The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Conflict and crisis emerge starting from Chapter 85.

Prince Yixiao was so angry at Tu Chengyu's sudden words that his face turned red. He wanted to retort, but then he seemed to realize something.

He forcefully suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and said to Tu Chengyu:

"Xiao Wu, are you trying to provoke me?"

Tu Chengyu said, "At this point, what difference does it make whether you're angry or not?"

Prince Yixiao frowned, seemingly not understanding what Tu Chengyu was saying.

Tu Chengyu explained to him, "You brought me here just to vent your frustrations, didn't you?"

Prince Yoshikō said, "So you realized that I deliberately lured you into the warm room?"

Tu Chengyu sneered and said, "What's so hard to tell?"

Prince Yoshikō asked, "When did you figure it out?"

Tu Chengyu said, "It was right when we entered the greenhouse."

Prince Yoshikō asked curiously, "How did you figure that out?"

Tu Chengyu said, "In my panic, I didn't have time to think much, but once I entered the greenhouse and came to my senses, I realized that things were developing too naturally."

“After you said you were going back to your room to rest, you stopped after walking a short distance and sent someone to ask me to come over and talk to you.”

"The spot where you stopped to wait for me happened to be the closest to the stage. That's one point."

"Secondly, when I ran over to talk to you, before I could even say two words, those actors started to assassinate me."

"Thirdly, when the servants in the mansion said they needed to find a safe place, you promptly mentioned the greenhouse."

"And this greenhouse, so close and safe, seems to have been prepared just for this moment."

"Of course, now that I'm here, I only have doubts in my mind, I haven't confirmed anything yet."

"So, as soon as I came in, I stood by the window to check what was happening outside."

"Then I saw that those actors who tried to assassinate me, apart from the two spears they threw at the beginning, didn't even have any intention of rushing this way afterward."

"If they really were trying to assassinate me, this would be too perfunctory. So I feel like their raid just now was just to force me to run towards the greenhouse."

"Seeing the assassin's reaction only strengthened my suspicions. However, this only makes me suspect that someone is interfering; I haven't fully considered you as a suspect yet,"

“At that moment, I noticed that from the beginning of the attack until now, although you have been made to look very disheveled, you have always remained calm and composed.”

"Thinking back to this, if those actors didn't have help, how could their fancy spear performances turn into real spears piercing the ground?"

"In this mansion, who is more convenient than you to do these things?"

After listening to Tu Chengyu's long analysis, Prince Yixiao said:
"Could it be that someone bribed the servants of the Prince's mansion to help these actors change their weapons?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Maybe so. I was just imagining things, but since you admitted it yourself, I can be sure now."

After listening, Prince Yixiao said, "You are indeed quite clever; no wonder you can win the favor of so many people."

"However, you already know that I deliberately lured you into the greenhouse, so why didn't you leave earlier and instead stayed?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll set a trap here and take your life?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Compared to the chaos outside, isn't the greenhouse the safest place, especially after locking the door?"

When Prince Yixiao first heard what Tu Chengyu said, he didn't react for a moment. After a while, he realized what Tu Chengyu meant.

He looked at his own body and said mockingly:
"Indeed, compared to the dangers outside, being with someone as useless as me is the safest place."

Ignoring his self-deprecation, Tu Chengyu asked:

"Why did you lead me to this greenhouse? Was it just because of that complaint you just made?"

Prince Yoshikō shook his head and said, "Of course I'm not complaining. I brought you here to take your life."

Prince Yoshikō remained calm, yet uttered such ruthless words as those demanding human lives.

Hearing that someone had set a trap to kill him, Tu Chengyu remained calm.

The two people reacted as if what they had just said was a joke.

Prince Yixiao was quite surprised by Tu Chengyu's reaction. He asked, "Did you already know that I was going to kill you?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I didn't expect this before, or rather, before I came to the greenhouse, I never thought you would be the one to harm me."

"Only after hearing your complaints and how much you hate me did I realize that you are the one who wants me dead."

Prince Yoshikō said, "Now that you know, aren't you afraid?"

Tu Chengyu said, "What's the use of being afraid? We're already here anyway. Besides..."

At this point, Tu Chengyu specifically checked Prince Yixiao's health, and then continued:
"With you, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious."

Tu Chengyu's tone was brimming with contempt.

Faced with Tu Chengyu's constant contempt and disdain, Prince Yixiao finally couldn't hold back anymore.

He stood up nimbly from the recliner as if he weren't sick, then bent down and pulled a musket from under the chair. He held the musket up to Tu Chengyu and said;
"You've provoked me time and time again, just to see what tricks I'm holding back. Now you've seen them."

Tell me now, who will emerge victorious?

The moment Prince Yixiao raised his musket and aimed it at him, Tu Chengyu froze, his hair standing on end.

At that moment, he truly felt the threat of death.

However, when he saw that Prince Yixiao did not pull the trigger immediately, Tu Chengyu gradually calmed down.

Only then did he realize that his back was soaked.

Tu Chengyu had just realized that Prince Yixiao might have something in this room to deal with him.

However, what he did not expect was that Prince Yixiao had hidden a musket.

Although firearms weren't very powerful or accurate back then, they were sufficient for this small room.

Prince Yixiao, holding a musket, pointed it at Tu Chengyu and said:
"Now you know you're afraid, right?"

Faced with Prince Yixiao's threats, Tu Chengyu was no longer as nervous as before.

In his view, Prince Yixiao did not fire his gun immediately despite his anger.

That means that as long as he doesn't do anything reckless in the short term, he won't fire.

Prince Yixiao saw Tu Chengyu standing there silently and said, "Weren't you quite talkative just now? Why are you silent now?"

Tu Chengyu was thinking about how to stall for time, and now that he heard that he was going to speak, he thought it would be a good opportunity to chat for a bit and stall for time.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "I happen to have a question, may I ask you?"

Prince Yoshikō asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Were all the assassination attempts I've encountered recently orchestrated by you?"

Prince Yoshikō said, "Indeed, it was all my arrangement, but unfortunately, it all fell short, and I failed to kill you."

Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "Where did you get so many people? There are more than a thousand of them in total."

Prince Yixiao said, "If you also had a father who was the crown prince for twenty years, he would have left you something when he died."

Tu Chengyu said, "So these people are all former crown princes. Since he had these men, why didn't he bring them along to rebel on the night of the uprising, but instead left them behind?"

"If he brings it along, he might succeed."

Prince Yixiao looked at Tu Chengyu as if he were an idiot and said:

"Do you think starting a rebellion is a joke? Do you think you can send a thousand soldiers into the capital without a sound by just saying a word?"

"If he can do that, there's no need for a rebellion; that position will be his anyway."

Despite being looked down upon and lectured, Tu Chengyu felt no displeasure.

The questions he just asked were all deliberately asked to buy time.

Then Tu Chengyu continued to stall for time, asking:
"Since you have so many people, why didn't you make your move when my father had just ascended the throne and the court was in chaos? Instead, you waited half a year before taking action."

Prince Yoshikō said, "Because I had previously fantasized that I might be able to survive for the rest of my life, but unfortunately you won't allow it."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Who forbids it?"

Prince Yixiao said, "Besides your treacherous emperor, who else would not tolerate a sickly man like me?"

Tu Chengyu was very surprised and said, "How could my father not tolerate you? A couple of days ago, my father was very happy to hear that your condition had improved, and he even asked me to bring you a lot of tonics from the palace."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Prince Yixiao became inexplicably angry, and he said angrily:
"Even now you're still trying to lie to me. You and your son are both trying to lie to me."

Tu Chengyu said, "How did I lie to you?"

Prince Yixiao said, "My condition has clearly worsened, but the emperor instructed Imperial Physician Tang to say that I have recovered and to stop my medication."

"Now you're saying my condition has improved? Isn't that lying to me?"

Tu Chengyu was now puzzled. Prince Yixiao didn't seem to be lying. Could it be that his illness really hadn't gotten better, and his father was deceiving him?

Tu Chengyu asked, "How can you be so sure your condition hasn't improved?"

Prince Yoshikō said, "How could I not know my own body?"

"Moreover, after Physician Tang stopped my medication, I privately consulted other doctors. After examining me, they all said that I didn't have much time left."

Tu Chengyu asked, "So, you'd rather trust a quack doctor than the imperial physician who's been treating you all along?"

Prince Yixiao said, "It's not that I don't trust the imperial physicians, it's that I don't trust the emperor. I'm a thorn in his side, and he won't be at peace if I don't die."

Hearing him say that, Tu Chengyu knew that Prince Yixiao had misunderstood.

Because Tu Chengyu understands his father, if he really wanted to kill Prince Yixiao, he would never use such a method that would easily leave room for criticism.

(End of this chapter)