The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 31 The Emperor's Teachings to His Son in the Imperial Study

After the Crown Prince's selection of a consort, the year drew to a close, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, no one wanted to cause any more trouble, so the capital city became briefly peaceful.

This calm lasted until after the Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival.

After the New Year, it was the first year of the Qihe era, and the new emperor ushered in his own era.

However, the year was not smooth from the start.

Just after the Lantern Festival, news came from outside the palace that the eldest aunt of the royal family was ill, and her condition was quite serious.

This old lady held an extraordinary position in the royal family.

To explain the status of the great-aunt in the royal family, we must talk about the brothers of the founding emperor.

When Emperor Taizu was young, his family was extremely poor. One year, a great famine struck, and they had no food at all. It seemed that people in the family were about to starve to death.

Left with no other choice, he sold Taizu's third brother to a wealthy landowner in a neighboring village so that he could marry into the family.

They traded this for food, allowing the family to barely survive.

Later, when Emperor Taizu raised an army, his third brother brought all the Shui family's possessions to help him.

Just then, the young aunt arrived before the founding emperor and was personally raised by him.

Because the founding emperor had no children until he was twenty-eight, his great-aunt was, for a long time, his only child, and her status was extraordinary.

And this old aunt did not disappoint the great-grandfather's upbringing, and performed exceptionally well.

She was born in war and grew up on the battlefield. By the age of fifteen, she had already followed the founding emperor and her father to fight on the battlefield.

Although his martial prowess was inferior to that of his younger brothers, his wisdom and strategy were unparalleled among all the royal children.

They fought in the fields when the state was founded, and guarded the borders after its establishment. Their achievements were no less than those of the founding dukes and marquises.

Emperor Taizu was very fond of this niece and often said to others, "If the eldest princess were born a man, I would definitely pass the throne to her."

The talk of passing the throne was obviously a joke, but it was true that Emperor Taizu once considered bestowing upon him the title of marquis.

However, the old lady was an extraordinary woman of her time. After she changed out of her armor and into red dress, she relinquished all her power with great grace and declined the title bestowed upon her by the founding emperor.

Left with no other choice, Emperor Taizu could only bestow upon her the title of Grand Princess of the Imperial Family and the honorary title of Grand Princess Shengwu.

Then, her merits were divided in two, with one part added to her father, Prince Bei Jing, who was also the third brother of Emperor Taizu. This is why the Prince Bei Jing's family was later granted the honor of only being demoted by one generation.

Another portion was added to her husband's family, the Shi family of the Duke of Shan, which gave the Duke of Shan's mansion a powerful influence in the army.

This extraordinary woman had a brilliant life. She was invincible on the battlefield and had a smooth marriage off the battlefield. She met Shi Wenqi, the eldest son of the Duke of Shan, on the battlefield, fought together, and later became husband and wife, deeply in love.

There is only one thing that makes one sigh.

That is because she was injured too many times on the battlefield and did not receive timely treatment, leaving her with a hidden ailment that prevented her from having children for the rest of her life.

Although Shi Wenqi never cared about his wife's inability to bear children, his aunt couldn't bear to see her husband suffer such injustice and have no one to offer incense after his death. So she adopted a son from a collateral branch, thus passing on the title.

This adopted son was none other than Shi Yuancheng, who had followed the Crown Prince in this rebellion.

The fact that the Shi family was able to leave behind a young son to inherit the title after the rebellion was thanks to this old aunt's intercession.

According to this old lady, "It doesn't matter if the Shi family line dies out, but I can't let my husband's lineage end."

The fact that such an influential aunt, whose seniority was even higher than that of the Emperor Emeritus, fell ill was naturally no small matter.

The day the news reached the palace, the emperor rushed to see the retired emperor. Upon returning, he sent all three of his older sons, except for the crown prince, to visit his great-aunt.

However, to the emperor's surprise, this visit revealed something.

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The small courtyard of Tu Chengyu in Xigong.

Tu Chengyu was sunbathing when he heard Xiao Xuanzi rushing into the courtyard. "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Without turning his head, Tu Chengyu asked, "What's the matter now, making such a fuss?"

Xiao Xuanzi ran up to him and said, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Emperor is beating Prince Qi and Prince Yi. The Crown Prince wants you to come over immediately."

The Prince of Qi and the Prince of Yi were the third and fourth sons. Together with the second son, the Prince of Xing, the three of them went to visit their great-aunt.

How could I get beaten by my father for visiting my great-aunt?

Tu Chengyu was surprised and sat up. In his memory, his father rarely hit his sons. Why did he suddenly do this today, and even hit two of them at once?

He asked Xiao Xuanzi, "Do you know why?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "The Crown Prince didn't say. I only know that the three princes returned from outside the palace not long ago."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu stopped asking questions and turned to go inside to change his clothes.

Although he didn't know why the Crown Prince wanted him to go there, Tu Chengyu couldn't avoid it. After changing his clothes, he took Xiao Xuanzi and rushed over.

By the time Tu Chengyu arrived, his father had already finished playing.

Now, these three, covered in dust and dirt, are kneeling in the sun outside the Imperial Study. The second brother looks distressed, the third brother hangs his head, and the fourth brother has a fierce look on his face, clearly still unconvinced.

Wasn't the plan to beat up the third and fourth brothers? Why is the second brother kneeling too?

Tu Chengyu, unaware of the situation, saw his three older brothers kneeling so hard that he wanted to go over and offer his condolences and inquire about the situation. However, before he could even get there, he was glared at by the second brother.

Tu Chengyu curled his lip and muttered, "Hmph, now you know how embarrassing it is."

Although it was just a muttering, his three older brothers heard it clearly. Upon hearing it, they glared at him angrily; if they hadn't been forced to kneel as punishment, they would have already rushed up and given Tu Chengyu a beating.

Under the angry gazes of three pairs of eyes, Tu Chengyu walked into the imperial study.

Upon entering, I saw my father sitting behind the table, while the Empress and two concubines stood beside the Emperor, talking about something.

In front of the royal table, all the brothers and sisters of the family, young and old, were gathered.

He was just about to ask about etiquette when his father interrupted him.

Have you ever accepted any silver notes or gifts from others?

Tu Chengyu was completely bewildered. Why was he suddenly asked this question? He looked at the Crown Prince in confusion, but before the Crown Prince could speak, the Emperor's shout came again.

"Answer my question, and do not look around."

It seemed his father was truly angry. Tu Chengyu quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I have been staying in the palace recently and have not been outside, so naturally I haven't received any gifts from others. Besides, given my current reputation, even if I wanted to, no one would dare to give me gifts."

Only then did the emperor suddenly remember that his son had once beaten a eunuch who accepted gifts.

Moreover, he made outrageous remarks, saying that if anyone sent gifts to the eunuchs again, he would break their legs.

Given his words and actions, it's highly unlikely that anyone would offer him money on his own initiative.

Seeing that Tu Chengyu had not accepted any gifts from others, the Emperor stopped questioning him and turned to look at everyone, saying, "Listen up, I don't care if you are princes or princesses, or how powerful you are outside. If I hear you accepting gifts from others like those three fools outside, I will not let you off lightly."

Inside the room, everyone was terrified by the emperor's wrath, but outside, some still refused to submit.

The fourth prince shouted from outside the door, "Father, I am not convinced! It was clearly my third brother's fault. Why are my second brother and I being punished?"

The emperor was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He knew his own son's temperament perfectly well.

The fourth son has always been stubborn and inflexible. He's prone to getting stuck on things, and if he can't understand something, you can't force him to change his mind. Only when you explain the reasons to him will he obediently listen.

The emperor rubbed his temples and said irritably, "If you're not happy, then come in. I want to hear what you're complaining about."

(End of this chapter)