The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 21 Grandparents and Grandchildren Playing Games and Playing Mind Games

Inside the Imperial Palace, specifically the Daming Palace in the East Palace.

The retired emperor slammed a teacup on the ground and pointed at Dai Quan, cursing, "I told you to go to the court and keep an eye on things for me, but instead you're running off to run errands for the fourth prince. Do you want to find a new master now that I've abdicated?"

Upon hearing such hurtful words, Dai Quan was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a thud, and said with a mournful face, "Your Majesty, even if you gave me ten lives, I would not dare to betray you. I only run errands for Your Majesty because Your Majesty was put on the throne by your support. I can't bring shame to Your Majesty, even if I don't care about the monk's reputation."

In fact, the retired emperor also knew that no matter how powerful Dai Quan was, he was still a servant of the royal family and had no courage to refuse the emperor's orders in front of the court officials.

The reason why the retired emperor is angry with Dai Quan is simply to find an excuse to vent his displeasure.

After cursing a couple of times, the Emperor Emeritus calmed down and said, "Alright, stop pretending and howling there."

Upon hearing this, Dai Quan jumped up, his face beaming like a chrysanthemum, and said, "The Emperor Emeritus understands me best."

Just as the Emperor Emeritus was about to say something to Dai Quan, a young eunuch entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Prince Su is requesting an audience outside the palace."

"Who?" The retired emperor heard the name of Prince Su but couldn't recall who it was for a moment.

Dai Quan, who knew the Emperor Emeritus best, immediately explained, "Your Majesty, Prince Su is the fifth prince of the Emperor's family, and he was conferred the title of Prince Su the other day."

After Dai Quan's explanation, the Emperor Emeritus understood and said, "So it's Yu-ge'er. What's he doing here?"

The young eunuch replied, "They said they came to visit the Emperor Emeritus, and they brought quite a lot of things, which were carried by more than a dozen people."

After listening, the retired emperor said, "He's resorting to crooked tricks again, just like his father."

The retired emperor casually scolded his son and grandson, but did not say whether he wanted to see them or not.

The young eunuch dared not ask directly, and could only look to Dai Quan for help. Dai Quan understood the young eunuch's predicament, so he said, "Your Majesty, I remember you used to like Prince Su. Prince Su is here today, why don't you meet him?"

The retired emperor glanced at Dai Quan sideways and said, "You old codger, you've learned to play the charlatan too!"

Dai Quan replied with a smile, "This servant has no favors to speak of. I just thought that since you and the Emperor are family, it's not good for things to remain so tense. Now that Prince Su has come, this servant has dared to speak out. If you don't want to see him, this servant will have someone send Prince Su back."

As expected of the most trusted eunuch in front of the retired emperor, he spoke so eloquently that he not only guessed the retired emperor's thoughts but also took care of the retired emperor's face in his words.

Since Dai Quan said so, the retired emperor stopped pretending and nodded in agreement.

On the other side, Tu Chengyu, standing outside the East Palace Gate, was somewhat depressed.

I recall the day my father ascended the throne, he made quite a splash. Not only did he send Xie Xishu, a promising young man who was just over forty, to Qiongzhou Prefecture to educate the barbarians, but he also set conditions that would make it difficult for him to return to the court in the short term.

He also inadvertently caused trouble for another promising young man, Shen Weiyan, putting him in a position of being suspected by his colleagues.

That's not all. The most serious thing is that Prince Zhongshun's title was directly demoted from Prince to Prince of the Second Rank. You have to understand that the reason why Prince Zhongshun has worked so hard to perform under the Emperor Emeritus all these years is to keep his family's title and not have it demoted when it is passed down to the next generation.

Now look what's happened! Not only did he lose his title, but he was demoted prematurely. When his son inherits the title, he won't even be qualified to be a king; he'll become a duke instead.

It is said that the retired emperor was so angry about this that he did not eat properly for several days. The emperor and the crown prince repeatedly requested an audience to pay their respects, but the retired emperor refused them all.

Finally, having no other choice, the emperor remembered that the retired emperor had seemed to have a fondness for Xiao Wu, which led to the scene where Tu Chengyu is now standing in front of the East Palace gate.

My father and grandfather were having a fight, and they asked a little kid to be the peacemaker. What kind of logic is that?

Tu Chengyu was still pondering how to face the Emperor Emeritus when he saw the little eunuch who had gone to deliver the message return.

Tu Chengyu stepped forward and asked, "Has Grandfather agreed?"

The young eunuch nodded and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor Emeritus summons you for an audience!"

Tu Chengyu was so happy that he waved to the people following behind him and said, "Great, hurry up and catch up."

After saying that, he ran into the East Palace gate first. As soon as he entered the palace gate, he called out, "Grandpa Emperor, I've come."

All the eunuchs and palace maids turned to look at them. The young eunuch who had led the way was so frightened that he ran over and whispered, "Your Highness, we must not make noise in the Eastern Palace. It would be bad if we disturbed the Emperor Emeritus."

Tu Chengyu pretended to be ignorant and said, "Don't worry, Grandfather will only be happy to hear that I'm coming. He won't be disturbed at all."

After saying that, he ignored the little eunuch's desperate pleas and ran off towards the Daming Palace.

Daming Palace is the largest palace in the Eastern Palace, and it was originally the Crown Prince's palace.

As the former crown prince grew older, and considering that the crown prince needed to learn about politics from the court officials, the retired emperor moved the former crown prince out of the Eastern Palace and built a new crown prince residence outside the palace.

After that, the Eastern Palace remained vacant. Following the turmoil, the retired emperor, for reasons unknown, moved into the Eastern Palace. This left the current crown prince residing in the Western Palace. Tu Chengyu ran frantically, darting east and west through the inner gardens of the Eastern Palace, finally being stopped in front of the Daming Palace by two eunuchs who were prepared.

One of the eunuchs, seeing that Tu Chengyu still had the idea of ​​barging in, quickly said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment, this servant will go into the palace to report."

Tu Chengyu nodded, but as soon as the eunuch turned his head, he suddenly shouted:
"Grandpa, your grandson has arrived!"

The eunuchs at the door were so frightened they almost collapsed, but thankfully the retired emperor inside the palace spoke up.

"Get in here!"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu replied loudly, "Okay!"

After saying that, he glanced triumphantly at the eunuch at the door, as if to say, "See? The Emperor Emeritus won't be angry."

Upon entering the hall, the retired emperor was not in the main hall, but in the warm pavilion on the east side. Tu Chengyu followed the eunuch to the entrance of the warm pavilion and saw the retired emperor nestled on a soft cushion, pretending to be very angry as he looked at Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu looked bewildered and asked with a puzzled expression, "Grandpa, do you really want your grandson to come over here?"

As he spoke, he bent over as if preparing to roll around.

The Emperor Emeritus couldn't hold back any longer at Tu Chengyu's cheeky antics and said with a laugh, "Stop fooling around in front of your imperial grandfather, come here quickly."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu entered the warm pavilion and respectfully greeted the Emperor Emeritus.

The Emperor Emeritus did indeed like his grandson Tu Chengyu, a fact that dates back to when Tu Chengyu was four years old.

That summer, Prince An brought his family to the palace to pay their respects, including Tu Chengyu, who was visiting the palace for the first time.

He had only been in this world for four years and had not yet been corrupted by the strict etiquette of rulers and subjects, fathers and sons, and the rigid rules of propriety.

Although he was afraid of imperial power, he saw that his grandfather was a kind old man who spoke to his grandsons in a gentle manner.

Tu Chengyu had a sudden thought and boldly tested the waters. To his surprise, his grandfather was not only not angry, but became even more amiable.

Tu Chengyu immediately got excited, not only asking to be held by his grandfather, but also pulling his grandfather's beard, eating at the same table with his grandfather, and finally asking for a reward before leaving.

His behavior was utterly out of place among the rest of the imperial grandsons, who were raised to be as docile as quails; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him incredibly audacious.

However, the retired emperor had initially been quite swayed by this, bestowing many gifts upon him and subsequently summoning Tu Chengyu to the palace every year. But two years ago, when the former crown prince and Prince Ping began their power struggle, the retired emperor, to avoid implicating Prince An, stopped summoning Tu Chengyu. Later, during routine greetings, he no longer displayed such closeness.

To be honest, the grandfather and grandson hadn't spoken to each other privately for more than two years.

Now that they had met, the Emperor Emeritus called Tu Chengyu to his side, looked him over carefully, and said, "You've grown up. I heard that you can argue with the censors in court and even gain the upper hand. You're really impressive."

Faced with the Emperor Emeritus's teasing, Tu Chengyu showed no restraint and said, "I am right, why would I be afraid of them? Besides, with my grandfather behind me to protect me, I have already lost because I did not leave them speechless."

The Emperor Emeritus smiled and pointed at Tu Chengyu, saying to Dai Quan like a grandfather praising his grandson: "See? His appearance has changed, but his courage hasn't changed at all. In front of me, he is still as bold as before."

Dai Quan tactfully said, "It is also because Prince Su is smart that he knows that Your Majesty the Emperor is kind to your grandsons, which is why he dares to play around in front of you."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately replied, "Chief Steward Dai is right. It is only because of Your Majesty's favor that I dare to be so bold. Without Your Majesty's protection, I would have long since hidden away somewhere far away. How could I dare to argue with the ministers in the court?"

These words pleased the Emperor Emeritus greatly, and for a time, the warm pavilion was filled with joy.

After the retired emperor finished laughing, he asked, "What did your father send you here for?"

Tu Chengyu quickly replied, "It has nothing to do with Father Emperor. It is because I miss my grandfather that I begged you to send someone to bring me to see him."

The retired emperor said irritably, "You, don't be so hypocritical like your father and try to play tricks on your imperial grandfather."

Tu Chengyu was speechless after hearing this. Was the Emperor Emeritus being so blunt these days, calling his father hypocritical to his face? But then he remembered that his father was also someone else's son, so what could he say?

Seeing that his little trick had been seen through, Tu Chengyu made no attempt to hide it and said, "Grandson did come to see His Majesty, but before I came, Father asked me to do something and wanted to ask His Majesty's opinion."

The retired emperor, looking as if he had just expected this, said, "What did your father ask you to do? Did he want you to come and make a fool of myself so you could go back and tell him about it?"

Tu Chengyu was speechless once again, thinking to himself, "Grandpa, could you please stop saying such frightening things? I'm too young to bear it."

Not only was he unable to bear it, but Dai Quan, standing to the side, was so frightened that he almost buried his head in his chest.

(End of this chapter)