The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 205 Uncle, Nephew, and Brothers Attend the Banquet

After being annoyed by a group of little ones, Tu Chengyu had two more peaceful days.

On the third day, Tu Chengyu got up early and started packing.

Although it was still quite early before we went to Lao Si's house for dinner, he still had to start preparing early because he was bringing a lot of people.

Just as Tu Chengyu was almost ready, he heard footsteps approaching.

Looking up, I was surprised to see Xia Shouzhong.

Tu Chengyu quickly went up to him and asked:

"Chief Steward Xia, what brings you to my residence?"

Xia Shouzhong said with a smile, "Prince Su, since you and the other princes are leaving the palace today, His Majesty is very concerned and sent me to inquire about your whereabouts."

The Emperor, who is so busy with state affairs every day, still manages to keep these things in mind.

Since the Emperor had asked, Tu Chengyu could not be vague, so he said:
"Please ask Steward Xia to go back and tell my father that everything is prepared here. All the princes and the former prince have proper people accompanying them, so there will be no problem."

Xia Shouzhong said with a smile, "His Majesty said that Prince Su is a meticulous worker and he trusts him completely. However, since the princes are still young, His Majesty asked me to inquire about their affairs."

Hearing this, the Emperor was still not entirely at ease and wanted to know the specific arrangements for Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu was not ignorant of etiquette. Upon hearing the emperor's request, he carefully explained his arrangements.

Tu Chengyu spoke for a long time, and Xia Shouzhong stood aside and listened attentively to the whole thing.

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Xia Shouzhong said, "I have remembered Your Highness's arrangements. I will go back and report to the Emperor now."

After saying this, Xia Shouzhong continued, "Your Highness, there are quite a few princes leaving the palace this time. In order to make things easier for you, His Majesty sent someone yesterday to inform Prince Xing and Prince Qi, asking them to meet you outside the palace."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu was even more relieved to learn that the Emperor had also arranged for the second and third sons.

In response, Tu Chengyu earnestly said to Xia Shouzhong, "Father's arrangement is the best possible one. Please ask Steward Xia to convey my gratitude to Father for his concern when you return."

"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant has remembered." After saying this, Xia Shouzhong saw that Tu Chengyu had no further arrangements, so he tactfully took his leave.

As soon as Xia Shouzhong left, Tu Chengyu unconsciously frowned.

Since the Emperor was going to arrange for others to meet him outside the palace, why were only the second and third princes present?

There were four princes outside the palace, you should know.

It's understandable that the fourth brother, who is the host today, wouldn't come to greet us.

Why did the remaining three choose to bypass the Crown Prince?

Is there something wrong with this? Or is it that the Crown Prince won't be going to the Fourth Prince's house today?

Although the Crown Prince and the Second Prince are not on good terms now, this is, after all, the Fourth Prince's treat.

If the Crown Prince doesn't go, it will get out and cause gossip.

Although Tu Chengyu was quite worried about the Crown Prince's affairs, he didn't interfere in everything.

So Tu Chengyu only thought about it for a moment and then put it aside, turning back to continue organizing today's plans.

Once Tu Chengyu had finished making preparations, Xiao Liu and the others arrived one after another.

I don't know if it's because they trust Tu Chengyu, or if the officials in the palace are just generally more easygoing.

When Xiao Liu and his companions arrived, not a single adult accompanied them; each of them was only accompanied by an older eunuch and a palace maid.

Since the adults were at ease, Tu Chengyu didn't think too much about it. As soon as they all arrived, he immediately led them out of the palace.

According to current customs in Beijing, it is generally more common to hold banquets in the afternoon or evening.

However, this banquet was rather special, as it was attended by a young prince from the palace.

They needed to return to the palace before the gates were locked, and since it was a family banquet, they weren't too particular about the rules.

Tu Chengyu led this group of chattering little ones through the large garden from the West Palace and out through the west palace gate.

When they went outside, they saw a row of carriages parked not far from the palace gate, and a group of armored guards with swords standing around the horse farm.

Tu Chengyu spotted his bodyguards, Lao Yao and his group, at a glance.

At the very front of the guards stood the second and third brothers.

The two stood side by side, but both seemed to be lost in thought, and neither spoke to the other.

Not far from the two of them, there were also two people standing alone.

The two were of different ages, one older and one younger. Tu Chengyu recognized the older one, who turned out to be Shen Ye, the Crown Prince's wet nurse, whom Tu Chengyu had not seen for a long time.

As Tu Chengyu looked at them, the people waiting outside the palace gate also noticed Tu Chengyu and his group.

Led by the second son, they all came forward to greet them.

"Second brother, third brother."

Tu Chengyu led a group of younger children to greet them first, and the second and third children also asked a question to each of them.

After the brothers finished exchanging greetings, Shen Ye and the young man also came over to offer their regards.

After asking the question, Tu Chengyu asked Shen Ye, "Did the Crown Prince send you?"

After Xia Shouzhong came over to greet him earlier, Tu Chengyu knew that the Crown Prince probably wouldn't be here.

Seeing Shen Ye here, Tu Chengyu thought that even if the Crown Prince didn't come, he would probably still be thinking about this place, which is why he asked this question.

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye quickly bowed and replied, "Your Highness, it was the Crown Prince who sent me here to await Your Highness's instructions."

Tu Chengyu was quite satisfied with this arrangement, nodded, and then asked:

"Does Your Highness have something on your mind today?"

Because Shen Ye was a long-time resident of the Prince An's residence, and given Tu Chengyu's relationship with the Crown Prince, Shen Ye didn't hide anything after hearing Tu Chengyu's words and directly replied:

"Your Highness, there is a court assembly today, and the Emperor has summoned the Crown Prince to the palace. Before entering the palace, the Crown Prince also gave instructions that he should go directly to the Prince Yi's residence later."

So that's the reason. But hearing that the Crown Prince would also be going to the Fourth Prince's house, Tu Chengyu felt relieved.

Just as Tu Chengyu and Shen Ye were questioning each other, the young man who was with Shen Ye stood behind them, subtly observing Tu Chengyu.

Although this guy was a bit too bold, Tu Chengyu wasn't angry.

It's just unknown who this person is or why he's following Shen Ye around, running errands for the Crown Prince.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "Shen Ye, judging from this person's eyes, is he also from the Crown Prince's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye glanced at the young man behind him and replied, "Your Highness, this is Geng Chunchen, the Crown Princess's elder brother. He does not hold any official position, but he often accompanies me to run errands for the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this name, Tu Chengyu immediately thought of Geng Huchen, whom Jia Jing had mentioned, who seemed to be the Crown Princess's elder brother.

Tu Chengyu already had a bad impression of Geng Huchen, so when he saw Geng Chunchen, he couldn't help but feel disgusted.

However, Tu Chengyu knew that he couldn't easily show his emotions before the matter was investigated thoroughly.

So his expression remained unchanged, and he asked casually:

"Hearing your name reminds me of someone, Geng Huchen. I wonder if you know him?" Tu Chengyu's words were clearly directed at Geng Huchen, so Shen Ye didn't interrupt and stood aside quietly watching.

Geng Chunchen probably didn't expect Tu Chengyu to ask him a question at this time, and he was clearly taken aback.

He then came to his senses, bent down, and replied:
"Your Highness, Geng Huchen is indeed my elder brother."

After listening, Tu Chengyu said thoughtfully, "So you two brothers are both working for the Crown Prince?"

Geng Chunchen: "Yes, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu understood the situation, so he stopped asking questions and sent the two of them to help.

While Tu Chengyu and Shen Ye were talking, the others had already gone to the horse farm under the arrangement of the second and third brothers.

Once Tu Chengyu boarded his carriage, the procession immediately set off.

Because the palace gate was the nearest one, the carriage didn't travel far before arriving at the fourth prince's new residence.

Although the fourth prince's mansion was a renovated old one, the renovation was done with great care, and it looks almost brand new from the outside.

When everyone arrived at the mansion gate, there were already people arranged by the fourth prince waiting at the door.

So everyone was welcomed into the mansion as soon as they got out of the car.

The fourth brother had probably been waiting for news, and he rushed over not long after Tu Chengyu and the others entered the mansion.

"Second brother, third brother, fifth brother..."

The fourth brother turned around and greeted everyone.

Everyone returned the greetings, and after everyone had exchanged greetings, the fourth brother personally led the way, taking everyone inside.

Since this was everyone's first time here, the group was quite curious and looked around as they walked.

The youngest among them offered their comments without any restraint.

Although they are young, it is still very unruly for them to comment on other people's residences so recklessly.

However, among those who were speaking, the one leading them was the excited young prince, so the second prince and the others couldn't bring themselves to reprimand him.

In addition, this was the fourth brother's home, a true family home, so the second and third brothers didn't say anything to stop them.

Seeing that things weren't going well, Tu Chengyu tried to change the subject:

"Fourth Brother, I think the mansion has been renovated quite well."

Sure enough, as soon as Tu Chengyu spoke, the chattering little ones subconsciously shut their mouths and waited curiously for the fourth brother's answer.

The fourth brother, seemingly unaware of being commented on by a group of children, smiled and said after hearing Tu Chengyu's words:

"It's all thanks to Father's care that he arranged for the right people to repair it."

Everyone nodded in agreement with what the fourth prince said; indeed, the emperor was very generous in the matter of allocating residences.

They all moved out together, and their residences were arranged according to the standards for princes.

Upon hearing this, the second brother said with great emotion, "Yes, it is all thanks to Father's grace that you and my brother have such dignity."

When this topic came up, Xiao Liu, who hadn't spoken since entering the fourth prince's residence, asked a question.

"Second brother, will our residences be of the same standard as yours in the future?"

Before the second prince could answer the sixth prince's question, the young imperial uncle interrupted, saying:
"Is my mansion the same as yours?"

If it were just about the sixth prince, the second prince might know how to answer. But when it involves the young imperial uncle, the second prince didn't know how to answer either.

He thought for a moment and said, "I don't know about this either, but you are still young and it's not time for you to worry about this."

Indeed, the young prince is only nine years old, and he will be away from the palace for at least another six or seven years.

However, the young prince longed to have his own residence and thus escape the constraints of adults.

He said with longing, "I wish I could open my own residence sooner, then I could invite you all to dinner sooner."

The young prince's words filled the twelfth prince and the others with longing, all looking up and imagining the feasts they would host after establishing their own mansions.

However, their fantasies remain just that—fantasies—and are unlikely to be realized in the short term.

Everyone chatted and laughed until they arrived at the main room where the fourth brother was holding his banquet that day.

Since it was a banquet for brothers, the fourth brother did not set up separate tables, but instead arranged a large round table in the middle of the room.

This arrangement, though somewhat casual, made everyone seem closer.

The fourth brother led everyone into the main room and then invited them to sit around the round table.

The Crown Prince had already given instructions that he would be coming today.

Therefore, the main position on the front will be left empty for now.

The main seat was reserved for the Crown Prince, and the young imperial uncle was naturally arranged to sit to the left of the Crown Prince.

Then the second child sat on the other side of the empty seat.

Once these few are seated, the rest can simply sit down in order.

Tu Chengyu then sat down next to the second brother, while the fourth brother, the host of the day, naturally sat at the bottom.

Once everyone was seated, the fourth prince instructed the servants to serve tea.

The older children were served tea, while the younger children were served honey water.

Tu Chengyu originally thought that since he had started working, he should be in the big wave.

But looking at the honey water in front of him, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but roll his eyes. It seemed that in Lao Si's eyes, he and Xiao Liu were on the same side.

Tu Chengyu felt it necessary to change their mindset, so he said:
"Fourth Brother, why are you serving me honey water too?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the fourth brother looked bewildered. He glanced at Tu Chengyu, then at the sixth brother and the others who were happily drinking honey water.

Puzzled, he asked, "Don't you like honey water?"

It wasn't that Tu Chengyu disliked drinking it, but rather that he felt he shouldn't drink honey water like a child.

So he said, "It's not that I don't like honey water, it's just that I want to drink tea today."

Upon hearing this, the fourth brother chuckled and said, "You're so young and you already want to drink tea? Tea is very bitter. Are you sure you want to drink it?"

Tu Chengyu was well aware of the bitterness of tea; he had drunk it for many years in his previous life and had developed a strong tea addiction, feeling uncomfortable if he didn't drink a cup or two every day.

In this life, due to his age, he didn't drink much.

Even when I went to Jiangnan, I mostly drank flower tea.

So he thought for a moment and said, "Fourth Brother, do you have any flower tea here? I'll make you a cup."

The fourth brother chuckled and said, "You're quite picky. You want to drink flower tea. Wait here while I ask the servants if they have any."

After saying that, the fourth brother turned and went out, obviously to find flower tea for Tu Chengyu.

(End of this chapter)