The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shen Yu pretended to be ignorant. “What does Your Majesty mean? What do I have to say to Your Majesty? Does Your Majesty want me to say every day that I like…”

“Shen Yu,” Shang JunLin interrupted him lightly. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“If I said it was truly just a coincidence, would Your Majesty believe me?” Shen Yu lowered his eyes. His voice was full of uncertainty.

“What do you think?” Shang JunLin asked.

I wouldn’t. Shen Yu knew that if it were him, he wouldn’t believe it either. How could there be so many coincidences in the world? Coincidences were rare, and most were man-made.

“Your Majesty.” Shen Yu took a deep breath. “I went to see Shen Yue to question her and for no other reason. Believe it or not, what happened after that was really and truly an accident.”

Shen Yu had no idea that the day he chose to visit the dark prison was also the day of Young Master He’s escape attempt. He didn’t know if the heavens were trying to help him or harm him.

“Put that aside for the time being. When you saw those suspicious people, you insisted they were trying to free someone from the prison. This emperor asks you—how did you know that? How did you know about He JinYuan?”

Shang JunLin drew closer to Shen Yu with a sense of oppression like impending thunder. His eyes stayed on Shen Yu’s face, and not a single flicker of expression escaped him.

Shen Yu remained impassive, but inside he felt a little flustered. He JinYuan was the personal name of Young Master He. Shen Yu could find a reasonable excuse for anything that happened that day, except when it came to Young Master He.

Shang JunLin reached out and touched Shen Yu’s cheek. His hand was warm as usual, making Shen Yu feel cold by contrast.

“Shen Yu, don’t lie to me.”

“Your Majesty.” Shen Yu reached up and covered the man’s hand with his own. “Your Majesty must believe that I’ll always be on your side.”

“Of course this emperor knows that. Otherwise you wouldn’t be in Yuzhang Palace but in the dark prison.” Shang JunLin’s eyes were dark and unreadable. His fingertips stroked Shen Yu’s face.

Shang JunLin had full confidence in the Hidden Dragon Guard he’d personally trained. He deliberately revealed information to a few people, but it was impossible for anyone else to know He JinYuan was in the dark prison. Shen Yu couldn’t know unless…

He was involved with those people.

Before entering the palace, Shen Yu had associated with the King of Yue. Were there other connections between them he didn’t know about?

As the shadows in Shang JunLin’s eyes grew darker and darker, Shen Yu quickly rummaged through his memories. He had to dispel Shang JunLin’s suspicions. He came here to live an easy life. There was no point in being reborn if he was just going to cause trouble for himself.

“Your Majesty, before I entered the palace, I overheard some people talking about a ‘dark prison’ and ‘replacing’ someone. The person who said this looks somewhat similar to Your Majesty, and he was speaking to his subordinates. I only heard it once. When I saw suspicious people in the dark prison the other day, I suddenly remembered what I heard and my mouth was faster than my brain….”

After it happened, Shen Yu knew he’d been too impulsive, but at the time, his only thought was that he couldn’t let the King of Yue’s men escape with He JinYuan. He didn’t stop to think that he was the son of an aristocratic family who hadn’t left the residence for many years due to illness, and he shouldn’t be so perceptive.

“I know what I said may be a little difficult to believe, but the fact is everything was a coincidence. The reason Your Majesty chose to come here and question me about it alone is because your investigation didn’t find anything else, right?”

“True, this emperor didn’t find anything.” Shang JunLin had no compunctions about threatening Shen Yu. “And you should pray this emperor never does.”

“I haven’t done anything. Your Majesty can feel free to investigate further.” Shen Yu sensed the atmosphere had eased, and he rubbed his cheek against the hand on his face. “Your Majesty, don’t scare me. I’m timid and can’t stand to be frightened.”

“This emperor thinks you have a lot of courage.”

The skin under Shang JunLin’s hand was warm, and it felt better than the finest jade. Under those bright and innocent eyes he withdrew his hand. Without changing expression, he rubbed his index finger with his thumb. “Are you going to ask this emperor for compensation again?”

His noble monarch was delicate and didn’t like to suffer any grievances. Shang JunLin thought of an imperial concubine who was favored by the previous emperor, one who’d raised a pet cat sent by a foreign country. The cat was beautiful and noble, with clear, shining eyes, just like Shen Yu.

“Your Majesty understands me very well, but I don’t want a reward this time. Your Majesty, just satisfy my curiosity and tell me what happened later.” Shen Yu knew that for a man in a position of power like Shang JunLin, the more magnanimous his attitude, the better.

Shang JunLin was surprised. “You’re not afraid this emperor will doubt you?” 

“Is Your Majesty saying you don’t doubt me now?” Shen Yu asked.

Shang JunLin lifted Shen Yu’s chin and looked at his face. “Sometimes this emperor can’t tell whether you’re clever or careless.”

Shen Yu didn’t hesitate. “Then I must be clever. How could a foolish person stand beside Your Majesty?”

“The noble monarch is always reasonable.” Shang JunLin released Shen Yu, then went to the side of the bed and sat down. “Come here. Don’t you want to know what happened next?”

Shen Yu obediently walked to Shang JunLin and sat down.

“This emperor ordered men to investigate, but all they found was a few marginal figures. The conspirators were too cautious and didn’t reveal themselves from beginning to end. Every order was passed through several intermediaries….”

Young Master He’s imprisonment was a secret, and there was no news in the court. Shang JunLin asked his forces to pay close attention to the movements of several ministers, but they found nothing.

“The conspirators intend to push the blame onto a few ministers who’ve been imprisoned. My people have been busy for several days, but none of the clues lead anywhere.”

“The man who’s responsible is certain Your Majesty won’t publicize what happened. Why doesn’t Your Majesty drag it into the light?”

They talked for a while. Shang JunLin had never treated Shen Yu like a bird in a golden cage. Occasionally when Shen Yu asked about the previous dynasty, Shang JunLin would discuss it with him. Their conversations weren’t deep, but it wasn’t difficult for Shang JunLin to notice Shen Yu’s sensitivity to political affairs.

The Zhenbei Marquis was incredibly stupid to send such a son to the palace.

During morning court, Shang JunLin changed his usual practice and announced that someone tried to break into the prison, but he concealed the details about the criminals. The court officials thought Imperial Censor Zhang and his allies were involved. They were in an uproar.

It was true the ministers wanted to free Imperial Censor Zhang and the other jailed officials, but they certainly didn’t want to break into the prison. The current Shang JunLin hadn’t been tyrannical to the point of completely outraging them. They wanted to know what Imperial Censor Zhang had done to so greatly offended the emperor.

“The matter will be assigned to Minister Fang. This emperor wants a satisfactory answer in half a month.”

Minister Fang saluted respectfully. “This minister will obey.”

Shang JunLin ignored the surprise of the ministers and assigned several assistants to Minister Fang.

“If there’s nothing else, morning court is dismissed.” Shang JunLin gave the command and made ready to leave.

“Your Majesty.” The Minister of Rites stepped forward. “Your Majesty’s birthday is coming soon. Will everything be the same as last year?” 

The audience counted the days and realized that His Majesty’s birthday was indeed coming soon. In previous years, the preparations would have already begun, but this year so many things had happened that it was almost overlooked.

Shang JunLin was about to nod when he thought of something. “Discuss it with Noble Monarch Shen.”

Startled, the ministers remembered that their emperor was no longer single.

Shen Yu also heard the palace servants discussing this topic.

“His Majesty’s birthday?” he asked while trimming a spray of plum blossoms in a vase.

“Yes, His Majesty’s birthday is half a month from now. Every year at this time the imperial palace holds a birthday banquet. Now that the noble monarch is here, the palace will certainly be more lively than in the past.”

The palace attendants liked their master, Shen Yu, a great deal. Their opinion of him soared after the previous incident.

“Noble monarch, the Minister of Rites, Minister Lu, requests an audience,” a servant came in to report.

“Why would the Minister of Rites come to see me?” Although he was puzzled, Shen Yu asked the attendants to invite him in.

The Minister of Rites was confused as well. It was true that Shen Yu was a man, but after all, he was the emperor’s concubine. It didn’t seem proper for him to meet a man who was unrelated to him. When the minister mentioned this to His Majesty after court, His Majesty just told him to come directly.

So the Minister of Rites had no choice.

“This minister greets the noble monarch.”

“There’s no need to be polite, Your Excellency. Come take a seat.” It wasn’t the first time Shen Yu had met the Minister of Rites. The last time was when he entered the palace.

Minister Lu got straight to the point and explained his purpose. After listening to the minister describe the relevant protocols, Shen Yu didn’t think there were any major problems. He picked out a few small details and made changes.

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After settling the process, Minister Lu said goodbye. Shen Yu sat in his chair and tried to remember if this was the year the vassal kings would return to the capital. And then he wondered why the vassal kings were summoned in the first place.

Shen Yu decided to wait for Shang JunLin and ask him.

In a humble mansion somewhere in the capital.

When the King of Yue heard that the emperor planned to conduct a thorough investigation, he didn’t understand what was happening. Why was everything in the capital this time so different from what he expected?

The emperor’s usual style had changed drastically. Every single thing the King of Yue tried to do had failed, and every time the result almost made him want to vomit blood.

He took a deep breath. “What about the people we sent? Is there no news at all?”

In order to save Young Master He, the King of Yue spent a lot of money to hire a troop of people. But not only did they not rescue Young Master He, the people all disappeared!

The subordinate ducked his head and said with difficulty, “… That’s correct.”

“This king shouldn’t have expected anything from you. What a bunch of trash!” The King of Yue paced a few steps. “What about the aftermath? They won’t trace anything here, will they?”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, they won’t find anything.” The subordinate was certain of this. Strictly speaking, the prison break never touched their hands. Whether it was giving orders or hiring men, it had nothing to do with the King of Yue.

“All plans are suspended for now. Get out.” The King of Yue waved his hand weakly. This time there really weren’t any good results from coming to the capital….

Or maybe not. The King of Yue thought of the shu son of the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence who always had such fascinating ideas, and narrowed his eyes.

The news that the King of Yue and Shen QingRan were once again colluding reached Shen Yu’s ears through Mu Xi.

“This slave thought that man was truly devoted to the young master. I was really blind,” Mu Xi said, pursing her lips. “Fortunately, the young master has a clear mind and good eyes and wasn’t cheated.”

“Your young master is so clever he can only cheat others. Who could possibly cheat him?” Shang JunLin’s low voice came from outside the door.

Mu Xi flinched slightly. She’d dispatched the palace agent who gathered the information for Shen Yu. If His Majesty heard everything she said just now…

TL Notes:

personal name – 名讳 – mínghuì – taboo name (e.g. of emperor), true name, real name

threatening (Shen Yu) – 说 – picking on, telling off, reproaching, admonishing, upbraiding, etc.

(clever or) careless – 心大 – broad-minded, thoughtless, sloppy, negligent, simple-minded, nitwitted

Ministry of Rites – 礼部 – In most dynasties, this was one of the six ministries of the central government. Among other things, it was in charge of ceremonies, banquets, the imperial examinations, and receiving foreign vassals and envoys (Wikipedia)

this king – 本王 – běn wáng

palace agent – from 宫人才 – palace talent / palace person of ability, talented person, qualified personnel, attractive looks

Transliterated names, places, and titles—new in this chapter:

He JinYuan – 何锦原

vassal kings – 藩王 – fān wáng – rulers of vassal states / fiefdoms

Minster Fang – 方大人 – Fāng dàrén. Alternatively: Lord Fang, His Excellency Fang, Mr. Fang

Minister Lu – 卢大人 – Lú dàrén – etc.

Your Highness – 王爷 – wángyé – Alternatively: Prince, Marquis, Nobleman, Your Majesty