The Zhu family has always had certain standards, but only a very small number of people can flexibly change the rules of those standards. More often than not, those rules are prepared for others and must be strictly followed.

The saying "the magistrate is allowed to set fires while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps" perfectly describes the situation with the Zhu family here, and many people are perfectly at ease with it. Even when they themselves are "setting fires," they remain righteous and indignant.

Regarding the generational order in the Zhu family, there was no problem in the second generation. Everyone knew that the deceased eldest Zhu was the eldest son, and his younger brothers and sisters were ordered according to their birth dates, without any issues.

In reality, by the third generation, there were no official problems. It was only in private that the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was sometimes made, referring to Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunwen, and many people even considered it perfectly normal.

However, such matters are clearly only open to discussion among a few members of the Zhu family, and only members of the direct line can discuss them.

While the young eunuch was filled with trepidation, Zhu Yunwen and his brother Zhu Yunwen also walked out of the Wuying Hall, their expressions indescribable.

Zhu Yunwen felt extremely wronged. Although he was a playboy, he still knew his limits. He hadn't done anything wrong recently. Even when he was confined to his residence a while ago, it wasn't because he had committed any wrongdoing. It was just that his elder brother didn't want him to get involved in any trouble, which was actually an undeserved misfortune.

But now it's all messed up. It was clearly the second brother who made a big mistake, so what does it have to do with the third brother?

Let's not even talk about summoning the emperor to the palace. Although it would be an opportunity to plead for him and do his second brother a favor, Zhu Yunwen knew his elder brother too well. There was absolutely nothing serious going on; would his elder brother really punish his second brother?

Favors and personal connections are of little use. Second Brother is a penniless man, only receiving support and allowances from the imperial court. Moreover, the expenses of the Xu Prince's mansion are considerable, so there is not much surplus. Second Brother is not like him, who is good at making money.

The second brother spent all his time reading, a pedantic scholar spouting classical phrases all day long. He even dared not let his nephews get too close, saying he was worried that he, the Prince of Wu, would corrupt the children. Normally, Zhu Yunwen was too lazy to even visit his second brother.

He missed out on all the good things, and bad things just kept happening to him. This dignified King Wu was only able to act without any temper and be manipulated by his elder brother, the emperor.

Of course, something even more frustrating was about to happen. There was nothing to be nervous about in front of his elder brother. But in front of his grandfather, while he wouldn't exactly go weak in the knees, he would definitely feel afraid, cautiously fearing being punished by his grandfather.

Now things are really messed up. Because his second brother made a mistake, he, as the third brother, has to go too. There's no need to overthink it; Grandfather will definitely reprimand his second brother severely, and then he, the innocent third brother, will also be scolded.

"Injustice" is, to put it bluntly, Zhu Yunwen's true feeling at this moment. He felt that no one was more wronged or innocent than him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't resist and had no choice but to obey. However, thinking of his unfortunate second brother, Zhu Yunwen felt a little bit of relief.

Everyone says that Prince Xu is virtuous and kind, but look at how many stupid things this so-called virtuous prince has done! And look at Prince Wu, who is said to be a playboy, but he is the true conscience of the Ming Dynasty's imperial family, and he never causes trouble for the court!

To be honest, Zhu Yunwen was quite relaxed at this moment, because he hadn't done anything wrong, so there was nothing to worry about. Even if his grandfather got angry, he would just listen, and it wouldn't matter much.

However, Zhu Yunwen was far from relaxed at this point. He knelt in the Wuying Hall for half an hour, his mind still foggy and many things still not fully understood. But Zhu Yunwen was well aware that he had unintentionally made a grave mistake.

In all honesty, he truly had no other thoughts or intentions, and dared not have any at all.

But looking back now, what I did really did cross a line. It's not impossible that I'd be stripped of my princely title. If my elder brother were to show leniency, perhaps by keeping me within the palace walls and retaining my title of Prince Xu, that wouldn't be out of the question either.

My elder brother has narrowly escaped danger here, and it seems he has shown him mercy and doesn't intend to pursue the matter further. However, we are about to go to our grandfather's place, and I can foresee that he will be furious and I will definitely be scolded.

When I was little, I felt a little resentful. Although I was only three years younger than my elder brother, I was treated very differently from him.

He wasn't raised by his grandmother, and he was not allowed to visit the Qianqing Palace or Kunning Palace normally, let alone dine with his grandfather or accompany him in governing. He was just a dispensable grandson of the emperor.

As for the imperial brother, it seemed that everything and everyone revolved around him. Even his mother had to carefully cater to and please him. In the palace, apart from his grandfather and father, everyone took it for granted that the imperial brother could make decisions, even though he was only a few years old at the time.

Compared to his elder brother's brilliant future, Zhu Yunwen was practically nothing. He once harbored ambitions to seize the throne, but gradually, without realizing it, he found himself only showing respect and admiration towards his brother.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle." Little Zhu was very happy and quickly greeted them. "Let's go quickly, Grandpa is getting impatient."

Zhu Yunwen quickly said, "It's really a bit much that Your Highness has come to help us out of this predicament."

Zhu Yunwen, whose face was still pale, came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Your subject, Prince Xu, Zhu Yunwen, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Little Zhu quickly said, "Second Uncle, please don't be so polite. We're all family. There are no outsiders here, and we're not in court. Being too polite would be too formal. Father Emperor once said that if we're too formal, we're not family."

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