Seeing Zhu Xiong Ying enter the hall, Old Zhu was a little angry. He then turned his back to Zhu Xiong Ying, clearly not wanting to pay attention to this disobedient grandson.
Zhu Xiong Ying didn't mind, and plopped down on the dragon bed, reaching out to touch Old Zhu's forehead. "Not bad, the fever has gone down a bit."
Old Zhu angrily brushed Zhu Xiong Ying's hand away, somewhat annoyed. "I told you, I'm sick! This cold is no small matter. There's Yin'er at the Crown Prince's house, and you just had a daughter. Tell me, you think your own health is precious, but our great-grandchildren aren't?! They were quite sensible when they were little, but they've become so unruly as they've grown up!"
Zhu Xiong Ying didn't mind and said with a smile, "Then my grandson will rest for two days at the Qianqing Palace. He hasn't rested here for a long time. I just saw my daughter today. She's ugly. Yin'er insists that his sister looks like a monkey."
Old Zhu chuckled, a sense of relief washing over him. "We'll bring the child over to see when he's a bit older! That little rascal Yin'er, I reckon he'll be quite a handful when he grows up, always causing trouble. The other day we took him to see the garden, and he was the only one who liked any of those rare and exotic animals that were presented as tribute."
"Of course, few children don't like those things." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said to Old Zhu, "To be honest, Yin'er is a bit better than my grandson. He's mischievous, but not spoiled. I'm always afraid that he'll be corrupted by this child."
This displeased Old Zhu, who sat up and criticized Zhu Xiong Ying, "None of us in the Zhu family are spoiled! We grew up in hardship. When your father was born, we were still a great general, and we might not have survived. When you were born, our Ming Dynasty was already established and relatively stable, and you weren't spoiled! Everyone here is not spoiled, so why is it that only our Yin'er is spoiled?"
Zhu Xiong Ying ignored this and said to Old Zhu, "I'm thinking it's time to name my daughter. I'm planning to come and ask my Imperial Grandfather for advice?"
Old Zhu blurted out, already prepared, "You've always wanted a daughter, so this is your wish fulfilled. We'll name your daughter Ruyi! Let me tell you, you may like daughters, but don't be biased. Our Yin'er is the eldest son, the foundation of our Great Ming Dynasty. If you create a Princess Taiping, see how we deal with you!"
The ailing Zhu is now burdened with endless worries. He fears repeating the mistakes of the Tang Dynasty and that those restless princesses will wield too much power in the court. This is a way of giving Zhu Xiong Ying a heads-up.
In truth, Old Zhu treated his daughters, even his two biological daughters, relatively poorly. Ultimately, Old Zhu was a traditionalist; his sons belonged to his own family, while his daughters belonged to other families, and he always kept this distinction very clear.
Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "This grandson of mine knows what he's doing. Not to mention these princesses interfering in the court, even the harem won't. As for the maternal relatives, whether it's the Xu family or the Chang family, they won't be allowed to interfere in politics. In a few years, those who should retire will retire."
Old Zhu nodded, somewhat pleased. "If we ever see Tiande again, we can give him an explanation. We've treated him well; his daughter Miaoqing is the Empress of our Great Ming. Boren died young, without seeing your mother give birth to you."
Bo Ren, that was Chang Yuchun's courtesy name.
Zhu Yuanzhang's two most capable assistants in conquering the country are now closely tied to the royal family, much more so than ordinary nobles. Undoubtedly, the noble group they represent must also be bound to the royal family.
“In the future, Yin’er’s marriage should also be arranged among noble families,” Zhu Xiong Ying said to Old Zhu. “But in the future, it shouldn’t be too prestigious. My father and I, these two generations, are enough. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good.”
Old Zhu thought so too. Future emperors' principal wives would definitely be chosen from noble families, but not from the highest-ranking noble families. As for the civil officials, there was no need to worry; the positions of concubines had always been reserved for them.
Old Zhu coughed a few times and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "We were pretending to be sick, but now we're really sick. Looking back now, it's a good thing you've grown up and become sensible, otherwise we would have had to hold on and we would have killed someone."
When Lao Zhu said this, he was definitely not joking. Zhu Xiong Ying knew that this was Lao Zhu's true thought, and it could be considered Lao Zhu's most helpless choice.
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