The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 175 The Emperor's Illness Reveals Trouble

As a nobleman, he must be very familiar with how to make amends for his mistakes.

Jia Jing had already made up his mind about this, but he didn't say it out loud at the time.

He wanted to wait until Jia Zheng returned so that he could investigate the whole matter thoroughly before making any further statements.

After finishing this matter, Jia Jing did not ask everyone to leave, as he wanted to inquire about another matter.

However, this matter seemed somewhat difficult to talk about, and Jia Jing hesitated for a long time before finally saying it.

Everyone in the room knew Jia Jing; he wasn't usually such an indecisive person, and they rarely saw him act like this.

This also shows that what he wants to say is definitely not so simple.

The others, realizing this, didn't dare to urge him and waited quietly for him to speak.

After considering for a long time, Jia Jing finally raised his head and said, "What I am about to ask is extraordinary. After you hear it, you must not mention it again after you leave this door, otherwise my Jia family and our two mansions may face annihilation."

After Jia Jing finished speaking, his two triangular eyes gleamed as he looked at the group, especially lingering on Jia Lian and Jia Rong for a while.

What he said sent chills down people's spines.

Jia Lian and Jia Rong both wished they could run away on the spot.

However, since Jia Jing brought it up in front of the two of them, he must have wanted them to hear it as well, so the two of them could only bite the bullet and sit in their chairs to wait.

Just moments ago, Jia She and Jia Zheng were undermining each other, but now they put aside their differences and said in unison:
"Brother Jing, rest assured, we will keep our mouths shut and will not tell anyone."

When the two of them expressed their opinions, Jia Lian and Jia Rong, the two younger ones, quickly echoed them.

Seeing this, Jia Jing nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's good."

Then Jia Jing turned to Jia Lian and asked in a deep voice, "During this trip to Jiangnan, you accompanied Prince Su. Did you hear any news from the capital about Prince Su, especially anything concerning the palace?"

As soon as Jia Jing opened his mouth, he inquired about news from the palace. No wonder he had instructed everyone to keep it a secret beforehand.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian immediately replied, "Although I am often assigned to do things by Prince Su, he never tells me about confidential matters, so I really don't know if he has received any messages from the palace."

Jia Jing seemed to have anticipated this answer, and felt no disappointment whatsoever.

He asked calmly, "In the letter you sent home last time, you said that Prince Su encountered some difficulties in Jiangnan and may have to stay there for a long time."

But not long after your letter arrived, Prince Su suddenly wanted to return to the capital, and even the case he was supposed to investigate was handed over to local officials. What could be the reason for this?

Jia Lian was at the Lin residence in Yangzhou that day and did not go to Zhenjiang with Tu Chengyu, so he racked his brains but could not think of anything strange.

So he could only say what he knew: "Prince Su did say that the reason he suddenly returned to the capital was because he had investigated the incident in Jiangnan."

There's no point in staying in Jiangnan, so I want to return to the capital.

Jia Jing continued, "Was Prince Su's return to the capital pre-planned, or was it a last-minute decision? After deciding to return, how was Prince Su's mood? Did he keep urging him to set off?"

He asked several questions in a row, and you could tell from his tone that these questions were very important.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian unconsciously became serious as well. He thought carefully about the few days after returning to the capital, and then said:
"As far as I know, the decision to return to the capital was made by Prince Su on short notice. After deciding to return, Prince Su was in a very good mood for the next few days."
Besides sending people to buy a lot of gifts, he would hide in the back garden of the Lin family mansion with Lin Daiyu and San Yatou, chatting and having fun.

During this time, there was no pressure to return to the capital. In fact, when Prince Su heard that Lin Daiyu was also coming to the capital, he even wanted to postpone the trip for a few days.

This would give Lin Daiyu more time to prepare, but Lin Daiyu didn't want to take up the prince's time, so she declined.

Upon hearing the first sentence, Jia Jing's expression seemed to indicate that he had confirmed a certain answer.

But the more Jia Lian spoke, the more confused he seemed. After Jia Lian finished, he couldn't help but say:
"It shouldn't be!"

Clearly, what Jia Lian said differed from what he actually thought.

Seeing this, Jia Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Brother Jing, is something serious happening?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Jing sighed deeply and said, "There is indeed something very important, but it seems that the information I have is not quite accurate."

Jia Zheng asked, "What kind of news is it? Can you tell me?"

Jia Jing said, "I've kept you here today to tell you about this matter."

He paused again at this point, waited a few moments, and then continued:

"Some time ago, I heard that the Emperor was seriously ill, and at his worst, he seemed to have fallen into a coma."

I've inquired around and think this news doesn't seem fake, but after hearing Lian-ge'er's words just now, it doesn't seem true either.

Jia Jing's words were truly earth-shattering, causing everyone to unconsciously sit up straight.

Jia Zheng's expression changed instantly, and he asked in a trembling voice:

"What you're referring to, Brother Jing, is it the secret martial law that was imposed in the capital a few months ago?"

Jia Jing nodded, confirming that it was indeed from that time.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng muttered to himself, "No wonder the palace gates were suddenly closed and the Crown Prince rushed into the palace. So this is what happened."

In Jia Zheng's mind, he had clearly already accepted that the news was true.

But for Jia She, who usually stayed at home and did not interact with outsiders, this was somewhat unbelievable.

He said, "His Majesty has only been on the throne for less than a year and is in his prime. How could he suddenly fall ill like this? Is there some mistake involved?"

Jia Jing said, "When I first heard this shocking news, I couldn't believe it either, but shortly after this news came out..."
The Liu family then went around the capital, trying to win over court officials, and rumors gradually spread that the Prince of Xing wanted to seize the throne.

The timing is so coincidental that it's hard not to believe the news of the Emperor's serious illness is true.

The Liu family is the Empress's maternal family and the Prince of Xing's biggest supporter.

They dared to so openly win over court officials on behalf of King Xing, they must have seen an opportunity.

The emperor's serious illness was the best opportunity.

At this time, although the position of crown prince was still secure, he did not have any powerful forces at his disposal.

The Prince of Xing, on the other hand, not only had the strong support of the Liu family, but more importantly, he had the Empress backing him up in the palace.

Therefore, if anything were to happen to the emperor at this time, Prince Xing would have a great chance to seize the position.

The Empress must have known about the Emperor's illness, and the Liu family would naturally find out easily as well.

Therefore, the actions of the Liu family can, to some extent, indicate the truth or falsehood of the news.

As the de facto head of the Jia family, Jia Jing must have had connections and influence in the capital.

It's not difficult for him to find out such news.

Moreover, given Jia Jing's cautious nature, upon learning of such news, he would undoubtedly make inquiries from various sources to verify its authenticity.

He inquired about Tu Chengyu's reaction from Jia Lian today in order to verify this information.

Unfortunately, Tu Chengyu's reaction not only failed to confirm the news's authenticity but also made him even more suspicious.

So he said, "This news is a mix of truth and falsehood, so we should be even more careful. What we have discussed today must not be told to anyone else." Jia Zheng disagreed, saying, "In my opinion, the Emperor's illness does not seem to be a lie."

Jia Jing asked, "Why are you so sure?"

Jia Zheng said, "I'm sure Brother Jing has heard that the Crown Prince punished several princes, including Prince Xing, some time ago."

Although the Crown Prince was young, he was always tolerant and forgiving, and rarely got into arguments with others. The other princes, in turn, were always respectful and loving towards each other.

There had never been any reports of discord, so the Crown Prince's sudden punishment of several princes is something to ponder.

After hearing what he said, there is indeed some truth to it.

The Crown Prince was likely affected by the Emperor's serious illness and the Prince of Xing's expression of ambition to seize the throne.

This made the Crown Prince feel threatened, so he disregarded everything else and personally punished Prince Xing and others.

Jia Jing shook his head, still not daring to confirm it.

This also fails to explain why King Su did not show any signs of sadness or anxiety.

Logically speaking, Prince Su was still in Jiangnan at the time, making him the prince furthest from the emperor.

If he heard that the Emperor was seriously ill, he would definitely rush back to the capital without hesitation.

However, in reality, he showed no such behavior and instead seemed to be in a good mood.

Did he receive news that the emperor had recovered immediately after receiving news of the emperor's serious illness?

However, according to Jia Jing, it took a full five days from the time the emperor fell ill until he met with his court officials again.

Given such a long period of time, it's impossible for two pieces of news to reach Prince Su at the same time.

That way of thinking is obviously incorrect.

So what was the reason that Prince Su was able to remain so calm? Did Prince Su not receive news of the Emperor's illness?

Thinking of this, Jia Jing unconsciously shook his head. He felt it was even more impossible; who would dare to obstruct such news?

It was precisely Prince Su's unusual behavior that made Jia Jing hesitant to confirm the veracity of the news.

Faced with this situation, everyone fell into deep thought.

After a long while, Jia Zheng asked, "Brother Jing, since we can't confirm whether the news is true or false, how should we deal with this?"

Jia Jing said, "Now that the Emperor is able to attend court normally, let's pretend this never happened. However, in private, we can secretly report Prince Su's reaction..."
The information was leaked to various noble families, making it impossible for them to distinguish the truth from the falsehood, thus deterring them from taking rash actions and reducing some of the Crown Prince's troubles.

With that matter settled, their conversation finally came to an end.

The three men from the West Mansion then got up to take their leave and hurried back to investigate the previous matter.

Jia Rong also came out of the main hall and went to the front yard to handle the daily affairs of the household.

Only Jia Jing remained in the room, gently closing his eyes and falling into deep thought.

Just as the Jia family was discussing the Emperor's serious illness, Tu Chengyu happened to hear the news from Xiao Liuzi.

In the study of Tu Chengyu's small courtyard in the palace, the two brothers sat facing each other, and Xiao Liu told them the news.

Tu Chengyu stood up in shock and said in disbelief:
"What? You're saying Father Emperor was seriously ill?"

Although Tu Chengyu was very shocked, he still subconsciously lowered his voice.

Xiao Liu nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

It took Tu Chengyu a while to come to his senses. He sat back down in his chair and asked:
"When did this happen?"

Xiao Liu said, "It's been about three months."

This was around the time Tu Chengyu arrived in Yangzhou.

He asked again, "Why wasn't anyone sent to deliver such important news to me?"

Xiao Liu said, "Father and the Crown Prince won't allow it."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu scratched his head in frustration and said, "Tell me roughly what happened that day."

Xiao Liu said, "That day, Xiao Qi and I were studying in the Imperial Study when a senior eunuch from Father Emperor's side came and said that Father Emperor wanted to see us."

We didn't think much of it at the time and followed him to the warm pavilion behind the Imperial Study. When we arrived, the Empress and the Crown Prince were already in the room.

Then, through the curtain, I saw several people gathered around the bed where my father usually rested, seemingly taking his pulse and feeding him medicine.

At first, I didn't understand what had happened, but seeing the worry on their faces and the smell of medicine in the room, I realized what was going on.

After more than half an hour, a royal physician came out from in front of the bed and said that the emperor had woken up.

Then the Empress and the Crown Prince went inside the curtained room, and after a short while came out to say that Father Emperor was alright and that they could leave.

The process described by Xiao Liuzi seemed quite ordinary, but the emperor's serious illness was certainly not as simple as it appeared.

Furthermore, this statement suggests that the emperor was unconscious when he fell ill.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "How long has Father been unconscious?"

Xiao Liu said, "I don't know the exact time, but from the time I went in to the time I came out, more than half an hour had passed."

It had been more than half an hour since Xiao Liuzi went in, and when he entered, the Crown Prince was already inside.

From this, we can know that the emperor's coma lasted for at least an hour.

The Emperor's prolonged coma must have had a significant impact.

Tu Chengyu continued, "After that, did you ever see your father again?"

Xiao Liu: "The next day, Father Emperor summoned us again. This time, Father Emperor sat on the dragon throne where he usually handled state affairs, and there were no imperial physicians or others by his side."

Tu Chengyu quickly asked, "How did Father look at that time?"

Xiao Liu: "Father looks no different from usual, and speaks the same way as usual. Father also said that he is well and that we should not worry."

Hearing Xiao Liu say that, Tu Chengyu felt relieved.

He asked again, "So, Father Emperor only fainted once, and then everything was fine?"

Xiao Liu said, "In the following days, I didn't see my father again. The news that came all said that my father had recovered, but..."

Xiao Liu stopped abruptly at this point.

This made Tu Chengyu's heart jump again, even though he knew that nothing had happened to the Emperor.

But upon hearing this news, I couldn't help but feel worried.

(End of this chapter)