The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 195 Tu Chengyu Enters the Jia Mansion Again
Tu Chengyu was puzzled; how did this bring up today's events again?

He asked, "Could it be that you made a mistake in the selection of the imperial envoy? But weren't the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary the ones vying for the position?"

The crown prince shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm vying for this position and that I'm displeasing Father, but rather that I was wrong about this matter from the very beginning."

"Brother, what's wrong with your thinking?"

The Crown Prince sighed deeply and said, "At first, I listened to my subordinates' opinions and thought this was a chance to earn credit and demonstrate my abilities to my father."
If I can help my subordinates secure the position of imperial envoy and then help them perform the duties flawlessly, I can earn my father's favor.

But I was wrong. Seeing the books my father sent me today made me realize my mistake.

At this point, the crown prince was so frustrated he almost slapped his thigh.

Tu Chengyu was also deep in thought, but he refrained from interrupting the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince continued, “In the matter of disaster relief, I was only thinking about gaining credit and how to curry favor with the Emperor.”

But they never seriously considered the plight of the disaster-stricken people, nor did they think about how to better help them.

That's the real reason why my father is dissatisfied with me.

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu finally understood what was going on.

At the same time, he was speechless at the Crown Prince. You are a Crown Prince, and you have been the Emperor's son for more than ten years. You also follow the Emperor around every day to learn how to handle state affairs.

After such a long time, they still haven't figured out the emperor's philosophy on handling state affairs.

On such a crucial issue of right and wrong, you actually made a choice that contradicts the Emperor's governing philosophy. How can you be a Crown Prince?

Moreover, as the crown prince, you do not consider the overall gains and losses of the court from the perspective of the nation and the world.

He actually competed with court officials for credit.

No wonder the Emperor is dissatisfied with you for doing things this way.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu fully understood the Emperor's meaning.

It's probably because they couldn't stand the Crown Prince's behavior and didn't want him to become a successor who didn't care about the people and the country.

However, out of consideration for the Crown Prince's feelings, they couldn't point out these problems directly, so they sent these two books in the hope that the Crown Prince would come to his senses.

From this perspective, the Emperor still values ​​the Crown Prince as much as before and has given him a chance to correct his mistakes.

Crucially, the prince quickly realized his mistake after seeing the two books.

Now, as long as the Crown Prince goes before the Emperor, sincerely admits his mistake, and pays attention to this issue in the future, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked, "Big brother, now that we know where the problem lies, what are you planning to do?"

"My mind is a mess right now, and I don't know what to do." It's likely that today's events have affected the Crown Prince too much, leaving him unsure of what to do.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu had no choice but to offer a reminder:

"Brother, this matter should be addressed sooner rather than later. You should think of a way to tell Father Emperor as soon as possible."

The Crown Prince nodded and said, "Fifth Prince, I know what to do. Once I've calmed down, I'll discuss it with the people in the manor and then go to the palace to see Father Emperor."

Since the Crown Prince understood, Tu Chengyu didn't say anything more.

He had originally come out with the Crown Prince to discuss with him how to resettle the refugees.

However, given the current situation, it seems inappropriate for the Crown Prince to discuss this matter.

Fortunately, it would take at least a month or two for the fleeing people to reach the capital, so there was plenty of time and no need to rush.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu did not stay in the Crown Prince's residence any longer, seeing the Crown Prince in distress, but instead got up to take his leave.

The crown prince did not try to persuade him to stay.

After bidding farewell, Tu Chengyu left the Crown Prince's residence with Xiao Xuanzi and the others, unsure of where to go next.

Having finally escaped the palace, it's still too early to go back now.

After thinking it over, he decided to go to the small courtyard outside the palace to see Quan Wenwei.

Tell him about what happened these past few days and see what his thoughts are.

However, just as he was about to get into the carriage, he suddenly saw Jia Lian appear in front of the carriage with Lin Daiyu's maid, Xueyan.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the two people, Tu Chengyu asked in surprise, "What are you two doing here?"

The two did not reply immediately. After exchanging greetings, Xueyan answered:

"Your Highness, my young lady wishes to see you. Please grant her an audience."

Upon hearing this, two questions immediately popped into Tu Chengyu's mind.

What happened? We've only been apart for a few days, why is Lin Daiyu in such a hurry to see me?

Another question is, how did they know I was in the Crown Prince's residence? They found me so accurately.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "How did you know I was here?"

Upon hearing this question, Jia Lian replied:

"Your Highness, this is the master of the manor. He mentioned it when he returned from court, and I overheard him. That's how I learned that Your Highness was going to the Crown Prince's residence, so I brought Xueyan here to wait for Your Highness."

The "master" that Jia Lian mentioned is Jia Zheng.

He was indeed in court today. He probably saw Tu Chengyu following the Crown Prince when the court session ended, and guessed Tu Chengyu's whereabouts.

That makes sense, so Tu Chengyu let the question go and moved on to another one.

"Miss Lin sent you to find me, has something happened?"

Upon hearing this question, Jia Lian and Xue Yan exchanged a glance but remained silent.

However, Jia Lian looked very uncomfortable.

Seeing their expressions, Tu Chengyu grew impatient and pointed at Xueyan, asking, "You tell me, what happened?"

Upon hearing this, Xueyan immediately said, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to say it, but my young lady wants to tell you herself."

Given the situation, Tu Chengyu thought that since he had nothing else to do, he might as well go and take a look.

However, it wouldn't be appropriate to go and see Lin Daiyu so rashly without telling anyone.

Then Tu Chengyu had a sudden inspiration, recalling Jia Zheng's actions in court that day, and said to Jia Lian:
"Go back to Fushang first and tell him that I am grateful for Lord Jia's recommendation in court today and wish to go to Fushang to meet with Lord Jia."

Today in the imperial court, when it came to the final competition for the person in charge of disaster relief in the capital, the other elder brothers all had a lot of support, but Tu Chengyu was only mentioned by Jia Zheng.

Although Tu Chengyu didn't care about this matter, he could now use it as an excuse to go to the Jia family mansion.

Jia Lian was also quick-witted. Hearing Tu Chengyu's words, he knew that this was just an excuse Tu Chengyu had made up.

He quickly replied, "Your humble servant obeys. I will go back and inform my master immediately."

After saying this, Jia Lian and his servants ran off in a flash, leaving Xueyan to wait for Tu Chengyu. Since he was going to the Jia mansion, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered Jia Tanchun.

This girl was sent to the palace by the Jia family, and within a few days she ran off to Jiangnan with Tu Chengyu.

After half a year, she finally returned to the capital, but then, for some unknown reason, Tu Chengyu gave her leave but she didn't go back to the Jia family mansion.

Since Tu Chengyu is going to the Jia family mansion today, why not take her with him?

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Xuanzi beside him, "Send someone back to the palace now and say that I am going to the Jia residence and ask Jia Tanchun to send out a set of clothes."

Xiao Xuanzi understood that sending clothes was a pretext; the real purpose was to get Jia Tanchun out.

Although Xiao Xuanzi thought that if her prince wanted Jia Tanchun to leave the palace, it would only be a matter of a word, and there was no need to be so careful.

However, since Tu Chengyu had given the order, he didn't say anything more and immediately sent the eunuch beside him to carry it out.

Next, Tu Chengyu didn't wait for Jia Tanchun to bring out the clothes, but went to the small courtyard outside the palace to change his clothes.

Because they were on their way to the Jia family mansion, they encountered Quan Wenwei in the courtyard, but the two didn't exchange many words.

He simply reminded Quan Wenwei to try to find out what major events had happened in the capital while he was away.

After saying that, Tu Chengyu changed his clothes and led a large group of people toward the Jia family.

When they leisurely arrived at Ningrong Street, Jia Tanchun, who had just come out of the palace, also rushed over.

Once the two sides met, they soon arrived at the main gate of the Rongguo Mansion.

Because Jia Lian had returned in advance to give instructions, the Jia family was well-prepared.

Not only were the idlers on Ningrong Street cleared away in advance, but the masters of the two Jia families also gathered at the entrance of Rongguo Mansion to welcome Tu Chengyu's arrival.

Although Tu Chengyu came to see Lin Daiyu, his pretext was to see Jia Zheng.

Therefore, he didn't mind meeting Jia Zheng and chatting with him for a bit.

However, Tu Chengyu did not expect that the Jia family would welcome him with such a grand display.

Not only did Jia Zheng come out, but Jia She and Jia Rong from the East Mansion were also in the welcoming party.

Since they were making such a grand gesture, Tu Chengyu naturally couldn't say anything.

Thus, surrounded by the Jia family, Tu Chengyu entered the Jia Mansion through the main gate of the Rongguo Mansion.

They went directly to Rongxi Hall, the main hall of the Jia family.

As for Jia Tanchun, she followed the maids and servants of the mansion to the inner quarters to meet the elders of the family.

What Tu Chengyu didn't know was that his private visit to the Jia family quickly spread to the residences of various civil and military nobles in the capital, and even the Crown Prince and others received the news.

It wasn't that they had nothing better to do than keep an eye on Tu Chengyu; rather, it was because the court had been extremely tense lately.

People were dispatched from all directions to keep an eye on the every move of these high-ranking officials in the capital.

When they suddenly saw the Jia family's two mansions clearing out the idlers on Ningrong Street, imposing a curfew on the street, and the masters of the two mansions gathered at the gate, looking as if they were welcoming an important person.

This attracted the attention of people from all over who were looking for information, so they all gathered nearby and kept an eye on the movements of the Jia family.

Therefore, they naturally saw that Tu Chengyu had arrived at the Jia family mansion, and the news spread like this.

Tu Chengyu had just returned to the capital and this was his first time leaving the palace in so many days, so he naturally had no idea about the tense atmosphere in the capital.

Naturally, he wouldn't pay attention to whether anyone was watching him, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.

He considered this visit to the Jia family mansion as just a casual stroll, mainly to chat with Lin Daiyu.

But when he entered Rongxi Hall and saw Jia Jing standing up to greet him, he knew that his visit to the Jia family this time might not be so simple.

Jia Jing was still wearing a Taoist robe, but compared to the last time he saw him, this fake Taoist was now radiant.

He walked up to Tu Chengyu, bowed and said, "I have met Your Highness. I am unable to come out to greet you. Please forgive me."

Tu Chengyu knew why Jia Jing hadn't come to greet him at the door.

Even though this guy has been staying at the Jia family mansion lately, he still pretends to be practicing Taoism and doesn't see outsiders at all.

Therefore, he couldn't personally greet Tu Chengyu, otherwise it would definitely cause some people to have doubts.

Especially the retired emperor, if he knew that Jia Jing dared to appear openly in everyone's sight, Jia Jing would probably be in big trouble.

Although Tu Chengyu was not prepared for Jia Jing's sudden appearance, he remained calm.

He just wanted to know what Jia Jing had to say when he suddenly came to see him.

So, after Tu Chengyu sat down, he asked:
"Daoist Master, I only came here to chat with Doctor Jia for a bit, why are you joining in the fun?"

Although after Tu Chengyu met Jia Jing, he felt that the old man was also a very cunning person.

However, since their last meeting, everything Jia Jing has done has been in his own interest.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu spoke to him more casually.

As for Jia Jing, although he really didn't want to be called "Taoist Master," he had no choice but to accept it since Tu Chengyu had addressed him that way.

He said, "Your Highness, I have something I'd like to say to you, so I've come here, having no shame."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What is it that requires such great effort to bring me here?"

After saying "Your Highness, please wait a moment," Jia Jing turned to Jia Zheng and the others and said, "You all go out and tell the servants not to come near here."

Although this was the Rongguo Mansion, the people there were very obedient and led everyone out without saying a word.

Seeing this action, Tu Chengyu knew that what Jia Jing was about to say must be very important.

So he sent Xiao Xuanzi away, leaving him to guard the door with his men.

After everyone left, Tu Chengyu asked, "You didn't send me to the Jia residence on your own initiative, did you?"

At this moment, Tu Chengyu began to suspect that Lin Daiyu's desire to see him might be an excuse, and the real reason was that Jia Jing wanted to see him.

Faced with this question, Jia Jing quickly replied, "Your Highness misunderstands. That girl did indeed want to see Your Highness. I simply learned of this matter and took the opportunity to meet with Your Highness."

Although Tu Chengyu doubted the veracity of Jia Jing's words, he said nothing. He asked:
"what do you want to say?"

Jia Jing said, "Because many things have happened in the court recently, and the prince has just returned to the capital."

"I am concerned that Your Highness may not be aware of what is happening in the court, so I wish to inform Your Highness of the events that have occurred recently, so that Your Highness may not be at a loss."

Tu Chengyu was worried that he didn't know anything about what was happening in the court, and he even wanted Quan Wenwei to find out.

Unexpectedly, Jia Jing, this fake Taoist priest, seemed to know what I was thinking and arrived so promptly.

(End of this chapter)