This was something Xu Miaoqing didn't know, but she also had some doubts. "Your Majesty, Yin'er is still young."
“You’re not a child anymore. Do you know why we’re favored?” Zhu Yunying said smugly to Xu Miaoqing. “You probably know that we’re precocious. We could talk even before we could walk steadily.”
There's nothing that can be done about it; it's normal development for a child at that age. Their arms and legs aren't strong yet. But their intelligence is still quite developed, and their language system is gradually emerging. So they start speaking earlier and are more well-behaved than other children.
Zhu Yunying became even more smug and said, "I am the first son of Father Emperor and Mother Empress. Originally, Grandmother Empress said that she was worried that Father Emperor and Mother Empress had never raised children, so she would take me to raise for a while. But I became fat and easy to take care of, so Grandmother Empress couldn't bear to part with me. In order to keep me in Kunning Palace, Grandmother Empress even made Father Emperor take charge of state affairs ahead of schedule."
Xu Miaoqing's eyes widened. She had no idea about this unless Zhu Yunying mentioned it. She only knew that her father's position was secure; her grandfather had appointed the Crown Prince on the day of his ascension, and the core civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were all assigned to the Crown Prince's residence. She also knew that the First Emperor (Zhu Yunying) had long been ruling from behind the throne, and that government affairs were first submitted to the First Emperor for approval before being reviewed by the Old Emperor (Zhu Yunying).
“Yin’er is just naughty and cute. Grandfather dotes on him, probably because Yin’er is our eldest son.” Zhu Yunying said smugly. He had been good at vying for favor since he was a child, and he was also a master at acting cute. “But we are different. Grandfather and Grandmother used to be inseparable from me and had to see me every day. When I said I wanted to go back to the East Palace, Grandmother cried.”
Lowering his voice, Zhu Yunying said mysteriously, "Grandmother's trick works well. When she cries, Grandfather panics, Father panics, and we panic too. We can see clearly that sometimes Grandmother is just faking her tears. We all know this, but we pretend not to know."
Hearing Zhu Yunying say this, Xu Miaoqing felt a little envious, but she also knew very well that no one could reach the level of her imperial grandmother. Even she, who seemed to have gained the emperor's favor, was probably only favored because of her status and the fact that she had given birth to the emperor's eldest son; perhaps there was some affection involved as well.
But to be like her grandfather and grandmother was impossible; she could only admire them.
Little Zhu returned excitedly, followed by Shuang Quan with a long face.
Looking at little Zhu, Zhu Yunying was stunned. "Why are you back at this time? The palace gates are closed."
There was also a curfew in the palace. At the appointed time, the gates between the various palaces would be closed. In particular, the Qianqing Palace of Emperor Zhu and the Chunhe Palace of Emperor Yunying were the key areas guarded by the imperial guards, and people were basically not allowed to move around during the curfew.
Shuangquan said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is crying and missing the Empress, so the Emperor Emeritus sent someone to escort His Highness back."
Zhu Yunying was speechless. He had just been telling Xu Miaoqing how spoiled he was as a child. But now, looking at it again, it seemed that wasn't the case at all; his treatment seemed rather ordinary.
After all, everyone else, including Zhu Yunying's uncles and aunts, were sent out of the palace at the appointed time. But Zhu Yunying, because he was thinking of his mother, broke the palace restrictions. This wasn't the first or second time such a thing had happened. Even Emperor Zhu Yunying himself had to abide by the palace restrictions, but his son didn't.
Little Zhu burrowed into the mattress and snuggled close to Xu Miaoqing, saying, "Mom, you have to hold me, and Dad has to hold me too."
"Alright, we understand," Zhu Yunying and Xu Miaoqing replied with smiles. Although little Zhu was quite the little tyrant in the palace, he was still a child, and often thought of his parents—it's just a child's nature.
Sleeping with the child is nothing special, but for Zhu Yunying, he couldn't just think about his wife and children; he also had to handle state affairs.
After washing up and having a simple snack, Zhu Yunying, who was walking towards Fengtian Hall, casually asked, "Our civil and military officials will probably have to get up at midnight. They won't be able to sleep."
At this moment, Wang Chengen immediately said, "After court, the officials of each department should also go to their offices. If they are tired or sleepy, they can rest."
Being an official in the capital during the Ming Dynasty was tough, especially for those ministers who were qualified to attend court. They truly slept later than dogs and rose earlier than chickens. It was only because Zhu Yunying had ascended the throne that being an official was slightly safer. If Zhu were still sitting on the dragon throne, being an official could mean losing your head at any moment.
Zhu Yunying nodded, then said, "We have a lot of things to do, and they're all keeping us busy."
Zhu Yunying felt that the cabinet was still necessary. It wasn't so much that he was thinking of Zhang Juzheng, but rather that he wanted to ease his own burdens a bit. Handling everything, big and small, was Zhu's nature; he was a workaholic.
This was no easy task for Zhu Yunying, though the iron-willed old Zhu was enjoying it. However, Zhu Yunying felt he might not be able to handle it, given the precedent set by his father, the emperor. While the emperor himself was undoubtedly a true chosen one, others would be exhausted.
As Zhu Yunying prepared to attend court, Lan Yu was also quite excited.
Last time, she took the advice of Marquis Dingyuan, Wang Bi, and rushed to the southern coast of Buyur Island under cover of night, then nearly destroyed the administrative centers of the Northern Yuan in one fell swoop. Now, he felt that he might be able to replicate that glory.
Because scouts reported that the Tartar army was gathering. Taking advantage of the Tartars' unstable foothold, he could lead his men to launch a preliminary attack. If the Tartar army fell into disarray or scattered, the imperial army could then divide the forces into three routes, preventing the Tartar army from fully regrouping.
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