The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 137 Lin's Father in Danger, Daiyu Sheds Tears
Tu Chengyu had many wild thoughts about Xue Xu's illness.

And from this, he thought of some things that made him feel terrified when he thought about them.

That is, whether Xue Xu was poisoned by someone or pretended to be poisoned himself.

All of this clearly demonstrates that salt merchants would become extremely ruthless when faced with the erosion of their interests.

Moreover, Tu Chengyu also thought that they would even kill Xue Xu, who hadn't done anything yet.

So how will they react to Lu Yinghui, who betrayed them, and Lin Ruhai, who has been targeting the salt merchants?

If Tu Chengyu's guess is correct, they will only become more insane.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu quickly called out towards the door:
"Who's standing outside? Come in for a moment."

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, the study door was pushed open, and Xiao Xuanzi, Xiao Xing'er, and Lao Yao walked in together.

Upon seeing the three of them enter together, Tu Chengyu asked directly:
Does anyone know whether Lord Lin and Mr. Quan went to the Lu residence?

As the head eunuch in charge of Tu Chengyu, Xiao Xuanzi usually pays close attention to many things around Tu Chengyu.

He pays particular attention to those he is close to, such as Lin Ruhai and Quan Wenwei.

Therefore, Xiao Xuanzi naturally knew about this issue as well.

He replied, "Your Highness, Lord Lin and Mr. Quan have already left."

Tu Chengyu: "How many guards did they take with them when they left?"

Xiao Xuanzi: "Lord Lin only brought four servants, and Mr. Quan brought four guards."

Tu Chengyu frowned and said, "Why did you only bring such a small number of hands?"

Xiao Xuanzi: "Your Highness, before Lord Lin left, General Su wanted to send more guards, but Lord Lin said that the Lu family is now all from the Salt Administration and there will be no danger, so he didn't send many people."

It turned out that Lin Ruhai himself had requested it. Having dealt with these salt merchants for so many years, Lin Ruhai must have been well aware of their character.

Since he said that, there's nothing to worry about.

However, out of caution, Tu Chengyu still instructed Xiao Xuanzi:
"Tell Su Xuanbao to send some guards to the Lu family to protect Lord Lin and Mr. Quan."

Having given this instruction, Tu Chengyu thought there was nothing else to do today, and he could simply wait quietly for the outcome of Lin Ruhai and Lu Yinghui's meeting.

But things didn't go as planned; today was an eventful day.

The guards that Su Xuanbao had dispatched had not yet left the Lin residence.

A man covered in blood ran to the Lin residence.

Upon seeing this person, the gatekeeper said only a few words before leading him directly towards Tu Chengyu.

Upon arriving outside Tu Chengyu's study, Xiao Xuanzi questioned the man for a few minutes, then ordered Lao Yao to search him, while he himself went to the study to report.

"Your Highness, I have something important to report."

"Come in."

Xiao Xuanzi bowed as he entered and said, "Your Highness, one of Lord Lin's servants has returned, covered in blood, and says he has something to ask of you."

Lin Ruhai returned covered in blood.

These two pieces of information alone are enough to make Tu Chengyu's position untenable.

He asked, "Did he say what happened?"

Xiao Xuanzi: "He only said he wanted to report to the prince in person."

Without hesitation, Tu Chengyu said, "Bring them in."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuanzi stood at the door and waved, and then saw Lao Yao bring in a person covered in blood.

Although Tu Chengyu had faced blood many times before, the overwhelming smell of blood still made him unconsciously hold his breath.

After a while, once he had gotten used to the smell of blood, he finally asked:
"What happened to Lord Lin?"

A servant from the Lin family reported, "Your Highness, my master arrived at the Lu residence and had just met Lu Yinghui when he was attacked by a group of unidentified people."

Tu Chengyu asked anxiously, "Are Lord Lin and Mr. Quan injured?"

The servant said, "Your Highness, rest assured, neither my master nor Mr. Quan is injured."

Hearing that the two were unharmed, Tu Chengyu's worries were greatly relieved, and he said:

"It's good that you're not injured. So, what is the purpose of Lord Lin sending you back to me?"

The servant replied, "Your Highness, my master instructed me to report that during the attack, we captured several prisoners alive. My master wishes to request that Your Highness send men to bring these prisoners back."

When Tu Chengyu saw the servant lying there covered in blood, he thought something terrible had happened.

Now that he says he's captured someone alive and asked me to send someone to bring them back, it makes the situation seem less serious.

Curious, Tu Chengyu asked, "How did you get covered in blood?"

Upon hearing this, the servant looked at the blood on his body and said with some pride, "Your Highness, this is all the enemy's blood."

The enemy's blood had stained his entire body, but he appeared to be unharmed.

Tu Chengyu couldn't help but wonder if the people who attacked Lin Ruhai were few in number and all weaklings.

He asked, "How many enemies have come?" The servant replied, "There are quite a few, but they are mostly ordinary people. Few of them are a match for the weak."

Seeing the servant's smug look, Tu Chengyu said, "Since you're no match for me, why did you make yourself look so pathetic?"

The servant said, "Although they are all ordinary people, they fight like they don't care about their lives. I was just attacked by a dying guy who was desperate and that's why I got covered in blood."

His words confused Tu Chengyu again. How could the attacker be an ordinary person who didn't care about their life?

If salt merchants wanted to assassinate Lin Ruhai or Lu Yinghui, they certainly wouldn't send someone like that.

But if they weren't salt merchants, who would cause trouble when Lin Ruhai met Lu Yinghui?
Could there be others trying to exploit the conflict between their side and the salt merchants to cause trouble?

At the same time, Tu Chengyu had another question: "Since they are all ordinary people, how did they get through layers of guards and enter the Lu family?"

The servant replied, "Your Highness, it's because the yamen runners besieging the Lu family had an enemy insider, which allowed them to easily enter the Lu family compound."

After saying this, he didn't wait for Tu Chengyu to ask another question, and continued, "But Your Highness, rest assured, my master has already found the mole and captured him."

Tu Chengyu hadn't expected Lin Ruhai to act so quickly. So he said, "Now that the person has been captured, I will send men to take him away."

Just as Tu Chengyu was about to send Lao Yao down with his servants to arrange for guards to go to the Lu residence, a series of noisy sounds came from outside the study.

Tu Chengyu frowned and glanced at Xiao Xuanzi. Xiao Xuanzi immediately understood and took two steps back to look towards the door.

After he saw the situation clearly, he immediately reported: "Your Highness, it is Miss Lin outside. She seems to be in a great hurry."

Why is Lin Daiyu here at this time?

The question had barely crossed his mind when Tu Chengyu understood what was going on.

It must have been a servant of the Lin family who saw Lin Ruhai's attendant covered in blood running home alone. Thinking that something had happened to Lin Ruhai, they ran to report to Lin Daiyu, which is why Lin Daiyu rushed here to find out what was going on.

Having figured this out, Tu Chengyu got up and walked outside, waving to the others inside to follow.

As Tu Chengyu stepped out of the study, he saw Daiyu standing at the door with Tanchun and Xueyan, her eyes brimming with tears, looking worried.

The commotion caused by Tu Chengyu and the others leaving naturally attracted Daiyu's attention.

She looked up and first saw Tu Chengyu in front of her, then turned her gaze to the servant covered in blood behind Tu Chengyu.

Seeing the servant's appearance clearly, she realized that the servant's report was indeed correct; something must have happened to her father.

Thinking of this, the tears that had been welling up in Daiyu's eyes suddenly streamed down her face, and she seemed unsteady on her feet.

Fortunately, Tan Chun and Xue Yan had been watching Daiyu closely and immediately helped her up.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu quickly said, "Lord Lin is alright, you don't need to worry."

The bloodied servant quickly said, "Miss, Master is alright, Master is perfectly fine."

However, Lin Daiyu seemed to be deaf to the outside world at this moment, ignoring what Tu Chengyu and the other person were saying.

Seeing this, Tan Chun could only lean close to her ear and say, "Sister Lin, don't worry, Uncle is fine."

Tan Chun called out several times before Daiyu seemed to hear her.

She forced herself to stand up straight and asked the servant, her voice choked with sobs, "Is Master really alright?"

The servant said very seriously, "Miss, don't worry, Master is really fine, not even a hair on his head is hurt."

To increase credibility, the servant even rolled up his sleeves, turned around, and continued:
"Miss, look, I'm not injured at all, how could I have hurt the master?"

Perhaps it was the servant's words that had an effect, and Lin Daiyu gradually calmed down.

Then she asked, "Since the master wasn't injured, why doesn't he go home?"

This question concerned what Lin Ruhai was going to do today, so the servant glanced at Tu Chengyu, thought for a moment, and said:
"Miss, the master has official business to discuss today. He will return after the business is finished."

Upon hearing that her father had gone to handle official business, Daiyu knew she could no longer press him for answers.

Although she was still worried about her father's safety, Daiyu prepared to leave.

Because she was worried about her father's safety, Daiyu did not greet Tu Chengyu when she saw him.

Tu Chengyu didn't react to this at all, but Daiyu herself felt very embarrassed.

She bowed again and said, "I apologize for disturbing Your Highness's conversation."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities, and there's nothing to blame you for. You're just worried about Lord Lin."

After saying goodbye to Tu Chengyu, Daiyu and the other two left.

Watching Lin Daiyu's departing figure, Tu Chengyu said to Lao Yao:

"Quickly send someone to help Lord Lin, and remember to send more people over."

After giving instructions to Lao Yao, Tu Chengyu then said to Xiao Xuanzi:

"Send someone to the dock now and have Quan Xu transfer some of the guards from the ship to the Lin residence."

Judging from all the signs today, the salt merchants will certainly not surrender easily.

Tu Chengyu had no way of knowing what they would do, so he could only prepare in advance and take precautions.

(End of this chapter)