The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 235 Secretly Sowing Discord Among the Royal Family

Xiao Qi's blank expression still surprised Tu Chengyu.

Although Xiaoqi was a bit of a goofball before, she didn't have this much courage.

I never expected them to become so bold, daring to act so strangely in front of the Emperor.

Xiao Qi seemed unaffected, but the Emperor's brows were practically standing on end from Xiao Qi's outburst.

This scene filled Tu Chengyu with worry. He was afraid that if the Emperor was angered by Xiao Qi, it would affect him.

Just as Tu Chengyu was filled with worry, the Emperor beckoned to him.

"Xiaowu, come here."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu ran to the Emperor in a few steps.

"You've come to see me?"

"Your Majesty, I have indeed come to request an audience with you."

"What business do you have with me?"

"Your subject intends to move out of the palace today, which is why I have come to request Your Majesty's decree."

The Emperor seemed to have anticipated Tu Chengyu's request.

Without a hint of surprise, he said, "I understand. I'll have Xia Shouzhong deliver a message to the palace gates in a moment. You can leave as soon as you're ready."

"Your subject is too kind to Your Majesty."

After saying these two sentences, the Emperor looked at Tu Chengyu, as if he wanted to say something to Tu Chengyu.

However, after Tu Chengyu waited for a long time, the emperor only gave him two simple instructions.

"Now that you've moved outside the palace, you'll have to take care of many things yourself. In the future, when you encounter problems, you must not act rashly, but think things through carefully and act only after careful consideration."

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

After giving his instructions, the emperor left without saying another word, accompanied by palace maids and eunuchs.

As soon as the Emperor left, Xiao Qi, who had been pretending just moments before, ran up to Tu Chengyu in a few steps.

He said with a smile, "Fifth Brother, thanks to you, I've escaped another disaster today."

Tu Chengyu asked, puzzled, "How is it thanks to me?"

"Of course it's you, Fifth Brother. Now that you're moving out of the palace, Father will definitely be upset and will forget about punishing me. So, I'm only doing this because of you, Fifth Brother."

"Would my father be upset if I moved out of the palace?"

"That's true. Father was also in a bad mood when my elder brother and the others moved out."

Xiao Qi's words surprised Tu Chengyu greatly.

He didn't think the Emperor wouldn't be saddened by his son moving out, but he was surprised that Xiao Qi, this simpleton, could sense the Emperor's feelings.

How did you notice that Father was in a bad mood?

Xiao Qi chuckled and said, "Sixth Brother told me. He also said that when Father is in a bad mood, he will forget about the punishment. I've tried it myself, and Sixth Brother is right."

These words left Tu Chengyu speechless, both amused and exasperated.

The emperor was heartbroken because his son left the palace, but Xiao Qi used this incident to escape punishment. It's hard to know what to say about him.

And Xiao Liu really shouldn't have told Xiao Qi all this.

Once Xiaoqi, that simpleton, knows this secret, she'll definitely try it out all the time.

If one day things go wrong and cause trouble when the Emperor is in a bad mood, and the Emperor happens not to forget to punish as he has today, wouldn't the punishment be even more severe when the Emperor is in a bad mood?

Speak of the devil, and he appears; Tu Chengyu was thinking about Xiao Liu.

In the blink of an eye, he saw Xiao Liu appear at the door of the Imperial Study, along with his remaining younger brothers and the young imperial uncle.

They crowded at the doorway, looking at Tu Chengyu and Xiao Qi, and asked:

"Has Father Emperor left yet?"

Xiao Qi, quick to speak, immediately replied, "I left a long time ago. Come out quickly, it's a good opportunity to talk to Fifth Brother."

Upon hearing this, the others inside became unruly and swarmed out, surrounding Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu suddenly realized that every time he came to see his younger brothers, he was always surrounded by them with such enthusiasm.

Looking at the little faces flushed with excitement, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but touch a few of the younger ones.

When I touched Xiao Shiyi, I also patted his little head.

When Tu Chengyu returned to the palace a while ago, Xiao Shiyi was almost adopted by the Empress Dowager.

Tu Chengyu intervened at the time, and later, with the help of the Empress Dowager, the matter was thwarted.

However, Tu Chengyu still had this matter on his mind, so when he saw Xiao Shiyi, he made a point of comforting him.

After what happened before, Xiao Shiyi naturally became especially close to Tu Chengyu.

When Tu Chengyu patted his little head, Xiao Shiyi was as happy as a kitten that loves to be petted, and kept squeezing into Tu Chengyu's palm.

"Fifth Brother, are you moving out of the palace?"

After Tu Chengyu and his younger brothers had finished greeting everyone, Xiao Shiyi, who usually didn't like to talk in front of others, spoke up first this time.

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "You should have heard it just now, I'm moving out of the palace today."

After hearing this, Xiao Shiyi said with a long face, "Fifth Brother has moved away. Does that mean we won't be able to find him anymore?"

After listening, Tu Chengyu laughed and said, "I'm just moving outside the palace, not leaving the capital. How could you not find me? Besides, I'm only staying here for a short time. I'll be going back to the palace later."

Hearing Tu Chengyu say this, Xiao Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief and patted her little chest, saying:
"That's good."

Seeing his mature demeanor, not only Tu Chengyu, but also Xiao Liu and the others couldn't help but laugh.

After laughing, Xiao Liu said to Xiao Shiyi, "Now you should believe me, right? I've told you so many times that Fifth Brother is only temporarily staying outside the palace, but you still didn't believe me."

Hearing Xiao Liu say that, Xiao Shiyi just grinned and chuckled, but didn't say anything.

Upon seeing the interaction between the two, Tu Chengyu knew there was something he didn't know, so he turned to look at Xiao Liu, wanting to know what had happened.

Xiao Liu naturally understood Tu Chengyu's meaning and said directly:

"It's like this, a few days ago news came from outside the palace that everyone knew that you were going to move outside the palace, Fifth Brother. At that time, Little Eleven was worried that he would not be able to find you in the future."

Tu Chengyu was puzzled. He didn't understand why Xiao Shiyi would have such worries.

Although the eleventh prince is clearly closer to me than his other brothers, now that our father and the eleventh prince's mother are both in the palace, why would the eleventh prince be so attached to me?

Tu Chengyu whispered his question to Xiao Liu, who then leaned close to Tu Chengyu's ear and whispered back:
"It's all because of what happened with the Empress Dowager last time. Back then, although Fifth Brother and Grandmother tried to dissuade the Empress Dowager from her idea, she didn't give up."

She's always been thinking about Little Eleven. According to Little Eleven, every few days the Empress Dowager sends someone to deliver things to her, which terrifies her. And…” Little Six paused here, glanced around furtively, and then whispered even more…

"Moreover, it is said that Consort Hui is pregnant with a boy. Because of this, Consort Hui has focused all her attention on the child in her womb and has not paid enough attention to Little Eleven. As a result, Little Eleven has been very scared lately."

Listening to Xiao Liu explain the cause and effect of the matter clearly and logically, Tu Chengyu knew that Xiao Liu must also pay close attention to Xiao Shiyi's situation, otherwise how would he know so much?

Tu Chengyu, a colleague, also learned that the Empress Dowager had not given up.

It seems we still need to worry more about Little Eleven.

He said to Xiao Liu, "I'm leaving the palace today. In the meantime, I'll have to keep an eye on Xiao Shiyi's affairs."

Xiao Liu said, "Fifth Brother, don't worry. Xiao Shiyi is in the study every day, and I will take good care of him."

After instructing Xiao Liu, Tu Chengyu, fearing that Xiao Shiyi might overthink things at such a young age, then said to Xiao Shiyi:

"Although Fifth Brother has moved outside the palace, he is not far from the palace. If you need anything, you can ask someone to tell me."

Hearing Tu Chengyu's promise, Xiao Shiyi seemed particularly happy, nodding her little head and saying:
"Fifth Brother, I've got it."

After finishing talking about Xiao Shiyi, Tu Chengyu wanted to chat with Xiao Shier for a bit.

When he looked at Xiao Twelve, he found that Xiao Twelve seemed to be in a bad state today.

The little guy only got a little closer to Tu Chengyu when he greeted him earlier, but afterwards he stayed behind everyone, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Tu Chengyu didn't understand what was wrong with him.

You should know that Xiao Shier is the youngest brother in the family, and also a rather clever and quick-witted one.

So normally she's lively and cute, and loves to squeeze in front of her older brothers to talk.

This is very wrong.

Tu Chengyu couldn't understand, so he said, "Little Twelfth, come to Fifth Brother."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shier looked up at Tu Chengyu with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. He hesitated, wanting to come over but holding back.

This piqued Tu Chengyu's curiosity even more, and he urged her on.

"What's wrong? Are you being distant with your fifth brother? Don't you want to talk to me?"

Hearing Tu Chengyu say that, Xiao Shier became anxious and quickly said:
"Fifth Brother, how could I be estranged from you? I just don't know how to face you."

"Oh, is there something you can't face me with? Did you, Little Twelve, secretly badmouth me behind my back?"

"Fifth Brother, I didn't!" Little Twelve didn't realize Tu Chengyu was joking and got a little anxious, so he quickly ran over to explain.

Before he could even explain himself to Tu Chengyu, Tu Chengyu grabbed him and gave his head a good rub.

Then, Tu Chengyu asked, "Tell Fifth Brother why you can't face me?"

Upon hearing this, Little Twelve looked quite embarrassed and took a long time to say:

"Because of my second brother."

"Why is Second Brother being dragged into this again?"

"It's Second Brother, oh dear, they said Second Brother bullied Fifth Brother, so I... I..."

I talked to Little Twelve for a long time, but no one understood what was going on.

Tu Chengyu asked with a puzzled look, "When did Second Brother bully me?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shier said that his second brother had bullied Tu Chengyu, but he couldn't explain what had happened.

Finally, Xiao Qi couldn't stand it anymore and spoke on behalf of Xiao Twelve:
"Fifth Brother, here's what happened. Rumors are circulating in the palace that the rumors about you in the capital these past few days were orchestrated by Second Brother, which is why Twelfth Brother thinks that Second Brother is bullying you."

As soon as Xiao Qi finished speaking, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but laugh.

He patted Little Twelve's head and said, "You believe these rumors? Let me tell you, the rumors have nothing to do with Second Brother."

Besides, even if my second brother bullied me, you don't need to feel guilty.

Little Twelve was naturally very happy to hear the first sentence.

The next sentence was answered by Little Twelve.

"Fifth Brother, my relationship with Second Brother is different. If Second Brother and Fifth Brother don't get along, I don't know who to side with. Ugh, this is so hard for me!"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's smile vanished instantly.

He looked at Little Twelve and couldn't help but frown.

Little Twelf's words sounded rather harsh. What did he mean by saying that his relationship with the Second Brother was different?
Although among the brothers, everyone knows that brothers born of the same mother are always closer.

But these things are all tacitly understood; no one would say them out loud.

Besides, at Little Twelve's age, she's not old enough to understand these things yet.

Someone must have told Xiao Twelve about these things.

Furthermore, even if Xiao Shier knew that his relationship with Lao Er was different from that of the other brothers, he didn't need to feel guilty because Lao Er had bullied Tu Chengyu, to the point that he didn't dare to speak in front of Tu Chengyu.

He even went so far as to say that he was going to help someone.

All of this is clearly beyond the comprehension of a four-year-old child; someone must have said it to Little Twelve.

Thinking of this, the first person that came to Tu Chengyu's mind was the Empress.

After all, as the biological mother of the second son and the twelfth son, it is understandable that the Empress would want her two sons to be closer. It is even possible that she would instill in the twelfth son the concept that he should help the second son when he grows up.

But then Tu Chengyu thought again, the Empress wasn't stupid, why would she say something so easily used against Xiao Twelfth?

Even if we were to say something, given the Empress's abilities, she would have done it subtly and quietly, and wouldn't have allowed Little Twelfth to shout about it everywhere.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu felt that this matter must not have been taught to Xiao Twelfth by the Empress.

So, there's only one possibility left, which is what the people around Xiao Shier said.

Having figured this out, Tu Chengyu squatted down, his gaze level with Xiao Shier's.

Then he said seriously, "Little Twelfth, why would you want to help me, especially my second brother, for no reason?"

Little Twelve was startled by Tu Chengyu's serious expression, and he stammered:

"Fifth Brother, I just... I just thought that if Second Brother and you were to fight in the future, I wouldn't know who to help."

Tu Chengyu pressed on, asking, "Why do you think that my second brother and I will fight in the future?"

Little Twelve said, "It was the cook who said that Second Brother was going to fight with the Crown Prince. Fifth Brother, you are the Crown Prince's younger brother, so you would help the Crown Prince and fight with Second Brother. That's why I was worried that Second Brother and Fifth Brother would fight."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu's face turned extremely ugly, and even Xiao Liu and the others next to him were full of anger.

Tu Chengyu, suppressing his anger, asked, "Little Twelve, has this little cook said anything else?"

(End of this chapter)