Zhu Chun felt somewhat awkward at this moment, as if he were an 'outsider'.

Because his nephew, the emperor, dared to joke with Zhu Yuanzhang and even talk back. Meanwhile, his grand-nephew, the crown prince, was sitting on the retired emperor's lap, pouting and refusing the food that Zhu Yuanzhang offered him, while the retired emperor happily coaxed him.

He considered himself to be quite favored, and his mother was also from a prestigious family. However, such treatment was something Zhu Chun could only dream of. But looking at his nephew and grandnephew, they received even better treatment than Zhu Chun could dream of.

After finishing his meal at Old Zhu's place, Zhu Chun naturally left the palace obediently. Princes like him typically moved out after reaching adulthood; only underage princes remained in the palace. The only truly adult princes were the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince's grandson.

"It would be good to find a job for your thirteenth uncle. His temperament is just like Yunwen's." Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying and said, "We dislike Confucianism so much, yet among our sons and grandsons, there are several scholars who are even more learned than the scholars themselves!"

Zhu Yunying immediately began to boast, "Grandfather should be secretly pleased. Our father only looks like a Confucian emperor on the surface. We are not, and people outside have been saying that for a long time. Our Yin'er, even if he doesn't become a martial emperor in the future, I reckon he won't have much to do with a Confucian emperor."

Little Zhu suddenly jumped out, scrambling onto Old Zhu's lap, and holding Old Zhu's old face in his hands and feet, said in a serious tone, "Great-grandfather, I am Yin'er. You are not allowed to call Father 'Ying'er,' otherwise we will not be happy."

Zhu Yunying chuckled, picked up little Zhu, and patted him twice on the bottom. "You little rascal, are you being jealous of us now?! We are your great-grandfather's Ying'er, why should we only be called you!"

"That won't do either, they're all the same!" Little Zhu turned around and said to Little Zhu, "I am Great-Grandfather's Yin'er, and also Father's Yin'er. Great-Grandfather loves Yin'er the most, he doesn't like you!"

Seeing Zhu Yunying raise his hand in a pretentious manner, Old Zhu quickly snatched the little Zhu away. "What kind of father are you? Have we ever hit you before? Your father has ever hit you before?! Who taught you this bad habit? Why are you so angry when Yin'er is just teasing you?! When you were young and ignorant, you asked us to abdicate, did we ever get angry?!"

This is completely different from what I've said, but it seems there's no way to reason with Lao Zhu now.

Little Zhu became even more smug, affectionately hugging Old Zhu's neck and pressing his chubby face against Old Zhu's. The brat looked at Little Zhu with such smugness and provocation that Little Zhu was both annoyed and amused.

However, Old Zhu seemed quite content, feeling that the joy of family life lay in having his grandsons and great-grandsons vying for his affections.

“Thirteenth Uncle or Yunwen didn’t learn imperial power tactics from a young age,” Zhu Yunying said with a smile. “So what we’re teaching Yin’er now is naturally different. Grandfather should also learn something from Yin’er. We’re just teaching things that seem like nonsense to outsiders. But our Yin’er has to learn them.”

Old Zhu was not happy and said to Zhu Yunying, "Don't talk nonsense. You have been precocious since childhood and have a natural talent. What you taught is very good. What our Yin'er should know is how to govern the country. If he is just a scholar and a crown prince, we will be worried."

Zhu Yunying felt that he now understood the so-called 'dragon-slaying technique' more and more clearly and had gained more experience.

The political education he received in elementary school, the political classes in junior and senior high school, Mao Zedong's Selected Works and General Introduction, etc. Although it can't be said that he could just take it and apply it directly, some principles had already been explained very clearly, and Zhu Yunying could now combine theory with practice in many things.

He's not currently cramming all his knowledge into Little Zhu at once, but he does give Little Zhu extra lessons from time to time. Ultimately, this is a feudal society, where an emperor's ability and character can determine the rise and fall of a dynasty.

After chatting with Zhu Yunying for a while, Zhu Yunying obediently left, leaving the young Zhu to stay in the Qianqing Palace.

Back at the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunying wasn't idle either. He naturally didn't need to worry about having nowhere to go. Xu Miaoqing was pregnant now, so he wouldn't bother her; he could also visit the other concubines. He decided to go see his second son; the little guy was said to be crawling already.

Lady Wang seems to have been disciplined and is now quite compliant, showing a clearer understanding of reality. Although she gave birth to a prince for Zhu Yunying, he is, after all, just a prince.

She couldn't possibly surpass Xu Miaoqing; she was merely a concubine. While Zhu Wenjin was a prince, he would likely only become a prince of the first rank in the future, and perhaps even a king if he had the ability to establish a kingdom overseas. The throne of the Ming Dynasty would undoubtedly belong to Zhu Wenyin.

"Come here, let me give you a hug." Zhu Yunying clapped her hands, in a good mood. "Didn't you say you could crawl? Why are you sitting?"

Zhu Wenjin stared blankly at Zhu Yunying, then suddenly burst into a childish laugh, and drool uncontrollably streamed down her face.

Zhu Yunying laughed heartily; this precious son of hers was truly amusing. Looking at these human infants now, Zhu Yunying still felt a deep fondness for them. The little ones' smiles could melt anyone's heart, and their laughter could make one forget all their troubles.

"He's still not close to us!" Zhu Yunying hugged Zhu Wenjin tightly, and the little guy burst into tears. "It seems we haven't spent enough time with him; he's quite unfamiliar with us. But there's nothing we can do, son. We have so many things to do right now; we can't be unfaithful!"

At this point, Zhu Yunying seemed to understand more and more of Zhu's good intentions back then.

It's natural to naturally favor the eldest son, especially the eldest son born of the principal wife. After all, Zhu Yunying was the emperor, and he had to ensure the stability of his empire. Furthermore, he couldn't afford to show too much favoritism towards his other sons.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!