Zhu Yunying continued to be busy, performing his duties as emperor. A large number of memorials piled up on his desk, all of which needed to be reviewed and for which he needed to make decisions.
Wang Chengen, who was serving nearby, tiptoed over to a young eunuch after spotting him. Upon hearing the news, he naturally approached Zhu Yunying and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Wu is requesting an audience outside the palace."
"He arrived quite quickly, let's announce him." Zhu Yunying laughed and muttered, "This kid is probably at the manor."
When Zhu Yunwen arrived, he didn't stand on ceremony. "Brother, what brings you here today? I promised Fourth Brother that I would take him to broaden his horizons. As the elder brother, I can't go back on my word."
Zhu Yunying suddenly realized he had overestimated his younger brother. This kid was far from being well-behaved in the Wu Prince's residence. He was probably out enjoying himself somewhere, and was only reluctant to be summoned to the palace. He was probably trying to get away as quickly as possible to continue his carefree life.
"The fourth prince is seventeen now, he's not young anymore." Zhu Yunying looked at Zhu Yuntong and said seriously, "We're naturally happy for you to take care of your younger brother. Just be good and don't take the fourth prince to places of pleasure."
Zhu Yunxuan was seventeen, which is only his nominal age. However, in this era, people of this age were considered adults. Forget about brothels; even married men were commonplace. There was nothing to be surprised about.
Although Zhu Yunying now restricts the marriage age of women in the imperial clan, he doesn't have high requirements for men. There are indeed too many men who marry at fifteen or sixteen.
In fact, Zhu Yunying got married when he was fifteen or sixteen, and when his eldest son was born, Zhu Yunying was only eighteen. But under such circumstances, both the old Zhu and the eldest Zhu were happy, not only because there was a continuation of the legitimate line, but also because the young Zhu had surpassed his father.
Old Zhu was nearly thirty when he had his eldest son, Zhu Biao, making him a late-married and late-childbearing man. He even thought he would have difficulty having children and considered raising his nephew, Zhu Wenzheng.
As for Da Zhu, he only had his eldest son at the age of 21 (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning). Compared to Lao Zhu, he was naturally much more 'promising', which seemed to make Da Zhu's position more secure. With an heir, there was no need to worry about the succession to the throne.
Zhu Yunying was naturally even more successful, and the succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty was resolved early on, so many people no longer had any other thoughts.
Zhu Yunwen chuckled, seemingly oblivious to the need for further speculation. It was obvious what kind of occasion he was taking his fourth brother to. There really wasn't any other occasion for Zhu Yunwen to broaden his brother's horizons.
However, Zhu Yunying was too lazy to say anything more. He didn't have many demands on his fourth son, Zhu Yunxuan. If Zhu Yunxuan was willing to learn from Zhu Yunwen's studious nature, then naturally there would be no problem, and Zhu Yunying would be happy to see it happen.
However, if Zhu Yunxuan were to follow Zhu Yunxuan's example and become a carefree prince, Zhu Yunying wouldn't have any objections. As long as Zhu Yunxuan didn't commit any wrongdoings, Zhu Yunying didn't necessarily expect his younger brothers to be outstanding, nor did he expect them to bear so much responsibility.
Zhu Yunying glared at Zhu Yuntong, then said, "Today we're having Uncle Shu and Uncle Ning come over. You stay here and behave yourself, and be a little more observant, understand?"
Zhu Yunwen immediately realized what was going on and asked excitedly, "Brother, is this trip to discuss the ownership of Goryeo? That's good. We'll just sit here and Uncle Shu and Uncle Qi can put in a good word for us. Brother, don't let it slip that we're the ones who asked for favors."
Zhu Yunying was naturally aware of his beloved younger brother's thoughts. He also knew that many members of the royal family harbored ambitions and ideas towards Goryeo, and had been making numerous trips and requests through intermediaries during this time.
Zhu Yunwen has accepted a lot of gifts from members of the imperial clan, and he's basically a typical example of someone who takes gifts but doesn't deliver on his promises. But now, Zhu Yunwen can use this as a pretext to his advantage, and he might as well take advantage of the situation. It's not impossible that he'll continue to boast and deceive some members of the imperial clan who are desperate for medical help.
Zhu Yunwen was well aware that his own little schemes couldn't be hidden from his elder brother, the Emperor. However, he merely chuckled awkwardly. He had long since lost all sense of propriety in front of his brother, and Zhu Yunwen didn't care about such formalities.
Wang Chengen also came to report, and Prince Shu, Zhu Chun, and Prince Ning, Zhu Quan, also requested an audience outside the Wuying Hall.
Just as Wang Chengen was about to go and announce the news, Zhu Yunwen quickly said, "Elder brother, you stay with your brother. We're just idling around anyway, so go and talk to your uncle. We can run errands for him."
"Take it easy." Zhu Yunying looked up at Zhu Yunhu, who was seeking his opinion. "If you exaggerate too much and can't handle it, we won't help you."
Zhu Yunying was perfectly aware of Zhu Yuntong's little schemes, and he genuinely found it amusing. This rascal Zhu Yuntong only possessed a few clever tricks; he was truly trying to seize every opportunity to cheat and deceive, to fool anyone he could.
Watching Zhu Yunwen run off in a flash, Zhu Yunying shook his head and said, "How are we going to explain this to Mother Empress? We promised to take care of Yunwen, and we've raised such a good-for-nothing!"
Wang Chengen said ingratiatingly, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, His Highness Prince Wu is so innocent, and that's the best thing about him. I've watched His Highness Prince Wu grow up, and I've never seen him have any worries. Isn't that wonderful!"
Zhu Yunying glared at Wang Chengen and said irritably, "Yeah, our younger brother has no worries at all. He's already in his twenties, but he's still like a clueless kid. When we're around, we can naturally take care of him, but if we're gone, who will protect him? With his character, who can stand him?!"
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