The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 272 The Fairy of the Mortal World Enjoys Poetry

After Tu Chengyu came out, everyone sat down in the host and guest seats.

After sitting down, Lin Daiyu said impatiently, "Your Highness, we have discussed the charity poetry gathering you mentioned and found a few problems. We would like to ask Your Highness for advice."

"What's the problem? Tell me about it," Tu Chengyu said.

Lin Daiyu said directly, "The first thing is the place to hold the poetry gathering. We originally planned to hold it in the back garden of my grandmother's house, but there are only a few pavilions in the garden. If there are three or five people, they can have a small gathering, but if there are more people, they can only stand on the flower beds. Wouldn't that be disrespectful to the guests? So after we go there, we need to find a large place."

Lin Daiyu and the others were indeed worried about a big problem. According to the scale of the poetry gathering that Tu Chengyu had designed for them, there would be at least a hundred or eighty guests.

With such a large number of people, the Jia family's garden is indeed unsuitable. Not to mention the empty garden now, even the Grand View Garden that will be built in the future probably won't have a single building that can accommodate a hundred or eighty people at the same time.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu rejected the idea of ​​holding the event at the Jia family's residence, and at the same time began to think about which place would be more suitable.

He thought of several options, even considering the Prince An's residence where he was currently, but he couldn't find a suitable one.

After much thought, he suddenly came up with a good idea, so he asked Lin Daiyu and the others.

Do you know any of the gardens in the capital?

Tu Chengyu's question was mainly directed at Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai.

Since only the two of them came from Jiangnan, while the others, such as Tan Chun, were native Beijingers, they naturally knew what a garden tour was.

After Tu Chengyu finished asking, he saw Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai nod together, clearly knowing about the famous Garden Tour.

Lin Daiyu also asked:
"Your Highness, are you planning to hold the poetry gathering in the garden?"

Tu Chengyu nodded.

Lin Daiyu then asked, "I heard that the garden is always packed with people. Will they allow us to occupy it?"

As soon as Lin Daiyu finished speaking, Shi Xiangyun interjected.

"Don't worry, Sister Lin, with the Prince here, who would dare to stop us?"

Lin Daiyu naturally knew that with Tu Chengyu's status, if he went to the people visiting the garden, he could probably get them to compromise.

However, she also knew that a garden that could support such a large establishment in the capital for so many years must have powerful backers, and Lin Daiyu did not want Tu Chengyu to get into any trouble because of this.

So Lin Daiyu asked worriedly, "Can the prince persuade him? If not, let's go somewhere else."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll just put in a good word for you at the park."

As the most famous place in the capital, the people behind the garden tours are naturally not ordinary individuals.

In the past, the two major owners behind the amusement park were the former crown prince and Prince Zhongshun.

After the former crown prince's rebellion failed, Prince Yixiao took over the shareholder status, and Prince Zhongshun's share was also transferred to Prince Yixiao's name.

Later, Prince Yixiao also ran into trouble, and the Emperor Emeritus sent someone to take over the garden tour.

Therefore, Youyuan is now like an emperor emeritus, and Tu Chengyu can use him simply by giving his permission.

Although Lin Daiyu and the others did not know the reason behind it, they believed it because they saw Tu Chengyu's confident appearance.

Xue Baochai added, "The Prince's words have solved a huge problem for us. We discussed it for half the night but couldn't think of a suitable place. We were even thinking that if we really couldn't find a suitable place, we would have to invite fewer people. Now that the Prince has said these words, we feel much more at ease."

Xue Baochai, as expected of someone famous for her eloquence, praised Tu Chengyu in just a few words.

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and then asked, "When do you plan to hold it?"

Lin Daiyu said, "It will take at least ten days. Many things are not ready yet, and we haven't sent out any invitations."

Tu Chengyu understood their thoughts and said:
"Once you've decided on the time, let me know a few days in advance so I can inform the visitors."

"Yes, I've got it." Lin Daiyu nodded in agreement.

With the venue issue resolved, Tu Chengyu asked:

"Any other questions?"

Lin Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, since we have invited others to participate in the poetry gathering, should we find someone to judge the poems written at the gathering and rank them?"

This is a difficult question to answer, and Tu Chengyu didn't know how to answer it for a moment, so she asked them:
"What were your considerations after discussing it?"

Lin Daiyu said, "We haven't reached a consensus yet, so we would like to ask Your Highness for your opinion."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What are your differing opinions? And what are your reasons?"

Lin Daiyu replied, "There are several opinions. The first is that there should be rankings, since it's a poetry gathering, how can there be no rankings? The second opinion is that there shouldn't be any rankings, and we shouldn't even invite judges. The purpose of this poetry gathering is to raise money for disaster victims, so none of that is necessary. The third opinion is that we can invite judges, but we shouldn't rank them."

All three methods have their reasons, Tu Chengyu said after sitting and thinking for a while:
"I prefer the third compromise: invite a few renowned female poets. Firstly, it would help you attract more people, and secondly, since you've written poems, someone should at least offer some comments or two; otherwise, they won't be perfect. But this is just my opinion; you can decide for yourselves."

Although Lin Daiyu and the others were all young, they were all very intelligent.

The solutions they come up with might actually work.

They simply hadn't done anything this big before and were unsure of themselves, which is why they asked Tu Chengyu about such a small matter.

However, Tu Chengyu believed that they were capable of accomplishing the task well, so he did not want to interfere too much with their choices.

Especially for minor, harmless matters, Tu Chengyu felt it was best to let them make their own decisions.

Lin Daiyu nodded and said after hearing Tu Chengyu's words:
"Let's discuss it when we get back tonight."

After saying that, she immediately added:

"Your Highness, there is one more thing I need your help with."

"what's up?"

"The problem of manpower at the banquet." Lin Daiyu said while thinking, "Your Highness, think about it, all the guests at the banquet are women, and many of them are noble ladies, so the servants in the garden can't be used. We have to use maids. But we don't have many maids here, or even in my grandmother's house. So we're discussing whether Your Highness can help us find some maids."

This matter wasn't difficult for Tu Chengyu.

He thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go find you some maids you can serve. Are there any others?"

Lin Daiyu said, "Besides the maids, there is also the issue of security. There were quite a few people that day, and we are afraid that some bad guys might cause trouble. Your Highness, you should also help find some guards."

“That’s not a problem either,” Tu Chengyu agreed immediately.

Seeing that Tu Chengyu had agreed to everything, they were all happy.

They really wanted to make this poetry gathering a success.

However, there were many things they were unable to do themselves, so they had no choice but to ask Prince Tu Chengyu for help.

Although they knew that with their connection to Lin Daiyu, Tu Chengyu would most likely help them.

However, they were still quite apprehensive until the matter was finalized. Lin Daiyu, also beaming with joy, said with a smile:

"Your Highness, we have a small suggestion we would like to share with you."

A proposal? It seems that's no longer a problem.

Tu Chengyu nodded as well.

Upon seeing this, Lin Daiyu said, "We are naturally happy that the Prince asked us to take the lead in organizing this poetry gathering. However, now that the Crown Princess is here, would it be inappropriate for the few of us to participate?"

Tu Chengyu thought it was something serious, but it turned out it was just this.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "Why do you think it's inappropriate?"

Lin Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "We are afraid that if we hold this event and it attracts attention, it will cause trouble for the Prince."

"You're causing me trouble?" Tu Chengyu didn't understand what they meant at first.

She quickly realized that Lin Daiyu was worried about her status as the Princess Consort of Su.

Because she spearheaded the poetry gathering, once the event was successfully completed, her identity as the Princess Consort of Su would no longer be a secret.

At that time, everyone's attention will definitely be focused on her identity as the Princess Consort of Su.

Then many people naturally associated Princess Su with the Crown Princess.

Inevitably, people will compare Princess Su and the Crown Princess.

Both of them are royal brides-to-be, and the other is the future Queen Mother.

However, Princess Su was working with Prince Su to help the disaster victims. In order to raise money for medical treatment for the women and children among the disaster victims, she even went so far as to publicly appear and hold poetry gatherings.

In contrast, the Crown Princess sat at home doing nothing.

With such a comparison, the Crown Princess will definitely become the subject of gossip.

Do you think the Crown Princess can feel comfortable being subjected to such an undeserved calamity?

This is what Lin Daiyu is most worried about, but what she is probably most worried about is the Crown Prince.

She was afraid that this matter would cause the Crown Prince to misunderstand Tu Chengyu, which would be bad for Tu Chengyu.

Having figured out what Lin Daiyu was thinking, Tu Chengyu said:
"You don't need to worry about this. The Crown Prince is getting married at the end of the year, and the Crown Princess is busy preparing for the wedding. She doesn't have time to do these things, so what you're doing won't affect her at all. You can do it without worry."

Despite Tu Chengyu's words, Lin Daiyu still looked worried:

“Your Highness, although the Crown Princess does not have time, I think we should still go and inform her to avoid any misunderstandings.”

Lin Daiyu really cared about Tu Chengyu, making sure to do even such a small thing perfectly.

In that case, Tu Chengyu naturally couldn't let her kindness go to waste.

So Tu Chengyu said, "You've thought this through very well. I'll do it. I'll tell the Crown Prince when I see him in a couple of days."

After finishing this matter, Tu Chengyu asked:
Do you have any other questions?

Lin Daiyu thought for a moment, then looked at the others, and shook her head, saying:

"We're all set for now."

"That's good." Tu Chengyu said, "But I just thought of a good idea and wanted to tell you about it."

"What great idea?" Lin Daiyu looked at Tu Chengyu expectantly.

"A great idea that will get you more money."

After these words were spoken, not only Lin Daiyu, but also the others looked on with anticipation.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu didn't waste any time and said directly:
"You hold poetry gatherings to raise money for medical treatment for children in disaster camps, but many noble ladies have hardly ever left their homes. They don't know what disaster victims are like, so they won't feel compassion and won't give them more money."

At this point, Tu Chengyu deliberately paused, letting them think about what he had just said.

Xue Baochai thought for a moment and said, "Does Your Highness mean to select some disaster victims and bring them to the poetry gathering so that they can see them?"

Tu Chengyu replied, "Your idea is correct, but it shouldn't be shown to them."

"If you're not looking, what are you doing?" Tan Chun suddenly asked.

Tu Chengyu said, "Simply showing them the disaster victims is too monotonous. We need to find a way to make them remember the disaster victims."

"How do you remember it?" Tan Chun asked curiously, "What has Your Highness been doing all these years?"

Tu Chengyu said, "My method is to have you select some children from the women and children's camp, and then teach these children some poems about disasters."

Once the children have learned it, they will be taken to poetry gatherings and sung to the noble ladies.

"Think about it, these disaster victims' children, dressed in tattered clothes, singing poems about the disaster—wouldn't people feel even more empathetic when they hear them?"

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Lin Daiyu and the others looked at him in surprise.

Xue Baochai exclaimed in admiration, "How did Your Highness come up with such a brilliant idea?"

This was not something Tu Chengyu had thought of; he simply copied some programs from parties in his previous life.

Compared to the surprise of the others, Lin Daiyu said with some worry:

“The children in the disaster camps have never been to school and can’t even read many words. Wouldn’t it be too difficult for them to learn a few poems in such a short time?”

Tu Chengyu said, "You don't need to memorize everything perfectly. It's more realistic if you stumble and fall a little. Don't worry, no one will be angry because a few children from disaster areas didn't memorize the poems well. On the contrary, they will feel even more sorry for these children."

After listening to Tu Chengyu's explanation, Lin Daiyu thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

So she said, “Then we’ll go to the camp tomorrow to pick out children, and then teach them to recite a few poems every day.”

Tu Chengyu nodded in agreement upon hearing this and said:
"There are so many kids at the camp, we're sure to find a suitable one. And we don't need a fixed number of kids, we can select as many as we can."

"Yes, I've got it." Lin Daiyu nodded in response.

After that, there was nothing more to say.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Daiyu and the others took their leave.

After seeing them off, Tu Chengyu went straight to rest when he got back.

He's been running around doing a lot of things all day, and he's a bit tired now.

(End of this chapter)