Zhu Wenying, riding his miniature pony, was initially beaming with joy. He even greeted his father happily when he saw him.

But Joo Yoon-young strode over, picked up little Joo, and patted his bottom a few times, not too hard, not too hard. Little Joo immediately started crying, but crying was useless; Joo Yoon-young still had to discipline him.

The little water snake was indeed not poisonous, but this child bore the weight of the Ming Dynasty on his shoulders, and such matters could not be taken lightly. There were some things that young Zhu should not take risks for, and Zhu Yunying felt that this was something that young Zhu needed to gradually come to understand.

Although Little Zhu was crying, Zhu Yunying still disciplined him when necessary, and patiently talked to Little Zhu for a long time.

Zhu Yunying then ordered Wang Chengen to issue an edict that the maids and eunuchs who had been with the Crown Prince in the past few days, including those who swept the palace, maids, or guards, should have their salaries reduced, be demoted, or be expelled from the palace.

This may seem like a small matter, but it is no small matter when it comes to little Zhu. Even though it seems that Zhu Yunying favors his precious daughter, deep down he still values ​​little Zhu immensely, because little Zhu is the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty and the future ruler of the country!

It wasn't that Zhu Yunying was heartless, but some things couldn't be taken lightly. Simply put, the Crown Prince had encountered a snake; if Zhu Yunying had killed a group of people, those people would have deserved to die, and no one would have felt sorry for them; they would have only said that those people deserved to die a thousand deaths!

Back at Chunhe Palace, Xu Miaoqing was already kneeling there, along with the trembling Lian Qiongqiong.

Zhu Yunying asked coldly, "Empress, are you aware of the Crown Prince's matter? Why didn't you report it to me?"

Xu Miaoqing respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I was unaware of this matter. I heard it mentioned by the Crown Prince's maid. My grandfather decreed that this matter must not be told to His Majesty. His Majesty is very busy with state affairs, and this matter is my fault."

"You're not allowed?" Zhu Yunying said irritably. "Grandpa Emperor, aren't you suggesting we punish the Crown Prince?"

Since you already know, why say it? Your Majesty has already dealt with those maids and eunuchs. He only refrained from mass killings to save face for the Emperor and the Crown Prince, but the punishment was still severe.

Just as Zhu Yunying was about to continue reprimanding Xu Miaoqing, the old Zhu strode into Chunhe Hall, shouting, "Emperor, have you gone too far?! What wrong has our Yin'er committed that you must beat him?!"

Zhu Yunying, however, had something to say, and he had to be firm: "Grandfather, it's true that Yin'er is young, but his audacity is not good! He's like a water snake..."

"You know that's a water snake?!" Old Zhu pointed at Zhu Yunying's nose and said angrily, "Our Yin'er was just like us when we were young. When we were his age, we didn't have enough to eat, and we went to catch snakes and mice with your great-grandfather and second great-grandfather! Now that you're rich and powerful, and you're an emperor, you're even afraid of snakes?! You have no guts, and you blame our Yin'er!"

If Old Zhu, who is fiercely protective of his own, were to act unreasonably, then he would truly be unreasonable.

Actually, when Old Zhu found out that Little Zhu had caught the snake, he was shocked and flew into a rage. However, this rage certainly wouldn't affect Little Zhu; it would only affect those around Little Zhu or those in the palace where Little Zhu caught the snake.

Zhu Yunying isn't exactly innocent; after all, he dared to beat up Little Zhu, which is Old Zhu's Achilles' heel. Although Little Zhu considers himself Old Zhu's Achilles' heel as well, when these two Achilles' heels clash, in matters unrelated to 'right and wrong,' Old Zhu typically protects the younger one.

There's no way this argument can continue; if it goes on, it'll really escalate into a fight. If Old Zhu actually starts hitting him, Little Zhu will have no choice but to run around the pillar. And in his extreme anger, Old Zhu might even yell at Little Zhu to stand still—that would be terrible!

Zhu Yunying quickly said, "Grandfather, let's discuss this matter further..."

"Empress, stop kneeling. This is my decree," Old Zhu said irritably. "Lady Lian, get up too. You disobeyed my decree, so I'm punishing you with half a month of confinement. You were loyal to the Emperor and protected the Crown Prince, so I'm rewarding your father with the title of Grand Master of the Palace. As for your brother, I'll also give him the title of Grand Master of the Palace!"

Lian Qiongqiong was unsure whether to apologize or express gratitude; it was clear that Old Zhu was rewarding merit and punishing demerit.

Zide Dafu and Zhongshun Dafu are both honorary titles, bestowed upon the official rank as an honorary honor. Zide Dafu is a second-rank official, while Zhongshun Dafu is a fourth-rank official, both of which are quite high. Having such an honorary title not only significantly improves one's treatment but, more importantly, signifies merit, indicating that one is favored by the emperor.

The meeting ended; Zhu Yunying felt that at this point, it was the only option. The retired emperor had intervened and made the decision, so it wasn't appropriate for him, the emperor, to say much. Moreover, Zhu Yunying also felt that what Old Zhu had done was most appropriate.

Outside the palace, Xu Huizu, Fu Youde, and others were furious. Their brothers or sons either served the Crown Prince. Even if they only held nominal positions, such a major blunder was bound to cause them great anxiety!

His Majesty has not issued any decree to demote or imprison them; that is an act of divine grace!

"We'll take Yin'er out of the palace tomorrow." Old Zhu, still furious, said to Zhu Yunying, "Didn't you say before that you were worried Yin'er was too young to understand the hardships of ordinary people while growing up in the palace? Well then, we'll take him out for a stroll! We'll rest outside! We've given you the empire, and you're in charge of things in the palace. You can't even take care of yourself properly, so you take it out on your wife and children!"

Zhu Yunying, who was being punished by Old Zhu to stand, suddenly looked up. He had become a scumbag, an incompetent and irresponsible scumbag!

Old Zhu didn't care about continuing to label his grandson, and continued to scold, "If we hadn't been watching Yin'er, you probably would have beaten him to a pulp! What does someone his age know? We could have just talked to him nicely, but you had to resort to violence?! Tell me yourself, have we ever hit you?!"

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