“Great-grandfather, you’re not tall at all.” Little Zhu said to Old Zhu with a grin, “Great-grandfather, walk faster, Yin’er will help you.”

In fact, Zhu Yunying and Xu Miaoqing also hurried forward at this time. Old Zhu smiled happily when he saw his eldest grandson. Seeing Little Zhu and Little Little Zhu reaching out their hands on either side, Old Zhu felt very comfortable descending the steps.

"Your Majesty," Zhu Yunwen said with a bitter face, looking pitiful, "I prepared a lot of crabs to present to Your Majesty, but they all died."

Zhu Yunying glared at Zhu Yuntong and said irritably, "We sent you to your ancestral home in Fengyang to pay respects to your ancestors, but you went and ran off to Chaohu. If you hadn't run into Grandfather, we reckon you wouldn't have wanted to come back."

Supported by Zhu Yunying, Old Zhu felt relieved. "Isn't it because you spoiled him? How many members of the imperial clan are as bold as him? He didn't even know to report the imperial decree before running off to play. At least he has some sense of propriety, knowing to complete the imperial mission before going out."

Xu Miaoqing lagged behind Old Zhu by a step and asked softly, "Grandpa Emperor, you must be tired from your journey. Would you like to rest?"

Old Zhu smiled and looked kindly at Xu Miaoqing, saying, "Our granddaughter-in-law is truly remarkable, giving us another great-grandson! Excellent, our Yin'er now has a younger brother, and the two brothers can look after each other. Excellent! The Empress is virtuous and kind, a model of female virtue! Every ruler who brings prosperity to the land has a virtuous wife, a model of virtue, wise and capable of offering advice—a true example for the world!"

Xu Miaoqing quickly knelt down and said excitedly, "I have only done my duty and dare not accept the praise of my imperial grandfather."

The more Old Zhu looked at his granddaughter-in-law, the more satisfied he became. He said, "We weren't wrong. Your granddaughter-in-law has truly fulfilled her duties as Empress. Yin'er, help your mother up. When you return to the palace, remember to remind us that we still have two ruyi scepters to bestow upon your mother."

Little Zhu chuckled and helped Xu Miaoqing up, saying, "Great-grandfather, we've taken all your ruyi back. If Grandfather wants to reward our mother, please don't give her the ruyi; she has too many already."

Old Zhu chuckled and tapped Little Zhu on the head, saying, "You dare to take back our things?"

“Our father took quite a few back.” Little Zhu immediately dragged Zhu Yunying into the conversation, “Our father said a couple of years ago that he wanted to know how many Ruyi our great-grandfather had, and that we should go and see.”

Old Zhu had quite a few jade ruyi scepters and the like, which he would bestow upon his descendants when he was in a good mood. Xu Miaoqing received quite a few rewards, after all, she was Zhu Yunying's legal wife. Especially after giving birth to little Zhu, Old Zhu grew increasingly fond of this granddaughter-in-law.

The massive carriage frame was right in front of them, and Old Zhu, with the help of Little Zhu and Little Little Zhu, boarded the dragon carriage.

Zhu Yunying naturally followed along, and this time he even brought only one imperial carriage with him.

Little Zhu climbed onto the dragon carriage, looked around, and exclaimed, "Let's go!"

Old Zhu found it amusing and also quite proud, "Our Yin'er is quite sensible, just like you were when you were young. He can handle many things on his own without us having to tell him what to do."

This is only because Old Zhu likes Little Zhu; otherwise, if Little Zhu were to issue orders without consulting anyone, it would be considered overstepping his bounds. If things were really taken seriously, it could make Little Zhu look foolish.

But Old Zhu clearly didn't care. He couldn't see any overstepping of authority; all he saw was Little Zhu's decisiveness and Little Zhu's independent thinking.

With Zhu's decree issued, the massive procession naturally began to move forward slowly. Although many members of the imperial clan had not yet boarded the carriage, or had only caught a glimpse of Zhu from afar, there were no problems.

Ultimately, it's only natural that these members of the imperial clan would come to greet the emperor. Emperor Zhu might not know that all of them had come, but if any members of the imperial clan didn't come, he would definitely remember it and might punish them later.

Once the imperial carriage was in motion, the other members of the royal family could also hurry to board. The procession was too large, and they couldn't rush it.

Old Zhu sat down on the soft cushion with a smile, and Little Zhu immediately ran over and lay down, resting his head on Old Zhu's lap. "Great-grandfather, we won't take the boat next time. We can't stand the rocking. We don't sleep well, and we're all a little sleepy now."

Zhu Yunying gently tapped little Zhu's head in an annoyed tone, "With you acting so recklessly, doesn't your great-grandfather get tired?"

Old Zhu looked at Little Zhu with some reproach and said, "Our Yin'er is tired, so let him rest. Why are you bothering him?"

Zhu Yunying was taken aback, and felt displeased. He glanced at Little Zhu, then, as if jealous, turned around and rested his head on Old Zhu's lap.

"We're tired too. If Grandpa Emperor isn't tired, could you scratch our itch?"

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