Little Zhu was incredibly excited, while Xu Miaoqing was also suppressing her excitement. For both Xu Miaoqing and Little Zhu, their opportunities to leave the palace were actually quite limited. Compared to Zhu Xiong Ying, who rarely left the palace even now, their opportunities were many times fewer.

Zhu Zhu was already waiting at the princess's residence, and her sister had also come, along with Zhu Yue. These were arguably Zhu Xiong Ying's closest people, and even though they were all married now, their bond remained largely unchanged.

Liu Zhi, Mei Yin, and Feng Cheng were also waiting outside the princess's residence. Although they were relatives, there were times when etiquette could not be disregarded. Especially for these imperial sons-in-law and prince consorts, they were also court officials and dared not be criticized or argued with in such a place.

"Mother, I want the big sword!" Little Zhu, restless, pointed at the ceremonial guard and shouted, "The biggest big sword!"

Xu Miaoqing couldn't help but laugh and corrected her, "Yin'er, that's a Yue (a type of axe), bestowed upon you by your great-grandfather."

One of the duties of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was to serve as bodyguards and provide ceremonial escorts, but it wasn't just the Embroidered Uniform Guards who were responsible for the personal guard duties. These burly Han generals all looked tall and imposing, and they could be considered the Ming Dynasty's ceremonial guard.

Upon arriving at the Princess's residence, before Zhu Xiong Ying could even alight from the carriage, little Zhu cried out. He had just seen his uncles, who were all his playmates, and little Zhu was naturally overjoyed.

"Uncle, please don't stand on ceremony." Zhu Xiong Ying helped Liu Zhi and Mei Yin up, then said to Feng Cheng, "You don't need to stand on ceremony either. Today is just a family dinner, otherwise I won't feel comfortable."

The Crown Prince could show affection and benevolence, but Liu Zhi, Mei Yin, and Feng Cheng dared not readily accept it. Even though they knew the Crown Prince was indifferent to some things and could be considered unconventional, as subjects, they still needed to be mindful of the proper roles of ruler and subject.

Upon arriving at the princess's residence, Zhu Zhu immediately asked, "Grandson, what exactly happened to Father?"

Zhu Xiong Ying spoke to Princess Anqing, Zhu Zhu, saying, "Little aunt, the Emperor's health is not seriously affected. If you are worried about him, you can come to the palace. I think the Emperor will be happy. You also know that the Emperor values ​​family the most."

Princess Ningguo then said, "I also wanted to enter the palace some time ago, but your royal grandfather stopped me."

Zhu Xiong Ying quickly said, "Aunt, a while ago Grandfather caught a cold and wouldn't see anyone, afraid of catching his illness. He's been feeling much better these days, and if you princesses want to enter the palace, Grandfather certainly won't stop you."

Mei Yin and Feng Cheng remained calm and collected; they actually knew quite a bit and had even personally handled some matters. Liu Zhi, the Earl of Chengyi, however, was not so well-informed, mainly because he wasn't very interested in court affairs and was focused solely on compiling books.

Although Zhu Xiong Ying was a junior, seniority was not always strictly observed in the royal court. If Zhu Xiong Ying did not sit in the main seat, no one else dared to sit down, and Zhu Xiong Ying was used to this.

After taking a sip of tea, Zhu Xiong Ying said, "Could you please take Yin'er out to play? He can't sit still here."

Seeing the children run off in a flash, everyone couldn't help but laugh. As for taking care of these children, there was no need to worry; there were plenty of palace maids, eunuchs, or nannies from the princess's residence.

It was just casual chatting, which allowed Zhu Xiong Ying to clear his head and relax a bit. Although he could hold family banquets in the palace, Zhu Xiong Ying maintained the habit of occasionally going out for a stroll each year.

The relative he visited most often was naturally his aunt, Princess Anqing Zhu Zhu, who had raised him. She was also one of the elders with whom Zhu Xiong Ying was closest. This was probably one of the reasons why Liu Zhi was so fearless. He was not interested in scheming in the court and knew that the Crown Prince had been suppressing the civil official group in eastern Zhejiang, so he chose to retire gracefully.

There was no need to worry about the succession of the title, because his wife was the second daughter of the current emperor, and could be considered to have raised the crown prince. With such a relationship, Liu Zhi naturally felt at ease and could devote more time and energy to his studies.

Liu Zhi could ignore those matters, but Mei Yin and Feng Cheng, who knew some of the details, were quite uneasy and distracted. After all, the emperor had announced his intention to abdicate—a truly momentous event!