The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 167 The Three Beauties Gather to Return to the Capital

Tu Chengyu originally did not intend to agree to Xue Xu's request.

Because he really had no interest in disciplining other people's children, and besides, he was still a child himself.

However, since it concerned his son's future, Xue Xu did not want to easily miss such a good opportunity.

So he kept pleading and even boasted that he would definitely help Tu Chengyu manage the salt fields well.

Furthermore, he later said that Xue Pan did not need Tu Chengyu to take special care of him when he was with Tu Chengyu.

Just treat your subordinates as normal when the time comes.

Although Xue Pan was under Tu Chengyu's command, both his age and his relationship with Xue Xu made a difference.

Tu Chengyu certainly couldn't treat him like a normal subordinate, but Xue Xu's words would save Tu Chengyu a lot of trouble.

Tu Chengyu thought that if he didn't have to worry too much, accepting Xue Pan would be a good idea.

At the very least, it can serve to win over Xue Xu.

Therefore, after much deliberation, he agreed to Xue Xu's request.

Xue Xu was overjoyed to hear Tu Chengyu agree.

He immediately called Xue Pan in from outside, and Xue Pan kowtowed to Tu Chengyu, thus acknowledging their relationship.

As Xue Pan entered, Tu Chengyu paid special attention to observing the chubby boy.

Aside from being a bit dim-witted, there was nothing else wrong with this guy.

In particular, there was no sign of a rebellious teenager, nor did he appear disobedient.

On the contrary, he was overjoyed when he heard that his father was going to send him to Prince Su to be a follower.

He couldn't wait to help Tu Chengyu with his business.

After a brief formality, Xue Pan's matter was settled.

Tu Chengyu then chatted with Xue Xu for a few more minutes before sending the father and son away.

After they left, Tu Chengyu talked to Lin Ruhai about some other things.

Tu Chengyu selected some of the things that had happened in Zhenjiang in the past few days and told them to Lin Ruhai.

After finishing his business, Tu Chengyu also told Lin Ruhai about his plans to return to Beijing.

Tu Chengyu's trip to Jiangnan had two main purposes.

One was to return to the emperor's hometown to pay respects to his ancestors, a task that had already been completed long ago.

The second task is to secretly investigate the grain fields in Jiangnan. Judging from the current situation, this task can only be considered half completed.

However, based on what we've learned, we don't even need to investigate further to know that the situation in the Jiangnan grain fields is dire.

Solving the problem of farmland is not something a prince like him can handle alone.

There are too many interests involved, and only the power within the imperial court can resolve this issue.

In addition, in Zhenjiang, he also investigated the arson case and the salt workers' rebellion to a great extent, and He Lizhang and Quan Wenwei also handled these two matters.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu felt that there was little point in staying in Jiangnan, and he planned to return to the capital after He Lizhang produced the preliminary results.

This shouldn't take too long, three to five days should be enough.

Lin Ruhai didn't seem surprised when he heard that Tu Chengyu would be leaving Yangzhou in three to five days.

The two exchanged a few simple words and then parted ways.

After Lin Ruhai left, Tu Chengyu stayed in the room for a while longer before it was time for dinner.

After finishing his meal, Tu Chengyu went to bed early.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, Tu Chengyu called Xiao Xuanzi and Xiao Xing'er over.

I told them about my plan to return to Beijing.

Amid their delighted expressions, Tu Chengyu instructed them to go to Yangzhou to purchase some items in the next few days.

This was Tu Chengyu's first time traveling far from home, and to such a bustling place as Jiangnan.

How could I not bring back some specialties from Jiangnan?

Not to mention showing respect to the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor Retired, even his brothers and uncles would not let Tu Chengyu off easily if they didn't see the gifts.

Therefore, these gifts are a must-buy, and we can't buy too few.

Fortunately, Tu Chengyu wasn't short of money during his trip to Jiangnan, so he could afford to buy gifts.

The only problem is that neither Xiao Xuanzi nor Xiao Xing'er are from Jiangnan, and they haven't stayed in Jiangnan for very long.

I don't know much about the specialties of Jiangnan, so I don't know what to buy.

However, this problem was easily solved in the end.

Because of Tu Chengyu's sending someone to buy gifts, Tan Chun told Lin Daiyu about it.

As a native of Jiangnan, Lin Daiyu was naturally more familiar with this place than Xiao Xing'er and the others.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai took Xiao Xing'er on a trip to buy gifts.

As for Xiao Xuanzi, she and a group of guards became handymen who moved things around.

The entire process of buying the gift lasted two whole days.

The amount of things purchased was two to three times more than Tu Chengyu had anticipated.

These items would take up a lot of space even if placed on the returning ship.

Tu Chengyu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, it seemed that women from all times and spaces were incredibly obsessed with shopping.

Even a few young girls could shop non-stop for two days.

On the third day, they finally stopped.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu finally had the opportunity to call Lin Daiyu over and prepare to sit around the stove in the garden again to brew tea and have a chat, as a farewell before leaving.

Although it was said to be a farewell to Lin Daiyu, the two were not yet at the point where they could whisper secrets to each other in private.

In addition, everyone is still young, so they treat this kind of parting as nothing more than casual conversation.

So, as before, they invited Tan Chun and her maid Xue Yan along as well.

Of course, they also did not forget the Xue siblings who had been staying at the Lin residence these past few days.

The location was still chosen to be the pavilion in the Lin Family Garden.

This time, however, the presence of the Xue siblings made it much more lively.

Xue Pan, the chubby boy, followed behind Xiao Xuanzi, chattering away as he learned to make barbecue.

Tu Chengyu and the others sat in the pavilion drinking tea and chatting.

To be honest, when Tu Chengyu first drank Lin Daiyu's flower tea, he just thought it tasted good, and didn't pay much attention to anything else.

However, in the few days since he left the Lin residence for Zhenjiang, he has often thought of this flower tea.

He originally thought that he could drink flower tea once he returned to the Lin residence.

Unexpectedly, the wait was delayed by two whole days because of buying things.

So, when Lin Daiyu brewed the flower tea in the pavilion, Tu Chengyu happily drank several cups.

Lin Daiyu was clearly pleased that Tu Chengyu enjoyed drinking flower tea so much. As she poured him tea, she asked, "Your Highness, have you decided on a departure date?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "I haven't decided on the specific schedule yet, but it will be in the next few days."

Tu Chengyu wanted to leave Yangzhou as soon as possible, but He Lizhang had not yet fulfilled the promises he had made.

Moreover, Quan Wenwei and Quan Xu are still helping He Lizhang in Zhenjiang; they haven't returned.

Tu Chengyu couldn't very well leave the two of them, along with their guards, in Jiangnan.

However, last night, Quan Wenwei sent someone to deliver a message saying that He Lizhang would come to see Tu Chengyu in the next two days.

That's why Tu Chengyu said that.

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu said, "How could it be so urgent? If it is, won't there be no time to pack up?"

Her words seemed rather strange, and Tu Chengyu thought she was worried that he hadn't packed everything properly.

So he said, "With Xiao Xing'er here, it must be all packed. But now that you've reminded me, I realize there's one thing I haven't prepared."

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, the three girls did not ask him what he had not prepared. Instead, they all laughed.

Tu Chengyu was somewhat puzzled by their laughter and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Is there anything wrong with what I said? What are you all laughing at?"

Unexpectedly, Tu Chengyu's question made them chuckle softly again.

The three laughed for a while before Tan Chun spoke:
"There is nothing wrong with what Your Highness said, but there is one thing Your Highness does not know."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Is there anything I don't know?"

Tan Chun was about to speak when Dai Yu stopped her: "Third girl, do you want to be a traitor?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Chun chuckled twice and then fell silent.

Tu Chengyu then realized that they really had something going on and were deliberately keeping it from him, and that they had even formed a united front.

This made Tu Chengyu even more curious, but when he saw Daiyu's smug look, and then looked at Tanchun, he was completely dumbfounded.

Tu Chengyu knew that it would be difficult to get the answer from the two of them in a short time.

So he turned his gaze to Xue Baochai and tentatively asked:

"Does Miss Xue know what those two are hiding from me?"

Xue Baochai was sitting quietly watching the commotion, but she never expected to get herself into trouble in the blink of an eye.

She was initially flustered when faced with Tu Chengyu's question.

However, from the conversation just now, she could tell that Tu Chengyu was relatively easy to talk to at this moment.

So she gradually calmed down, and only after she calmed down did she remember Tu Chengyu's question.

This is a difficult question to answer; no matter what she says, it will displease one party.

However, Xue Baochai was exceptionally intelligent, and she knew very well that this question was just casual conversation and would not involve anything else.

After thinking carefully for a moment, she said, "I do know the details, but if I tell Your Highness the truth now, Lin Daiyu will never give me flower tea again."

It would be such a shame if we couldn't enjoy such delicious flower tea anymore.

She cleverly defused a question that was originally about whom to help by speaking in a joking tone.

Moreover, he used a single sentence to praise Tu Chengyu and Lin Daiyu, either directly or indirectly.

When Tu Chengyu heard her say that, he stopped asking about their secret.

Tu Chengyu was about to talk about other things when Tan Chun spoke up first.

"Your Highness just said there was something you weren't prepared. What is it? Please tell me, Your Highness, and I will prepare it for you."

Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "You can't prepare this."

Tan Chun asked curiously, "What is it? Can't this servant prepare it?"

Given that they had just been hiding something from him, Tu Chengyu also had the idea of ​​playing a trick on them.

So he said, "I cannot tell you this for now, but you can guess."

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Tan Chun pouted and muttered, "Your Highness is so stingy, arguing with us young ladies."

Although she was muttering to herself, her eyes kept darting around, clearly trying to guess what Tu Chengyu was talking about.

Meanwhile, Daiyu, sitting on the other side, glanced at Tu Chengyu sideways before focusing on brewing tea, clearly not wanting to participate in the guessing game.

Of the three, only Xue Baochai had a furrowed brow, looking as if she was seriously guessing.

Not long after, Tan Chun was the first to give up.

She said, "Your Highness, you just said it casually, how are we supposed to guess? Besides, the answer wasn't written down. Even if I guessed correctly, what if Your Highness doesn't admit it?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Don't worry, I will never go back on my word. However, I can give you a hint: what I'm talking about is inside the pavilion. Does that make it much easier to guess?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Tan Chun's large eyes began to search around the pavilion.

Lin Daiyu glanced at the things around her, seemingly casually, while Xue Baochai opened her eyes and looked thoughtfully at the things on the stone table in the middle.

When Tan Chun finally turned her gaze to the stone table, Tu Chengyu knew that they should all have guessed what he was talking about.

Tu Chengyu asked, "Well, have you figured it all out?"

Upon hearing this, none of the three spoke.

Tu Chengyu was somewhat surprised. Judging from Tan Chun's enthusiastic demeanor just now, he thought Tan Chun would tell him, but he didn't expect her to guess but not say anything.

He asked, "Tan Chun, why aren't you saying anything?"

Tu Chengyu chuckled and said, "Your Highness, you're praising Sister Lin. I won't interfere; let Sister Lin say it herself."

Hearing her say that, Tu Chengyu was certain that he had indeed guessed the answer.

Lin Daiyu glanced at Tan Chun and said, "My third daughter is making fun of me again. How would I know what the prince is talking about?"

Tan Chun smiled and said, "Sister Lin is so intelligent, how could she not know? She must be very happy right now."

Seeing that Tan Chun was laughing at her, Daiyu put on a stern face and pretended to be angry, saying, "You little brat, just wait and see how I deal with you."

Tan Chun, of course, didn't buy into that, so the two of them started bickering back and forth in the pavilion.

For some reason, Tan Chun was unusually excited today, and even her bickering was much more intense than usual.

This time, even the quick-witted Lin Daiyu was defeated by Tan Chun's sharp tongue.

After the two contestants decided their match, Tan Chun set her sights on Tu Chengyu.

She said, "Your Highness, Sister Lin didn't prepare anything for you."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu looked at Lin Daiyu with some disbelief.

The thing he just asked everyone to guess is the flower tea we're drinking now.

Tu Chengyu has been drinking this ever since he arrived at the Lin residence, and he seems to really enjoy it.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu did not believe that Lin Daiyu would be unaware of these things, nor did he believe that she would not send him some when he was preparing to leave Yangzhou and return to the capital.
Seeing Tu Chengyu's gaze, Lin Daiyu said with a smile:

"Third Sister is right, we did not prepare flower tea for the Prince."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu found it even more unbelievable.

(End of this chapter)