The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 170 The Retired Emperor Analyzes Conspiracies
Although Tu Chengyu didn't know what the Emperor Emeritus and Dai Quan were talking about, he could guess from their conversation that it was about Xin Ge'er's marriage.

So he tentatively asked, "Grandpa, did you arrange this all along?"

Although the question was rather presumptuous, the Emperor Emeritus showed no displeasure whatsoever.

He said, "I have already made arrangements."

This shows that the retired emperor still cared about Prince Ping's family; otherwise, why would he have made arrangements in advance?

The Emperor Emeritus just asked Tu Chengyu about the new son's marriage, most likely to confirm for the last time whether his decision was correct.

Or perhaps it was just a formality, to make others believe that the decision made by the retired emperor was influenced by Tu Chengyu.

Just as Tu Chengyu was lost in thought, the Emperor Emeritus said again:

"Do you know why I didn't just make the arrangements beforehand, but waited until you arrived?"

Tu Chengyu had been speculating about the reason in his mind, but when the Emperor Emeritus asked, he said:

"Grandpa must have his reasons for doing this, but I can't figure out the reason."

Seeing this, the Emperor Emeritus gently tapped Tu Chengyu's head and said with a smile, "You little rascal, you've become cunning now."

Tu Chengyu chuckled and said, "I really couldn't think of that. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

The Emperor Emeritus said, "Since you're too lazy to think about it, I'll explain the reasons to you so you won't suffer losses without knowing them in the future."

Upon hearing that the Emperor Emeritus was going to analyze the pros and cons, Tu Chengyu quickly stood up straight and listened quietly to what the Emperor Emeritus had to say.

The Emperor Emeritus said, "Do you know that although your third uncle is under house arrest, His Majesty has allowed him to write a letter of greeting to me and the Empress Dowager every month?"

Tu Chengyu shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

Upon seeing this, the retired emperor continued, "Can you think of anything suspicious about this?"

Tu Chengyu originally thought that the Emperor Emeritus would directly analyze the whole situation for him, but unexpectedly, he asked a question instead.

He originally intended to just listen, but now it seems he'll have to analyze and think for himself.

However, since the question had already been raised by the retired emperor, Tu Chengyu could only think about how to answer it.

Upon reflection, Tu Chengyu indeed discovered something amiss.

He said, “Grandfather, there is indeed a problem here. Since Third Uncle writes to you and the Empress Dowager every month to pay his respects, he can mention this matter in his letter, or at least tell the Empress Dowager.”

Doing it this way would certainly be better than having your grandson write a letter to Your Majesty. But why did you insist on having your grandson do it? Is that the strange thing?

The Emperor Emeritus nodded, quite satisfied with Tu Chengyu's answer.

But then he asked, "Have you thought of anything else?"

Tu Chengyu couldn't think of anything else for the time being, so he could only shake his head again.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor Emeritus said, "Have you considered that when you went to see him, it had only been half a year since he was escorted out of the capital, not to mention the time spent traveling from the capital to Longxing County?"

He was only there for a few months, a short time enough to wear away his spoiled and arrogant air and make him realize his situation.

But instead of living a peaceful life, he insists on having you pass on a message to him, inquiring about Xin Ge'er's marriage.

Is this marriage really in such a hurry? Can't we wait any longer?

Knowing that his third uncle had the right to submit a memorial but had not mentioned marriage, Tu Chengyu knew that the marriage was not in a hurry.

Adding to Tu Chengyu's long speech just now, Tu Chengyu understood the problem.

He said, "Grandfather, did Third Uncle deliberately make me do this?"

The retired emperor nodded.

Tu Chengyu asked again, "But I don't understand why you dragged me into this, Uncle."

The retired emperor said, "He did this to test my and the emperor's attitude towards him."

"Grandfather and Father's attitude?" Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said, "So, my brother's marriage is just an excuse. Third Uncle just wants to use the marriage to see if you, Grandfather, will help them."

The retired emperor continued to nod.

Tu Chengyu added, "But why does Third Uncle have to go through his grandson to test Grandfather's attitude?"

The Emperor Emeritus said, "Because it was your third aunt who asked for your help, and it wasn't him who said it himself, in this way, once the Emperor and I see through his intentions..."

However, because it was your third aunt who intervened, he couldn't lash out at him. At the same time, because of you, he couldn't pursue the matter further; that's his cleverness.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized that what he thought was a casual act of help actually involved so many twists and turns.

However, he still had some doubts and asked, "Grandpa, my third uncle has already been imprisoned, yet he still tries to test your attitude. Does he have other intentions?"

The retired emperor said, "I don't know if he has any other thoughts, but I think he might have been frightened."

"Scared? What could possibly frighten someone like Third Uncle?" Tu Chengyu asked, puzzled.

The retired emperor said, "Naturally, it's Zong Ge'er's business."

In the end, the matter brought Tu Chengyu back to the forefront.

However, Tu Chengyu thought about it for a moment and understood. He realized that he had been constantly plotted against by Prince Yixiao and had no choice but to kill him in the end.

Those who know about this matter know that Tu Chengyu was forced to take action.

However, Prince Ping was far away in Longxing County and was imprisoned, so the information he received was certainly not accurate.

So when he learned that the former crown prince had been killed by the new emperor's son just six months after the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

He might have thought that this was the new emperor's way of eliminating dissidents.

That's why they wanted to test the intentions of the retired emperor and the emperor.

Seeing that Tu Chengyu had been thinking for a while, his furrowed brows relaxed, and the Emperor Emeritus asked:
"Have you figured it out?"

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Grandson roughly understands the reason, but grandson does not know what your final attitude is?"

The retired emperor said, "You have seen my attitude; naturally, I will arrange a marriage for the new prince."

At this point, Tu Chengyu remembered the question the Emperor Emeritus had asked at the beginning and said, "Then why didn't you make arrangements directly instead of waiting for your grandson to return?"

The Emperor Emeritus said, "You may not understand your third uncle. He's the kind of person who likes to climb the social ladder. If I were to openly help arrange a marriage for Xin'er,..."

He dared to use this to make others think that I cared about him, and he might use this to cause other trouble.

Therefore, I will wait for you to return before arranging the marriage of the new son. This way, the marriage can be arranged properly for the new son, and the impact of this matter can be minimized.

In this way, he will understand that neither I nor the Emperor will do anything to him, and he will also know that I will not allow him to act recklessly.

After listening, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but sigh, thinking that the way the retired emperor and his son interacted must be exhausting.

Everything they say and do seems to have ulterior motives.

Moreover, there is a great deal of distrust between them, and they always analyze what others say. They want to be able to decipher seven or eight layers of meaning in their words.

Tu Chengyu mentally complained about the retired emperor, but he didn't realize that he himself was just like that.

He likes to think things through when he encounters problems, and he always tries to analyze what others say.

It's just that Tu Chengyu is still young and hasn't been immersed in the royal atmosphere enough, so his behavior isn't very obvious.

Even though he hadn't yet reached the level of a qualified descendant of the emperor, Tu Chengyu was already interested in the Emperor Emeritus's methods of analyzing things.

That's why he was able to stand here and listen to the retired emperor analyze what was originally a beautiful thing into various calculations.

At the same time, under the guidance of the retired emperor, he also discovered the scheming in this matter.

The Emperor Emeritus broke down the whole matter into its simplest parts and analyzed it in detail for Tu Chengyu.

Finally, seeing Tu Chengyu's thoughtful expression, he said:

"Although you are still young, you have done many outrageous things in the past six months. In some people's eyes, they will no longer see you as a child."

Someone might try to take advantage of you, so in the future, you need to think things through more carefully and not act recklessly like before.

Tu Chengyu listened and nodded, clearly impressed.

After finishing their conversation, the grandfather and grandson both felt a bit tired, so they changed the subject and started talking about everyday family matters.

However, before they could say more than a few words, Dai Quan came in again, followed by several eunuchs carrying food boxes.

As soon as Dai Quan entered, he said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, breakfast is here."

Upon hearing that there was breakfast, Tu Chengyu realized that he was indeed a little hungry.

Because he had to return to the palace this morning, Tu Chengyu got up a little early and didn't have an appetite, so he didn't eat breakfast.

He had originally thought that the Emperor Emeritus might have already eaten breakfast when he entered the palace, but now it seemed that he hadn't.

Sure enough, Tu Chengyu heard the Emperor Emeritus say, "I thought that you might not have time to eat breakfast in order to get to the palace as soon as possible, so I had someone postpone breakfast until you arrive and we can eat together."

Tu Chengyu was very pleased that the Emperor Emeritus had waited for him.

He smiled and said, "Grandson thanks Grandfather for his concern. I really didn't eat breakfast, and my stomach is already rumbling."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor Emeritus stood up, patted Tu Chengyu's head, and said:

"Since you're hungry, let's eat quickly."

After speaking, the retired emperor took the lead and walked towards the back hall, and Tu Chengyu quickly followed behind him.

The grandfather and grandson walked into the back hall one after the other and saw that the young eunuch had already set out various breakfast items on two tables, one large and one small.

In the palace, it was customary to sit at separate tables when eating, especially when dining with the retired emperor or the emperor himself, where one had to be mindful of various rules.

However, the retired emperor was in a good mood today and clearly did not want to follow these rules.

He pointed to his large table and said, "Put Yu-ge'er's breakfast over there too. Yu-ge'er and I will eat at the same table today."

Here, the retired emperor is the most powerful, and whatever he says goes.

Upon hearing this, the two eunuchs who were serving the dishes quickly moved all the dishes from the small table to the large table.

Then the grandfather and grandson sat facing each other and began to eat breakfast.

Perhaps the grandfather and grandson were both a little hungry, so as soon as they sat down at the table, they didn't say a word and just focused on eating.

Tu Chengyu had been away from the palace for several months and was starting to miss the palace food.

In addition, he hadn't eaten anything since he woke up in the morning, so once he started eating, he didn't care about anything else and just wanted to enjoy a delicious meal.

The retired emperor didn't have a big appetite, so he finished eating quickly.

Then, the Emperor Emeritus sat at the table, watching Tu Chengyu eat with a smile on his face.

When Tu Chengyu had almost finished eating, he looked up and saw the Emperor Emeritus looking at him.

He said rather apologetically, "Grandpa, wouldn't you like some more?"

The retired emperor smiled and said, "I'm already full. If you're not full, you can eat some more."

Tu Chengyu said, "My grandson has already eaten his fill."

After hearing this, the Emperor Emeritus did not press Tu Chengyu to eat.

After eating and drinking their fill, the grandfather and grandson regained their energy.

Tu Chengyu then took the opportunity to say, "Grandfather, there is something else I would like to ask you to tell me."

The retired emperor asked, "What is it?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Regarding the matter of the Grand Secretary, I am not sure what to do."

Upon hearing that it concerned the Grand Secretary, the Emperor Emeritus's expression turned serious. After a moment's thought, he said:
"Does the Emperor know about this?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Before returning to the capital, I had someone urgently submit this matter to my father."

Now that the emperor already knew, the retired emperor had no more reservations and said:

"Tell me in detail about the matter concerning the Grand Secretary."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu recounted the arson case, the salt workers' rebellion, and the suicide of Lu Chudan, the magistrate of Donghu County.

Finally, I will explain in detail the connection between these matters and the Grand Secretary.

Of course, Tu Chengyu didn't hold back at all when it came to the question of the Grand Secretary's background, and told the Emperor Emeritus everything.

After listening, the retired emperor stroked his beard and began to think.

He thought for a while before coming to his senses and asking:

"According to what you just said, a lot of the information concerning the Prime Minister's background was given to you by this He Lizhang?"

Tu Chengyu recalled what had happened and nodded, saying:
“He Lizhang did say a lot, but it was all because his grandson found a lot of evidence and He Lizhang was forced to cooperate and confess.”

The retired emperor shook his head and said, "But I think he seems to be deliberately trying to tell you the information."

Tu Chengyu asked, puzzled, "He deliberately told his grandson? If he did that, wouldn't he be telling me the Grand Secretary's secret? Isn't he afraid that the information will leak out from me? How can he help the Grand Secretary keep his position then?"

The retired emperor said, "What if He Lizhang's original intention was to leak the information to others through you?"

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu was a little confused.

Why did the retired emperor believe that He Lizhang deliberately told him these things?

Could it be that the Emperor Emeritus saw something else in this?

Could it be that He Lizhang is not the prime minister's man, but someone else planted here specifically to deal with the prime minister?
(End of this chapter)