Old Zhu nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, we agree to this!"

After talking with his grandson for a while, Old Zhu said, "If you have nothing to do, take a look at the memorials that your grandfather has approved. Have Xi'er bring us dinner; your grandfather will test you then."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and said to the people outside the hall, "Go and deliver an imperial decree to Princess Jiangdu, instructing her to keep an eye on things at the Imperial Kitchen. Princess Yi Lun shouldn't be idle either; she doesn't like doing needlework either."

The eunuch on duty outside the palace immediately obeyed and left, for the Crown Prince's decree was the Emperor's decree.

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Xiong Ying and then said, "Look at your two sisters, you've spoiled them rotten! They can't do needlework, and you won't even let them read 'Admonitions for Women' or 'Biographies of Virtuous Women'! They might become princesses of our Great Ming Dynasty someday, what will become of the royal family's manners?"

“You forbid me from studying Confucianism, and I forbid my younger siblings from studying it either.” Zhu Xiong Ying laughed, not worried at all about talking back. “But I think Yun Wen is going to be corrupted.”

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said irritably, "Do you think we don't know what that Lady Lü is up to?! Women are short-sighted; do you really think our Crown Prince is just a Confucian scholar?"

Remembering something, Old Zhu said, "Good grandson, you've been urging me to abdicate. If we really abdicate, Lady Lü will definitely become empress. At that time, Yunwen will be the legitimate son. You'd better think this through."

"If he's the legitimate son, then he's the legitimate son. I'm the eldest legitimate son, that's enough." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said to Old Zhu, "The Eastern Palace has been without a Crown Princess for ten years. There has never been such a thing in any dynasty."

Old Zhu grew impatient and angrily threw the memorial at Zhu Xiong Ying, "Don't play dumb with us! Yunwen has become the legitimate heir, so he'll have many more opportunities in the future. His mother comes from a family of civil officials. You're fond of martial arts, value nobility, and don't study Confucianism. Those civil officials have quite a few opinions about that!"

"Those people probably think my Zhu family's swords aren't sharp enough!" Zhu Xiong Ying said decisively, laughing. "Grandpa, the ancestral precepts are there. As long as I'm alive, it's not their place to have wild ideas. But speaking of which, when will Grandpa abdicate?"

Old Zhu didn't laugh and scold as he used to; instead, he said seriously, "You know your father went to inspect Xi'an, and you know this means we're preparing to move the capital, right?"

Seeing Zhu Xiong Ying nod, Old Zhu said, "We're thinking that when we move the capital, we'll have a dual-capital system. The Crown Prince will first ascend the throne in Yingtian Prefecture, and then take the civil and military officials to Xi'an. We'll stay in Yingtian Prefecture to give him some support."

Zhu Xiong Ying's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Once the relocation of the capital has settled down, the Crown Prince will lead the Emperor Emeritus on a tour of the country! I've changed my mind. Let's first inspect the coastal defenses, then visit the various vassal kings, and finally return to our hometown. Grandfather, don't worry, we'll definitely send you to the Xiaoling Mausoleum in the end!"

Old Zhu was both amused and annoyed. "You're the only one who dares to say such treasonous things in front of us. Even your father wouldn't dare!"

"That's right, my grandfather was still somewhat of a strict father to him. Although my father knew how close my grandfather was, he didn't say many affectionate words, and he's not young anymore." Zhu Xiong Ying smiled. "But it's different for grandsons. My grandfather has always doted on me. In ordinary families, people hold their grandchildren more than their children."

Old Zhu laughed heartily. This eldest grandson had truly always been the apple of his eye. There was certainly an element of loving someone because of their family, but wasn't it also this grandson who gave him a sense of kinship?

This grandson of the emperor was sometimes really just a grandson, not the imperial grandson of Emperor Zhu!