The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 69 A Heartfelt Trust, a Life-or-Death Entrustment

Encountering his cousin unexpectedly left Tu Chengyu with many thoughts. Even in his own difficult circumstances, the cousin still cared for Qin Keqing.

Logically speaking, Qin Keqing was not a popular person in the former Crown Prince's residence. Regarding Qin Keqing's marriage, her cousin could have pretended not to know the truth and ignored it, but unexpectedly, he actually sent people to wait outside the palace for several days, just to find someone to report this matter to the Emperor Emeritus.

This way of doing things is completely unlike the former crown prince. Tu Chengyu thought that if it weren't for the fact that their identities were such a hindrance, he would really like to get to know this prince.

With his mind wandering, Tu Chengyu led Lao Yao and the others to several other inns and restaurants to inquire about the situation of the scholars who came to the capital for the imperial examinations. He actually managed to find out about a few more suitable candidates.

In the afternoon, Tu Chengyu finally returned to the small courtyard where he had stayed outside the palace.

When Quan Wenwei saw Tu Chengyu return, he quickly pulled Tu Chengyu into the study and said excitedly, "Your Highness, Gao Chonghe's seal has been found."

Tu Chengyu was quite pleased to hear this. This seal was Gao Chonghe's only means of communication with the person behind the scenes. Finding the seal might allow them to trace the person behind the scenes.

He quickly asked, "Where was the seal found?"

Quan Wenwei said, "It's ridiculous, the seal was always hidden on Gao Chong's body, but the people interrogating him at the time didn't know about the seal, so they couldn't find it."

Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "Where did he hide it on his person? How could we not find it?"

Quan Wenwei explained, "Gao Chonghe was a fat and bloated man with a lot of fat. He actually hid the seal under the fat on his chest. The seal was not big to begin with, so it was really not easy for anyone to find it when it was hidden there."

The place where he hid the things was really ingenious, but the main reason was that the interrogators only wanted to get information out of him and didn't even think about finding anything on him. Otherwise, he really couldn't have hidden it for so many days.

Tu Chengyu asked, "How was it discovered later?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Gao Chonghe has been sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, and tomorrow is the day of his execution. Today, in the Ministry of Justice prison, they are cleaning Gao Chonghe to remove the filth from his body in preparation for the execution tomorrow. This seal was found on him during the cleaning. The Ministry of Justice also knew that the Prince had been looking for this seal, so they sent someone over to inform him."

I never expected to find it this way; it was a lucky accident.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "Has the Ministry of Justice found any clues related to the seal?"

Quan Wenwei replied, "Your Highness, the seal was only found half a day ago; we can't expect to find any clues so quickly."

Tu Chengyu then realized that he had been too hasty.

Quan Wenwei continued, "Although there are no clues for the time being, Your Highness can use the seal to spread false information and force the person behind the scenes to take action."

It seemed that Quan Wenwei had come up with another idea, so Tu Chengyu asked, "Mr. Quan, please tell me your plans."

Quan Wenwei said, "Given the concern of the person behind the scenes, he must already know that the seal has been found, but he will have doubts about the process by which the seal was found."

"At this time, Your Highness can send someone to secretly spread false information, saying that I met Gao Chenghe and persuaded Gao Chonghe to hand over the seal. I also persuaded Gao Chonghe to say some things. After the previous absurd process of finding the seal, I think the person behind the scenes may believe the information spread by Your Highness even more."

Tu Chengyu said, "Wouldn't that expose you to the enemy and put you in a dangerous situation?"

Quan Wenwei said, "With so many eyes around the courtyard these past two days, the fact that the student is with the prince has probably been exposed long ago."

Tu Chengyu said, "But what's the point of spreading this news now?"

Quan Wenwei said, "In this way, the person behind the scenes will inevitably think that the existence of the students will pose a threat to him. In addition, the information we released before will force the enemy to take the risk."

Tu Chengyu shook his head and said, "Pushing you out, sir, is still too risky."

Quan Wenwei said, "How else can we catch the person behind the scenes as soon as possible?"

Tu Chengyu said, "We can take our time to plan this out; there's no need to rush."

Quan Wenwei said, "But from my perspective, Your Highness is very anxious."

Tu Chengyu asked in confusion, "Why does Mr. Quan say that?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Today, Your Highness went to the garden, and in less than half a day, it was widely rumored in the capital that a child had publicly rebuked the renowned scholar Hu Jieyuan in front of many scholars. May I ask, was that child Your Highness?"

Tu Chengyu said in surprise, "It was indeed me, but I didn't expect the news to spread so quickly." Quan Wenwei said, "That's why I said Your Highness was anxious. As far as I know Your Highness is concerned, you are not the kind of person who is impulsive and likes to stand out. Why would you quarrel with a scholar over such a trivial matter today?"

Seeing that Tu Chengyu was listening attentively, Quan Wenwei continued, "If Your Highness didn't know about this Scholar Hu, that would be one thing. But Your Highness clearly knows that this person has such a great influence among scholars, yet you still embarrassed him in public. Doesn't Your Highness know that this will cause trouble?"

Tu Chengyu asked, "What kind of trouble will there be?"

Quan Wenwei said, "This is a huge problem. They don't even know the prince's identity yet, but the news has already spread throughout the capital. If the prince's identity is revealed, it will surely cause a stir among the scholars, and moreover..."

At this point, Quan Wenwei seemed to be angered by Tu Chengyu, and after adjusting himself, he said, "Moreover, the prince said in front of so many people that Hu Jieyuan would definitely not become the top scholar. How could such unwise words be said in public?"

Although Quan Wenwei couldn't help but utter some disrespectful words in the end, Tu Chengyu didn't care. He said, "It was just a casual remark. What can they do to me?"

Quan Wenwei said, "If Your Highness says such a thing, and Hu Guangjin is lucky enough to become the top scholar in the palace examination next month, Your Highness will surely become a laughing stock among the scholars and lose all prestige. On the contrary, if Hu Guangjin does not become the top scholar, the scholars will think that it is because of Your Highness, and there will definitely be a turmoil. At that time, the officials in the capital may also come out to impeach Your Highness for interfering with the imperial court's selection of officials."

Tu Chengyu said, "What you're saying does sound a bit serious, but what does that have to do with my urgent need to find the person behind it all?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness suddenly made a big splash today. Could it be that you deliberately sought trouble, revealing your weaknesses to attract the attention of the person behind the scenes?"

Tu Chengyu looked at Quan Wenwei with a wry smile and said, "Mr. Quan deduced from this incident that I was anxious to find the person behind the scenes, and that in order to prevent me from making any more unwise moves, you risked your life to lure the person behind the scenes into a trap?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Could it be that the student's guess is wrong?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Mr. Quan is mistaken this time. My argument with Hu Guangjin was not to draw out the person behind the scenes."

Quan Wenwei looked at Tu Chengyu with a puzzled expression, and after a long while said, "But I really can't think of any reason why Your Highness would want to have such a pointless argument with a scholar."

Instead of answering his question, Tu Chengyu asked a question: "Mr. Quan, you say that for a prince like me to live a long life in the country, is it better to be a wise and virtuous king who is renowned throughout the world, or a wicked king who attracts controversy?"

Quan Wenwei frowned deeply, looking at the boy in front of him who was only ten years old but could ask such profound questions. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"The best ruler is the mediocre one who does nothing."

Tu Chengyu said, "I used to think about living a life of leisure and wealth, but after these past six months, my thoughts have changed."

At this point, Tu Chengyu pointed to his head and said, "I have a lot of things inside me. I used to deliberately ignore these things, but now I realize that if I don't make these things, then I will have come to this world in vain."

Although Quan Wenwei didn't know what Tu Chengyu was talking about, he could sense that Tu Chengyu really wanted to do something.

He asked, "Is Your Highness doing this today to make things easier for yourself in the future, and to tarnish your own reputation?"

Tu Chengyu said, "It's not a matter of self-defamation. Firstly, I really couldn't stand Hu Guangjin's arrogance today, so I argued with him for a bit."

"Secondly, as I just said, if you want to do something, don't worry about your reputation. Moreover, doing so can also avoid trouble. As you know, my identity is special. I am still young, so it doesn't matter. But when I get older, some people will definitely try to take advantage of me. If I don't get a bad reputation, they will never stop."

Quan Wenwei said, "But if Your Highness bears a bad reputation, wouldn't that implicate the Crown Prince?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Throughout history, the position of crown prince may seem to be influenced by various parties, but in reality, it depends solely on the emperor. If the emperor's attitude is firm, no one else can influence it."

Fortunately, these somewhat treasonous remarks were only discussed in private; otherwise, if they had been leaked, even a prince would have been beaten.

Upon hearing this, Quan Wenwei subconsciously looked around. Seeing that it was indeed just him and the prince, he nodded and mumbled:

"What Your Highness says is not wrong. So, Your Highness will soon be out on a mission?"

Tu Chengyu said, "After these past six months, Father no longer treats me like a child. Even when I don't go to the Imperial Study, Father doesn't interfere much. I reckon that after I turn eleven, Father will assign me some small tasks."

Quan Wenwei said, "Since Your Highness will soon be leaving the palace to take care of business, this person who has been plotting against Your Highness must be dealt with as soon as possible. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Highness to allow me to proceed with the plan I just mentioned."

How did we end up here again? What's wrong with Mr. Quan? Why is he so determined to put himself in danger?

Since the other party had repeatedly insisted despite the danger to themselves, Tu Chengyu had no choice but to agree.

Fellow readers, does anyone know how Jia Rong should address Jia Zheng and Jia She?

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(End of this chapter)