The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 65 You Set a Trap, I'll Break It

Tu Chengyu ate lunch in the small courtyard outside the palace and rested until the afternoon. Then, a servant came to report that Shen Ye from the Prince An's residence had arrived.

Tu Chengyu's memory of Shen Ye was still the night of the mutiny; he had never seen him since.

It is said that because he failed to protect Tu Chengyu and Xiao Liu that night, he was punished by the Crown Prince and sent to a manor outside the city. He only returned to the Prince An's mansion after the New Year.

Now that he has come in person, Tu Chengyu is quite willing to meet him and ask about the situation at the Prince An's residence.

Soon, Shen Ye entered, led in by a servant.

As soon as he entered, he immediately knelt down to pay his respects: "This humble servant, Shen Ye, greets Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu was surprised that Shen Ye bowed so deeply upon entering, and he quickly told him to get up.

It's not that Tu Chengyu couldn't withstand the kneeling of a servant in his household. The reason is that in the imperial dynasty, starting from the founding emperor, although strict etiquette rules were established, it was not encouraged to perform such a grand ceremony as kneeling easily.

Therefore, rules were established: when officials met the emperor, except on important occasions, they did not need to kneel; they only needed to bow. When lower-ranking officials met higher-ranking officials, they were not allowed to kneel. If a lower-ranking official knelt and the higher-ranking official accepted it without question, the lower-ranking official would be impeached. When commoners met officials, they were allowed to kneel or not.

For household servants like Shen Ye, the rules weren't as strict, and some servants in the mansion still had to kneel and bow. However, in the Prince An's mansion, in order to honor the ancestral spirit, kneeling and bowing were not encouraged. Therefore, stewards like Shen Ye did not kneel and bow when they met Tu Chengyu and others.

Now that he kneels down to pay his respects as soon as they meet, Tu Chengyu is overthinking things.

When Shen Ye got up, Tu Chengyu looked him over carefully. He noticed that Shen Ye had become dark and thin, and his demeanor no longer had the same air of confidence he had when he followed his elder brother. He knew that Shen Ye had had a very difficult time during the months he was sent outside the city as punishment.

This also made Tu Chengyu understand why he bowed so deeply as soon as he came in; it turned out he was terrified of his older brother.

Then he realized that this guy's punishment seemed to have something to do with him. If he hadn't acted recklessly that day, he might not have received such a severe punishment.

Thinking about what happened that night, Tu Chengyu inexplicably thought of his former follower, Zhao San.

He was seven years older than me and had been with me for two years. I never expected that he would die in the chaos of battle that night.

Tu Chengyu asked with some sadness, "Shenye, after the chaos of war, Father Emperor ordered that those who died or were wounded in the Prince's residence be compensated. Did Zhao San's family receive any compensation? Was the silver I gave Zhao San delivered to his home?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye immediately replied, "Your Highness, the compensation for the dead and wounded in the Prince's Mansion is personally arranged and distributed by the Grand Steward, and the Zhao family also received it. When I was outside the city, I also visited the Zhao family, and they received both the compensation from the Prince's Mansion and the silver from Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu asked, "How is his family doing now?"

Shen Ye replied, "They're barely making ends meet. When Zhao San was in the Prince's mansion, they were a bit better off. Now that Zhao San is gone, although they received some money from the Prince's mansion, after paying for their eldest and second sons' weddings, there wasn't much left."

He gave his life to get wives for his two older brothers; I don't know whether to be happy for him or sad for him.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "I remember that Zhao San's family has four brothers. How old is his younger brother, and what is he doing now?"

Shen Ye replied, "Your Highness is asking about Zhao San's younger brother, Zhao Si. Zhao Si just came of age in the last two years and originally worked on the land with his family. Seeing that his family was struggling financially, I thought of my past friendship with Zhao San, so when I returned to the Prince's mansion, I brought Zhao Si back with me to work as a cleaning servant temporarily."

Tu Chengyu had to take another look at Shen Ye. This guy had become more adept at dealing with people than before, after not seeing him for a while.

What kind of relationship did he have with Zhao San? Back in the Prince An's mansion, he was the chief steward by the young master's side, walking with an air of authority, while Zhao San was merely a servant to Tu Chengyu. The two never even had a chance to speak, so how could there be any relationship between them?

Later, he was punished by the Crown Prince, experiencing the coldness and chaos of human relationships, and at the same time, he clearly saw Tu Chengyu's position in the Crown Prince's heart. It is probably to show the Crown Prince that he visited Zhao San's family outside the city, and even brought Zhao Si with him when he returned to the Prince An's mansion.

He did this by simply sending a servant into the mansion; it wouldn't take much effort. But if the Crown Prince or Tu Chengyu knew about his arrangement, they would definitely look at him with new respect.

Tu Chengyu now looked at Shen Ye with new respect and asked, "How is this Zhao, uh, Zhao San's younger brother doing in the Prince's mansion?"

Shen Ye didn't know whether Tu Chengyu had forgotten Zhao Si's name or what, so he could only say, "Your Highness, his name is Zhao Si. He is a very honest and hardworking man."

Tu Chengyu thought to himself, "How could I not know his name is Zhao Si? It's just that the name immediately reminded me of someone, and it felt rather awkward. Besides, how could a teenager be called Zhao Si, a name that sounds like someone in their forties or fifties?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Since he is reliable and capable, let him come to me. By the way, have him change his name."

Shen Ye, puzzled, asked, "Your Highness, how should we change his name?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Anything is fine, just don't call me Zhao Si."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye seemed to understand but not quite, and went to make the arrangements.

Shen Ye brought his men over and took over the task of guarding the courtyard, freeing up Lao Yao and the others to return to Tu Chengyu's side.

Seeing that it was getting late and Quan Wenwei had not yet returned, Tu Chengyu decided not to wait any longer and went straight back to the palace.

Tu Chengyu has left, but what he did today has been leaked by some people with ulterior motives.
-
Before the sun had set, in a small room in a mansion.

Two people were discussing this matter. They were hiding in a dimly lit room with the curtains drawn, and their faces were not visible; only their silhouettes could be vaguely discerned.

One was sitting and appeared to be dressed in white, while the other was standing and dressed entirely in black robes.

Those sitting could not straighten up because of coughing, while those standing bowed their backs out of humility.

After coughing for a long time, the man in white finally asked, "Is the news true?"

The man in black replied, "Young master, I have inquired extensively and spent countless amounts of silver, and everyone says it is true."

The man in white said, "So, that little bastard Tu Chengyu really did capture one of our people."

The man in black replied, "Young master, please don't be anxious. We have captured them, but they are all seriously injured. It's uncertain whether they can be saved."

The man in white said, "We can't let our guard down. If it's a sword wound, that little bastard might be able to save one or two lives if he can get the imperial physicians from the palace."

Upon hearing this, the man in black asked, "Young master, what should we do?"

The man in white said, "If the information you've gathered is true, we can't just sit here and wait to die; we need to think of a way quickly. But I suspect it's all fake."

The man in black said, "Does the young master mean this is a trap set by someone else?"

The man in white said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about. We don't have many people left, so we can't act rashly. Tell me, are you sure that little bastard snatched the Wan brothers from the Ministry of Justice?"

The man in black robes replied, "This servant paid the jailer of the Ministry of Justice to gather information. Those of us who were captured all said that the Wan brothers were only seriously injured and captured alive. Moreover, in order to steal them from the Ministry of Justice, they used a ruse, employing a few low-ranking henchmen to deceive them, which is how they managed to take the Wan brothers away."

The man in white said, "But there's something that doesn't make sense. If they want people, why don't they just take them away directly? Why do they have to use some kind of smokescreen and make them go all the way to the Ministry of Justice?"

The man in black robes said, "I can't figure it out either. But the people we sent to Xishan and Fangjia Village to investigate reported that they hadn't seen any trace of the Wan brothers. Apart from the second Wan brother being beheaded in Xishan, the others have disappeared without a trace."

The man in white said, "I have a feeling that things are not so simple. Go tell our people to just keep an eye on the courtyard and not to make any rash moves."

The man in black robes replied, "It is you, young master."

Having finished speaking, the man in white waved for the man in black to leave. The man in black turned around, but hesitated for a moment.

The man in white asked, "Is there anything else?"

The man in black robes replied, "Young master, there is something else I'm not sure about, and I don't know how to tell you."

The man in white said, "Tell me first."

The man in black robes said, "While I was gathering information today, I happened to see a scholar accompanying Prince Su. He looked familiar, very much like someone I know, but I only glanced at him a few times and am not yet sure."

The man in white asked, "Who is that person you know?"

The man in black robes said, "Young master, the person I know is a clerk hired by Gao Chonghe of Xishan. It is said that Gao Chonghe considers him a confidant and entrusts him with many things. He has even handled the grain and fodder we provide to the Wan brothers several times."

Upon hearing this, the white-robed man, who had been sitting, suddenly stood up, causing him to cough violently.

Seeing this, the man in black quickly went over to pat his back, saying repeatedly, "Young master, don't rush, be careful not to hurt yourself."

Once the coughing subsided, the man in white said angrily, "You're about to die, what's the point of worrying about your health?"

The man in black robes said anxiously, "Young master, please don't say that. You'll get better."

The man in white clearly didn't want to discuss this matter, and he asked directly, "Can you be sure he is Gao Chonghe's confidant?"

The man in black robes said, "This servant thinks it's about 70-80% similar."

The man in white knew the man in black was a cautious person. He said the man looked seven or eight parts like him, which basically confirmed that it was indeed him.

This is a huge problem. Gao Chonghe's confidant has betrayed him and sided with Tu Chengyu, so many of Gao Chonghe's secrets are probably known to others.

Even their own identities may have already been exposed.

The man in white paced back and forth in the room, lost in self-doubt.

After a while, he stopped and said to the man in black robes, "Send someone to inquire again whether the seal that Gao Chonghe was carrying when he was arrested has been found. I now suspect that the seal may have been given to Tu Chengyu by Gao Chonghe's confidant. Otherwise, how could Tu Chengyu have trusted him to stay by his side?"

The man in black robes replied, "Don't worry, young master, I'll go and find out right away."

(End of this chapter)