The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 89 Though the man is dead, the court remains uneasy

After Tu Chengyu left, the emperor summoned everyone present to question them.

Based on everyone's descriptions, it's easy to figure out what happened.

The matter is quite clear: Prince Yixiao wanted to use his birthday to lure Prince Su to his residence for assassination, but he was killed instead.

As for why Prince Yixiao repeatedly tried to assassinate Prince Su, and how Prince Su retaliated, that remains to be seen.

Such matters, involving royal secrets, could only be investigated by the Emperor himself.

It had little to do with the officials.

The reason the emperor summoned Tu Chengyu and others to the court to discuss this matter was because...

Firstly, Prince Yixiao is involved in today's impeachment of Shang Yuanfeng;
Secondly, the emperor wanted to clarify the matter of Tu Chengyu killing Prince Yixiao in front of all the officials, so that everyone would know that Tu Chengyu was innocent, and to avoid leaving any unnecessary trouble.

So, after hearing everyone's descriptions, the emperor finally said:
"I already knew about Prince Yixiao's previous attempts to assassinate Prince Su."

"I only consider that he is the only son of the former crown prince. If I were to investigate, those who do not know the truth would think that I cannot tolerate the offspring of the former crown prince."

Therefore, he simply sent someone to privately admonish him, telling him not to do such things again.

"What I didn't expect was that he not only ignored my admonitions, but became even more depraved."

"However, he is already dead, so I will not pursue the matter further."

"So they only stripped him of his princely title and buried him as a commoner in the suburbs."

"His mansion was searched and confiscated, and many of his servants were sent to serve in the border army."

The emperor immediately dealt with the matter of Tu Yanzong's assassination of Tu Chengyu.

No one dared to object to this result, nor did anyone even think of objecting.

After announcing the outcome, the emperor continued:
"Today in court, the impeachment of Minister Shang also involved Tu Yanzong. Now that he is dead, do you have any further questions?"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, an official in a scarlet robe stepped out from the civil officials' side.

Upon looking at the official, Tu Chengyu realized that he recognized him; it was Shen Weiyan, whom he had met in court the last time.

He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant Shen Weiyan has a few questions for Prince Su. Please grant me permission."

The emperor said, "I grant permission."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized he had something to do, so he stepped out of the queue and stood next to Shen Weiyan.

Shen Weiyan asked, "Your Highness, I have a few questions for you. Please answer them truthfully."

Tu Chengyu had a good impression of Shen Weiyan, so he said, "Please speak, Lord Shen."

Shen Weiyan said, "You spent the most time with Yixiao, uh, the sinner Tu Yanzong today. Did you see if he was feeling unwell?"

Tu Chengyu didn't know why he was asking this, and answered truthfully:
"At first, I saw that he was perfectly healthy. It was only after he drank some wine and was frightened that he began to appear unwell."

Shen Weiyan then asked, "When His Majesty was asking questions just now, all the princes mentioned that Tu Yanzong said he had fully recovered before drinking the wine. Your Highness, is this true?"

Tu Chengyu said, "That's true."

Shen Weiyan then asked, "How is the physical condition of the criminal Tu Yanzong after he was frightened?"

Tu Chengyu said, "At first I was so scared that my body went limp, but after I went back to my room and took some medicine, I slowly recovered."

Shen Weiyan then asked, "Since the criminal Tu Yanzong has recovered and was carrying a musket, how did you kill him, Your Highness?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Are you questioning me?"

Shen Weiyan bowed and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I dare not question Your Highness, but I wish to find out the truth about Tu Yanzong's health. This matter is of great importance, and I hope Your Highness can tell me the truth."

Tu Chengyu snorted coldly and said, "I took advantage of his distraction to knock the musket out of his hand with a knife, and then accidentally stabbed him to death while fighting for the musket."

Shen Weiyan said, "Since he was stabbed to death during the struggle, the struggle between the prince and him must have been fierce."

Of course, Tu Chengyu couldn't say that Tu Yanzong had run out of strength and that's why he killed him.

So he could only agree with Shen Weiyan and say, "That's true."

After listening to Tu Chengyu's words, Shen Weiyan said to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, I have already inquired. I know this from what Prince Su said."

“The criminal Tu Yanzong was drinking and then became frightened.”

"He was still able to compete with a healthy man like Prince Su for firearms without being at a disadvantage."

"It is clear that what Physician Tang said earlier was true, and the criminal Tu Yanzong has indeed recovered."

"Therefore, it can be seen that the accusations against Imperial Physician Tang and Grand Secretary Shang for plotting to harm Tu Yanzong were false."

"This is my judgment, Your Majesty."

The emperor did not answer Shen Weiyan's question, but instead looked at the other ministers and asked:
"My esteemed ministers, does anyone else have something to say?"

As soon as the answer was given, another official in a scarlet robe stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, I, Gu Changyuan, have a greeting. I disagree with what Lord Shen just said."

The emperor said, "Since you disagree, then ask him."

Gu Changyuan received the order, turned to Shen Weiyan, and said:
"What Lord Shen just said is utterly absurd. His Highness Prince Su has already said that the criminal Tu Yanzong only recovered after taking medicine."

"It is clear that he still needs to take medication, which indicates that his condition has not been cured."

Shen Weiyan retorted, "Lord Gu only listens to one side of the story, not the other."

"Just now, all the princes said that the sinner Tu Yanzong himself said that he has recovered." Gu Changyuan immediately replied, "According to you, the sinner Tu Yanzong even personally wrote a letter saying that Imperial Physician Tang conspired with Grand Secretary Shang to murder him."

Shen Weiyan said, "The contents of the memorial can be falsified, or it can be written under duress."

Gu Changyuan said, "This is utterly absurd. How could a memorial to the Emperor be fake? Who would dare to forge a document for the Emperor, risking the crime of deceiving him?"

Shen Weiyan said, "My words are absurd, but isn't your false accusation that the Grand Secretary is plotting to harm the imperial family absurd as well?"

Gu Changyuan said, "Lord Shen, please stop making baseless accusations. The matter of impeaching Grand Secretary Shang was personally submitted by the criminal Tu Yanzong."

“We were merely following the Emperor’s orders to inquire about the case; how did that become a false accusation in your mouth?”

Shen Weiyan said, "Since it was merely an inquiry into the case, the facts are now clear. The claim that Grand Secretary Shang murdered the criminal Tu Yanzong is entirely fabricated."

Gu Changyuan said, "There are many doubts in this case, yet you dare to say that the facts are clear."

"You, an imperial censor, are so desperate to curry favor with the cabinet ministers that you disregard the facts. It's truly pathetic."

Shen Weiyan said, "When it comes to pleasing cabinet ministers, who can compare to you, Lord Gu? Everyone in the court and the country knows that you, Lord Gu, are the best at flattery."

As the two continued their conversation, they began to launch personal attacks, and it seemed they even wanted to argue in front of the emperor.

This matter greatly displeased the senior officials of the Political Affairs Hall.

One of the older men deliberately coughed loudly twice.

Then, after Shen and Gu stopped arguing, he stepped forward and said:
"Speak plainly; you must not speak nonsense before His Majesty."

Seeing that the Grand Secretary of the Council of State had spoken, Shen and Gu naturally dared not act rashly any further.

Shen Weiyan flicked his sleeve at Gu Changyuan and turned away, unwilling to look at him.

Gu Changyuan ignored Shen Weiyan and turned to the end of the civil official line, asking, "Where is Imperial Physician Tang?"

As soon as Gu Changyuan finished speaking, a middle-aged official in a green robe at the very end of the civil service line ran out and said, "This humble official is here."

Gu Changyuan looked at Physician Tang and said:
"You previously said that the criminal Tu Yanzong was chronically ill and physically weak, but now Prince Su's personal experience is quite different from what you said. How do you explain this?"

Physician Tang said, "Before His Majesty, I dare not lie. The criminal Tu Yanzong is indeed recovering from a serious illness and is weak. Therefore, I have prescribed him nourishing medicine. The Imperial Hospital has medical records to prove this."

Gu Changyuan said, "You mean Prince Su lied?"

Physician Tang was quite startled by these words and quickly said:

"Your humble servant dares not say that. When I said I was physically weak, it was only in comparison to people of the same age. If compared to Prince Su, it is normal that I am evenly matched with him."

Gu Changyuan said, "What a silver tongue! How dare you distort the truth in front of the Emperor."

"Everyone in the court and the country knows that although His Highness Prince Su is young, he is tall and strong."

"To be able to compete with His Highness Prince Su for a musket without being at a disadvantage, this does not match what you, Physician Tang, said about his weakness."

Upon hearing Gu Changyuan's words, Physician Tang immediately replied:
"Doesn't this just prove that the criminal Tu Yanzong has recovered and that my diagnosis was correct?"

Gu Changyuan said, "If it were an ordinary person, their body might recover quickly after recovering from the illness."

"But the criminal Tu Yanzong is bedridden for many years and often needs servants to help him walk."

"With a body like that, even if the illness is cured, how could it possibly recover to this extent in such a short time?"

Physician Tang said, "But in fact, he has indeed recovered to this extent."

Gu Changyuan said, "This is unusual; there must be another reason behind it."

Physician Tang said, "Lord Gu, these are all just your guesses."

Gu Changyuan said, "Whether it's my guess or not, I'll tell you later."

After saying this, Gu Changyuan turned to Tu Chengyu and said:

"Your Highness, I have something to verify. Please inform me."

Tu Chengyu said, "What is it? Tell me."

Gu Changyuan said, "Your Highness Prince Su, in what you just said, you mentioned that the criminal Tu Yanzong took medicine after returning to his room. Is that true?"

Tu Chengyu said, "That's true."

Gu Changyuan then asked, "Did Your Highness see what kind of medicine he was taking?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I only saw that he was taking pills; I know nothing else."

Gu Changyuan turned to Doctor Tang and asked, "Were there any pills among the tonics you left for the criminal Tu Yanzong?"

Without a second thought, Physician Tang replied, "The prescriptions I have written are all decoctions, not pills."

Gu Changyuan said, "Since your prescription doesn't include pills, where did these pills come from?"

Physician Tang said, "Perhaps he found it elsewhere? This is none of my business."

Gu Changyuan said, "You have been treating him for so many years, and you have always been the one prescribing the medicine. Why is he suddenly not taking your decoctions, but instead taking these pills of unknown origin?"

"Doesn't this just prove that you not only failed to cure him, but also concealed his condition?"

"He was forced to find someone else to take these pills of dubious origin."

"From this, it can be seen that you, the imperial physician, are indeed suspected of plotting against members of the imperial family."

Faced with Gu Changyuan's accusations, Physician Tang's face turned red with anger, but he didn't know how to refute them for a moment.

(End of this chapter)