Little Zhu sat comfortably on Old Zhu's lap, nestled against his chest. Shuangquan, carrying a fruit platter, respectfully offered fresh fruit. Little Zhu took a bite himself, then casually held out a piece for his great-grandfather. This made Old Zhu even more gratified, and he 'taught' with even more enthusiasm.
"Great-grandfather, I need to pee!" Little Zhu cried out after eating too much.
Watching the little guy being taken away, Old Zhu laughed, "He's still young and doesn't understand many things yet."
"It's alright if he doesn't understand, we'll teach him slowly." Zhu Yunying seemed to remember something and said to his father, "In a few days, we'll take him out for a walk. Although our grandson was in the palace when he was young, he should at least go out and see the world. He's been in the palace all this time and doesn't know anything about what's happening outside. Our crown prince can't be raised by women, and we can't let him develop a mind like 'He who doesn't know food!'"
Old Zhu thought for a moment, then retorted somewhat unhappily, "Our Yin'er wouldn't go that far. We were just afraid you'd be misled, which is why we sent you back to your hometown so you'd know where you came from and how hard it was for us to start our business."
"Our hometown of Fengyang is a blessed place now; it's no ordinary place," Zhu Yunying said with a smile, as if remembering something. "The wealthiest families in the world all want to go to our hometown; it's truly the most desirable place!"
Zhu immediately became proud; once he became emperor, his hometown naturally began to "develop".
"Alright, we'll take Yin'er out for a walk in a few days." Old Zhu laughed and said to Little Zhu, "Why don't you come along too? We haven't gone out for a stroll together yet."
As for traveling incognito, Zhu Yunying only did so when he was a child; he rarely did so after he grew up. He remained in the palace most of the time, but Zhu Yunying believed he was knowledgeable enough not to make outrageous statements like "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
But little Zhu is different; this child truly doesn't know the hardships of ordinary people. Even though he's still young, and even though Zhu Yunying doesn't intend for him to experience life firsthand, there are still things he needs to know.
Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and said to Old Zhu, "We'll invite Miaoqing over, and have Yue'er come too. Our Imperial Aunt and Little Aunt will also come. Then our whole family can go sightseeing and see how prosperous Yingtian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty is!"
Old Zhu nodded with a smile, "It's good to have more people. That's settled then. We just need to know about this, but don't let your subordinates do anything reckless."
Zhu Yunying laughed, "Grandson wants to go and see for himself. We can't let the people below fool us."
Little Zhu, having finished urinating, ran over excitedly and shouted, "Great-grandfather, I want to practice swordsmanship!"
"Alright, I'll spar with you!" Old Zhu was in a good mood and said to Little Zhu, "Your father also liked to spar with the guards when he was young. He was invincible! Yin'er, today I'll practice swordsmanship with you, and in a few days you'll help us plant grain."
Zhu Yunying suddenly felt a little ashamed. He had always thought of himself as a martial arts prodigy. Even knowing that some people might be letting him win, seeing his subordinates giving their all occasionally gave Zhu Yunying a false sense of self-worth.
As a result, the guards fought with all their might and only managed to fight the Crown Prince to a draw, because they were afraid of injuring him and making him lose face.
"Right here." Zhu Yunying chuckled, leaning back on the dragon throne. "Let's see how Yin'er is doing. In a few days, I'll have your uncle take you hunting. His archery isn't great, but his horsemanship is excellent."
Old Zhu chuckled and said to Zhu Yunying, "How many imperial horses has Yunying tricked us out of? If he can't ride a horse anymore, we'll have to scold him!"
"The imperial horses outside are all released from his control," Zhu Yunying joked with a smile. "Today we're playing polo, tomorrow we're hunting, and who knows, the day after we might just be missing a horse to pull the carriage."
It's unlikely that Zhu Yunying would ride a horse now, so many of the imperial horses were generously given away. Besides his younger brother Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunying would also occasionally reward his other cousins, or some civil and military officials and nobles with an imperial horse.
It's better to let them run around outside than to keep them cooped up in the Imperial Stables.
Little Zhu, clutching his small wooden sword, shouted and yelled, his swordsmanship haphazard, but Old Zhu was happily sparring with his great-grandson. Little Zhu watched with great enjoyment, while of course not forgetting to continue reviewing memorials.
This is fine too.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
