The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 200 Everyone Has Their Own Calculations, Baoyu Suffers
From the TV series in his previous life, Tu Chengyu knew that the Jia family's motives, whether it was for Lin Ruhai's inheritance or something else, were different.

In short, their family initially intended to bring Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu together.

But these were just things from a TV series in my previous life, and they all ended in tragedy.

Furthermore, in this life, Lin Daiyu was pushed forward by the Jia family early on, becoming a tool for a marriage alliance with the royal family.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu had no worries at all about Lin Daiyu staying temporarily at the Jia family.

He believed that given the Jia family's style of doing things, they wouldn't do anything to displease Tu Chengyu.

But reality always has a way of slapping you in the face. In the very place that Tu Chengyu was least worried about, something infuriating happened.

Surprisingly, the Jia family failed to restrain Jia Baoyu at this crucial moment, allowing him to freely disturb Lin Daiyu.

Although this might just be play for a child, Tu Chengyu was unhappy.

So, while Jia Jing was talking to his servants, Tu Chengyu's face had already fallen.

If Jia Jing were to turn and look at Tu Chengyu at this moment, he would surely be startled by the gloomy look in Tu's eyes.

Unfortunately, Jia Jing's mind was still focused on asking about what had happened.

"Your master was just disciplining Baoyu, how did it cause such a commotion?"

The servant said with a troubled expression, "It's probably because Master beat Bao Er too badly that it alarmed the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager wanted to stop Master, but Master was determined to beat Bao Er, which is why there was such a commotion."

Upon hearing that the matter involved the matriarch, the most senior member of the Jia family, Jia Jing couldn't say anything and could only vaguely reply:
"Nonsense, you don't even consider the timing of your actions."

This was a difficult question for the servant to answer, so he could only remain silent.

Therefore, Jia Jing continued, "Go tell your master that there are distinguished guests in the house and ask them to keep their voices down."

Upon hearing this, the servant turned and ran away in a flash.

Upon arriving here, Jia Jing turned around and said to Tu Chengyu:

"The people in the manor are ignorant of etiquette, Your Highness, please forgive them."

If Tu Chengyu had heard about these things at the beginning, he might have been stern-faced and questioned why the Jia family hadn't properly disciplined Jia Baoyu.

But just a moment later, Tu Chengyu suddenly discovered something strange.

That's what happened just now; Jia Jing probably let me know on purpose.

Because under normal circumstances, when there are guests at home, people generally do not deal with household matters in front of the guests if something happens at home.

Especially someone of Tu Chengyu's status, Jia Jing should avoid him.

But Jia Jing, in front of Tu Chengyu, openly inquired about what had happened at home.

The servant of the Jia family also told the story on the spot without hesitation.

Some people might think that this was an oversight on their part, that they didn't think that much about it.

But who is Jia Jing? He's an old fox who survived the former crown prince's rebellion. How could he make such a small oversight?

Besides, even if Jia Jing was negligent, as a servant who was on duty outside Rongxi Hall in the Jia family mansion, he certainly wouldn't be so careless.

If the servants felt that the matter couldn't be discussed in front of Tu Chengyu, they would have subtly reminded Jia Jingti long ago.

But he didn't offer Jia Jing a single word of advice until the very end.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu keenly sensed that their conversation might have been a deliberate performance for him, intended to let him hear what had just happened.

However, Tu Chengyu couldn't figure out why Jia Jing would do this.

After all, it wasn't exactly a glorious thing for Jia Zheng to raise his son, and moreover, he might offend Prince Tu Chengyu because of Jia Baoyu's disturbance of Lin Daiyu.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Tu Chengyu suppressed his anger, preventing Jia Jing from seeing any other emotions on his part.

So when Jia Jing turned around to speak, Tu Chengyu simply said:

"It doesn't matter."

Jia Jing was probably taken aback by Tu Chengyu's reaction and was momentarily stunned.

Tu Chengyu ignored all of that and continued speaking:

"Have someone go and tell her that I have something to discuss with Miss Lin and that she should come here."

Jia Jing seemed to want to say something, but upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, he could only obey.

After Jia Jing left, Tu Chengyu sat in his chair and fell silent again.

He couldn't help but ponder Jia Jing's intentions.

His first thought was that Jia Jing was plotting against him.

Given the tacit understanding he had just reached with the Jia family, Jia Jing would never do something so unwise.

Since it wasn't a scheme against him, it must be an attempt to use Tu Chengyu's status as a prince to achieve certain goals without harming Tu Chengyu's interests.

Then Tu Chengyu connected this to what they had just discussed about Jia Zheng beating Jia Baoyu, and concluded that Jia Jing's purpose was very likely related to this incident.

Thinking about this, Tu Chengyu vaguely sensed Jia Jing's purpose.

If it's really as I suspect, Jia Jing's purpose won't harm my interests, and might even be beneficial to me.

Since it's in his own best interest, Tu Chengyu should help Jia Jing do this.

However, Tu Chengyu thought that if Jia Jing openly and honestly told him his purpose, Tu Chengyu would cooperate.

But now Jia Jing is acting secretly and not so openly, so Tu Chengyu certainly won't cooperate with him.

As for whether Jia Jing will use other means to achieve his own goals, that's not something Tu Chengyu needs to worry about.

After weighing various options in his mind, he soon heard a sound coming from outside the door.

"Your Highness, Miss Lin has arrived."

Tu Chengyu snapped out of his reverie and immediately called out towards the door:

"Please come in, Miss Lin."

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain at the door was lifted, and a pretty and clever young maid appeared in Tu Chengyu's sight.

The young girl glanced at Tu Chengyu almost imperceptibly, then quickly lowered her head and carefully pulled up the curtain.

Immediately afterwards, Xueyan, whom Tu Chengyu had met before, stepped forward and opened the door. Behind her, Lin Daiyu, with her head slightly lowered, slowly walked in.

After she entered, the two maids did not leave, but followed Lin Daiyu into Rongxi Hall.

Tu Chengyu understood this.

After all, they are a man and a woman alone together. Even though they are engaged, they still need to be mindful of the impact.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu also called Xiao Xuanzi in. After finishing all this, Tu Chengyu asked Lin Daiyu.

"Miss Lin, are you getting used to life in the Jia household?"

Lin Daiyu said softly, "With my maternal grandmother and two uncles around, I'm not uncomfortable at all."

Then Tu Chengyu chatted with Lin Daiyu about everyday matters before finally saying:
"Miss Lin, I've heard that Jia Baoyu often bothers you?"

Tu Chengyu originally didn't want to talk to Lin Daiyu about this; he wanted to see what Jia Jing ultimately wanted to do.

But as they talked, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but ask the question.

Lin Daiyu seemed somewhat surprised when she heard Tu Chengyu's question.

She glanced at Tu Chengyu briefly, then said:

"Your Highness, that is indeed the case. However, my cousin only wanted to play with me because I'm new here. Perhaps after a while, he'll lose interest and stop doing it."

Although Lin Daiyu clearly disliked Jia Baoyu's behavior, she still didn't explain it when Tu Chengyu asked her about it.

Lin Daiyu also knew that, given Tu Chengyu's status, if she were to fuss over trivial matters, some small things could easily escalate into big problems.

She didn't want Tu Chengyu to cause trouble for the Jia family over something like this.

After all, the Jia family was Lin Daiyu's maternal uncle's family, so they couldn't afford to have a falling out over something like this.

Since Lin Daiyu didn't want to talk about it, Tu Chengyu didn't press her for details.

It wasn't that Tu Chengyu didn't want to get involved in Lin Daiyu's affairs, but rather that he wanted to see how Jia Jing would act after what happened today.

Tu Chengyu believed that Jia Jing had even used himself as a pawn, and in the end, he couldn't even accomplish such a small task.

Since there was nothing more to say about that matter, Tu Chengyu thought of something else.

"Miss Lin, now that you're in the capital, would you like to take a stroll around and see the sights of the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu said softly, "I would like to go and see, but I have just arrived at my maternal grandmother's house, so let's wait a while before deciding."

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. In that case, I'll take you out for a stroll again after some time."

At first, Lin Daiyu thought that Tu Chengyu just wanted her to see the capital, but she didn't expect that he would take her to play there himself.

In Lin Daiyu's mind, the capital city must be a place of strict rules, especially the imperial family, which would have even more rules and regulations.

Given Tu Chengyu's status as a prince, he would have many concerns and it would be impossible for him to take her all over the capital.

So Lin Daiyu was very surprised after hearing this, and asked:

"Is Your Highness going to take me to see the capital?"

Tu Chengyu, of course, had no idea what Lin Daiyu was thinking, and simply asked, puzzled:
Is there anything wrong with me bringing you along?

This question stumped Lin Daiyu, as she didn't know the rules of the capital very well.

He could only say softly, "You are a prince, so naturally you can do whatever you want."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu laughed and said, "In that case, you can wait for my news. Once I have made the arrangements, I will take you to visit the capital."

Because this was the Jia family mansion, the two of them couldn't talk for such a long time, no matter how much they had to say.

After finishing their business and chatting for a few more minutes, Lin Daiyu got up to take her leave.

Tu Chengyu didn't stop him from continuing to talk, after all, Lin Daiyu was in the capital, and there was plenty of time.

Throughout the entire story, Lin Daiyu never mentioned why she sought out Tu Chengyu to serve Jia Jing.

Tu Chengyu, naturally, refrained from asking.

What Tu Chengyu didn't know was that after leaving Rongxi Hall and going to a secluded place, Lin Daiyu and her two servants discussed this matter.

Zijuan, who spoke first, said:

“Miss, since the Prince just mentioned that Master Bao disturbed you, why didn’t you take the opportunity to tell the Prince about it, instead of keeping it a secret?”

Lin Daiyu walked straight ahead, not looking at Zijuan who had spoken, but said:

"How can we let the prince do such trivial matters himself?"

Upon hearing this, Zijuan asked anxiously, "But isn't this the very reason why Miss invited the Prince to the Jia Mansion?"

Lin Daiyu gently shook her head and said, "Originally, I wanted to tell the Prince about this, and then have the Prince tell my uncles."
But I just realized that it's no longer necessary to do that.

Zijuan asked curiously, "Miss, why don't we need to do that anymore?"

Lin Daiyu said, "The fact that the Prince asked about this matter earlier clearly shows that he already knows about what has happened these past few days. Just think about it, if even the Prince knows about this, how could your uncles not know?"

Now that my uncles know, they will naturally handle the matter themselves, so Your Highness doesn't need to intervene.

Although Lin Daiyu was young, she was very intelligent. She was able to quickly discern the changes in the situation from the conversation and adjust her plans accordingly.

But Zijuan was still quite worried, and she asked anxiously:
“But Master Bao is the apple of the Old Madam’s eye, and I’m afraid the Master can’t control him. Miss, you should take advantage of the Prince’s presence at the Jia Mansion to explain the situation clearly and have the Prince speak on your behalf so that he can pay attention to Master Bao.”

Lin Daiyu smiled gently and said, "You silly girl, don't worry about these things. Isn't your uncle already disciplining your cousin?"

Zijuan didn't understand Lin Daiyu's words at first, but after thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized and said:
"Miss, are you saying that the master called Master Bao over just now to discipline him?"

Lin Daiyu nodded gently and said, "That must be it. Did Xueyan just say that Uncle is tying Cousin to a stool and beating him with a cane?"

This even alarmed my maternal grandmother and second aunt, presumably because of this matter.

At this point, Zijuan and Xueyan finally understood what had happened.

They understood that the problem that had been troubling their daughter for the past few days should now be resolved, and the two of them felt quite happy about this.

But despite her joy, Zijuan still said with some worry:
“Miss, given how much the Old Madam dotes on Master Bao, will she hold a grudge against you for the beating he received today?”

As soon as Zijuan finished speaking, Xueyan nodded in agreement and said, "Miss, I've heard that Uncle beat Master Bao really hard this time. His buttocks were all bloody and mangled. The old lady almost cried herself to death."

Lin Daiyu wasn't too worried about this. She said, "My uncle hitting my cousin wasn't something I ordered, and it has nothing to do with me. Why would my grandmother resent me?"

Although Lin Daiyu knew in her heart that, given the old lady's style, after learning the cause and effect, she would very likely shift the blame onto Lin Daiyu.

But the Lin Daiyu of today is not the Lin Daiyu of the past life.

She was no longer a helpless orphan, nor did she need the Jia family's protection to survive.

Even in the capital, she has someone to rely on in this world.

And because of this reliance, the situation was reversed.

Now it's not that she needs the Jia family to survive; on the contrary, it's that the Jia family needs her status.

Therefore, in Lin Daiyu's heart, if the old lady were to hate her because of this matter, Lin Daiyu would not be afraid at all.

(End of this chapter)