The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 24 A Pool of Spring Water Ripples
While studying in the Imperial Study, he also entertained his young uncle, spending several days idly in the palace. On this particular day, Tu Chengyu skipped the Imperial Study and hid in his courtyard, listening to the young eunuch Xiao Xuanzi recount the news he had gathered.

"Your Highness, the whole capital is abuzz with the news that the Emperor Emeritus intends to marry Jia Zheng's daughter, Jia Yuanchun, to Prince Yixiao."

"Who?" Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu sat up straight.

Xiao Xuanzi, not understanding, said, "Jia Yuanchun."

Tu Chengyu replied, "I asked who she was betrothed to?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "Prince Yixiao."

Confirming that he hadn't misheard, Tu Chengyu sat up even straighter.

He was completely bewildered. He was a participant in the whole affair and clearly remembered that both the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor intended to marry Jia Yuanchun to the Crown Prince. How could she now be Prince Yixiao? Where did this absurd news come from?

Tu Chengyu asked Xiao Xuanzi, "Is there any other news about this?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "There's more. It's said that when the Jia family heard this news, they asked people all over the capital to find out if it was true or false. They had been looking forward to selecting palace maids next year and sending Jia Yuanchun into the palace. With only a few days left, suddenly it was announced that she would be betrothed to Prince Yixiao. The Jia family was very anxious."

How could the Jia family not be anxious? If it were in the past, Prince Yixiao, as the only son of the former crown prince and the undisputed heir to the throne, would have been a source of great concern for the Jia family, even if he was frail and sickly. They would have happily sent Jia Yuanchun to him.

However, now that the emperor has become someone else's, Prince Yixiao, as the son of the crown prince who failed in his rebellion, might become a thorn in the side of the new emperor. Who would dare to approach him?

Tu Chengyu didn't understand the intentions of the person who spread this message. Was it to frighten the Jia family or Prince Yixiao?

However, these were not things Tu Chengyu could worry about. Right now, he just wanted to hear some rumors from Xiao Xuanzi and find out what was going on outside the palace.

But before they could say more than a few words, the eunuch at the door announced that the Crown Prince had arrived.

Tu Chengyu had just stood up when he heard this when he saw the Crown Prince already walking into the courtyard.

"Brother, what brings you here?" Tu Chengyu remembered that the Crown Prince had been extremely busy lately, helping the Emperor with state affairs while also studying with his ministers. How did he find the time to come here today?

The Crown Prince dismissed the eunuchs before sitting down in Tu Chengyu's original seat and slowly said, "Empress Dowager Cixi wishes to bestow the daughter of the Jia family upon Prince Yixiao in marriage."

Tu Chengyu said, "So that's how it happened. How did the news get out?"

The Crown Prince said, "The Empress Dowager deliberately spread the word to test the reactions of all parties, mainly to see what the Jia family's attitude was. As a result, Prince Yixiao sent someone to the palace to say that the Crown Prince had just passed away and he was unwilling to arrange a marriage now. The Jia family also made efforts everywhere to avoid this marriage."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu said, "The Empress Dowager is probably furious."

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "He is indeed quite angry. He wanted to steal the marriage from me. He had a very clever plan: to help Prince Yixiao find a good maternal family and to annoy Father Emperor. But he didn't expect that both families would reject him."

Thinking of Empress Dowager Cixi's furious appearance, Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "What's next? The Empress Dowager won't just leave it at that, will she?"

The Crown Prince shook his head and said, "The Empress Dowager has not given up. She is trying to persuade the Emperor to issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage. She is also planning to summon the Old Madam of the Jia family to the palace in a couple of days to personally persuade her."

Tu Chengyu said, "The Empress Dowager is quite persistent."

The Crown Prince said, "Whatever she's up to, we'll just watch. Let's not talk about her anymore, I need to talk to you."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What is it? You could have just sent a eunuch to tell me, why did you have to come all the way here in person, brother?"

The Crown Prince said, "This matter cannot be known to anyone else; only I can tell you. Actually, it's still about this matter. The Empress Dowager wants to summon the Jia family to the palace, so she needs to inform them in advance. In a little while, Eunuch Zhou, who serves the Empress Dowager, will go to the Jia family to deliver the imperial decree, and I want you to go with her." Tu Chengyu asked in confusion, "What am I going there for?"

The Crown Prince said, “Since the Empress Dowager is acting so arbitrarily, Father cannot do nothing. However, Father and I are too closely connected, so I cannot easily intervene. I don’t trust anyone else, so I can only send you. Remember, this time you are going along ostensibly to stand up for me and stop Eunuch Zhou from doing his job. In reality, you must be careful to ensure that Eunuch Zhou can successfully read out the imperial edict. Don’t worry about anything else; just treat it as a trip outside the palace.”

Tu Chengyu realized that he was just a decoy to scare the Empress Dowager. He asked, "If there's going to be trouble, should it be big or small?"

The Crown Prince said, "As long as it doesn't delay Eunuch Zhou from reading the imperial edict, it doesn't matter if things get a little out of hand. At most, you'll just be confined to your quarters by Father. You're not afraid of that."

Tu Chengyu was immediately delighted. He was quite eager to visit the Jia family mansion; after all, everyone has a fondness for classic literature. Besides, he could also give that eunuch Zhou a good scare.

He then asked, "How do I get there?"

The Crown Prince took a token from his waist and handed it to Tu Chengyu, saying, "This is your waist token for leaving the palace. Take this and wait outside the palace. After Eunuch Zhou leaves the palace, just follow him."

Tu Chengyu took the waist token and examined it for a while. Two days ago, he wanted to ask his father for such a waist token to facilitate his entry and exit from the palace, but his father refused. He never expected to have one today.

Seeing how much Tu Chengyu cherished the waist token, the Crown Prince reminded him, "Return the waist token to me when you're done using it."

Tu Chengyu sighed; he knew it would turn out this way.

After finishing his business, the Crown Prince left, and Tu Chengyu changed into the robes of a palace guard. He followed the eunuch left behind by the Crown Prince to the outside of the palace gate, accompanied by seven or eight other palace guards.

After waiting outside the palace gate for a quarter of an hour or so, I saw Eunuch Zhou leading a group of people out.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu immediately led his guards to meet them.

Eunuch Zhou recognized Tu Chengyu immediately, even though Tu Chengyu was dressed as a guard.

Seeing Tu Chengyu approaching with his guards, Eunuch Zhou asked in confusion, "This servant greets Prince Su. May I ask what brings you here?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I heard that you are going to the Jia Mansion to deliver an imperial decree. I happen to be very curious about the Jia Mansion, so I would like to go with you to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhou immediately understood what Tu Chengyu was up to. He knew that the Empress Dowager wanted to marry the Jia family's daughter to Prince Yixiao, and he was unhappy about it, so he wanted to sabotage it.

He quickly replied, "This servant is on a mission to deliver an imperial decree and has no time to play with you. If I fail to serve you properly and the Empress Dowager finds out, she will surely punish me for being reckless and negligent."

Eunuch Zhou was reminding Tu Chengyu that he was working for the Empress Dowager, and if Tu Chengyu dared to interfere, he would definitely complain to the Empress Dowager, and Tu Chengyu would not have a good outcome.

Tu Chengyu understood, but he pretended not to care and said, "It's alright. I just want to go to the Jia family mansion. It won't interfere with your business. Even if the Empress Dowager finds out, she won't punish you."

Then Eunuch Zhou tried several times to decline, but Tu Chengyu, having received the Crown Prince's instructions, insisted on going no matter what.

Faced with such a rogue prince, Eunuch Zhou really had no choice but to comply. He couldn't just go back to the Empress Dowager to complain right away.

In the end, he had no choice but to agree, but he became more vigilant and prepared to deal with Tu Chengyu's difficult behavior at any time.

While researching today, I encountered something absurd: some websites require payment to access the original text of Dream of the Red Chamber online.

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(End of this chapter)