The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 176 Brothers Discuss Palace Affairs

Xiao Liu stopped, seemingly unsure of what to say.

Tu Chengyu asked anxiously, "But what? Tell me!"

Xiao Liu said with a troubled expression, "Fifth Brother, I dare not say."

It seemed that Xiao Liu had some concerns, so Tu Chengyu said:

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else what you said."

Hearing Tu Chengyu's assurance, and given Xiao Liu's consistent trust in Tu Chengyu, he finally spoke up.

"However, it seems that Father's illness has not been cured."

This is very important news. Whoever gets hold of this information will be much more at ease in the court in the future.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu could understand Xiao Liu's caution and was also grateful that Xiao Liu had told him such important news.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "Didn't you just say that you didn't see Father Emperor for the next few days? How do you know that Father Emperor's illness has not been cured?"

Xiao Liu said, "On the third day after my father summoned me, I accidentally ran into the imperial physician who had treated my father two days earlier."

The imperial physician was led by Chief Eunuch Xia, and the two of them walked very quickly. At the time, I didn't think much of it, assuming that the imperial physician was simply coming to treat my father as usual.

But just two days later, rumors spread through the palace that the Emperor's illness had relapsed. Then I remembered what I had witnessed that day.
I also remember that Chief Steward Xia looked extremely anxious that day. Fifth Brother, think about it, we've known Chief Steward Xia for so many years, and I've never seen him so anxious before. That's why I dared to guess that Father Emperor was really ill again.

The palace has always been a breeding ground for gossip, especially news about the emperor, which is kept under constant surveillance.

This time, the emperor fell ill. Regardless of whether he was cured or not, there will certainly be rumors that his old illness has relapsed, or even that the emperor has died.

Generally speaking, people who hear these rumors don't take them as true.

When Xiao Liu first heard that the Emperor's old illness had relapsed, he certainly didn't believe it at first. However, this time Xiao Liu personally witnessed the imperial physician being led to the Emperor by Chief Eunuch Xia.

Seeing the anxious look on Steward Xia's face, he dared to confirm it.

Therefore, Xiao Liu's news is, to some extent, unique.

This news is very important to everyone.

Imagine if the emperor had only fainted once and then his illness had been cured.

People would then think that this was just a coincidence, and that the disease was treatable and wouldn't have much impact on the emperor's health.

However, if the illness is not fully cured, or if it recurs later.

That means the emperor's illness is difficult to cure, or there is a constant possibility of relapse.

If others knew that the emperor had such an illness...

Therefore, it had a very significant impact on both the royal family and the imperial court.

It could even be said that it affects the very lifeline of the world.

No wonder the news of the Emperor's illness was kept so tightly under wraps; even Prince Tu Chengyu didn't send anyone to inform him.

This is also why Xiao Liu had many concerns and dared not tell Tu Chengyu the news.

Upon hearing this news, Tu Chengyu felt a mix of emotions.

He was now unsure whether his father's illness had been cured.

So he asked, "Did you hear any more news about Father's illness after that?"

Xiao Liu shook his head and said, "Ever since the last news spread in the palace that Father Emperor's old illness had relapsed, Father Emperor flew into a rage and had many eunuchs and palace maids beaten to death."
Even one of the emperor's personal eunuchs was beaten to death, and from then on, there were no more rumors about the emperor's illness in the palace.

Tu Chengyu didn't believe that these rumors would stop; the people spreading them were just becoming more discreet.

Tu Chengyu continued to ask, "Aside from the few days when Father was ill and summoned you, have you seen Father again since then?"

Xiao Liu nodded and said, "Father often comes to the Imperial Study to check on our studies, so we see him quite often."

Tu Chengyu quickly asked, "In your opinion, how is Father's health?"

Xiao Liu said, "Father's health has always seemed very good, with nothing unusual. He even visited the Beijing Garrison half a month ago, and we didn't see anything wrong with him then."

The fact that the emperor was able to leave the palace to manage affairs dispelled many rumors.

However, the effects of the emperor's illness are difficult to eliminate in a short time, and some effects may even persist.

Tu Chengyu then connected this to the fact that the second son had suddenly jumped out to compete for the position.

The second son's public vying for the throne is likely not, as Quan Wenwei analyzed, merely an attempt to inform the court officials that he harbors ambitions to seize the throne.

It's more likely that they saw the emperor was ill and thought his illness would be difficult to cure, so they rushed out to vie for the throne regardless of the consequences.

However, there's no turning back once the arrow is released. Even though the emperor has recovered, the second son has no choice but to grit his teeth and continue fighting.

At the same time, Tu Chengyu remembered another thing, namely Empress Dowager Xiaoning's unusual behavior today.

Today, Empress Dowager Xiaoning is not the kind grandmother she usually is.

Instead, she seemed more like an old woman who had been frightened and was desperately seeking any treatment.

Tu Chengyu didn't understand at first why Empress Dowager Xiaoning had become like this.

Now, considering the Emperor's illness, he understood what was going on.

It must have been Empress Dowager Xiaoning who knew the Emperor was seriously ill, and at the same time heard that the second son had jumped out to vie for the throne.

This made the old lady worry about both the emperor's safety and the crown prince's position.

Therefore, they used every means to try to help the crown prince stabilize his position.

Unfortunately, the old lady was deep in the palace and didn't accumulate many people in the first half of her life.

This is why the old lady saw Tu Chengyu as her lifeline and tried every means to get him to help the Crown Prince.

Thinking of Empress Dowager Xiaoning, Tu Chengyu recalled that Empress Dowager Xiaoning had said that the Empress and Empress Dowager Cixi were quite close. He wondered if this was true.

Tu Chengyu thought that since he didn't want to bother two people, he might as well ask Xiao Liuzi directly and see if he knew anything about it.

So he asked, "Sixth Brother, have you heard that the Empress frequently meets with the Empress Dowager?"

The Empress Dowager here refers to Empress Dowager Cixi. As for their own grandmother, Empress Dowager Xiaoning, the Tu brothers usually refer to her as their Imperial Grandmother.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu said in surprise, "Fifth Brother, did you mishear? It's not that the Empress meets with the Empress Dowager, but that the Empress Dowager frequently summons the Empress."

Whether she was summoned or met with the Empress Dowager voluntarily, it at least shows that the Empress Dowager and the Empress met frequently.

Given how much the Empress Dowager disliked Tu Chengyu's family, it would be normal for her not to want to see the Empress. Why is she still summoning her so often?

There must be something fishy going on here. Maybe, as the old lady said, the Empress Dowager is secretly supporting the second son's bid for the throne.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked, "Xiao Liu, do you know why the Empress Dowager often summons the Empress?" Xiao Liu said, "The Empress Dowager just wants to make things difficult for the Empress, that's why she causes trouble every few days."

This was an answer Tu Chengyu hadn't expected, and he quickly asked:
Why is the Empress Dowager making trouble for the Empress?

Xiao Liu said, "Ever since you left the capital, Fifth Brother, the Empress Dowager has had no one to vent her anger on. So she's shifted her focus to making trouble for others."

We are still young, and the Empress Dowager is not someone to be trifled with, so she often causes trouble for the Empress.

Tu Chengyu asked again, "How does the Empress Dowager usually cause trouble?"

Xiao Liu said, "They are all trivial matters, such as the meals being served a little later than usual, or the food not tasting right."

Or perhaps the construction of the Buddhist hall in the palace is progressing too slowly. These matters, regardless of whether they fall under the Empress's jurisdiction,

If the Empress Dowager was displeased, she would summon the Empress to question her.

Tu Chengyu never expected that the Empress would suffer such bullying in the palace.

And all these troubles were caused by Tu Chengyu.

However, based on Tu Chengyu's understanding of the Empress, the Empress would not allow the Empress Dowager to bully her like this.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "The Empress was being bullied like this by the Empress Dowager, and she didn't do anything about it?"

Xiao Liu said, "Such is filial piety; how could Her Majesty the Empress dare to disobey? However, Her Majesty's actions are not without their benefits."

"It is precisely because Her Majesty the Empress served the Empress Dowager with filial piety, never uttering a single complaint no matter what the Empress Dowager did, that everyone inside and outside the palace praised Her Majesty for her filial piety."

Tu Chengyu had to admire how something inherently bad had somehow earned the Empress a great deal of fame.

So it makes sense that when the Empress Dowager caused trouble for her, she not only didn't avoid her but actually went closer to her.

However, Tu Chengyu also had some doubts, namely whether the two of them were actually colluding together.

This was very important to Tu Chengyu, and he wanted to find out more from Xiao Liu.

However, judging from Xiao Liu's words just now, he must think that the Empress Dowager is just making trouble, and the Empress is forced to deal with it every day because of filial piety.

Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and then asked, "Does the Empress Dowager still frequently summon the Empress up to this day?"

Xiao Liu said, "Ever since you left the capital, Fifth Brother, I've been summoned to see you. At first, it was more frequent, but now it's only three or four times a month."

They were summoned so many times, and for such a long time.

From this, Tu Chengyu discovered some clues.

In Tu Chengyu's view, if the Empress Dowager's only purpose in summoning the Empress was to cause trouble for the Empress and to vent her anger, then...

So, when she heard that the Empress had gained a reputation for filial piety as a result, how could she possibly continue to do so and let the Empress benefit from it?

Although the Empress gained a good reputation for this matter, she is now the head of the harem, so how could she tolerate others constantly causing trouble for her?

She might tolerate it once or twice, but no one would tolerate it three or four times a month.

Therefore, it can be seen that the behavior of both the Empress Dowager and the Empress in this matter was very abnormal.

Something unusual must be going on; there must be something else going on between the two of them.

Perhaps they won't conspire against the Crown Prince as Empress Dowager Xiaoning said.

But it certainly won't be just about causing trouble.

Having determined that there was something fishy going on, Tu Chengyu was already satisfied. As for their purpose in getting together, Tu Chengyu could investigate that at his own pace.

Just as Tu Chengyu was thinking about these things, Xiao Liu suddenly asked:

"Fifth Brother, why are you so concerned about the Empress Dowager causing trouble? Are you worried that after you come back, the Empress Dowager will turn around and cause you trouble?"

Tu Chengyu didn't expect Xiao Liu to think that way, but it also shows that Xiao Liu still cares about Tu Chengyu.

So Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "That's exactly what I was worried about, which is why I asked you about it. Now that it seems the Empress has won over the Empress Dowager very well, I feel much more at ease."

Xiao Liu also smiled and said, "Fifth Brother, don't worry. As long as the Empress is in front of you, the Empress Dowager won't do anything to you."

It seems that the Empress has managed things very well in the palace while I was away from the capital.

Otherwise, how could Xiao Liu have praised the Empress so highly and kept saying good things about her?

Having clarified the matter, Tu Chengyu stopped dwelling on it and changed the subject, asking about something else.

"Sixth Prince, I heard that the Crown Prince once punished the Second and Third Princes. Are you aware of this?"

When Xiao Liu heard that Tu Chengyu was asking about this matter, his smiling face disappeared, and his expression turned ugly.

He said, "Fifth Brother, I know."

Seeing Xiao Liu's expression, Tu Chengyu wondered if Xiao Liu was also involved.

He then asked, "You weren't punished by the Crown Prince either, were you?"

Tu Chengyu guessed correctly, and Xiao Liu nodded in agreement.

So Tu Chengyu quickly asked, "What exactly happened? Why was the Emperor punishing you all together?"

Xiao Liu said with a tearful face, "This is also our fault. The Crown Prince's punishment was correct."

Tu Chengyu said anxiously, "Let's not worry about who's right or wrong for now, just tell me what happened?"

Xiao Liu said, "The story begins before the Crown Prince moved out of the palace. One day, for some reason, my second brother and the other two..."
Suddenly, they arrived at the Imperial Study. Since the brothers hadn't spoken together in a long time, the second brother led everyone to play and chat in the West Palace Garden.

During the conversation, everyone mentioned you, Fifth Brother. We younger ones are very interested in what you've been doing in Jiangnan.

So I begged my second brother and the others to tell us what you had done in Jiangnan. My second brother and the others couldn't resist, so they told us about what you had done, Fifth Brother.

My second brother talked a lot, and everyone listened with great interest. However, when he mentioned how I dealt with the salt merchants in Yangzhou and seized the salt fields from them...
But a problem arose. At the time, everyone thought Fifth Brother was very capable, but three people were very dissatisfied with Fifth Brother's actions.

He said that his fifth brother was competing with the people for profit, was greedy for money, and was tarnishing the royal family's reputation, and he also said some other things.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu frowned. He hadn't expected his third brother to have such a view of him.

I don't know if he genuinely felt he had tarnished the royal family's reputation, or if he was simply envious of the money he was making.

While Tu Chengyu was thinking about these things, Xiao Liu continued talking:
"Upon hearing what Third Brother said, Second Brother immediately stopped him from speaking. But Third Brother said, Fifth Brother, what you did has already been impeached by the officials in the court, and he wasn't just making things up."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu asked, "The Crown Prince punished all of you just because of these few words?"

Given the Crown Prince's style of conduct, it's unlikely he would punish everyone arbitrarily because of just a few words.

Even if she was angry with him, she would only punish the third son; why would she punish everyone?

It seems there's more to this than meets the eye.

(End of this chapter)