The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 11 The wind and rain arrive before the heights are reached
After Xiaoxing left, the second uncle took a sip of tea, frowned, and sighed deeply, saying, "Little Wu, your eldest brother is in big trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu raised an eyebrow, but he was extremely annoyed. These people, one by one, treated the young master as someone to be casually befriended, showing no respect whatsoever.

Before today, Prince An's heir had no real power in the capital. Even a minor official of the seventh rank with a little backing could stop his horse and scold him at will.

But now, the Crown Prince is the undisputed choice for the new dynasty's heir apparent, yet these people still look down on him so much. I don't know if it's out of habit or if they have ulterior motives.

Tu Chengyu had become numb in just one day and calmly asked, "Second Uncle, what makes you say that?"

The second uncle said in a deep voice, "Your eldest brother's position as crown prince is probably in jeopardy."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu clenched his fists involuntarily. He really wanted to disregard etiquette and punch him in the face, but in the end he held back, wanting to hear what boastful things his second uncle could say.

Tu Chengyu had heard before that ancient strategists were fond of making startling statements, exaggerating even trivial matters in hopes of having their plans selected. His second uncle's current actions were exactly the same as those strategists.

He wanted to take advantage of Tu Chengyu's young age, use exaggerated words to scare Tu Chengyu, and then carry out his real scheme.

However, based on Tu Chengyu's understanding of his second uncle, he knew that his second uncle was incapable of making meticulous plans, so someone must be plotting behind the scenes.

Tu Chengyu decided to test them to see what they were up to. So he said, "Why do you say that, Second Uncle?"

The second uncle said, "It's not that I'm making this up. It's just that a good friend of mine in the capital knows that I am the Crown Prince's maternal uncle. He risked his life to come here at noon, saying that there are nobles in the capital who have been secretly contacting each other and want to make your second brother the new Crown Prince. Noble families are all connected and have great power and influence, so we must be careful. I couldn't bear to see my nephew being plotted against, so I rushed here to tell him."

Tu Chengyu was speechless after hearing this. His second uncle was saying such things to him in a way that could only fool a three-year-old.

Not to mention, when it comes to establishing a crown prince, the emperor's opinion is the most important, and the ideas of a few nobles are not so important.

Even if they were to communicate privately, it would be impossible. His father has only been on the throne for half a day, and the nobles probably haven't even figured out the whole story yet. How dare they so rashly control the selection of the crown prince? Do they really think that everyone in the noble family is an incompetent fool?

His second uncle's words clearly indicated that he had been deceived by the so-called friend in the capital.

Tu Chengyu feigned anger and said, "They are too audacious to dare to secretly contact each other and interfere in the position of Crown Prince."

My second uncle also feigned anger and chimed in, "This has always been the case among the nobles and officials in the capital."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Does Second Uncle have any way to stop these people from colluding in secret?"

My second uncle said, "It's hard to stop."

Tu Chengyu said disappointedly, "What should we do now!"

Seeing the fear and disappointment on Tu Chengyu's face, the second uncle felt that the atmosphere was about right and said with a smug look, "Little Wu, don't worry too much. I have a plan that can ensure your eldest brother can safely sit on the throne of the crown prince."

"Really?" Tu Chengyu asked, feigning surprise.

The second uncle said earnestly, "I dare not deceive you."

Tu Chengyu replied cooperatively, "What's the plan?"

Upon hearing this, the second uncle sat up straight, stroked his long beard, looked up slightly at the sky, closed his eyes, and said calmly, "Use their spear to attack their shield. Since they are contacting each other in secret, we can also make secret arrangements to protect your eldest brother to the death."

Tu Chengyu asked, "But the nobles have already made contact with each other. Who are we supposed to contact?"

The second uncle said, "I have already made a plan. Among the officials in the court, the most important thing is the order of seniority and whether the son is legitimate or not. If someone comes forward to make connections, they will definitely be willing to support your eldest brother."

Tu Chengyu was surprised that his second uncle's plan was so perfect, so he asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?" His second uncle said, "That's exactly why I came here. My friend in the capital is a low-ranking official. If he were to make connections, no one would believe him. Only if we have the heir's token will others believe us."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What kind of token is needed?"

My second uncle replied, "Letters are best."

Tu Chengyu said, "But my elder brother is in the palace now and can't write letters."

As if he had expected this, the second uncle said, "It's alright. You can write the letter on behalf of your eldest brother, and then find one of his personal belongings, combine the two, and it will be believable."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu could already guess what these people were up to.

They used various means to persuade the incompetent second uncle to come and verbally intimidate Tu Chengyu.

Thinking that Tu Chengyu was young, they used kinship and intimidation to make Tu Chengyu panic and leave letters and tokens.

Then these people would take the letters to minor officials who were unaware of the truth, and persuade them to believe the lies and submit petitions to support Tu Chengying as the crown prince.

When these memorials supporting the crown prince appeared in the court, what would the high-ranking officials think? What would the nobles think? What would the emperor think? What would the retired emperor think?
He could have become the crown prince without having to do anything, but now these memorials have appeared.

How is this any different from adding legs to a snake? It will not only fail to help the crown prince, but will also bring trouble.

Ordinary people would assume that the young prince was eager to become the crown prince, which is why he ordered someone to do this.

Other conspiracy theorists believe that the new emperor's sons have secretly harbored ambitions to seize the throne, and that the emperor's dissatisfaction with the crown prince forced him to do so.

If they succeed in colluding to report and protect him, the heir apparent will already have his reputation damaged and be tainted with infamy before he even becomes the crown prince.

The new emperor will also find it difficult to control the government and exercise power because of this incident.

Tu Chengyu will be resented by his older brother and father for doing this stupid thing, and he won't have a good life for the rest of his life.

This scheme killed several birds with one stone: it sowed discord between nobles and civil officials, damaged the prestige of the emperor and the crown prince, and caused discord between the royal father and son.

They are truly cunning and extremely vicious.

Upon realizing this, Tu Chengyu broke out in a cold sweat.

He looked at his second uncle, who was filled with anticipation, and asked, "Does your eldest uncle know about all these things you've done?"

Tu Chengyu's eldest uncle was not a fool like his second uncle. He was a ruthless and decisive man, bold enough to confront Prince An directly. He would never do such a stupid thing.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu mention his eldest uncle, the second uncle's expression changed, and he stammered, "Little Wu, as you know, your eldest uncle has stopped caring about your family's affairs ever since he quarreled with your father, so I didn't tell him about this."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu said, "Second Uncle, you'd better go home right now and tell First Uncle everything about this."

Upon hearing this, the second uncle hurriedly said, "This matter has nothing to do with your eldest uncle."

Tu Chengyu said very seriously, "Second Uncle, if you don't want your legs to be broken by your eldest uncle and you to spend the rest of your life locked in the ancestral hall, go back now and tell your eldest uncle about this. Also, tell me the name of your friend in the capital."

The second uncle was startled by Tu Chengyu's sudden words and hurriedly left his name before running away.

(End of this chapter)