Wang felt a sense of pride; her good-for-nothing son had finally gained some dignity and could go with her.
Sang was also happy. Although he was her cousin, the Crown Prince had always been quite close to Zhu Wengeng.
As for the person who felt awkward, it was Zhu Yunwen's principal wife, Lady Ma. Normally, she could sit slightly closer to the Empress. So when young Zhu addressed her as "Second Uncle," Lady Ma felt embarrassed.
Many members of the imperial clan actually knew that young Zhu always referred to Zhu Yunwen as "Second Uncle," and that young Zhu would only occasionally remember his real "Second Uncle," Zhu Yunwen, on formal occasions. But now, this is awkward, as many people have overheard it.
So what if they heard it? At this point, no one will correct Little Zhu's address; pretending not to hear is the best course of action. Even Xu Miaoqing is just chatting with the Imperial Aunt, so it's not appropriate to correct her now.
There are some things Zhu Yunying doesn't know, but even if he did, he might not care much. Xu Miaoqing is just following suit, and at this moment, she's unusually clueless, which isn't a bad thing.
As for the others at this time, they were even more aware of what they should and shouldn't say. No matter how noble Prince Xu (Zhu Yunwen) was, he wasn't as close to His Majesty as Prince Wu. Moreover, these two were merely princes; how could they compare to His Highness the Crown Prince?
Little Zhu is indeed very busy now, not only is he busy celebrating his mother's birthday, but he is also busy preparing to participate in the grand events of the dynasty.
Although he had the Minister of Rites to assist him and his uncles from the imperial clan to guide him, young Zhu still needed to learn a thing or two.
Little Zhu knew perfectly well what he could and couldn't do, and what matters were of great importance to the court. He wasn't just a playful child; he was exposed to things that even some high-ranking officials might not have the opportunity to access, let alone ordinary children.
This naturally means that young Zhu needs to pay more attention to the matters entrusted to him by his father, and he needs to handle them properly. At least there are some things he can't decide on his own; he still needs to listen to the advice of others, especially regarding ceremonial matters. The Minister of Rites and others know what they're doing; they are more professional than young Zhu.
Not to mention the young Zhu, even the old Zhu and the young Zhu were often quite 'obedient' and wouldn't arbitrarily change the etiquette or break the rules. Many rituals were indeed passed down from generation to generation.
Zhu Yunying is now considering more than just the matter of the King of Zhongshan visiting the court; he is also concerned about palm oil.
Since it was intended to be classified as an 'auspicious omen,' it naturally meant that certain procedures and rituals were required. After all, auspicious omens were also of different grades, and in the Ming Dynasty, which did not generally like auspicious omens, a classified auspicious omen needed to be treated with even greater seriousness.
Only in this way can palm oil be better accepted by everyone. These things do indeed require the attention and promotion of the royal family, rather than relying on the bottom up to let everyone gradually understand palm oil over time.
Zhu Yunying initially disliked these ritualistic things, and could even be said to have some resistance to them.
But gradually, Zhu Yunying stopped resisting these things; in fact, he began to value them more and more. Mainly because these ritualistic practices were genuinely necessary.
It's not just about simply increasing awareness and a sense of belonging; it can also subtly influence many people to accept certain ideas. In Zhu Yunying's view, these things are part of 'spiritual civilization,' not just superficial projects or empty gestures.
Palm oil undoubtedly needed to be promoted and made more acceptable to the people of the Ming Dynasty. However, Zhu Yunying also knew that palm oil could not fundamentally change the livelihood of the people of the Ming Dynasty all at once; it was more of a "nice-to-have" measure, better than nothing.
Thinking of all this, Zhu Yunying couldn't help but sigh. He longed for potatoes and corn from the Americas, and thought about tomatoes, peppers, and so on. If all else failed, cassava, the king of starches, would also do.
Unfortunately, these animals originated in the Americas, and now they are not found in Asia, or even in Europe.
However, Zhu Yunying didn't know what era Europe was in at that time; in any case, there were certainly no geographical discoveries yet, and they were probably busy capturing witches. The Crusades, of course, must have already happened.
Following the great geographical discoveries, Zhu Yunying felt he should work harder. He had been working hard to develop the Ming Dynasty's navy and constantly sending naval forces to the South Seas, all in preparation for future events.
Changing people's mindsets is difficult, even though many in the Ming Dynasty now recognize the benefits of maritime civilization. Deep down, most people still care about land-based civilization and are only concerned with matters within the Ming Dynasty's borders.
These ideas are not something that Zhu Yunying could change immediately; it's unrealistic to expect him to do so.
What gave Zhu Yunying a bit of a headache was that he felt powerless to use his abilities. Even though he was trying to develop some technologies, scientific and technological development requires continuous accumulation and cannot be achieved overnight.
The shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty is developing, and there are now more and more large ships, as well as a growing understanding of ocean voyages. However, building a circumnavigation fleet and embarking on circumnavigation adventures all at once is still very unrealistic.
Even with the help of the eunuch Zheng He, Zhu Yunying couldn't immediately send these people to attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean; it did require some accumulation of experience.
Zhu Yunying could only hope that with advancements in navigation and shipbuilding technology, the Ming Dynasty would have the opportunity to begin its geographical exploration a year earlier. Putting aside other matters for now, the key was to bring back grains like potatoes and corn.
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