The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 28 The Prince of Daming Palace on Trial

Tu Chengyu was still sued.

Although he had anticipated this, he did not expect Empress Dowager Cixi to act so quickly.

Not long after returning to the palace, the Crown Prince arrived with his men.

Tu Chengyu was unaware of the defendant's situation. Upon seeing the Crown Prince arrive, he said, "Brother, I kicked Eunuch Zhou a couple of times. I should be fine, right? I didn't delay him from delivering the imperial decree."

The Crown Prince laughed and said, "You're too bold. Eunuch Zhou is the most influential eunuch in front of Empress Dowager Cixi. Even in the outer court, few people would dare to offend him. And you dare to beat him so casually."

Tu Chengyu said, "Brother, didn't you say that as long as we don't stop him from delivering the imperial decree, it's okay even if things get out of hand? Why are you trying to scare me again?"

The Crown Prince said, “I mean, I’m not afraid of things getting out of hand, but I didn’t expect you to make such a big fuss. You hit Eunuch Zhou in front of the foreign officials, which is tantamount to offending Empress Dowager Cixi. She won’t let this go. The Emperor Emeritus has already sent someone to summon you for questioning.”

Tu Chengyu exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"

The Crown Prince explained, "Empress Dowager Cixi cried in front of the Emperor Emeritus, how could she not be happy?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu dared not delay. He quickly changed his clothes and followed the Crown Prince on a detour to the East Palace.

When the two brothers arrived at the East Palace gate, they saw their father and the Empress standing there. Tu Chengyu was surprised and glanced at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince explained in a low voice, "At the request of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Emperor Emeritus summoned my father as well."

Tu Chengyu found it funny; he had just been called to the parents' office.

The emperor stood there, watching Tu Chengyu walk over behind the crown prince, and pointed at Tu Chengyu with a look that seemed to want to hit the child but couldn't bear to.

Despite seeing his father's expression, Tu Chengyu wasn't afraid and even moved closer to him.

Although the emperor had an angry expression on his face, he whispered as Tu Chengyu approached, "Don't be afraid once you're inside. Say whatever you want."

Tu Chengyu chuckled to himself. His father was now the emperor, yet he still acted as if he were in a prince's mansion.

The family of four met at the entrance and followed the young eunuch of the Eastern Palace inside. When they arrived at the main hall of the Eastern Palace, Daming Palace, the Emperor Emeritus and the two Empress Dowagers were both there.

It seems that Tu Chengyu's grandmother, Empress Dowager Xiaoning, was also worried that her grandson was being bullied, so she came to his aid.

After exchanging greetings, the emperor, along with the empress and the crown prince, sat to the side, leaving Tu Chengyu alone in the center.

Tu Chengyu looked around and thought to himself, "The most important people in this country are all here now. It's a pity they're gathered here not to discuss important matters, but to interrogate this little kid."

Sitting in his seat, the Emperor Emeritus looked at Tu Chengyu with great curiosity. This was the second time in just a few days that this grandson had been summoned to the Eastern Palace for questioning. He was no ordinary troublemaker.

The Emperor Emeritus glanced at him a few times and asked, "Yu-ge'er, why did you hit Zhou Mao for no reason?"

Tu Chengyu immediately launched into a accusation: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I did not beat him without cause. I saw him accept silver notes from the Jia family and whisper with Jia Lian of the Jia family. I suspected that he was leaking secrets of our palace, so I intervened to stop him."

The eunuch Zhou, whose face was half bruised, said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, I have served the Empress Dowager for many years. How could I not know what is important and carelessly reveal palace secrets?"

Tu Chengyu said, "But I saw you whispering with Jia Lian."

Eunuch Zhou explained, "Today, the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree summoning the women of the Jia family to the palace the day after tomorrow. Jia Lian is worried that the women in his household have many children and might not know the rules and might violate palace taboos, so he asked me for advice."

Tu Chengyu said, "You said Jia Lian was just asking about palace rules, so why would he give you two thousand taels of silver?"

He could make excuses about everything else, but he couldn't explain the matter of accepting silver notes. He was at a loss for words.

Empress Dowager Cixi, seated on the high seat and turning her prayer beads, noticed that Eunuch Zhou remained silent. She glanced at him gently, and Eunuch Zhou, as if receiving a command, continued:

"Your Highness, I did not solicit the money from the Jia family; it was merely a common practice in the palace."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Is there such a common practice in the palace? Did Father Emperor know about it?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's question, the emperor replied, "I have never heard of such a thing."

When Tu Chengyu saw that his father said he didn't know, he turned to ask the Emperor Emeritus, but before he could speak, he heard his father cough violently a few times.

He wisely shut up, then realized what had happened and thought to himself how close he had come to disaster.

Eunuch Zhou said that it was common practice for eunuchs to accept bribes, which meant that this practice had been going on for quite some time. This implies that this practice likely originated during the reign of the Retired Emperor, or at least that the Retired Emperor tacitly approved of it. If Tu Chengyu were to ask the Retired Emperor the question in front of everyone, the Retired Emperor would find it difficult to answer and would certainly be angry.

Even though the Emperor stopped Tu Chengyu from speaking, the Emperor Emeritus still knew what Tu Chengyu wanted to do. He glared angrily at Tu Chengyu, but didn't know what to say to this unruly grandson, so he could only vent his anger on the Emperor.

"The emperor is coughing so loudly, is he ill? If he is, he should go back, lest others find out and gossip."

The emperor replied, "Thank you for your concern, Father. I am fine."

The retired emperor just wanted to vent his anger and didn't want to hear the emperor's explanation.

So after the emperor finished speaking, she pretended not to have heard him, ignored him, and didn't speak to anyone else. She turned her head away angrily.

The atmosphere grew somewhat cold when the Emperor Emeritus fell silent.

The emperor looked around and, seeing no one speak, took over the conversation, asking, "Zhou Mao, I have never heard of the custom you mentioned, nor has Prince Su. Let me ask you, is this custom performed on every eunuch who goes out on official business? How much do you receive each time you perform an official business? Which eunuch in the palace receives the most?"

The emperor's question involved too many people. Even if Eunuch Zhou was bold, he dared not answer truthfully. He glanced at Dai Quan on the other side, thought for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, I serve the Empress Dowager all day long and rarely go out, so I do not know how the other eunuchs collect their money."

The emperor said, "You're quite tight-lipped. Since you don't know about others, then tell us about your own."

Eunuch Zhou could no longer evade the issue, but he still wanted to defend himself. He said, "Your Majesty, I have never asked for anything. It was all given to me by those people outside."

The emperor said, "Whether you take the initiative or not is irrelevant; you only need to answer my questions."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhou could only bite the bullet and say, "When I go out on business, I don't accept much. At most, it's one or two hundred taels, and at least one or two dozen taels. The two thousand taels that the Jia family gave me today is the first time I've ever received such a thing."

The emperor said, "I see. Dai Quan, are you aware of such common practices?"

Dai Quan, who had been feigning death the whole time, immediately replied upon hearing this: "Your Majesty, this servant knows nothing about this matter, and this servant has never accepted any such so-called customary practice."

He truly deserves to be called the most skilled eunuch in the inner court; he could lie so convincingly in front of the emperor that no trace of his lie could be found.

The emperor knew Dai Quan was lying, but he didn't care much and turned to ask another eunuch in the hall.

The retired emperor said impatiently, "You think you can investigate a case in my palace?!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor repeatedly said he dared not.

Then the topic returned to Eunuch Zhou. The Emperor said, "Zhou Mao, since you said that accepting provisions from outside the city is a common practice in the palace, and you are an old servant of the Empress Dowager, I suppose you wouldn't say such things carelessly, so I will take your words as true. However, Prince Su was unaware of such a practice, and therefore beat you in anger, which was also for a reason. In my opinion, the misunderstanding between Prince Su and you is the cause, so let's drop this matter."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, a strange sneer appeared on the face of the retired emperor, and Empress Dowager Cixi stopped turning the prayer beads in her hand and looked up at the emperor in disbelief.

Empress Dowager Cixi made a huge fuss, summoning the emperor to her presence to demand an explanation. Now, the emperor thinks he can settle things with just a few words? Absolutely not.

Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the Emperor and said, "Logically speaking, I shouldn't hold a grudge against a child like Yu'er. However, Zhou Mao is someone close to me and was sent out on my orders. He was beaten by Yu'er without any explanation. If I don't give him an explanation today, anyone can bully me in the future."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor quickly rose and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I underestimated the situation and failed to consider the Empress Dowager's feelings. I will have Yu-ge apologize to the Empress Dowager. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will severely punish Yu-ge upon our return."

After answering the Empress Dowager's question, the Emperor turned to Tu Chengyu and said, "Why haven't you apologized to the Empress Dowager yet?"

Tu Chengyu immediately cooperated, bowed and said sincerely, "Your grandson was reckless and hit Zhou Mao. Your grandson will now pay his respects to the Empress Dowager and ask her to calm down."

Seeing the father and son working together, what could the Empress Dowager say? But she was unwilling to give up, so she could only say to Empress Liu, "Empress, Yu'er is not young anymore. It's time for him to learn the rules. You can't let him continue to be so unruly."

Upon hearing this, Empress Liu rose and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After the Empress finished speaking, she sat down next to Empress Dowager Cixi. Empress Dowager Xiaoning, who had remained silent until now, spoke, addressing the Empress as well:

"Your Majesty, you must keep in mind what the Empress Dowager instructed you to do. However, I also want to remind you not to be too strict with Yu-ge'er. This child is so lovable because of his boldness and cleverness. It would be a pity if he were turned into a blockhead."

Empress Liu had just sat down when she had to stand up again to reply, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After replying, Empress Liu did not immediately sit back down. Instead, she waited for a moment, and when no one gave any further instructions, she returned to her seat.

The two mothers-in-law are locked in a power struggle, but it's the daughter-in-law who suffers the most, as she can't show it.

(End of this chapter)