After his inspection tour, the Hongwu Emperor returned to Yingtian Prefecture. However, this seemed to be merely the return of the retired emperor to Yingtian Prefecture, which obviously did not signify anything else.
If we consider a period of time in the past, perhaps more than a decade ago, the Hongwu Emperor was the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. Without him, the newly set sailing ship of the Ming Dynasty might very well have strayed from its course, or even capsized.
Even two or three years ago, even after Emperor Ying Shi had ascended the throne, many people still believed that the core of the Ming Dynasty was still Emperor Hongwu.
But things are different now. Emperor Ying Shi holds absolute power, and the power of the Ming Dynasty has been completely transferred.
Whether the Hongwu Emperor was in Yingtianfu or not, it seemed that he no longer had much influence, and his impact on the court was also quite limited.
This is a common perception, because they have great confidence in Emperor Indus. They also know that although Emperor Indus may seem young, this young monarch is shrewd, capable, and experienced in governing.
The court officials' welcoming of Zhu Yuanzhang was likely merely a matter of duty between ruler and subject; they had no choice but to do so. The imperial family's welcoming of Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was naturally due to his status as the 'eldest' member of the Ming imperial family—not just because of seniority, but also because of his position.
Little Zhu clearly didn't care. He ate the fruit contentedly and said, "Dad, when we're away from home, we always miss the roast duck from Yingtian."
Old Zhu immediately interjected, "Alright then, this big duck leg belongs to Yin'er, and no one is allowed to take it."
“Great-grandfather, when our little brother grows up, we’ll give him a duck leg too.” Little Zhu, who was using both hands, said happily, “I just saw my little brother. Although he’s a bit chubby, he’s still quite cute. He’s almost as lovable as me.”
Old Zhu was such a clever man; he understood his great-grandson's thoughts even better. "I've also seen your younger brother. Although he's quite likable, in my opinion, he's far inferior to my Yin'er. He's incomparable."
Little Zhu was happy, but still pretended to say, "Great-grandfather, although my brother is not as good as us, he is still our brother. In the future, great-grandfather, you should also love our brother."
Zhu Yunying found it somewhat amusing; neither the old nor the young man were easy to deal with. One was vying for favor, showing a slight sense of insecurity. The other, as always, made no attempt to hide his favoritism, believing that his eldest great-grandson was undeniably the most outstanding and best in everything.
While eating roast duck, Zhu Yunying asked, "Grandpa, we've already sent a letter, shouldn't we decide on my name by now?"
Old Zhu refused without hesitation, making no attempt to hide his thoughts: "You're a father yourself, why do you need us to help you with everything? What's so difficult about naming a child? You can decide for yourself. As long as it follows our 'Ancestral Instructions,' we'll let you have your way."
Zhu Yunying and Xu Miaoqing exchanged a glance. Neither of them was surprised. Old Zhu's statement was exactly what they had expected, as it was in line with some of Old Zhu's personality traits.
Zhu Yunying didn't stand on ceremony and said to the old Zhu, "The Empress and I have also thought about it, so let's name him Zhu Wenkun. It's time for us to name our son. We can't rush him from the Imperial Clan Court, but our son should be included in the imperial genealogy."
Old Zhu remained noncommittal; he genuinely didn't care about this matter. He hadn't been particularly enthusiastic about naming Zhu Yunwen's eldest son. He only wanted his eldest son and grandson to be named; that was when Old Zhu was most interested. As for his other descendants, he'd just leave it at that, naming them according to the rules and regulations outlined in the "Ancestral Instructions."
As for having a great-grandson, Old Zhu was certainly very happy. He also went to see Zhu Wenkun, who was still in swaddling clothes, and thought the little boy was quite fun, chubby and cute.
"To be honest, looking at his eyebrows and eyes, Wenkun does resemble the emperor a bit," Old Zhu laughed and said. "It's just that we reckon the emperor isn't too happy about it; he's only interested in having a daughter."
Xu Miaoqing naturally understood that this was Emperor Hongwu giving her a warning. Actually, Emperor Hongwu was very happy that she had given birth to a son. However, the old feudal Emperor Hongwu also greatly desired many descendants. He himself had many children and grandchildren, and he hoped that his children and grandchildren would follow suit.
This suggests that they feel Xu Miaoqing hasn't given birth to enough children; she's only had two sons, which is somewhat unacceptable. Back then, Chang Shi gave birth to four children in four years, and that's the kind of daughter-in-law Old Zhu was satisfied with.
As for whether this would damage his vitality, Old Zhu really didn't care. Even with the Empress, Old Zhu still treated her differently based on kinship; only those with the surname Zhu were family.
If the emperor hadn't favored Xu Miaoqing, and if the empress hadn't given birth to little Zhu, Zhu would have thought that changing empresses wouldn't have been impossible. In the Ming Dynasty, there was only one empress whose position was unshakeable: his first wife, Empress Ma.
To be frank, Lao Zhu's standards are always flexible and changeable. He's incredibly kind to his own family, but even if he seems to treat other people's families better at times, he'll still favor his own family whenever something happens.
"Great-grandfather, Mother can't have another little sister." Little Zhu was anxious, not even thinking about the duck leg anymore. "Father loves Ruyi so much. If Mother gives us another little sister, Father won't hold us anymore."
Old Zhu found it amusing, but still said, "You're already this old, and you still need your father to carry you? If you ask us, we should arrange a marriage for you. You're almost grown up. If you hadn't been made crown prince so early, we would have done so by now."
In the blink of an eye, little Zhu has reached the age for 'conferment'. However, the ancestral precepts set by Old Zhu himself are actually violated the most by Old Zhu himself, and on many occasions, Old Zhu is the one who takes the lead in not following them.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
