Seeing that it was about time, Zhu Xiong Ying, who was both amused and exasperated, picked up little Zhu and said, "Yin'er, your great-grandfather is tired too. I'll take you horseback riding later."

"You really are something!" Old Zhu said unhappily, still a little unsatisfied. "Yin'er is the best when he's on our back, you're always making a fuss!"

Zhu Xiong Ying was both amused and exasperated. He said to Shuang Quan, "Quickly get His Majesty some tea and wipe his sweat."

Old Zhu ignored all that and took little Zhu from Zhu Xiong Ying's arms. "Yin'er, do you like your father the most, or your great-grandfather the most?"

Zhu Wenyin was very supportive, hugging Old Zhu's neck and loudly proclaiming, "I love my great-grandfather!"

Old Zhu was overjoyed. He used to think his grandson was thoughtful and sensible, but now he felt even more that his great-grandson was the truly thoughtful one. Thinking back even more carefully, he realized his grandson was so intelligent that he lacked a child's mischievousness. But that didn't matter; his great-grandson had provided all the mischievousness and liveliness a child should have.

Zhu Xiong Ying was ashamed and said to Old Zhu, "Grandfather, Yin'er is being ignorant. You are really something, already so old. If he really wants to ride a big horse, we can wait until we come back. If that doesn't work, we can find a guard or a eunuch."

Old Zhu proudly held little Zhu and said, "What's wrong? Let me tell you, in ordinary families, it's the elders who ride the horse. I'm the emperor, and I'm also Yin'er's great-great-grandfather. It's just that you were ignorant before. If you had wanted to ride the horse before, I would have been happy to. I always thought that if my descendants could ride the horse, none of them would be allowed to!"

This left Zhu Xiong Ying at a loss for words. Among Zhu's descendants, only his brothers, the eldest Zhu and his siblings, grew up under Empress Ma's care and were close to him. However, during those years, Zhu was away fighting wars. Once the country was at peace and Zhu became emperor, who dared to act recklessly in his presence?

As for his younger sons, Zhu treated them well and remembered their names, but even he himself didn't believe he was particularly close to them. Those sons also dared not act excessively spoiled in front of Zhu.

By the time it came to his grandson's generation, Old Zhu only had eyes for Zhu Xiong Ying from the very beginning, and Zhu Xiong Ying was a prodigy.

Of course, it's also possible that there's a special bond between grandparents and grandchildren, and Old Zhu is completely showing his affection for his great-grandson. Having such a mischievous great-grandson is better than anything else for Old Zhu. Forget about riding a horse; if his great-grandson wanted the moon, Old Zhu would have someone find a way to get it down from the sky.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xiong Ying poured Old Zhu a cup of tea, saying, "These past few days, things have been chaotic inside and outside the palace, with all sorts of rumors circulating."

"I know, some people say we're already ruined." Old Zhu chuckled and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "We're just like Qin Shi Huang, we can't even be buried after we die. But we're not afraid, our grandson will ascend the throne, no need for all that trouble."

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and said to Old Zhu, "What are your thoughts, Grandfather? Have you noticed anything sinister or malevolent?"

After thinking it over carefully, Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "It's not clear now, but once you ascend the throne, I reckon some of your uncles might become restless. Ying'er, you have to promise us that even if your uncles are not up to par, you should be more tolerant of them."

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and massaged Old Zhu's shoulders, saying, "Grandpa, you can rest assured. As long as the Imperial Uncles don't rebel or incur the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people, that's fine. Your grandson won't deliberately force the Imperial Uncles to rebel, nor will he deliberately trip them up."

Old Zhu was relatively reassured by Zhu Xiong Ying's answer; he believed his grandson would not deceive him.

As for his own descendants, Zhu Xiong Ying could see through them. They might not dare to rebel, but they might use their seniority to do things that were unpleasant. At that point, dealing with these people would be quite troublesome for Zhu Xiong Ying, his nephew emperor.

Little Zhu couldn't stay still either, his two little fists pounding on Old Zhu's back like he was being punched. Zhu Xiong Ying was annoyed, even though his massage skills were better. But Old Zhu clearly didn't care; he was simply enjoying his great-grandson's filial piety and affection.

With great-grandchildren, grandchildren obviously don't receive as much attention anymore, especially since human babies are always so cute and lovable!