The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 122 If life were just like the first time we met

When Tu Chengyu heard the words "lecherous scoundrel" coming from behind the wall, he already knew who was behind the wall.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Lin Daiyu, and perhaps Tan Chun will be by her side.

Although his casual joke was overheard by the person in question, Tu Chengyu showed no sign of panic at being caught.

Instead, a sense of anticipation arose in my heart.

Whether it was the influence of watching television in his past life or the fact that Lin Daiyu became his betrothed princess in this life.

All of this filled Tu Chengyu with anticipation for meeting Lin Daiyu.

Some might say that unmarried men and women should not meet before marriage.

Tu Chengyu didn't care about this.

Not to mention that they are both still young. Tu Chengyu himself has just turned eleven, and Lin Daiyu is only seven years old. At such an age, it is not yet time for the strict separation of men and women.

Furthermore, even if the two reached the age where men and women should be kept separate, given Tu Chengyu's personality, he wouldn't care about other people's opinions and would still meet with Lin Daiyu openly and frankly.

So when Tu Chengyu learned that Lin Daiyu was behind the wall, he deliberately raised his voice and said to the steward, "Oh dear, I've been traveling by boat and carriage all day, and I'm quite tired. I'd like to have a cup of flower tea to relax, but I wonder if I can have the best flower tea in your household?"

Tu Chengyu guessed correctly; Lin Daiyu and Jia Tanchun were indeed on the other side of the wall, accompanied by their maid Xueyan.

The reason the three of them were here was because after they returned to the mansion, they heard from the servants that Tu Chengyu had gone to the garden to relax.

Jia Tanchun then urged Daiyu to go and see Tu Chengyu again. It wasn't that Jia Tanchun intended to tease Lin Daiyu; she did this mainly for Lin Daiyu's sake.

Since Jia Min's death, Lin Daiyu had been depressed and spent all her time in her boudoir except for reading a few pages of books with her teacher.

A six or seven-year-old girl, whose body is already weak, is now immersed in longing all day long, and she is bound to get sick.

So after Jia Tanchun arrived, she spent all her time trying to make Lin Daiyu happy.

Lin Daiyu's mood did indeed brighten a bit because she had a playmate of the same age.

Today, at Jia Tanchun's urging, he finally left home and went to the dock.

This achievement is a great encouragement to everyone who cares about Lin Daiyu.

It should be noted that this was the first time Lin Daiyu had left the Lin family home since her mother passed away.

One of the reasons Lin Daiyu agreed to go to the dock to relax was Tu Chengyu's arrival.

Jia Tanchun naturally assumed that Tu Chengyu's arrival would make Lin Daiyu happy.

Therefore, in order to prevent Lin Daiyu from hiding in her room and not coming out as soon as she returned, she encouraged Lin Daiyu to peek at Tu Chengyu again.

Originally, Daiyu did not plan to go, but under Tanchun's persistent encouragement, and because she had not clearly seen Tu Chengyu's appearance at the dock today, she was also a little curious.

So in the end, he agreed to Tan Chun's suggestion and quietly ran to the garden to secretly take another look at Tu Chengyu.

But what they didn't expect was that when they arrived at the garden wall, before they could even find a place to peek, they heard Tu Chengyu rambling on and on.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Daiyu felt both ashamed and anxious, and blurted out the words "lecherous scoundrel."

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that she had been exposed and felt even more embarrassed.

Lin Daiyu originally thought that Prince Su would restrain himself after he learned that he had listened to his nonsense.

To her surprise, Prince Su not only did not restrain himself, but also asked her to make him tea on the spot.

Lin Daiyu snorted coldly and said to Jia Tanchun, "This gentleman of yours doesn't sound like a prince at all; he sounds more like a dissolute."

Having spent so many days at the Lin residence, Jia Tanchun had long since become familiar with Lin Daiyu, and now she also had the intention of making Lin Daiyu happy.

Therefore, upon hearing Lin Daiyu's words, she deliberately didn't give in at all and immediately replied:
"Sister Lin is joking. He is not my prince, but your prince, the princess."

Lin Daiyu was teased again, and in a fit of anger, she grabbed Jia Tanchun's hand and said, "If you say that again, I'll tear your mouth apart."

While dodging the menacing Lin Daiyu, Jia Tanchun said, "Sister Lin, spare me, I won't say it again."

Seeing that Lin Daiyu remained unmoved, he added, "Sister Lin, the Prince is still waiting to drink the flower tea you brewed."

Lin Daiyu said, "Let him wait. I don't have time to serve him."

The two little girls were playing and bickering behind him, while Tu Chengyu was leisurely admiring the flowers on the other side of the wall.

However, not long after, for some unknown reason, the sounds of fighting on the other side of the wall suddenly stopped, and there was no further news.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what had happened, so he tried to get up and move to a spot closer to the wall.

Before he could even change locations, he saw Quan Wenwei rushing in.

Quan Wenwei walked up to Tu Chengyu and said, "Your Highness, everything is ready. You may go now."

Tu Chengyu asked, "When I went to pay my respects to Lady Lin, did Lord Lin have anything to say?"

Quan Wenwei replied, "Lord Lin didn't say anything, but just now the Prince suggested going to the garden to relax. At first, he thought the Prince was angry about what had just happened and didn't want to go to pay respects to Madam Lin."

Upon hearing Quan Wenwei's words, Tu Chengyu was both amused and exasperated, saying, "I was simply trying to show my respect by bathing and changing into clean clothes before going to offer sacrifices, but I didn't expect to be misunderstood."

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, perhaps we didn't give you prior notice, which caused Lord Lin to misunderstand. Fortunately, I have already explained things to Lord Lin, and I believe there will be no further misunderstanding."

Tu Chengyu said, "It's good that you've made it clear. However, should I go to pay my respects now according to custom, or should I bathe and change my clothes first?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Now that things have come to this, Lord Lin knows the Prince's intentions, so there's no need for you to change your mind. Just do it the way it was originally."

Since that was the case, Tu Chengyu didn't waste any more time. Led by Quan Wenwei, he returned to his room to shower and change.

Then we went to the backyard of the Lin family to pay our respects in the room where Jia Min's memorial tablet was placed.

Because it was arranged in advance, when Tu Chengyu arrived dressed in plain clothes...

The room where the memorial tablets were placed was filled with people.

Lin Ruhai was at the head of the group, with Jia Lian and Jia Tanchun standing to his side.

On the other side stood a girl of similar height to Jia Tanchun, dressed in mourning clothes.

From the mourning clothes she was wearing and the position she was standing in, Tu Chengyu was able to tell that she was Lin Daiyu.

Tu Chengyu never expected that his first meeting with Lin Daiyu would be in such a place. Although they bumped into each other, in such an occasion, Tu Chengyu could only suppress his curiosity and try his best not to focus his attention on Lin Daiyu.

Because it was just a ceremonial worship ceremony, the whole process was relatively simple.

Tu Chengyu simply lit three incense sticks and burned one incense offering before ending the session.

After Tu Chengyu finished paying his respects, Lin Daiyu, as Jia Min's only child, came to express her gratitude as a filial son.

This time, the two finally met face to face.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tu Chengyu returned the greeting while secretly glancing at Lin Daiyu a few times.

Although Lin Daiyu was only seven years old at the time, still young and not yet fully grown, it was clear that she was indeed a beauty in the making.

On her fair, oval face, her delicate, arched eyebrows were furrowed. Beneath those eyebrows, two large, watery eyes held back tears that seemed about to fall.

Perhaps it was the memory of her mother's funeral that stirred up her sadness, so in Tu Chengyu's eyes, this little girl had a pitiful appearance.

However, since they were in front of the mourning hall, Tu Chengyu could not be too presumptuous.

So after Lin Daiyu expressed her gratitude, he withdrew his gaze and returned the greeting.

After paying his respects to Jia Min, Tu Chengyu returned to his study in the front yard and then had someone summon Lin Ruhai.

Tu Chengyu had some doubts about what happened on the street today, and he wanted to confirm it with Lin Ruhai.

Not long after, Lin Ruhai was brought over by Quan Wenwei.

Once the three were seated facing each other, Tu Chengyu asked, "Lord Lin, is anyone outside aware of my arrival in Yangzhou today?"

Since the incident, Lin Ruhai had been thinking about it constantly. Now, hearing Tu Chengyu's question, he answered without hesitation:

“Your Highness, although you have ordered that local officials not to receive you, you are, after all, a prince of the current dynasty. How could they dare not take you seriously?”

"Therefore, Your Highness's whereabouts will inevitably be known to many people."

Tu Chengyu said, "In that case, it will be more difficult for me to find out who leaked my whereabouts?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Lin Ruhai asked, "Does Your Highness suspect that today's horse-ramming incident was meticulously orchestrated?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I do have such suspicions."

If others had heard Tu Chengyu's suspicions, they might have asked why, but Lin Ruhai said:

“Your Highness, if someone else had offended you, I would have suspected that someone had arranged it. But the person who offended you today, based on my understanding of him, would certainly not have done such a thing.”

Seeing Lin Ruhai's certainty, Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "Is there anything special about this person?"

Lin Ruhai said, "He is nothing special, but given the relationship between his family and me, he would never deliberately offend the prince."

Tu Chengyu said, "He might not have deliberately offended me, but what if he was also part of someone else's scheme?"

As far as Lin Ruhai knew, the sons of salt merchants and gentry in Yangzhou often rode their horses through the streets, and news of them hitting people on horseback was frequently heard.

Lin Ruhai believed that this horse-ramming incident was yet another instance of these arrogant and reckless teenagers behaving recklessly.

Therefore, he really didn't know why Tu Chengyu was so sure that today's horse collision was arranged by someone else.

He asked, "Why does Your Highness insist on this view?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I hadn't thought of it that way at first, but at that time, I saw one of the three people on horseback laughing triumphantly when the accident happened."

Then, Tu Chengyu carefully recounted to Lin Ruhai the incident of that person secretly laughing, and also shared his analysis with him.

After listening to Tu Chengyu's analysis, Lin Ruhai also felt that something was amiss.

Seeing Lin Ruhai's thoughtful expression, Tu Chengyu asked, "Lord Lin, do you know this young man who's smirking?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "Although I have never had any dealings with him, I do know this person."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Tell me about his situation."

Lin Ruhai said, "This person himself doesn't have any real status; it's just that his maternal grandfather's family is related to the Grand Secretary of the State Council. So, he and his father used this connection to do business all over the southeast region."

Tu Chengyu asked in surprise, "They're doing business under the Grand Secretary's name, isn't anyone going to stop them?"

Lin Ruhai shook his head and said, "Who can guarantee that the Prime Minister doesn't know about this father and son's affair? So no one dares to risk offending the Prime Minister by going to expose them."

Lin Ruhai spoke cryptically, but Tu Chengyu could tell that the Grand Secretary must know about this matter, or at least, his family must know.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked, "This man was hanging out with the sons of salt merchants today. Could they also be involved in the salt trade?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "Since last year, this father and son have indeed set their sights on the salt merchants' business and wanted to get involved."

"For the past year, they have been harassing various salt merchants in Yangzhou, trying to get some business from them."

In Tu Chengyu's memory, Yangzhou salt merchants were never benevolent people.

Unexpectedly, they are now being blocked at their door by an outsider demanding business, and have been blocked for a year without making any counterattack. It seems that this salt merchant is just a paper tiger.

Tu Chengyu asked again, "They've been entangled for a year, have they managed to secure the salt merchants' business?"

Lin Ruhai said, "The number of salt merchants in Yangzhou has been fixed since the reign of Emperor Taizu. Over the years, there have always been only twelve large and small salt merchants. There has never been an extra one or a missing one."

Tu Chengyu was unaware that Yangzhou salt merchants had such a rule. He asked, "Has it always been the same twelve families since the time of Emperor Taizu?"

Lin Ruhai said, "That's not true. There have been spendthrift sons and those who violated the law among the salt merchants. As a result, many of them have been replaced. According to my understanding, the twelve Yangzhou salt merchants have been replaced several times since the founding of the country."

Tu Chengyu asked, "How did they replace them?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "The salt administration is of great importance. Unless something major happens, the imperial court generally will not arbitrarily replace salt merchants."

"However, there are always exceptions. If one of these twelve salt merchants suddenly runs into trouble and is unable to continue its salt business, that is, if one of them suddenly runs into trouble and is unable to continue its salt business."

"The court can then select a suitable merchant from among the existing ones to replace this one."

Upon hearing Lin Ruhai's words, Tu Chengyu suddenly realized a certain possibility.

(End of this chapter)