The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 39 Scheming and Digging a Trap for Whom?

After Jia Jing and Tu Chengyu finished their discussion, they leisurely hid in a separate room behind the study, disappearing from sight.

Tu Chengyu left the study alone, and with a wave of his hand, he led several guards out.

They moved from the backyard to the front yard, which was slightly different from the area before they went in.

A banquet was set up in the courtyard, where a group of men were eating without restraint around several tables.

In the main hall, the people from the Jia family who came to offer betrothal gifts had already left, and several neighbors were cleaning and tidying up. Qin Ye, the head of the family, was not seen at all.

Tu Chengyu glanced at the table casually a few times before preparing to walk through the middle of it.

As they passed the middle table, a short, stocky man suddenly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and cursed, "What kind of lousy feast is this? It's not even as good as what my wife makes. It's awful!"

His sudden outburst made the brothers, who were enjoying their meal, stop what they were doing and look up to see what had gotten into them.

When the short, stocky man saw his brothers looking at him, he quickly said, "What, do you think I, Lao Bai, am lying?"

The men around him didn't think Lao Bai was lying. One of them said, "Brother Bai, for people like us, this kind of feast is already very good."

The man surnamed Bai said, "Of course you think it's very good, but who is coming today? It's our Master Li, a man whose every move in the capital shakes the ground. He has eaten all kinds of fine banquets in the capital. Today, he comes to the home of this lowly official, but is only served this inferior banquet. This is simply an insult to Master Li."

At this moment, a man in a cotton robe, sitting at the head of the table, looked up and said, "Old Bai has improved. He knows to uphold the dignity of your Master Li. Not bad, not bad."

Praised, Lao Bai spoke even more enthusiastically: "Master Li, you have hundreds and thousands of men like us under your command. Every one of the twelve guards in the capital garrison is eager to beg you when they are on duty. In the capital, many dukes and marquises have offered you the finest silver to invite you to dinner, but you don't even look at them."

The man surnamed Bai explained it clearly, and Tu Chengyu understood.

It turns out these people are the Yingmao Army that my father mentioned, and the Master Li they're talking about is probably the leader of the local thugs.

As arranged by Jia Jing, Tu Chengyu was to put on a show here. He was just about to go and perform a heroic act when Qin Ye returned unexpectedly.

Qin Ye ran over quickly, followed by several restaurant waiters carrying food boxes.

He said to the man holding the weapon, "Sir, I apologize for the previous neglect. I have already had a fine meal prepared. Please come to the main hall for a drink."

Seeing that he was being valued so much, the man surnamed Li was quite pleased and prepared to get up and change tables.

Unexpectedly, before we even set off, someone next to us said, "There's only one table of food, who's going to get enough?"

This statement was met with widespread approval.

"Yes, we came here to show our support, so why are we only getting to eat inferior food?"

In the chaos, someone said, "We've heard that Old Man Qin's daughter is very beautiful. Why don't you let your daughter out so we can see her? Then we won't blame you."

The person who said this, whose intentions were unknown, provoked the others to join in the commotion.

These drunkards, who have had too much to drink, love to cause trouble like this.

Hearing their words, Qin Ye stomped his feet in anger and said, "How can you be so rude? My daughter has already been betrothed to the Jia family today. Let's see if you still dare to cause trouble."

Upon hearing the name of the Jia family, the drunkards finally became frightened and quieted down, bringing an immediate silence to the noisy scene.

It seems the Jia family still holds some influence in the capital. Just then, a man dressed in a scholar's robe stood up next to the gang leader and said, "What Jia family? A fallen phoenix. Our Master Li wouldn't be afraid of them!"

These words put Master Li in a difficult position. On one hand, with so many brothers watching, he couldn't back down; on the other hand, he was still somewhat afraid of the Jia family.

Tu Chengyu felt that it was time for him to make his appearance.

He winked at the guards behind him, signaling them to be careful, then took two steps forward and said, feigning fear:

"How could you people do this? In broad daylight, you dare to act recklessly? Aren't you afraid the authorities will arrest you and give you a beating?"

Tu Chengyu pretended to be a timid but righteous and ignorant child, and finished speaking the sentence in fits and starts.

These people saw a little child run out and start criticizing everyone, but the little child was not afraid, even though there were several big men behind him.

They all shouted loudly, as if trying to intimidate Tu Chengyu. Among them, the most arrogant was the one surnamed Bai who had slammed the table at the beginning.

He stood up again and said, "What kind of status does our Master Li have? Would he be afraid of a mere government office?"

Tu Chengyu added, "But, but you can't bully an old man."

When the man surnamed Bai heard the little kid talk back, he cursed, "You little bird sticking out of your crotch, you dare to act like a hero at such a young age, minding your own business."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu was furious. He had seen this guy jump out to cause trouble from the very beginning, and assumed he was Jia Jing's mole, so he was prepared to put on a good show with him.

Now, hearing his unrestrained and foul-mouthed remarks, I know I've mistaken him for someone else.

However, the fact that this guy was willing to step forward makes the whole thing seem more real.

Tu Chengyu said, "How dare you swear? I'm going to tell my father and have him beat you."

The man looked stunned, but he also had a cautious side. He asked, "And who is your father?"

Tu Chengyu said, "My father is a very high-ranking official. He can punish whomever he wants in court."

Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Bai cursed, "I thought he was some big shot, but he's just a lowly official. Let me tell you, even if your father, that scoundrel, appeared in front of me, I wouldn't be afraid of him."

This guy kept spouting nonsense, which infuriated Tu Chengyu. He had already decided that once he caught this guy, he would see how he would deal with him.

However, he wanted to dig an even bigger hole, so he shifted his target to the gang leader.

Tu Chengyu asked him, "Your subordinate insulted my father, are you going to do anything about it?"

The gang leader surnamed Li was stunned when he heard this. He thought to himself, "You little brat, have you come to the wrong person to complain?"

He wanted to say a few words to send this meddlesome kid away, but seeing that his men were all staring at him, he couldn't let them outdo him.

So he retorted, "So what if I call your dad a birdman? I'll call your grandpa a birdman too. What can a kid like you do to me?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu knew that things were settled.

(End of this chapter)