The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 116 Arrogant and Domineering Clan Members

Just as Tu Chengyu was about to snatch the person away, the clan chief and two other elders came over together.

The clan chief seemed to know the whole story and spoke directly:
“Atong, the prince is one of our Tu family’s own people. Since the prince wants to question you, you should just hand this person over to him. Why are you being so foolish?”

The clan chief seemed to be helping Tu Chengyu get the people, but in reality, he was telling Tu Chengyu that these people were all Tu family members, and he shouldn't be too concerned about them.

The burly man who had been staring at Tu Chengyu while speaking said with a mournful face:
“Chief, it’s not that I, Atong, am being foolish, but the person we’ve captured is a beast. I can’t let him go so easily.”

Upon hearing this, the clan chief asked, "What's wrong with this person?"

Ah Tong said, "This is the man who harmed the Wang family girl in Nanshan Village. We finally managed to catch him."

Upon hearing this, the clan chief turned to Tu Chengyu and said, "Your Highness, this matter cannot be blamed on Atong and the others."

"It's because a few days ago, someone from the village of Nanshan sent a report saying that a man from out of town had abused a young girl in the village."

"After we learned of this, we sent people everywhere to look for this outsider, but we have not been able to find him."

"But I didn't expect to run into him here. Perhaps Ah Tong is afraid that this person will escape again, which is why he is unwilling to let go."

When Tu Chengyu heard him say that, he didn't know if he was acting or if it was real.

So he said, "I just want to ask him a few questions. If you are worried, you can simply remove the gag from his mouth."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Atong dared not make a decision on his own and kept staring into the clan leader's eyes.

The clan leader also knew that Tu Chengyu had already backed down, and if they still didn't give him face, then they would really be ungrateful.

So the clan chief asked Atong, "With so many of you here, aren't you afraid he'll run away? Remove the thing from his mouth and let the prince ask him a few questions."

Upon hearing this, Atong stopped making excuses and turned around to let go of the person behind him who was specifically there to silence outsiders.

The man was also very polite; he immediately removed his hand from the stranger's mouth and nose, and then took out the rag stuffed in his mouth.

He removed the gags, but still couldn't hear the stranger speaking.

Tu Chengyu suddenly had a bad feeling. He quickly took a few steps forward and looked through the crowd.

They found that the outsider who had been suppressed was now deathly pale and completely motionless.

Tu Chengyu quickly shouted, "Take a look, is he dead?"

Those who were pressing down on the outsiders panicked when they heard Tu Chengyu's shout.

The person who had been covering his mouth and nose cautiously placed his hand on the stranger's nose.

Upon being questioned, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground and stammered, "He, he's really dead."

As soon as he shouted, those who were still being held down jumped up and ran to the side.

Only the stranger remained, lying quietly on the ground, without making a sound.

Tu Chengyu now understood that A Tong and his men hadn't handed the people over to him in the first place in order to buy time.

So that they could kill this person without them noticing.

Tu Chengyu had already guessed their purpose, but he did not immediately retaliate against them.

It wasn't that Tu Chengyu didn't want to get involved, but rather that he felt there was still a chance to save this outsider.

Because when Tu Chengyu arrived, he saw him struggling incessantly.

Not much time has passed since then, not long after he stopped breathing; he may have been in a state of apparent death.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu disregarded everything else and said to Su Xuanbao:
"You guys carry this over and put this person on the boat."

Upon hearing this, Su Xuanbao led a few people over, lifted the stranger up, and quickly ran towards the boat.

Tu Chengyu didn't wait either, and followed them onto the ship.

This place was only a dozen or so feet away from the ship, and running at full speed, they were back on the ship in no time.

As soon as they got on the ship, Tu Chengyu had the strangers that Su Xuanbao and the others had carried up lie flat on the deck.

With these preparations complete, Tu Chengyu disregarded his status as a prince and straddled him, massaging his chest and abdomen.

While pressing down, Tu Chengyu also had Xiao Xuanzi blow air into the person.

Xiao Xuanzi was very reluctant to hear that he had to blow air into a dead person's mouth, but he dared not disobey Tu Chengyu's order.

Fortunately, there weren't many people on the deck, so Xiao Xuanzi gritted her teeth and sat down.

It's possible that the person died relatively quickly, or it's possible that he was simply lucky.

Thanks to Tu Chengyu's continuous efforts to save him, the man quickly regained consciousness and started breathing again.

Seeing that he had come back to life, Tu Chengyu finally felt relieved and, dragging his aching arms, sat down on the ground.

Tu Chengyu got so anxious to save people that he made a mess of his clothes, making him look rather unsightly.

However, at this moment, Tu Chengyu was seen as an astonishingly handsome man by Su Xuanbao and Xiao Xuanzi.

They witnessed Tu Chengyu bring a dead person back to life with his own eyes.

Tu Chengyu didn't have time to appreciate their admiring gazes. After resting for a while and recovering, he quickly went to check on his condition.

When Tu Chengyu walked over, he saw that the person had already woken up, with his eyes open, looking around at his surroundings in a daze.

When Tu Chengyu saw that he had regained consciousness, he helped him up as if Su Xuanbao had helped him sit up against the side of the boat.

Once the man sat up, he could see things more clearly. He turned his head and looked around, and naturally saw Tu Chengyu standing next to him.

He asked incredulously, "Are you Prince Su?"

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Is it indeed me?"

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he quickly asked his second question: "I'm still alive?"

Seeing the hope in his eyes, Tu Chengyu simply told him, "You're still alive."

Upon hearing this, he was initially overjoyed, then his face turned pale with fear, and finally, unable to contain himself, he burst into tears of joy.

A grown man sat in front of the table, tears streaming down his face, but Tu Chengyu did not disturb him, quietly waiting for him to cry.

This person was also a determined individual; he only cried for a short while before composing himself.

He saw that Tu Chengyu was waiting for him quietly, and he wanted to stand up quickly.

Tu Chengyu stopped him and said, "The gunwales of this ship aren't very high. If you stand up, you might be spotted by the people below. You should sit down and talk."

Upon hearing this, the man understood that Tu Chengyu was thinking of him, and quickly said:
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I am unable to perform the proper bow while seated; please forgive me." Hearing this self-address, even if he wasn't someone Tu Chengyu had secretly sent, he must be someone of importance. Therefore, Tu Chengyu asked:

"Whose subordinate are you?"

Upon hearing this, he immediately replied, "This humble servant is a spy from the Imperial Horse Administration in Jiangnan, named Zhuo Ri. I have been ordered by the Emperor to come to Longxing County to inspect the grain fields."

Although they weren't people I sent out myself, those sent by the Emperor can be considered as my own people.

However, one cannot easily trust such a person. Tu Chengyu asked, "You say you are sent by the Emperor, but what proof do you have?"

Zhuo Ri replied, "Your Highness, to avoid being discovered, I did not bring my name tag or identification card before entering Longxing County."

"However, these items are all stored in Jinling City. Your Highness can send someone to inspect them at any time."

Since he couldn't prove his identity right now, Tu Chengyu remained somewhat suspicious of him, but that didn't stop him from asking him about what had happened here.

"What did you do here that they are so determined to kill you?"

Zhuo Ri replied, "Your Highness, I have discovered that they have encroached on the farmland and converted rice paddies into mulberry fields."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Is everything you said true?"

Zhuo Ri said, "This matter was witnessed by my own eyes, and there is no doubt about it."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Besides you, is there anyone else who can testify?"

Zhuo Ri said, "I originally found some people who had lost their land, but I was not careful enough and leaked my whereabouts. They have all been captured and are probably in grave danger now."

Therefore, the so-called encroachment on farmland is only Zhuo Ri's side of the story.

Although Tu Chengyu believed that what Zhuo Ri said was very likely true, this place was rather special, and without real evidence, he could not act recklessly.

Moreover, given Tu Chengyu's current status, he has no right to concern himself with these matters.

Tu Chengyu said, "Whether what you say is true or false, I can spare your life for the time being."

"As for the matter of the encroachment on farmland that you have investigated, you can report it to the Emperor after you leave here."

Upon hearing that Tu Chengyu was willing to protect his life, Zhuo Ri immediately knelt on the deck and thanked him repeatedly.

After asking these questions, Tu Chengyu first had Xiao Xuanzi take Zhuo Ri to the cabin to change into a guard's uniform, so that he could blend in with the guards later.

Tu Chengyu himself took Su Xuanbao off the ship to clean up the mess. After all, he had brought a corpse aboard, and it wouldn't do to leave those people without giving them an explanation.

Tu Chengyu disembarked again and, sure enough, saw the clan chief leading a large group of people, standing around the dock, staring longingly at Tu Chengyu.

During the disembarkation process, Tu Chengyu had already figured out how to handle the situation.

Therefore, when they arrived, Tu Chengyu took the initiative and did not give them a chance to react.

He pointed to Atong and the others who had almost killed Zhuo Ri, and said to Su Xuanbao, "Go and arrest them."

Atong and his gang seemed very bold. After killing someone, instead of hiding, they brazenly squeezed in at the front, acting as if they were fearless.

However, his position at the front made it easier for Su Xuanbao to catch them.

The clan leaders and others watched as Tu Chengyu carried the dead stranger onto the boat. Although they didn't believe the man would come back to life, they were still worried that Tu Chengyu might uncover something detrimental to them.

So they gathered around the boat, wanting to find out as soon as possible whether Tu Chengyu had discovered anything.

But to their surprise, as soon as Tu Chengyu got off the boat, he sent people to arrest people without saying a word.

The clan chief, unaware of what was happening, quickly stepped forward to stop it:

"Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Tu Chengyu said with a serious expression, "I'm arresting someone."

Upon hearing this nonsensical answer, the clan chief was so angry that he wanted to give Tu Chengyu a couple of whacks with his cane, but unfortunately, the person in front of him was a prince of the current dynasty, and he didn't have the guts to do so.

So he could only resort to words: "Your Highness, A-Tong and the others only helped capture the bad guys, why did Your Highness arrest A-Tong?"

Tu Chengyu looked at the clan chief and said, "Who determined that person was a bad person?"

The clan chief said, "Your Highness, this man has abused the village girls. Isn't he a bad person?"

Tu Chengyu said, "If he did this, then he is naturally a bad person."

The clan chief said, "Since they are bad people, why arrest Atong and the others?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Because how to convict bad people is the government's business, and how to punish bad people is also the government's business."

“Now that A-Tong and his gang have killed a criminal without being questioned by the government, they have violated the laws of the dynasty. Since they have broken the law, I have the right to arrest them.”

Upon hearing this, the clan chief became even more anxious and said, "Atong and the others didn't intend to kill anyone. They just didn't know their own strength when they were capturing people, and that's how they accidentally killed someone."

"Besides, A-Tong and the others also share the surname Tu, and are of the same clan as Your Highness. Can't Your Highness be lenient and let them go?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Tu Chengyu snorted coldly and said, "Make an exception? Now you want to make an exception?"

"When I asked them to release the people, why didn't they think of making an exception for me?"

"In your eyes, my status as a prince is not as important as that of a country bumpkin."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's immediate and harsh criticism, the clan leader quickly spoke up;
"Your Highness, please calm down. Atong and the others are just straightforward men, used to doing things bluntly. They didn't mean to disrespect Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "They still want to act foolishly in front of me. It seems they lack manners. I will teach them a lesson this time so they won't continue to act foolishly in the future."

When the clan chief saw that Tu Chengyu was determined to capture Atong and the others, he was so angry that he pounded the ground with his cane, but he couldn't say anything else.

After dealing with the old clan leader, Tu Chengyu turned around and saw that Su Xuanbao was still dealing with those people.

He discovered that Su Xuanbao had become hesitant and timid in his actions ever since he entered Longxing County.

They're trying to catch a few unarmed people, but after a while they haven't even caught half of them.

Not only did they fail to catch the person, but they were also manipulated by their companions, who led them around the area like dogs on a leash.

When Tu Chengyu saw this, his eyes widened in anger.

He first said to the old clan chief beside him, "The people of Longxing County are indeed formidable; they actually treated my people like dogs."

After speaking, without waiting for the old clan chief's reply, he turned to Quan Xu, who was standing on the other side, and said:
"Quan Xu, go and bring those people back to me. If they dare to escape again, or if anyone dares to stop you from making the arrest, kill them all without exception."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's murderous words, Quan Xu drew his sword without hesitation and chased after the group.

(End of this chapter)