The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 23 A Gentle Breeze Ripples the Lake

Tu Chengyu couldn't stand his father and the Crown Prince treating marriage like a transaction. Especially the Crown Prince—it was his own wife, how could he be so indifferent?

Even though Tu Chengyu knew that in the royal family, marriage was inseparable from the exchange of interests, he still hoped that his most respected elder brother would not be so indifferent.

Tu Chengyu was inexplicably troubled. He knew it was his past life's thoughts at work, making him seem so out of place at times.

Feeling frustrated, Tu Chengyu decided to take a walk to clear his head, and before he knew it, he had wandered to the vicinity of the Imperial Study.

This is a place specifically for princes to study. Tu Chengyu was originally supposed to come to the Imperial Study to study today, but he was temporarily assigned a task by the emperor, so his first time studying in the Imperial Study was postponed.

Since he had wandered over here, Tu Chengyu decided to go and see if he could run into Xiao Liu.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard of the Imperial Study, he heard a jumble of noisy children coming from inside.

Tu Chengyu initially thought that the teacher in the Imperial Study had left and the children were playing.

To his surprise, they weren't playing but fighting.

As Tu Chengyu approached the door of the Imperial Study, it was pushed open from the inside, and a chubby, seven- or eight-year-old boy wearing a python robe walked out, wiping away tears, followed by two worried eunuchs.

Tu Chengyu recognized the child somewhat, but couldn't recall who he was. As the three passed by Tu Chengyu, another large group of children surged into the study; these were all Tu Chengyu's younger brothers.

They huddled together, blocking the doorway. The atmosphere seemed tense. Xiao Qi looked angry, Xiao Shi Er had tears streaming down his face, and Xiao Liu looked worried.

When they saw Tu Chengyu standing at the door, they seemed to have found their pillar of support and swarmed around him.

Tu Chengyu asked, "What's wrong with you guys?"

Xiao Liu, being the quickest to speak, said, "Little Imperial Uncle tried to snatch Little Twelve's toy, which made Little Twelve cry. Little Seven couldn't stand it and stepped forward to say a few words, and Little Imperial Uncle also started crying, wanting to run back to the East Palace to complain to Grandfather."

Upon hearing Xiao Liu's words, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered that the person who had just run over was his grandfather's youngest son, an eight-year-old imperial uncle. In the past, when Tu Chengyu was frequently allowed to enter the palace, he would always take this little imperial uncle with him to play, and the two were quite on good terms.

Tu Chengyu didn't recognize him immediately because the young prince had gained weight and his facial features had become somewhat distorted, which is why he didn't remember him.

But now is not the time to think about these things. He must stop the young imperial uncle as soon as possible, otherwise he will run back to complain, and the retired emperor, whom he just appeased, will get angry again.

Tu Chengyu said to his younger brothers, "You wait here, I'll go and bring the little prince back."

After saying that, Tu Chengyu took off running.

Fortunately, children don't have much stamina, and Tu Chengyu caught up quickly because he hadn't run very far in that short time.

"Little Imperial Uncle, Little Imperial Uncle, wait for me."

When the chubby little prince heard someone call his name, he stopped and looked at Tu Chengyu with a wary expression. He obviously didn't remember who Tu Chengyu was.

He asked, "Who are you?"

Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "Little Imperial Uncle, have you forgotten? I am Brother Yu."

"Brother Yu?" The young imperial uncle was initially puzzled, but as his memory slowly returned, he remembered who the person in front of him was and happily exclaimed:
"Brother Yu, you've come to the palace too."

Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "I'm here too!"

The young imperial uncle walked over, took Tu Chengyu's hand, and said, "You're in the palace now, why didn't you come to play with me?"

Tu Chengyu explained, "I was busy just now, so I came to hang out with you."

The young prince was overjoyed to hear that Tu Chengyu wanted to play with him. He had completely forgotten about the unpleasantness from earlier.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tu Chengyu coaxed and tricked the young prince back to the Imperial Study.

Children's emotions come and go quickly; they can easily resolve arguments in just a few words.

In addition, over the years, the young prince has rarely encountered so many playmates of the same age in the palace. Now everyone is coaxing him to play, which makes him very happy.

Having appeased the young prince, Tu Chengyu thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, news came from the Eastern Palace after dinner.

It is said that Consort Wei, the birth mother of the young prince, went to the retired emperor to complain after learning that the young prince had been bullied. The retired emperor ignored her, so she went to Empress Dowager Cixi, who was a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

This time she found the right person. Empress Dowager Cixi was the first wife of the retired emperor and the birth mother of the crown prince, the prince of Yong, and the prince of Ping.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, one of her sons would have inherited the throne, making her the unparalleled Empress Dowager. But no one could have predicted that one night, one of her three sons would be killed, one imprisoned, and one demoted to commoner status.

The throne was taken by the illegitimate son she had always looked down upon, and half of the Empress Dowager's power was also taken by Consort Ning. How could she be willing to accept this? So she came to hate the entire Emperor's family.

Now that Consort Wei has brought her son to file a complaint, she finally has a chance to show her skills.

While she personally reported the matter to the Emperor Emeritus, she also sent her trusted eunuch Zhou to the Empress, asking the palace to bring her son over to explain in person.

Since Tu Chengyu was involved in the matter, after Eunuch Zhou left, the Empress also brought Tu Chengyu in for questioning. When Tu Chengyu arrived at the Empress's palace, all his brothers except the Crown Prince were already there.

The usually clever Little Twelve was now completely devoid of her usual wit, hiding fearfully beside the Queen. The others stood on either side, while Little Seven stood in the middle, angrily recounting the whole story.

After hearing the whole story, the Empress was quite helpless. It was just two children fighting, but now the Empress Dowager was getting involved and making a big fuss. What was she trying to do?

The Empress stroked Little Twelfth's head and asked, "You brothers, give me some advice on how to deal with this."

Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to respond to this situation of children fighting and needing their parents called in. The second child, seeing everyone's predicament, could only steel himself and speak:

"Mother, if it really comes to this, then I will take my twelfth brother to apologize to the young imperial uncle."

The Queen said, "You weren't there when it happened, so how can you explain it back then?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi immediately said, "Mother, since that's the case, let me take my twelfth brother. It was I who snatched the toy from my uncle, so I should be the one to apologize."

The Empress glared at Xiao Qi with annoyance and said, "With your temper, if I really let you go, you might get provoked and cause even more trouble for me."

Two requests for permission were made, but both were rejected by the Empress.

The second brother couldn't go because he wasn't there, and the third and fourth brothers couldn't go either.

Xiao Qi was too trusting to go because of his straightforward temper, and by the same token, Xiao Liu was also worried about letting him go. Xiao Liu was a daring and cunning fellow, and if he were to take Xiao Shi Er with him, who knew what unbelievable things he might do?

Tu Chengyu looked around and realized that he was the only one who could go. At that moment, he understood that the Empress's true intention was for him to take Xiao Twelfth with him.

Tu Chengyu was speechless for a moment. If you wanted me to go, you should have said so earlier. Why did you have to put on an act here? It's true that two people can't sleep in the same bed. You have the same problem as your father.

"Mother, please let me go," Tu Chengyu said, stepping forward.

The Empress looked at it and said with satisfaction, "It would be quite suitable for Xiao Wu to go. You have influence with the Emperor Emeritus and you are reliable in handling matters. I am at ease letting you take Xiao Twelfth with you."

What else could Tu Chengyu say but take Xiao Twelve to the East Palace?

This time, they didn't have to wait long outside the palace gates. The eunuchs guarding the gates were instructed to take Tu Chengyu and his companion directly to the Daming Palace once they arrived.

Upon entering the Daming Palace, one sees the Emperor Emeritus sitting upright with an expressionless face, next to Empress Dowager Cixi with a drooping face, earnestly turning the prayer beads in her hand. Beside the Empress Dowager stands Consort Wei, who is beautiful and probably only in her twenties. In front of Consort Wei stands the young imperial uncle.

Tu Chengyu entered the room, glanced at the people, and then greeted Xiao Shier.

When the little chubby prince greeted him, he seemed embarrassed. He probably knew that it wasn't a good thing to complain about someone after they had made up.

After the greetings were finished, Empress Dowager Cixi slowly asked, "Why didn't the Empress come?"

Tu Chengyu replied, "The Empress was originally going to come, but was summoned by the Emperor to discuss important matters, so she asked her grandson to come and apologize to the Emperor on her behalf."

Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Without the Empress coming, what use are you two children?"

Tu Chengyu replied, "Her Majesty the Empress said that it was just children playing around, so she asked me to take Little Twelfth to apologize to the Imperial Uncle. I'm sure the Imperial Uncle won't hold it against me anymore."

After saying this, without waiting for Empress Dowager Cixi to say anything more, he pressed down on the twelfth prince to apologize to the young prince again. At the same time, he took a small box from the eunuch who had come with him and stuffed it directly into the young prince's hands.

These are some children's toys, all made by Tu Chengyu based on his past memories, which are quite novel in this world.

The young prince was so happy to receive these toys that his mouth stretched from ear to ear; he had no intention of apologizing to the twelfth prince.

Consort Wei watched as her son was distracted by a few toys, forgetting her previous instructions. She was so anxious that she glared at him, but she dared not be presumptuous.

Empress Dowager Cixi was helpless. She had never seen a child act so unconventionally. Who would apologize to someone and force them to accept it?

However, now that the apology is over and the little fat boy seems to have accepted it, it would be unreasonable for her, the Empress Dowager, to keep pressing the issue.

Besides, with the Empress herself absent, she couldn't use her methods against the two children; she could only suppress her anger.

Empress Dowager Cixi remained silent, and the retired emperor showed no intention of getting involved from the beginning.

The minor incident subsided quietly. However, Tu Chengyu knew that this was only a temporary solution; without giving Empress Dowager Cixi a chance to vent her anger, the matter would never be truly resolved.

Moreover, there is a character in this matter who is easily overlooked: Consort Wei, the birth mother of the young imperial uncle.

Why did she make such a big fuss over a minor squabble between children, especially one that Tu Chengyu had calmed down, and then go to Empress Dowager Cixi to seek justice?

Tu Chengyu didn't believe she was unaware of the relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and the Emperor's family. If she knew, she must have some ulterior motive for doing this.

With such a restless concubine, coupled with the trouble-making Empress Dowager Cixi, things are bound to get out of hand.

Sure enough, a few days later, Tu Chengyu received news that they were up to something.

(End of this chapter)