Old Zhu found it amusing; if those Confucian scholars heard that the Crown Prince had used "inner sage and outer king" here, they would definitely be furious.

Zhu Xiong Ying didn't mind and continued, "Grandfather, I'm planning to study this further. If the next few voyages bring good results, the Maritime Trade Office should expand. At that time, it won't just be the Imperial Treasury's business anymore."

Old Zhu's eyes lit up, and he deliberately asked, "Oh? Why can't it be business from the imperial treasury?"

"Grandfather, let's not beat around the bush with a smart man." Zhu Xiong Ying didn't mind and said with a smile, "I'm thinking that if we want to send people to Japan and Southeast Asia, the number of people I have is not enough."

Old Zhu was silent for a moment, then said, "Then we'll give you some men. Those men from the Embroidered Uniform Guard are quite capable."

Zhu Xiong Ying immediately nodded and said with a smile, "That's fine then. These people are quite adept at doing these things. Get to the bottom of things and help me investigate carefully. But Grandfather, if you think it's what I want, you'll have to follow my ideas from now on."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Old Zhu laughed and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? You can make your own decisions from now on. Your father is still alive, so you can discuss it with him."

Zhu Xiong Ying returned to the East Palace and rested early to prepare for the morning court session.

In fact, there were morning and evening court sessions in the Ming Dynasty. However, the morning court session was the most important. Although there were other forms such as the evening court session, they were basically used as a supplement to the morning court session, resulting in the morning court session being the most important.

Looking at the time, it was only approaching the hour of Yin, which is around five in the morning. The East Palace was already brightly lit, and the serving maids and eunuchs were busy at work; they were used to this long ago.

But Zhu Xiong Ying wasn't used to it. Old Zhu, a workaholic, started his morning court session at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). As the Crown Prince, he had special privileges, getting up and washing up close to Yin, while the ministers had to get up at midnight and line up at the Meridian Gate around 3 AM.

Dressed in the imperial grandson's court robes, Zhu Xiong Ying straightened up, and with maids and eunuchs carrying lanterns, they walked towards the Fengtian Hall.

The palace gates were open, and officials entered in turn, crossing the Golden Water Bridge and lining up in the square. Any official who coughed, spat, or walked unsteadily was recorded by the censor in charge of inspection and awaited punishment.

Suddenly, a troop of people approached, surprising many civil and military officials. The Crown Prince had gone to inspect Xi'an; could it be that the Imperial Grandson was coming to 'take over'?

After the third drumbeat, officials lined up to wait for the bell to ring and the gates to open before entering. Civil and military officials entered in two columns, left and right. After the emperor was seated, the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial announced the arrival of the officials. At this time, the civil and military officials entered in both columns, with the civil officials facing west and the military officials facing east. They then bowed and presented their reports.

Zhu Xiong Ying stood in the front row on the left side of the civil and military officials, which also indicated his status.

Emperor Zhu sat on the dragon throne, smiled, pointed to the area in front of him, and said, "Crown Prince, stand here."

Zhu Xiong Ying, with a smile on his face, bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the imperial decree!"

As Zhu Xiong Ying slowly walked towards the throne, the civil and military officials in the court immediately understood that this position used to belong to the Crown Prince. Now that the Crown Prince was inspecting Xi'an, the Crown Prince was standing there.

That position is half ruler, half subject!