The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 165 First Meeting with Xue Baochai at the Lin Residence

He Lizhang had just sensed that Prince Su's attitude towards him had softened, but now he suddenly seemed ready to turn on him again.

This left him momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

He couldn't help but wonder, are all the royal descendants like this? Even an eleven-year-old child can change his expression so easily.

Although this question was difficult for He Lizhang to answer, he didn't hesitate much and spoke directly.

“Your Highness, the grudges between the salt workers and the imperial court are matters from our ancestors. Although I have suffered a lot because of this, I also know that if we cling to these grudges and hatreds, there will be no result.”

"Therefore, I harbor no hatred for the imperial court. However, my father died in the salt fields, and as his son, I have no desire to serve as an official."

Although he said he harbored no hatred, he clearly stated his reasons for not wanting to be an official, which was quite upright and honest.

A person who can give up fame and fortune because of some inner conflict, and who is also grateful for kindness, is more trustworthy than those who talk a lot about benevolence and morality and sing high-sounding tunes.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu felt that if he could get this person to help him, he would definitely be someone worth entrusting his affairs to.

However, since he had already made it clear back then that he didn't want to be an official anymore, Tu Chengyu couldn't force him to do anything.

Tu Chengyu had not yet figured out a way to persuade He Lizhang to help him, but Quan Wenwei, who was standing next to him, saw through Tu Chengyu's thoughts.

While Tu Chengyu remained silent, he suddenly said, "Prefect He, since you said you lived in the salt fields when you were a child and have served as an official in Jiangnan for many years, you must be very familiar with the situation of the salt fields in Jianghuai?"

Quan Wenwei suddenly interrupted and asked this question. Although Tu Chengyu did not know what he was going to do, he did not stop him because he trusted Quan Wenwei. At the same time, he gestured for He Lizhang to answer the question.

He Lizhang didn't understand why the question was asked, but without thinking too much about it, he answered directly:
"Because of my background, I pay more attention to things at the salt fields and am quite familiar with them."

This answer did not surprise Quan Wenwei, so he immediately said to Tu Chengyu:

"Your Highness, haven't you always wanted to speak up for these salt workers and ask the Emperor to exempt them from their lowly status?"

Tu Chengyu nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, I do have that idea."

Tu Chengyu didn't say this on purpose to cooperate with Quan Wenwei; rather, he had indeed had this idea before and had even discussed it with Quan Wenwei.

However, he later learned that the salt workers had been personally banished to the lowest social class by the founding emperor, who also left an edict forbidding their descendants from releasing them.

Tu Chengyu then realized that resolving this matter would not be easy, so he temporarily put it aside and planned to report it to the Emperor after returning to the capital.

Tu Chengyu had no idea why Quan Wenwei had suddenly brought this up here.

Quan Wenwei continued, "You want to solve the problem of the salt workers, but you haven't been able to find a reliable person who understands them, so you have to put the matter aside for the time being. Isn't Prefect He just the person Your Highness is looking for?"

At this point, Tu Chengyu finally understood what Quan Wenwei wanted to do.

Quan Wenwei must have known that Tu Chengyu wanted to recruit He Lizhang under his command, but due to the reasons mentioned earlier, he failed to achieve his goal.

So Quan Wenwei came up with a plan: to bring up Tu Chengyu's desire to seek benefits for the salt workers.

This effectively gives Tu Chengyu another excuse to recruit He Lizhang.

At the same time, as an orphan of salt workers, He Lizhang still harbored some affection for them.

So when he heard that Tu Chengyu was trying to help the salt workers, but couldn't do so because he didn't have anyone who understood the situation at the salt fields, he was very upset.

He Lizhang will definitely be somewhat tempted.

Sure enough, when Tu Chengyu turned to look at He Lizhang, he saw that He Lizhang no longer had the same composure he had when he said he was resigning.

Tu Chengyu noticed his change and, seizing the opportunity, said:
"Prefect He is indeed the person I am looking for, but I don't know if he is willing to help me accomplish this task."

Compared to becoming an official, He Lizhang was clearly more interested in helping the salt workers.

However, he suppressed his excitement for the time being and slowly asked, "Is what Your Highness said true?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I have no reason to lie to you about this. Besides, although I hope you will help me, I don't need you. I won't do anything that would damage my status for you."

Tu Chengyu's words were very blunt, but He Lizhang found them even more reliable.

Therefore, he immediately said, "As long as Your Highness truly wants to help the salt workers, I will obey Your Highness's orders."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu said happily, "Then I will wait for you to resign and come to serve me."

The two of them settled the matter in just a few words.

Tu Chengyu didn't seem to feel anything, but He Lizhang felt a sense of absurdity.

Before this, they were rivals who used each other while also being wary of one another.

Because of his status as an orphan of salt workers, He Lizhang and Tu Chengyu were natural enemies.

In addition, his current status is that of an official of the imperial court, belonging to the emperor's faction.

Now, however, these barriers between the two have been eliminated in an instant, and they have become a teammate.

Moreover, He Lizhang only just realized that the matter he came to handle today did not seem to be completely finished.

He came to negotiate on behalf of the Grand Secretary, so how did he inexplicably become Prince Su's man?

So, how should this negotiation proceed?

This awkward question made He Lizhang think for a long time before he finally figured it out.

He forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, what should I do about the Grand Secretary's matter?"

His dual identity made He Lizhang less decisive in asking him questions compared to before.

Upon hearing his question, Tu Chengyu realized that the Prime Minister's question had indeed not yet been answered definitively.

However, now that He Lizhang was one of their own, Tu Chengyu felt there was no need to make things difficult for him, so he simply told him his decision.

"Out of respect for you, I can grant your request and temporarily refrain from releasing the information I have found. However, once I return to the capital, I will certainly report this information to the Emperor."

He Lizhang's purpose in coming was simply to request that Tu Chengyu keep it private.

Now that he heard Tu Chengyu's personal agreement, he was naturally happy for the Prime Minister, and said:

"On behalf of the Grand Secretary, I thank Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and continued, "Don't rush to thank me, I still have conditions to state."

Having confirmed his main objective, He Lizhang wasn't afraid of Tu Chengyu changing his mind, so he calmly stated:
"Your Highness, please speak."

Tu Chengyu said, "Although I can cover up the evidence for the Grand Secretary, I need you to give an explanation for the salt workers' rebellion and arson case."

Both of these incidents occurred because of Tu Chengyu, even though Tu Chengyu did not do them.

But if there's no result, it just ends like this.

Tu Chengyu not only has no way to explain to his dead subordinates, but he may also be looked down upon by others.

Others would think that you, a prince, were being treated like dirt by the officials and gentry of Jiangnan, and then you left without a word.

Tu Chengyu can't afford to lose face like this. Therefore, these two matters must have a clear outcome.

He Lizhang naturally understood Tu Chengyu's difficulties, and he said:

"Your Highness, please rest assured that the main culprits in these cases are all in Zhenjiang. As the prefect of Zhenjiang, I will certainly be able to give you a satisfactory answer."

In fact, the arson case and the salt workers' rebellion had been largely investigated after He Lizhang appeared.

It was only because it involved a power struggle between the chief minister and the deputy chief minister that Tu Chengyu found it somewhat difficult to handle.

However, if we temporarily ignore the infighting among the bigwigs of the Politburo, things are not so difficult.

If the chief minister could harden his heart and discard the criminals under his control, everything would be easy to accomplish.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu believed that He Lizhang could handle this matter well, and even do it to his satisfaction.

After the matter was settled, He Lizhang took his leave to conduct the final investigation and interrogation.

Of course, Tu Chengyu couldn't just so easily and completely trust He Lizhang.

After handing over the authority to investigate the case to He Lizhang, he did not immediately hand over all the criminals and evidence.

Instead, they sent Quan Wenwei with a team to accompany He Lizhang on the case.

This will not only help He Lizhang get things sorted out as quickly as possible, but also prevent him from playing tricks and destroying the evidence that he worked so hard to find.

After all these things were arranged, Tu Chengyu suddenly realized that he had nothing left to do.

Finally, I thought, rather than waiting here idly, why not go back to Yangzhou ahead of time?

At least Lin Daiyu is still in Yangzhou, and we can still drink the flower tea she brews every day. Why not?

With this in mind, Tu Chengyu entrusted all matters in Zhenjiang to Quan Wenwei, and left Quan Xu with a group of guards to help him.

Tu Chengyu himself returned to Yangzhou by boat that same day.

Since Tu Chengyu made the decision to return to Yangzhou at the last minute, he did not send anyone to inform Lin Ruhai in advance.

So when he arrived at the Yangzhou dock again, no one came to greet him.

However, Tu Chengyu was already familiar with the Lin family and didn't need anyone to greet or guide him.

After disembarking, he sent someone to inform the Lin family in advance, and at the same time, he had a carriage rented at the dock and then rode into the city in the carriage.

Because someone had been sent to inform him in advance, Lin Ruhai was already there with his men to greet Tu Chengyu when he arrived.

Among the welcoming crowd, Tu Chengyu saw Lin Ruhai and Jia Lian, as well as a middle-aged man he didn't recognize standing in the crowd with a chubby-faced child.

Tu Chengyu didn't understand why Lin Ruhai would let a stranger appear in the group that had welcomed him back then.

However, once he entered the Lin residence, when Lin Daiyu, Tan Chun, and others came out to greet him, Tu Chengyu knew who he was.

After exchanging greetings, Tu Chengyu realized that the middle-aged man he had just met was Xue Xu, the father of Xue Baochai, whom he already knew.

That chubby, silly-looking boy was Xue Baochai's older brother, Xue Pan, before he became the domineering tyrant.

Besides these two, Tu Chengyu also met Xue Baochai herself.

She came to pay her respects along with Lin Daiyu and Lin Daiyu.

When she appeared, Tu Chengyu noticed her figure without needing anyone to remind him.

At this time, Xue Baochai appeared to be a little older than Lin Daiyu, but younger than Tu Chengyu.

She's probably only eight or nine years old now. A girl that young would probably still be a naive kid if she were an ordinary person.

However, Xue Baochai was completely different from others. Despite her young age, she had a graceful and charming appearance.

Compared to Lin Daiyu's vivacity, she gives people a sense of quietness.

Although Tu Chengyu suddenly encountered Xue Baochai, who was on par with Lin Daiyu, he didn't pay much attention to her in this setting.

He simply nodded in return and let them leave.

After the little girls left, only a few grown men remained.

Tu Chengyu originally planned to get some rest after returning to the Lin residence.

However, since I suddenly met Xue Xu, and it was the first time we had met.

Then let's seize this opportunity and have a good talk with Xue Xu.

After all, Xue Xu is currently doing things for him, so he should at least offer some words of encouragement.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "Master Xue, how is the saltworks situation going?"

Faced with Tu Chengyu's question, Xue Xu acted cautiously, and he slowly said:

"Your Highness, the takeover of the salt field went very smoothly. However, since I have never run a salt field business before, there are still some things I am unsure about."

"That's why I've come here to ask Lord Lin for some advice."

Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "Where did the problem go wrong? Have you come up with a solution?"

Tu Chengyu valued the salt fields he had seized from Lu Yinghui.

It wasn't that he was greedy for the money the salt fields would bring; rather, he planned to use these salt fields as a testing ground.

We plan to use this saltworks to gradually test how to solve the problems of salt workers.

So when he heard that there was a problem, he became somewhat worried.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Xue Xu said:

"Your Highness, I just arrived at Lord Lin's residence today and haven't had a chance to discuss things with him yet, when Your Highness arrived."

Upon hearing this, before a decision had been reached, Tu Chengyu said:

"Since that's the case, then explain the problem here, and let me hear what's going on?"

Xue Xu naturally dared not refuse Tu Chengyu's request, and immediately said:

"What I want to ask is, once the situation at the saltworks is sorted out, how should the salt workers be treated?"

This is an interesting question. Generally speaking, salt workers shouldn't be a problem at all, and Xue Xu shouldn't have to travel all this way to ask Lin Ruhai for advice.

After taking over the salt field, Xue Xu only needed to do what other salt fields did: toughen up the salt workers and get them to work. He didn't need to put so much effort into finding ways to manage it.

However, Xue Xu unexpectedly went to great lengths to help the salt workers.

Could he possibly guess Tu Chengyu's thoughts?

(End of this chapter)