The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 236 Easily Catch Pests

Xiao Shier said, "He also said that I am the older brother's younger brother and that I will help the second brother deal with the fifth brother in the future."

After hearing Xiao Shier's retelling, Tu Chengyu was furious.

Admittedly, being born into royalty makes it difficult to avoid such sibling rivalry.

Tu Chengyu was also aware that once Xiao Shier grew up, he would most likely come against him.

But all of this is in the future; it's not time for it to happen yet.

Besides, Little Twelve is only a few years old. How can we let his young mind be exposed to such dark things?

Tu Chengyu believed that even the Empress and the Second Prince would not allow Little Twelfth to get into this quagmire so early.

That's why Tu Chengyu was so angry after hearing those words.

Moreover, he felt that the person who said these things to Xiao Twelve was most likely up to no good.

Tu Chengyu felt that he needed to meet the cook that Xiao Shier had mentioned and see why he had said those things to Xiao Shier.

So Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Shier, "The little cook you're talking about, is it the attendant in front of us?"

Little Twelve nodded and said, "Yes, what's wrong, Fifth Brother?"

Where is this young cook now?

“He’s my companion, so of course he’s here.”

"Here is fine. Here, have someone call him over and say I need to say a few words to him."

"Well, I'll go right away."

After Xiao Twelve finished speaking, he turned around and waved to the eunuch at the gate of the courtyard.

When they arrived at the Imperial Study, these junior eunuchs and attendants were not allowed to appear there without permission. After they arrived with the princes, they would usually wait in the small courtyard of the Imperial Study.

Only one or two people are left at the gate to deal with any unexpected situations.

Since Xiao Liu was the oldest here, the eunuchs who stayed at the door to wait for instructions were usually the eunuchs who served Xiao Liu. So Xiao Shi Er's attendant was still in the side courtyard at this moment.

Little Twelve called over the eunuch at the gate and gave him a few instructions. After listening, the eunuch turned around and ran to the side courtyard. A little while later, he returned with a short eunuch who was about thirty years old, with a fair complexion.

"This humble servant, the cook, greets all Your Highnesses."

This is the young chef.

Seeing his age and his calm and composed demeanor when he arrived, Tu Chengyu realized that he didn't seem like the type to spread rumors.

However, one should not judge a book by its cover; one cannot judge a person solely by their appearance.

Tu Chengyu was sizing up the young chef when Xiao Shier spoke first.

"Little cook, Fifth Brother wants to ask you a few questions. You must answer them carefully, understand?"

"This servant will certainly answer properly."

"Fifth Brother, you can ask." After giving the instructions, Twelfth Brother turned to Tu Chengyu and said, "He will answer Fifth Brother's questions properly. If he doesn't answer well, I will punish him when we get back."

Upon hearing Xiao Shier's words, Tu Chengyu did not immediately ask any questions. Instead, he spoke to the two eunuchs waiting nearby for instructions:

"There's nothing urgent right now, you two can leave for the time being."

The most important skill for eunuchs in the palace is to be observant and perceptive.

When they heard Prince Su say this, it meant that they should not be told what was about to happen.

So the two eunuchs bowed and quickly retreated far away.

Upon seeing this, the once composed young chef began to panic.

Although he didn't show any panic on his face, the fact that he bent over even deeper than before revealed his unease.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu stared at the young cook and said:
"I just heard that you've been frequently telling your lord news from outside the palace lately?"

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, the young chef shuddered, and his back bent even lower.

However, he did not answer immediately, but instead looked at Xiao Twelve.

Seeing that he didn't answer the question but instead stared at him, Xiao Shier probably felt embarrassed and said fiercely:

"Just answer whatever Fifth Brother asks. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Yes, Your Highness," the cook replied with a grim expression, then turned to Tu Chengyu and whispered:
“Replying to Prince Su, this servant did indeed tell my lord about the news from outside the palace.”

Tu Chengyu asked again, "Was it your master's request to tell you news from outside the palace, or did you choose to tell him yourself?"

“Your Highness, I am but a lowly servant. How could I dare to do such a thing on my own? This was ordered by Her Majesty the Empress.”

With the Empress's instructions, it wasn't entirely unexpected by any party.

Tu Chengyu then asked the crucial question: "Did you tell your prince that Prince Xing sent people to spread rumors about me?"

Upon hearing this, the young cook was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

She hurriedly said, "This servant is talking nonsense, please forgive me, Your Highness. However, this rumor is not something I made up, but something that has been circulating outside the palace. I only said a few words to my master because I heard that it concerned Prince Xing and you."

After listening, Tu Chengyu scolded, "Anyone with eyes can see that such an outrageous rumor is false, but you believed it anyway, and even told it to your prince. What are you up to?"

The young cook said with a mournful face, "Your Highness, I really didn't mean it that way. It's just that Her Majesty the Empress instructed me to tell you the truth about what's happening outside the palace, so I dared to do it."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu knew that this guy was up to no good and was still pretending to be stupid.

When Tu Chengyu said such things, a typical eunuch should have known that the information he had given to Xiao Twelve was definitely inappropriate.

The proper response should be to recognize one's mistake, acknowledge it, and promise not to repeat it.

But this guy didn't honestly admit his mistake; instead, he brought up the Empress in an attempt to get away with it.

Tu Chengyu didn't give him a chance to get away with it and went straight to asking the next, more fatal question.

"Since you're following orders to spread news from outside the palace, then tell your prince that I'm close to the Crown Prince, and that Prince Xing is close to your prince. Tell him that your prince will help Prince Xing against me in the future. How do you explain that?"

"Ah!" The young cook exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.

Fortunately, having lived in the palace for so many years, he still knew the proper rules. As soon as he uttered the exclamation, he covered his mouth with his hand and forcefully suppressed it.

Then, once he had calmed down a bit, he quickly said, "Your Highness, I did not say such a thing."

At this point, Tu Chengyu no longer believed that the person in front of him was honest.

He said angrily, "Even now, you still want to lie? Your story was told to me by your lord himself. How could it be wrong? Are you trying to tell me that your lord is lying?"

Upon hearing this, the young cook looked utterly incredulous, as if he had truly been wronged. He turned to look at Little Twelve once more.

When Tu Chengyu began questioning him, and the young chef's expression changed drastically, causing him to kneel on the ground and refuse to get up, Xiao Twelve realized that what the young chef had said to him earlier was completely inappropriate.

So when the little chef looked over again, Little Twelve got very angry and shouted:
"Why are you looking at me like that? You...you heartless bastard, you actually tried to sow discord between me and Fifth Brother. Just wait and see how I deal with you later."

As Little Twelve began to curse, the cook's face instantly turned pale, and he seemed to have lost his soul, bowing his head deeply.

She said softly, "It's all my fault. I was bewitched and lost my mind, which is why I talked nonsense."

Seeing this guy bow his head and admit his mistake, Tu Chengyu felt that there was something else going on.

Just as Tu Chengyu was thinking about whether he should ask Xiao Shier a couple more questions, Xiao Shier leaned closer and whispered something to him.

"Fifth Brother, what should we do now? If Mother finds out, she will definitely scold me. Why don't you take him to Father and let him punish him? That way, Mother won't know."

Tu Chengyu almost burst out laughing when he heard what Xiao Shier said.

If this matter were handled quietly, it wouldn't have such a big impact. But if the Emperor were to handle it, the problem would become much bigger.

Tu Chengyu's original plan was to call the young chef over, listen to the details of the matter, and teach Xiao Twelve a lesson.

Now it seems that what he did was inappropriate. He felt that it was best to leave it to the Empress to handle.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Twelve:

"This matter is very serious. The Empress Dowager will definitely find out. You can't hide it from her."

When Little Twelve heard that the Empress would find out, his face scrunched up, and he said pitifully:
"Fifth Brother, it seems I'm still going to get scolded."

Tu Chengyu really wanted to say that being scolded was a bargain after this incident.

If Tu Chengyu hadn't noticed the signs of trouble today, who knows what kind of trouble this guy would have caused if he had stayed with Xiao Twelve for a while longer.

Little Twelve might not know the implications of certain words, and if he accidentally lets something slip in front of the Emperor, he could get into big trouble.

If we can detect it in its early stages now, and handle it properly, it won't be so serious.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Shier, "Since Mother will find out anyway, why don't you take the initiative to find her and explain the matter clearly? Maybe Mother won't scold you."

This attempt at comfort had no effect on Little Twelve, who said with a long face:

"Alright, Fifth Brother, I'll listen to you."

After saying that, Little Twelve called up the pale-faced cook and prepared to take him back to the Empress.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu quickly said to Xiao Liu and the others:
"Did you bring a lot of people with you when you came today?"

Because they were in the palace, they usually didn't bring too many people with them when they came to the Imperial Study.

Sure enough, Xiao Liu said, "We each brought two companions with us."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu said, "Here's what we'll do: go to the side courtyard and spare half of the servants to help Xiao Twelve escort the person back."

Tu Chengyu originally didn't want to go through all this trouble, but after all, Xiao Shier was too young and not reliable enough to do things properly.

What if, on the way to the harem, the twelfth prince is persuaded by the cook and takes pity on the child, letting him escape? Or what if the cook, knowing there's no hope left, does something else?

Today's events were initiated by Tu Chengyu, so he must carefully consider the consequences.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, wouldn't he have done more harm than good?

After hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Xiao Liu went to the backyard to call for help without asking any questions.

Before long, he came over with seven or eight eunuchs, including another young attendant of the twelfth prince.

Among these eunuchs, the oldest was Xiao Liu's personal eunuch.

Not only was he old, but because Xiao Liu was the oldest prince in the Imperial Study, he was also the head of these eunuchs.

Tu Chengyu was aware of this situation, so when they arrived, he directly spoke to Xu Ji, Xiao Liu's personal eunuch:

"I called you here so you can follow the Twelfth Prince on his business."

"Please give your orders, Your Highness."

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. You will be watching these two men as they follow the Twelfth Prince and hand them over to the Empress."

"On the way there, if you discover that these two have any ulterior motives, you may tie them up immediately. At the same time, you must ensure the Prince's safety. Understand?"

These two guys naturally refer to Xiao Twelve's two companions.

Besides the chef who had already been found to have problems, Tu Chengyu also put another one under surveillance to prevent any from slipping through the net.

After hearing the instructions, Xu Ji and the others replied in unison, "Your Highness, we understand."

Once everything was arranged, Tu Chengyu didn't stop him anymore.

"Little Twelfth, take your men there. When you get to the Empress Dowager, tell her everything, tell her the whole story, without hiding anything."

"Fifth Brother, I understand."

After saying that, Little Twelve took the lead and walked away with a large group of eunuchs.

Tu Chengyu breathed a sigh of relief when Xiao Shier's figure disappeared outside the gate.

He just hopes that nothing goes wrong on the way.

If it weren't for the numerous rules governing the journey to the inner palace, Tu Chengyu would have preferred to escort the concubines there himself, rather than worrying about it here.

Just as Tu Chengyu was thinking about these things, Xiao Shiyi's voice suddenly rang out again.

"Fifth Brother, Twelfth Brother has left, and we haven't told the tutor in the Imperial Study yet."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu remembered that he needed to ask for leave. However, this was not Tu Chengyu's fault, since he had basically not studied in the Imperial Study since he came to the palace, so he would not have remembered to ask for leave.

However, this is not a big problem; we can just have Xiao Liu tell him later.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu turned to look at Xiao i6.

At the same time, Xiao Liu also looked over in a tacit understanding.

However, before Tu Chengyu could even speak, Xiao Liu interrupted:

"Fifth Brother, since you're here today, I'll go and tell the gentlemen about Twelfth Brother's departure."

Tu Chengyu didn't expect that Xiao Liu would be so cunning, trying to shut Tu Chengyu up in advance.

Unfortunately, Tu Chengyu was thick-skinned and didn't fall for his act.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not going. Anyway, the teacher in the Imperial Study won't cause me any trouble."

Xiao Liu was furious when he heard this, but unfortunately he didn't have any good ideas.

(End of this chapter)