The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 280 The Royal Father and Son Enjoy a Harmonious Reunion
Under the watchful eyes of the people along the way, the Crown Prince carried several plates of food donated by disaster victims all the way from the southern city to the palace in a lively manner.

From outside the South Gate to the palace, it basically traverses the entire capital city.

The Crown Prince's procession encountered countless people wherever it went.

The people of the capital city naturally love to join in the fun.

So when they saw the strangely shaped wooden frame in the prince's procession, their curiosity was ignited.

Then they used all their skills to inquire everywhere about what this matter was.

Inevitably, what the Crown Prince did outside the city today was also spread around the capital.

Just as the Crown Prince was delivering vegetables to the palace, the Emperor was listening to Xia Shouzhong report on the day's events in the Imperial Study.

Hearing the commotion, the emperor couldn't help but ask:

"You mean the disaster victims shouted 'Long live the leader' several times?"

When the emperor asked this question, there was a smug smile on his face, which he was trying hard to suppress.

Xia Shouzhong knew what the emperor was thinking, so he quickly said:

"Yes, Your Majesty. The disaster victims not only praised you, but they also knelt down in excitement. Tens of thousands of people knelt down together; I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Xia Shouzhong naturally knew what the emperor wanted to hear, so he tried to describe the scene of the disaster victims kneeling before the emperor in as much detail as possible, so as to please the emperor.

The emperor was overjoyed upon hearing this, but he still said aloud:
"Could these have been arranged by Xiao Wu?"

Xia Shouzhong immediately said, "Your Majesty, it shouldn't have been arranged by Prince Su. There are tens of thousands of people; how could they possibly be arranged for all of them? This servant can see that all those disaster victims are truly sincere."

Upon hearing this, the emperor could barely contain his smile, and he grinned as he said:

"Xiao Wu handled this matter well; it seems you put your heart into it."

How could this matter not be handled well? Tu Chengyu did all the hard work, but the final result was given to the emperor and the crown prince.

Moreover, it was Tu Chengyu who took the initiative to give up the offer, even chasing after him to do so. How could the emperor and the crown prince not be satisfied with such a son and brother?

Just as the emperor continued to inquire about the details of the matter, a young eunuch entered.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is outside requesting an audience."

"The Crown Prince is back?" the Emperor said with a smile. "He's back quite quickly. Let him in."

Xiao Tai listened, but didn't leave. Instead, he continued speaking:

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince said that the disaster victims have donated several delicacies and wish to present them to Your Majesty as well. Please grant your permission."

"Delicious food? Offered by the disaster victims?" The emperor was surprised at first, then turned to look at Xia Shouzhong, who had not told him about this.

Xia Shouzhong was also a little confused at this moment, but fortunately he reacted quickly and said, "Your Majesty, this should have happened after I returned to report."

The emperor guessed the same thing, so he didn't make a fuss and instead said to the young eunuch:
"Let the Crown Prince bring the food in as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The young eunuch turned and left, and a short while later, the crown prince entered with several people.

Upon entering, the Crown Prince knelt on the ground and said:

"Father, your son has come to present you with auspicious omens."

Generally speaking, the emperors of this dynasty did not have a good impression of the word "auspicious omen".

However, the emperor was very satisfied with the items he saw today.

He stood up, walked out from behind the imperial table, beckoned the crown prince to rise, and then looked at the bowls and plates with considerable interest, saying:
"Is this the food donated by the disaster victims?"

The crown prince said happily, "Father, this is the food offered by the disaster victims."

"Open it and take a look."

Upon hearing this, the prince turned back and personally opened the lids on the food dishes.

The disaster victims didn't have complete sets of bowls and plates, so they could only make do with a few that were passable.

Therefore, none of the tableware for these four sets of meals was a matching set, making them look quite shabby.

But the emperor found it even more appealing than the precious porcelain in the palace.

The prince carefully lifted the plate covering the food, revealing four dishes inside.

The emperor stepped forward to take a look and found that the four dishes were common in the common people's homes.

The dishes consisted of a plate of pork dumplings, a plate of stir-fried pork, a few cooked pork ribs, and a bowl of pork and wild vegetable soup.

Several items were made of pork, and the portions looked quite generous.

In the eyes of ordinary people, a generous portion might be seen as a sign of sincerity and respect.

These items, being made of pork, don't look as appealing now that they've cooled down.

Moreover, because it lacks fragrance, it has a slightly muttony smell when cooled.

But the emperor didn't care at all and said to Xia Shouzhong:

"Go and get a pair of chopsticks."

Judging from this, the emperor really wanted to try it.

Xia Shouzhong saw that this wouldn't do and quickly said:

"Your Majesty, this has gone cold and will be difficult to digest. Let me take it away and heat it up before Your Majesty eats it."

Although Xia Shouzhong said the food was cold, he was actually advising the emperor not to eat anything from outside the palace.

The emperor understood his meaning and hesitated for a moment, but quickly reaffirmed his decision.

He said, "I cannot fail to appreciate the kindness shown by the disaster victims, but don't worry, I will only eat a little bit."

Hearing this, Xia Shouzhong didn't try to stop him, and quickly ran out to fetch a set of silver bowls and chopsticks.

The emperor happily accepted the silver bowl and chopsticks, and without needing anyone to serve him, he did it himself.

He ate a dumpling first.

To be honest, the pork didn't taste very good after it got cold, but the emperor didn't even flinch and ate the dumpling slowly and carefully.

After finishing the dumplings, he also ate some of the vegetables and the boiled ribs.

He ate only a few bites of the three items combined, but the emperor looked very satisfied.

After he finished eating, he said to the crown prince:

"Take these dishes with you and have the Imperial Kitchen heat them up. Then send them to the Emperor Emeritus. Once you get there, explain to him where these dishes came from, and also tell him that I have tasted them for him and that they are delicious. Tell him to eat them without worry."

The crown prince understood the emperor's meaning, so he covered the food again and ordered the servants to take it away.

After the crown prince left, the emperor slowly said to Xia Shouzhong:

"It's fortunate that Xiao Wu did the whole thing; if someone else had, it might have been a real problem." Xia Shouzhong understood the emperor's meaning.

Because in today's matter, Tu Chengyu always put the emperor first, and incidentally also helped the crown prince build up his prestige.

However, the retired emperor did not appear in the entire story.

Logically speaking, it would be normal for the retired emperor not to appear.

However, in reality, the most powerful person in the entire court is still the retired emperor. Even the emperor, who is the rightful ruler of the country, still has to act according to the retired emperor's wishes.

Therefore, if the retired emperor is bothered by this matter, then a good thing might turn into a bad thing.

In particular, the matter of delivering the meals at the end could very well touch the emperor's sore spot.

Fortunately, the whole thing was caused by Tu Chengyu, so even if the Emperor Emeritus was unhappy when he found out, he wouldn't take it too seriously.

If the emperor was able to find out about what was happening outside the palace so quickly, then the retired emperor, as the most powerful person in the country, must also be well-informed.

Just as the Crown Prince met the Emperor, the Emperor Emeritus already knew everything, including the recent incident of disaster victims offering food.

After Dai Quan recounted everything that had happened at the disaster camp that day, the Emperor Emeritus's expression turned serious, and he sat quietly in his chair, seemingly lost in thought.

He sat there, his expression shifting as he pondered for a long time, before suddenly bursting into laughter.

“This little rascal is always causing trouble wherever he goes.” After saying that, he paused for a moment and then said, “He’s trying to get power from me on behalf of his father. He’s even trying to outsmart me.”

The "little rascal" naturally refers to Tu Chengyu.

Judging from the Emperor Emeritus's tone just now, he clearly did not hold Tu Chengyu's actions against him.

After thinking for a moment, the Emperor Emeritus asked again:
"What did the emperor do after meeting the crown prince?"

Dai Quan replied, "The Crown Prince went into the Imperial Study, and came out a little while later, carrying those dishes of food, and went to the Imperial Kitchen."

"It seems the emperor is quite satisfied with these things sent by the disaster victims; he's preparing to eat them. Humph, what an unfilial son! I'm still in the palace, and he's already eating them himself."

It must be said that the emperor still understood the retired emperor.

Just as the retired emperor was sulking, a palace eunuch came in to report.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has come to request an audience."

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had arrived, the Emperor Emeritus frowned and asked:

"What is he here for?"

The young eunuch said, "The Crown Prince is carrying a food box, saying he's bringing food for the Emperor Emeritus."

Upon hearing that food was being delivered, the Emperor Emeritus immediately thought of the dishes that the disaster victims had brought in earlier.

So, filled with doubt, he said to Dai Quan:
"Go and see what's going on."

Upon hearing this, Dai Quan went out to investigate the situation himself.

When he learned from the Crown Prince that the food delivered was indeed the same few dishes sent by the disaster victims, he was quite surprised.

Since these were the gifts, Dai Quan naturally dared not delay and quickly led the Crown Prince in.

The Crown Prince entered the Daming Palace and met the Emperor Emeritus.

He first offered his greetings and then explained his purpose.

Although the retired emperor already knew what was going on, he still patiently listened to the crown prince explain it in detail.

After finishing his speech, the retired emperor pointed to several dishes and said:

"Since it was presented to the emperor by the disaster victims, why is it here with me?"

The Crown Prince quickly explained, "Father said that anything sent into the palace should be presented to Grandfather, so he asked me to deliver it to Grandfather."

"At least he knows how to be filial." After hearing these pleasing words, the retired emperor still had to make a sarcastic remark about the emperor. After saying this, the retired emperor asked, "This was sent to the emperor. Didn't the emperor eat any?"

The Crown Prince said, "Father said that since Grandfather hasn't eaten yet, how can anyone else eat first? However, Father tasted a bite of each dish for Grandfather and said they were delicious, so Grandfather can eat without worry."

In the palace, "taking a bite" meant tasting the food.

This job was usually done by the eunuchs or palace maids who served the masters.

The purpose was to test whether the food had been poisoned or whether the taste had changed.

Therefore, the emperor's actions today are tantamount to him personally testing the poison for the retired emperor.

I wonder what the retired emperor would think if he knew about this.

However, if this news were to reach outside the palace, and the ministers in the court heard about it, wouldn't they all praise the emperor for his filial piety?

The retired emperor could naturally see through the emperor's intentions, and after giving a cold snort, he said:
"Since it's food, let me have a taste."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince personally took out several hot dishes from the food box and placed them on the table.

Once the food is heated up, it loses its gamey smell.

The retired emperor stared at the dishes for a moment, then pointed at Dai Quan and told him to pick up the dumplings first.

This father and son have quite similar tastes. They both start with dumplings.

The food made by the disaster victims could not compare to the exquisite delicacies served in the palace.

However, the retired emperor ate several of them before stopping, and then he also tried the other three dishes.

After they finished eating, the retired emperor said to Tazi:
“You did a great job today. Although the disaster was caused by natural disaster, human error also played a part. Every time there is a natural disaster, the court’s prestige in the hearts of the people diminishes. This time, you were able to use a few small things to win back the hearts of the disaster victims, which is very good.”

Hearing the Emperor Emeritus's praise and rare words of instruction, the Crown Prince quickly replied humbly:

"Grandfather, all these things were done by Xiao Wu. I was just going through the motions with him."

The Crown Prince was aware of the Emperor Emeritus's preferences, so he immediately put Tu Chengyu in front of him.

The Emperor Emeritus was clearly pleased to hear that the Crown Prince had not overlooked Tu Chengyu's contributions.

He said to the Crown Prince, “It’s good that you take Xiao Wu’s actions to heart. Xiao Wu is a little rascal, but he is very sincere. He always puts you, the Crown Prince, first. He does the difficult things and gives you credit. I only hope that you can remember Xiao Wu’s kindness to you and treat him better in the future.”

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will keep Your Majesty's teachings in mind," the Crown Prince quickly replied.

"It's good that you know what's going on." The Emperor Emeritus was basically satisfied with the Crown Prince's statement: "Alright, everything's fine here, you may leave."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince quickly took his leave and withdrew from the Eastern Palace.

After the Crown Prince left, the Emperor Emeritus looked at the food on the table and said to Dai Quan:
"The emperor is still the same, always scheming. He even eagerly sent me the things that Xiao Wu presented to him, trying to curry favor. Humph, he has no shame."

The retired emperor would always bring up the emperor with sarcastic remarks.

If it weren't for Tu Chengyu acting as a mediator, who knows what kind of trouble this father and son would have gotten into.

Upon hearing the retired emperor's sarcastic remarks about the emperor, Dai Quan lowered his head and pretended to be dead.

(End of this chapter)