The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 286 Assassination Attempt at the Foot of West Mountain

From his words, Tu Chengyu understood the underlying meaning: he wanted to talk to him alone.

Tu Chengyu then waved his hand, signaling everyone else to step back, leaving only a group of guards behind.

After everyone left, the guard spoke up:
"Your Highness, before I came here, His Majesty sent someone to find me and asked me to pass on a message to Your Highness, saying that they are about to launch an attack and that Your Highness should temporarily take refuge at the Western Hills Palace."

These words seemed to come out of nowhere, but Tu Chengyu understood them perfectly.

"They" refers to those who wanted to use the thugs among the disaster victims to assassinate Tu Chengyu.

They're about to launch their attack, which means his plan to assassinate Tu Chengyu is about to begin.

Tu Chengyu was on edge for a few days after hearing that someone wanted to assassinate him.

But even after so much time had passed, Tu Chengyu still went out of the city every day, so they didn't do anything.

Tu Chengyu thought they had given up because they realized the assassination was difficult.

I didn't expect it to suddenly appear today.

Is this an attempt to catch oneself off guard?

Thinking about these things, Tu Chengyu asked again:
"Besides that sentence, was anything else said?"

The guard shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the messenger didn't say anything else."

There was nothing else? Tu Chengyu was somewhat surprised.

Without even specifying a time or place, they simply told me to retreat to the Western Hills Palace. How was I supposed to defend myself?

From this statement, Tu Chengyu can deduce that the person who made the move is likely waiting for him on his way back to the city. Otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have ordered Tu Chengyu to hide in the Western Hills, but would have sent him back to the city directly.

There was another piece of information that Tu Chengyu knew early on: the people who took action would basically be in the disaster camps.

In the Xicheng area where there are disaster victims, there are only brick factories and cement factories.

Therefore, the people who assassinated Tu Chengyu are either currently hiding in these two places, or they escaped from the camp today and are hiding elsewhere.

Therefore, given the current situation, as long as Tu Chengyu stays away from the two factories and the road back to Beijing, he shouldn't have much of a problem avoiding the assassination attempt.

Looking at it this way, it's really appropriate for the Emperor to send him to the Western Hills Palace to hide away.

Tu Chengyu was frowning in thought, and Lao Yao and the others thought that Tu Chengyu didn't want to go to the Xishan Palace.

Out of concern for Tu Chengyu's safety, Lao Yao said:
“Your Highness, since His Majesty has sent such a message, it means that the Western Hill Palace is safe. It would be best if Your Highness went there to take refuge, since there are still some guards at the palace.”

The so-called Xishan Palace is the palace that was taken back from that fat man, Yingmao Army, last year.

That place was used by that guy as his own palace, so he took great care in repairing and maintaining it.

Later, the emperor reclaimed the palace and gardens for the imperial use, originally intending to demolish them.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed a pity to demolish it, so an order was issued to renovate the place, turning it into a royal palace in the Western Hills.

Tu Chengyu had led his men there before and fought a battle, so they were somewhat familiar with each other.

So Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said:
“Then let’s go to the Western Hills Palace.” After saying that, he instructed, “Now that we’ve come this far, we don’t need to hide those guards anymore. Let them all come out.”

When the emperor learned of the assassination plot against Tu Chengyu, he dispatched a separate team of guards to protect him. However, these guards did not usually appear in front of Tu Chengyu or others; most of them disguised themselves and protected him in secret.

Now that the assassins are about to launch their attack, there's no need for covert protection anymore.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's instructions, Old Yao quickly dismissed everyone and went to greet the guards hidden in the shadows.

After saying this, Tu Chengyu then addressed the group from the Ministry of Works:
"I have business to attend to today and cannot accompany you to check the road. You should not stay here any longer; while it is still early, you should all return to the city."

Tu Chengyu didn't want to involve these people because of his own reasons, so he sent them back as soon as possible.

The officials from the Ministry of Works, upon hearing this, had no suspicions and, after bidding farewell to Tu Chengyu, immediately returned home.

After they left, not long after, the guards who had been hiding in the shadows gradually emerged from various places.

Some of these people dressed up as ordinary citizens, while others dressed up as disaster victims, and their clothes were all different.

The only thing they had in common was that they all carried a tool, either a hoe or a carrying pole.

The reason they took these tools was because their weapons were hidden inside.

Once everyone had arrived, Tu Chengyu's guards suddenly increased from seven or eight to thirty.

Tu Chengyu didn't delay and directly told them to follow him to the Xishan Palace.

At this moment, Old Yao took out a suit of armor from Tu Chengyu's carriage and made Tu Chengyu put it on.

These suits of armor were placed in Tu Chengyu's carriage early on, and not only him, but everyone else's armor was also placed in the carriage.

So these past few days, the carriage seemed to be following Tu Chengyu constantly, but Tu Chengyu rarely got to ride in it.

In this situation, Tu Chengyu didn't hesitate. He took the armor and, with the help of Lao Yao and Xiao Xuanzi, put it on and then put on an ordinary piece of clothing over it.

As a result, it is difficult to see that Tu Chengyu is wearing armor from a distance, and many people just think that it is because he is fat.

After Tu Chengyu finished putting on his armor, the other guards also put on their armor and followed Tu Chengyu's example by putting their robes on over their clothes.

Now, of all the people, only Xiao Xuanzi and his two followers are not wearing armor.

Tu Chengyu hadn't considered these people at all from the beginning, so he hadn't prepared anything for them.

So, when Tu Chengyu was about to leave, he sent Xiao Xuanzi and the others back.

However, Xiao Xuanzi already knew that Tu Chengyu was about to encounter danger, so how could he back down at this time?

He said:
“Your Highness, now that you are wearing armor, your appearance has changed. When you walk with the guards, they won’t recognize you for a short time. But if you are not in the group, they will attack everyone, which could potentially hurt Your Highness. Fortunately, my figure is similar to Your Highness’s. When I change into Your Highness’s clothes, I can attract their attention. That way, Your Highness will be safe when they start attacking.”

Xiao Xuanzi's idea was undoubtedly a good one for Tu Chengyu.

But for him, it was extremely dangerous.

Tu Chengyu was wearing armor and had thirty guards around him, so he didn't feel any danger.

So he said to Xiao Xuanzi:

"I am going to the Western Hills Palace. There is no danger on the way, so you don't need to come with me. You should stay and guard the cement factory."

(End of this chapter)