This has little to do with Zhu Yunying. At least Zhu Yunying didn't give Yu Xin any hints or anything. It was simply that Yu Xin was conscientiously fulfilling his duties. Yu Xin was sharing the emperor's burdens while receiving the emperor's salary. Such a good minister should be entrusted with important responsibilities and be praised.

Without making a sound, Zhu Yunying instructed the various departments to return and discuss the matter. He understood that matters like the opening of the Sino-foreign trade agreement could not be decided immediately, and some things still needed further discussion.

After the morning court session, Zhu Yunying naturally returned to the Wuying Hall. As emperor, he didn't just hold the morning court; he actually spent more time reviewing memorials and handling state affairs in the Wuying Hall, which was also more important.

Amidst envious glances from many, Xu Huizu walked towards the Wenhua Hall. The young prince had been "working" there for the past few days, mostly receiving instruction from the two great dukes, the Duke of Liang and the Duke of Zhongshan.

Lan Yu, who had been absent from the court, suddenly appeared and shouted, "Nephew, you said yesterday that we like to use risky tactics, we need to say more about that!"

"Duke of Liang," Xu Huizu said to Lan Yu with some helplessness, "Your Highness is the Crown Prince of the nation, and the Crown Prince must not be defeated! Our Great Ming is powerful and its military is invincible wherever it goes, so Your Highness has no need to take risks!"

This displeased Lan Yu, who argued vehemently, "If we don't take risks, how can we seize the royal tent and defeat the bandits?!"

The two started arguing again. Xu Huizu's military tactics were almost identical to Xu Da's, or rather, Xu Da's tactics were more characterized by their steady and cautious nature. Lan Yu, on the other hand, had grown up alongside Chang Yuchun, so while he was steady, he was also more ruthless and brave, and he did indeed like to use surprise attacks.

The two argued as they walked. Lan Yu felt that he was an elder, while Xu Huizu felt that Lan Yu was not an elder. Moreover, both of them had their own principles, so neither of them could convince the other. In that case, they had to let the Crown Prince take charge of the overall situation.

Shuangquan stood at the entrance of Wenhua Hall. Upon seeing the two dukes approaching, he immediately jogged over, "My lords, His Highness has been waiting for you!"

Lan Yu glanced at Shuang Quan, not particularly pleased, "His Highness is in the palace, why aren't you serving him?!"

Shuangquan wasn't annoyed. She simply said, "Duke Liang, yesterday you promised to bring His Highness a spirited horse and a precious blade. His Highness hates being deceived! Duke, perhaps I should cover for you. You should go back first!"

Lan Yu hesitated for a moment, then immediately put on a fawning smile, "Thank you for your trouble, eunuch. Give us half an hour, and we'll be right there! But, what about the Emperor Emeritus..."

Before Lan Yu could finish speaking, he himself began to doubt it. Shuang Quan, that dog of a servant, might be able to cover for him under the Crown Prince, but the Emperor Emeritus certainly wouldn't. He might even be stirring things up.

Xu Huizu remained calm, subtly adjusting his casual robes to reveal a small wooden knife hanging at his waist. He had it hastily made by his household staff immediately after court the previous day; they had chosen the best one. He didn't want to disappoint His Highness the Crown Prince, and he certainly wouldn't deceive the Emperor!

Lan Yu cursed under her breath, thinking, "This nephew of mine is a devil!"

Although he cursed under his breath, he still had to quickly find a way to salvage the situation. He needed to get through this immediate crisis first, and he couldn't let the Crown Prince down. As for the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty, he would submit a memorial to apologize later; that was all he could do.

Little Zhu sat in the spacious chair, delighted to see Xu Huizu. "Uncle, my knife!"

Xu Huizu immediately bowed, holding the wooden sword horizontally with both hands, "Your Highness, I..."

"Shuangquan, here's our sword!" Little Zhu exclaimed excitedly. "Go get the horse, we're going to fight our great-grandfather!"

Shuangquan immediately took the wooden sword from Xu Huizu's hand and flattered Xiao Zhu, "Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus said that if Your Highness does not have a large army, His Majesty will not fight against Your Highness."

"Uncle is a striker!" Little Zhu exclaimed excitedly, pointing at Fu Rang. "You said he's our little striker!"

Fu Rang quickly put on a fawning smile, thinking that as long as he could please the Crown Prince, he would do whatever the Crown Prince said.

Of course, it's only because the Crown Prince is still young that Fu Rang dares to agree to anything. If the Crown Prince were a few years older and asked to fight against the Emperor Emeritus, Fu Rang wouldn't dare to agree anymore; he'd have to think about slitting his own throat then.