“Grandfather, we’re also afraid we might make a fool of ourselves by then,” Zhu Yunying said with a smile. “If we really reach sixty, we probably won’t have the energy anymore. By then, our Yin’er will be forty, in the prime of his life, just in time to take over. We’re thinking that when Yin’er is fifteen or sixteen, we should let him attend court and learn slowly, just like our father did, just like us.”

Old Zhu immediately smiled and agreed, "That makes sense. When the Crown Prince reaches the appropriate age, he should attend to state affairs. Don't let him do anything yet; let him listen, observe, and think more! Our Crown Prince certainly won't rebel. The foundation of the state has been settled; we're just waiting for the old emperor to kick the bucket."

Zhu Yunying was speechless for a moment, looking at the old Zhu, "Grandpa Emperor, maybe Yin'er is already calling us the old emperor!"

Old Zhu chuckled and said, "If you really want to abdicate at sixty, that's your business. I abdicate at seventy, so just don't cling to the throne. If you really reach seventy, step down, or we'll deal with you when you're down there."

“I know, but we can’t break the rules we set,” Zhu Yunying said to his grandfather. “Grandfather, we’re not just thinking about that. We’re also thinking about the succession to the throne.”

Old Zhu was puzzled and quickly asked, "Didn't we say it? We also said it in the ancestral precepts: The eldest son of the legitimate wife must be the rightful heir. If there is no prince in the court, the throne must be passed down from brother to brother, and the heir must be born of the legitimate mother. The heir born of a concubine, even if the eldest son, cannot be established as heir!"

“That makes sense, but when we ascended the throne, our grandfather said that all the imperial uncles could quell the rebellion.” Zhu Yunying said with a smile to his father, “We are not afraid of changing this ancestral instruction, but we are afraid that our descendants will also encounter this situation in the future.”

Old Zhu was silent for a moment, because when the Crown Prince passed away, although it was only a very small number of people, there were indeed some who thought that the second son of the emperor should take the throne.

Zhu Yunying continued, “We are not afraid of these things, because we now have offspring. However, throughout history, there have been some dynasties where the imperial succession almost ended. Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Xuan of Han are examples of what should happen. We cannot allow the ministers to choose one of the late emperor’s sons.”

Speaking of which, there was also the Marquis of Haihun, who was brought back from his fiefdom by his ministers to become emperor, and then driven away again.

Old Zhu nodded and said, "You mean, you want to sort them?"

Zhu Yunying nodded quickly and said, "That makes sense. Our position as crown prince is definitely secure... But there's no rush. The ancestral precepts clearly state that the eldest son of the legitimate wife should be the crown prince. Just like Yunwen and his mother, no matter how much trouble they caused in the past few years, we didn't take them seriously. We're not afraid of Yin'er either; his position is as secure as ours."

Old Zhu nodded slightly and smiled, "What we're afraid of is this struggle for the throne turning into infighting. That wouldn't be good. Not only would we be family, but the whole country would be in turmoil. Speaking of which, you and the Empress need to step up your efforts; we can't afford to cause any trouble."

Zhu Yunying nodded slightly, though she didn't want certain things to happen. However, medical technology was limited in this era, and many children didn't grow up. In the years when Zhu Yunying was still young, she guessed that some people had hoped he wouldn't grow up.

Remembering something, Zhu Yunying suddenly asked curiously, "Grandpa Emperor, if our father rebelled, could he become the Crown Prince?"

“Your father wouldn’t do that. He just didn’t sit on the dragon throne, but he did plenty of things that emperors do.” Old Zhu waved his hand, a little unhappy. “Your father is very filial, unlike you who are always eyeing our throne.”

Zhu Yunying then resorted to shamelessness, feigning genuine curiosity, "Our father has always been favored, and Grandfather has also granted him power, but he is still the Crown Prince. If our father were to truly rebel, what would Grandfather do?"

Old Zhu became interested and asked, "Alright, let's ask you too. If your father rebelled, would you help him or us?"

"We?" Zhu Yunying was at a loss for words, then suddenly realized, "We won't help anyone. If our father wins, we'll be the Crown Prince; if our father loses, we'll still be the Crown Prince's grandson. It has nothing to do with us! Or we can help everyone, and immediately side with whoever wins?"

Old Zhu burst into laughter, pointed at Zhu Yunying, and said, "You little rascal, you're the most cunning one!"

Emperor Zhu never considered the possibility of the crown prince rebelling, nor did he need to worry about such things. In his view, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty never needed to worry about the crown prince rebelling, because some things were destined.

The grandfather and grandson were chatting and laughing when they suddenly heard a series of light, quick footsteps.

"Open the door, great-grandfather, it's me, Yin'er!"

The rebels didn't come; the ones who tried to be cute and ingratiate themselves did!