Feng Cheng and Mu Chun, both members of the Zhu family and brothers-in-law of Zhu Yunying, were responsible for guarding the imperial procession and thus accompanied the emperor to the Xu Prince's residence for this family banquet.

Outside the Xu Prince's residence, Zhu Yunying's younger siblings stood respectfully at attention, as did the qualified servants and slaves of the Xu Prince's residence. As for the guards and other personnel of the Xu Prince's residence, they had long since been taken over by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and palace eunuchs.

When the emperor's carriage arrived, there was naturally a chorus of greetings.

Dressed in casual clothes, Zhu Yunying waved his hand and said, "Get up, everyone, no need for formalities."

After saying this, Zhu Yunying said to Zhu Yunhuo, "Don't just stand there, come and take care of the children. Qi'er, Lin'er, come here. Where's Wengeng?"

A group of little kids rushed over, and little Zhu, who had just landed, immediately started yelling and ran off with his cousins. As for his little sister, whom he had been playing with, little Zhu had completely forgotten about her, even though Zhu Ruyi kept calling for her brother.

Holding her aggrieved daughter, Joo Yoon-young chuckled, "Your brother just likes to mess around with boys. We'll ignore him when we get back."

Zhu Yunying was already aware of Xiao Xiao Zhu's playfulness. Xiao Xiao Zhu preferred to play with children slightly older than him, and if boys of similar age were around, he definitely wouldn't play with little girls, not even his younger sister.

Zhu Yunying waved his hand and took the lead, "Don't stand there, everyone, come inside the mansion."

In a good mood, Zhu Yunying walked ahead and naturally took the seat of honor without any hesitation. Xu Miaoqing didn't need to be reserved either; she sat beside him. As for Prince Xu, Zhu Yunwen, he obediently sat at the lower end of the table, only because little Zhu was busy playing and hadn't come yet.

Zhu Yunying picked up his teacup and smiled at his fourth brother, "Your second and third brothers should tell you, right? You're about to be granted the title of Prince, so we're planning to send you back to your hometown of Fengyang first."

Zhu Yunxuan showed no unease whatsoever; on the contrary, he was somewhat excited. "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness."

All the newly ennobled members of the imperial clan were required to return to their ancestral home in Fengyang to observe the place where their ancestors founded their dynasty. Some members also remained in Fengyang to train troops. These were all important tasks, indicating that the emperor was preparing to give them important positions.

"Get up. Your thirteenth uncle has acted recklessly in the vassal state this time. Don't talk to him too much when you get there," Zhu Yunying said to Zhu Yunxuan. "We don't expect you to be outstanding. Just be honest and dutiful. Learn from your second brother, study hard, understand the classics, and you can help us in the future. It would be even better if you could become a wise and virtuous king."

Zhu Yunxuan was naturally quite excited; it seemed that his elder brother still had some expectations for him.

As for Zhu Yunwen, he possessed a certain degree of pride, despite seemingly being neglected or unloved by the emperor. However, Zhu Yunying believed that his actions qualified him as a wise prince, a view that was also acknowledged by his elder brother, the emperor.

Whether Zhu Yunwen would be agitated or not was of no concern to Zhu Yunying. He could easily laugh off the petty schemes of Zhu Yunwen or Lady Lü from back then. In reality, this mother and son had never posed any threat to Zhu Yunying.

The children arrived, shouting and yelling, making it quite lively.

To be honest, these adults are more or less hypocritical. But these innocent children, when they're playing, obviously don't think so much.

Little Zhu jumped into Zhu Yunying's arms and boasted, "Dad, there are cicadas outside. My cousin is the best; let's catch them!"

Picking up the little one, Zhu Yunying asked with a smile, "Just catching cicadas? Or you can go catch some dragonflies with your cousins, just don't go into the grass, be careful of mosquitoes."

Don't expect little boys to be quiet, especially when a group of children are together. When they start making a ruckus, it's incredibly noisy. It's really difficult for ordinary people to control such a group of noisy children. Even the emperor would be helpless in this situation.

As for scolding with a stern face, that might frighten the children. But that's really not Joo Yoon-young's style. Joo Yoon-young considers himself a 'kind father'.

Seeing how much Joo Yoon-young doted on his children, his brothers and sisters weren't surprised at all.

In the eyes of Zhu Yunying's younger siblings, their eldest brother was always approachable and loved children. Not only was he kind to his own brother Zhu Yunwen, but he was also quite patient with Zhu Yunwen and others.

And now, their doting on their eldest brother, the Crown Prince Zhu, is nothing to be surprised about. That's just their eldest brother's personality; they know he loves children, especially their own.

"In a few days, we'll get to work on the Maritime Trade Office," Zhu Yunying said to her younger siblings. "The Maritime Trade Office is quite productive, and most of you families own your own merchant ships. From now on, you should all behave yourselves and be more obedient. It's time to reorganize the Maritime Trade Office."

Zhu Yunwen and others naturally had no objections. The output of the Maritime Trade Office was indeed very large, and it was basically controlled by members of the imperial family, relatives of the empress, and military merits. They had a lot of interests in the Maritime Trade Office.

Because the output of the Maritime Trade Office was increasing and many people had tasted the benefits, some people naturally became restless. Ultimately, it's a case of "people die for wealth, birds die for food." Although they had already earned a considerable amount, their instinct was to earn even more.

"The Maritime Trade Office is an important source of revenue for the imperial court, and we will not tolerate it," Zhu Yunying said. "In the next month or two, you should all prepare yourselves. Don't end up in a difficult situation. Our new policies are about to be introduced, and we might have to make an example of you. Don't expect us to give you any face then."

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