"Why not?" Zhu Yunying was displeased and quickly said, "Cousin Jiujiang and Uncle Mu, who in our clan is an outsider? Besides, he's still my cousin. He's not an outsider at all. If we hadn't stopped them back then, Aunt Jiu and Uncle Jiu would have gotten married long ago."

Now everyone understood. These things really were a characteristic of Zhu Yunying; he started managing affairs even when he was very young.

It's not that he liked to run around the palace as a child, or that he commanded most of the navy when he grew up. He was quite involved in the marriages of members of the imperial family.

For example, he was involved in the marriage of his aunt, Princess Anqing, but Zhu Yunying rejected it, and everyone in the imperial clan knew about it. Most importantly, the women of the imperial clan were all considered "old maids" before they could marry.

Those who married before the age of eighteen were all women whose marriages were arranged before the age of eight, as Emperor Yingshi could not make such a decision. After Empress Ma passed away, Emperor Zhu and Emperor Da Zhu were busy with state affairs, so none of Emperor Zhu's daughters and Emperor Da Zhu's sisters, that is, Zhu Yunying's unmarried aunts, were able to marry before the age of eighteen.

She was betrothed long ago, but insisted on waiting until she was over eighteen to marry. It was no secret that the royal family married late, especially the women.

Zhu Yunying continued with a smile, "We know what's going on with Cousin Jing, so Ninth Aunt shouldn't overthink it. Besides, the Duke of Ying has rendered great service, so no one outside would dare to say anything."

Princess Shouchun immediately turned around and said to Fu Jing, "Fu Jing, hurry up and thank the emperor."

"Wang Chengen, stop him." Zhu Yunying was displeased and continued, "We've already agreed that today is a family banquet. Our two cousins, Qilin and his brother, are the best. Among all our cousins, they are the ones who suit our tastes the most."

Qilin, these two cousins ​​are the offspring of Zhu Yunying's own aunt, and it was Zhu Yunying who gave them these names, so their treatment is naturally different. Even Mei Shunchang and Mei Jingfu cannot compare to these two cousins.

Just then, Xu Miaoqing, heavily pregnant, arrived and said as soon as she saw me, "Second Aunt, Fourth Aunt, Ninth Aunt, it's not that my niece-in-law is spoiled. It's just that His Majesty cares about me and doesn't want me to work so hard."

At this moment, even Princess Anqing hurriedly stood up. The women of the Zhu family were now nominally to listen to Xu Miaoqing. After all, Xu Miaoqing was the Empress, the Mother of the Nation, and the only woman in the Zhu family who was now enshrined in the ancestral hall and had a legitimate title and could make decisions.

"Uncle, shall we go outside for a drink?" Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "They can say whatever they want, we can't really say anything. It's no fun if we don't hang out with these women and children."

Since Zhu Yunying had said so, the others naturally had no objections. Moreover, although Zhu Yunying appeared to be hosting a family banquet, such a banquet was not a privilege that ordinary people could enjoy.

In fact, everyone understands that only Princess Ningguo, Princess Anqing, the Prince of Wu who was sent out on official business, and the emperor's two younger sisters could receive such treatment.

With the help of his virtuous wife, Zhu Yunying could naturally save himself a lot of trouble, and there were indeed some things he didn't need to worry about.

Zhu Yunying left with his three uncles, Mei Yin, Liu Zhi, and Fu Zhong, as well as his four cousins, Fu Rong, Fu Jing, Liu Qi, and Liu Lin. As for Mei Shunchang and Mei Jingfu, they were obviously unable to enter the palace at this time and were still diligently practicing at the martial arts academy.

Zhu Yunying did have some thoughts on this family banquet, but they weren't particularly driven by self-interest. After all, Fu Youde's army hadn't completely conquered Goryeo yet; the war was simply progressing smoothly at the moment.

Zhu Yunying's actions now are probably just to cultivate a relationship, so that it wouldn't seem too deliberate to hold a banquet for him after the army has conquered Goryeo.

Although Zhu Yunying was well aware that many people understood his actions were a form of bestowing favors, there wasn't much to worry about. After all, he was the emperor, and everyone would 'understand' his deliberate act of being a little willful.

Actually, there were other considerations involved, probably related to checks and balances, which was indeed the emperor's intention.

The Ming Dynasty currently has no prime minister. Through a series of means, Emperor Zhu established a system to safeguard imperial power, which greatly reduces the likelihood of the previous dynasty's powerful relatives, warlordism, or even factional strife.

However, this does not mean that the succeeding Emperor Ying Shi can rest easy; it is still necessary to continue to check and balance the power.

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