The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 149 Why Travel Thousands of Miles to Become an Official?
Lu Chudan, the magistrate of Donghu County in Zhenjiang Prefecture, was in his forties, but he was still just getting by in this lowly position.

For others, spending more than ten years in officialdom might be considered a setback in their career.

However, Lü Chudan felt that this was quite good, especially after being transferred from Guizhou to Zhenjiang two years ago, which made him even more satisfied.

What he wanted most was to work in a place like Zhenjiang until the day he retired and returned to his hometown, even if there was no hope of promotion.

But he felt that such a simple and unassuming wish was difficult to fulfill.

What caused such a drastic change in his mindset was the arson incident that occurred under his jurisdiction.

If it were an ordinary arson case, with his years of experience in officialdom, he could easily have gotten away with it.

Whether he acts as an upright official to investigate cases or as a muddle-headed official to help others cover up their crimes, he can do it all with ease.

However, this arson case prevented him from using these methods.

Since the arson incident, rumors have circulated that the three people who were burned to death in the inn were likely imperial envoys sent by the court.

This rumor terrified Lü Chudan.

The imperial envoy died under his jurisdiction, so even if he, the county magistrate, had done nothing wrong, he would not have a good end either.

Therefore, after the arson incident, Lü Chudan lived in constant fear, always worried that the imperial court would send someone to arrest him.

However, after living in fear for a while, he discovered that the imperial court had not sent anyone to inquire about the matter.

Even Prince Su, who was traveling in Yangzhou across the river, did not make any comment on this.

This situation led Lü Chudan to believe that the rumor of the imperial envoy being burned to death was false.

Then, on the advice of his advisor and others, he closed the arson case.

Because there was no plaintiff, and the innkeeper, the aggrieved party, did not pursue the matter, the case was adjudicated and concluded very quickly.

He classified the entire case as an accidental fire, caused by an unintentional fire at night.

At the same time, the three outsiders who died in the fire were ruled to have died accidentally.

After the case was concluded, the heavy weight that had been pressing on his heart for some time was finally lifted.

He gradually returned to his previous life, and even had the mood to hold a literary gathering for his son.

Although Lü Chudan held an official position throughout his life, there was nothing for him to be proud of.

There is only one thing he is most proud of, and that is his eldest son, Lü Shize.

His son was intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, and also very talented in his studies.

He just turned eighteen this year and already has the title of Juren. If it weren't for the concern that he was too young to take the imperial examination, he would have let his son try it this year.

With such a talented son, Lü Chudan naturally took great care of him.

Therefore, after he took office in Zhenjiang, he tried every means to hire a famous teacher for his son.

He also frequently organized literary gatherings, giving his son the opportunity to exchange knowledge with talented scholars from Jiangnan and make friends among scholars.

The literary gathering held yesterday also had this purpose.

What pleased him most was that at yesterday's literary gathering, he finally managed to invite Hu Guangjin, a renowned scholar from Jiangnan.

Although Hu Guangjin lost the top spot in this special imperial examination due to some reasons that cannot be mentioned, he ended up being the last in the palace examination.

However, this still could not stop Hu Guangjin's reputation for talent in Jiangnan, nor could it stop the sycophancy among scholars.

Therefore, Lü Chudan was honored to have Hu Guangjin invited to his son's literary gathering.

As the saying goes, excessive joy can lead to sorrow.

While Lü Chudan was still immersed in the fact that Hu Guangjin had brought a large number of talented men from Jiangnan to support his son yesterday, he was fantasizing that his son could make it into the Jiangnan scholarly circles.

Just as he was about to rise to prominence, the servants in the county government shattered his beautiful illusions.

When he heard that Prince Su, who was staying across the river and causing trouble for the Yangzhou salt merchants, had appeared at the dock outside the county town of Donghuxia.

Lu Chudan was so shocked that she didn't know how to react on the spot.

He didn't know whether the Prince of Su had come to his territory for some other business or to cause him trouble.

At that moment, he couldn't help but think of the arson case at the inn on the dock.

At the same time, I naturally thought of that rumor.

This made him experience fear and anxiety once again.

Although he was terrified, Prince Su had already arrived in his territory.

As the county magistrate, he had no choice but to step in and deal with the situation.

With these thoughts in mind, Lü Chudan hurriedly arrived at the dock outside the city.

Upon arriving at the dock, the first thing he saw was a crowd surrounded by soldiers wielding steel knives.

This scene alone made Lü Chudan realize that Prince Su's visit was ill-intentioned, which made his heart jump.

However, after he saw the location of Prince Su, he felt that what he had just seen was nothing compared to what he had just witnessed.

Because when he followed the servant's directions, he saw that Prince Su was standing with a stern face at the site of the arson.

He felt his heart almost stop.

At this point, Lü Chudan was quite certain that Prince Su had come specifically for the arson case.

Thinking of this, Lü Chudan couldn't help but feel a deep sadness.

He felt incredibly unlucky. He had finally been transferred from the frontier to the south of the Yangtze River, and before he could even enjoy his newfound wealth, this had to happen.

At the same time, he also harbored some resentment towards Prince Su in front of him.

They complained that since Prince Su wanted to investigate the arson case, why didn't he come sooner?

If the case had come before his trial, he, as the county magistrate, would at most have been charged with lax governance, and at worst, he would have lost his post and gone home.

But now, he has completed the trial of the arson case and ruled the deaths of the three suspected imperial envoys as accidental.

Then Prince Su pressed for details about the cause of death of the three men.

Did the county magistrate promptly admit his mistake and acknowledge that he had misjudged the case?

He stubbornly refused to admit it and confronted Prince Su head-on.

Lü Chudan did not want to see either of these outcomes.

While Lü Chudan was requesting an audience with Prince Su, he was also lost in thought.

Tu Chengyu was also observing Lü Chudan from the other side.

"Is he Lü Chudan?" Tu Chengyu asked Yang Chun, pointing at Lü Chudan.

Yang Chun replied, "This man is none other than Lü Chudan, the magistrate of Donghu County."

Tu Chengyu asked again: "So you're saying he tried the arson case as an accidental fire and our people as having died in an accident?"

"Your Highness, it is indeed this person." Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu stared intently at Lü Chudan for a few moments before asking:

"Have you found out if there was anything fishy about Lü Chudan's interrogation of the arson case?"

Yang Chun replied, "Your Highness, I have not found anything suspicious, but there are indeed some very strange things."

Tu Chengyu: "What's strange about it?"

Yang Chun: "That's right. At first, Lü Chudan didn't want to rush to investigate the case and kept trying to find ways to postpone it. But later, for some reason, he changed his attitude and not only took the initiative to try the arson case, but also quickly finished the trial and made a judgment."

If that's the case, then this matter is indeed somewhat strange.

At this point, Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and meet this Magistrate Hu first."

After saying this, he had his men carry Mu Ming, who had collapsed to the ground crying, back onto the ship, while he himself took Yang Chun to see Lü Chudan.

Upon seeing Prince Su approaching, Lü Chudan naturally bowed and greeted him.

"Your humble servant, Lü Chudan, the magistrate of Donghu County, pays his respects to Your Highness. Your Highness has arrived late in welcoming me; I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Looking at the weathered-looking magistrate, Tu Chengyu knew he wasn't a good person, but until he had evidence of his wrongdoing, he still had to treat him politely.

"Magistrate Lü, you needn't be so polite."

After performing the ceremony, Lü Chudan immediately asked:
"Your Highness, have you come here on business? Would you like me to arrange your food and lodging?"

Lu Chudan's question was both a routine greeting and a test of Tu Chengyu's purpose in coming here.

Faced with his probing, Tu Chengyu said, "I do have important business to attend to, but I need not trouble Magistrate Lü with matters of food and lodging."

Lü Chudan didn't seem too bothered by Tu Chengyu's rejection.

However, he continued to probe: "Your Highness has come to Donghu on business. I wonder if there is anything I can do to help Your Highness?"

Tu Chengyu said meaningfully, "I have come to Donghu with a few cases that I wish to investigate. I wonder if Magistrate Lü can be of any help?"

Upon hearing that Prince Su had indeed come to investigate the case, Lü Chudan was naturally terrified and could barely stand.

However, having served as an official for so many years, he still retains a certain degree of self-control.

At the crucial moment, he still stood firm and answered Tu Chengyu's question:
"Your Highness, please feel free to give any instructions you may have for me."

Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and figured that the men who went to capture Manager Wu should have already gone quite far by now.

Even if someone wanted to report it now, it would be too late.

So he said to Lü Chudan, "Magistrate Lü, do you know anything about Wu Youwei, the merchant in this county?"

Wu Youwei is the name of the shopkeeper, and he happens to be from Donghu, Zhenjiang, which is quite a coincidence.

Lü Chudan, unsure why Prince Su had suddenly brought up Wu Youwei, answered rather cautiously:

"Wu Youwei is a well-known silk merchant in Donghu. I heard that he has business dealings with major merchants in Jiangnan. However, I am usually busy with government affairs and do not have much contact with him."

As soon as Lü Chudan opened her mouth, she said that she was not familiar with Wu Youwei, completely denying any connection between them.

In this way, no matter what Tu Chengyu says next, it won't easily implicate him.

As expected of a seasoned veteran of officialdom, he always puts himself in an invincible position first in everything he does.

Tu Chengyu was not surprised by Lü Chudan's performance.

He brought up Wu Youwei in front of Lü Chudan, partly to lull Lü Chudan into a false sense of security.

Make him think he's there for Wu Youwei, so that when the arson case is interrogated, you can catch him off guard.

Secondly, Tu Chengyu also wanted to use this opportunity to test whether there was any relationship between Lü Chudan and Wu Youwei.

After all, one of them was the magistrate of Donghu County, and the other was the biggest merchant in Donghu. It wouldn't be surprising if they colluded together.

However, when Lü Chudan said that he was not familiar with Wu Youwei, it was obviously not very convincing.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu planned to test the waters further.

He said, "Since Magistrate Lü and Wu Youwei are not familiar with each other, I have something I would like you to do."

Hearing that Prince Su had actually asked him to do something, Lü Chudan felt inexplicably happy. After all, if he was asked to do something, it meant that Prince Su wasn't after him.

So he quickly bowed and said, "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "I want you to send someone to seal up all of Wu Youwei's shops in the county town."

Upon hearing that he was to do this, Lü Chudan was once again speechless with surprise.

He looked up at Tu Chengyu in disbelief and stammered, "Your Highness, why is this?"

Tu Chengyu frowned, glared at him, and said, "You don't want to do anything for me?"

Lu Chudan was startled by Tu Chengyu's appearance and quickly explained, "Your Highness, how could I not want to help you? It's just that Wu Youwei is a well-known merchant in this county and has quite an influence in Jiangnan. If Your Highness were to rashly shut down his shops, it might cause controversy."

Tu Chengyu snorted coldly: "So what if he's just a small-time merchant? Even if he has a huge influence, does he think he'll dare to cause me trouble if I close his shop?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Chudan realized that, given Tu Chengyu's status as a prince, he indeed didn't need to care about what a mere merchant might do.

Thinking of this, he quickly replied, "Even if Wu Youwei had the greatest courage, he wouldn't dare to cause trouble for the Prince."

Tu Chengyu continued with a stern face, "Since that's the case, why don't you hurry up and send someone to do it?"

Lu Chudan replied, "Your Highness, please calm down. I will go and arrange the men immediately."

After saying that, he turned and hurriedly left.

After he left, Tu Chengyu said to Yang Chun, "Have Dai's people follow him and see if Lü Chudan will send someone to inform Wu Youwei."

Yang Chun said, "Your Highness, rest assured, Chief Steward Dai's men have long been waiting in secret as you instructed."

Hearing that everything was ready, Tu Chengyu stopped asking questions.

Just then, one of the guards responsible for besieging the dock ran over to report to Tu Chengyu.

"Your Highness, based on the clues provided by Lord Yang, our subordinates have found the person."

Upon hearing that the person had been found, Tu Chengyu immediately perked up.

The reason they surrounded everyone on the dock as soon as they arrived was because...

It wasn't that Tu Chengyu was bored or wanted to show off.

He did this, firstly, to prevent anyone from tipping him off.

The second reason was to find someone.

Since the arson occurred near the dock, people who regularly do business or work in the area are likely to be eyewitnesses.

And the innkeeper, whose inn was burned to the ground, was able to remain silent and endure it all; he must have known something about it.

So the reason for besieging the docks this time is to find these people.

(End of this chapter)