The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The two of them took care of the flowers and plants together for a while. Shang Junlin was originally not interested in these things, but Shen Yu liked them. After he occasionally lent a hand a few times, he gained some understanding of these flowers and plants.

At first, he didn't know anything. Shang Junlin had never taken care of flowers and plants before, as he was busy surviving in the harem when he was young. When he grew older, he went to the battlefield and had no time for such leisurely activities. When he ascended the throne, he inherited the mess left by the previous emperor, and on top of that, foreign enemies had not been completely eliminated. The heavy burden of the entire Da Huan rested on his shoulders, and he spent almost half of his time dealing with political affairs every day.

Later, when everything in Da Huan had settled down, his life became as dull as ever until Shen Yu entered the palace.

Like a pebble thrown into water, it stirred up ripples, or like a handful of bright moonlight, it illuminated his boring life.

Like now, the two of them were enjoying this leisurely afternoon together, which was something Shang Junlin had never imagined before.

"Your Majesty's technique has improved a lot since the beginning," Shen Yu teased as he looked at the "Jun Ling" that Shang Junlin was taking care of. "Your Majesty seems to be particularly fond of this 'Jun Ling' plant and always takes care of it separately."

That was because he didn't want Shen Yu to take care of flowers and plants given by others. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent so many flowers and plants to the Yu Zhang Palace to divert Shen Yu's attention.

"Ah Yu cares about it, so I naturally pay more attention to it," Shang Junlin pursed his lips.

Shen Yu didn't expose his little trick.

"Your Majesty, do you remember the first time you said you wanted to help me with the pine tree soil and almost broke its roots? I took care of that pot of flowers for many days before nursing it back to health. It's this one," Shen Yu pointed to a pot of flowers next to him.

"I remember," Shang Junlin smiled as he recalled the incident. "At that time, I even thought that if this pot couldn't be saved, I would find an opportunity to take it away from you and then find an identical pot to replace it, saying that I saved it."

He still remembered the faint sadness that flashed across Shen Yu's face at that moment. He didn't want to see that look on Shen Yu's face, even if it was just a pot of flowers. Since A Yu cared about it, he wanted to find a way to prevent A Yu from being hurt by this matter.

"So, Your Majesty had even thought of the worst-case scenario back then," Shen Yu also smiled. "Your Majesty is quick to learn, and later, you never hurt these flowers and plants again."

Shang Junlin is a person who can do everything to perfection once he has made up his mind. Shen Yu witnessed him gradually becoming proficient in everything from nothing, and he knew that Shang Junlin didn't like the flowers sent by Gu Taiyi, but only accepted them if he liked them. At most, he would send a lot of flowers and plants to share the "love" of "Jun Ling".

"Thanks to you, Ah Yu, for being such a responsible teacher. If the student still can't learn well with such a teacher, only 'stupid' can describe it." Shang Junlin finished loosening the soil and washed his hands in the water basin beside him and wiped them dry.

"The student also needs to be smart, otherwise, even the best teacher is useless." Shen Yu finished the last pot of flowers.

Shang Junlin grabbed Shen Yu's hand and immersed it in the water, cleaning it one by one for him. "Then, would Ah Yu be willing to teach me some other knowledge? For example, how to please the teacher more and make the teacher more comfortable? Willing to spend more time with the students..."

"Your Majesty is always thinking about this matter." Seeing that Shang Junlin's words were becoming more and more improper, Shen Yu interrupted him.

His hand was imprisoned by the man and the calloused fingertips slid over the back of his hand, bringing a tingling sensation. Shen Yu couldn't help but curl his fingers.

The soft palm was opened, and the man's hand with distinct knuckles forcefully entered and wandered from the palm to the fingertips, passing through the gaps between the fingers, and tightly held them.

"Ah Yu, I want to kiss you." Shang Junlin stared at him with scorching eyes.

"Your Majesty, if you want to kiss, then kiss. Mmm..."

The rest of his words were suddenly blocked by the man approaching him.

Biting, licking, and sucking, the man's movements were forceful and accompanied by Shen Yu's cooperation.

With his eyes closed, the long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes, gently flapping with his breathing like startled butterflies.

When the kiss ended, Shang Junlin rested his forehead against Shen Yu's, and both of their breaths were unstable.

"How was the student's performance this time?" Shang Junlin chuckled.

His voice was low and trembling, and each word hit Shen Yu's heart, making him tremble more than before.

Seeing this, the ink color in Shang Junlin's eyes became even more intense. He sucked on Shen Yu's lips and asked, "Is the teacher happy with the student's behavior like this?"

"Your Majesty, mmm..."

Before he finished speaking, Shang Junlin had already kissed him again.

"Ah Yu, I will build a flower house for you."

Hide Shen Yu and his favorite flowers together.

Shen Yu was immersed in a misty state, all senses taken away. He could vaguely hear Shang Junlin speaking, but the voice was muffled by the dense white fog, and he could not hear it clearly.

He could only make meaningless sounds in response.

Shang Junlin held him tighter.

Two days later, the court issued the first decree to aid Su Bei.

The people of the capital had been looking forward to this moment for days, and they hurriedly prepared their belongings to see what they could donate.

Of course, Shen Yu knew that the prerequisite for donation was not to affect the normal life of the people and to prevent officials from taking advantage of the situation. After discussing with Shang Junlin, they decided to anonymously disclose information about donations. The origin and destination of each donation would be told to the people. Officials would visit those who donated beyond a certain amount, and with the owner's permission, the donor's information would be made public.

The latter was specially designed for businessmen and some aristocratic families. They could choose to take advantage of this opportunity to gain some good reputation or choose to donate quietly. The rewards given by the court to both were the same.

It could not be denied that this was a huge and complicated project, but fortunately, Shang Junlin had selected a number of capable officials through the imperial examinations over the years. These people were not in high positions now, and most of them were still on external missions, which happened to be suitable for handling this matter.

The decree was sent to various places at a fast pace, and a special supervisory agency was set up in the court, temporarily headed by the prime minister and the minister of revenue. The officials who entered the agency were mostly officials from the capital, who went in groups of two to three people with the fastest speed to go to various places in Dahuan to supervise donation-related matters.

At the same time, the court also arranged for special officials to explain the specific donation process to the people.

Because of the disaster in Su Bei, the whole Dahuan was operating in full swing.

All officials had a nervous and expectant mood towards this action. They could not find similar precedents in the history books. If they could succeed, it would undoubtedly become a major feat in the history books. If they couldn't...

The first batch of merchants who received the news were the first to act. They had already prepared supplies in advance, mostly essential items such as grain, as well as a lot of gold and silver, and donated them under the witness of officials sent by the court.

Next were the aristocratic families, whose wealth had accumulated over several generations and was immeasurable.

Ordinary people, who had been educated in advance, would contribute as much as they could.

Shen Yu considered the possible problems and integrated the solutions into the drama script. Those who had read "Returning to Spring" would have at least some understanding of donations, and with officials watching on the sidelines, the possibility of problems arising was greatly reduced.

Local officials also carried out donations in an orderly manner with the coordination of the officials sent by the court.

The Hidden Dragon Guard was dispersed throughout the country, sending back news to the capital.

Su Bei.

After resting for a while, Fang Jun and others began to provide disaster relief.

The food and supplies they brought are enough for now. Fang Daren1 also received permission from the capital that additional supplies will be sent, so he shouldn't worry. After receiving the news, Fang Daren dared to go all out to assist with disaster relief.

Firstly, they need to help the people. Fang Daren ordered people to distribute porridge every day, and those who were able-bodied gathered to do whatever they could. When facing a disaster, it is not just about providing disaster relief, but also the issue of post-disaster reconstruction.

The geographical location of Subei is too important. If the disaster is not overcome, it will be a significant blow to Da Huan.

Fang Daren distributed some of the grain to the Subei Army as military rations. After all, before the arrival of the court officials, the Subei people relied on the Subei Army's military rations to survive.

Subei is vast, and regardless of the opposition from Subei officials, Fang Daren, along with the officials sent by the court, began to travel around the area to provide disaster relief.

After leaving the largest city in Subei, Fang Daren and his team truly saw how severe the disaster was in Subei.

There were starving people on the roadside, no grain was being harvested, and people were resorting to cannibalism...it could be described as hell on earth.

"Why do those people say it's not a big deal when it's so severe? Is this not a big deal? Will they only admit that the disaster is severe when all the people have died?"

The younger officials were already furious after seeing this scene.

What is said in books or heard from others cannot compare to the shock of seeing it with one's own eyes. They lived in the city and were almost deceived by the city's peace. If it were not for Fang Daren's insistence on taking them out, they might not have realized their mistake until they returned to the capital.

A semi-homeless teenager saw their group and suddenly lit up, crawling over with his hands and feet, "Please, sirs, can you give me some food?"

The soft-hearted official instinctively went to get food but was stopped by Fang Daren: "Stop!"

Fang Daren walked over, looked at the disaster victims who had surrounded them, frowned, and ignoring the doubt of the official earlier, squatted down, "Can you still walk? If you can, follow us. Do you see it over there? Our people are distributing porridge there. If you can persist until you get there, you can get food, not just today, but also in the future, you can eat until you're full."

Ahead was a small town, which was also the goal of Fang Daren's team. It wasn't far from this place, and if it were an ordinary day, they could reach it in less than half an hour.

The teenager looked into the distance, then at Fang Daren who was crouching at his eye level, his eyes filled with both doubt and struggle. 

Mr. Fang nodded. "I'm not lying to you. Our people have already gone over there. Look, is there smoke rising over there?"

The young man looked again and saw a faint wisp of smoke rising.

"You seem like a good person, so I'll trust you this once." The young man's face was covered in dirt, but his eyes were no longer lifeless. They shone with a glimmer of hope that only someone who had experienced despair could understand.

Fang Daren suppressed the bitterness in his heart. "If you follow us, you'll survive."

The young man nodded vigorously.

Fang Daren stood up and picked up a stick, handing it to the young man. "Take this."

With the stick for support, the young man slowly stood up and watched as Mr. Fang and his group walked away. He followed them, taking slow but determined steps.