The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 115

After changing ships in Yangzhou, Tu Chengyu traveled westward and arrived at the former residence of Emperor Taizu three days later.

This place was originally just a remote and impoverished town, but after the birth of a founding emperor like Taizu, it became the place where the dragon rose to power.

Emperor Taizu was also a man who cherished old friendships. After he ascended the throne, he moved the ancestral tablets of his family to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the capital.

However, he did not forget the ancestral tablets in his hometown. So, as soon as he ascended the throne, he sent Prince Bei Jing back to his hometown to rebuild the ancestral tombs. At the same time, he also built the small town into a county town so that people of the same clan and hometown could live there.

While building the county town, Emperor Taizu also provided different kinds of care to his fellow villagers in other ways.

For example, reducing or exempting taxes, or providing more places to participate in the imperial examinations.

All of this, thanks to the favors and honors bestowed upon the people of this place by the two emperors, Taizu and Taizong, has given them a pride unlike that of other places.

Not only do the Tu family members consider themselves royalty, but families with other surnames also consider themselves royal neighbors, feeling superior to others.

Tu Chengyu had only heard about the arrogance of the people here from others, but had never witnessed it firsthand.

He thought that as a prince, he wouldn't easily sense their arrogance.

Unexpectedly, he felt it the moment he got off the boat here.

This is Tu Chengyu's final destination on this trip, and he wants to pay respects to his ancestors here.

Unlike during the previous journey by boat, Tu Chengyu did not deliberately avoid the officials here.

On the contrary, when they were almost there, Tu Chengyu sent someone ahead of time to inform them.

So when Tu Chengyu arrived, the dock was crowded with people of all ages waiting to receive him.

Among them, the leaders were three elderly men with white hair and beards, and standing next to them was a middle-aged man in an official robe.

Before the boat had even come to a complete stop, Tu Chengyu stood on the boat observing the people on the dock.

Those three old men, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be the heads of the Tu clan in the entire Yuzhang Prefecture. They are also among the Tu families in the world with the closest ties to the imperial family.

Standing behind them, dressed in an official robe and looking cautious, must be the magistrate of Longxing County.

There's a saying in officialdom: "Three lifetimes of misfortune, and you'll be a county magistrate; three lifetimes of evil deeds, and you'll be a provincial governor; three lifetimes of heinous crimes, and you'll be a capital city magistrate."

If this statement represents every dynasty, there are those officials who clearly have the power to be in charge, but because their superiors are too close, they feel stifled in their official duties.

Therefore, the magistrate of Longxing County was the most frustrated official in this dynasty.

He held the title of county magistrate, but did not have the actual power of one.

Moreover, if one does something wrong, it is easy to be sued by the emperor.

For this reason, those who became magistrates in Longxing County were all people without powerful connections or from humble backgrounds.

Tu Chengyu initially thought these rumors were just exaggerations by others.

But today, when he saw with his own eyes that the county's official was like a junior, obediently following behind the people under his jurisdiction.

In particular, today is the day to welcome a prince of the current dynasty, and as the county magistrate, he must represent both the face of the imperial court and the people of this county.

Now, however, he couldn't even find a seat in the front row. Tu Chengyu couldn't help but believe that the people from his hometown were indeed a bit too arrogant.

As Tu Chengyu observed the situation on the dock, the fleet slowly approached and came to a stop.

The boat came to a stop, but Tu Chengyu did not disembark immediately.

The first person to go down was Su Xuanbao, who led a team of guards from the Prince's Mansion. After going down, he first verified the identities of the people waiting to meet him at the dock.

Those with status were kept behind, while the rest were blocked outside by him and his men.

This was done for two reasons: first, to prevent Tu Chengyu from encountering danger, and second, to free up space on the dock.

After Su Xuanbao finished all this, Tu Chengyu, accompanied by Xiao Xuanzi and the others, slowly walked off the boat.

As soon as Tu Chengyu came down, he noticed an interesting phenomenon.

The county magistrate, who had just been standing behind several old men, was now standing in the front row, and appeared to be in the first position.

It seems that although these people from my hometown are a bit arrogant, they still know how to put on a show.

As soon as Tu Chengyu arrived, the county magistrate immediately led his men to pay their respects.

After the magistrate finished his greetings, he stood aside. Next, the three old men, representing the Tu clan, came to greet him.

The oldest of these three elderly people is Tu Chengyu's great-grandfather, while the younger one is of the same generation as the retired emperor.

Therefore, when they greeted him, Tu Chengyu would always step aside and immediately return the greeting.

After exchanging greetings, the eldest member of the group stepped forward on behalf of everyone and spoke a few words to Tu Chengyu.

Since Tu Chengyu didn't know them at all, and there was such a big age gap between them, there was nothing to talk about.

So, the topics of conversation were nothing more than the old man asking Tu Chengyu about the health of the retired emperor, or paying his respects to the emperor, and so on.

Just as Tu Chengyu was talking to the old man, a commotion suddenly came from the distance of the dock.

Such a commotion on the peaceful dock naturally attracted everyone's attention.

Tu Chengyu didn't have time to talk to the old man at this moment, and looked up into the distance.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed a large group of people gathered on his right, a few dozen meters from the dock, stirring up dust. He wondered what they were doing.

Tu Chengyu was naturally very unhappy about the sudden situation.

He frowned and looked at the county magistrate, Du Ruyi, who was standing to the side.

When Du Ruyi saw Tu Chengyu looking at her, her face scrunched up like a bitter gourd, she shook her head repeatedly, indicating that she didn't know.

Seeing his foolish appearance, Tu Chengyu naturally ignored him and turned to look at the three elderly people on the other side.

The three of them also looked bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

However, having seen so much, they seemed completely unconcerned about this unexpected situation.

The eldest clan leader smiled and said to Tu Chengyu, "Your Highness, you don't need to worry. It's just a small matter. Let them handle it."

Thinking it best to avoid trouble, Tu Chengyu listened to him and said, "Then I'll follow your arrangements."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the clan chief said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness. In that case, please move to the carriage."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward and led the way. Tu Chengyu followed half a step behind him and walked towards the carriage below the dock.

If nothing unexpected happens, Tu Chengyu will get into the first carriage and follow them into the county town to rest at the Tu family's ancestral home.

However, things didn't go as planned. Just as Tu Chengyu was about to approach the carriage, an accident occurred.

A shout suddenly came from the place where the commotion had just occurred:
"Your Highness, save me! Prince Su, please save me!"

No one knows who shouted this, but Tu Chengyu heard it clearly.

At that moment, a man suddenly appeared, shouting and begging Tu Chengyu to save him. This made Tu Chengyu suspicious, because he had a group of men hiding in the shadows in the Jiangnan region.

These people were ordered to investigate the grain fields in Jiangnan, and they might come here to investigate as well.

Thinking of these hidden subordinates, Tu Chengyu stopped in his tracks.

Turning around, he saw Su Xuanbao maintaining order not far away and asked, "What's going on over there?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's question, Su Xuanbao quickly ran to Tu Chengyu and said:
"Your Highness, there was some trouble there, but the people who came to greet you have subdued them."

Tu Chengyu asked, "How many people were causing trouble?"

Su Xuanbao said, "Your Highness, there was only one person, and he didn't cause much of a commotion."

Tu Chengyu said with a stern face, "They're all begging me to save their lives, and you still say you didn't cause much of a commotion?"

Seeing that Tu Chengyu didn't leave but instead stood there questioning the troublemakers.

The three elderly people also turned back.

The clan chief spoke up, "Your Highness, why aren't you leaving again?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I heard someone shouting for me to save their life, and I'd like to hear what's going on."

The clan chief laughed and said, "Your Highness need not worry about it. It's just some unruly people trying to cause trouble because Your Highness is young."

Upon hearing his words, Tu Chengyu said, "Yuzhang Prefecture holds the reins of the literary world, and Longxing County is the place with the most flourishing literary style in Yuzhang Prefecture. How can there be troublemakers in such a place?"

The clan chief said, "Your Highness is joking. Even among the disciples of a sage, there are those who are not virtuous, let alone the common people."

Tu Chengyu nodded as if agreeing with him, and said, "The hometown of the dragon should be a place with simple and honest folk customs, but there are troublemakers here. This makes me very curious and I want to meet him to see what kind of person he is."

Upon hearing that Tu Chengyu actually wanted to meet a troublemaker, the clan chief immediately said, "What kind of status does Your Highness have? Why waste time on such a person?"

No matter what he said, Tu Chengyu was determined to meet this person.

So he said, "There's only one person. Who cares if he's a troublemaker or not? It won't take long to see him."

After saying this to the clan leader and the others, Tu Chengyu immediately instructed Su Xuanbao, "Take some men and bring this troublemaker to me."

Seeing that Tu Chengyu's attitude was so firm, the clan chief and the others stopped trying to stop him.

Upon receiving the order, Su Xuanbao gathered his men and headed directly towards the scene of the disturbance.

As soon as he arrived, he raised Tu Chengyu's name and demanded the return of the troublemakers from those people.

Su Xuanbao thought that the prince was right there, and if he raised the prince's banner, these people would immediately hand him over.

To his surprise, these people completely ignored Su Xuanbao and said directly:

"These are the fugitives we captured. They can only be handed over to the county government, not to the prince."

Their reasons were plausible, yet they seemed to show no respect for Tu Chengyu.

Su Xuanbao was very angry at the arrogant and domineering behavior of these people.

But he also knew that this was the place where the founding emperor rose to power, and he didn't want the prince to be branded as a troublemaker as soon as he arrived.

Therefore, suppressing his anger, Su Xuanbao said, "His Highness only wants this person to go over and ask a few questions. After he's done, he'll return him to you."

Su Xuanbao had already taken a step back, but these people still wouldn't back down at all, constantly quoting the founding emperor's rules and ancestral laws.

The implication is that although Tu Chengyu is a prince, he cannot arbitrarily interfere in local affairs.

Tu Chengyu watched as Su Xuanbao spent a long time trying to communicate with those people, but failed to get the person he wanted.

He asked loudly, "Su Xuanbao, what's wrong with you? Why are you dawdling over bringing someone here?"

Hearing the impatience in Tu Chengyu's tone, Su Xuanbao glared at the people and turned to Tu Chengyu, saying:

"Your Highness, they say you have no right to interfere in local affairs and that you should not meddle in other people's business."

Su Xuanbao was also a ruthless person; he tried to sow discord among these people right in front of them.

Although these people were a bit arrogant, they weren't stupid. When they heard Su Xuanbao trying to sow discord between them, their expressions changed.

They rushed to explain to Tu Chengyu.

However, after listening to Su Xuanbao's words, Tu Chengyu completely ignored what they were saying.

Hearing that these people wouldn't release him, he took a few steps and walked over to them.

Upon entering, Tu Chengyu could clearly see the situation.

It turned out that there were more than a dozen people who had pinned a man to the ground, controlling not only his limbs but also his mouth and nose.

Tu Chengyu couldn't see the face of the person being controlled, so he couldn't tell if this person was the one conducting the investigation in secret.

However, as he watched the person being controlled struggling weaker and weaker.

Adhering to the principle that even if someone makes a mistake, they shouldn't be left untreated, Tu Chengyu said to these people as soon as he arrived:

“You guys step aside, I have a few questions for him.”

These people were clearly afraid of Tu Chengyu, but for some reason, they still held onto him tightly and refused to let go.

Tu Chengyu said angrily, "You dare to disobey my words?"

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, a very burly middle-aged man among them said:

“Your Highness, it’s not that we refuse to release him, but he is a criminal. According to the laws of our dynasty, we can only hand him over to the county government, not to Your Highness.”

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu said, "Very good, very good. You truly are people of Longxing County."

Tu Chengyu didn't quite understand why these people were so tough.

Even though these people are from Longxing County, even though they all share the surname Tu, are related to the royal family, and are used to being arrogant and domineering.

This is not a reason for their arrogance even when facing a prince of the current dynasty.

Anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't act so irrationally.

But they did it anyway, and it wasn't just one person acting irrationally, but a whole group of people acting irrationally.

Such an unusual situation can only be explained by one thing: they must have been doing something shady that was discovered by that person.

They were afraid that person would expose their secrets, so they risked offending Tu Chengyu and insisted on keeping that person under their control.

As Tu Chengyu analyzed the situation, he became increasingly convinced that the person they were controlling was a member of the team he had secretly sent out to investigate the grain fields.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu was determined to snatch the person away from them.

Moreover, we need to seize it as soon as possible, otherwise, if too much time passes, they might try to silence us.

(End of this chapter)