The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 231 The Unpredictable Emperor

Although Tu Chengyu's final request did not receive a definite answer, his interruption just now made the Emperor feel that it was indeed somewhat inappropriate to let the Crown Prince investigate the granary alone.

After thinking for a while, the Emperor said to the Crown Prince:

"Now that Xiao Wu's job has been arranged, what about Lao Er and the others? What are your plans?"

The crown prince originally intended to explain his plans in order.

But he was interrupted by Tu Chengyu just now, and now he's been interrupted by the Emperor.

He didn't know what to say, but since the emperor was asking him a question, he could only go along with it.

So he said, “Your Majesty, I have also considered the matter of the other sons. As for the second son, I plan to have him take charge of serving meals.”

These disaster victims came for food, so how to distribute the food is very important. Therefore, I asked my second son to do this.

As for the third and fourth sons, they will be responsible for cleaning up and resettling the areas. Once I know the number of disaster victims, I will hand them over to them and have them determine where to resettle them based on the number of people.”

With just a few words, the Crown Prince arranged everything for his brothers, ensuring they could all play important roles in this mission.

In the past, the Emperor might have been very pleased to hear this, but after Tu Chengyu's reminder, the Emperor had a different idea.

He said, "In my opinion, the task of distributing porridge and meals should only be carried out after the disaster victims arrive. Before the disaster victims arrive, wouldn't the second prince be idle and have nothing to do?"

The second son was also clever. When he heard the emperor say this, he knew that the emperor wanted to arrange another job for him.

So he took the initiative to say, "Father is wise. Although the Crown Prince's arrangement is considerate of your son, it doesn't make me feel motivated to be idle while watching my brothers work."
Therefore, I request that Your Majesty and the Crown Prince assign me some more tasks, so that I can help alleviate the Crown Prince's burdens.

The second son's words put the crown prince in a difficult position.

He didn't know if the second brother genuinely wanted to help him or was taking the opportunity to express his dissatisfaction with his arrangements.

Unable to gauge the second prince's thoughts, the crown prince could only cautiously say:
“I am naturally grateful that my second brother wants to help, but the job has already been arranged, and I am afraid there is no way to rearrange it for him.”

Second brother should know that distributing porridge is a very busy job. Once the work starts, there probably won't be a chance to rest. So, second brother, you should rest well first so you can do a good job later.

Hearing the Crown Prince's words, the second prince did not refute them, but simply said:

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your concern."

After saying this, he stood up straight and said no more.

It seems that his earlier offer to do more work was just a polite gesture; he didn't actually want to do more work.
Tu Chengyu was somewhat confused by his second son's behavior; he couldn't figure out what his second son was thinking.

In contrast to the confusion of others, the emperor sitting on the throne was very clear-headed.

He didn't care what the Crown Prince's plans were, nor did he care what the Second Prince intended to do.

He said directly to the two of them, "Since the second son is relatively free at the beginning, let him go with the Crown Prince to check the granary. This way, they can look out for each other."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, his brothers below all looked surprised.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what others thought, but he felt that the Emperor's arrangement seemed somewhat frivolous.

Sending the second son to assist the Crown Prince in inspecting the granary is practically sending someone to sabotage the Crown Prince.

If the Crown Prince and the Second Prince maintain their previous relationship, this arrangement would certainly allow them to look after each other.

But now the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have fallen out, and one of them wants the other to embarrass himself in public, so why would he take the initiative to help?

These two are now working together, and they'll probably start fighting over even the smallest things, let alone major events like inspecting grain depots.

With this arrangement, by then the investigation will probably be impossible to continue before anyone else even makes a move.

Tu Chengyu really didn't understand why the Emperor, who was well aware of the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, would still force such an arrangement.

Did he want to use the investigation of the grain depot to allow the two brothers to have more contact, ease their relationship, and stop fighting so fiercely?

However, the reason these two started fighting so early was because the emperor tacitly approved of it.

If that's the case, what's the point of him doing this now?

Tu Chengyu felt that he was increasingly unable to understand the Emperor's thoughts.

While Tu Chengyu was lost in thought, the Crown Prince was feeling even more distressed.

He originally planned to gain recognition from the emperor and court officials by inspecting the granaries.

But now that the Emperor has allowed the second son to join in, wouldn't he have to share the credit with him?

Does the Emperor really want the second son to rise up and fight against him, the Crown Prince?
The two elders were also somewhat conflicted.

On the one hand, he naturally wanted to do more and show off in front of the emperor.

On the other hand, he felt that the Emperor had asked him to accompany the Crown Prince to inspect the granary because he was worried that the Crown Prince would offend too many people, and wanted him to go in and help the Crown Prince share the burden.

The sons each had their own thoughts and ideas.

However, they all surprisingly assumed the worst of the Emperor's thoughts, and none of them considered that perhaps the Emperor was thinking of them.

If the emperor had mind-reading abilities at this moment, and knew that all his eldest sons were thinking the same way, he would probably want to uphold justice and eliminate all these unfilial sons in front of him.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that, so the emperor smiled and said:

"Do as I say, let the second son follow you for now."

Since the Emperor had said so, what could the Crown Prince and the Second Prince do but bow their heads and agree?

After this matter was discussed, the Emperor asked the Crown Prince to continue his plan in the previous order.

After being interrupted twice, and with the Emperor's forceful arrangement just now, the Crown Prince had long lost his earlier enthusiasm.

He mustered his strength and briefly explained all his plans.

The Emperor seemed quite satisfied with the Crown Prince's plan.

However, at the end, the emperor still asked the usual question.

"Any of you guys want to say something?"

The second brother and the others bowed their heads and bent over, showing no intention of speaking.

Tu Chengyu did have some thoughts in mind, but he knew that it was too late to offer his opinions at this time.

That wouldn't be expressing one's own thoughts, but rather causing trouble for the Crown Prince.

Therefore, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself for the time being and tell the Crown Prince privately later.

Despite thinking this, Tu Chengyu still stepped forward.

However, he didn't want to offer any suggestions; rather, he wanted to ask a question.

"Father, I have a request for your permission."

The Emperor looked at Tu Chengyu curiously and asked, "What is it?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Since I will be frequently on official business outside the palace for the next period of time, it will be somewhat inconvenient for me to stay in the palace."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor understood Tu Chengyu's intention and asked with a smile:

"You want to move out of the palace?"

Tu Chengyu replied, "Your Majesty is wise; that is exactly what I think. Since I have accepted this assignment, I will naturally do my best to fulfill it. Living outside the palace makes it more convenient to carry out my duties." Upon hearing the explanation, the Emperor did not immediately express his opinion, but instead asked:

"Where would you like to live if you move out of the palace?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I'm sure Father Emperor knows that the Emperor Emeritus once gave me a courtyard house not far from the palace. I'd like to move there temporarily."

The Emperor was naturally aware of the courtyard that Tu Chengyu mentioned, and not only did he know about it, he had also sent people to investigate it.

Therefore, the emperor was very familiar with this three-courtyard house.

Therefore, as soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, the Emperor replied without hesitation:

"This courtyard is not suitable for you to live in."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu became anxious and quickly said, "Father, I am only staying temporarily. It doesn't matter if it's small. Anyway, I don't care about these things."

The Emperor glared at him and said, "Do you think I'm worried that the courtyard is too small for your status? What I'm worried about is that such a small courtyard can't provide adequate protection, and I'm afraid you'll be in danger again."

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Tu Chengyu fell silent.

It wasn't that he didn't want to defend himself, but rather that he had indeed experienced an assassination attempt in that courtyard.

Although he deliberately let the assassin go during the assassination attempt, the fact that the assassin was able to easily infiltrate the courtyard shows that there was indeed little room for defense.

Tu Chengyu was somewhat frustrated and didn't know how to persuade the emperor again.

Seeing Tu Chengyu's frustrated expression, the Crown Prince stepped forward to help him out of the predicament.

“Father, since the small courtyard outside the palace is not suitable, and it is indeed more convenient for Xiao Wu to stay outside the palace when he is on official business, then let Xiao Wu stay at my residence. Anyway, I am the only one there, so it will be very convenient for Xiao Wu to come.”

The Crown Prince's suggestion is quite good.

If the Crown Prince has already married and has a mistress in his household, then it would be somewhat inconvenient for Tu Chengyu, the younger brother-in-law, to move in.

However, since the Crown Prince is not yet married, and the Crown Prince is the only master in the entire Crown Prince's residence, there is naturally no taboo for Tu Chengyu to move in.

Therefore, after hearing the Crown Prince's words, Tu Chengyu's hope was rekindled. He raised his head and looked at the Emperor, waiting blankly for the Emperor's approval.

Seeing Tu Chengyu's eager expression, the Emperor shook his head.

"It's still not appropriate for you to go to the Crown Prince's residence."

The emperor said just that, but he didn't explain why it was inappropriate.

Tu Chengyu's newly ignited hope was shattered once again.

It seems that the idea of ​​moving outside the palace cannot be realized for the time being.

The second brother and his companions had originally planned that if they couldn't go to the Crown Prince's residence, they would invite Tu Chengyu to their own residence.

Even though Tu Chengyu might not go after they say it, this statement cannot be omitted.

However, the Emperor has now rejected Tu Chengyu's proposal outright without giving a proper reason. It's probably not because he's worried about not having a suitable place to stay outside the palace, but because he simply doesn't want Tu Chengyu to leave the palace.

Considering this possibility, the second brother and his companions dared not act rashly.

And so, everyone fell into their own thoughts once again, and no one spoke.

For a moment, the entire imperial study was quiet.

After a long while, the emperor suddenly smiled and said:

"Xiao Wu, are you going to give up after just this little setback?"

Tu Chengyu looked up in surprise, not understanding what the emperor meant. Did he not want to stop him from moving out of the palace?

With a mixture of doubt and anticipation, Tu Chengyu cautiously said:
"Father, I naturally wish to move outside the palace, but there is nowhere suitable to live. What do you suggest we do?"

The Emperor ignored Tu Chengyu's cautious probing and instead asked:

"You really want to move out of the palace? Is living in the palace really that bad?"

Although Tu Chengyu believed that living outside the palace was definitely better than living in the palace, at least there were not so many rules to follow.

However, when facing the emperor, he wisely refrained from telling the truth.

He said, “Father, you misunderstand. It’s quite nice living in the palace. It’s just that I have official duties to perform, so it’s more convenient for me to live outside the palace to carry them out.”

Besides, Father and Grandfather are both in the palace. How could I bear to stay outside the palace for so long? Father, rest assured, I will definitely return to the palace after I finish my business.”

Tu Chengyu's flattery clearly pleased the emperor.

The emperor appeared pleased, but said aloud, "It's up to you whether you stay or not, as if I can't bear to part with you."

Hearing the Emperor say these words with a smile, Tu Chengyu immediately regained his courage and hope.

He said with a grin, "Father, please help me find a place to stay outside the palace."

His shamelessness made the other guys want to roll their eyes.

They didn't expect that in order to move out of the palace, Xiao Wu would first flatter them and then shamelessly take advantage of the situation.

It's simply unbelievable that a prince would do such a thing.

But they also knew that the emperor seemed to fall for this kind of thing.

Sure enough, after the emperor had satisfied his craving for flattery, he reluctantly agreed to Tu Chengyu's request.

"Since you say so, I will let you go out and live outside the palace for a while."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately beamed with joy and then asked:
"Father, where do you plan for me to live?"

The Emperor smiled and said, "How about I send you back to Prince An's residence?"

"what!"

As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Tu Chengyu was startled and cried out.

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince were also very surprised.

Why would the Emperor possibly want Xiao Wu to live in Prince An's residence?

You must understand, that's the Prince An's Mansion, not just any ordinary prince's mansion, but the residence of the current emperor before he ascended the throne.

Such a residence holds special significance for the royal family; it is not a place that just anyone can move into.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, according to the rules of the court, the emperor's former princely residences were to be incorporated into the palace.

Because of this rule, when the second son and his family moved, none of them dared to consider the Prince An's residence.

Even the fourth prince, who didn't have a ready-made mansion to live in, could only move in after the old courtyard was renovated.

From beginning to end, he didn't reveal even the slightest intention to seek the Prince An's mansion.

This is a royal palace that everyone dared not imagine, and it also has special significance.

Today, in front of everyone, the Emperor allowed Tu Chengyu, the youngest brother, to move in.

Did the Emperor not consider the feelings of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince at all?

(End of this chapter)