Many things have special significance. For example, before the Northern Song Dynasty, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was considered a way for emperors to boast of their achievements. However, nowadays, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai has lost its mystique and appeal.
This time, however, the grand banquet to be held in the imperial court represented an unparalleled honor for the civil officials. During the Mongol Yuan dynasty, the status of scholars was extremely low. Although the status of scholars improved somewhat after the founding of the Ming dynasty, their overall standing still needed improvement.
For scholars, the desire was to further elevate their social standing.
Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and casually asked a few questions. He could simply give instructions; there were always people below who could handle it.
As Zhu Yunying flipped through the memorials, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words, unsure of what to say.
In essence, Zhu Yunying was being pressured to have children. After all, he was the emperor, so many things weren't simply a matter for one person. For instance, Zhu Yunying already had a son and a daughter, and his fertility was not an issue.
However, many officials felt this was insufficient. Although young Zhu had been named Crown Prince, and the heir apparent of the Ming Dynasty had been determined, many still felt it wasn't enough. The current emperor only had four concubines and one son and one daughter, making his offspring rather meager.
The ministers who submitted the memorials were not trying to curry favor or to persuade Zhu Yunying to "stop holding court in the morning." They were simply fulfilling their duties as ministers, hoping that the emperor would have more children and thus greater security.
Zhu Yunying smiled but didn't really care. Before Xu Miaoqing gave birth to little Zhu, Zhu Yunying was actually quite concerned. Of course, at that time, Zhu Yunying ensured that the other concubines wouldn't get pregnant. Now, however, he wasn't deliberately having anyone use contraception, but he was still quite mindful of his health at times.
It's impossible for him to be unrestrained, after all, he's very busy with work and doesn't have time to think about those things all day.
After glancing at the signatures of the ministers who submitted the memorials, Zhu Yunying suddenly felt speechless. While he was trying to find ways to harm the Duke of Yansheng and the scholars, he encountered some obvious or subtle pressures.
"Go tell Grandfather that after finishing his official duties, we'll have dinner there," Zhu Yunying said to Wang Chengen. "Have someone prepare some yellow wine and roast duck, and just have whatever else you like."
Peking duck has a long history, said to have originated in Jiankang during the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China, which is naturally Yingtian Prefecture. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in Yingtian Prefecture, the imperial chefs used plump and meaty lake ducks to make dishes. To enhance the flavor of the duck dishes, they used charcoal roasting to make the duck crispy and fragrant.
If we follow the story of "Love Across Time," then it was something like a fairy princess who came up with the idea, and Old Zhu's silly son even had to blow up a duck.
Zhu Yunying continued reviewing memorials and completed his work smoothly. He didn't need to do many things personally, as they were all resolved relatively easily. This made Zhu Yunying feel relatively at ease and comforted, and it seemed that he had done a pretty good job.
Just as Joo Yoon-young was about to go for a walk, she suddenly felt a little inconvenient.
Old Zhu is still in the capital. Actually, only the Eastern Palace, where Zhu Yunying currently resides, has been upgraded in terms of its structure, but the overall capital has not changed much. The Eastern and Western Palaces are still where Old Zhu's concubines live, which naturally means that Zhu Yunying cannot wander around freely.
In fact, even after he came of age, there were sometimes restrictions on his movements within the palace. When he was a child, he could run around everywhere, and Emperor Zhu let him. But as he grew older, there were many places he couldn't go. Even if he wanted to go to the Imperial Garden to see the flowers and birds, he had to send someone to inform him in advance, just to avoid offending Emperor Zhu's concubines.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has arrived," Wang Chengen said immediately upon hearing the message from the eunuch.
Zhu Yunxuan has arrived, and it's really difficult to address him as Zhu Yunxuan or Zhu Yunxi now. Not only have they not been granted the title of prince, but if the heartless Zhu Yunying were to actually grant them a title of duke or something, they would probably have no choice but to accept it. Of course, Zhu Yunying would never do such a thing.
The fourth prince, but Zhu Yunying had not yet ascended the throne at that time, and they were of the same generation as Zhu Yunying. This title was definitely not appropriate.
Zhu Yunying immediately laughed and said, "Have someone prepare some snacks to go with the wine. I'll go have a drink with the fourth prince. Let's go to the side hall."
Zhu Yunxi was actually quite at ease, because he hadn't received any messy "upbringing" since birth. Even if he occasionally heard some nagging, it was always about his second brother, not him, the "second son."
Just like Zhu Yunying and his younger siblings, who privately followed the order of siblings from the same mother. The Lü family members, however, were ordered separately. And the Lü family, in reality, followed the same order. It's just that everyone tacitly agreed to maintain the normal order in public.
“You resemble Father the most. Come with me to the Qianqing Palace for dinner.” Zhu Yunying spoke directly to Zhu Yunxi, “After your second brother returned yesterday, did he say anything to you?”
Zhu Yunxi immediately replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, my second brother did not mention anything."
"You're being unorthodox again." Zhu Yunying said helplessly, with a hint of seriousness, "Learn from your third brother. Your second brother had no choice; he wouldn't let me teach him properly before. We are the imperial family; do we really need to produce a mere scholar? In a few days, Your Majesty will take your eldest nephew back to his hometown. You will be granted your title first, and then lead the imperial guards along the way. Your Majesty will not concern himself with other matters; let's see what you can do."
Zhu Yunxi was taken aback for a moment, then became trembling with fear and said, "Your Majesty, I, your humble brother, know nothing of military affairs...!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
