The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 216 The Strange Uncle
After exchanging a few words with Zhu Shiguo, Tu Chengyu prepared to take his second uncle to the Marquis of Chengji's residence.

But before he could move, Zijuan, the maid who had been pretending to be a quail, quickly called out in a low voice.

"Prince"

Although she only said those two words, Tu Chengyu understood that the girl was afraid that the Shuntian Prefecture government wouldn't look for the items seriously after he left.

Although Zijuan didn't do it intentionally, the jewelry was indeed snatched from her hands. So, besides Lin Daiyu, this girl is the one most anxious to find the jewelry back.

But now the Emperor has issued an edict forbidding the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture from conducting a large-scale search.

Tu Chengyu had no other choice but to hope that Zhu Shiguo would keep his word and send out capable soldiers to help him search.

However, Tu Chengyu could not tell Zijuan these words, lest she and Lin Daiyu worry together.

So he said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhu just said he would arrange for people to search for it, and I also have my own arrangements. We will definitely find it."

"I will arrange for someone to take you back to the Jia residence shortly. Tell Miss Lin the truth about what happened here."

Since Tu Chengyu had said so, what could a maid like her say? Although she was still worried, she could only retreat.

After sending Zijuan away, Tu Chengyu led his second uncle out of the Shuntian Prefecture government office.

The second uncle, who was originally overjoyed at being able to go home, fell silent after leaving the gate and sitting in Tu Chengyu's carriage. The excitement on his face had disappeared.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what his second uncle's current situation was, and he didn't know how to comfort him.

The two sat in the carriage, looking at each other in silence.

After the carriage had been traveling for a while, the second uncle, who hadn't spoken for a long time, suddenly raised his head and said to Tu Chengyu:

"Brother Yu, do you think your uncle doesn't want me to be released?"

Tu Chengyu didn't know how to answer that question.

To be honest, if I were in my uncle's position now, having a younger brother who constantly causes trouble, and whose troubles always affect the family, I would also want this younger brother locked up so he wouldn't harm anyone.

But Tu Chengyu wasn't the eldest uncle after all, so he didn't know what the eldest uncle was thinking.

Moreover, the person in front of him was his uncle, so Tu Chengyu couldn't possibly say anything that would hurt his feelings.

Tu Chengyu could only say comfortingly, "Second Uncle, you're overthinking it. Eldest Uncle isn't that kind of person."

Upon hearing this, the second uncle shook his head and said, "That's exactly what your eldest uncle thought. I know he came to Shuntian Prefecture and that he arranged for people to take care of me inside, but he never intended to let me out."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered that his third cousin often brought food to his second uncle in the Shuntian Prefecture prison, and he must have told his second uncle about what was happening outside.

So it's not surprising that my second uncle knew all this.

Tu Chengyu was worried that since his second uncle knew what his eldest uncle had done, he would probably also know that he had gone to Jiangnan and had just returned.

Could he then realize that he had forgotten him, which led to the latter being imprisoned for so long?

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said somewhat guiltily, "Second Uncle, whether you have been released or not is a decision only Father Emperor can make. How can my eldest uncle have the final say?"

At this point, Tu Chengyu planned to drag the emperor out as a scapegoat, hoping it would shut his second uncle up.

Unexpectedly, my second uncle said, "The Emperor is busy with countless affairs of state. How could he possibly remember such a trivial matter as me being imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture?"

If your uncle pleads with the Emperor, given his affection for the Empress, he will surely release me sooner.

Since I've been imprisoned for so long, it must be because your uncle didn't plead for me."

Whether my second uncle knew the truth or was just guessing, he revealed the truth of the matter.

Tu Chengyu never expected that his second uncle could be so clever.

It would be even better if she could channel that intelligence into her daily interactions with others, instead of maliciously speculating about her uncle.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu didn't know how to answer his uncle's question, so he just gave a perfunctory reply:
"This is just my second uncle's guess, so please don't mention it to my eldest uncle."

Second Uncle smiled and said, "Brother Yu, your second uncle isn't stupid, why would I do that?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu suddenly sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Then why did you tell me, Second Uncle?"

My second uncle said, "I'm telling you this so you know that your eldest uncle might still be angry with me. When we get home, if he tries to teach me a lesson, you have to stop him."

After listening, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but smile wryly. His second uncle had said so much, only to find out it was all for such a trivial matter.

What could Tu Chengyu say to his second uncle? He could only nod in agreement.

After recounting this, the second uncle seemed to have let go of his worries and was once again looking forward to going home.

The carriage fell silent once again. After some time, the two finally arrived at their second uncle's house, the Chengji Marquis's residence.

This time, because Tu Chengyu did not send anyone to deliver the message in advance, the Marquis of Chengji's residence was unaware that the two were coming.

Therefore, when Tu Chengyu's carriage arrived, the servants at the entrance of the Hou Mansion had no idea who the guests were.

When Tu Chengyu helped his second uncle down from the carriage, the servants at the door were so surprised they almost dropped their jaws.

One of the leading servants stopped his second uncle and said incredulously:

"Second Master?"

Seeing his servants behave this way, the second uncle became very angry and scolded them:
"It's me, what's the big deal?"

Upon hearing this, the servant quickly apologized, saying, "I was just happy to see you, Second Master. You should have sent someone to let us know you were coming home today so we could have come and fetch you."

Upon hearing this, the second uncle raised his chin and said, "Who cares if you come to pick me up? Your second uncle will naturally have someone to see me off."

As he spoke, the second uncle turned to Tu Chengyu.

The servant at the door followed his second uncle's gaze and looked at Tu Chengyu.

In fact, the servant had noticed Tu Chengyu long ago. From Tu Chengyu's clothes, demeanor, and temperament, he had long felt that the young man in front of him was no ordinary person.

However, he had never met Tu Chengyu before, and the sudden appearance of his second uncle had attracted the servant's attention, so he did not immediately go forward to greet him or inquire about his identity.

Seeing that the servants' eyes were all on Tu Chengyu, the second uncle said proudly:
"This is His Highness Prince Su. It was Prince Su who brought me back today."

Upon hearing that the young man before them was actually Prince Su, the servants were so frightened that they bowed their heads and dared not look directly at Tu Chengyu.

The lead servant reacted quickly, flicking his sleeve backward as he bowed.

A young servant behind him saw this action, so he bent over and took a few steps back, then turned around and ran into the courtyard as fast as he could.

After the young servant left, the head servant then spoke in a serious voice:
"I was unaware that Your Highness was here. I apologize for any disrespect I may have shown."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and said, "It's alright!"

At this moment, the second uncle said, "Now that we know it is the prince who has come, why don't we quickly open the gate and welcome the prince into the mansion?"

The head servant hesitated upon hearing this, and said uncertainly:

"The master has come to welcome the prince's progress; I'm afraid this is disrespectful."

The second uncle said dismissively, "Prince Su is a close relative of our family, so there's no need to worry about these things."

Since the second uncle, the master of the house, had spoken, the servant naturally had no room for rebuttal.

He apologized to Tu Chengyu and then turned around to arrange for someone to open the main gate of the Hou residence.

Fortunately, opening the main gate of a mansion like the Hou's was quite complicated. By the time the head servant had the gate opened, the current master of the Hou's mansion, Tu Chengyu's maternal uncle, had arrived.

The eldest uncle came out of the gate and saw the second uncle standing with his hands behind his back, like a guest, watching the gate of the Hou Mansion with Tu Chengyu.

She glared at her second uncle fiercely. Her second uncle, who had been in a good mood, immediately lost his smile after being glared at by her eldest uncle and turned his head away in a huff, refusing to look at him.

Tu Chengyu never expected that his two uncles would have this kind of relationship. No wonder his second uncle specifically reminded him on the way to help him order some things.

After glaring at his second uncle, the eldest uncle came over to pay his respects.

"I've met the prince."

Tu Chengyu dodged to the side and quickly returned:
"Big Uncle"

After exchanging greetings, the eldest uncle invited Tu Chengyu into the mansion. Throughout the entire process, the eldest uncle never once glanced at the second uncle.

The second uncle himself didn't seem to care, and followed Tu Chengyu in, strolling leisurely into the Prince's mansion.

Just as Tu Chengyu entered the Marquis's residence, news of the Second Master's return home spread like wildfire.

Some well-informed servants quickly spread the news to their masters throughout the mansion.

As the second master of the household, Hou's residence naturally had servants in the west wing who delivered messages.

Just as Tu Chengyu's third cousin was reporting to his mother what he had seen and heard when he delivered food to Shuntian Prefecture that day.

One of their servants, panting, went to the door to deliver the message.

"Second Madam, Third Young Master, a message just came from the front yard that the Second Master has returned."

Upon hearing this, the mother and son rushed out. The third cousin immediately pulled back the curtain and stopped the servants, asking:

"What did you say?"

The servant, beaming, said, "Second Master is back."

The second wife asked incredulously, "Are you serious?"

The servant nodded and said with certainty, "It's true. A message came from the front courtyard that the Second Master has already entered the gate. It was personally delivered by Prince Su."

Upon hearing the first part of the sentence, the second wife was already on the verge of tears of joy. She murmured to herself:

"It'll be good to come back, it'll be good to come back."

The third cousin remained relatively calm and asked:
"Are you sure it was Prince Su who brought the Second Master?"

It wasn't that he didn't believe what his servants said, but Tu Chengyu's appearance had a different meaning for their family, so he had to be cautious.

The servant nodded and said, "It is indeed Prince Su."

Upon confirming the news, Third Cousin unconsciously showed a look of joy on his face.

At this moment, he was thinking to himself that the reason Prince Su went to Shuntian Prefecture was to bring his father out.

But why didn't Prince Su say so at the time? If he had, he could have come back with his father.

The second wife also noticed Prince Su.

He then asked, "Where are Prince Su and the Second Master now?"

The servant said, "The master is with you in the main hall in the front courtyard."

Upon hearing this, the second wife looked at her third cousin and said, "Now that Prince Su has arrived, should we go and greet him?"

The second wife said it was to see Prince Su, but actually she wanted to see the second master as soon as possible.

Third cousin thought for a moment and said, "The Prince of Su has finally come to the mansion. We don't know how Uncle will arrange things. It would be inappropriate for Mother to go there rashly."

So he sent his son to inquire, and if Prince Su wished to summon him, they could meet then.

The second wife thought about it and realized that it made sense, so she didn't insist and just urged her third cousin.

"In that case, you should hurry to the front courtyard to see Prince Su."

Third cousin was also anxious. Hearing the urging, he bid farewell to his mother and went to the main hall in the front yard with the servants.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu was already sitting calmly in the main hall, talking with his uncle.

The second uncle sat far away from the eldest uncle, leisurely drinking tea and eating the snacks that the servants had just brought up.

The eldest uncle ignored the second uncle and was asking Tu Chengyu:
"Your Highness, why did the Emperor suddenly release your second uncle?"

When this topic came up, Tu Chengyu still felt a little guilty.

However, there was no point in explaining the real reason, so Tu Chengyu simply stated the reason provided by the Emperor.

"The Crown Prince had always been concerned about my second uncle. After I returned to the capital, he took me to the Emperor to plead for my second uncle's return. Only then did the Emperor allow me to send my second uncle back."

With his experience and intelligence, the eldest uncle would surely be able to discern many flaws in Tu Chengyu's words.

But the eldest uncle, upon hearing this, didn't utter a single word of doubt. Instead, he stood up, earnestly facing the direction of the palace, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"In that case, I thank Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince, and the Prince for their kindness."

The eldest uncle expressed his gratitude earnestly, then sat down again and continued to ask:

"Your Highness, besides ordering you to send it back, has His Majesty issued any other decree?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Father did leave a message, saying that the eldest uncle should keep a closer eye on the second uncle in the future."

Upon hearing this, the eldest uncle said, "Please trouble Your Highness to report to His Majesty after returning to the palace, and tell him that I will certainly obey the decree."

Tu Chengyu nodded, agreeing to everything.

After asking those questions, the eldest uncle stopped asking about the second uncle.

Instead, her attitude changed; her face softened, and her tone became much gentler as she began to inquire about Tu Chengyu's trip to Jiangnan.

As they talked about these things, the atmosphere of their conversation changed, and it really sounded like an uncle and nephew having a casual chat.

Seeing this, the second uncle was very dissatisfied with the eldest uncle's change of attitude and secretly hid behind him, glaring and berating him.

Just as they were talking, a servant dressed as a steward entered and said to the eldest uncle:

"Master, everything is ready."

Upon hearing this, the eldest uncle stood up and said to Tu Chengyu, "Your Highness, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Tu Chengyu nodded: "Uncle, go ahead and take care of what you need to do."

The eldest uncle then turned around, took two steps toward the second uncle, and said:
"Second brother, come out with me."

My second uncle was sipping his tea when he heard this and asked, "What is it?"

My uncle said, "Since you've just come back, light the fire basin to get rid of bad luck, and change your clothes while you're at it."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu found his uncle quite amusing. He kept complaining about his second uncle, yet he could prepare such detailed things so quickly.

It seems they don't really dislike it.

(End of this chapter)