As emperor, Zhu Yunying quite enjoyed leaving the palace, though such privileges were relatively rare. He only occasionally left the palace during his childhood, and one trip to Beiping in his early years was considered his opportunity to "travel."

If it were about leaving the palace during festivals, Zhu Yunying would be quite unfamiliar with this, as such treatment was not common.

Little Zhu skipped and hopped, saying, "Dad, we're not taking Kun'er this time, it's too cold outside."

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, agreeing with this point as well. "Kun'er isn't even a year old yet, so we won't be taking him this time. We'll go along and join in the fun. Have someone tell your aunt and second uncle to come along too, and bring our Qilin with them."

More people make it more lively. In reality, among Zhu's children, only the seven-year-old Princess Baoqing was with him on this trip. The other sons and grandsons were mainly Zhu Yunying's offspring.

Zhu Yunying waved, and the young Zhu, who was about to leave, stopped. There were some things he needed to explain. After all, a royal leaving the palace was no small matter.

Little Zhu must understand all this. Although he seems young now, he is not without thoughts. At most, he just doesn't consider things very thoroughly.

“You’re not young anymore. We’re busy with state affairs all day and don’t have the time to deal with these things,” Zhu Yunying said slowly. “Your great-grandfather is old and his energy is failing, so we don’t want to trouble him with this matter. Since you’re willing to take on the task, you can handle it. You’ll be in charge of many things.”

Little Zhu wasn't stupid. He said, "Father, this is just to train us. Why should you worry about such things, and needless to say, Great-Grandfather? Even if we were to do something, we'd need an imperial decree."

Zhu Yunying looked at Wang Chengen and said, "Let Song Zhong and Jiang Huan go to the Crown Prince to receive orders. Don't let us worry about these things."

Little Zhu squeezed in front of Zhu Yunying, fawningly saying, "Father, how about giving us the Capital Guard and the Five Cities Garrison? We are of noble birth, and my younger siblings are with us too, so nothing can happen to us."

Zhu Yunying was both amused and annoyed. He said, "The Crown Prince commands the troops in the capital? Do you think I, the emperor, can sleep soundly at night?! Fine, remember to return the seal to me after this is over, or I'll really have to deal with you."

Little Zhu, brimming with confidence, grinned and said, "My great-grandfather told us long ago that the military tally given to us couldn't be taken back. My father held the military tally of most of the navy in the land before he was even ten years old, and he didn't say he'd return it to my great-grandfather or grandfather. We learned from my grandfather and father that if we take troops from my great-grandfather, they're ours!"

As soon as Zhu Yunying raised his hand, Little Zhu immediately turned and ran away. Fear was simply not a thing for Little Zhu. He didn't care about taboos or anything like that.

Watching little Zhu run off, Zhu Yunying laughed, "Our Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty doesn't need to be so cautious. We don't need to be wary of things from the previous dynasty."

Little Zhu ran happily to the Wenhua Hall, looked at Wang Chengen, and said, "After you finish delivering the decree, go and serve Father. We don't need you here. You should send someone to the Qianqing Palace to have Shuangquan serve us."

Wang Chengen became even more obsequious, smiling as he said, "Your Highness, please allow me to serve you. If His Majesty inquires, I will be able to provide an answer, won't I?"

Little Zhu thought about it and realized that it made sense. "That's right, Dad definitely doesn't trust us to handle things. We need to send someone over from Great-Grandpa's side as well. Shuangquan should come over too. Go and send someone to summon him quickly. Also, send someone to summon our Third Uncle, Third Uncle's maternal grandfather, and our Aunt's husband."

Wang Chengen immediately set to work, serving the Crown Prince well, which seemed to be outside his duties. However, this matter could not be taken lightly, as the Crown Prince was currently on official business, and everyone needed to do their best.

Serving the emperor was of course Wang Chengen's top priority, but serving the crown prince well was also Wang Chengen's duty.

While busy eating soybeans and drinking a little wine, Old Zhu couldn't help but frown and asked impatiently, "What's wrong now? What has the emperor done this time that he insists we vouch for him?"

Although he said that, it seemed that Old Zhu was extremely impatient. But all these years, Old Zhu had always been very happy. His precious grandson had always been like that, telling him about everything, big or small, and he hadn't forgotten himself just because he sat on the throne.

A young eunuch knelt down and said to Emperor Zhu, "Your Majesty the Retired Emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to oversee the Lantern Festival procession. He is currently meeting with his ministers in the Wenhua Hall. The Crown Prince has also ordered Chief Eunuch Shuangquan to come to the hall to await orders. This servant has come to deliver the decree."

Old Zhu smiled, but still asked, "So you're sending Shuangquan over? What about Wang Chengen, the one who serves the Emperor? The Emperor wouldn't even lend him to the Crown Prince?"

The young eunuch immediately replied, "Your Majesty, Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen has already gone. This servant is an eunuch serving in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and is honored by Your Majesty's grace to serve as a court eunuch. Currently, the Director of the Eastern Depot and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are also serving under His Highness the Crown Prince."

Old Zhu was delighted to hear this, in a good mood. "Alright, then let's go. Shuangquan, be diligent in front of the Crown Prince. Don't compete with Wang Chengen for credit, just serve the Crown Prince well."

Shuangquan naturally obeyed the order. Having served Zhu Yuanzhang for so many years, Shuangquan already knew some things and knew that he needed to correct his stance.

He used to be the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, but the Directorate of Ceremonial was not the chief of the Twenty-Four Offices in history. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang had established the Directorate of the Inner Palace before he ascended the throne, and it was adjusted in the seventeenth and twenty-eighth years of Hongwu.

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