The gentle singing and dancing lulled the young Emperor Zhu into a drowsy state; he certainly needed a good rest. Enjoying the music and dance was relaxing, and a deep sleep was also a good way to relax.

Old Zhu waved for the dancers and singers from the music hall to leave, not caring about their grievances. Old Zhu simply smiled as he looked at his sleeping grandson, feeling as if his precious grandson hadn't grown up, just like when he was a child and loved to sleep in front of him.

If it weren't for the fact that he still cares about his grandson and great-grandson, Old Zhu might have lost all will to live. His current happiness is precisely because he has this little rascal by his side all the time, keeping him from thinking about anything else.

Just as Old Zhu was silently and affectionately watching his great-grandson, a little child was shouting loudly at the foot of Zijin Mountain.

Shuangquan and Wang Chengen followed cautiously, along with some other children, playing with Xiao Zhu.

"Catch it!" Little Zhu shouted anxiously, sweating profusely. "If we catch the rabbit, we'll roast it!"

Shuangquan immediately urged anxiously, "Didn't you hear? The Crown Prince has spoken, catch that rabbit!"

Wang Chengen immediately grabbed Shuangquan and whispered a reprimand, "Don't be ridiculous, Your Highness should decide this matter yourself!"

This can be considered as two different attitudes. These two chief eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who served two supreme rulers, had somewhat different attitudes towards the Crown Prince.

The retired emperor obeyed the crown prince without any reason, and the crown prince naturally did whatever he said.

On Emperor Ying Shi's side, although he would mostly follow the Crown Prince's lead, there were some things he wouldn't completely let go of.

Little Zhu didn't care about any of that and continued catching rabbits with his friends. For Little Zhu, this was just a fun game, and he didn't need to care about anything else, nor did he need to care about Shuangquan and Wang Chengen's attitudes.

"Second brother, you should have the fourth and fifth brothers learn martial arts later," Zhu Yunwen said while eating grapes. "You struggle to even ride a horse by yourself. Your imperial brother dislikes you the most because you only know how to study literature and don't know how to practice martial arts."

Zhu Yunwen had long since calmed down, no longer harboring the chaotic thoughts of his childhood. "To my shame, I didn't listen to my elder brother's earnest advice in the past. Now, the more I study, the more I understand my elder brother's intentions. As for the fourth and fifth princes, they should be proficient in both literature and martial arts."

Zhu Yunwen immediately smiled, showing rare satisfaction with Zhu Yunwen. "That makes sense. We are princes, the younger brothers of the Emperor. We also have things to do. We're not going to take the imperial examinations or become great Confucian scholars. If we are skilled in both literature and martial arts, we can help the Emperor."

The two of them walked and talked, naturally following Little Zhu; these two were the most suitable.

"Father!" Zhu Wengeng ran over crying, pointing ahead, "Royal brother, royal brother."

There was nothing Zhu Yunwen could do; he was helpless. His beloved nephew had run off without a second thought, having no intention of playing with Zhu Wengeng, who couldn't run fast enough. This made Zhu Wengeng cry very sadly, especially since he couldn't run fast enough to play happily with the other children.

"We'll take you with us," Zhu Yunwen said helplessly. "We'll go find your elder sister later. We remember your elder sister, don't we?"

Zhu Wengeng cried even harder. His elder brother wouldn't play with him, and his elder sister had run away too. They all thought he was too young, too slow, and couldn't speak clearly.

Zhu Yunwen found it somewhat amusing and said to Zhu Yuntong, "Speaking of which, I still admire my elder brother. Now that we have offspring, we only know that these children are difficult to take care of. But my elder brother is not like that; he has always been coaxing us."

Zhu Yunwen also deeply understood this. He was used to many things and felt that it was only natural for his elder brother and sister to take care of him. But when he had his own children, he realized that these children were completely unreasonable.

So looking back, I wonder how intelligent and kind my elder brother was, always taking care of him silently, like a father and a mother.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something," Zhu Yunwen said. "Later, the two of us need to show our faces to the Empress Dowager. The Emperor has already decided on the Fourth Prince's marriage. The Fifth Prince's situation is different. The three of us don't need to be so formal, but the Fifth Prince can't be wronged."

Zhu Yunwen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yunwen, don't be silly."

"What nonsense is this?!" Zhu Yunwen glared and said, "We don't need to look for princesses among aristocratic families or military merits, but our fifth son is a different story. He's our father's youngest son, so we all need to keep an eye on him and not let him suffer."

Zhu Yunwen understood this as well. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the principal wives of the princes were almost all daughters of military officers. The princesses also mostly married off to the sons of military officers, which could be considered as strengthening family ties.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that many princes are now choosing their principal wives from the families of low- to mid-level military and civil officials.

"This matter is for Your Majesty to decide," Zhu Yunwen said, not wanting to argue with Zhu Yunwen about these things. "Your Majesty will make the decision; it's not our place to interfere!"

Just as the two princes were walking and chatting, Li Jinglong, dressed in casual clothes, slowly walked towards them.

Seeing Xu Huizu standing guard nearby, Li Jinglong walked over with a smile, "Lord Zhongshan."

“Duke Cao,” Xu Huizu said with a slight smile, “we read Zengzhi’s report yesterday. You’ll have to give him a good talking to later.”

Li Jinglong smiled and nodded, admitting that he had "inherited" Li Wenzhong's talent for leading troops. His younger brothers, Li Zengzhi and Li Fangying, had also honed their skills in the military, starting from a relatively high level.

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