The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 237 Prince Su Returns to Prince An's Residence

Because of the delays at the Imperial Study, Tu Chengyu returned home quite late.

When he arrived, Xiao Xuanzi had already arranged for people to pack everything up.

Tu Chengyu glanced at it and found that a lot had been packed, a huge pile of bags and packages.

Why are you packing so much stuff?

Xiao Xuanzi smiled and said, "Your Highness, I have inquired and found that in previous years, it would take at least one or two months to resettle disaster victims. Your Highness will also be staying in the palace for such a long time, so it won't do if you don't have enough things."

"But you've packed way too much stuff. How are we going to move all this over there?"

Xiao Xuanzi said confidently, "Your Highness, rest assured, I have already found people to move them all to the palace before the gates are locked today."

Seeing how confident he was, Tu Chengyu didn't say anything more.

Then, Tu Chengyu asked again, "Have you notified Lao Yao and the others?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have already informed them. Old Yao and the others heard a few days ago that Your Highness was moving back to the Prince's Mansion, and they were already preparing to go and protect Your Highness. So they made preparations early on. As soon as I sent someone to call them, they came immediately. They should have arrived at the East Gate by now."

"It's good that Old Yao has arrived. In that case, I will leave the palace first and leave things here to you."

"Your Highness, Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will handle it perfectly."

After saying this, Tu Chengyu took two people and headed towards the east gate of the palace.

As expected, once we exited the east gate, we saw Lao Yao and the others standing straight and waiting outside.

"Your Highness, we are your humble servants."

"No need to be polite."

Tu Chengyu had assumed that only Lao Yao and a few others were waiting outside the palace gates.

But to his surprise, after Lao Yao and the others stepped back, he found Jia Lian and Jia Rong behind the carriage.

What are you two doing here?

"Your Highness, we heard that Your Highness was moving recently, so we have been waiting for news. Today, we heard from Eunuch Luo that Your Highness was leaving the palace, so we sent the two of us to run errands for Your Highness."

Eunuch Luo is Xiao Xuanzi, whose real name is Luo Xuan.

"You put your heart into it."

Tu Chengyu appreciated the Jia family's actions, as they genuinely cared about his affairs.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Tu Chengyu got into the carriage on his own.

Old Yao and the driver sat together in front of the car, while the others surrounded them.

Once they started walking, Tu Chengyu called Jia Lian over and asked softly:
"I've been in the palace recently and haven't had a chance to ask yet. Did you get your jewelry back, Miss Lin? Was it damaged?"

During the last shopping trip, Lin Daiyu's jewelry was lost. Later, Xiao Xuanzi found out that it had been found and sent to the Jia family mansion.

He asked Jia Lian today just to confirm something.

"Your Highness, the jewelry was found the day the two petty thieves were caught. The next day, the people from Shuntian Prefecture delivered it to your residence and handed it over to Miss Lin. The jewelry is also intact."

It's good that she got it. Judging from Lin Daiyu's reaction that day, she valued this piece of jewelry very much. It's a good thing that it was returned to its rightful owner.

However, since the topic has come up, Tu Chengyu naturally recalled the punishment the Emperor had inflicted on the Jia family.

So he asked, "What's the story behind the shoddy workmanship at the Prince Yi's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian's face instantly turned red, and he stammered, unsure of how to respond.

After all, this was a stupid thing his wife did when she was bewitched, and most importantly, she kept it a secret from her family.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Tu Chengyu pressed on, "What's so hard to say? Your family's affairs have spread throughout the capital. What's so hard to say in front of me?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian could only say, "This is a foolish thing done by my wife, and I beg Your Highness to forgive her."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand: "Hey, the Emperor has already punished them, so I won't interfere. What I want to know is, is your Jia family, a dignified Duke's mansion, starving or what, that you dare to tamper with things in the Prince's mansion?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian said with a bitter face, "This is my fault and my wife's fault. When we were at home, the mistress was in charge, and the allowances we received were not much."

I used to be an idle person who never did any extra work, so my wife was short of money and that's why she thought of earning some money elsewhere to spend.

Who knew that the servants they hired, oblivious to the dangers, would try to tamper with the fabric, leading to the subsequent mistakes.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu thought to himself, "Jia Lian is quite good at talking."

He said that Lady Wang, who was in charge of the Jia family, gave them a meager allowance, which might be true.

However, Tu Chengyu was familiar with the relationships among the Jia family members and knew that Wang Xifeng was Lady Wang's niece.

With this relationship, and the fact that Wang Xifeng also helps Madam Wang with household chores, her share of silver will definitely be more than others.

However, there was one thing Tu Chengyu hadn't expected, and that was because of his appearance.

In the present world, Lady Wang's eldest daughter, Jia Yuanchun, is still living in the Jia family mansion.

Therefore, it was not Wang Xifeng who helped Lady Wang with household chores before, but Jia Yuanchun.

Tu Chengyu was unaware of these circumstances, but they didn't affect him much, because he had no interest in constantly dealing with the Jia family's affairs.

Tu Chengyu shook his head and said, "The Jia family is a Duke's mansion, and there are many ways to make money, yet they still did such a thing. If your family is really short of money, just tell me, and I will teach you a couple of ways to make money, so that you won't do anything shameful in the future and bring shame upon me as well."

In the capital now, everyone knows that the Jia family doesn't rely on the emperor or curry favor with the crown prince; they're single-mindedly trying to curry favor with Prince Su.

Therefore, since the Jia family did something shameful, Tu Chengyu, as their master, also had to be criticized.

When Jia Lian heard that Tu Chengyu was going to teach him how to do business, although he didn't really believe that Tu Chengyu would have a good business, he still spoke very well.
"I will remember Your Highness's instructions. I will ask Your Highness for advice when I am short of money in the future."

As they were talking, the carriage turned several corners and arrived at the former gate of the Prince An's mansion.

The carriage stopped at the door, and Tu Chengyu got out of the carriage.

Looking at the familiar gate of the Prince An's Mansion, I felt a little dazed for a moment.

I haven't been back for over a year, and seeing this now gives me the feeling of having been away from home for many years.

Just as Tu Chengyu and the others were standing at the gate watching, the gate was opened from the inside.

A large group of people surged out, and among the leaders were some people Tu Chengyu knew.

"Your humble servant Quan Xu greets Your Highness."

"This humble servant, Su Xuanbao, greets Your Highness."

"This servant, Mi Liang, greets Your Highness."

Except for the last one, the other two were acquaintances.

That same day, Tu Chengyu requested the Emperor to transfer these two men to his service in the Imperial Study.

The emperor did not agree immediately that day, but unexpectedly, he made the arrangements without saying a word.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but feel happy. He smiled and greeted Quan Xu and Su Xuanbao.

Finally, he looked at the only unfamiliar one of the three, who was also the only eunuch.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Your Highness, I am a newly appointed guard at the Prince's residence."

It turns out he's the new steward of Prince An's mansion.

It must be because the elders in the family have all been promoted and entered the palace with their respective masters, so new people were arranged to guard them.

After answering the question, the eunuch Mi Liang stepped aside and said:
"Your Highness, please return to the manor." Upon arriving at the main gate, Tu Chengyu could no longer wait to go inside.

At that moment, he didn't want to say anything and walked into the courtyard.

As soon as I entered the gate, a familiar feeling washed over me.

Compared to a year ago, there is hardly any change here.

Come to think of it, after the mutiny that night, the emperor was summoned to the palace to ascend the throne.

Then everyone else in the household also went to the palace.

In this way, the Prince An's mansion had no master who could make decisions, and the servants left to guard the courtyard naturally dared not touch anything in the courtyard at will.

Standing in the center of the front courtyard, looking at the Fengsheng Hall, Tu Chengyu asked about the rice and grain:

Has anyone from the palace sent anyone to tell me where I should stay?

"Your Highness, Steward Xia sent someone to say that Your Highness can stay wherever you wish."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said:
"Is there a place to stay here at Fengsheng Hall? I remember that my father often rested here in the past."

Mi Liang was taken aback by Tu Chengyu's words; he hadn't expected the Prince of Su to ask about the Fengsheng Temple.

You should know that there are many courtyards of all sizes in the Prince An's mansion that can be inhabited, big and small, elegant and quiet, you can find them all.

Even if things don't go well, Prince Su's original courtyard has always been empty.

When Mi Liang heard that Prince Su was coming back to stay, she specially cleaned up Prince Su's original courtyard in advance, in order to make preparations in advance and leave a good impression on Prince Su.

But now, Prince Su is asking about the Fengsheng Temple.

You should know that he only sent people to clean the Fengsheng Hall regularly, but he didn't clean it thoroughly.

But when Prince Su asked, he had no choice but to answer:
"Your Highness, there is a warm pavilion in the back hall of the Fengsheng Hall, which can be used for living, but the room is a bit small and can only be used for temporary rest, not for long-term living."

The "small area" that these eunuchs mentioned was not the same as the "small" that ordinary people understand.

What he meant was that there was no place for servants to live in this warm pavilion, so it was not a place to stay for long.

If Tu Chengyu were to settle down in the Prince An's mansion, he would naturally not choose such a place as his residence.

But this time, he was only staying temporarily.

Moreover, his move to the Prince An's residence has attracted the attention of court officials, so Tu Chengyu needs to be even more careful.

His choice to live in the warm pavilion of the Temple of the Holy Spirit was also based on this consideration.

He can use this to tell those who are concerned, "Look, I'm really just staying here temporarily; I haven't even chosen a proper place to stay."

Therefore, Tu Chengyu's persuasion regarding rice and grain remained unwavering.

He said, "As long as it's habitable, it's fine. I'll stay in the warm pavilion. When the palace moves its things over, you can arrange for people to tidy up the warm pavilion."

Tu Chengyu made the decision immediately, and Mi Liang had no choice but to agree.

To his delight, however, Prince Su did not immediately intend to visit the warm pavilion.

In that case, he would have little time to send someone to clean the warm pavilion again.

Just as Mi Liang was thinking about how to arrange things, Tu Chengyu suddenly asked:
"May I enter my former courtyard now?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu ask about the courtyard, Mi Liang's eyes lit up, and she immediately replied:

"Your Highness, Your Highness's courtyard has always been in good condition. I have people cleaning it every day, and you can go in at any time."

Upon hearing that he could enter his own courtyard, Tu Chengyu didn't delay and immediately handed over the rice and grain, saying:

"You wait here for the people from the palace. I'll go check on the small courtyard."

Although Mi Liang really wanted to go with Prince Su, he had other duties to attend to and could only regretfully miss the opportunity. In the end, he sent a servant to accompany Prince Su.

Tu Chengyu was far more familiar with this place where he had lived for ten years than these newcomers.

He didn't need anyone to lead the way; he took the lead and headed towards his original courtyard.

When they arrived at the courtyard, the gate was open, and there were figures moving back and forth inside.

Tu Chengyu went in first and saw several maids in the courtyard setting up tables and chairs under the shade of the trees.

On the table were a teapot and some snacks.

The placement of the table and the items on it perfectly match Tu Chengyu's habits when he lived here.

Even that table looked like one that Tu Chengyu had used before.

It seems that the person in charge of the rice supply is quite shrewd, managing to arrange things this far in advance.

The busy maids were taken aback when a group of people burst in, led by a very imposing young man.
Combined with the people who were coming today, they instantly knew who was in front of them.

"This slave has met the prince."

Seeing the familiar scene, Tu Chengyu naturally walked over and sat in his usual spot.

He asked softly, "Who arranged all of this?"

The maids exchanged glances, and one of the older maids said:
"Your Highness, all of this was arranged by Steward Mi."

It seems my guess was right. Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu was even happier and said directly:

"Since it's arranged, then serve tea. I'm quite thirsty."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's instructions, one of the maids stepped back two steps, walked to the small passageway next to the toilet, and brought over a steaming copper kettle.

This shows that they were indeed well prepared, and the water in the copper kettle must have been kept on the fire the whole time.

When the maid came over with the copper pot, before she even reached Tu Chengyu, Xiao Chengzi, who was standing next to Tu Chengyu, naturally took the copper pot from her.

They didn't even give this maid a chance to get close to Tu Chengyu.

This wasn't because Xiao Chengzi was being nosy, but rather for Tu Chengyu's safety.

After all, these people all entered the Prince An's mansion later, and nobody knew who they were.

In addition, the news that Tu Chengyu was going back to the Prince An's Mansion had already spread far and wide.

If anyone wants to take advantage of this opportunity to scheme against Tu Chengyu, this is a good chance.

Therefore, Xiao Chengzi had to take precautions.

He not only took the copper kettle, but also personally brewed tea for Tu Chengyu.

Before the tea was brewed, I took a sip to make sure there were no problems with it.

He not only tried the tea, but he also used a silver needle to pick open the pastries on the table and randomly took a small piece to eat.

After he finished eating and drinking, and nothing happened for a while, he nodded to Tu Chengyu.

During this process, the maids who had prepared food and drink in the courtyard beforehand were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

What they feared most at this moment was the eunuch who was tasting the food. If anything went wrong at this time, they would have no way to explain themselves.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and the eunuch was unharmed.

Prince Su did not say anything bad, and even praised the pastries as delicious.

(End of this chapter)