Daming: I am the Crown Prince

What does the ninth month of the lunar calendar mean? It means the birthday of the former Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and most importantly, the birthday of the founding emperor.

Zhu Yunhuan summoned Chen Di again and asked him in detail about the various matters related to the Christmas preparations. These matters must not be sloppy at all and must be done well.

Chen Di and others knew better that the emperor's birthday celebration should not be taken lightly, not to mention that this was the emperor's 70th birthday, which had an even more extraordinary significance.

Moreover, there are undercurrents in the court, and the atmosphere is a bit strange. Many people are guessing that perhaps some earth-shattering news will be announced on the emperor's birthday.

Under such circumstances, no one dared to be careless at this time. Everyone was extremely cautious, and all officials had made various preparations.

After Chen Di left, Zhu Yunhuan called Guo Ying and said, "Marquis Wuding, you have always been trusted by my grandfather. This time, you will be the official in charge of the ceremony for the old man's birthday."

Guo Ying naturally thought that there was no problem, but he was a little worried, "Your Highness, this matter was originally handled by the civil officials. If I perform the ceremony, I am afraid that the civil officials will complain again."

"It's not the first or second time that they've been talkative. Just let them be." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "I'm afraid that my grandfather will suddenly get the urge to let me hold the treasure. If that happens, how can I explain this matter?"

Guo Ying felt that the Crown Prince was not just worrying about nothing. Such a thing was very likely to happen. Even if it happened, the officials would not be surprised.

According to the formal rules, grand court ceremonies have rules. There should be officiating officials, chanting officials, transmitting officials, announcing officials, displaying officials, etc. Naturally, there is also a need for the Shangbao Supervisor to hold the treasures, etc.

But over the years, the positions of exhibition officer, steward officer, etc., have mostly disappeared. The eulogy officer, etc., have also been taken over by the crown prince.

It’s not that Mr. Zhu feels sorry for his subordinates, he simply thinks that his son (grandson) should perform well on such an important occasion.

In the past, it was Zhu Biao, and now it is Zhu Yunhuan. They are very busy during every grand court ceremony. However, it must be admitted that they also have a strong presence in such occasions, and there are dramas everywhere, and they appear more frequently than Zhu.

Guo Ying thought about it carefully and said, "Your Highness, it should be the little prince who holds the treasure, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan was even more worried. "It's hard to say. My child is too young to be held in arms, and he can't lift heavy objects in his hands. If grandfather holds Wen Yao, how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

Guo Ying thought about it carefully and asked, "Your Highness, do you want me to advise His Majesty? That won't do. If I do, His Majesty will definitely punish me!"

Zhu Yunhuan's scalp tingled when he thought of Zhu wearing a crown and holding Zhu Wenyao to preside over the grand court ceremony. In such an occasion, Zhu should be sitting on the dragon chair holding a large jade tablet to accept the congratulations of all officials.

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be the case. Grandfather cares more about occasions like this than others. If he really wanted to hold Wen Yao, it should be during the banquet."

Guo Ying felt that this should be the case, and that the little prince might not have woken up during the grand court ceremony, as it would have been still early.

"Let Guo Zhen stay in the palace as a guard for the next few days, and you will be in charge of the palace defense." Zhu Yunhuan arranged, "The guards at the city gates can only be from noble families, and it would be best if they were all guarded by the prince consort."

Guo Ying naturally had no objection and thought it was a matter of course. He had always been in charge of the palace defense, and the first step for the descendants of noble families to enter the officialdom was to enter the palace as a guard.

This time, the princes-in-law were asked to guard the palace gates, which was good, as the princes-in-law were basically from noble families. This was also to show filial piety. After all, Zhu had more than a dozen daughters, and they should be allowed to have some sense of participation in this important moment.

Apart from other things, just the fact that these princes-in-law guarded the palace would be a good story if it got out. Although the sons could not come to celebrate the birthday, the daughters were still filial.

As for which prince consort guards which palace gate, this is what Guo Ying needs to worry about. There are also differences in closeness and distance, and the palace gates in the imperial city are also different.

The Bei'an Gate and Duanmen Gate of the Imperial City's outer forbidden wall cannot be compared with the Wumen Gate and Donghua Gate of the inner forbidden wall. The Fengtian Gate of the three main halls is the most important, and guarding this palace gate is enough to reflect one's status.

Zhu Yunxun continued to make arrangements and said, "You are a noble, and you are also a family member and a relative. Don't try to hide your incompetence and keep a low profile these days. Just take care of more things."

Guo Ying immediately said, "Your Highness, I understand."

"I shouldn't have known, it has to be like this." Zhu Yunhuan laughed and joked, "We are relatives, and our grandfather recognized us. Now Concubine Ning is also helping to take care of Wen Yao, this is not an ordinary relative!"

Guo Ying smiled and said, "Alas, I have overstepped my authority these past few days. If you see something going on, please ask more questions and speak more. If you really cannot handle it, please report it to Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and nodded, "That's how it should be. When you were young, you were my grandfather's guard, and you made many military achievements. To be honest, without you guarding the palace gate, my grandfather would not be able to sleep well."

Although this is a bit exaggerated, such words still make people feel very comfortable and even a little moved.

Guo Ying was indeed the most trusted confidant of Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants. Zhu Yuanzhang admitted this, which was also the reason why Guo Ying had a special status among the nobles. But whether the new emperor would recognize him or not was a little hard to say.

After all, they are not real relatives, so there is still a difference whether to recognize them or not. The lineage of Marquis Wuding is actually similar to the lineage of Duke Xin. Maybe after a few years when Zhu Yuanzhang is gone, the relationship will be severed.

But now Guo Ying has some confidence, that is, the emperor's great-grandson is being raised by Concubine Guo Ning, which is priceless.

The emperor's wet nurse and others can help his descendants become rich and powerful, not to mention Concubine Guo Ning, who is also one of the Guo family's important political assets.

Therefore, it is really no big deal for Guo Ying to be a little more high-profile now, and it is indeed more appropriate for him to do some things.

After Guo Ying left, Zhu Yunhuan called Lan Yu and said, "You should stay in the camp these days. Just train the troops and guard the camp normally. Don't think about making a fuss at this time. It's important to keep a low profile."

Lan Yu knew this clearly, and quickly said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I am in the main camp. I usually just sleep in the tent and handle military affairs. I try to show up as little as possible."

Although Lan Yu was sometimes very reckless and seemed to have a low emotional intelligence, he was very clear about some things and knew what he should do now.

Now he is guarding the camp just to prevent any accidents from happening. To keep him low-key is naturally to prevent the so-called grandson party from being too ostentatious and becoming the target of impeachment. Zhu Yunhuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "Normally, there won't be any accidents now, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If you go to the camp, I can feel at ease."

Lan Yu nodded repeatedly. Although the Crown Prince was very powerful now and would ascend the throne smoothly, there would be basically no accidents. However, there were some things that should not be taken lightly until the last moment.

Zhu Yunhuan then called Zhu Zhong over and said, "Cooperate with Duke Liang. If there are any noises or unusual movements in the army, you two should discuss how to deal with them and then report to me immediately."

Although Lan Yu looked down on the Northern Pacification Office and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was also aware that the two offices had different statuses and responsibilities, and was very good at gathering information.

At this time, they should not have any temper or thoughts. Everything should naturally be based on the overall situation. This is what they should do.

As for the so-called overall situation, it naturally refers to the Emperor's Christmas and the possible coronation ceremony of the Crown Prince. These are what they should pay attention to.

After the two men left, Zhu Yunhuan called Jiang Lin again, "The Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal army after all. You should carefully select some people these days. Don't just be busy investigating and monitoring. You should also pay attention to the ceremonial guards."

Jiang Li quickly apologized, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I am stupid. I will correct it immediately when I return and will definitely not make such a big mistake again!"

It is easy to talk to smart people. Jiang Lin knew very well what the Crown Prince meant, so he naturally knew what to do next. Those were indeed what the Jinyiwei should do.

The predecessor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the Yiluansi. Before the Ming Dynasty was officially established, Li Shanchang helped to formulate many rules, such as the role of the Yiluansi in the enthronement ceremony.

The emperor is the supreme ruler of the empire. The grand ceremony is a manifestation of his supreme status. The huge ceremonial guard and its props must be managed by a special organization.

After the Yiluansi was changed to the Jinyiwei, it still had seven departments, namely the Imperial Chair Department, the Fan Bearer Department, the Canopy Department, the Banner Department, the Axe Department, the Carriage Department, and the Horse Training Department, all of which were of the sixth rank.

Now the Crown Prince needs to train a group of personal soldiers. This is the best guard of honor, which will be used in the coronation ceremony.

Although the Jinyiwei are also there now, they are prepared for these things and dare not be careless. However, the Crown Prince's current attitude clearly shows that he is not very satisfied with some of the current Jinyiwei people and needs to improve their performance.

Zhu Yunhuan was naturally satisfied that Jiang Li had such awareness. He still believed in Jiang Li's ability to do things and thought that this man was reliable.

You just need to keep a close eye on it, because it's a vicious dog. If the leash isn't held tight, it will definitely rush out and bite people.

Personally organizing my own coronation ceremony, this is really a matter with complicated emotions.

Generally speaking, these are things that a founding emperor should do, or else he would hastily arrange the coronation ceremony like Li Shimin did during his short two-month career as a crown prince.

An emperor who ascends the throne in a normal order of succession would not have the time to personally handle these matters. At that time, everyone would be busy worshiping the deceased old emperor on the one hand, and welcoming the new emperor to the throne on the other. Everything would be done according to the ceremony without delaying each other.

Zhu Yunxun was a little tired from the busy work, and said to Daoyan, "Please help keep an eye on these things, they are too complicated. The most important thing now is Christmas, and the rest of the things just need to be paid attention to and not be too high-profile."

Daoyan naturally knew what was going on. He was very smart. "Your Highness, what we are doing now is just for His Majesty's Christmas."

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "It's good that you understand it in your heart. I'm afraid that the people below are just imagining things. If they are imagining things, my reputation will be damaged. Master, you have to hurry up and don't let those people put the cart before the horse."

No one would say much about the Crown Prince's behavior of taking advantage of others, mainly because this was something that people were used to and it was not worth making a fuss about.

It's fine once you get used to it, there's really nothing else to say. The emperor doesn't mind, so naturally the other civil and military officials have no right to mind these things either.

After a busy day, Zhu Yunxun returned to the East Palace and asked, "Speaking of which, the aunts and sisters have been silent these days. The sisters are fine, but why are the aunts silent at this time?"

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling are low-key, which is within everyone's expectations. It is not appropriate for them to be high-profile at this time.

As for Zhu Yunhuan's third sister Zhu Youwei, she has never had much presence in the first place, and she probably doesn't know what's going on now. She just needs to live her own life and not worry about anything else.

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "My aunt said that she has always been close to His Highness, and this is also known to everyone in the court and the country. Now she is busy avoiding suspicion."

Xu Miaojin continued, "The eldest aunt is busy praying for blessings, and most of the princesses' palaces are visited by the eldest aunt, asking other aunts to prepare birthday gifts."

Although Princess Ningguo is not the eldest sister, she is the highest-ranking princess in Beijing and the emperor's legitimate daughter. This naturally means that she has a say and the right to take the lead in many matters.

Princess Ningguo was already favored by the emperor, and had a very good relationship with the crown prince, the imperial grandson, so her status was naturally even more extraordinary.

Princess Ningguo is dutiful, and although Princess Anqing is a little willful, she only has her husband and daughter in her eyes. They don't care about government affairs or power, so naturally they have a more transcendent status.

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Now, those who are close to us are all very low-key. My second uncle used to be so eager to fall asleep in the court, but now he stares with his eyes wide open, and even if he doesn't understand, he has to keep his mouth shut and not say a word."

Naturally, everyone knows what kind of personality Chang Sheng has. Now Chang Sheng is low-key and dutiful, and it is almost impossible to find any flaws in him.

Zhu Yunhuan continued to joke, "And your elder brother, he used to be respectful, but he would speak when there was political affairs. These times, he is better, he only speaks when asked, and when he speaks, he resolves the muddled lawsuit."

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "Big brother has always been cautious, and he should be so at this time. When Big sister-in-law came to the palace a few days ago, she asked whether the mansion should be closed and whether the land should be returned."

"Zhongshan Palace didn't occupy the people's land, why should they retreat?" Zhu Yunhuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "When I ascended the throne, it would be fine if I didn't reward Zhongshan Palace, but there is no reason for them to lose money. But I have to talk to my third and fourth brothers, don't have a dispute between sisters-in-law, it's not good for Wen Yao."

Xu Miaojin nodded immediately. She could now stay at the Zhongshan Palace, and her sisters-in-law had to listen to her. The Zhongshan Palace must be harmonious now, and no one could cause trouble! (End of this chapter)