Zhu Yunying glanced at the choked-up old Zhu and said to the young Zhu, "You know that we are the Celestial Empire. When those small countries pay tribute, we should at least show some courtesy, even if we don't return the favor with a hundredfold gift. We don't need to return the favor with a hundredfold gift to show the wealth and power of the Ming Dynasty."
Little Zhu thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, when we become emperor in the future, we won't give them too many rewards. We'll just give them back whatever they offer as tribute."
"Look at this, this is your son!" Old Zhu laughed heartily, saying to Zhu Yunying, "He's so disrespectful, just like you were when you were young. We're still in our prime, and you always talked about what it would be like when you became emperor. Now you know how we felt back then!"
Zhu Yunying was both amused and exasperated. He then said to his father, "It's not that we want to say it that way. It's just that our grandmother always tells us that the Ming Dynasty belongs to us, that we should inherit the family business, and so on. In the beginning, I never thought about becoming emperor."
Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying with disdain; he knew all too well what Zhu Yunying was thinking.
Old Zhu seemed to remember something and said to Zhu Yunying, "What I mean is, it's time to start telling Yin'er history these days. Our Yin'er is kind-hearted and has his own opinions, but I think reading history will enlighten him, and he should know these things."
"That's what I was thinking too. Our Crown Prince should know about the lives of ordinary people and the changes of dynasties," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "In a few days, I'll have someone from the Hanlin Academy come and tell Yin'er a history lesson. But I don't like those pedantic scholars. Your Majesty should listen along."
Old Zhu understood Zhu Yunying's thoughts. He didn't really like some Confucian scholars, especially those who always thought about "ruling the world together with the scholar-officials," which offended Old Zhu.
Having those civil officials teach and lecture on history to young Zhu Yunying is absolutely not a problem; it is an important part of his education, and Zhu Yunying would not object to it.
It's clear that Zhu Yunying also needs to be careful. He can't allow some scholars to have their own agendas, or to try to mold the Ming emperor into a 'Confucian emperor' by starting with the crown prince. That would obviously not be in line with the wishes of both the old Zhu and the young Zhu.
Old Zhu nodded with a smile. He would keep an eye on things. If those lecturers dared to smuggle in their own ideas, he would certainly be willing to kill them. Anyone who dared to corrupt his great-grandson, Old Zhu would send their entire family to meet Confucius.
Looking at the dejected little Zhu, Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Since your great-grandfather is taking care of you, your sister definitely won't be able to attend the lectures. Let's see how you manage to slack off then!"
Little Zhu immediately grinned, seemingly aware that what he had done was shameful and now felt embarrassed. As for fear, that was highly unlikely; if he were afraid, he wouldn't have asked Zhu Ruyi to do his homework for him.
“Dad, we know what we’re doing,” Little Zhu said confidently. “Don’t even mention Ruyi’er. As for Wenjin and Wengeng, I, as their older brother, like them and play with them. But if they want to see the memorials, I definitely won’t let them. I won’t teach anyone what my great-grandfather and Dad taught us.”
Seemingly to prove her own position, Xiao Zhu said, "Last time, the Twenty-Fourth Prince teased us, saying that my maternal family wanted to go to the Five Armies Commandery. We cursed them, and we even asked the Duke of Zhongshan to send the Twenty-Fourth Prince's maternal family outside."
Zhu Yunying knew about this matter; his twenty-fourth uncle, Zhu Dong, was the son of Consort Liu Hui. Perhaps relying on his youth and thinking that the position of Vice Commander of the Five Armies Commandery wasn't particularly sensitive, he thought of having the young Zhu help smooth things over.
The result was self-evident: Little Zhu was very unhappy and didn't care about seniority, because he was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Dong's disheveled appearance was one thing, but Liu Huifei's nephew, who had a promising future as a third-rank Zhaoyong General in the Beijing Garrison, was reduced to a garrison commander of a thousand men. This detour came at a great cost.
Xu Miaoqing felt slightly uneasy. She knew that although she was the Empress, the Ming Dynasty was very wary of the Empress's interference in politics. It was impossible for her to act like Empress Ma had back then, even though Xu Miaoqing had heard about Empress Ma's influence on the court and was undoubtedly envious.
However, even with her envy, Xu Miaoqing didn't harbor any unrealistic fantasies. The Ming Dynasty would only ever have one Empress Ma, and besides, Empress Ma was said to have wielded immense influence over the court, yet outwardly she maintained utmost respect for the Hongwu Emperor.
Old Zhu was in a good mood. He looked around and said, "Our great-grandson is resting again?"
“He’s resting. We come here ten times, and nine times he’s asleep,” Zhu Yunying said irritably. “And the last time, we just teased him for a little while, and he’s already resting again.”
Old Zhu smiled and said, "Then let's serve the meal. After we finish eating, we'll take Yin'er to the palace for a visit. We've seen your imperial uncle these past few days, but we haven't met your imperial aunts yet. Empress, remember to look for suitable families these days. The twenty-third and twentieth sons should be getting married soon."
Xu Miaoqing quickly stood up and said to Old Zhu, "Your granddaughter-in-law accepts the order."
"And our imperial aunt needs to find a suitable husband," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "We've already talked to the Imperial Noble Consort before. You can go and ask the imperial aunt later. Our imperial aunt should also find a suitable husband and a harmonious relationship. Don't worry about social status. As long as the imperial aunt is happy, that's all that matters."
Little Zhu immediately became arrogant, this child's standards were exceptionally high, "That's right, when it comes to caring about social status, who can compare to our Tian family! Mother, why don't you stop looking for wives for us, we'll just find someone we like ourselves."
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