The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 16 Prince Su's Clever Words Debunk the Imperial Censor

Xie Xishu thanked the emperor and turned to Chen Chongzhi and Jia Zheng, saying, "I am here on imperial orders to ask you questions. I hope you two will answer seriously and not try to deceive me."

These two men were summoned to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in a daze, having no idea what had happened. Now, hearing the Imperial Censor questioning them by imperial decree, they naturally dared not be negligent and hurriedly bowed and answered.

"dare not"

Seeing that the two cooperated obediently, Xie Xishu asked, "Do you two know Lu Feiwu, the Imperial Censor who patrols the city?"

The two exchanged a furtive glance and answered in unison, "We know each other."

Xie Xishu continued, "Did Lu Feiwu contact either of you three days ago?"

The two of them said in unison, "Yes!"

Xie Xishu asked again, "What did Imperial Censor Lu want to see you about? Did he mention anything about the Crown Prince in his conversation?"

Faced with this obviously absurd question, both men wisely remained silent. One, though somewhat rigid and pedantic, was still the head of the Duke's household; the other was a dissolute young master, a wealthy idler who had also spent many years mingling in the capital. They had a certain level of discernment.

The two remained silent, but their eyes darted around as if searching for someone to speak on their behalf. Chen Chongzhi, in particular, had a clear target in mind; once he spotted Tu Chengyu in the crowd, his eyes lit up.

Xie Xishu couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Lord Jia, you speak first."

After stammering for a while, Jia Zheng finally said, "Imperial Censor Lu came to see me, firstly to catch up with old friends, and secondly to ask me for a small favor."

Xie Xishu asked, "What does he want you to do for him?"

Jia Zheng said, "Censor Lu said that he had offended..."

At this point, Jia Zheng dared not continue, and secretly glanced at the emperor on the throne.

Seeing this, the emperor frowned and said, "Speak freely, and I will pardon you."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng dared to continue, "Censor Lu said that he had offended the Crown Prince and wanted to find someone to introduce him so that he could personally meet with the Crown Prince to apologize. When I heard this, I said that the Crown Prince is the heir apparent and has a broad mind. He would not hold such a trivial matter against me. I told Censor Lu not to worry. Later, Censor Lu left, and I know nothing about what happened after that."

With just a few words, Jia Zheng completely absolved himself of any responsibility. Who would call him pedantic? He's quite shrewd, isn't he?

After listening to Jia Zheng's words, Xie Xishu turned to Chen Chongzhi and asked, "Did Imperial Censor Lu say the same thing when he came to you?"

Chen Chongzhi said, "That's not the case. When Censor Lu came to me, he said that there were people in the capital who were plotting to seize the position of Crown Prince and wanted me to step forward and do my part for the Crown Prince. But I know that the position of Crown Prince is a matter of course, and there is the Emperor above and the ministers below. There is no need for me to do anything, so I refused Censor Lu."

After listening, Xie Xishu said, "But as far as I know, you did not refuse Imperial Censor Lu, but agreed to his request and immediately went to Prince An's residence to request an audience with the Crown Prince."

Chen Chongzhi, presumably having been instructed beforehand, shook his head firmly upon hearing this and said, "That's not the case. My visit to Prince An's residence was a family visit. As everyone knows, I am Prince Su's maternal uncle. When I went to Prince An's residence that day, I was visiting Prince Su and did not discuss anything else."

After listening, Xie Xishu turned to Tu Chengyu and asked, "Your Highness Prince Su, is this true?"

Tu Chengyu stepped forward and calmly replied, "That is indeed the case. On that day, the Prince An's mansion was besieged by the rebel army. Lord Chen came to visit because he was worried about the safety of the Prince An's mansion. During the visit, no other matters were discussed."

Xie Xishu said, "Your Highness Prince Su, this matter involves the Crown Prince's reputation, so you must not speak recklessly."

"presumptuous"

Tu Chengyu had long disliked this damned Censor-in-Chief, and now seeing him pestering him like this, he was furious.

Xie Xishu remained unmoved and said expressionlessly, "In my possession, I have a confession from Lord Chen's personal servant. The confession states that Lord Chen did indeed personally agree to Censor Lu's request to see the Crown Prince, and instructed Censor Lu to contact officials first. Once Lord Chen obtains the token from the Crown Prince, he can then launch a joint petition to protect the Crown Prince's position."

After speaking, Xie Xishu took out another confession from his wide sleeves, handed it to the eunuch, and presented it to the emperor.

Seeing Xie Xishu's calm demeanor, Tu Chengyu felt that this guy really came prepared, and maybe he even had other testimonies hidden in his sleeve.

At the same time, Tu Chengyu was speechless about his second uncle. His personal servant had been turned by others and dared to get involved in the struggle for the crown prince's position. He didn't know how he was going to die.

However, Tu Chengyu could not abandon his second uncle at this moment, since the two of them were now bound together.

After reading the confession, the emperor's expression darkened further. He ordered Xia Shouzhong to send someone to bring Lu Feiwu's personal attendant and Chen Chongzhi's servant to him for further questioning.

Then the emperor ordered the others to continue. Tu Chengyu glared at his second uncle, who was flustered and eager to explain.

He spoke first, saying, "How ridiculous! What credibility can the testimony of a traitorous servant have? I said that Lord Chen came to the Prince An's residence simply to visit me. I wonder if Lord Xie believes my words or those of a servant?" Xie Xishu feigned fear and said, "This humble subject dares not question what Prince Su said, but this humble subject has another testimony, given by a current official who was also present at the time. His words are exactly the same as those given by Lord Chen's servant. The servant's words are unreliable, but perhaps some of the officials in the court can be trusted."

Tu Chengyu watched Xie Xishu pull out another memorial from his sleeve, speechless with anger. He cursed inwardly, "You old bastard, are you Doraemon reincarnated or do you have a portable space? How can you hide so many things in just one sleeve?"

At the same time, he wished he could rush up and give his good-for-nothing second uncle a good beating. There were two people looking for him, but he told him there was only one, which put him in a passive position now.

It was as if Xie Xishu had casually dug a pit, and he had willingly jumped into it.

But what can we do now? The words have already been spoken; can we go back on our word on the spot? We must find a way to smooth things over.

Seeing that the emperor had finished reading the third confession, Tu Chengyu still hadn't come up with a good solution. In desperation, he could only resort to delaying tactics, bowing to the emperor and saying, "Father, may I see this confession?"

The emperor was quite tolerant of his son. He waved his hand and ordered the eunuch next to him to take all the testimonies off the imperial table for Tu Chengyu to see.

As he stared at the contents of the confession, Tu Chengyu's mind raced, constantly searching for a solution.

Seeing Tu Chengyu's demeanor, Xie Xishu didn't urge him on, but stood there waiting with an air of confidence.

The officials in the hall also looked curiously at the emperor's fifth son, now Prince Su.

Previously, because Prince An deliberately kept a low profile, the civil and military officials, as well as the princes and nobles, did not pay much attention to Prince An's mansion, and naturally did not know much about Prince An's sons.

Aside from the former heir apparent, the current Crown Prince Tu Chengying, because he is the heir apparent of Prince An, frequently appears at various royal ceremonies, which is why the officials have some impression of him.

Of the remaining sons of Prince An, few are remembered. In particular, Prince An had the most offspring in the history of the royal family, making it even more difficult for outsiders to distinguish between Tu Chengyu and his brothers.

Now, the fifth son of the new emperor, Prince Su, has become the second emperor's son that all the officials remember, besides the crown prince.

Watching the ten-year-old Prince Su, facing the cunning old bureaucrat, answer questions with eloquence, clarity of thought, and a commanding presence, one could see his remarkable demeanor.

This led many officials to have unfounded expectations for Prince Su, wondering how this young boy would deal with the trap set by the old fox.

Tu Chengyu was unaware of what the officials were thinking. After racking his brains and reading through all the testimonies, he finally found a breakthrough between the lines.
He instructed the eunuch to return the confession to the imperial table, then looked up at Xie Xishu and said, “Lord Xie, I have already read through the confession. Although it is written with great certainty and corroborates each other, as if it were certain that my uncle, Lord Chen, had indeed agreed to ask the Crown Prince for the token, in my opinion, this confession does not prove that point.”

Xie Xishu said, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness Prince Su."

Tu Chengyu said, "I would not presume to offer guidance. I am but a mere child, only able to see the problems that a child can discover. How dare I presume to offer guidance to Lord Xie?"

These words immediately brought a touch of joy to the otherwise solemn court. Many people smiled, and Shen Weiyan almost burst out laughing.

Faced with Tu Chengyu's sarcasm, Xie Xishu remained calm and expressionless, waiting for Tu Chengyu to continue.

Seeing that the old man was unmoved by reason, Tu Chengyu continued, "According to the confession, Censor Lu and Lord Wang jointly visited Lord Chen, hoping to persuade him to pay respects to the Crown Prince. After Lord Chen agreed in court, the two left together and did not accompany Lord Chen to Prince An's residence. Lord Xie, am I wrong in what I said?"

Xie Xishu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is wise, and what you say is correct."

Tu Chengyu said, "As far as I know, when Lord Chen went to Prince An's residence, he only met with me, and when he met me, he did not mention what Lord Xie said. Since that's the case, perhaps there was some change in the situation. Could it be that Lord Chen was annoyed by Lord Lu and Lord Wang's entanglement, so he pretended to agree to what they said, but in reality did not help them? Lord Chen, I wonder if my guess is correct?"

The second uncle was at a loss as to how to deal with the predicament he was facing, but when he heard Tu Chengyu's blatant hint, he naturally knew how to answer.

He said, "His Highness Prince Su's guess was absolutely correct. I did pretend to agree to their request at the time, but I did not actually do anything."

At this moment, Tu Chengyu turned to Xie Xishu and said, "Lord Xie, are you satisfied with Lord Chen's answer? If not, you can now produce the confessions of the servants of the Prince An's mansion to prove that both the Prince and Lord Chen are lying."

Xie Xishu said in a flustered manner, "Your Highness Prince Su is joking. How could I dare to interrogate the servants of Prince An's residence?"

Tu Chengyu said, "If that's the case, then it means His Highness the Crown Prince knew nothing about this matter, and it was all just Imperial Censor Lu's wild imagination. Does Lord Xie agree?"

Xie Xishu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I also hope that this matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince, but I have another testimony to present to Your Majesty."

"Sir, that's enough."

A rather authoritative voice rang out, and an unexpected person stepped forward.

(End of this chapter)