If anyone else dared to reach for the food, Old Zhu would definitely be unhappy. He wouldn't resort to beatings or scolding, but a fierce glare would suffice; many of Old Zhu's children understood this. The best food was always reserved for the eldest son's lineage.
"What bad habits have you developed at such a young age!" Old Zhu, who couldn't stand his grandson, said irritably. "He was better before, but now he can't rest easy without a drink?"
Zhu Yunying simply smiled and remained silent. He wasn't a drunkard; he only drank a little occasionally. For Zhu Yunying, this was a pleasant aspect of life.
Old Zhu continued to coax Little Zhu, who was now completely unfazed. Children may be young and ignorant, but they are not stupid. Little Zhu knew very well that as long as his great-grandfather was there, he had nothing to fear. He wanted his great-grandfather to feed him, and no one could stop him.
After finishing his duck leg and drinking chicken soup, Zhu Yunying said to his father, "Today I summoned someone to discuss some banking matters. My grandfather is going to issue an ancestral rule that things cannot be changed arbitrarily in the future."
Zhu Yunying generally scoffed at ancestral rules and policies for generations to come, and simply didn't believe in them. However, at times, Zhu Yunying still felt that it was necessary for the old Zhu to set the tone so that future generations would find it difficult to change it even if they wanted to.
Old Zhu nodded, he knew what was going on. "Alright, we'll go to court in a couple of days. Just let me know beforehand."
The ancestral rule was to prohibit future emperors from arbitrarily issuing more paper money. Zhu Yunying feared that he might have an unworthy descendant who would stop at nothing to make money, and if that happened, the Ming Dynasty's paper currency would collapse, possibly leading to inflation.
Even before the gold standard was implemented, sufficient silver reserves were still necessary. Therefore, it was best to be pragmatic: only fill the bowl with the capacity, avoiding overspending and, more importantly, not ruining the nation's finances for personal gain.
Zhu Yunying had no doubt about the destructive power of an emperor, or rather, the current absolute power of the emperor. Once a foolish ruler appears, a series of chaotic actions can truly bring a powerful dynasty to its decline.
Under such circumstances, it was natural that Zhu Rongji needed to set the tone. Printing paper money arbitrarily would no longer be a simple matter.
Little Zhu joined in the fun, spitting out the vegetables he had been chewing for a long time without swallowing, "Great-grandfather, father, let's go to court too! We're the crown prince, we're the emperor!"
Children speak without restraint—this is absolutely true. If Little Zhu were a little older, he probably wouldn't dare to say such things so casually. But at his current age, Little Zhu naturally doesn't know many taboos.
However, it's all Old Zhu's fault. Old Zhu would often say things to Little Zhu, making no attempt to hide the fact that Little Zhu would be emperor someday. So Little Zhu naturally assumed that the throne was his, just like his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, who were all emperors.
“No, you’re too young,” Zhu Yunying refused without ceremony, saying, “When you’re older, if you don’t want to go to court, we’ll just drag you there and make you stand there.”
Little Zhu immediately threw himself at Old Zhu, who then said, "Yin'er, go over there too. It's best if the Crown Prince is present for such an important event."
Zhu Yunying was speechless for a moment. Although Old Zhu had always been fond of his grandchildren and doted on Zhu Yunying, thinking back now, he realized that he hadn't always been completely obedient to young Zhu. But now it was different. Old Zhu would definitely fulfill any of young Zhu's wishes, as long as they weren't too outrageous.
Zhu Yunying remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, but it must be the legitimate dynasty."
Old Zhu casually said, "We know what we're doing. For such an important event, we should naturally wear court robes."
Wearing casual clothes to court is fine under normal circumstances, but for important occasions and matters, it is of course necessary to take them seriously. Wearing court attire to make decisions is also appropriate.
After all, Old Zhu understood the importance of the bank, and Zhu Yunying was even more aware of it, so of course he dared not be careless in the slightest. Otherwise, Zhu Yunying wouldn't have brought in Old Zhu, this invincible god, to oversee things.
After finishing his meal, Zhu Yunying looked at Little Zhu and asked, "Want to come back with us?"
Little Zhu looked at Old Zhu, whose eyes were full of reluctance, and said, "We're not going back."
Old Zhu immediately waved his hand and said, "Go back and rest first. We heard that you and the Empress still want children, so we have someone prepare some nourishing meals for you."
There are no secrets in the palace, or rather, no secret can be kept from Old Zhu!
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