The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 206 The Crown Prince's Surroundings Are in Chaos

After the fourth prince went down, he returned shortly with a servant carrying a cup of flower tea.

Looking at the steaming hot flower tea, Tu Chengyu took it and happily took a sip.

Although it didn't taste as good as the tea Lin Daiyu brewed herself, it was still acceptable.

Unexpectedly, Tu Chengyu's expression of enjoyment while drinking flower tea aroused the interest of Xiao Liu and Xiao Huangshu.

Especially the young imperial uncle, who immediately asked, "I'd like to drink flower tea too?"

Faced with the young prince's request, the fourth prince hesitated, unsure of how to respond, and turned to look at the second prince.

The second child himself didn't know what to do, and frowned as he thought for a while.

Finally, he said, "Give each of them a cup, and make sure there's plenty of tea."

The second brother spoke with a straight face, but to Tu Chengyu, it sounded like he was about to discipline these little guys.

After all, while flower tea isn't as bitter as regular tea, too much of it isn't something children like.

The fourth brother understood what the second brother meant and went downstairs with a wink.

Xiao Liu witnessed this process, and after Lao Si left, he whispered to Tu Chengyu:

"Fifth Brother, I have a feeling that Second Brother and Fourth Brother are up to no good."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu chuckled and said, "No, that's not true. Fourth Brother is taking special care of you."

Xiao Liu listened with some skepticism, but didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu sat calmly, waiting to watch the show.

Moreover, she would occasionally take a sip of her flower tea, deliberately making it look delicious, which made the younger children even more eager to try it.

So when the flower tea that the fourth brother had arranged was served again and cooled down a bit, they couldn't wait to drink it.

Having been tempted by Tu Chengyu beforehand, they thought it was something delicious and each of them took a big gulp.

Then, I heard a sound of water being spit out.

"Ah, it's bitter!"

"It's too hard, Fourth Brother is lying."

"Did Fourth Brother send the wrong thing?"

Some directly questioned the fourth brother, while others thought he hadn't given the right gift.

The only one who noticed something amiss beforehand only took a small sip and wasn't harmed by the bitter tea.

Seeing these little guys all frowning and complaining, I was struck by their pain.

Tu Chengyu and the other older members burst into laughter in perfect unison.

At this point, the little ones finally realized that they had been pranked.

One by one, they left their seats and ran over to the older children, playfully fighting with them.

The entire main room became noisy and bustling, creating a lively atmosphere.

After joking around for a while, everyone finally sat back down in their seats.

However, the Crown Prince had not yet arrived, so the banquet could not begin. Everyone could only sit together, eat snacks, drink tea, and chat.

As they chatted casually, Tu Chengyu discovered that although there had been a struggle between the second son and the crown prince, it had not affected the friendship between the others.

The relationships between everyone were no different from when they were at Prince An's residence.

As they chatted, Tu Chengyu unknowingly drank two more cups of tea.

"Fourth Brother, where is the outhouse?"

The fourth brother was busy greeting the others when he heard Tu Chengyu's words and wanted to find someone to take care of Tu Chengyu.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ye, who had been waiting at the door, immediately spoke up after hearing this:

"Fourth Prince, I know the location of the outhouse in your residence, so please lead the way."

No one expected that Shen Ye would suddenly appear at this time to curry favor.

This is the residence of the fourth prince. Even though Shen Ye is an old servant of the former Prince An's residence, he cannot run errands for the fourth prince's people at this time.

But everyone knows that Shen Yeben is not someone who doesn't know what's important.

So his speaking at this time seems a bit strange.

Therefore, the fourth brother did not speak up immediately, but instead turned to look at Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu had no idea what Shen Ye was up to, and stared at Shen Ye with wide eyes.

At this moment, Shen Ye remained calm, as if he hadn't noticed that something was wrong.

Just then, a steward from the fourth prince's residence stepped forward and said, "How about I take the prince there?"

He shook his head, seemingly having thought of something, and said, "Let Shen Ye take me there."

After saying that, Tu Chengyu got up and stepped out of the main room. Shen Ye quickly took a few steps forward and leaned to the side to lead the way for Tu Chengyu.

Just as Tu Chengyu and his companion set off, Geng Chunchen, who had been following Shen Ye, looked conflicted and seemed to want to follow.

However, before he could move, Tu Chengyu glared at him sideways. Seeing Tu Chengyu's gaze, the guy wisely stopped and stood quietly in place.

Led by Shen Ye, Tu Chengyu crossed the crescent-shaped gate and arrived at the adjacent courtyard.

After Tu Chengyu relieved himself, seeing that no one else was in the courtyard, he casually remarked:
"Is there something you wish to say to me?"

Shen Ye lagged half a step behind and said in a low voice, "I do have something I want to say to Your Highness."

It seems Tu Chengyu's guess was correct; this guy took the initiative to lead the way, so there must be something going on.

Moreover, since he was the Crown Prince's wet nurse and is now also the steward of the Crown Prince's residence, what he said must be related to the Crown Prince.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "Is it about the Crown Prince?"

Shen Ye whispered, "Yes, Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "Since it concerns the Crown Prince, why don't you tell him? Instead, you're sneaking around to find me."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Shen Ye said anxiously:

"I once told the Crown Prince, but he didn't believe me, so I had no choice but to come to Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's heart skipped a beat.

Shen Ye was the Crown Prince's wet nurse. He had been with the Crown Prince since he was a child and had always been the Crown Prince's most trusted servant.

The Crown Prince doesn't believe what Shen Ye is saying, forcing Shen Ye to come to him to explain.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what was going on. Was it that Shen Ye had lied and made the Crown Prince dislike him, or was it that the Crown Prince himself had deceived him and didn't want to believe Shen Ye's words?

Emotionally, Tu Chengyu was more inclined to believe the Crown Prince.

But Shen Ye risked betraying his master to come to him, leaving Tu Chengyu somewhat unsure of what to do. After a moment's thought, Tu Chengyu asked, "What has made the Crown Prince distrust you?"

Shen Ye said, "After the Crown Prince was granted a separate residence, many other people came into the residence. These guys colluded together, deceiving the Crown Prince internally and doing bad things in the Crown Prince's name externally."

I couldn't bear to see the Crown Prince's reputation tarnished, so I stood up and exposed their actions. Little did I know that these guys were extremely cunning and had dug a pit for me to fall into.

This time, not only did I fail to expose their crimes, but I also aroused the Crown Prince's dissatisfaction, causing him to distrust my future statements.

Shen Ye rambled on and on, and Tu Chengyu finally understood the reasons behind what had happened.

However, Tu Chengyu had nothing to say about Shen Ye's experience; instead, he was quite interested in some of the things Shen Ye mentioned.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "You said there are people outside doing bad things under the Crown Prince's name. Who are these people?"

The reason Tu Chengyu asked this question was because when he went to the Jia family a couple of days ago, Jia Jing mentioned that someone was using the Crown Prince's name to do things outside.

At the time, Jia Jing also mentioned that the person who did this was Geng Huchen, the Crown Princess's elder brother.

Tu Chengyu originally thought that when he had time, he would privately investigate what he had said.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ye came over today and brought up this matter again.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu wanted to know whether the person Shen Ye mentioned and the person Jia Jing mentioned were the same person.
Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's question, Shen Ye answered without much thought:
"Your Highness, please forgive me. It was the Crown Princess's two elder brothers who tarnished the Crown Prince's reputation."

Shen Ye mentioned one more person than Jia Jing had mentioned. Tu Chengyu pretended to be surprised, as if he had just heard it, and said:
"You mean Geng Huchen and Geng Chunchen?"

Shen Ye nodded and said, "Your Highness is wise; it is indeed these two."

What Shen Ye said actually matched what Jia Jing said. Tu Chengyu was now mostly convinced.

However, unlike Jia Jing, Tu Chengyu did not want to reveal his thoughts to Shen Ye.

He was even more surprised and said, "How could this be? The Crown Princess's brother should be helping the Crown Prince, so why would he go out and ruin the Crown Prince's reputation?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's question, Shen Ye replied, "I don't understand either. Perhaps the Geng family is greedy and wants to take this opportunity to amass wealth."

Shen Ye said he couldn't figure it out, but he quietly pointed Tu Chengyu in a direction from behind.

If it had been a year ago at the Prince An's residence, Tu Chengyu might have easily believed what he said.

However, after a year of changes, even the Crown Prince has undergone such a significant transformation that Tu Chengyu is no longer able to grasp the situation.

Not to mention Shen Ye, whom I've barely seen more than a few times this year.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu did not reveal any of his thoughts, and pretended to be very embarrassed, saying:

"But what use is it for you to tell me these things?"

Shen Ye said excitedly, "Your Highness, you have always been close to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince believes what you say. So I would like to beg Your Highness to tell the Crown Prince these things in private, so that the Crown Prince will not be deceived and unaware of what is happening outside."

Tu Chengyu believed that if he went to talk to the Crown Prince about these things now, he would definitely get the Crown Prince's attention.

However, whether it's what Jia Jing says or what Shen Ye is saying now, it's only their side of the story, so Tu Chengyu naturally can't believe it rashly.

What if both of them are lying, or they have been deceived?

He foolishly went to speak ill of the Crown Princess's brother, which not only angered the Geng family but also made the Crown Prince resent Tu Chengyu.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu decided not to reveal his thoughts at this time and remained vague in his statement.

"Although I am close to the Crown Prince, he is, after all, the Crown Prince. The affairs of the Crown Prince's residence can only be handled by the Crown Prince. It is not appropriate for me to interfere."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Shen Ye immediately said anxiously, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince himself is deceiving you..."

Tu Chengyu immediately interrupted Shen Ye and said in a deep voice, "How can the Crown Prince's affairs be discussed between you and me in private? I am only pretending not to know this time because you are thinking of the Crown Prince. But if I hear about you talking about it elsewhere, I will not let you off lightly."

Tu Chengyu said this for two reasons: first, he didn't want Shen Ye to guess his thoughts, and second, he wanted to shut Shen Ye up so that he wouldn't go around talking about it and alert the enemy.

Shen Ye, on the other hand, did not expect that Tu Chengyu, who had been asking questions just now, would suddenly change his expression.

However, given Tu Chengyu's status, he dared not pursue the matter any further.

Just as the two were at an impasse, a series of footsteps sounded outside the door, and then the fourth brother's figure was seen coming in from outside.

Now that someone had arrived, Tu Chengyu and his companion couldn't say anything more.

Tu Chengyu pretended to have just come out of the toilet, and Shen Ye also brought water to clean his hands and served him to wash them.

The fourth brother strode over and said loudly:
"Fifth brother, why did it take so long?"

In order not to arouse suspicion, Tu Chengyu deliberately said:

"Fourth Brother, this is my first time entering your residence, so I took a few extra glances."

The fourth brother laughed and said, "This is an old courtyard, what's there to see? Let's hurry back, the Crown Prince is here and waiting for you."

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had arrived, Tu Chengyu said, "Now that the Crown Prince has arrived, we should not keep him waiting. Let's go quickly."

He took two steps forward and walked to the fourth brother's side. The two brothers stood side by side, ready to go back.

After taking only a few steps, Tu Chengyu asked, "Fourth Brother, you just said this is the old courtyard? But when I looked at it just now, I noticed that the roof tiles and the paint on the door are all new."

This wasn't something Tu Chengyu said offhand; it was something he had casually glanced at and noticed earlier.

The fourth brother said dismissively, "They just replaced the roof tiles and the paving stones in the yard."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Fourth Brother, do you mean the tiles and floor bricks have all been replaced with new ones?"

The fourth brother nodded and said, "This is the brochure submitted by the Ministry of Works. Is there anything wrong with it?"

Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said, "My brother looked at it for a while and noticed that some of the roof tiles in the dark areas look old."

Hearing Tu Chengyu's words startled the fourth brother. He immediately stopped and looked at Tu Chengyu, saying:
"Fifth brother, are you telling the truth?"

Tu Chengyu said softly, "My brother only glanced at it casually, so perhaps he didn't see it very clearly."

Despite Tu Chengyu's words, the fourth brother was still uneasy. He said:

"Fifth Brother, you go back first, I'll go check the back."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and ran to the courtyard before Tu Chengyu could say anything.

Watching the fourth brother's departing figure, Tu Chengyu felt somewhat annoyed.

Because he had already determined that the tiles and floor bricks in the courtyard were a mix of old and new.

Judging from Lao Si's reaction just now, new tiles and bricks must have been used during the renovation.

This means that the renovation involved replacing old materials with new ones.

Although it may seem like just a small thing now, it's still quite comforting for the fourth son, who's waiting to move into his new house.

Thinking about this, Tu Chengyu realized that he had some jinx traits; wherever he went, something would happen.

Moreover, he discovered and revealed most of these things himself.

Tu Chengyu didn't know whether this attribute was good or bad.

(End of this chapter)