The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 238 Jia Yuanchun's Happy Marriage

After taking a sip of tea, Tu Chengyu looked at the few maids in the courtyard who resembled quails, and couldn't help but think of Xiao Xing'er.

He remembered that when they were still in the Prince An's mansion, Xiao Xing'er often looked like a timid quail.

At the time, Tu Chengyu did not know that his father would become emperor, so he kept a low profile, which made the people around him feel insecure.

Neither Xiao Xing'er nor Zhao San at that time were daring.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but think of Zhao San, who had followed him for many years but died unexpectedly when he rose to prominence in the Prince An's mansion.

This made Tu Chengyu feel a little down.

He sighed silently, took a few sips of tea, and looked at the maid, asking:

"Judging from your appearance, this yard must have been tidied up?"

The maid who had spoken earlier said:
"Your Highness, Steward Mi instructed us a few days ago to clean this place thoroughly, saying that Your Highness would need it."

This person is quite clever, but unfortunately, they didn't guess the right place.

However, since the place has already been cleaned up, Tu Chengyu felt that it could still be used.

After all, if Tu Chengyu doesn't live here, there are other people who can.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked Quan Xu and Su Xuanbao, who were following him.

"You two arrived early. Do you know when Mr. Quan is coming?"

The two exchanged a glance, and finally Quan Xu answered:

"Your Highness, I arrived yesterday and have not heard any news of Mr. Quan."

Upon hearing this, Su Xuanbao nodded in agreement, indicating that neither of them knew the truth.

Then, Tu Chengyu asked Xiao Chengzi beside him:
"Has Xiao Xuanzi arranged for someone to invite Mr. Quan?"

Xiao Xuanzi was essentially the chief steward in front of Tu Chengyu in the palace, so he was in charge of arranging many things.

Xiao Chengzi replied, "Your Highness, I heard from Steward Luo that someone was sent to Mr. Quan this morning, so he must have been informed."

Now that he had been granted the title of Assistant Administrator, Tu Chengyu felt relieved.

Tu Chengyu was thinking that he would need to stay by Quan Wenwan's side to advise him when he resettled the disaster victims, so it would be more convenient for him to live in the Prince's Mansion.

Moreover, seeing the small courtyard from earlier, Tu Chengyu thought that he would let Quan Wenwei stay there later, since he had his daughter with him and it would be inconvenient for him to stay with everyone else.

After drinking two cups of tea, I figured that Xiao Xuanzi and the first group of people should have arrived by now, and the Fengsheng Hall was almost ready.

Tu Chengyu then got up and left the courtyard.

On the way back to the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Tu Chengyu inadvertently discovered that Quan Xu had been secretly observing him, and seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu asked in confusion:
"Quan Xu, is there something you want to say to me?"

Upon hearing this, Quan Xu smiled broadly and said, "Your Highness, you noticed?"

"You've made it so obvious. If I still can't see it, then I must be blind."

"Your Highness, please forgive me, but I do have something I wish to say to you."

Seeing Quan Xu's upturned lips and his obvious joy, Tu Chengyu said:

"Looks like something good has happened to you?"

"Your Highness is wise. Indeed, something good has happened to me. I am getting married."

"Really?" Tu Chengyu was pleasantly surprised, then said happily, "Marriage is great! I'll definitely give you a big red envelope then."

"Red envelope?" Quan Xu had never heard of this term before.

"It's just a gift of money."

"Oh, Your Highness, if that's how it is, then this humble servant will await Your Highness's red envelope."

"Yes, has the wedding date been set yet?"

"It's settled, on the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, before the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is what I'm thinking: after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the disaster victims will probably arrive in the capital, so I want to get married as soon as possible so I can accompany Your Highness on your mission."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu nodded in satisfaction: "I am pleased that you think this way. However, marriage is a matter of two families, and you cannot make decisions unilaterally. Have you consulted the bride about the date?"

Quan Xu said, "The date was agreed upon by me and the Taishan government, and both sides agreed."

"Good that you agree. Which family does this bride belong to?" Tu Chengyu seemed to vaguely remember his wife, but as time went on, he couldn't quite recall which family she belonged to.
Quan Xu was momentarily stunned when Tu Chengyu asked this question, then quickly glanced at Jia Lian and Jia Rong behind him before slowly saying:

"Your Highness, as Your Highness also knows about my family, it is the West Mansion of Ningrong Street."

Upon hearing Quan Xu's words, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered.

He remembered that during the controversy surrounding the selection of the crown prince's consort, Jia Yuanchun of the Jia family was rejected by the emperor.

This incident caused quite a stir at the time and became a laughing stock in the capital.

This also resulted in Jia Yuanchun, a young woman in the prime of her life, becoming unwanted.

After the news subsided, the Jia family discreetly told Quan Xu about Jia Yuanchun.

According to their social standing and family background, Quan Xu was not a good match for Jia Yuanchun.

But who could blame Jia Yuanchun for this misfortune, leading to a situation where a suitable match was rejected?

Quanxu's situation isn't actually that bad.

Quan Xu's ancestors were also founding heroes, and they are now considered a noble family.

However, by the time of Quan Xu's generation, he only had a minor fifth-rank general title left.

The main reason why the Jia family was able to take a liking to Quan Xu was because Wang Ziteng acted as an intermediary.

When Wang Ziteng served as the military governor of the capital, Quan Xu was his personal guard deputy.

Wang Ziteng promoted and gave important positions to Quan Xu, and of course he knew that Quan Xu was a capable person.

That's when Jia Yuanchun couldn't get married, and she thought of Quan Xu.

All of this information came to Tu Chengyu in an instant.

So he smiled and said to Quan Xu and Jia Lian:

"So, you two will be relatives from now on. It seems I'll have to prepare two red envelopes."

Faced with Tu Chengyu's teasing, Quan Xu and Jia Lian dared not say anything.

After waiting for a while, Quan Xu finally spoke again.

"Your Highness, the reason I've come to you about this matter is that I have a favor to ask of you."

"whats the matter?"

"This humble servant wishes to invite Your Highness to my wedding."

"You invite me to the wedding?" Tu Chengyu was somewhat puzzled. Generally, noble families didn't really like royals attending their weddings.

Although the arrival of royalty is a respectable event for the host family.

However, there are too many royal rules, and if he were to show up at the wedding, the wedding would be much more difficult to organize.

If you're not careful and break a taboo, a happy occasion might turn into a bad one.

Another point is that members of the royal family, considering their noble status, would not easily attend other people's weddings in person.

Even for those with close relationships, a brief appearance in person would suffice; most simply sending a gift via a messenger was enough. Based on these considerations, noble families rarely requested permission from the imperial court for their weddings.

There has never been a case like Quan Xu making a request in person before.

So Tu Chengyu was very confused, wondering what Quan Xu was up to.

Seeing that Tu Chengyu wanted to ask, Quan Xu replied:
"Your Highness should know that my family has fallen on hard times, and most of the families we used to be on good terms with no longer keep in touch with us."

At my wedding, I imagine there won't be many people attending, so I would like to ask Your Highness to make an appearance."

Quan Xu didn't say anything more, but Tu Chengyu knew what he was going to say.

It must be pressure from the Jia family.

Given the Jia family's current status, their status as a noble family remains, and their influence among the nobility is still intact.

In this way, the Quanxu family and the Jia family would be at a disadvantage.

While the Jia family might not care about this difference, Quan Xu probably does.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said to Quan Xu:

"Is that all? I agree. Anyway, I'm living outside now, so it's easy for me to go there."

"Your Highness, I thank you!" Quan Xu had been filled with trepidation since he first opened his mouth. He was overjoyed that it had been settled in just a few words.

If Prince Su hadn't been right in front of him, he would have been tempted to shout a few words to express his joy.

In his original thought, it would be quite difficult to get Prince Su to agree.

Although he had accompanied Prince Su to Jiangnan and the two had developed a slight acquaintance, he also knew that Prince Su was a person who valued relationships.

But he also knew that Prince Su was the current prince, a dignified prince.

His status was so noble that few in the world could match it.

As for himself, he was just a minor, fallen nobleman.

Such a huge disparity cannot be smoothed out with just a little bit of personal connection.

So Quan Xu initially came with just a try-it-out attitude.

Seeing that Quan Xu was so happy he almost forgot who he was, Tu Chengyu ignored him, turned and gestured for Jia Lian to come a few steps closer, then asked:
"I remember that the person getting married this time is the eldest daughter of your Jia family's two mansions?"

"It is Your Highness, and I am your younger sister."

"Since she is the eldest daughter, the ceremony should be more grand. Why is your family keeping it so secret that even I don't know about it?"

Hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Jia Lian lowered his head.

Thinking to himself, the reason the Jia family keeps a low profile is because of the things you and your son did.

If it weren't for the royal family's meddling, causing the Jia family to lose so much face in Jia Yuanchun's marriage, how could they have been so low-key?

However, Jia Lian dared not say this carelessly, so he could only bring up the excuse that the family had prepared together.

"Your Highness, the elders in my family believe that with the Yellow River breaching its banks and the people suffering during this time, it is not appropriate to hold a grand wedding."

Judging from Jia Lian's tone, Tu Chengyu knew that he wasn't telling the truth.

Of course, Tu Chengyu could also guess the real reason.

They also knew that the Jia family's current situation was partly due to their own actions.

However, Tu Chengyu has no regrets at all.

After all, the Jia family had a great influence among the nobles at that time, and they liked to meddle in everything.

If we hadn't taken good care of things before, how could the Jia family, who are now so obedient and single-mindedly devoted to Tu Chengyu, have appeared?

Moreover, Tu Chengyu felt that when he initially helped the Emperor suppress the Jia family, he was actually helping the Jia family as well.

By suppressing them, their families learned of the power of the royal family in advance, thus preventing them from acting recklessly later.

This might save the Jia family from the tragedy of having their property confiscated.

As he was saying this, Tu Chengyu and his group returned to the front yard.

As Tu Chengyu expected, Xiao Xuanzi had already arrived with the first group of people by this time.

He was directing his men to carry packages of all sizes into the Temple of Holy Spirit.

When they saw Tu Chengyu arrive, they quickly came over to greet him.

Tu Chengyu spotted Quan Wenwan in the crowd, but he didn't see his daughter who could cook.

"Mr. Quan, did you come alone?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, I have been working with you every day since I came here, so I don't have much time to spend with my daughter. I might as well let her stay in the courtyard, since it's not far from the Prince's residence."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "I was planning to let you and your daughter live in my original courtyard. The courtyard has already been prepared. It seems you are not so fortunate."

Quan Wenwei quickly said, "This student thanks Your Highness for your kindness. However, since this student is here to help Your Highness, it would be better for me to stay by Your Highness's side. That way, Your Highness can find this student whenever you need anything."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and said, "Whatever you say."

After saying that, he turned to look at the rice and asked:
"Are there any rooms left in the front yard? Arrange one for Mr. Quan."

Mi Liang replied, "Your Highness, there are still rooms available in the toilet and side rooms. This servant will arrange them for Mr. Quan right away."

"Go ahead and arrange a nicer one."

After the rice and grain were distributed, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Xuanzi:

"Is the Fengsheng Hall ready yet?"

"Your Highness, the main hall and front hall have been cleaned up, but the back hall and the warm pavilion are still being cleaned up by Sister Xing'er and her people."

"Once the front hall is tidied up, everyone, please come in and have a seat. I have something to say to you all."

After saying this, Tu Chengyu took the lead and walked towards the Fengsheng Hall, and the others followed closely behind.

Upon entering the Fengsheng Hall, Tu Chengyu saw that it was exactly the same as before, with little change.

Directly opposite the main gate is a slightly elevated platform with a large chair on it. This is where Prince An used to sit and manage the palace.

Below the platform, on the left and right sides, are two rows of round chairs, where Tu Chengyu used to sit.

After seeing all this, Tu Chengyu pointed to the area directly below the platform and said to Xiao Xuanzi:
"Have someone move a chair and put it there."

Upon hearing this, everyone knew that the chair was the one Tu Chengyu was going to sit in, and that he was avoiding suspicion by not sitting in the chair on the platform.

After Xiao Xuanzi and the errand boy eunuch arranged the chairs, Tu Chengyu walked over, turned around, and sat down.

Then, looking at the group of people standing in front of him, he pointed to the chairs on both sides and said:
"Don't stand, everyone. Find a place to sit down."

Upon hearing this, none of them moved immediately; instead, they all turned their heads to look around at the others.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what they were thinking at first, but after a moment's thought, he understood.

It's not that they didn't want to sit, they probably just didn't know how to sit.

After all, the word "seat" has different meanings.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu didn't waste any more time with them. He pointed directly to the seat and said:

"Mr. Quan will sit in the first seat on the left, and Jia Lian and Jia Rong will sit next to him. Quan Xu will sit in the first seat on the right, and Su Xuanbao can sit next to him."

(End of this chapter)