The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 234 The Simple-Minded Little Seven

Tu Chengyu said he didn't understand what the Emperor Emeritus meant.

However, Tu Chengyu was still thinking about what the Emperor Emeritus had just said.

Tu Chengyu clearly remembered that the reason he listened to the Emperor Emeritus say these things was to hear what the Emperor Emeritus had to say about the Crown Prince's gains and losses.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu didn't think about the meaning behind the Emperor Emeritus's last words, and directly asked:
"Grandpa, you just said you wanted to tell your grandson about the Crown Prince's gains and losses. Now, please tell me."

Upon hearing this, the retired emperor looked at Tu Chengyu and said, "You really care about the Crown Prince that much?"

"Grandpa, everyone inside and outside the palace knows what I'm thinking. How could that be false?"

"Well, it would be good if you could keep this mindset."

"Don't worry, your grandson's feelings will not change."

Seeing Tu Chengyu's resolute stance, the Emperor Emeritus stopped teasing him and said:
"You want to hear about the Crown Prince's successes and failures? Actually, there's not much to hear, after all, he's only been the Crown Prince for a short time."

However, if I had to point out a shortcoming, I would say that the Crown Prince is too thoughtful and tends to overthink things.

If you care about the Crown Prince, find an opportunity to advise him not to speculate about other people's thoughts or always try to do things for others. He should just focus on doing his own job well.

Excessive displays can easily backfire, leaving room for criticism.

When the Emperor Emeritus said this, he had a very serious expression, and it was clear that he was not talking nonsense.

Tu Chengyu didn't know why the Emperor Emeritus would say such things about the Crown Prince, but he felt that the Emperor Emeritus wouldn't speak carelessly on this issue.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu thought that he should find an opportunity to tell the Crown Prince what the Emperor Emeritus had said today.

Whether the Crown Prince listens or not is his business.

After hearing the Emperor Emeritus's opinion on the Crown Prince, Tu Chengyu had nothing else of importance to do today.

Then he chatted casually with the retired emperor for a while, and when the retired emperor got tired, he took his leave.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu's mood was no longer filled with worry, unlike when he arrived.

Now he has a broad mind, and all his previous worries have disappeared.

Of course, he no longer objected to moving into the Prince An's mansion.

So after leaving the East Palace, Tu Chengyu immediately sent someone to find Xia Shouzhong.

Tell him that you are moving to the Prince An's residence.

Tu Chengyu had no choice but to move, as the refugees were about to reach the capital.

Having official duties to perform, I can no longer hide in the palace and ignore everything; I must go out in advance to make preparations.

Xia Shouzhong is probably also waiting for news from Tu Chengyu.

When Tu Chengyu sent someone to tell him that he was preparing to move into the Prince An's mansion.

He immediately sent someone over to say that the Prince An's residence was ready and could be occupied at any time.

Upon hearing this news, Tu Chengyu was overjoyed.

He felt that there was no better time than today, and since good things were happening all the time, he decided to take advantage of this auspicious day and move out.

Since he's only staying temporarily for a few days, there's no need to send someone to the Imperial Observatory to pick an auspicious day.

After making up his mind, Tu Chengyu returned to his courtyard in the palace and immediately ordered a move.

After returning from the Imperial Study that day, Tu Chengyu was too afraid to make any rash moves due to the rumors circulating outside.

However, he did not give up on moving.

From the very beginning, people were put in charge of packing and preparation, so by today, most of the things that need to be moved have already been packed and packed.

Only some odds and ends and the things Tu Chengyu has been using these past few days have not been packed up yet.

However, there weren't many of these things, and they weren't troublesome at all; they could be tidied up in no time.

Therefore, after Tu Chengyu issued the order, they had all packed up and were just waiting for the order to move.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu did not wait any longer and instructed Xiao Xuanzi:
"Send someone to the Imperial Camp to tell Old Yao that we are moving today, and ask him to prepare a carriage outside the palace to pick us up."

After speaking, Tu Chengyu did not stay in his own courtyard. He took Xiao Chengzi, the eunuch who had gone to deliver a message to the Emperor Emeritus that morning, and headed to the Imperial Study.

For a prince like him to leave the palace, it wasn't something that could be done casually; he absolutely needed the emperor's decree.

Tu Chengyu's trip was to seek an imperial decree.

However, when he arrived at the Imperial Study and requested an audience, he was told by the eunuch on duty at the door that he was denied an audience.

"His Majesty just went to the Imperial Study. If Your Highness wishes to see His Majesty, you may go to the Imperial Study."

It turns out that the Emperor went to the Imperial Study to check on the princes' studies.

At this time, the emperor's mood is usually not very good.

Normally, if Tu Chengyu heard that the Emperor had gone to the Imperial Study, he wouldn't have gone over to him.

However, he is moving today, and judging from the current time, if it is delayed for too long, he probably won't be able to finish moving his things before the palace gates are locked.

He didn't have enough time and couldn't delay any longer, so Tu Chengyu had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.

He turned away from the Imperial Study and led Xiao Chengzi toward the Upper Study.

As Tu Chengyu approached the courtyard wall of the Imperial Study, he indeed saw the Emperor's imperial carriage, along with the eunuchs and palace maids who had followed.

The eunuchs at the courtyard gate greeted Tu Chengyu upon his arrival.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is currently in the Imperial Study checking the studies of the princes. Please wait a moment."

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "I understand."

Then the eunuch said, "Your Highness, please wait in the pavilion in the courtyard."

After saying that, he led the way, and Tu Chengyu followed him into the courtyard.

As for Xiao Chengzi, who came with Tu Chengyu, he was not allowed to enter the courtyard and could only wait outside.

Tu Chengyu entered the courtyard, intending to turn right and wait in the pavilion.

But as he glanced around, he noticed something interesting.

He suddenly saw Xiao Qi standing dejectedly under the eaves outside the study.

Tu Chengyu immediately recognized the situation; it must be because Xiao Qi had failed the imperial examination when the emperor checked her studies.

So the emperor punished him by making him stand outside.

Speaking of Xiaoqi, she is quite an interesting person.

Xiaoqi's personality is somewhat similar to Lao Si's; they are both straightforward people.

The difference is that the fourth brother is just straightforward, but he is still very smart.

Xiao Qi is a bit different. He has a straightforward personality, which makes him seem a bit clueless. When he does things, he doesn't seem very smart.

Such a naive and impulsive person naturally wouldn't be very adept at reading.

Therefore, among the princes who are currently studying, the seventh prince is the one who is always used as a scapegoat, and is often used by the emperor to make an example of him to educate the other princes.

But Xiao Qi, while not very good at studying, is actually quite strong.

再加上从小喜欢练武，所以现在刚满十岁的年纪，却有一副能抗揍的身体。

Every time the emperor caught him, no matter how he beat him, it didn't do much damage.

So after a while, the emperor stopped beating him and instead kicked him out, making him stand outside to reflect on his actions.

Given the situation this year, this is probably how it will be handled.

Tu Chengyu hadn't been to the Imperial Study for a long time, nor had he seen Xiao Qi being punished by standing for a long time. Seeing it today, he found it quite amusing.

So instead of following the eunuch to the pavilion, he tiptoed toward Xiao Qi.

When the palace maids and eunuchs around saw Tu Chengyu like this, they knew that Prince Su was up to his old tricks again.

They almost laughed when they saw this, but in the palace, especially in front of the emperor, these palace maids and eunuchs were quite tolerant.

They were clearly about to laugh at Tu Chengyu's actions, but they all managed to hold it in.

In this way, Xiao Qi would have no way to detect Tu Chengyu's actions.

Tu Chengyu slowly approached from behind Xiao Qi.

When they were only a few steps apart, Tu Chengyu heard Xiao Qi muttering something to herself.

The voice was very soft, and Tu Chengyu could barely hear it, but he could roughly guess that it must be someone reciting their lessons.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu decided not to disturb Xiao Qi.

So Tu Chengyu wanted to turn around and leave, but when he turned around, his movements were a bit too big, and the sound of his clothes swaying caught Xiao Qi's attention.

Actually, Tu Chengyu wasn't making too much noise, but Xiao Qi's mind wasn't on her book at all, so she was more sensitive to Du Wei's movements.

He turned around immediately when he heard a noise behind him.

When he realized that the person behind him was Tu Chengyu, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

Fifth Brother, what are you doing here?

Now that he had been discovered, Tu Chengyu decided not to leave.

He turned back to Xiao Qi and said:

"I went to see my father, what's wrong with you?"

Upon hearing the question about herself, Xiao Qi's face fell again, and she said with a helpless expression:

"I was punished by Father to stand again."

Knowing this would be the outcome, Tu Chengyu couldn't help him out of this predicament, and could only offer words of comfort:

"It's okay to stand for a bit, since you're in good health anyway."

Xiao Qi had originally thought that if Tu Chengyu comforted him, he would say that he was in good health and that standing for a while would be fine.

He didn't expect that his fifth brother would speak the words he was about to say.

Xiaoqi is the dumbest; she couldn't think of anything else to say right away, so she could only...
"Yes, Fifth Brother is right. By the way, Fifth Brother, I heard that you're moving out of the palace?"

Tu Chengyu was not surprised at all that Xiaoqi knew he was going to live outside the palace.

After all, this matter has caused such a stir in Beijing these past few days; anyone who isn't deaf must have heard the news.

Tu Chengyu was prepared for all of this, so when Xiao Qi asked, he answered directly:

"Yes, we need to move out. That's why I came to see Father Emperor this time."

"Oh, I see!" Xiao Qi said casually, then asked, "When will Fifth Brother move? After Fifth Brother finishes moving, the younger brothers will go and put the fire in your house."

Entering the palace was a pretense; the real intention was to take the opportunity to eat, drink, and have fun outside the palace.

After all, the time they went to the fourth brother's place to join the fire a while ago, they had a really wild time, and the younger ones still remember it fondly.

So when they learned that Tu Chengyu was also moving, they had already been thinking about it for a while.

At this moment, Xiao Qi took the opportunity to express her thoughts so that her fifth brother wouldn't forget.

As for Tu Chengyu, it's still undecided whether or not to invite the brothers over for a meal.

After all, he was only staying outside the palace temporarily, and at the Prince An's residence, which made him hesitant about hosting a dinner party.

But that's a story for later; let him answer the earlier questions first.

"I'm moving today, and I'm here now to ask for permission to proceed."

Upon hearing that Tu Chengyu was moving today, Xiao Qi's eyes suddenly widened, and she grinned as she said:
"Fifth Brother, is this true?"

Tu Chengyu nodded.

Seeing this, Xiao Qi quickly said, "If we move today, the time will be a bit tight. Fifth Brother, why don't you hurry up and see Father? What are you waiting for?"

Tu Chengyu wanted to say that time was tight and there was no need to rush, so it didn't matter if they waited a little longer.

Little did they expect that Xiao Qi, being so naive, would completely disregard what Tu Chengyu was thinking.

Before Tu Chengyu could figure out how to explain it to him, he grinned widely and, to Tu Chengyu's astonishment, strode to the door of the study.

Ignoring the astonished gazes of Xia Shouzhong and the others, he shouted directly:
"Father, I have something to ask of you."

This scene almost made Tu Chengyu lose his mind; he had no idea what was wrong with Xiao Qi.

Inside the Imperial Study, the Emperor was checking other people's homework when he heard Xiao Qi's voice.

He straightened up, frowning as he looked at Xia Shouzhong.

At this moment, Xia Shouzhong's mind was probably in complete turmoil, utterly confused.

However, when the emperor asked, he dared not delay, no matter how flustered he was.

He quickly ran over and whispered to the Emperor:

"Your Majesty, Prince Su just came by and has been talking outside for quite a while."

After hearing this, the Emperor knew in his heart that Xiao Qi's shouting and yelling was deliberately caused by Xiao Wu.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor stopped checking the students' homework and walked towards the door with his hands behind his back.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Xiao Qi standing straight.

His face involuntarily turned serious, and he said in a deep voice:

"I told you to stand outside and recite your lessons, why are you yelling? Have you finished reciting your lessons?"

Xiao Qi ignored the Emperor's question and said directly:

"Father, Fifth Brother has come to see you."

The Emperor naturally saw Tu Chengyu standing not far away, but he didn't understand why Xiao Qi had stepped forward first regarding Xiao Wu's matter.

So he scolded, "Your fifth brother is asking to see you, what are you shouting for?"

Xiao Qi said, "Fifth Brother is timid and dares not ask to see Father Emperor, so I called for him."

The emperor almost laughed in anger upon hearing this.

Xiao Wu is timid? Xiao Qi didn't know how she could say that.

This idiot can't even come up with a decent excuse; he just uses this kind of thing to get by.

Thinking of this, the Emperor rebuked again:

"You're so bold, aren't you? If you still can't recite the text later, I'll teach you a lesson. Now get out of here and get out of my sight."

Xiao Qi drooped her head and slowly walked back to where she had been standing.

Tu Chengyu thought that Xiao Qi probably wasn't feeling too good after being scolded by his father.

But what he didn't expect was that when Xiao Qi passed by him, she tilted her head and winked at Tu Chengyu.

This suggests that he didn't take the earlier scolding to heart.

Moreover, Tu Chengyu felt that Xiao Qi was in a much better mood than before after being scolded.

(End of this chapter)