Zhu Yue was exasperated by Zhu Yunwen's self-awareness, saying, "If you know you're not virtuous enough, then change! Your brother appointed you as the Imperial Clan Minister, which is a great honor. Many members of the imperial clan are eagerly waiting for you, and as your brother's own brother, you are the most suitable candidate."

At this point, Zhu Yunwen started grinning foolishly. From childhood to adulthood, he had never liked studying or doing anything; he only enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun. This was his personality, and it was basically impossible to change, nor did he intend to.

In Zhu Yunwen's eyes, being a carefree prince was far better and more interesting than being a virtuous prince who had to get things done.

In reality, Zhu Yunwen never felt resentful; he was countless times grateful to be the 'second son'. If he had been the eldest, he would have had to study diligently from a young age and wouldn't have had any time to play.

His elder brother was like that, and so was his nephew. Zhu Yunwen once asked about it. His father had to study various classics when he was young, unlike many of his uncles who were carefree.

Everyone probably had a pretty good idea of ​​what Zhu Yunwen was thinking, mainly because they all knew his personality.

Zhu Yunying thought for a moment, then said with a chill down his spine, “Our clan is really getting more and more lively. My grandfather had twenty-six sons, and my ninth and twenty-sixth uncles died young. My eighth uncle also died young without children. Although there are still uncles without children now, that’s just talk.”

Zhu Yunwen chuckled and said, "Father has five sons, Second Uncle has six sons, Third Uncle has seven sons. Let's not talk about Fourth Uncle who went to Japan for now, but judging from Fifth Uncle's appearance, I reckon he won't stop until he has more than a dozen sons."

This is no joke. There's definitely a reason why Zhu Su is Old Zhu's most troublesome yet currently favorite son. For example, when it comes to having children, Zhu Su, already forty-two, is still going strong, and having ten or so sons is a piece of cake for him.

The number of imperial family members in the Ming Dynasty was increasing, which was obvious. All of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons were princes, and four of Zhu Biao's sons were also princes. This was inevitable.

What does this mean? It means that the number of princes in the Ming Dynasty is approaching thirty. And the number of princes of the second rank is also surging. Although Zhu Yunying controls the number, the number of princes of the second rank who have actually reached the age for investiture has exceeded one hundred.

Because some princes were still alive, there was no reason for them to hastily bestow titles upon their sons while the fathers were still alive. This, of course, also meant that the appropriate stipends and other stipends needed to be considered.

At least the lineage of the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin needs to be considered, since they are no longer alive. They were Zhu Yunying's second and third uncles, which is quite special.

Zhu Yunying chuckled and said, "It seems that the second prince has accomplished some things, but we also have our considerations. This time, we won't be stingy, lest someone say that we are stingy and can't even tolerate the imperial clan."

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, don't overthink it. They understand some of the principles. Even the children of Second Uncle and Third Uncle feel that they are ready to settle down and start their own families. They don't want to always cling to Shang Bing and Ji Xi, especially Ji Xi. Last year, Your Majesty just assigned Ji Huang to guard the royal tombs for Third Uncle."

Even if they were 'independent,' those princes were only relatively independent. After all, they came from the lineage of the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin, and many things still needed to be handled by the head of the family.

However, regardless of the circumstances, once the title is bestowed, there's basically no need to worry about being too constrained. After all, it's a title, and the prince will have his own residence and receive his salary directly. Therefore, he won't be subject to the constraints of the eldest son's family.

Once the family is divided and a title is bestowed, it signifies complete independence, which many people would certainly be happy about.

In fact, Zhu Yunying understood, and even Zhu Yunhuo understood, that the reason why some of his cousins ​​were surrounding Zhu Yunhuo was mainly because Zhu Yunhuo, the Prince of Wu, was special; this kid could speak to the emperor, and that was enough.

Zhu Yue wasn't surprised; she wasn't naive either. "Brother, if it's really a formal investiture, it would be a good thing. Last year, when the fourth prince was made an investiture, Lady Lü was overjoyed. The fifth prince is also of marriageable age. She's made something of herself; her son is almost a prince."

Zhu Yunying found it amusing and said, "You're so petty. I told you years ago that as long as I'm around, all her little schemes are just a joke. I really don't care about Yunwen. No matter how hard he studies, it has nothing to do with me."

Zhu Yunwen replied matter-of-factly, "That makes sense. Everyone knows how intelligent my elder brother was even as a child! Not to mention that he was raised by my grandfather and grandmother and has always been favored, our mother comes from the Prince of Kaiping's mansion, and my sister-in-law comes from the Prince of Zhongshan's mansion. Who would dare to have any designs on him!"

That's exactly right. Zhu Yunying's status is what it is. As long as he's still around, Zhu Yunwen shouldn't have any other ideas.

"Just you wait and see, Yin'er is the same," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "That boy is becoming more and more unruly because of his grandfather's favor, and he's always making us angry. This little crown prince is probably fearless because he knows we can't do anything to him."

Zhu Yunwen said matter-of-factly, “That makes sense. We only understand this now that we’re older. It was hard to say what would have happened in the early years, when our mother wasn’t the empress yet and our father was still alive. Who knows what would have happened then? But it’s different for Yin’er now. Putting aside my sister-in-law, Yin’er has been officially appointed.”

Zhu Yue glanced at Xu Miaoqing and said, "It seems that way, no one else can cross the line. Now the rules are completely in place. In the past, it was hard to say about those rules, if Grandfather didn't approve, then he wouldn't approve. But now it's different, they are ancestral rules, who dares to change them!"

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