Zhu Yunying's attitude towards the imperial clan has always been quite clear.

When it was time to treat the imperial clan well, Zhu Yunying would certainly do so. After all, they were all family, and besides, they couldn't rely solely on military merit or civil officials; the strength of the imperial clan also needed to be guaranteed, and they needed to possess a certain level of power—this was the best balance.

However, when it's time to be wary and restrictive, Zhu Yunying will not be polite at all. After all, his status as a member of the imperial clan is special, and many people believe that he has a natural talent for rebellion. Indeed, he can be dragged out as a banner by some people with ulterior motives and ambitions.

The balance here is both easy and difficult to maintain.

These questions clearly require an emperor's skill and political acumen, and it also require an assessment of whether an emperor possesses foresight.

Emperor Zhu treated the imperial clan with great favor because of his inherently peasant-like mindset and his longing for and emphasis on kinship. Historically, Emperor Di elevated this favor even further than Emperor Zhu, because his ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and he sought to appease the imperial clan.

Even so, Zhu Di was still quite wary of the imperial clan when necessary. It's often said that the Ming dynasty's imperial clan was treated like pigs, and that actually started with Zhu Di. However, the imperial clan during the Hongwu era still wielded considerable power.

As for the historical Zhu Yunwen, that guy trusted "outsiders" and was incredibly ruthless towards members of the imperial clan. So, the notion that Zhu Yunwen was benevolent and kind is probably not true of Zhu Yunying. Even if he supposedly feared the imperial clan, he was actually quite cold-hearted and selfish at heart.

This idealist, once driven to his death or imprisoned, would not have been so lenient with the Imperial Uncle. He was also quite hypocritical, which is a testament to his stupidity. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for Zhu Di to ultimately secure his throne.

As they were sipping their drinks, they saw little Zhu holding Feng Lin's small hand and stumbling over.

Originally, Old Zhu was quite happy to see his children and grandchildren gathered together in joy. He was also pleased to see his great-grandson climb the imperial road to the Danbi (Imperial Steps). However, he was not so pleased with that little Feng Lin.

Old Zhu treated his eldest son and other sons with one attitude. However, his preference for sons over daughters led him to treat his sons and daughters with yet another. As for his grandsons and other grandsons, it was a completely different matter. Granddaughters, on the other hand, were considered outsiders. Old Zhu didn't favor many of his grandsons, let alone great-grandsons.

"Uncle Emperor." Feng Lin ran up to Xiao Zhu, looking at him expectantly and speaking timidly.

Zhu Yunying laughed and picked up little Feng Lin, saying, "Let your uncle see if our nephew has gotten fatter?"

Little Zhu, who had been grinning foolishly to the side, suddenly became unhappy because his father was holding another child. This upset Little Zhu, as he had never been a 'generous' child; sometimes he wouldn't even like it when his father held his little sister.

If it were her own younger sister, Xiao Xiao Zhu would reluctantly accept it. But if it were another child, Xiao Xiao Zhu would definitely be unhappy.

"Daddy." Little Zhu squeezed in, opening his little arms, "Daddy, I want a hug too."

Old Zhu, who was watching the scene from the side, suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Yin'er, your father is holding your cousin. Look, your older cousin is still in front, and he wants your father to hold him too."

Zhu Yunying was speechless and complained irritably, "Grandfather, you can't stand seeing your grandson have some peace and quiet, can you? We're holding Lin'er now, and the Crown Prince is making a fuss. By the time we're holding the two boys, the others will probably be uncomfortable too."

Old Zhu chuckled, ignoring Zhu Yunying, and asked, "Yin'er, where's your sister?"

"My little sister is sleeping and won't play with us." Little Zhu leaned against Little Zhu's leg, puffing out her cheeks, and said, "Dad, I can't walk."

Picking up the two boys, one on each side, Little Zhu was immediately delighted. He proudly wrapped his arms around Little Zhu's neck, showing off his dominance to his little cousin. As for older cousins ​​or uncles, Little Zhu didn't care at the moment.

Seeing the children running around everywhere, Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh. There were indeed more and more members of the imperial clan.

There are quite a few Qilins alone. My aunt's family has three boys: Qi, Lin, and Shouzu. My younger sister also has two Qilins, and my older sister has one Qilin as well. Now there's also a girl waiting for Zhu Yunying to bestow a name upon her.

Next, we plan to cut some of the privileges of members of the imperial family. It's not just the princes' privileges that will be reduced; the privileges of imperial sons-in-law and other high-ranking officials will also be cut.

Old Zhu is now even willing to "take action" against his own children and grandchildren. He certainly won't be polite to his daughters, sons-in-law, or grandsons. He only executes his own descendants after five generations, but he's lucky if he only executes his daughters and sons-in-law after three generations.

Moreover, if you really want to count them, the prince consort and the princess can be considered members of the imperial clan, but it is difficult for their children to enter the Imperial Clan Court.

Zhu Yunying was very strict with the imperial clan and would not easily grant them the same treatment as members of the imperial clan or relatives of the emperor.

For example, the families of the Empress, Imperial Concubines, or the Crown Princess, Princesses, and Imperial Sons-in-Law could barely be considered imperial relatives, but theoretically, this only applies to one generation. The lineages of Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Tang He, and Mu Ying and Guo Ying are no longer considered "relatives," and even imperial relatives need to be controlled.

After all, since Zhu Yuanzhang had recognized a relative, his treatment had to be adjusted accordingly, which required the support of the Ming Dynasty court.

When the time comes to be ruthless, Zhu Yunying will definitely be ruthless; there's no doubt about that. However, he does have some bottom lines; he will do his best to take care of his relatives and will not do anything that would cause pain to his loved ones or pleasure to his enemies.

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