Old Zhu was still very confident that the children and grandchildren he had taught were basically capable. It was like this before, so he naturally believed it would be like this in the future.

Little Zhu Wenyao climbed up again. This little calf had endless energy every day. He would play when he was full, sleep when he was tired, and continue playing when he woke up.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally couldn't sit idle. Zhu's birthday was a big event for many people, and there were many sacrificial ceremonies to follow.

Taking the royal family and officials to various places to pay homage, even if their legs began to tremble, no one would say anything at this time, and no one dared to express any dissatisfaction.

After being busy from early morning to evening, the next thing is naturally the banquet. We can have a good rest, and the next thing is naturally the highlight.

Zhu Ying and others went to the side hall, which was a treatment only for the royal family. It was okay to attend the court during the grand court ceremony, which was etiquette. But when the banquet was given, these princes had to go to the side hall and could not interact with the officials.

These are naturally the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang. All of this is to prevent problems such as close relations between royal family members and officials from arising in the future, so now we have to find ways to avoid such situations.

Old Zhu was in a good mood. In fact, even several nobles who were living in their hometown responded to the call and came to Tianfu. After all, it was the emperor's birthday, and these people needed to come and congratulate him.

"It is my birthday today, and I am quite touched." Old Zhu held up the wine glass and said with a smile, "It is rare for a person to live to be seventy. I have never thought that I could live to this age before."

Zhu Yunhuan quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Grandfather"

Old Zhu didn't give him face and said directly, "Okay, we know what you are going to say. Long live, how can there be a person who lives for a long time from ancient times to now? Even centenarians are pitifully rare. We don't ask for a long life, eighty is enough!"

Zhu Yunhuan didn't know what to say. In fact, "Long live" was more of a ritual, not really a long live. It wasn't about cultivating immortals.

But think about it, Zhu Yuanzhang's spirit now is different from before. In the past, he was somewhat holding on, thinking that as long as Zhu Yunhuan had a promising future, he would be at ease.

But now the spirit is different, seventy is just a matter of course. I want to live another ten years, to see Zhu Wenyao truly be canonized as the crown prince, then the little guy's character and so on can also be seen.

As for Zhu Wenyao now, his curiosity was too strong. He was grabbing the wine glass with both hands, trying to snatch the wine cup from Old Zhu's hand.

Old Zhu carried Zhu Wenyao down the steps and said to Zhang Long, "There are not many people from our hometown anymore, and there were even fewer brothers who fought together to conquer the world. Let's have a drink. You can enjoy your wealth and honor, and we, the king and his subjects, will share the wealth and honor!"

Zhang Long and the others naturally stood up one after another, which was the confidence of the nobles. Even though many nobles had been cleared out before, some people were left idle, but the nobles were still nobles after all.

Old Zhu then looked at Ru Rong and the others, saying that they would not receive such treatment. "In the future, you should focus on assisting the new emperor. The crown prince is more kind and resourceful than I am. Just do your best and you will surely create a prosperous era."

Zhu Wenyao got anxious and angrily slapped Old Zhu on the face. Others were horrified, but Old Zhu was happy to bite Zhu Wenyao's hand and play with the little fat kid.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer the overbearing emperor, and seemed no different from an ordinary old man who enjoyed playing with his grandchildren.

Zhu Yunhuan picked up Zhu Wenyao and said, "Kowtow to the grandfather. I taught you this before."

Zhu Wenyao was just laughing at Zhu Wenyao, and his babyish laughter was very contagious. Sometimes I really didn't understand what this child was laughing at, but when I saw him laughing, I laughed along with him.

Don't expect Zhu Wenyao to "understand human nature" because he doesn't understand anything at all. But there is one good thing, that is, you can learn from him, and there will be no problem.

Zhu Wenyao, who was originally sitting on the ground, saw his father also sitting, and then urged his father to learn to lie down, so that this time they would not have to do it like they did in the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Wenyao smiled in a baby voice while sitting and bowing, then he lay down and supported the gold brick with his head.

Although the posture was not standard and the little guy's butt was almost raised to the sky, there was nothing to worry about. Everyone was praising Zhu Wenyao's filial piety and the intelligence of the future crown prince.

Xu Huizu drank the wine comfortably, enjoying the congratulations from his colleagues. Seeing his nephew's performance, he was so happy and proud.

Lan Yu and Chang Sheng were also proud. These two usually loved drinking, but at this moment they were more restrained. If they didn't have to drink, they wouldn't drink, and they didn't gulp down the wine either. They couldn't lose their composure because of drunkenness at this time.

When drunk, Lan Yu dared to attack the city gates of Daming. When drunk, Chang Sheng dared to say whatever he wanted without any scruples.

They had done many things that caused them to get into trouble due to drinking, and they had gotten into trouble because of it before. But today, they must not get into trouble and must stay sober.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally remained rational enough, and he had to remain sober enough at this time. Even if he was excited and happy in his heart, he could not show it on his face.

Fortunately, all this is nothing. Not showing emotions on one's face is a basic requirement for him. The experience over the years has also made his expression management and other aspects very good.

As long as he wants, it is difficult for others to judge more things from his expression. Showing your thoughts on your face is not what a qualified monarch should do.

It seems that Lao Zhu’s 70th birthday has ended like this. Many things are in line with everyone’s impressions, and it is indeed the right way to do it.

For example, the grand court ceremony is inevitable. For example, the banquet is also indispensable, and everything is done according to the rules.

But this birthday party was different from the previous ones. The emperor announced the abdication of the throne, which was the first time in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Not only was it announced at the birthday banquet, but it was also the first time that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty abdicated directly while still alive.

It is not yet known whether this will have any impact on future rulers of the Ming Dynasty, but one thing is certain: there will be a lot of things to do in the future.

Even for many people, the most important thing in the next two or three months is to start thinking about the coronation ceremony and a series of policies for next year, which are all big events.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, even if the whole world celebrates, he still needs to implement some benevolent policies, show some leniency, etc. These are naturally extremely important matters and we must work hard to do them well.

Zhu Wenyao fell asleep again. He was playing with Zhu the moment before, but fell asleep on Zhu's shoulder the next moment. He was not affected by the lively banquet at all and slept when he needed to. Seeing Zhu get up, Zhu Yunhuan and others naturally stood up and saw him off. Not to mention that Zhu had not completely abdicated yet, even if Zhu really became the emperor, who would dare to disrespect him?

Now that the emperor had left, it naturally meant that the banquet was officially over, and all the officials naturally needed to express their gratitude and leave the palace.

Zhu Yunhuan said to Zhang Fusheng, "Send someone to tell the Crown Princess that the older elders and ladies should be sent back by carriages from the palace, and let my eldest and second sisters personally escort the Princess of Kaiping back home."

Zhang Fusheng naturally wrote down these things, but Zhu Yunhuan was still worried, "Let Miao Jin send Aunt Fucheng and Aunt Qingyang off in person, after all, they are the first among the royal family women."

Zhu Yunhuan needs to take responsibility, and Xu Miaojin, the Crown Prince's Consort, naturally also needs to take enough responsibility in such an occasion.

The more at this time, the more humble the attitude of Zhu Yunhuan and Xu Miaojin should be. They must not get carried away at this time, otherwise they will only become a complete joke.

There are some things that Zhu Yunhuan doesn't need to worry about. Xu Miaojin is a smart person, so she will not lack etiquette. Even if Zhu Yunhuan is not sensible, she will not lack etiquette.

She represents not only the royal family, but also the Zhongshan Palace. She cannot allow anyone to find fault with her etiquette mistakes. This is also one of the most basic requirements.

Normally, the imperial palace would close the city gates and palace gates at certain times, but now only the gates between the palace walls would be closed, and people in the palace would not be allowed to run around.

However, the gate of the imperial city was open. In addition to the officials and ladies who were leaving one after another, there were also some guards waiting to welcome the Crown Prince and his wife back to the palace.

Zhu Yunhuan saw Xu Miaojin's car frame and asked with a smile, "Have they sent everyone back?"

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "Aunt Fucheng is worried about something, and my uncle died while serving as the governor of Zhongdu, and my cousin doesn't have a good job now."

Princess Fucheng was also feeling bitter. After all, she was not a real princess. She was the sister of Zhu Wenzheng and the niece of Zhu Yuanzhang, so naturally she could not be treated the same as a real princess in some aspects.

As for Princess Qingyang, let alone her, she was Zhu's cousin, and there was a level of distance between her and Princess Fucheng, so naturally, she was less valued by Zhu.

Of course, you have the wealth you deserve, but who doesn't want to live a better life? Besides, even if you don't consider yourself, you still need to consider your children.

Zhu Yunhuan thought about it carefully and said, "After getting married, there is nothing I can do. Not to mention my elder and younger aunts, even if my two sisters have children in the future, I can only take care of them a little."

There is nothing that can be done about it. When the princess was alive, her children must have held some official positions, and basically their positions were not particularly low. There is no problem with this.

But their children are not members of the royal family after all, so it is impossible for them to enjoy certain treatment forever. After two or three generations, their prominent status may gradually disappear.

This is normal. How can they be taken care of for generations? It is not the case that the royal family of the Ming Dynasty will be taken care of forever just because they are surnamed Zhu, and it is impossible for the imperial court to always provide a guarantee.

Xu Miaojin naturally understood this and said, "But my cousin should be rewarded with an official position. What my aunt meant is that although my cousin has no ability, he is just good at doing things meticulously."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately laughed, "Well, then, let's go to Zhongdu Liushousi. The status there is suitable, and the official position is also suitable. I can give my cousin the status of deputy governor, and I can also explain it to my aunt."

Xu Miaojin thought that this was a good thing. The Deputy Governor-General could be said to be the least valuable official in the Governor-General's Office. Although his rank was indeed relatively high, most of them were now officials who were granted official positions through imperial favor.

In addition to some in-laws and so on, there are also some children of nobles. These people have the ability and may be able to continue to climb up, and may even be able to gain a foothold in the Governor's Office.

If you really don't have the ability, just take some salary. It's no problem to have no worries about food and drink, but the political assets left to your children will obviously become less and less, and the court cannot take care of all the children of nobles.

As for the Zhongdu Liaison Office, it is even more interesting. The loyalty of some of the soldiers there is fine, and many of them are descendants of meritorious officials.

But most of the officials there are relatives of the royal family. Some of them went there to gain experience, while others were not capable enough and were arranged there to gain experience.

However, no one thinks there is anything wrong with this. Not every foreign relative is as capable as Li Wenzhong. Some are good-for-nothings or have mediocre abilities. It is enough for them to have a status and some wealth.

There is no need to think too much about other things, because even if you think too much, it will be of no use. Having a good background also depends on your ability.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Xu Miaojin and said jokingly, "Now many people don't dare to ask for an official position in front of me. I guess there will be many people asking you for an official position these days."

Xu Miaojin knew what was going on, and said, "When I was young, there were often some nobles and relatives who came to the mansion. My father was still alive at that time, and there were many people who came to greet him. When my brother was in charge of the family, there were also many relatives from my hometown. Many of them were not clear to my brother or the elders in the mansion where they came from."

Zhu Yunhuan was not surprised at all. It was common for a poor person to be ignored in a busy city, but a rich person to have distant relatives in a remote mountain area. The door lintel of the Zhongshan Palace was too high, so it was normal for many people to try to curry favor with him.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and joked, "I have few relatives, and even fewer in my hometown. No one has come over the years. This does save some trouble. It's hard to refuse anything that's mentioned."

Xu Miaojin naturally understood what Zhu Yunhuan meant, because the Zhu family really had no poor relatives now, and those relatives back then were all gone.

If you go to the Xu family to ask for a career or to ask for help, you might be able to get by with just a few dozen taels of silver. But when it comes to Zhu Yunhuan, most of them are people of some status, so a few dozen taels of silver or a petty official will not be enough.

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know my limits. If you really want an official position, I am a woman, so how can I interfere in government affairs?"

"That's not the case. Take a closer look at whose family it is. If it's suitable, tell me." Zhu Yunhuan had his own opinion, "Some officials need to be capable, but some officials are useful to keep."

Although it is sad to think that some people can't do much with their salary, there is nothing we can do about it. Some people can only be supported. (End of this chapter)