The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 25 Prince Su's First Visit to Rongguo Mansion

The Ningguo Mansion and the Rongguo Mansion were located together, occupying a large area in the capital. The surrounding area became exceptionally prosperous because of these two mansions.

The east-west street in front of the two government offices was therefore called Ningrong Street.

Tu Chengyu rode his horse and followed Eunuch Zhou into Ningrong Street from the east. The first thing he saw was Ningguo Mansion, but because he was on horseback, he only glanced at it a few times.

After passing Ningguo Mansion, we rode for quite a while before finally seeing Rongguo Mansion. The entire mansion faced south, with the main gate on the south side.

When the group arrived at the gate of Rongguo Mansion, before they had even dismounted, a gatekeeper from Rongguo Mansion came to greet them.

After dismounting, Eunuch Zhou stood still and sent a junior eunuch to communicate with the servants of the Jia family.

Only then did Tu Chengyu have time to carefully examine the gate of the Rongguo Mansion.

Before me stood a tall, three-bay gate with animal-head carvings, red walls, green tiles, and a glazed tile roof. The vermilion gate was studded with fist-sized copper nails, both horizontally and vertically.

This is the main entrance, which is not open at the moment. Only the two small doors on the side have people going in and out.

Looking up from the gate, there was a long plaque with red borders and a blue background hanging directly above it. The plaque had five large characters written on it, which were the "Imperial Construction of Rongguo Mansion" that Tu Chengyu knew.

After looking at the plaque, continue along the gate and you will see two prominent, huge stone lions.

Around the stone lions, several richly dressed people sat or stood. Judging from their manners, they were clearly servants of the Jia family, yet each of them was dressed more extravagantly than a minor official in the capital. Truly befitting the Jia family, renowned throughout the capital for its lavish lifestyle and hedonistic lifestyle.

While Tu Chengyu was observing the Rongguo Mansion, some of the Rongguo Mansion's servants were also secretly observing him.

They had just learned that the people in front of them were from the palace and had come to the Jia family to deliver an imperial decree. The steward had already gone inside to report, and they, the gatekeepers and servants, were waiting at the door.

As servants of the Jia family, they were quite knowledgeable and had received countless imperial edicts.

But I've never seen such a small palace guard before. This person looks about the same height as the other guards, but his face is too tender. He looks like a child.

How could there be a child among the palace guards? And look at this child, so imposing and arrogant, he doesn't seem like an ordinary person at all. Plus, the other guards around him are subtly protecting him.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this person was not an ordinary guard, but rather someone who was not even a guard.

Among the gatekeepers of the Jia family mansion, there were some clever ones. After seeing Tu Chengyu, someone ran in through the side gate to inform the master of the mansion.

Not long after waiting outside the door, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, and then the main gate of the Rongguo Mansion opened from the inside.

A group of people emerged, led by a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old, with fair skin and handsome features, presumably one of the masters of the Jia family. Behind this handsome young man followed several middle-aged men dressed in silk, presumably stewards or similar personnel of the Jia family.

The young man walked over, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "This humble one is Jia Lian, and I respectfully welcome Steward Zhou."

So this is Jia Lian, Tu Chengyu thought to himself.

When Jia Lian bowed to Eunuch Zhou, he also secretly glanced at Tu Chengyu.

When Jia Lian greeted him, Eunuch Zhou simply grunted in response and led the way through the Jia mansion gate without saying a word. Tu Chengyu followed closely behind with his guards.

Entering through the main gate, one arrives at the main courtyard of the Rongguo Mansion. The courtyard is square and spacious, with a row of houses on each side. In the middle of the courtyard is a blue brick path several feet wide. Walking along the blue brick path, one arrives at the ceremonial gate, and beyond the ceremonial gate lies the inner courtyard.

In front of the inner courtyard is the inner hall, and behind it is the inner ceremonial gate. After passing through the inner ceremonial gate, you can see the five main rooms in front, which is the center of Rongguo Mansion, Rongxi Hall.

The series of houses and halls we just passed are all connected by this straight blue brick road.

Tu Chengyu followed Eunuch Zhou all the way here, looking at the Rongguo Mansion, with its continuous rows of houses, interconnected pavilions, carved beams and painted rafters, and extraordinary luxury, he couldn't help but sigh that it was truly one of the wealthiest families in the capital.

Upon reaching Rongxi Hall, we arrived at the final destination of our trip.

As it was previously announced that it was an imperial edict from Empress Dowager Cixi to the women of the Rongguo Mansion, and that no male members of the household were required to attend, the group gathered in front of Rongxi Hall was led by Grandmother Jia, consisting of a large number of women of all ages.

When they saw Eunuch Zhou arrive with the imperial decree, they greeted him in unison. Eunuch Zhou, as before, grunted in response and walked to the steps in front of the main hall of Rongxi Hall.

Turning to face the women of the Jia family below the steps, he said directly, "Receive the imperial decree."

For some reason, the eunuch didn't even go into Rongxi Hall; he just read out the imperial edict at the entrance.

His behavior caused some panic among the Jia family members. Fortunately, Grandmother Jia was knowledgeable and quickly told everyone to kneel down on the corridor to receive the imperial decree.

Eunuch Zhou stood on the steps, head held high, and glanced down. Seeing that the Jia family members were all kneeling obediently, he then began to read the imperial decree.

It was called an imperial edict, but it was actually just an oral decree from Empress Dowager Cixi. Eunuch Zhou knew it by heart and recited it fluently:

"Empress Dowager Cixi's decree: 'Because I have been quite idle lately, although I spend my days worshipping Buddha, I feel rather bored after chanting sutras. I thought of the Dowager Lady Jia, who used to come to the palace often to chat and laugh with me. I miss her very much. Therefore, I have issued an imperial decree requesting the Dowager Lady Jia to bring the younger female members of her family to the palace the day after tomorrow to relieve my boredom.'"

When the imperial edict was read, Tu Chengyu and the palace guards stood at a distance below.

After the imperial edict was read, the Jia family wanted to invite Eunuch Zhou into the hall for some tea and a short rest before leaving.

Eunuch Zhou declined, citing the late hour. This wasn't out of affectation, but rather because he worried that if he stayed at the Jia family's residence too long, Tu Chengyu might cause trouble.

Ever since he was entangled outside the palace gates, Eunuch Zhou had been on guard at all times, fearing that the unpredictable Prince Su would cause trouble when he read out the imperial edict.

Now that the imperial edict had been read smoothly, Eunuch Zhou felt much relieved, but he still dared not let his guard down and just wanted to leave the Rongguo Mansion as soon as possible.

No one in the Jia family was surprised that Eunuch Zhou was leaving in such a hurry; eunuchs' behavior could not be judged by ordinary standards.

Seeing that Eunuch Zhou was indeed leaving, Grandmother Jia gave Jia Lian, who was waiting at the courtyard gate, a wink. After Jia Lian obeyed, he slowly approached Eunuch Zhou, whispering as he pulled out a few silver notes from his sleeve and discreetly handed them to Eunuch Zhou.

Eunuch Zhou glanced at the silver note, seemed quite satisfied, and quietly put it away.

Although the two men were trying to be discreet, Tu Chengyu, who was observant, still noticed.

Perhaps because the silver notes received met Zhou the eunuch's expectations, he stopped holding his head high and approached Jia Lian, saying a few words, possibly to give the Jia family a heads-up.

(End of this chapter)