.

With Mu Ying in charge, Yunnan was generally stable, though occasional minor rebellions still occurred. Now that Mu Ying has passed away, many people are naturally worried about whether Mu Chun is capable of holding down the fort on the frontier.

Zhu Xiong Ying was indeed quite worried about some things, mainly because the situation in Yunnan was not entirely reassuring. Overall, it was relatively stable, but there were always some barbarians rebelling from time to time. If it couldn't be suppressed in a short time, there might be even greater changes.

Moreover, there are also local chieftains and officials over there. These people have considerable power and ambition, and they are a thorny problem for the Ming Dynasty, a stubborn issue that needs to be addressed.

These are indeed things that Zhu Xiong Ying is worried about, but he also feels that some things are beyond his control. At this stage, it is still necessary to be cautious. It seems unlikely that the situation there will escalate or cause instability in the country.

Let's discuss Mu Ying's posthumous title. It's appropriate to allow Mu Ying to be buried in the capital and to have his spirit tablet placed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Posthumously conferring upon him the title of Prince of Qianning and bestowing upon him the posthumous name 'Zhaojing' is also considered by many civil and military officials to be a well-deserved honor for Mu Ying.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang proposed that the Mu family descendants be stationed in Yunnan for generations, it caused a huge uproar. In everyone's eyes, this was tantamount to bestowing a fiefdom upon the Mu family, and the treatment they received was simply too extravagant. This made many people worry that the Mu family might become a powerful regional warlord.

After all, the Mu family's strength in Yunnan is already quite considerable. If they were allowed to remain in Yunnan permanently, the Mu family would have a real chance to continuously expand their influence there and eventually form a small kingdom.

Zhu Xiong Ying seemed to hold a conservative attitude towards this matter; he was indeed reluctant to let the Mu family permanently govern Yunnan. However, Zhu Xiong Ying also felt that he really had no reason to oppose it, and it was a last resort.

Yunnan at this time is not yet the land of colorful clouds; it still has undeveloped areas and there are many rebellions. The Ming Dynasty does not have much energy to develop Yunnan, and coupled with inconvenient communication, it sometimes has to resort to such expedient measures.

"Ying'er, our Ming Dynasty is too big!" Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying, not knowing whether to be happy or worried. "We also know that we have given the Mu family too much power, and some people are worried that the Mu family has become ambitious. But we really have no choice."

Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile, "Grandson understands. If that place were a land of plenty with the people's hearts at ease, we naturally wouldn't be able to grant the Mu family these rights. But Yunnan hasn't been developed in recent years, and the imperial court can't attend to it immediately. We can only ask the Mu family to put in more effort."

Old Zhu nodded, but still said, "But Ying'er must remember, we believe in Mu Ying and Mu Chun, so we still need to make the necessary preparations."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded. Of course, he didn't want to see the worst happen. But there were some things that did indeed require some preparation.