The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 78 A Rare Moment of Leisure in a Fleeting Life

The day before Prince Yoshikō's birthday, the entire capital seemed to have quieted down.

The rioting scholars quieted down.

The widely publicized annulment of the engagement within the Jia family gradually faded from public discourse.

Even the recent incident of the attack on Prince Su's villa by thieves has hardly been discussed by anyone.

Tu Chengyu did not go outside the palace today, but came to the Imperial Study after a long absence.

Because of the emperor's indulgence and tacit approval, Tu Chengyu, who was nominally a student but frequently skipped classes, was essentially ignored by the teachers in the Imperial Study.

Just like today when he suddenly came to the study, none of the teachers asked him about his studies or whether he understood what they were saying.

Tu Chengyu didn't care about any of that. He came today simply to talk to his younger brothers.

So as soon as the teacher left, all the younger brothers from sixth grade onwards, along with the youngest prince, swarmed around.

Tu Chengyu doesn't come often, so Xiao Liu is now the leader of the Imperial Study.

He spoke first, asking, "Fifth Brother, what have you been up to lately?"

Tu Chengyu replied with a smile, "My grandfather sent me on a mission, and I've been busy outside the palace these past few days."

Xiao Liu said, "I really envy Fifth Brother. When can I be like Fifth Brother and go outside the palace every day?"

Xiao Liu's words resonated with a group of younger children, who all envied Tu Chengyu's ability to frequently leave the palace.

Even Little Twelve, who was just there to make up the numbers in the Imperial Study, frowned and said:

"Fifth Brother, when are you leaving the palace again? Could you take me with you? I haven't been outside to play since I came to the palace."

Before Tu Chengyu could answer Xiao Shier's words, the young imperial uncle spoke up first:

"Brother Yu, take me with you, I also want to go play outside the palace."

Upon hearing this, the others also looked on with anticipation.

Tu Chengyu was both amused and exasperated. Was the palace really that terrifying? Everyone wanted to leave.

He said, "Aren't we all leaving the palace tomorrow?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, everyone except Xiao Liu, who remained calm, was bewildered.

The young prince asked in confusion, "We're leaving the palace tomorrow, how come I didn't know?"

Seeing their reactions, Tu Chengyu suddenly realized that those of them who were younger might not have received an invitation. Or perhaps his elder brother, Prince Yixiao, had sent out invitations, but they had been withheld by their father.

Thinking of this, in order to avoid causing trouble, Tu Chengyu wanted to quickly change the subject, but it was too late.

The young imperial uncle said, "Yu-ge'er, isn't tomorrow Zong-ge'er's birthday? He's invited you to his place to play."

How come this little brat seems to know everything? Now that we're out in the open, Tu Chengyu asked:

"Little Imperial Uncle, how did you know it was Prince Yixiao's birthday?"

The young prince said angrily, "I found out myself. My mother lied to me and said that Zong-ge'er's birthday is still a long way off."

Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "How did you find out, Little Imperial Uncle?"

The young imperial uncle said, "These past few days, my mother has been going to the Empress Dowager's place every day to help her prepare a birthday gift for Zong Ge'er. I found out about it."

You're quite clever, but unfortunately, it's useless if the adults at home won't let you go out. There's nothing you can do about it.

The conversation between the young prince and Tu Chengyu was understood by everyone else who overheard it.

It turns out there's a chance to go out of the palace tomorrow, but unfortunately I didn't invite them.

One by one, the happy expressions they had when they saw Tu Chengyu turned into a collective sour face.

Especially Xiao Qi, who is only half a year younger than Xiao Liu and less than a year younger than Tu Chengyu, angrily said upon seeing that both of them had the opportunity to go out:

"Why are Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother invited but not me? Brother Yixiao looks down on people. I'm going to ask Father Emperor for justice."

This hothead is so impulsive.

Tu Chengyu grabbed Xiao Qi and explained to him:
"Don't you think about how much effort it would take to send you an invitation? Your brother, Prince Yixiao, must have sent one, but Father kept it."

This reason was Tu Chengyu's guess, but that's pretty much how things went.

Xiao Qi asked doubtfully, "Was it really put away by Father Emperor?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Why would I lie to you?"

Hearing that it was his father, the Emperor, who had stopped him from receiving the invitation, Xiao Qi didn't dare to go and ask for it. He muttered to himself:

"Father is biased. Why did he let my sixth brother go but not me?"

Tu Chengyu didn't know how to answer that, so he pretended not to hear it.

The already unwilling young prince became even angrier and said:

"I don't care if my elder brother withheld your invitations, but why did he withhold mine too? I'm going to find Father and ask him to get them back for me."

The young imperial uncle was the late-life son of the retired emperor, and being young, he was in the prime of his life and was bound to cause trouble.

In addition to the young imperial uncle, there is also a younger one, the twelfth prince, who is favored by both the emperor and empress.

If he were to follow the example of the young prince and cause trouble, the palace would never be peaceful.

Tu Chengyu, who caused this incident, will likely face a joint attack from the retired emperor and the emperor.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu quickly stopped the young imperial uncle who was about to run to find the retired emperor, and at the same time grabbed the eleventh prince who was eager to be pampered.

He said to them, "It's my brother Yixiao's birthday, and all the guests are adults. There's nothing fun for you to do there."

While struggling, the young prince said, "Brother Yu is lying. The eunuchs and maids all say there are so many delicious and fun things to do outside the palace." It seems that the young prince is very eager for the food, drink and entertainment outside the palace. If we don't dispel his thoughts today, it will be really difficult to get past Tu Chengyu.

In a moment of inspiration, Tu Chengyu suddenly came up with a good idea and said;
"All you want is good food and fun activities, right? You don't even need to leave the palace; I can still provide you with delicious food and fun activities."

Hearing this, the young imperial uncle stopped struggling and asked, "Brother Yu, are you telling the truth?"

Tu Chengyu said confidently, "Why would I lie to Little Imperial Uncle? I'll take you to play now."

At this moment, Xiao Liu, who had been hiding silently to the side, suddenly spoke up to remind them;

"Fifth Brother, we still need to study. The tutor from the Imperial Study will be here soon."

This was indeed a problem, but seeing everyone's expectant eyes, Tu Chengyu gritted his teeth and decided to take them to skip class once.

He asked Xiao Liu, "Which teacher will be teaching later?"

Xiao Liu replied, "Wait a moment, it's Mr. Yang."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Is Mr. Yang easy to talk to?"

Xiao Liu replied, "Mr. Yang is the most old-fashioned."

This is rather difficult, but since the matter has already been brought up, Tu Chengyu has no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Gao.

He said to Xiao Liu, "Take them to my courtyard and wait. I'll go talk to Mr. Yang."

Xiao Liu stared wide-eyed and said, "Fifth Brother, you're going to act first and report later? You'd better be careful, Mr. Yang will definitely report to Father."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand and said, "You just take them there, I'll take care of the rest."

Upon hearing that Tu Chengyu was going to take responsibility, Xiao Liu and his group cheered with joy.

Without anyone leading them, they all rushed towards Tu Chengyu's courtyard.

In just a moment, only Tu Chengyu and Xiao Xuanzi remained.

Tu Chengyu smiled and shook his head, then walked towards the room where the scholars of the Imperial Study were resting.

The two places are not far apart; you can get there by going around a corridor.

When Tu Chengyu arrived at the door of the room where the gentlemen were resting, he saw that the door was open and there was a young official in a blue robe standing to the side facing the door.

Tu Chengyu had never met Mr. Yang before and did not know if the person in front of him was him. However, there was only one person here, so he could only go in and ask first.

Tu Chengyu walked straight into the room, thinking that since he had come in, the person should at least get up and greet him.

Unexpectedly, even when Tu Chengyu was almost in front of him, the official remained seated and motionless.

Upon closer inspection, Tu Chengyu realized that the person's eyes were closed, and he couldn't tell whether the person was sleeping or thinking.

Tu Chengyu didn't have time to wait for him, so he coughed loudly.

Upon hearing the cough, the man immediately opened his eyes, looked up, and saw Tu Chengyu dressed in a prince's robe.

This person probably knew Tu Chengyu, and immediately stood up to greet him:

"This humble official, Yang Chun, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, greets Prince Su."

It seems this is the Mr. Yang I'm looking for.

This was a teacher from the Imperial Study, so Tu Chengyu dared not be presumptuous and returned the greeting earnestly.

Then he said, "Mr. Yang, I have come to discuss something with you."

Yang Chun said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Tu Chengyu said carefully, "Mr. Yang, could you please grant the princes who are studying in the study half a day off?"

Upon hearing that he was asking for leave, Mr. Yang's brows furrowed involuntarily.

However, he did not refuse outright, saying:

“Your Highness, I was only in the Imperial Study this morning, and there were other people with me this afternoon. Even if I had promised you, I couldn’t have done it.”

Tu Chengyu said, "I will handle this afternoon's matter myself. Mr. Yang just needs to agree to my request."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chun stood there in silence, seemingly deep in thought, or perhaps using this method to reject Tu Chengyu.

Just when Tu Chengyu thought Mr. Yang was about to refuse, he spoke up:
"In that case, I will follow Prince Su's orders."

Tu Chengyu was overjoyed that it was done so easily and wanted to leave immediately.

What happened next was even more unexpected. Just as Tu Chengyu was about to leave, Yang Chun suddenly said:

"Prince Su, may I have a word with you in private?"

Tu Chengyu stopped after taking two steps, turned around, and asked, "What did you say?"

Yang Chun said, "I have important matters to report to Your Highness. May Your Highness dismiss everyone else?"

Judging from this, they're trying to pull a trick involving a secret conversation.

For a court official like you to engage in such a charade with a prince within the imperial palace—are you simply too complacent with your life?

Tu Chengyu wasn't falling for it. He said:
"If you have anything to say, go and report it to the Emperor. Don't tell me, a prince, what you need to say."

He was about to leave after saying that, but unexpectedly, Yang Chun suddenly knelt down and said:

"This matter concerns the royal reputation and the life and death of Prince Yixiao. Your Highness, please listen to what I have to say."

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(End of this chapter)