The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 119 Killing someone at the grave, meeting an old friend

When A-Tong and his men were escorted out by Su Xuanbao and his men, the Tu clan members present were all alarmed.

They didn't know why Prince Su had brought these people here, especially on such an important day as the ancestral worship ceremony.

The old clan chief hurried to Tu Chengyu's side and asked with a worried expression, "Your Highness, why have you brought them here?"

Tu Chengyu looked at the old clan chief and said, "Let the ancestors see what kind of people his descendants have produced."

The old clan chief nearly fainted from anger upon hearing this, and at the same time, he witnessed the audacity of the Prince of Su.

However, he couldn't help but stop it, so he could only say, "Your Highness can punish them anytime you want, why do you have to do it today?"

"Isn't Your Highness afraid of disturbing the spirits of your ancestors by doing this?"

Tu Chengyu said, "If the spirits of our ancestors could be disturbed so easily, their descendants would not treat human life so lightly."

When the old clan chief heard Tu Chengyu's words, it seemed that even the ancestors were being complained about, and he felt fearful and uneasy.

He continued to persuade, "Your Highness, it is my fault as the clan leader for not disciplining the clan members properly. Your Highness must not implicate our ancestors."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu remained unmoved and said, "Of course it's because you haven't managed your clansmen well. Look at all the people with the surname Tu in Longxing County. Every single one of them is arrogant and domineering, and they all flaunt their wealth and power."

"They just have the surname Tu, but they really think they're royalty."

"Moreover, even princes and grandsons like myself have to keep a low profile. Where do they get the audacity to treat human life as a game and kill people whenever they want?"

The old clan chief was thrown into a panic by Tu Chengyu's barrage of insults and words.

He said, “Your Highness, it is all my fault as the clan leader. I will accept whatever punishment Your Highness desires. But I beg Your Highness, please do not do anything outrageous in front of our ancestors.”

"Not only will it disturb our ancestors, but it will also make our Tu family a laughing stock and bring shame to the royal family."

Upon hearing his fallacies, Tu Chengyu angrily said, "What a clan leader who can't distinguish between what's important and what's wrong!"

"Does punishing a few unworthy descendants bring shame to the royal family? Do you know that all those surnamed Tu in the world who have achieved their current glory did not do so through your petty scheming and deceitful behavior?"

"It's because the person sitting in that chair is surnamed Tu. As long as the person in the chair is surnamed Tu, people with the surname Tu will continue to be in the limelight."

"But now, what they are doing is digging a hole under this chair."

"On the one hand, I enjoy the protection this chair provides, but on the other hand, I want to destroy it."

"Tell me, should I leave people like these to continue causing trouble instead of dealing with them?"

Upon hearing this, the old clan chief was already sweating profusely. He struggled to say, "But Your Highness, there's no need to act so cruelly before the ancestral spirits."

After hearing his words, Tu Chengyu looked up at the others around him and raised his voice, saying:
"I am using such drastic measures to tell you people that just because you are surnamed Tu, you can do whatever you want and treat human life like dirt."

"I will make you remember that there is someone like me in this world, watching over you from above."

"If I find out that you continue to act this way, even if I am in the capital, I will come here specifically to deal with you."

As Tu Chengyu spoke, he scanned them. Wherever his gaze fell, the people lowered their heads, and none of them dared to meet his eyes.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the old clan chief already knew that Tu Chengyu's mind was made up and that there was no way to persuade him otherwise.

At this point, the old patriarch was utterly despondent.

To outsiders, he, as the clan leader, failed to manage his clan members, allowing them to recklessly disregard human life and tarnish the clan's reputation.

For the Tu clan members in Longxing County, he failed to protect them, allowing Prince Su to treat them as he pleased.

He will face immense public pressure from both inside and outside the public eye.

Even though he had been the clan leader for many years and had the highest prestige in the clan, it would be very difficult for him to continue sitting in the position of clan leader after this incident.

The old clan chief, his figure forlorn, slowly retreated. No one in the entire ancestral hall dared to step forward and dissuade Tu Chengyu.

No one stopped him, so Tu Chengyu did it smoothly.

He ordered his men to bring all of Atong and his men to the front of the ancestral hall, line them up, and kneel facing the hall.

After they knelt down, Tu Chengyu took out a eulogy that Quan Wenwei had written the night before from his sleeve.

This memorial is not meant to comfort the ancestors, but rather to list the crimes of these people and lodge a complaint with the ancestors.

The eulogy was short and didn't mention anything excessive, but listening to it sent shivers down the spines of everyone present who shared the surname Tu.

Because this eulogy is being presented on such an occasion today, it will surely spread throughout the world afterward.

At that time, the Tu family's infamy will be known throughout the world along with this memorial text.

Many people present were truly baffled. They were all people with the surname Tu, so why would Prince Su go to such lengths? Did he think that if the Tu family's reputation were ruined, their Tu family in the capital would gain any glory?

Most people can't figure it out, but a few smart people have guessed some of the reasons.

These few people knew very well that although the Tu family of the imperial family in the capital and the Tu family of Longxing County came from the same clan, they were actually two different families.

However, because Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong had taken care of their clansmen in the past, they did not reveal this matter, which led the whole world to believe that the two families were one.

This also led the Tu clan members here to truly believe that they were superior to all other surnames in the world, thus becoming arrogant and domineering.

This time, however, Prince Su disregarded all sentiment and insisted on making a big scene.

The purpose of this matter is to use it to distinguish between the Tu family of the imperial family in the capital and the Tu family of Longxing County in front of the whole world.

In this way, no matter what outrageous things the Tu family of Longxing County does in the future, the people of the world will not blame the royal family. This will prevent the royal family's reputation from being damaged because of someone else's foolish actions.

Besides this speculation, some people have come up with another reason.

That is, is Prince Su's ruthless treatment of his own clansmen an attempt to intimidate and deter petty villains from the world?

If this matter were to spread, people would think that if Prince Su was so ruthless towards his own clan, he would be even more cruel to others.

These people might have guessed what Tu Chengyu was thinking, but they could never have imagined what Tu Chengyu would do next.

If they had known, most of the people here would have run away before Tu Chengyu finished reading the eulogy.

Unfortunately, they didn't fall, and could only watch helplessly as Tu Chengyu, after reading the eulogy, pushed A Tong and the others out of the ancestral hall and beheaded them all.

More than twenty heads fell to the ground in unison; the visual impact was enough to terrify these people.

Most people, upon witnessing this scene, either collapsed to the ground in terror or vomited on the spot.

Some, like the old clan chief, even fainted.

Tu Chengyu completely ignored their reactions. He said to Quan Xu, the leader of the murderers:

"Hang these people's heads outside the ancestral hall as a warning to others. As for their bodies, have someone throw them directly into the mass grave to feed the wild dogs."

Upon hearing this, Quan Xu quickly led his men to make the arrangements.

Among the Tu family members present, upon hearing that Tu Chengyu had not left a complete corpse even after A Tong and the others died, not one dared to come out and offer any advice.

Seeing their pathetic state, Tu Chengyu lost all interest in paying them any more attention.

He led his men and left first.

Tu Chengyu left the ancestral hall but did not return to the county town. Instead, he turned around the small hill where the ancestral graves were located and came to a small courtyard behind the hill.

The courtyard wasn't large; once inside, there were three large tiled houses. From the outside, it looked unremarkable, not even comparable to the courtyard of a nouveau riche in the countryside.

Why did Tu Chengyu come to such an ordinary little courtyard?

This is because an extraordinary person lives in this courtyard.

Who is this person? Everyone knows.

He was the third son of the retired emperor, the third elder brother of the current emperor, the third uncle of Tu Chengyu, and the Prince Ping who failed to seize the throne from the former crown prince.

After the night of the Crown Prince's rebellion, he was demoted to a commoner by the retired emperor and then imprisoned here.

In principle, Tu Chengyu should not be allowed to visit a criminal personally appointed by imperial decree.

However, before leaving the capital, both the retired emperor and the emperor asked him to take some time to come and see him and check on his current condition.

With this hidden mission in mind, Tu Chengyu sent people to inquire about the place where his third uncle was being held captive when he arrived in Longxing County.

When Tu Chengyu learned that he was imprisoned at the foot of the mountain behind the ancestral graves, he decided to go see him after paying his respects.

That's why Tu Chengyu is now standing in front of this courtyard.

Because it was a place of confinement and guard, there were soldiers standing guard in front of the courtyard gate.

However, Tu Chengyu had already sent someone to give prior notice, so when he arrived, the soldiers did not stop him and let him into the courtyard.

Pushing open the gate to the courtyard, I had only taken two steps inside and hadn't even had a chance to observe the situation when I saw a crowd of people pouring out of the house in front of me.

The one leading the group was Princess Ping, whom Tu Chengyu knew, and now his third aunt.

Half a step behind her, on either side, were two young women. Although Tu Chengyu had never seen them before, he guessed they might be the former concubines.

Behind the three of them came five children of varying ages, three boys and two girls, all from the third uncle's family.

All of them were dressed in coarse linen clothes, and the royal air they once possessed had been almost completely worn away.

They guessed that they had been waiting for Tu Chengyu to come to their door after he sent someone to inform them, so as soon as he came in, they immediately ran out to meet him.

However, when they ran up to Tu Chengyu, it was as if something had choked them, and they didn't know what to say for a moment.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu took the initiative to speak: "Nephew Chengyu greets Third Aunt and the two concubines."

Although they are now commoners, they are still elders after all, so Tu Chengyu took the initiative to inquire about their manners.

When Auntie heard Tu Chengyu's question about etiquette, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

However, they did not dare to be presumptuous. When Tu Chengyu bowed, they quickly stepped aside and bowed back.

After exchanging greetings with his elders, Tu Chengyu also greeted his cousins.

In his earlier years, Tu Chengyu didn't like to socialize with others, so he wasn't very familiar with his third uncle's family. Now, in this situation, they barely exchange a few words.

So after exchanging greetings and handing over the gifts to my third aunt.

Tu Chengyu then asked the main character of the day, "Third Aunt, where is Third Uncle now?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's question, a hint of panic appeared on Aunt Tu's face. She said softly, "Your third uncle has been ill these past few days and is unable to walk properly, so he has not come out to greet the Prince. I hope the Prince will forgive him."

Before Tu Chengyu could say anything after hearing this, a loud voice came from inside the room.

“I’m not sick, I just don’t want to go out to greet him. What kind of logic is it for an elder to greet a younger person?”

Judging from the voice, Tu Chengyu knew it was undoubtedly his third uncle. Moreover, his third uncle didn't seem very willing to welcome Tu Chengyu.

Hearing his third uncle's attitude, Tu Chengyu didn't seem to care.

Auntie and the others were quite frightened, their faces all changed color, and Auntie even wanted to explain to Tu Chengyu.

But there was nothing she could do to salvage what her third uncle had just said so clearly, and she didn't know how to respond.

Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "Third Uncle is right. It's unacceptable for an elder to greet a junior."

"It was already inappropriate of me to come out to greet you, Aunt. How could I let Uncle come out to greet you again? I will go inside now and pay my respects to you."

Auntie and the others breathed a sigh of relief at Tu Chengyu's understanding.

Then, Auntie personally led Tu Chengyu into the house to see Uncle.

As soon as Tu Chengyu entered the house, he saw a middle-aged man with disheveled hair, a stubble beard, and tattered clothes lying on a recliner on the left side of the main room.

From his profile, Tu Chengyu can still vaguely resemble the Prince Ping of yesteryear.

Upon seeing the person in question, Tu Chengyu clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "Nephew Chengyu greets Third Uncle."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's obedient greeting, Third Uncle sat up from the recliner and tidied his clothes and hair.

Then he looked at Tu Chengyu and said, "What, did the Emperor Emeritus and the Fourth Prince send you to see me make a fool of myself?"

The third uncle adopted a tough-guy attitude, leaving Tu Chengyu speechless.

However, Tu Chengyu showed the utmost tolerance towards this loser in the struggle, who was also a major contributor to his father's rise to power.

He said, "Third Uncle is too kind. Grandfather and Father have always thought of you, Third Uncle, and this time they specially sent me to visit you."

After hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Third Uncle suddenly burst into laughter. After laughing, he pointed at Tu Chengyu and said:
"No wonder he's the fourth son; he talks nonsense with such a straight face, just like him."

Tu Chengyu blinked, speechless. He really hadn't expected that his third uncle was even more reckless than he was now.

(End of this chapter)