The Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming

In the seventh year of Hongwu, the legitimate eldest grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the great ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, was born.

He who resides as the legitimate heir will surely ascend to t...

Chapter 569 The Emperor's Selfish Motives

The family was happily enjoying their family dinner, with matters of state having almost no impact on their conversation. They were simply chatting about everyday things, and there was really no need to constantly discuss important state affairs or Little Zhu's education.

Zhu Yunying ate crabs, chatted with his father Zhu about everyday things, and had little Zhu acting silly beside him. This could be considered a happy family scene.

For Zhu Yunying, this was perhaps the greatest comfort in his later years. For Zhu Yunying, this was a rare moment of relaxation, a time when there was no need for intrigue or deep scheming.

As emperor, Zhu Yunying was in a good mood lately, and that was definitely not because his birthday was the 27th day of the tenth lunar month. Birthdays were certainly important to Zhu Yunying, as this marked his twenty-sixth year in this world.

The twenty-two-year-old Zhu Yunwen, beaming with pride, raised his wine cup respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I am not good with words, so I can only drink this cup to the brim."

"If you don't cause us any trouble, we'll be thanking our lucky stars." Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "And don't be silly either. Second brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, you three shouldn't be idle either. Fifth brother has been made a king now, come and toast us together."

Now all four of Zhu Yunying's younger brothers had arrived. Although Zhu Yunwen was the younger brother, it wasn't appropriate for him to go too far at the banquet. The second brother, naturally, referred to Zhu Yunwen, and this was something Zhu Yunying should do.

As the elder brother, Zhu Yunying naturally needed to take care of his younger siblings.

After his four younger brothers offered toasts, Zhu Yunying said to Wang Chengen, "Go to the Empress and tell all our imperial sisters to come over. We're in a good mood today, so we need them all to offer us a toast. Our nephews and nieces should also come to pay their respects; we need to test them!"

The elder sister was in Yunnan, but the younger sister was in Yingtian Prefecture. Of course, Zhu Zhu didn't only have two daughters; Lady Lü also bore him two daughters.

Zhu the Great was quite capable, with five sons and four daughters. If he fell in love with a woman, he would basically remain devoted to her. Having a child every year was quite normal for him.

However, Lady Lü was relatively fortunate because of Lady Chang's example. Although Lady Lü had three sons and two daughters, there were some gaps in her life, so she did not suffer the same complete loss of vitality as Lady Chang.

Wang Chengen naturally accepted the order immediately. The emperor's birthday banquet was a grand occasion and could not be taken lightly.

Old Zhu sat on the dragon throne and laughed heartily, "Alright, it's time for your younger brothers and sisters to offer you a toast. You've done a good job as an elder brother, taking care of them all these years. Even this fifth one is a Prince Rui."

Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, as his younger brother Zhu Yunhuoxi had just been granted the title of Prince Rui.

"Grandpa Emperor, as the eldest brother, I'm destined to worry a lot." Zhu Yunying said to his father in a good mood, "Grandpa Emperor, as the eldest brother, I've had to take care of these troublesome younger brothers and sisters all these years."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "If you ask me, it's only Yunwen who's a bit of a worry, Yunwen is alright. Xi'er and Yue'er have listened to you since they were little, that's what makes them worry-free."

Remembering something, Old Zhu said, "Today, members of the imperial family are all here, so let's not be stingy. You are also their elder brother, so let them all toast you. It's only right."

Zhu Yunying laughed heartily and said to Old Zhu, "Alright, who told me to be the eldest grandson of the third generation of the Zhu family? My own brother is my brother, and my cousins ​​are also my brothers, so I have to take care of them all. This time, let all these brothers come and toast me."

This is something he can afford to put on a little airs for, or rather, it's not really airs at all. Zhu Yunying's status certainly gives him the right to have his cousins ​​toast him; it's only right that way.

Xu Miaoqing was also busy entertaining the female members of the imperial family in the harem, including, of course, noblewomen.

Zhu Yue and Madam Sang were by Xu Miaoqing's side, which showed their status. One was the emperor's younger sister, and the other was the emperor's sister-in-law. Their status was indeed special, and everyone was used to it. It was a perfectly normal thing.

Upon seeing Wang Chengen arrive to deliver the imperial decree, Zhu Yue and Lady Sang immediately rose and, accompanied by Zhu Yunwen's principal wife, Lady Ma, went to offer their birthday greetings to the emperor. For them, this was, in fact, a respectable matter.

For example, the wives of other princes and dukes were mostly envious. Even though their status might be a generation older than Zhu Yunying, they still hoped to maintain some dignity at such a time. It was just a pity that even within the imperial clan, there were degrees of closeness and distance.

Seeing his younger sister, brother and sister-in-law, and others arrive, Joo Yoon-young laughed heartily and accepted their congratulations with ease.

"Fourth Prince, you're sixteen now, we need to hurry up with this matter." Zhu Yunying looked at Zhu Yunxuan and said with a smile, "Empress, you need to keep an eye on things at this time. Imperial Sister, you also need to give some advice."

Xu Miaoqing and Zhu Yue naturally accepted the imperial decree and helped Zhu Yunxuan select concubines, which was a normal thing to do.

Old Zhu nodded with a smile, increasingly satisfied. "What the Emperor said makes sense. Yunxuan is already sixteen, it's time to hurry up. Men should marry when they come of age and women should marry when they come of age, the Emperor should keep an eye on these matters and make proper arrangements."

Zhu Yunying appeared to be nodding, seemingly agreeing with some of Zhu's statements, but he largely ignored many of them. While the old feudal Zhu seemed to approve of some of Zhu Yunying's actions, he also inevitably offered occasional warnings.

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