The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 38 The Joy of Fighting with Others

As soon as they met, Tu Chengyu launched into a long, rambling conversation, completely disrupting Jia Jing's carefully prepared thoughts.

This aroused Jia Jing's curiosity about Tu Chengyu, and he wanted to investigate this Prince Su who left a particularly strong impression.

Having reached this age, Jia Jing had met thousands of people, and he could say with certainty that he had never seen anyone like Prince Su.

For a child so young to be so composed when facing himself, neither deliberately showing off his intelligence nor pretending to be profound, everything was so natural.

Instead of being as timid as other children, he was surprisingly bold.

Upon meeting, he dared to reveal his past, and even casually mentioned the former crown prince's rebellion. It should be noted that the matter of the former crown prince involved two emperors, and was a taboo subject among the officials in the capital. Even if it had to be discussed, a different word would be used instead.

Prince Su dared to say it so openly, and he even said it to himself, a former member of the Crown Prince's faction.

After these few short exchanges, Jia Jing understood why the emperor would entrust such an important matter to a child.

At the same time, Jia Jing was also very envious of the emperor. How could the emperor have such a clever child? If the Jia family had such a descendant, why would he, Jia Jing, be so old and have to run around bowing and scraping before a child, running errands for those fools in the two mansions?

The more he looked at Prince Su, the more he liked him. With careful nurturing, this kind of young man could surely restore his family's fortunes.

Unfortunately, these are members of the royal family, and I dare not scheme against them, otherwise…

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him, and he couldn't help but calculate the age of his youngest daughter in his mind.

However, after calculating for a long time, he still couldn't remember Fourth Sister's exact birth date. It seems he'll have to pay a little more attention to Fourth Sister in the future.

Jia Jing was so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot to answer the question for a moment.

Tu Chengyu gently tapped the table and said, "Lord Jia, Lord Jia?"

Jia Jing snapped out of his daze and, facing Tu Chengyu's probing gaze, immediately said, "I am old and my spirit is not what it used to be. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness."

Tu Chengyu said, "That's fine, but don't forget the problem."

After Tu Chengyu's reminder, Jia Jing also remembered that he had another question to answer. He thought for a moment and said, "Such rumors are just the talk of common people. Your Highness can listen to them as idle gossip, but you must not believe them. Besides, we scholars have always kept our distance from talk of ghosts and gods."

Tu Chengyu didn't pay much attention to Jia Jing's answer; he was just casually asking a few questions to distract Jia Jing's thoughts.

Seeing Jia Jing still rambling on about ghosts and spirits, Tu Chengyu took the opportunity to eat a few bites of food. Finding it not as good as the food he'd just had at the restaurant, he put down his chopsticks, took a sip of tea, and then interrupted Jia Jing's pedantic display, asking:
"Lord Jia, have you been waiting for me here? Is there something you wish to say?"

When the conversation turned to business, Jia Jing abandoned his intention to continue lecturing Prince Su and replied, "I have a letter that I wish to present to the Emperor, and therefore I would like to trouble Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu thought to himself, "As expected, this was something my father arranged." He then asked, "Since there are letters to be presented to the Emperor, why not submit them directly, or have Jia Zheng of your Western Mansion present them on your behalf? Why give them to me?"

Jia Jing said, "This matter involves confidential and important matters, and it is not appropriate for too many people to come into contact with it. It is most suitable for Prince Su to present it on his behalf."

It seems they've already made all the arrangements. Tu Chengyu said, "In that case, give it to me."

Upon hearing this, Jia Jing took out a palm-sized envelope from his sleeve, held it up with both hands, and handed it to Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu took it, weighed it in his hand, and saw that it was very light, probably only one or two sheets of paper.

He was about to put the letter into his pocket when he suddenly took it out again.

Smiling, he said to Jia Jing, "May I take a look at this letter?"

This question, posed out of the blue, finally broke Jia Jing's composure. Although he tried desperately to control his emotions, the twitching on his face betrayed his inner turmoil. Jia Jing was practically screaming inwardly, "I already said it was a secret letter to be presented to the Emperor! How dare you, a prince, daring to spy on the Emperor's secrets?"

Just moments ago, he thought this Prince Su was bold, intelligent, and exceptionally clever. Now, however, he felt that this prince was too unruly, a little too daring, even to the point of being reckless. This kind of behavior was not a good thing in the royal family.

In the short time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Jia Jing's perception of Tu Chengyu underwent a complete transformation.

Seeing Jia Jing's expression, Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "Just kidding, how could I be so frivolous?"

After saying that, he actually put the letter into the pocket in his bosom.

After the letters were exchanged, Tu Chengyu saw that Jia Jing didn't say anything more, so he assumed that the conversation was over.

Seeing that it was still early, Tu Chengyu tasted every dish on the table, and even ate a few more bites of the ones he liked, showing no signs of having just eaten at a restaurant.

After eating to his heart's content and rinsing his mouth with tea, Tu Chengyu got up to leave. He said to Jia Jing:
"Lord Jia, I shall take my leave now."

At this moment, Jia Jing suddenly spoke up to stop him, saying, "Your Highness, please wait. I have another matter that I need your help with."

Tu Chengyu was speechless. "Why didn't you say something earlier? Now that I want to go back, you're bringing it up. This old guy's probably angry about my joke earlier and's getting a little revenge."

Tu Chengyu turned around and sat down, asking, "Is there anything else that I can help you with?"

Jia Jing said, "I would like to ask Your Highness to stage an assassination attempt."

Upon hearing Jia Jing's words, Tu Chengyu immediately became interested. He craned his neck and leaned closer to ask, "Was this also arranged by my father, the Emperor?"

Jia Jing remained silent, and Tu Chengyu understood that Jia Jing was planning something underhanded.

Tu Chengyu asked, "Why do you want me to act in this play?"

Jia Jing replied, "The letter is too thin. If it is presented to the Emperor, it will lack sincerity. I would like to increase the thickness of this letter."

It turns out he wanted to give the emperor some benefits, both to express his sincerity and to show that he was very capable.

At this point, Tu Chengyu could roughly guess what the letter contained.

He asked with a smile, "For showing sincerity to the Emperor, what benefits do I, the one helping you put on this act, receive?

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Jia Jing immediately replied, "Does finding a good princess for the prince count?"

"Hmm?" Tu Chengyu was surprised; this didn't sound like something Jia Jing would say.

He didn't know what Jia Jing was up to, but when he looked up, he saw a faint smile on Jia Jing's lips and realized that the old man was also joking like him.

Tu Chengyu went along with him and said, "Then you can bring it over."

After saying that, Tu Chengyu laughed to himself, and Jia Jing's stern, thin face also broke into a smile.

After the two finished laughing, Tu Chengyu asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Jia Jing walked over and quietly explained the next arrangements to Tu Chengyu. After listening, Tu Chengyu's eyes gradually lit up.

(End of this chapter)