That makes perfect sense. According to the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty," princes and dukes were only formally appointed at the age of ten. Even Zhu Yunying was only officially appointed as the Crown Prince at the age of ten, which meant he had the official title with a golden book. But little Zhu was appointed as the Crown Prince when his father ascended the throne.

Old Zhu was going on an incognito visit, which was no small matter; it was an extremely important matter.

The retired emperor, the emperor, and the crown prince—these were the 'foundation' of the Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the great prestige of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang, some civil officials would surely have made a fuss if they had known about this.

It's fine for the retired emperor to go on an incognito trip, and it's fine for the emperor to go too, but you must leave the crown prince in the palace. Alternatively, the crown prince can go out for a stroll, but the emperor must stay in the palace. In any case, you can't have all three of them run off at once; if they all get caught, that would be terrible!

However, such thoughts are mostly contemplated by civil officials, who generally don't say much. There's no need for those powerful figures to know about these incognito visits; only departments like the Embroidered Uniform Guard are aware, and covert protection is sufficient.

Little Zhu happily changed his clothes, wearing a small, straight-cut robe with a cross-collar. Zhu Yunying, on the other hand, changed into a round-necked, wide-sleeved shirt, which was only worn by scholars. His shirt was made of jade-colored silk, with wide sleeves and black edges, and a black soft cloth hanging down, indicating that he was a student with official rank.

In the Ming Dynasty, one could not wear clothes haphazardly. Even the wealthiest merchants dared not wear silk openly, unless they were in the courtyard, or wearing linen or cotton clothing over their silk garments.

Old Zhu arrived in high spirits and said directly, "We changed into those clothes, but it still didn't work. We're not like scholars; we'll just wear whatever we like."

Little Zhu skipped and hopped, saying to Old Zhu, "Great-grandfather, I'm a little scholar! Father won't let me wear this! I'm going to study!"

Old Zhu laughed and said to Little Zhu, "You haven't achieved official rank yet, so you can't wear that robe. Just like you can't wear a twelve-patterned dragon robe, or a robe with five claws, until you become emperor."

Little Zhu seemed to understand but not quite, while Zhu Yunying held a folding fan and said, "Grandpa Emperor, today I am Scholar Zhu."

"A student is fine, that's acceptable," Old Zhu said confidently. "With your talent, you could easily pass the provincial examination or the imperial examination!"

Zhu Yunying was in an awkward position. This was because the old Zhu thought his grandson was an outstanding person, strong in everything and good at everything. Zhu Yunying considered himself to be "highly talented," but if he were to take the imperial examinations, he probably would never pass the preliminary examination. Let alone becoming a provincial graduate, he would have virtually no chance of even becoming a county graduate.

Zhu Ruyi was just grinning foolishly, being held by Lian Qiongqiong. Compared to Xu Miaoqing, who was somewhat confident, Lian Qiongqiong was a little timid, mainly because it was hard for her not to be timid when facing Old Zhu.

“Take Ruyi out for a stroll too; she’s never been out before.” Zhu Yunying laughed and said to Old Zhu, “Our Yin’er is so good; even when he goes out to play, he still thinks about his sister. He’s like me in that respect; when I was little, I always took Yunyi, Xi’er, and Yue’er with me when I went out.”

Old Zhu found it amusing, but also agreed, "I didn't see you with Yunwen!"

“His mother is not happy either, and I’m too lazy to say anything.” Zhu Yunying laughed, now that he could speak his mind. “She just wants Yunwen to be more successful so that he can compete with me. I know all this, but I’m too lazy to pay attention, so as not to make things difficult for my father.”

Old Zhu chuckled and said with a smile, "It's just idle speculation, just thinking about pointless things."

"Aunt and the others are waiting for Yue'er!" Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "Let's go to Aunt's first, have our meal there, and then go out for a stroll."

Old Zhu waved his hand dismissively and said, "What kind of meal? Just take a walk around there and eat outside. We haven't been out much these past few years. Now that the imperial city has been built, we're trapped inside."

"I'm Miaoqing, and today I'm just accompanying my grandfather for a stroll." Zhu Yunying said casually and quite proudly, "Grandfather, remember to chat with some old folks and let them see that you have a house full of children and grandchildren, and that your great-grandchildren are running around everywhere!"

Old Zhu laughed heartily, revealing his deep-rooted peasant mentality. "This is what we're thinking: let's chat with some old folks and find out if life is good or bad these days. Even if we become emperors, we haven't forgotten our roots!"

That's the gist of it, and that's probably the essence of traveling incognito. This time, the purpose of traveling incognito isn't to show off, nor is it to deceive a beautiful woman for a story chapter.

There will certainly be no more stories of Emperor Ying Shi traveling incognito!