The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 203 A Day of Leisure in the Palace

After that day's high-profile court infighting, the entire capital fell into an eerie calm.

In this atmosphere, Tu Chengyu dared not move around recklessly.

Aside from meeting the emperor, he stayed obediently in his small courtyard for several days, pretending to be dead.

However, some news has also spread in the capital in the past few days.

The first point is that, in order to prioritize disaster relief, the imperial court directly appointed the Grand Secretary as the imperial envoy for disaster relief.

This news sparked much discussion among those unaware of the details.

The second piece of news that the people of the capital were talking about came from the Jia family.

The day after Tu Chengyu left the Jia family, a rumor began to circulate in the capital.

It is said that Jia Zheng of the Rongguo Mansion had a dispute with the matriarch of the Jia family over the education of his son.

This time, Jia Zheng was not suppressed by his mother as usual; instead, he risked being punished by her.

He punished his son, who was born with a jade in his mouth, and insisted on sending the son to study at an academy elsewhere.

She was clearly determined to give her son some ambition.

It is said that this incident angered Grandmother Jia so much that she almost broke ties with Jia Zheng.

Ultimately, it was only after being persuaded by other people in the two households that she stopped harboring resentment towards Jia Zheng.

However, this incident ultimately left Grandmother Jia disheartened and disheartened.

She declared that she would no longer concern herself with household affairs and would let her two sons handle things on their own.

Because of the Jia family's social standing and the commotion they've caused in recent years.

This news immediately aroused the interest of everyone in the capital.

In less than a day, the news spread like wildfire, and even Tu Chengyu, who was pretending to be dead in the palace, heard about it.

However, when Tu Chengyu heard Xiao Xuanzi tell this news, he felt that the matter was somewhat unreal.

Given Grandmother Jia's power in the Jia family and her affection for Jia Baoyu, how could she possibly compromise with Jia Zheng's single act of resistance?

Presumably, other methods were used as well.

Here, Tu Chengyu recalled what had happened at the Jia Mansion that day, and how Jia Jing had blatantly let him know that Jia Zheng had beaten Jia Baoyu.

He guessed that Jia Mu's compromise this time was perhaps because Jia Zheng and others used their status to suppress her.

If things are really as speculated, Tu Chengyu has to give the Jia brothers a thumbs up.

These old guys, just a year ago, one of them was a coward hiding outside the city pretending to be a Taoist priest.

One was a dissolute old man indulging in pleasure and debauchery, while the other was a minor official in Beijing, living a life of idleness and waiting to die.

The entire Jia family was lifeless and on the verge of decline.

But once they seize the opportunity, they come to your side.

He was able to seize opportunities quickly and make frequent moves, showing a clear intention to rebuild his family business.

Although the Jia family had taken advantage of him in this matter, Tu Chengyu was still happy to see the Jia family rise again.

Therefore, after hearing this news, Tu Chengyu pretended that nothing had happened and let things develop as they were.

Apart from these, nothing else of any major importance happened in the capital.

After seven or eight days, Tu Chengyu felt he couldn't sit still any longer and prepared to find an opportunity to go out of the palace for a stroll.

The fourth brother coincidentally sent in the invitation at this very moment.

The fourth prince sent out invitations not for any other reason than because he had moved to a new palace and wanted to invite his brothers to a banquet.

During the time Tu Chengyu was away from the capital, the first four princes all moved out of the palace and into their new residences.

The Crown Prince moved to the former Crown Prince's residence, the second son moved to the Yong Prince's residence, and the third son moved to the Ping Prince's residence.

These three brothers directly occupied the mansion of the demoted prince.

When it came to the fourth son, according to the order, he should have moved to the former Prince An's residence.

However, the Prince An's residence was the emperor's former residence when he was still a prince, and it could not be easily granted to a prince to live in.

So the emperor selected an empty mansion elsewhere and bestowed it upon the fourth prince.

It was because the mansion had been vacant for many years that it was somewhat dilapidated.

Therefore, after the emperor made the selection, he first sent people from the Ministry of Works to carry out the repairs.

This resulted in the fourth son not moving out with the first three, but waiting until the mansion was dry and habitable before moving in.

The fourth brother moved in a few days before Tu Chengyu returned to Beijing.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu has not yet held a housewarming banquet after returning to Beijing.

Later, because of what happened in the court a few days ago, the fourth prince dared not hold a housewarming banquet rashly.

Only after the court had quieted down did they send out invitations everywhere.

This is why Tu Chengyu is receiving an invitation.

Looking at the invitation in his hand, Tu Chengyu was quite happy.

He was thinking about how to get out of the palace, and now he had a reason.

Looking at the date on the invitation, Tu Chengyu knew the housewarming party was in three days, and he made up his mind.

He placed the invitation on the table and said to Xiao Xuanzi:

"Besides this place, where else did Prince Yi send invitations?"

Xiao Xuanzi bowed and said, "Your Highness, I asked the steward sent by Prince Xing to deliver the invitations. He said that Prince Yi does not want to make a fuss, so he only invited a few princes to this banquet."

After listening, Tu Chengyu nodded thoughtfully. Then, another question came to mind, so he asked:

"Has the Crown Prince Kang sent out any invitations?" The Crown Prince Kang was referring to the young imperial uncle.

Logically speaking, since the fourth brother only wanted to invite his own brothers, Tu Chengyu shouldn't have asked this question.

However, the current situation is that, in addition to several princes, there is also a young imperial uncle in the palace.

And the youngest prince is the late-life son of the retired emperor. If the fourth prince ignores the youngest prince...

If the young imperial uncle finds out and makes a scene, it might displease the retired emperor.

That's why Tu Chengyu asked this question.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuanzi thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me, this servant did not notice that."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but worry for the fourth prince, fearing that he had overlooked this point about the young prince.

So he said to Xiao Xuanzi, "The person who sent the invitation probably hasn't gone far yet. Go after them and ask if they sent an invitation to Prince Kang."

"Yes, Your Highness," Xiao Xuanzi replied, then turned and ran out.

While Xiao Xuanzi went to chase after someone, Tu Chengyu did nothing else but sit quietly in his study and wait.

Tu Chengyu thought that Xiao Xuanzi would be gone for a long time, but not long after, Xiao Xuanzi returned.

Moreover, not only did Xiao Xuanzi return, but he was also accompanied by an unfamiliar eunuch.

Xiao Xuanzi led the unfamiliar eunuch to the study and began to speak:
"Your Highness, this is Eunuch Su, sent by Prince Yi to deliver invitations to the palace. He hadn't finished delivering the invitations when I happened to run into him, so I brought him to see Your Highness."

Xiao Xuanzi handled this matter thoroughly, and the timing was also excellent. She brought the people over before Eunuch Su had delivered all the invitations.

This way, even if the fourth prince didn't prepare an invitation for the young prince, there would still be room for maneuver.

Once he has sent out all the invitations, but the young prince has not received any, even if there is a way to make up for it later, he will have offended the young prince.

However, what needs to be confirmed now is whether the fourth prince prepared an invitation for the young prince.

So he asked Eunuch Su, "Your prince sent you to the palace to deliver invitations. Besides the other princes, did you prepare an invitation for Prince Kang of the Eastern Palace?"

After Tu Chengyu finished asking the question, he saw Eunuch Su pause for a moment before replying:
"Your Highness, there is no invitation for Prince Kang among the invitations sent by Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized it was indeed the case, and then asked:

"Did your lord ever say he wouldn't send an invitation to Prince Kang?"

Eunuch Su shook his head and said, "My lord did not say that."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu thought to himself that if the fourth prince didn't want to invite the young imperial uncle, he would surely have given an explanation.

Instead of the situation now, where even the eunuchs who send out invitations are unaware of it.

Tu Chengyu then said, "It seems that Fourth Brother forgot to send an invitation to the Little Imperial Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Su looked anxious, indicating that he had also realized that it was the fourth prince's oversight.

So he asked anxiously, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

Faced with this situation, Eunuch Su couldn't help but feel anxious.

Their prince had just moved out of the palace, and such a big blunder had occurred on his first banquet. What would the people in the palace think of him?

Moreover, as everyone knows, Prince Kang is the youngest and most beloved son of the retired emperor, and the only son besides the emperor who is still by his side.

If the Emperor Emeritus were to find out that Prince Yi had neglected Prince Kang, he would surely hold him accountable.

Since the retired emperor could not actually punish Prince Yi, the eunuch who delivered the invitation would likely become a tool for the retired emperor to vent his anger.

Therefore, Eunuch Su could not help but be afraid.

Tu Chengyu discovered this oversight in advance, giving him a chance to make amends.

However, now that he is in the palace, it is extremely difficult for a eunuch like him, who has already left the palace, to achieve anything.

Therefore, he could only turn to Tu Chengyu, the Prince of Su, for help, hoping that the Prince of Su would help him out of respect for the Prince of Yi.

Now that Tu Chengyu had discovered this oversight, he naturally couldn't stand idly by and had to help the fourth brother fix it.

Moreover, this matter is easy to resolve.

So he said to Eunuch Su, "This matter is easy to resolve."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Xiao Xuanzi and said:

"Go and cut a piece of paper the same size as the invitation."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuanzi didn't hesitate at all. She immediately took the paper from the shelf and cut it out to the size of the invitation.

After he finished cutting the paper, he placed it in front of Tu Chengyu and then helped Tu Chengyu grind the ink.

With everything prepared, Tu Chengyu picked up his pen and, following the format of an invitation, quickly rewrote a new invitation for the young imperial uncle.

After writing the invitation and letting the ink dry, Tu Chengyu replaced the paper on his invitation, and a fresh invitation was ready.

Tu Chengyu, holding the new invitation, said to Eunuch Su:
"I have prepared the invitation for you. You can send it to Prince Kang in a little while."

Upon seeing this, Eunuch Su said with tears of gratitude, "This servant thanks Your Highness for your great kindness."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry about these things, but remember, don't let anything slip when you give it to them."

Eunuch Su quickly nodded and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I understand."

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu stopped stopping him and told him to hurry up and get on with his business.

Tu Chengyu thought that with his help, there shouldn't be any problems with this matter.

But after lunch, a big commotion still broke out.

Just as Tu Chengyu finished lunch and was about to rest for a while...

Xiao Liu, along with a bunch of younger ones and the young imperial uncle, all rushed over to Tu Chengyu's side.

Upon hearing Xiao Xuanzi's report that all these guys had arrived, Tu Chengyu guessed that it was probably related to the invitations sent out that morning.

Thinking about this, Tu Chengyu felt a headache coming on and really didn't want to receive them.

But since they had already arrived, Tu Chengyu couldn't push them outside, so he could only instruct Xiao Xuanzi to bring them in.

All these little rascals have come over; the study can't hold them all.

Fortunately, the weather was nice today, so Tu Chengyu simply had someone bring out stools and put them in the courtyard, preparing to receive them there.

The stools had just been placed, and Tu Chengyu hadn't even sat down yet, when this group rushed in excitedly.

Except for Xiao Liu, who remained relatively composed, the rest of them rushed over like wolves and surrounded Tu Chengyu.

Fifth Brother, have you received the invitation?

Fifth Brother, are you going or not?

They were all chattering away, asking questions.

Tu Chengyu felt a bit overwhelmed and couldn't help but press his hand down to quiet them down.

After they all fell silent, Tu Chengyu slowly asked:
"Have you all received the invitations?"

When asking this question, Tu Chengyu specifically looked at the young imperial uncle. Seeing that the young imperial uncle was nodding like everyone else, Tu Chengyu felt relieved.

Then Tu Chengyu asked, "Weren't you in the Imperial Study? I remember the invitation was sent to the bedroom. How did you know?"

Upon hearing this question, everyone looked at the young imperial uncle.

Seeing this, the young imperial uncle puffed out his chest and said proudly:
“Yu-ge’er, it’s because of the clever little eunuch under my command that he ran into Eunuch Su, who was delivering invitations, in the palace. He learned about the invitations from him and then ran to the Imperial Study to tell me, so everyone knows about it.”

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu almost broke out in a cold sweat.

If he hadn't discovered the problem beforehand, it would have been noticed by the eunuchs serving the young prince.

In that case, the young imperial uncle is definitely not standing here showing off, but has run to the retired emperor to complain.

Tu Chengyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked:
"Since you all received invitations, what are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, they all started talking at once:
"We want to ask Fifth Brother for help."

"Please ask Fifth Brother to plead with Father Emperor on this matter."

"Fifth Brother, can you help us?!"

They kept saying one thing after another, and each sentence seemed to have no beginning or end, leaving Tu Chengyu completely clueless about what they were trying to say.

In addition, the little brats' voices were rather shrill, and they tried to drown out each other's voices, which made Tu Cheng feel very uncomfortable.

He quickly said, "It's too noisy. I can't hear what you're saying at all. Find one person to talk, and the rest of you should shut up."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's voice, the group of children immediately stopped talking and looked at Xiao Liu.

It seems they also know that Xiao Liu is the oldest among them and can help them clarify things.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu also looked at Xiao Liu to see what he had to say.

(End of this chapter)