Once upon a time, Zhu Yunying was the apple of Emperor Zhu's eye, and his doting on him was evident in every word. However, after the birth of the young Zhu, Zhu Yunying's status began to decline sharply.
This is probably because Zhu Yunying has grown up and it's become harder for him to act cute, but little Zhu can act cute without any psychological barriers. However, this is also because Old Zhu always favors his 'eldest son'.
Old Zhu was in a good mood, his great-grandson resting his head on his left lap. Old Zhu was used to it; Little Zhu had grown up in his arms since he was very young. Old Zhu's incredibly rough hands would always gently stroke Little Zhu's back, coaxing him to sleep.
The fact that his eldest grandson was resting his head on his right leg made Zhu the old man even happier. It had been many years since his eldest grandson had rested his head on his leg so intimately.
Even in Old Zhu's memory, the number of times his eldest grandson had his head resting on his lap could be counted on one hand, even when Little Zhu was a child. Even when he was being affectionate or vying for attention, he actually had some sense of propriety, unlike Little Zhu who was always being affectionate.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yunying said, "Yin'er, go to your mother's. She hasn't seen you in a long time, and she misses you very much."
Little Zhu sat up abruptly, the little guy was unhappy, "I know you and your great-grandfather have something to talk about, but you're keeping it from us."
Old Zhu complained, "Ying'er, why can't we talk about this later? Why do we have to do it now?"
The grandson is really uncaring; Old Zhu is still enjoying his family bliss. But now, this disappointing and uncaring grandson insists on driving his great-grandson away.
But Little Zhu was a man of principle, and he shouted angrily, "Shuangquan, stop the car! We want to go to Mother!"
Little Zhu ran off in a huff. Old Zhu was reluctant to let him go, but he didn't say much. He just gently patted Zhu Yunying's head, clearly not wanting him to get up. Since he couldn't get his great-grandson to sleep, he'd have to soothe his grandson instead.
Zhu Yunying found it somewhat amusing, but also complained, "This little rascal, he's not very old, but he has quite the temper."
Old Zhu was still biased, saying, "You too, when Yin'er was away, he was thinking of you. You just saw him and you sent him away, it would be strange if he didn't resent you."
Zhu Yunying laughed, then became serious, "Grandpa, this trip back to your old haunts has certainly given you a good look around. What are your thoughts?"
Old Zhu couldn't help but smile and said to Zhu Yunying, "Although it was Yin'er who urged us to travel around, we have traveled to many places by begging for alms in our younger years. This time, we took Yin'er to travel around and see the places we visited in our younger years, and they have all changed."
"Back then, my grandfather was just a wandering monk, but now he's the retired emperor of our Great Ming Dynasty," Zhu Yunying said proudly. "I reckon he must have felt that the country is peaceful and prosperous in many places after this trip, right?"
Old Zhu was even happier and said proudly, "That makes sense. Although I did see many families that were not well-off, compared to our early years, we are indeed much wealthier. The people of our Great Ming can eat their fill and don't have to flee everywhere, and that's good enough."
Zhu Yunying then said, "We envy our Emperor. We can only see the state of our Great Ming through memorials and imagine how the people of the Great Ming live. Our Emperor went on a trip and saw these things with his own eyes."
“If you weren’t sitting in the court, we wouldn’t be able to get out.” Old Zhu laughed and said, “Seeing our people makes us happy.”
Old Zhu was truly happy. He had only seen the "prosperous scene" in the memorials before, but many times he had also suspected that the civil and military officials were deceiving him.
However, this time he went out to see for himself, and Old Zhu did indeed see what a 'prosperous era' looked like.
Especially since this route was mostly through places he had traveled in his earlier years, this return to familiar territories truly allowed Old Zhu to see a different side of the world. The chaotic end of the Yuan Dynasty had transformed into the prosperous era of the Ming Dynasty!
Old Zhu was in high spirits, mainly because this trip was essentially an inspection tour of the region. He had visited quite a few places, gaining in-depth understanding of the local areas and witnessing firsthand the rural landscape. He no longer needed to worry about being misled by the officials.
This realistic scene made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy. The Ming Dynasty was now thriving and could be considered a peaceful and prosperous country. Zhu Yuanzhang had no reason not to feel proud and happy.
After Old Zhu finished recounting some of his observations, Zhu Yunying suddenly asked, "Where is our Yin'er? He's been quite restless along the way. What does Grandfather think?"
Old Zhu was silent for a moment before saying, "I thought that since Yin'er is your son, and you are so intelligent, Yin'er must be just as good. But after this trip, I feel that Yin'er is just an ordinary child after all."
In truth, Little Zhu was just an ordinary child, something Old Zhu knew in his heart, and Zhu Yunying could also say he knew in his heart. Little Zhu was not some extraordinary genius, nor was he a child prodigy; he didn't possess any innate knowledge.
However, Old Zhu didn't seem disappointed. He simply said, "Although Yin'er is a bit impulsive in handling some things, I think he's only this age. He'll mature with more experience as he grows up."
Zhu Yunying smiled and agreed, saying, "That's why we haven't issued any decrees to change anything. Although we lack the skills, our Yin'er is still young and inexperienced, so we don't really care. He'll be fine when he grows up."
Although Xiao Zhu's aptitude may be relatively ordinary, the resources he has received are so abundant that he now appears to be a rather satisfactory crown prince.
"Although our Yin'er is of average talent, he is kind-hearted." Old Zhu said proudly, patting Zhu Yunying's head. "We are not worried about Yin'er. As long as he keeps his original intention, our Ming Dynasty will have a prosperous era. He is even more benevolent to the people than we are."
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