The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 207 The Maternal Family's Failure to Build a Family Has Already Become a Disaster

Just as the fourth brother rushed to the side courtyard to check on his own house, Tu Chengyu and Shen Ye slowly returned to the front yard.

After being interrupted by Lao Si, Shen Ye stopped talking to Tu Chengyu in a heated exchange.

The two returned to the main room one after the other, and Tu Chengyu went straight into the room.

Shen Ye then returned to the spot where he had been standing.

Randomly, Tu Chengyu vaguely heard Geng Chunchen asking Shen Ye in a low voice:
Why did you take so long?

His tone was somewhat harsh, as if he were questioning someone.

Although Shen Ye was a servant, he was also a trusted person by the Crown Prince's side.

Even if Geng Chunchen didn't care about the monk's reputation, he still had to be polite to the Buddha.

Now that he can show this kind of attitude in public, it's clear that Geng Chunchen's attitude must be even worse in the Crown Prince's residence or in private.

From this perspective, there is a significant conflict between the old guard and the newcomers around the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince has only been gone for such a short time, yet so many things have already happened around him.

This made Tu Chengyu feel uneasy.

As Tu Chengyu pondered these matters, he walked towards the room.

Without realizing it, the worried look on his face was revealed to everyone.

The Crown Prince had taken his place and was sitting in the main seat directly opposite. Upon seeing Tu Chengyu's expression, he stopped his conversation with the person next to him and asked, puzzled:
"Xiao Wu, why are you looking so worried? What's on your mind?"

Tu Chengyu was startled by the Crown Prince's words and realized that his expression had been revealed to everyone.

He quickly composed himself and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, brother. I just thought of something trivial. It's nothing."

Seeing that Tu Chengyu didn't want to talk, the Crown Prince didn't press the matter further, but simply greeted him:

"Come and sit down quickly, everyone is waiting for the feast."

The prince's words drew a chorus of agreement from the younger members.

For the older brothers, the relationship with the fourth brother was probably just a matter of visiting each other as brothers.

But for the younger ones, they were just there to eat and join in the fun.

To avoid further disturbance from the younger ones, Tu Chengyu quickly walked over and sat down.

After Tu Chengyu was seated, the Crown Prince wanted to call out to the Fourth Prince to start the banquet quickly.

But when he turned around and looked around, he couldn't find the fourth brother.

The Crown Prince then smiled and said to Tu Chengyu, "What's wrong with you two? You come and then you lose one."

Tu Chengyu knew that the fourth brother was probably angry that his house had been replaced with a new one, but it was not appropriate for him to say it here.

So he said, "Fourth Brother has something to attend to, he should be here soon."

Before Tu Chengyu could finish speaking, he heard Lao Si's voice from outside.

"I just arranged for my staff to serve the dishes, which caused a slight delay."

As the sound ended, the fourth brother appeared before everyone with a smiling face.

Behind him followed a steward from the prince's mansion, leading a group of maids carrying food.

Seeing the fourth brother happily arranging for people to serve the food, Tu Chengyu was momentarily confused.

He couldn't tell whether the fourth brother hadn't discovered the shady dealings in the courtyard, or whether he had discovered them but was suppressing his anger and not showing it.

If it's the latter, it means that the current fourth brother is different from before, and has become more cunning.

Tu Chengyu had this guess in his mind, but he didn't take it to heart.

As the food was served, the Crown Prince invited everyone to begin eating, and Tu Chengyu put the matter aside.

Although it was a housewarming party, the uncles, nephews, and brothers were all still young.

Therefore, no wine was served at this banquet; instead, there were some delicious dishes that were not commonly seen in the palace.

Everyone's attention was focused on eating and drinking, and for a moment there was no sound.

After the main meal, snacks and fruits were served.

During this period, the fourth brother, as the host, was in charge of making arrangements for coming and going.

They spend more time running around and playing than sitting down to eat.

The fourth brother arranged today's banquet very carefully. All the food and drinks were especially delicious, and everyone, whether small or large, was very satisfied.

After everyone finished eating, washed their hands and rinsed their mouths, and rested for a while.

Then the fourth prince arranged for the steward of the manor to take the princes on a tour of the manor.

Finally, various mini-games were arranged for everyone to enjoy.

Just as everyone got up to visit the Prince's Mansion, the Fourth Prince ignored the Crown Prince and said he had something to discuss with Tu Chengyu. He then took Tu Chengyu away from the others.

Seeing the fourth brother's actions, Tu Chengyu guessed that the fourth brother had probably discovered the inappropriateness of crossing courtyards, which was why he came to ask him about it.

Tu Chengyu was also thinking about this, but he didn't refuse the fourth brother's entreaties. He followed him to an empty house and pretended not to know anything, asking:
"Fourth Brother, is there something you need that you brought me here?"

The fourth brother had no time to beat around the bush with Tu Chengyu and said directly:

"Xiao Wu, based on what you told me, I've also pointed out the inappropriate aspects of the cross-courtyard layout."

"That's exactly what the fourth brother was talking about," Tu Chengyu said, raising an eyebrow.
"When I saw that Fourth Brother looked normal, I thought I must have seen wrong."

The fourth prince said with a wry smile, "Today I am the one who is hosting the banquet for the young prince and my brothers. Even if there is something very important, I can only keep it to myself."

The fourth brother's approach wasn't wrong, even though today's dinner was supposed to be a family gathering.

However, among the guests are people of high seniority, such as the young imperial uncle, and people of noble status, such as the crown prince. If the fourth prince causes problems at today's banquet because of something inappropriate in the courtyard, it would be a great loss.

Thinking about all this, Tu Chengyu asked, "Since Fourth Brother doesn't want to say it in front of everyone, why did you come to me, your younger brother?"

The fourth brother said, "Brother, I don't want to involve you either, but you're the one who helped me discover this. I also found that there are problems not only in the side courtyard of the entire mansion, so I want you, fifth brother, to help me come up with an idea."

Hearing what the fourth brother said, Tu Chengyu was both shocked and puzzled by the audacity of those who built the palace.

Tu Chengyu said, "Since you've discovered so many inappropriate things, you can just send someone to report to Father and let him make the decision for you. Why do you need me, your younger brother, to come up with ideas for you?"

Upon hearing this, the fourth prince said with a bitter expression, "Brother, I also want to report directly to Father, but the matter is quite serious, and I don't know whether I should report it to Father now."

Tu Chengyu asked with a puzzled look, "What's so important about it? Could the person who helped Fourth Brother renovate the courtyard be some kind of royal relative?"

Tu Chengyu's words were merely casual remark. However, he was surprised by the drastic change in the fourth prince's expression upon hearing them. Tu Chengyu couldn't help but ask, "Could there really be a member of the royal family? Who is it?"

Upon hearing this, the fourth brother looked conflicted and struggled for a long time before finally saying:

"Xiao Wu, the people involved here are none other than the Crown Prince and you."

"What?" Tu Chengyu was so shocked by these words that he almost jumped up. He hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, you can't just say things like that."

The fourth prince shook his head and said, "This concerns the Crown Prince, how could I dare to speak recklessly?"

That's true; the fourth prince wouldn't dare to make irresponsible accusations against the crown prince.

But what kind of status does the Crown Prince have? How could he do such a thing for a few measly coins?

He continued, "Fourth Brother, is there some misunderstanding? You know the Crown Prince, he couldn't possibly do such a thing. Besides, when your residence was being renovated, I was in Jiangnan."

The fourth prince said, "At first, I didn't want to believe it either, but the renovation of the mansion was done by the Crown Prince's men and your men, Fifth Prince."

Tu Chengyu was completely baffled by these words. You mean the people under the Crown Prince? That makes some sense.

However, Tu Chengyu had already left Dapu, because Tu Chengyu had not yet established his own residence and had very few people under his command.

Only a few kittens were taken to Jiangnan by Tu Chengyu, so they had no time to do evil in the capital.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "Fourth Brother, you must be mistaken. I don't have any subordinates to help you renovate your mansion."

Hearing this, the fourth brother was also a little unsure and asked in a low voice:
"Xiao Wu, aren't the Jia family your subordinates?"

The fourth brother was actually referring to the Jia family.

If the fourth son had said that the Jia family belonged to Tu Chengyu before Tu Chengyu left the capital, Tu Chengyu might not have admitted it.

However, after chatting with Jia Jing a few days ago, Tu Chengyu has come to regard the Jia family as his own.

In addition, there's Lin Daiyu's connection, and the Jia family sending Jia Tanchun to Tu Chengyu's side.

Therefore, he has no choice but to admit it now.

"Fourth Brother, the Jia family does have some connection with me. Could it be that members of the Jia family were involved in the renovation of the mansion?"

This was something Tu Chengyu couldn't understand. If the Jia family had done these things, Jia Jing would have mentioned it to him when he met him a few days ago.

Could it be that the Jia family is making a good show on the surface, but secretly following others and using their own name to amass wealth everywhere?

Upon hearing this, the fourth son said, "I also heard it from the servants in the mansion. This time, the renovation of the mansion was undertaken by the Geng family and the Jia family, who took on the work from the Ministry of Works."

"The Geng family? Which Geng family does the Crown Princess belong to?" Tu Chengyu asked tentatively.

The fourth brother nodded: "It's this Geng family. The two families together got it from the Ministry of Works, from the renovation of the Crown Prince's residence, and the renovation of my residence."

Tu Chengyu was aware that the Ministry of Works would outsource its work to outsiders.

He also knew that those who could get jobs from the Ministry of Works were either noble families or families with connections within the Ministry.

Just like the Jia family, they had Jia Zheng, a minor official, so it's understandable that he would get this job.

However, what Tu Chengyu couldn't understand was how the Jia family could get involved with the Geng family.

What angered Tu Chengyu even more was that this was the third day since he returned to Beijing that someone had brought up the Geng family's misdeeds in front of him.

Tu Chengyu still had some doubts when one or two people spoke, but one after another, people spoke, and the one who said it was his own fourth brother.

This forced Tu Chengyu to believe that the Geng family had problems.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu felt somewhat frustrated.

He simply couldn't understand what the Emperor was thinking, choosing such a family as the Crown Prince's maternal family.

So many problems have arisen in such a short time.

Moreover, when problems arose, the Emperor simply stood by and did not step in to help the Crown Prince manage the situation.

But getting angry won't help now, so I still need to find a way to resolve these issues.

Tu Chengyu then said to the fourth brother, "Fourth brother, if what you say is true, dealing with the Jia family is easy, but how do you plan to deal with the Geng family?"

The fourth brother, still with a bitter face, said, "I was just undecided, that's why I wanted to ask you for help."

Tu Chengyu said, "You can discuss it with me, but don't you have any ideas of your own?"

Although the fourth brother was the most straightforward among his brothers, he was no fool living in an imperial family, and he must have his own ideas.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the fourth brother said:
“Because this matter concerns the Crown Prince, I plan to speak to him first and ask for his opinion. If it can be handled privately, the three of us brothers will handle it quietly. Otherwise, if it gets out, it will cause trouble for the Crown Prince.”

Upon hearing Lao Si's idea, Tu Chengyu found himself in a dilemma.

If it were just this one thing, Tu Chengyu would have done it for the Crown Prince quietly, just like the Fourth Prince.

However, judging from the news I've heard in the past few days, the Geng family is involved in more than one matter.

Most importantly, given the Emperor's arrangements in the capital, it is highly likely that he already knows about the Geng family's move.

At this point, if Tu Chengyu and his brothers, along with the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, were to quietly suppress the matter, it would not only fail to help the Crown Prince but could also bring him even greater trouble.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu shook his head and said, "Fourth Brother, this matter cannot be resolved privately; it must be reported to Father Emperor."

Upon hearing this, the fourth prince asked in confusion, "Reporting this matter to Father Emperor will inevitably make him dissatisfied with the Crown Prince. Why did you choose to do this?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Fourth Brother, there are other things involved here that cannot be concealed."

Although Tu Chengyu did not reveal what was involved, given Tu Chengyu's relationship with the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince believed that Tu Chengyu would not intentionally harm the Crown Prince.

So he could only ask, "Since we have to report this to Father Emperor, should we also tell the Crown Prince about this?"

This was indeed a problem, and Tu Chengyu had to frown and think about it again.

After thinking for a long time, he said, "We don't know if this matter is true or false before we investigate it, so we'd better not tell the Crown Prince."

The fourth prince said worriedly, "Is it alright not to report this to the Crown Prince?"

Tu Chengyu said, "This is the only way to do it, and I have another request that I hope Fourth Brother will grant."

The fourth brother immediately said, "Fifth brother, just say what you need to say."

Tu Chengyu said, "I would like to ask my fourth brother to restrain the servants in the mansion and not spread this matter for the time being. I will make arrangements after I go to the palace to consult with Father."

The fourth brother thought to himself that the fifth brother's arrangement was quite appropriate.

Moreover, this was Xiao Wu's idea. Even if the Crown Prince finds out and feels dissatisfied, he won't hold a grudge against Xiao Wu.

So, the fourth brother nodded and said, "Don't worry, Fifth Brother, I can handle this. I will make sure the news doesn't leak out before you make a decision."

After listening, Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Then I'll thank you in advance, Fourth Brother. Once I get the Emperor's approval, I'll definitely tell you as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)