The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 61 Why the Annulment and the Arrangement?
After leaving the Imperial Study, Tu Chengyu rushed to the Daming Palace to see the Emperor Emeritus.

The place where he was summoned was still the East Warm Pavilion, and Dai Quan was still serving by the side of the retired emperor.

As soon as Tu Chengyu entered, he greeted the emperor with a formal greeting: "Grandpa, your grandson has come to see you."

The retired emperor chuckled and said, "You little rascal, you've finally decided to come see me. I waited and waited for you yesterday, but you ran off to the Western Hills to cause trouble."

Tu Chengyu said, "It was my fault for making my grandfather wait. Now that I have returned and completed my task, I have come to see my grandfather."

The Emperor Emeritus said, "You do know what's important. I ask you, why do you disagree with the marriage between the Qin family and the Jia family?"

Tu Chengyu knew that the Emperor Emeritus had called him back urgently because he wanted to know about this matter. He had already prepared his answer and said, "Grandfather, I have heard that Jia Zhen is misbehaving and Jia Rong is timid and cowardly. If the Qin family's daughter marries into the family without her own family to protect her, it will certainly not be appropriate."

The retired emperor said, "If he had his maternal family to protect him, would Jia Zhen still dare to act recklessly?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I don't know if Jia Zhen will still dare to act recklessly after he finds out. But I think that since the Jia family father and son are so despicable, we should not form a marriage alliance with them. Why let the Qin family's daughter get involved in the Jia family's mess? Even if Jia Zhen doesn't have the guts to act recklessly, Jia Rong is not a good match."

The Emperor Emeritus sighed and said, "I originally thought that marrying the Qin family's daughter into the Jia family as the matriarch would be a good arrangement for her and would put my mind at ease. Therefore, I did not object when the Jia family proposed marriage. Now it seems that this marriage is indeed unsuitable."

Tu Chengyu said, "I think it would be better for me to marry a promising scholar than to marry into such a high-ranking official family."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's suggestion, the Emperor Emeritus's eyes lit up; he thought it was a good idea. Moreover, it was currently the time for the special imperial examinations, with students from all over the country gathering in the capital. Among so many students, there were bound to be one or two suitable candidates, who could then be married off directly by the Emperor.

However, there is still a problem: the Qin family has already arranged a marriage with the Jia family, and the betrothal gifts have been given.

Now, we need to find a way to annul this engagement without damaging the reputation of the Qin family's daughter. This is quite a difficult situation.

The Emperor Emeritus thought for a moment and said, "I won't trouble two people with one matter. You've taken care of everything for me: the Qin family's daughter's annulment of the engagement and the selection of a suitable husband from among the scholars."

Tu Chengyu wanted to refute, but the Emperor Emeritus didn't give him a chance and directly brought up another matter.

The retired emperor said, "By the way, the emperor has also arranged a marriage for you."

Tu Chengyu looked bewildered. How did this suddenly become about him? He asked, "I'm still young. Why did Father suddenly think of arranging a marriage for me? Why didn't Father arrange it himself instead of asking you, Grandfather?"

The retired emperor chuckled and said, "Your father is always scheming and plotting. When he schemes against others, he doesn't think twice. This time, he schemed against his own son, and he feels guilty, so he won't say it himself."

Tu Chengyu's mind raced. He needed to figure out where his father might be plotting against him. It was rare for him to arrange a marriage for him; what other schemes might be behind it?

The retired emperor seemed to be able to see through Tu Chengyu's thoughts and said, "Little monkey, you're wondering how the emperor is scheming. You didn't expect that, did you? Hmph, the emperor's ability to scheme is not so simple."

Tu Chengyu turned to look at the Emperor Emeritus, his eyes conveying a clear message: "Since you know, then tell me."

The retired emperor said, "If you have the guts, go and ask me about the matter between you and your son. I don't want to get involved."

Seeing that he couldn't get an answer from the Emperor Emeritus, Tu Chengyu asked, "Grandfather, do you know which family the marriage is with?"

The retired emperor said, "The Jia family."

How did we get involved with the Jia family again? They were just thinking about breaking off the engagement, and now they're getting married again. In such a big city like the capital, are there no other suitable families?
Why did it have to be the Jia family? Tu Chengyu thought for a long time and finally came up with some possibilities.

The Jia family was the first noble family to pledge allegiance to the emperor, and immediately after pledging allegiance, they helped the emperor defeat the Changsheng Guard, thus earning both merit and hard work.

In such situations, the emperor would always have to show some appreciation, whether it was to continue to win over the Jia family or to set an example for other nobles. He needed to offer them something in return. However, at this time, the reward might not be so great; an official position or a reward would suffice.

Unfortunately, Qin Keqing's affair got involved again. The retired emperor probably had already heard Tu Chengyu's suggestion and wanted to cancel the marriage between Qin Keqing and Jia Rong.

However, doing so would not only fail to benefit the Jia family, but would also be seen as a blow to them, which the emperor could not tolerate.

This led to a conflict between the emperor and the retired emperor.

Normally, when there is a conflict, either one side will overpower the other, or both sides will compromise.

However, when it came to the emperor and the retired emperor, they shifted the blame elsewhere.

The emperor sent one of his sons to perfectly resolve the conflict, not only winning the favor of the retired emperor but also appeasing the Jia family.

The sacrifice was for his son to marry someone he'd never met, which was understandable, given the emperor had so many sons; exchanging one or two for something was quite a bargain. Whether it was the Jia family's request or the emperor's deliberate choice, Tu Chengyu ultimately became the one to resolve the conflict.

For the Jia family, having Prince Su marry a daughter from the Jia family or any of their own families would instantly transform the Jia family into imperial relatives, elevating their status among the nobility.

This move not only resolved the conflict between the Jia family and the retired emperor, but also brought them closer to the emperor.

Furthermore, through Tu Chengyu's identity, the Jia family can also establish a connection with the Crown Prince and directly curry favor with the next emperor.

This move was incredibly profitable for the Jia family, comparable to Zhu Laosi's (the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty) succession to the throne.

Zhu Laosi is a good grandson who can bring prosperity to three generations; the Jia family has a good son-in-law who can protect the whole family.

After thinking about it for a while, Tu Chengyu realized that everyone else had benefited, but he had lost his marriage.

However, because everyone can benefit from this matter, especially the two in the palace, it means that even if Tu Chengyu has a huge objection, this marriage arrangement cannot be changed. Now, the Emperor Emeritus is telling him that he is just informing him.

As a member of the royal family, Tu Chengyu knew long ago that there were some things he couldn't control.

Even though I often fantasize about how I would fight back if I encountered such a situation.

But when it actually happened, Tu Chengyu pessimistically discovered that he had no way to fight it. This mountain, formed over thousands of years, still weighed heavily on the heads of young people even in the enlightened environment of later generations, let alone in the current environment.

If you can't resist, you can only submit. Tu Chengyu asked, "Grandfather, do you know which daughter of the Jia family is being chosen?"

The retired emperor shook his head and said, "It's not settled. The emperor lets you choose for yourself; any of the daughters from those families are fine."

Tu Chengyu was dumbfounded. How was he supposed to choose? He had never seen any of them before. He had seen them on TV before, but who knew if they would be the same as the ones in the show? What if he picked one based on his past impressions, only to find out she was an ugly monster?

Moreover, who knows how many interests and calculations are involved here? What if the emperor and the retired emperor have other plans after you've made your choice?

So Tu Chengyu didn't waste his brains and asked directly, "Grandpa, which one do you think I should choose?"

The retired emperor said, "For you, it doesn't matter which one you choose."

How could they be the same? The retired emperor clearly didn't want to get too involved in the emperor's affairs, which is why he was giving us the runaround.

Tu Chengyu said in a huff, "Grandpa, then I won't choose anyone. I'll marry them all and annoy you all to death."

Upon hearing this, the retired emperor burst into laughter: "You little rascal, at such a young age, where did you get such thoughts? If you dare to say these words to the emperor, see if he will break your legs."

Tu Chengyu was just saying it casually; how could he dare to say such a thing to the emperor?

He pleaded with the Emperor Emeritus, "Grandfather, if you don't help me, I won't go and arrange the annulment of the engagement for you."

The Emperor Emeritus said, "You little rascal, you always try to cheat in front of your Grandfather. But since you've been doing this for your Grandfather, I'll let you have a word with him."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately beamed with joy, sat up straight, and said, "Grandpa, please speak quickly."

The Emperor Emeritus smiled and pointed at Tu Chengyu, saying, "Among these families' daughters, several who are around your age would be suitable. However, in your father's eyes, the most suitable is the Jia family's niece, Lin Ruhai's daughter. The second most suitable is the Shi family's eldest daughter."

The Emperor Emeritus was referring to Lin Daiyu and Shi Xiangyun. From the perspective of the original novel, Tu Chengyu could accept these two characters, but it's unclear what the current situation is.

However, Tu Chengyu was puzzled when the Emperor Emeritus said that these two were chosen with the Emperor's eye. He asked, "Grandfather, what's the difference between these two and the others?"

The Emperor Emeritus said, "Although both of these girls are related to the Jia family, there is still a distance between them. If you marry one of them, you can appease the Jia family without getting too close to them."

Tu Chengyu roughly understood and said, "Since Father has made arrangements, I will follow them."

The retired emperor said, "These two girls are no different from the emperor, but they are very different for you. You should choose one carefully."

Tu Chengyu couldn't think of any difference at the moment, but since he didn't have to choose immediately, he could think about it slowly and decide after he figured out the key points. He said to the Emperor Emeritus, "Grandfather, I haven't even met them yet, how would I know who to choose? Let's talk about it after I've met them."

The retired emperor said, "Do you think you can just see any young lady you want? Let me make this clear: if you don't choose for yourself now, the emperor might choose for you."

(End of this chapter)