Xu Miaoqing quickly said to Xiao Zhu, "What your father said makes sense. You have a strong personality and always want to do things well. Your strength makes your mother happy. But we also need to know our own strengths and weaknesses, and not think we are the best at everything!"

Although Lao Zhu was not entirely satisfied with Xu Miaoqing's 'belittling' of Xiao Xiao Zhu, he would not correct Xu Miaoqing on these matters.

Little Zhu is indeed a bit arrogant, perhaps even overly so. He's always been proud, proud of his father, his grandfather, and especially his great-grandfather. So, naturally, this little guy believes he's the best, definitely better than everyone else!

In fact, Xiao Zhu is very diligent in her studies, but she is also too competitive and always wants to excel in everything.

Little Zhu is naturally quite outstanding in some things, but there are also things that he's not really good at. However, this kid's strong personality manifests itself in his determination to do his best even in areas where he's not good at something.

He wouldn't hold a grudge against those who were better at studying than him; Little Zhu would just sulk to himself and always strive to become even better. In other words, sometimes this child's strong-willed nature is heartbreaking, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

Ultimately, this is because Little Zhu had too high expectations of himself, because he knew that he was the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and the crown prince.

Only by being outstanding enough can one control the court and win the hearts of the people.

Little Zhu fell silent, probably because he knew he was the best. He had to be stronger than others, better than those who followed him; that was what he should do, and that was the Crown Prince's stance.

There are some things that can't be changed by Xiao Zhu immediately, which is naturally because personality development is not something that happens overnight. If you want Xiao Zhu to change immediately, it will naturally require a relatively long period of personality development.

Xu Miaoqing naturally cared about her precious son, whose status as the eldest son was quite extraordinary. She could have certain expectations of him, and those expectations needed to be strict. However, she was certain she didn't want her child to be under too much pressure, and didn't want to crush him.

Zhu Yunying then changed the subject, saying to his father, "I may not know how to lead troops into battle, and I certainly don't know how to deploy them. But I am the emperor, and I know how to use people effectively. This time, I'll have the Chang family in charge of patrolling Zijin Mountain; they can handle this task. Furthermore, the Imperial Guards will be responsible for the journey, and the Xu family will provide escorts along the way."

Little Zhu happily said, "That's right, our dad is amazing! He's just like Emperor Gaozu of Han. Although he wasn't good at leading troops, he was good at commanding generals! Our great-grandfather was the same. Although he was good at leading troops, he might not be as good as our maternal grandfather or our great-grandfather!"

This wasn't just idle talk; Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed skilled at leading troops in battle, but to say he was superior to Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others is debatable. Although Zhu Yuanzhang considered himself exceptionally talented, he didn't believe he was truly the best at everything.

Zhu Yunying was also aware of this. He was indeed quite capable and wise, but he was also well aware that he wasn't the best at everything. It's okay to admit some of his shortcomings, and it's perfectly acceptable to recognize some of his weaknesses.

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Zhu Yunying naturally had some detailed arrangements for this trip. Or rather, he only needed to make some requests, which would have been enough; there was really no need for Zhu Yunying to inquire about every single detail.

Ultimately, it means leaving professional matters to professionals, a point that Zhu Yunying had long understood.

Old Zhu was fairly satisfied with the answer, so he smiled and said, "It seems alright. You've always been this way. You were born to be in a position of power. Those who use their minds govern others, and those who use their bodies are governed. You just casually say something, and your subordinates end up working themselves to the bone."

Zhu Yunying thought so too, and he certainly didn't think there was anything wrong with what he was doing; after all, he was the emperor. Assigning various tasks to his subordinates, Zhu Yunying felt no pressure whatsoever and felt perfectly justified in doing so.

The government's salary is not easy to obtain, and holding a high position naturally means that one needs to do certain things well.

Remembering something, Little Zhu said, "Great-grandfather, our father did a lot of things on this trip. He always taught us to have a backup plan for many things. Make the best plan, but also prepare for the worst."

That was indeed the case, and it could be considered one of Zhu Yunying's characteristics. The emperor's suspiciousness and prudence were vividly displayed in Zhu Yunying, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with this aspect of his personality.

I chatted with Old Zhu about everyday things and also discussed some arrangements for the upcoming trip to Zijin Mountain for the pilgrimage. That was about it. I could go back to the East Palace with Xu Miaoqing. Little Zhu naturally didn't plan to go with me; he wanted to stay in the Qianqing Palace.

Looking at Xu Miaoqing, who had moved a step behind him, Zhu Yunying praised her, saying, "You're doing very well today. The more reserved you were in front of Grandfather, the more he treated you like an outsider. You're different from others; you're our first wife, Yin'er's mother. You're not an outsider."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!