The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 229 Royal Father-Son Affection Day

Tu Chengyu only learned of the Jia family's troubles after everything had been settled.

Five days have passed since then.

For the past five days, Tu Chengyu has stayed obediently in the palace and hasn't gone anywhere.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but after being summoned to the imperial study and criticized by the emperor that day, he was also subjected to a subtle form of confinement.

In the past few days, he tried to leave the palace but was not allowed to, and he tried to send people to inquire about news but could not get any useful information.

For the first two days, Tu Chengyu tried to struggle, but once he realized that the Emperor had made up his mind, he obediently stopped making any moves.

Since that's the case, he naturally won't receive news of the Jia family's plea for help.

Today, the Emperor quietly lifted the confinement, and only then did Tu Chengyu receive the news from outside the palace.

He then knew the outcome of the matter he had been preoccupied with before his confinement.

Tu Chengyu's thoughts were preoccupied with Lin Daiyu's lost jewelry.

Xiao Xuanzi knew this too, so when he had the chance to inquire about information again, he took the lead in asking about this aspect.

Now, of course, this matter has come to a conclusion.

The first issue that Tu Chengyu was most concerned about was whether the jewelry had been found.

The answer was found: the jewelry was among the packages that Jia Lian and the others brought back from the south city that very night.

Knowing this result, Tu Chengyu naturally also knew everything that had happened outside the city that night.

He was speechless that Jia Lian could fight with the men led by Geng Chunchen.

Furthermore, Jia Lian and Geng Chunchen both said that they received a note from someone else and learned that the jewelry thief was hiding in the south city, which is why they led people to catch the thief.

As for who wore the note, they both said they didn't know.

The Shuntian Prefecture was unable to verify the truth of this claim.

Therefore, the two men bore no responsibility for the deaths of the two petty thieves, and after clarifying the situation the next day, they were released.

However, Jia Lian and Geng Chunchen were unlucky; they were released earlier.

Then, because of the shoddy workmanship at the Prince Yi's residence, he was arrested again.

Shuntian Prefecture handled this operation very well.

They basically succeeded in preventing the two from leaving the gates of Shuntian Prefecture.

Of course, the two men have slightly different views on this matter.

Geng Chunchen is the one who stepped forward from the Geng family during the renovation of the Prince Yi's Mansion.

As for Jia Lian, he was simply implicated.

His wife, Wang Xifeng, was originally the leader on Jia's side, but as a woman, she had difficulty handling many things. Therefore, he forcibly kept Jia Lian in Shuntian Mansion to accompany Wang Xifeng in dealing with the matter.

The matter was resolved on the same day.

First, the Geng family, as the instigators of this incident, were severely punished by the Emperor.

Not only were all the money earned from renovating the palace confiscated, but the Geng family was also forced to pay an equal fine.

Besides the money, the current head of the Geng family, the Crown Princess's father, was also summoned to the palace by the Emperor and given a severe scolding.

If it weren't for the need to save face for the Crown Prince, the Geng family's title might have been downgraded by one rank because of this incident.

Then, Geng Chunchen, who had acted on behalf of the Geng family, was not let off easily. He was beaten with more than twenty strokes of the cane in the main hall of Shuntian Prefecture.

Of course, for the Geng family, this series of punishments was not too severe and was still within their tolerance range.

However, the next day, what they feared happened.

The next day, a message spread from somewhere that the emperor was extremely dissatisfied with the Geng family's performance.

If the Geng family continues to act recklessly as they have recently, the emperor may very well change the crown princess.

This news was completely unfounded and its source could not be found.

However, it is very likely that it will come true.

Given the emperor's high regard for the crown prince, he would never allow the crown prince's maternal family to be such an unruly family.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince is not yet married, so changing the Crown Princess would not have a significant impact.

It is said that the Geng family was nearly scared to death when they heard the news.

The other branches of the Geng family went to the Marquis of Changping's residence that very day, making a scene and demanding an explanation from the current Marquis of Changping, who was also the Crown Princess's father.

In particular, several of the Marquis of Changping's younger brothers bluntly stated on the spot that the current Marquis of Changping was not managing the household properly and was not qualified to inherit the family business.

The implication was that he seemed to want to seize the title of Marquis of Changping.

However, the Crown Princess has not yet been replaced, and the Geng family still needs to rely on this relationship.

So the brothers didn't go too far, and eventually, after being persuaded by their clansmen, they calmed down.

However, judging from this incident, the ambitions of the Marquis of Changping and his brothers have been exposed.

If the Crown Princess of the Geng family can successfully assume the position, then everything will be fine.

If she ultimately loses her position as Crown Princess, the Changping Marquis's residence will likely experience some turmoil.

Compared to the Geng family's dire situation, the Jia family received a relatively lighter punishment.

This was mainly because the Jia family had made preparations in advance for this matter.

They not only took the initiative to send Wang Xifeng to Shuntian Prefecture for questioning, but also because of Jia Jing's advance arrangements.

The main responsibility for the matter was placed on the servants of the Wang family.

In this way, Wang Xifeng's only responsibility in this matter is for failing to manage her subordinates properly.

Although everyone knows that Wang Xifeng's crimes cannot be limited to this one point.

However, the servants of the Wang family insisted that they were the ones who did it and that it had nothing to do with Wang Xifeng.

The Shuntian Prefecture had no way to investigate further, and the matter was eventually reported to the Emperor, who did not pursue it further.

They only ordered the Jia family to return the silver they had taken, and to pay an equal fine.

Then he summoned Jia Zheng and Jia She to the palace and gave them a good scolding, and that was the end of it.

Of course, the servant of the Wang family who took the initiative to take responsibility did not receive such good treatment.

After being flogged twenty times, he was exiled to the border region army to serve under the soldiers.

After Xiao Xuanzi told Tu Chengyu about this series of news, he was also somewhat dumbfounded.

He never expected that such a thing would happen in just a few days.

What frustrated Tu Chengyu even more was that he had originally planned to secretly investigate the Geng brothers' actions for the Crown Prince, and then hand the matter over to the Crown Prince to deal with after finding out the problems.

But now that things have escalated like this, Tu Chengyu finds himself unable to conduct the investigation.

Otherwise, if he discovers problems during his investigation and it displeases the Emperor, causing him to replace the Crown Princess, wouldn't that be adding to the Crown Prince's troubles?

Moreover, Tu Chengyu believed that after such a commotion, the Geng family would definitely be more careful in their actions in the future.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu decided to refrain from investigating the Geng brothers' actions for the time being and observe their future behavior.

Now that the matter was over, Tu Chengyu felt there was nothing left to do. He planned to stay in the palace for two more days until the Emperor's anger had completely subsided before applying to leave.

However, he hadn't held onto this idea for long. Before Xiao Xuanzi had even left the study, a young eunuch from the courtyard came to report:
"Your Highness, His Majesty has sent someone to request an audience with you."

Upon hearing that the Emperor had sent someone, Tu Chengyu was startled.

So much has happened these past few days, and he was already thinking of hiding, but before he could even hide, the Emperor actually sent people directly.

However, what is meant to be will be, and what is meant to be will be. The person has already arrived, and there is no way to avoid it. He can only bring the person in.

Tu Chengyu, who came to deliver the imperial decree, also recognized him; he was a lowly eunuch who ran errands for the emperor.

As soon as he entered, Tu Chengyu asked, "Why did Father send you here?"

The young eunuch bowed and replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty requests that you go to the Imperial Study."

What he feared most came to pass, but Tu Chengyu had no choice but to change his clothes and follow the eunuch to the Imperial Study.

On his way to the Imperial Study, Tu Chengyu tried to find out the Emperor's mood that day, but the errand boy was too timid and dared not reveal any information to Tu Chengyu.

The more this happened, the more worried Tu Chengyu became.

He was afraid that if the emperor summoned him this time, he would be scolded again.

With a heart full of trepidation, Tu Chengyu arrived at the door of the Imperial Study.

Upon the eunuch's report, Tu Chengyu was summoned immediately without delay.

He was still very nervous before entering, but once inside, he felt relieved.

Because in the Imperial Study, besides the Emperor, several of his elder brothers were also present.

Since all of you guys are here, even if you're here to get scolded, someone will step up to take the lead.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu felt relieved and readily greeted him.

Then he said, "Father summoned me here, is there something you wish to instruct me on?"

The emperor looked at Tu Chengyu, who was pretending to be obedient, and asked with a stern face:
"Have you forgotten that you still have duties to perform?"

The emperor's question instead of an answer startled Tu Chengyu for a moment, and in his haste, he couldn't recall what other duties he had.

However, when Tu Chengyu saw the older men standing next to him, he remembered something.

"Father, are you referring to the resettlement of refugees?"

After much thought, Tu Chengyu realized that this was the only legitimate job he had.

As expected, upon hearing Tu Chengyu's answer, the emperor nodded and said:

"That's the matter. Back in court, you promised to help the Crown Prince resettle the refugees. How could you have forgotten something so important?"

Although the emperor's words sounded like a reprimand, his tone was rather relaxed.

Tu Chengyu thus knew that the Emperor had only asked casually and had not expressed any dissatisfaction about the matter.

So he replied lightly, "Your Majesty, I have not forgotten this matter. It was only because the Crown Prince was in charge of this matter that I assisted him. So I was just waiting for the Crown Prince to summon me."

The emperor was helpless against Tu Chengyu's tendency to take advantage of any kindness shown to him.

He pointed at Tu Chengyu and said to the Crown Prince with a smile:
"Listen to this shameless behavior. It was clearly his fault for not remembering, but now it's your responsibility."

The atmosphere in the Imperial Study immediately lightened considerably when the Emperor said this with a smile.

The men who had been stern just moments before relaxed.

The Crown Prince echoed the Emperor's words, saying, "Father is right. Xiao Wu has been like this since he was little. But this is also because of Father's love and care. Otherwise, how could he still be so naughty at this age?"

The prince's half-joking remark made everyone chuckle.

Only Tu Chengyu pretended to be very sad and said to the Crown Prince, "Brother, how could you say that to me? If you say it again, I won't help you anymore."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. This is my fault for not informing you sooner, which caused you to suffer."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu waved his hand and said, "Brother, there's no need to blame yourself. I forgive you."

After listening, the Crown Prince pointed at Tu Chengyu, looking speechless, and said after a long while:

"You actually believed it?"

Their conversation was like the interaction between brothers among ordinary people, warm and intimate.

The emperor was deeply moved by what he saw, and so he interjected with his own words.
"I told you Xiao Wu was a rascal, now you believe me, right?"

When he said this, the emperor had a smile on his face, looking like an ordinary father teasing his son.

This long-lost tone and words gave the others a sense of familiarity.

They should be able to recall that when the emperor was still Prince An.

Most of the conversations between the father and son were like this.

Although Prince An was very strict in educating his sons at that time, as long as they did not make mistakes, he would treat them the same way he does now.

His sternness was tempered with kindness, and his words were full of concern.

Unfortunately, these things gradually disappeared after the emperor ascended the throne.

Moreover, the longer the emperor remained on the throne, the more severe this situation became.

Now, the affectionate father-son relationship is gone, and instead, the feeling of ruler and subject is growing stronger.

Once they make a mistake, they will never receive the same careful guidance as before.

Now, they are more often called in to be criticized, and they are not allowed to refute it in the slightest.

So, it's been a long time since we've had such a relaxed conversation like today.

At the same time, the brothers also began to envy Tu Chengyu.

This relaxed atmosphere only appeared after Tu Chengyu arrived.

Before Tu Chengyu arrived, the emperor had actually shown a desire to be more friendly.

However, the few people present at the time, perhaps because they were getting older, were too embarrassed to act as coquettishly as before.

Or perhaps he had already gotten used to his father becoming the emperor and dared not respond casually.

As a result, the atmosphere in the Imperial Study was quite serious before Tu Chengyu arrived.

So when Tu Chengyu arrived, after saying a few casual words, he started acting spoiled and unreasonable, which amused the emperor.

This made them all very envious.

While envious, they also cherish this rare atmosphere.

Therefore, they all wisely refrained from bringing up other matters at this time.

Instead, they gathered together, echoing the emperor's tone and saying things that pleased everyone.

The six men, father and sons, in the imperial study all wanted to maintain the status quo, so their discussion became increasingly heated.

All of this deeply moved Xia Shouzhong, who was standing guard outside the door.

If you ignored the fact that this was the imperial study in the palace, the scene would really resemble the grand study of Prince An's mansion.

(End of this chapter)