Sang bowed her head respectfully from a distance and said, "Your Highness, Your Majesty, accompanied your fifth uncle to write a letter today."

Patting Zhu Wengeng's head, Old Zhu smiled kindly. "You look a bit like your father, but a bit better. I remember your father was too timid when he was young. If it weren't for your imperial uncle protecting him, he wouldn't have dared to speak loudly. Don't be like your father. He was weak and indecisive when he was young, and when he grew up, he became a spoiled brat, only causing trouble for your imperial uncle."

Zhu Wengeng was still young and didn't understand much. "Father said that the Imperial Uncle is the greatest! The most powerful!"

Old Zhu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately laughed, "That's right, your imperial uncle is the most powerful, he'll protect you all. This child is intelligent, we'll bestow upon you a suit of armor and an imperial horse, so that you can accompany your imperial brother to expand our territory and protect our Great Ming, how about that?"

"Okay!" Zhu Wengeng didn't understand much, but he liked the gift. "I like my brother the most!"

Zhu Wengeng can be considered to have caught the eye of Emperor Zhu, and he was probably given more attention than his other great-grandsons. Besides being Zhu Yunweng's eldest son, the main reason was that although Zhu Wengeng was a child, his words were innocent and made Emperor Zhu happy.

Zhu Xi muttered under her breath, "Grandpa is really something, he doesn't even look at us. When we were little, we wouldn't see Grandpa for ten days or half a month at a time, and when we did see him, we could only speak to him respectfully. But when my brother is not polite in front of Grandpa, Grandpa is still happy."

Zhu Yue gently patted Zhu Xi's hand, "Don't talk nonsense."

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Princess Zhu Zhu of Anqing said, “Your elder brother is the best in Father’s eyes. I remember when we were still with Mother. When your elder brother went to the toilet, Father would say that your elder brother was better than others. Father has always only had eyes for his elder brother, only for your elder brother, and now there is also Yin’er.”

Old Zhu was very 'devoted', but he made no attempt to hide his favoritism towards his eldest son.

Zhu Xi glanced at Xu Miaoqing's lower abdomen and whispered, "Sister-in-law, has the midwife said whether it's a boy or a girl?"

“We wanted to give birth to another son for your brother, but he prefers daughters.” Xu Miaoqing touched her lower abdomen, her face radiating maternal glow. “As you all know, Ruyi is the apple of your brother’s eye. Last time he said he wanted to bestow the title of Princess Fengyang upon her, he got a scolding from the Emperor.”

Zhu Xi muttered, "Your Majesty really dares to think that way. Fengyang is the capital of the emperor, how can it be sealed off? We can only get a small county."

"Don't be greedy!" Xu Miaoqing said with a smile. "When His Majesty bestowed titles upon you, Grandfather was not very happy. None of the imperial aunts had such titles. It was only because His Majesty insisted that Grandfather accepted them."

Zhu Xi and Zhu Yue were still quite proud. Their titles seemed to be 'small,' just ordinary 'county princesses.' But once they were associated with the capital, and with an incredibly close connection at that, everything changed.

What Fengyang meant to the Ming Dynasty was clear to everyone, not just the imperial family, but also to all the people of the Ming Dynasty.

After teasing his great-grandson and great-great-grandson for a while, Old Zhu heard this and said, "Your elder brother is so disrespectful. I'm afraid that if the Empress gives birth to a legitimate daughter for him after we die, he will really banish Fengyang! You must stop him then."

Zhu Zhu, as the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhu, was previously quite favored and not particularly afraid of him. "Father, I dare not say that. Although I am the Emperor's aunt, I remember he bullied me a lot when we were little. He arranged my marriage, so what can I say!"

"Useless!" Old Zhu glared at his youngest daughter and said, "Your marriage was arranged by us, your mother, and your brother, it has nothing to do with Ying'er. If our Ying'er gets a reputation for being domineering, it's all your fault!"

Xu Miaoqing couldn't help but chuckle, but dared not laugh. Zhu Zhu, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes. She knew more or less what her marriage was all about; she was old enough to remember.

“Grandfather, although His Majesty enjoys joking, he is also aware of the situation,” Xu Miaoqing explained on behalf of Zhu Yunying, “His Majesty will certainly not grant the imperial capital to anyone else, and I am well aware of that.”

Old Zhu nodded with a smile. He naturally knew about 'Princess Fengyang,' but it was just a joke. Not to mention Zhu Yunying's own daughter, even Old Zhu's own noble daughters didn't actually have that qualification.

While four generations of Princess Ningguo were gathered at her residence, Zhu Yunying, having finished his court session, naturally headed straight for the Wuying Hall.

As soon as Zhu Yunying arrived at the Wuying Hall, Xu Huizu and Chang Mao, who had been summoned, also arrived. These two were Zhu Yunying's two main pillars in the military.

"Please sit down," Zhu Yunying said with a smile, her manner very gentle. "I invited you here to discuss the matter of 'equalizing land tax and poll tax'."

Chang Mao was direct and straightforward: "Your Majesty, just give the order, and I will certainly be able to handle it."

Zhu Yunying really didn't know what to say to his maternal uncle.

It's safe to say that Chang Mao was reckless. Zhu Yunwen was arguably the biggest playboy among the imperial clan, while Chang Mao could be considered the number one playboy among the nobles.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say that Chang Mao is completely without cunning; he usually does have a sense of propriety. So sometimes it's hard to tell whether this guy is feigning madness or just has some clever tricks up his sleeve.

Xu Huizu still maintains his style, which can be considered the result of Xu Da's teachings. In short, he is very rigid, serious, and cautious.

Zhu Yunying continued, "I imagine many military officers are not happy about the land tax reform. Once the land tax reform is implemented, military officers will have a lot of fertile land in their hands. Not only will they have to pay more taxes, but they will also be less likely to acquire more fertile land."

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