“Your mother is still pregnant, and she’ll be giving you a younger brother or sister soon,” Old Zhu said with a smile. “At that time, it will be like the relationship between your father and your second and third uncles. You will have your own younger sister and brother, and a younger brother who isn’t your closest relative.”
Little Zhu immediately became gossipy and whispered, "Second Uncle told us that Third Uncle used to have ambitions. He imitated our grandfather in every way, and he wanted to be the crown prince and the emperor."
Old Zhu couldn't lose his temper in front of Little Zhu, but he felt that when he got back, he would definitely teach Zhu Yunwen a lesson. That scoundrel really dared to say anything.
"Think about it," Old Zhu continued, lecturing Little Zhu, "your second uncle is your father's younger brother. Although we like him, we don't really involve him in our lives." He added, "And your third uncle, he devoted himself to his studies in his younger years and is quite talented. Tell me, why haven't we bothered to pay much attention to him?"
Little Zhu said matter-of-factly, "Our father, our father is the great-grandfather's biological grandson, our father is the grandson of the great-grandson, no one else can be."
Old Zhu nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Speaking of this, you were taught by us, and your father also taught you in private. Wen Jin, I remember he and Wen Geng were all in Dabentang. Tell me, your father has two sons, but they taught you strange things, and you weren't allowed to tell Wen Jin about them."
Little Zhu seemed to understand but not quite, and said, "But we are the crown prince, so we should learn how to govern the country."
“That makes sense. Your father studied governing the country from a young age, because he wants to be the emperor. Your second and third uncles should just learn to be princes.” Old Zhu said patiently, “They are talented in literature, and we are happy about that. But they shouldn’t learn to govern the country. Your father dotes on your second uncle so much, but he is not allowed to interfere in court affairs.”
Little Zhu muttered, "Even our mother isn't allowed to ask, only we are allowed to ask."
"If you ask, your father and I are happy to teach you. But if Wenjin dares to ask, we'll reprimand him." Old Zhu said bluntly, "Yin'er, you are the crown prince, you should understand these principles. This throne should be yours. When you grow up, you should go to the court more often."
Little Zhu was unhappy and said, "What we dislike most is going to court, and our great-grandfather knew that. Our father didn't go to court early when he was young either; he just did his own thing. Why do we have to go to court?"
Old Zhu was very patient, and he was always patient with Little Zhu. "Back then, when we were still in power, your grandfather helped us govern, and your father didn't need to step in. But that's not the case now. Your grandfather is gone, and your father is doing everything. When you grow up, you should help your father and have your own people in the court."
The sullen little Zhu obviously did not agree with these statements. Although he occasionally went to the court, he only did so to obey orders.
Going to court was pointless; Little Zhu preferred the drill ground, where he enjoyed fooling around with the prince's companions—that was much more interesting.
Old Zhu didn't say much. It's fine for little Zhu to be a bit playful now, and there's no need for the kid to take on more responsibility. He's still here.
Little Zhu couldn't sit still any longer and suddenly said, "Great-grandfather, let's go for a walk. Before we left, our father told us that we shouldn't just wander around the city, but also go to the countryside. We need to see how the people are farming."
"With such a large group of people like us, which old farmer would dare to work the fields?" Old Zhu chuckled and said, "Let's have someone prepare things, and tomorrow we'll take you out for a stroll. Traveling around like this every day, when will we ever get back to our hometown?"
“Why bother calculating so accurately?” Little Zhu immediately retorted, “If we go back to our hometown later, we can go back later. We want to travel around and see what our country is like. We are the Crown Prince, and we want to see what our country is like. We still have to report to our father when we get back, so he can’t come out and see for himself.”
Hearing what Little Zhu said, Old Zhu was even happier. "Alright, let's go for a walk. Yingtian Prefecture is so prosperous that even the emperor can't see anything when he comes out. This old man Zhu will take young Master Zhu for a walk around."
Little Zhu grinned, quite pleased with himself. "Father said that there are always false reports in memorials, and many local officials only report good news and not bad. We have to look at them ourselves and ask questions ourselves so that we won't be deceived."
Old Zhu smiled and nodded. The Crown Prince's education was indeed excellent. Our Zhu family has a worthy successor, and our Great Ming Dynasty will have another wise emperor!
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