The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 169 Casual Chat Between Grandfather and Grandson in the Palace

After two months of continuous travel, Tu Chengyu finally returned to the capital at the end of summer.

At this time, the people of the capital were about to return to their former peace, a year after the emperor ascended the throne.

However, in the imperial court, the struggle between the chief minister and the second chief minister gradually caused turmoil.

In this environment, Tu Chengyu quietly entered the capital.

After arriving in the capital, he first sent people to accompany Jia Lian to escort Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai back to the Jia family mansion.

Then, following the eunuchs sent by the emperor to greet them, they went to the palace.

As for Quan Wenwei, he took his daughter back to Tu Chengyu's small courtyard in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Su Xuanbao and Quan Xu returned to their respective armies.

Because Tu Chengyu actually arrived in Beijing last night.

Although the city gates were not yet closed, it was no longer possible to enter the palace.

So he stayed overnight at the post station outside the city, and took the opportunity to take a bath and wash up in advance.

This meant that he arrived in Beijing in the morning.

Unfortunately, today is the day of the grand court assembly, and the Emperor has no time to see Tu Chengyu.

So after returning to the palace, Tu Chengyu was taken to the Emperor Emeritus by the eunuchs.

For Tu Chengyu, he would have to pay his respects to both the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor upon returning to the capital; it didn't matter who he met first.

Following the eunuchs, we walked through the palace, which had remained almost unchanged.

They arrived at the East Palace Gate without any trouble. Looking at the long-unseen palace gate, Tu Chengyu felt a pang of nostalgia.

Perhaps because the Emperor Emeritus had given prior instructions, when the eunuch brought Tu Chengyu over...

The young eunuch on duty at the East Palace gate simply greeted Tu Chengyu and then let him in.

Having found his way around the palace, Tu Chengyu arrived at the main hall of the Daming Palace. Just as he was about to have the eunuch at the door go in to report,

He suddenly heard someone call his name from behind: "Brother Yu".

Following the familiar voice, Tu Chengyu turned around and saw his little imperial uncle hopping and skipping towards him.

It had been several months since I last saw him. The little prince had grown noticeably taller, but his chubby appearance hadn't changed much.

Tu Chengyu hadn't expected to run into the young imperial uncle here.

However, given that this was the first family member Tu Chengyu saw after returning to Beijing, he was still very happy.

So when the young imperial uncle walked up to him, Tu Chengyu greeted him with great enthusiasm.

However, what he said displeased the young prince.

"Little Imperial Uncle, what are you doing here at this hour? Did you skip class?"

Upon hearing this, the young imperial uncle immediately pouted and said, "Brother Yu, don't talk nonsense. I only asked my teacher for leave because I heard you had returned to the capital. I'm waiting for you here."

Seeing that his youngest uncle was speaking seriously, Tu Chengyu also became serious and said:
"Why is my young imperial uncle waiting for me?"

The young prince said, "I've missed you so much since you left the capital. That's why I've been waiting to see you."

Tu Chengyu felt a little amused after hearing what his young uncle said.

Given the young prince's age and personality, he might have some feelings for Tu Chengyu, but certainly not as strong as he claims.

As for why he took leave to wait for Tu Chengyu here, it's most likely because he wanted to know what gifts Tu Chengyu brought back.

Of course, all of this was Tu Chengyu judging others by his own petty standards. He didn't realize that the young imperial uncle had already matured a lot in the past few months.

Although that's what he thought in his heart, Tu Chengyu still had to say nice things, otherwise he would only make trouble for himself by upsetting the young imperial uncle as soon as he returned.

So he said, "Then I thank you for your concern, Little Imperial Uncle."

However, the young imperial uncle had no intention of being polite with Tu Chengyu and asked with great interest:
"Brother Yu, is Jiangnan fun?"

To be honest, Tu Chengyu didn't do much sightseeing during his trip to Jiangnan.

He spent most of his time dealing with various matters, so when the young imperial uncle asked him this question, Tu Chengyu didn't know how to answer for a moment.

However, you could tell from the excited look in the young prince's eyes that he longed for Jiangnan.

As a responsible nephew, Tu Chengyu certainly couldn't spoil the fun at this time.

So even though he hadn't experienced much of the beauty of Jiangnan, he still confidently said:
"Jiangnan is naturally a fun place, with not only fun things to do, but also delicious food."

Fun things and delicious food are precisely the two things that the young prince likes most.

So he said eagerly, "Brother Yu, tell me quickly, what fun things are there, and what delicious things are there?"

Now that we've come this far, Tu Chengyu certainly can't afford to mess things up.

Next, he recounted everything he had seen, heard, and eaten in Jiangnan.

Furthermore, to increase credibility, Tu Chengyu deliberately embellished the fun and delicious aspects with his words.

Upon hearing this, the young imperial uncle's eyes practically lit up.

I wish I could run to Jiangnan right away and experience what Tu Chengyu was talking about.

And so the uncle and nephew stood at the gate of Daming Palace and began to chat about this and that.

One person boasts as much as possible, while the other blindly believes them.

Just as Tu Chengyu was playing his flute with great enthusiasm, a series of light footsteps were heard coming from the main hall.

Hearing footsteps, Tu Chengyu glanced at the scene out of the corner of his eye and saw Dai Quan walking over with her back bent.

Upon seeing that it was Dai Quan who had arrived, Tu Chengyu turned around and said, "Steward Dai, it's been a long time. You haven't changed much from before."

Upon hearing this, Dai Quan first bowed and greeted the prince before saying, "This servant thanks Your Highness for your concern. Your Highness, the Emperor Emeritus is waiting for you in the palace."

Hearing him say that, Tu Chengyu realized that he had been talking to the young imperial uncle for a little too long.

It is estimated that the Emperor Emeritus heard that Tu Chengyu had arrived but had not gone in to pay his respects for a long time, so he sent Dai Quan out to check.

Since the Emperor Emeritus has called for it, and Tu Chengyu and the young imperial uncle have said enough,

So he said to the young imperial uncle, "Young imperial uncle, I'm going in to see my imperial grandfather now. Do you want to come with me?"

Upon hearing this, the little prince shook his head vigorously, indicating that he did not want to go in.

However, he had just thoroughly enjoyed listening to Tu Chengyu play the tune of Jiangnan, and his face was full of reluctance at Tu Chengyu's departure.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu said, "Don't worry, little royal uncle. The gift I bought for you has already been brought into the palace and should be delivered to you soon."

Hearing that the gift was about to arrive, the young prince was naturally very happy. After cheerfully saying goodbye to Tu Chengyu, he skipped away.

After seeing that the young imperial uncle had left, Tu Chengyu followed Dai Quan into the main hall of the Daming Palace. As soon as he entered, Tu Chengyu saw the retired emperor sitting upright in front of him.

Perhaps because he was wearing less clothing in the summer, Tu Chengyu noticed that the Emperor Emeritus was thinner than before, but he was in good spirits.

Having not seen each other for several months, Tu Chengyu was very excited to see him again.

He suppressed his excitement and quickly knelt down and kowtowed several times.

He said at the same time, "Grandson greets His Majesty and pays his respects."

The Emperor Emeritus was naturally delighted to see Tu Chengyu, and said with a broad smile:
"Get up quickly and come to Grandpa Huang. Let him have a good look around in another year."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu quickly got up and walked to the Emperor Emeritus in a few steps.

He said cheerfully, "Grandpa, I've missed you so much."

It took Tu Chengyu a lot of effort to say those words.

Before leaving Beijing, Tu Chengyu could say such cute and charming things without hesitation, if not out of the blue.

But after he left the capital, he became the person with the highest status among those around him.

At this point, he can no longer use cutesy or charming tactics when talking to others.

Not only can't he do that, but he is also the backbone of a large group of people, and he has to make decisions on many things.

This allowed Tu Chengyu to gradually develop the speaking habits of a leader over the course of these few months.

This habit was still in effect until last night.

Then early this morning, he was brought before the retired emperor.

Although Tu Chengyu had prepared himself mentally on the way to the East Palace, he had also changed his habits from leader to grandson.

However, when he was actually about to meet the Emperor Emeritus, he found that he felt a little awkward saying such cute things.

If he hadn't spoken with the young prince at the door for a while, which slightly changed his mindset and allowed him to learn from the young prince, a real child, how to say cute things, he would have been different.

He probably didn't quite manage to say that cheesy, cutesy line smoothly just now.

However, once those words were spoken, the obstacle in Tu Chengyu's heart was broken, and he felt nothing at all.

Tu Chengyu's words, which he had been struggling with for a long time, were very pleasing to the Emperor Emeritus.

The Emperor Emeritus laughed heartily and said, "You little rascal, always trying to please me with sweet words. If you missed me, why didn't you come in right away instead of waiting for me for so long?"

Although he knew it was the Emperor Emeritus joking, Tu Chengyu still explained:
"Grandpa has wronged me. Of course I want to see you right away, but I ran into my little uncle at the door just now."

The grandson and his young uncle hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the grandson missed his young uncle, so they chatted for a while longer.

The Emperor Emeritus smiled and said, "You two, uncle and nephew, seem to care about each other. Your little uncle, ever since he learned last night that you were coming back..."
I've been saying I wanted to see you, and I even got up early this morning to wait for you outside.

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized that his young uncle had gotten up early to wait for him.

It seems that his earlier speculation about the young imperial uncle was indeed somewhat petty.

So he quickly said, "Grandson thanks you for your concern, Little Imperial Uncle. It seems that we should give you an extra portion of this gift."

The retired emperor said, "He's been eyeing your gift for a long time. If you could send him another one, he'd probably be able to brag about it for ages."

The grandfather and grandson exchanged a few words about the young imperial uncle, and then the topic turned to Tu Chengyu.

The retired emperor pulled Tu Chengyu to his side, pinched his arm, and gestured to show his height.

He said, "I've gotten much stronger and taller, but I've gotten a bit darker."

Tu Chengyu chuckled and said, "My grandson has been going out a lot these past few months, so naturally he's gotten darker."

Hearing Tu Chengyu say this, the Emperor Emeritus also said, "I heard that you had a lot of trouble on your trip to Jiangnan this time."

Tu Chengyu said, "Grandfather, I don't want to cause trouble, but if I don't do something about what I've seen along the way, wouldn't others look down on me?"

The retired emperor said noncommittally, "Let them do whatever they want. As long as they don't cause a huge disaster, who can do anything to my precious grandson?"

Tu Chengyu was quite embarrassed by these words.

The Emperor Emeritus continued, "I heard that when you went to Longxing County, you visited your third uncle."

Tu Chengyu's third uncle was the third son of the retired emperor, Prince Ping, who competed for the throne with the former crown prince.

Since the Crown Prince's failed rebellion on the eve of the Emperor's birthday last year, Prince Ping has been demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in a small courtyard behind the ancestral hall in Longxing County.

When Tu Chengyu left the capital, he received an order from the emperor to visit his third uncle.

Tu Chengyu recalled that he had written a letter to the Emperor Emeritus about meeting his third uncle.

The Emperor Emeritus brought this up now, probably because he wanted to hear about his third uncle's recent situation.

So Tu Chengyu said, "Grandpa, I did meet with my third uncle and even spoke with him for a while."

The retired emperor asked, "How is he now?"

Tu Chengyu said, "He doesn't look much different on the outside, but he seems a bit gloomy because he's been cooped up in the yard for a long time and hasn't had a chance to go outside to relax."

Upon hearing this, the retired emperor's expression also turned sour.

Tu Chengyu knew little about the affairs between the father and son, and dared not interfere rashly, so he kept his mouth shut and waited for the Emperor Emeritus to ask questions.

Perhaps it was the matter of Prince Ping that stirred up unpleasant memories for the retired emperor, for he remained silent for a long time.

After a while, when he came to his senses, he asked again:
"In the letter you sent, you said that your third aunt wants me to arrange a marriage for Xin'er?"

The "new son" mentioned by the retired emperor was the eldest son of Prince Ping.

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Third Aunt did say that."

The retired emperor continued, "From what you've seen, how is Xin Ge'er doing now?"

To be honest, before the former crown prince's rebellion, Tu Chengyu didn't have much contact with these cousins ​​and didn't know much about their personalities.

Since the rebellion, Tu Chengyu has not seen any of the other princes except for the deceased Prince Yixiao.

When Tu Chengyu went to see his third uncle this time, he saw his cousin from afar, but did not say a word.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu had virtually nothing to say in response to the Emperor Emeritus's question.

However, Tu Chengyu also knew that the current questions and answers might be related to his cousin's major life event.

So even though he didn't know his cousin well, he still tried his best to say some good things about him.

After listening to Tu Chengyu's long string of praises, the retired emperor first gave Tu Chengyu a meaningful look.

Then, after pondering for a moment, he looked up and said to Dai Quan beside him:
"Since Yu-ge'er says so, then proceed with the previous arrangements and send them off as soon as possible."

Tu Chengyu was completely confused, not knowing what the Emperor Emeritus had prepared in advance.

(End of this chapter)