On New Year's Eve, Empress Ma was happily preparing lunch, a 'family feast'.

She'll be five years old after the New Year, which is quite a young age.

Holding his little sister Zhu Yue, Zhu Xiong Ying teased the girl, "Yue'er, give your imperial brother a kiss?"

Zhu Yue was very disrespectful, stretching out her little hand to push away Zhu Xiong Ying's face as he leaned in, looking like she was about to cry at any moment.

"Xi'er, give your brother a kiss." Zhu Xiong Ying said, looking at Zhu Xi who was staring expectantly beside him, "Your brother loves Xi'er the most!"

Zhu Xi immediately ran over and happily pouted, giving Zhu Xiong Ying a kiss. This displeased Zhu Yue; this was her imperial brother, and while she could refrain from kissing him, no one else could!

Zhu Xiong Ying was smug. It's normal for children to compete for attention, and there's nothing surprising about it.

Zhu Biao found it somewhat amusing, and then said, "Ying'er, why don't you hug Yun Tuo?"

“Yun Tong won’t do, he’s too young,” Zhu Xiong Ying said matter-of-factly. “Besides, he’s a boy, and all the men of the Zhu family are great heroes!”

Sitting to the side watching his children and grandchildren, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became happy. Sometimes he felt his crown prince was a bit too weak. After all, he was a Confucian disciple, and his character was somewhat too gentle. "Our eldest grandson is good," he thought, "tough and decisive!"

The Crown Prince's concubine, Lady Lü, was somewhat uneasy. If it weren't for the fact that she was currently taking care of Zhu Xi, Zhu Yue, and Zhu Yunwen, she, as the Crown Prince's concubine, would not be qualified to attend such a family banquet.

In fact, Lady Lü was originally very grateful to the Crown Princess, because her ancestors were descendants of Lü Wenhuan, a general of the Southern Song Dynasty. Lü Wenhuan later surrendered to the Yuan army and killed many civilians, but Lü Ben surrendered again in his generation.

This also led Zhu Biao to look down on her. It was only because the Crown Princess was kind and caring that she was able to gain a foothold in the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Yunwen looked on longingly. He was almost two years old and could usually see his father, the Crown Prince. However, he rarely saw his grandfather, the Emperor, or his grandmother, the Empress.

After the joyful family banquet ended, Madam Lü left with the reluctant Zhu Xi and Zhu Yue, while Zhu Yunwen remained asleep.

Looking at her eldest grandson sleeping on the couch, Empress Ma sighed, "Chongba, can you see this?"

"What did you see?" Zhu Yuanzhang said, quite annoyed. "Even if you saw it, you should pretend you didn't. Our eldest grandson is sensible and doesn't want us to worry, so we have to pretend we don't know! Don't say anything either, we'll all play dumb!"

Empress Ma felt even more distressed, "How can such a young child have such a heavy heart!"

At lunch, Zhu Xiong Ying offered a toast to his imperial grandfather and grandmother, and naturally, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was also honored. He then very respectfully and politely thanked the Crown Prince's concubine, Lady Lü, for taking care of his younger siblings...

Even Zhu Biao noticed that Zhu Xiong Ying only ate a few bites of vegetables during the entire lunch. But he coaxed his younger siblings to eat more and kept the elders happy.

Empress Ma seemed to remember something and asked, "Chief Sacrificer, how did you arrange this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said matter-of-factly, “We will take our children and grandchildren to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship our ancestors. Our grandson will naturally go, he did before, and he will go even more now! I have decided that Ying’er, as the eldest grandson, will carry our parents’ tablets with him and Biao’er.”

Empress Ma paused for a moment, then said, "Isn't this inappropriate? Those people from the Ministry of Rites will just start gossiping again!"

"Shut up?" Zhu Yuanzhang said irritably. "This is our family matter, and we have the final say! The second and third sons have already been enfeoffed, and the fourth son will soon be enfeoffed as well. It's just the right time for our eldest grandson to be enfeoffed."

Empress Ma was silent for a moment, then said, "Chongba, you saw what happened today. That Lady Lü is quite gentle. It's understandable that she won't be replaced as Crown Princess now. You said that if Biao'er ascends the throne, the harem cannot be without a head, and an Empress will have to be appointed sooner or later."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and then said, "That's true. I've always been afraid of this. If one day Lady Lü becomes empress, her children will also be legitimate sons. I am Xinbiao'er, and Ying'er will be the imperial grandson. But now that Old Chang is gone, the Chang family's son is not capable of taking on the responsibility, and Ying'er is also lacking in support."

While Empress Ma remained silent, Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thigh and said, "Wait a minute. We've already established the rule of primogeniture. If we're about to pass away, we'll first make Ying'er the Crown Prince, which will save those people from speculating!"

Zhu Xiong Ying dozed off for an hour before waking up. With the help of her maids, she bathed and changed her clothes, then put on her imperial robes.

The ceremonial robes, naturally, are a type of formal attire worn for important ceremonies.

In fact, four days before the main ceremony, Zhu Xiong Ying would bathe and change clothes every day, and he and his grandfather and father would go to the fasting palace every day to cleanse themselves and show their sincerity and respect.

According to the imperial ancestral precepts, the eldest son of the crown prince is the imperial grandson, and the second son and sons of concubines are all granted the title of prince when they reach the age of ten.

Therefore, Zhu Xiong Ying is currently only the "Grandson of the Crown Prince," and is not old enough to be officially appointed.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, wearing a twelve-tassel crown, a large fur coat, and a black upper garment with a crimson lower garment. The upper garment was decorated with six symbols: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the dragon, and the pheasant. The lower garment was embroidered with six symbols: algae, fire, rice grains, sacrificial vessels, axe, and axe-shaped pattern, for a total of twelve symbols.

Zhu Biao also arrived, wearing a nine-tassel crown and a nine-patterned robe. The symbols included: dragon, mountain, pheasant, fire, ancestral vessel, rice grain, axe, and embroidered pattern.

Zhu Xiong Ying wore an eight-tassel crown and a seven-chapter robe, with the symbols of huachong, fire, zongyi, algae, fenmi, fu, and fu.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood and looked at his children and grandchildren, saying, "Come on, let's go to the Fengxian Hall."

Zhu Biao nodded with a smile, but at this moment Zhu Xiong Ying bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, your subject has something to report."

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback, then said, "Get up, get up and speak!"

Zhu Xiong Ying slowly began, "Your Majesty, now that my mother has passed away, it is time for your subject to pay respects..."

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