The family happily offered a small birthday celebration to Old Zhu, which was a very important matter. Because tomorrow was Old Zhu's birthday, and at that time it would no longer be just a matter for this small family, but also a major event for the court, and even a major event for the whole country.

"Ying'er, we heard that the bank is short of some silver." Princess Ningguo said to Xiao Zhu with some concern, "We still have some silver in our mansion, why don't you have someone move it over there?"

Little Zhu rushed out at once, his face fierce, and said, "Great Aunt, I am Yin'er, and my father is the Emperor!"

Zhu Zhu laughed and pulled Little Zhu along, saying, "Your dad can't be Ying'er? When your dad was little, we always called him Ying'er! Besides, you are Yin'er and your dad is Ying'er, it's not the same."

"It's the same thing, we can't understand anything anymore." Little Zhu lay on Zhu Zhu's lap and said with a wronged look, "Grandma, Great-Grandfather said he won't call me 'Dad' Ying'er anymore."

Faced with this lively character, Zhu Yunying was helpless. Children are naturally prone to jealousy and are more attached to those close to them. In fact, the people who could truly capture little Zhu's attention were basically his closest elders. Other elders couldn't address him by his given name; they could only call him 'Your Highness the Crown Prince'.

“Just like his father, always trying to win our favor.” Old Zhu said to his daughters with a smile, “Do you remember when we were little, the emperor wouldn’t let us hold the other princes?”

Princess Ningguo didn't have a strong impression of this, but Zhu Zhu knew, "Father, I seem to remember something like that. Mother said before that the Emperor was probably only one or two years old at the time. If Father held another prince, he would stare at him. Even if he didn't say anything, he was unhappy."

This put Zhu Yunying in a somewhat awkward position. He didn't cry or make a scene to compete for favor; he was simply too embarrassed to admit it. He appeared to be being rather reserved, but others noticed.

"Mother Empress Dowager used to say that the Emperor is very calculating. He was raised by Father Emperor and Mother Empress Dowager. It was fine for his elder brother and sister-in-law to hold Xi'er and Yue'er, and the Emperor was happy to do so. But when Father Emperor and Mother Empress Dowager held other people, the Emperor would not be happy." Zhu Zhu continued to chime in, "Back then, Mother Empress Dowager would not hold anyone else, only the Emperor."

Princess Ningguo immediately chimed in, "Now that you mention it, I remember. I recall that Mother was always very kind, and my younger brother and sister loved her the most. But I can't quite remember, Mother seems to have suddenly stopped hugging anyone else."

Old Zhu laughed even more heartily, pointed at Zhu Yunying and said, "It's because of this boy that everyone says he's precocious. Even before he could speak, he didn't cry or fuss, and just looked around all day. He was always thinking about things. Your mother doted on this boy and didn't hold anyone else."

Seeing that Old Zhu was in a good mood, Zhu Zhu continued, "The Emperor has been lovable since he was a child. I seem to remember that the Empress Dowager originally only went to the Eastern Palace to see the Emperor every day. Later, you two came up with a plan and brought the Emperor to the Qianqing Palace. I remember that my elder brother and sister-in-law said it countless times, but Father and Mother always turned them down."

Old Zhu was even more pleased. He already loved his first grandson, and what's more, he was a very smart grandson. He couldn't feel right without him by his side.

Zhu Yunying pointed to little Zhu and said, "Look at this one, even the Emperor brought him here. He spends less time in the Eastern Palace than in the Qianqing Palace now. It's common for us not to see him for two or three days. The Emperor can't be without this little guy for even a day."

Little Zhu was very proud of himself because he knew he was the most favored child.

Zhu Yunwen couldn't stay idle, so he had a palace maid carry the sleeping Zhu Wenjin to a side hall and asked, "Brother, tomorrow is Grandfather's birthday."

"You?" Zhu Yunying was both amused and annoyed. "You're already in your twenties, and you still have no sense of purpose? Tomorrow, just do what everyone else does. Your fifth uncle is leading the way, and you'll follow Yunwen's lead. We'll be busy tomorrow and won't have time to give you pointers."

Old Zhu didn't bother with Zhu Yunwen, but instead held little Zhu and asked, "Yin'er, tomorrow is your great-grandfather's birthday, do you know what to do?"

Little Zhu said confidently, "Great-grandfather, our father and mother told us. We remember them all, so we definitely won't make a mistake."

Little Zhu began to show off again, saying, "Father has given the order that there will be a grand banquet tomorrow!"

The Grand Banquet, also known as the Grand Feast, was the highest level of banquet ceremony in ancient times, and it was held in the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties.

In the Ming Dynasty, banquets took four forms: grand banquets, medium banquets, regular banquets, and small banquets. Grand banquets were a type of auspicious ceremony in the Ming Dynasty, generally held on major national celebrations or festivals such as New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice. Grand banquets were organized by the Ministry of Rites and prepared by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Old Zhu's birthday is naturally a major celebration, so of course this is necessary.

Little Zhu said happily, "Tomorrow, my great-grandfather and father will go to the Fengtian Hall. We'll wait outside until they ascend the throne, and then we'll lead the princes into the hall."

Old Zhu was very pleased and pointed at Zhu Yunwen, "Your nephew knows the ceremony, but you don't?! You were careless when you were young, and you're still like this now?! We see, now that your elder brother is protecting you, who knows, in the future it might be your nephew protecting you."

Zhu Yunwen didn't mind and said with a smile, "That's fine too, we'll never have to worry about it anyway."

Old Zhu was annoyed and then said to Little Zhu, "Then we'll all get up early tomorrow. Before we go to the Fengtian Hall, you have to come with us to the Huagai Hall. We'll change into our court robes there, and there will be court officials paying their respects. If you come with us, you'll also receive their respects."

Zhu Yunying was too lazy to say anything more. He was very familiar with the three main halls of the Ming Dynasty's imperial city. Some of the seats reserved for the emperor had been either held by the old Zhu and sat on, or the old Zhu sat on the throne and the young Zhu sat on the old Zhu's lap.

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