There was a lot of good news, which made Joo Yoon-young quite satisfied, probably because he seemed to have more expectations.
While Zhu Yunying was feeling a little smug, his younger brother Zhu Yuntong was incredibly busy. For him, the most important thing now was to complete the tasks assigned by his elder brother, and he absolutely could not be careless or negligent in the slightest.
Despite his junior status and the fact that Zhu Yunwen did not hold any prominent position in the Imperial Clan Court, everyone understood that the Prince of Wu's identity was special and could not be treated as an ordinary nephew.
Of his brothers who grew up together, the first three had passed away one after another. His fourth brother was now busy conquering the world in Japan, which filled Prince Zhu Su with deep emotion. Life is unpredictable; who could have imagined that his brothers, who once seemed so much more vibrant and energetic than him, would not only be scattered to the four winds, but would be gone forever?
"Fifth Uncle, we just can't get through by posting invitations." Zhu Yunwen complained, but also envied him. "Fifth Uncle is so amazing. Once you post an invitation, all the Uncles are rushing over, and none of them are delayed."
Zhu Su leisurely picked up his wine cup and said, "Normally, if you invited one or two princes to your residence, that would be fine, and no one would refuse you. But now that there are more than ten princes here, who dares to go?"
Zhu Yunwen didn't care, thinking that his fifth uncle was making a mountain out of a molehill. "I don't like what you're saying, Fifth Uncle. Your Majesty is very magnanimous. Besides, Your Majesty knows about this matter. We only invited the princes to our residence because of Your Majesty's decree."
Looking at the serious-looking Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Su was momentarily at a loss for words. This nephew of his was truly difficult to deal with.
Although I knew before that Zhu Yunwen was a spoiled brat and that he was well protected by the current emperor, looking at him now, I still overestimated him. This kid really has no ambition whatsoever. It's only because the emperor is protecting him that this kid would definitely be in deep trouble.
Even Zhu Su, who considered himself no longer very reliable, could only sigh and say, "The student has surpassed the master," when he looked at Zhu Yunwen now.
“Your elder brother may know, and he may be magnanimous, but we princes shouldn’t be making secret collusion for no reason,” Zhu Su said earnestly to Zhu Yunwen. “Think about your grandfather; he used to forbid princes from entering the capital together.”
Zhu Yunwen disagreed, and his reasons were quite valid: "I remember one year, my seventh uncle and a group of others returned to Yingtian Prefecture together. Besides, there are no more vassal kings now, and my imperial brother doesn't restrict himself to relatives anymore."
It's best to say nothing at all, because Zhu Su has figured it out. Zhu Yunwen is truly simple-minded, and in his eyes, his elder brother is naturally the best!
Since Zhu Yunwen is already like this, there's no point in saying anything more. Let's just let him talk to himself and not take his ideas to heart.
This was also what Zhu Su truly felt. Although the current emperor seemed to be not restricting the imperial clan and had allowed them to do certain things, whether in the Maritime Trade Office or in the imperial court, it seemed that the imperial clan members were no longer just idle; they could find things they liked and seek a way out.
However, those were all sons of princes but not sons of nobles, holding sinecure positions and so on. To say that the current imperial relatives are 'unrestrained' is obviously impossible.
Even though the current emperor appears to be quite magnanimous and does treat his relatives well in some ways, the emperor's position naturally makes him more wary of certain members of the imperial clan and inherently limits their control over real power.
Zhu Su knew some things. Although he could be considered one of the representatives of the纨绔 (playboys) in the imperial family, he was not a completely naive and foolish boy like Zhu Yunwen.
However, Zhu Su and Zhu Yunwen had a good relationship, not only because they were both playboys and shared similar interests. More importantly, although they were uncle and nephew, they were both favored members of the imperial clan, which naturally made their status more special.
Zhu Su no longer thinks about returning to Kaifeng, even though being a prince is indeed a carefree life. His interests lie elsewhere; he is currently undertaking an important task, diligently compiling a book.
Not only was he tasked with compiling medical knowledge, but the emperor also commissioned him to write a book and study crops with other scholars. These were things that Zhu Su found even more interesting.
Of course, this was also because Zhu Su understood that the current emperor's intention to weaken the power of the princes was very clear. It was better to remain in his fiefdom for now, as he was now considered the leader of the imperial clan and naturally needed to make a good impression.
There's no need to tell anyone else about these things.
Talking to someone like Zhu Yunwen was pointless, because he wouldn't understand. As for the other younger brothers, they were either somewhat disobedient or harbored illusions.
The members of the imperial clan arrived one after another. With Prince Zhu Su of Zhou leading the way, there was naturally no need to worry about many things. Now that the imperial clan was 'gathered together,' there was no need to worry about breaking taboos; even if the sky fell, there was someone big enough to hold it up.
Zhu Yunwen was well aware of his position. Although he didn't get along well with some of his uncles, or had almost no contact with them, he naturally needed to call for help when necessary.
"You all want to know about the Maritime Trade Office," Zhu Su said slowly, as he had the right to speak. "The imperial court provides a considerable amount of support to the imperial family every year, and you should all be aware of that."
The treatment of members of the imperial clan was indeed very generous. Even though Emperor Hongwu reduced many of their privileges in the 28th year of his reign, the annual stipend of a prince was still 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). The stipends of the Grand Princess, the Eldest Princess, and the Princess were comparable to the emperor's 2,000 shi.
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