The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

A tangle of emotions filled the air. For a moment Shen Yu forgot to move. He maintained his position, half-reclining against the emperor’s body.

Shang JunLin didn’t know what to think. He didn’t immediately push Shen Yu away.

Finally Shen Yu returned to his senses and hurriedly withdrew.

“Careful.”

The path was slippery because of the snow. Shen Yu backed away so quickly he almost slipped.

With his quick reaction speed, Shang JunLin caught Shen Yu in his arms.

Shen Yu’s mood fluctuated wildly. For a moment he almost relaxed, and then he saw Shang JunLin’s arm firmly supporting his body. He awkwardly lowered his eyes.

After a while, the man showed no sign of releasing him, and Shen Yu glanced at him carefully. “Your Majesty?” he asked tentatively.

“Hmm?”

Shang JunLin’s expression was calm and his eyes were clear. He was obviously unperturbed. Shen Yu had to laugh at himself for thinking too much. It was just an accidental touch. How could Shang JunLin be flustered by something as minor as that?

“Go inside.”

“Very well.”

Shang JunLin escorted him back to his room. After visiting a short while longer, Shang JunLin left.

While Shen Yu wasn’t overly perturbed by the mishap, he had no idea how many waves were surging through Shang JunLin’s heart at the moment.

Shang JunLin walked all the way back to the imperial study, then dismissed all the palace servants except Meng Gonggong.

Usually he could handle official business with ease, but right now his whole mind was filled with the sensation of that gentle touch on his jaw.

Cool and soft.

He couldn’t help reaching up and lightly pressing the place Shen Yu had touched. His eyes flashed with a trace of bewilderment.

Why…

Meng Gonggong stood to the side, eyes fixed carefully on nothing. He didn’t dare to disturb the contemplative emperor.

At noon Shen Yu woke up from a nap. He was startled to see the man sitting by his bed.

Shen Yu sat up, clutching the quilt. “Why didn’t Your Majesty have someone call me?” 

“When this emperor saw you sleeping soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.” Shang JunLin didn’t understand why he’d suddenly returned to Yuzhang Palace and sat by Shen Yu’s bed the rest of the afternoon.

The emperor’s face was calm as usual. Without thinking about it too much, Shen Yu got up and dressed. “How long has Your Majesty been here?”

“Not long,” Shang JunLin lied.

Clearly he’d been here more than an hour. Mu Xi, who was sorting out Shen Yu’s outer robe, accidentally glanced at Shang JunLin. Meeting the emperor’s eyes, she immediately looked away.

Well… If His Majesty said it wasn’t a long time, it wasn’t a long time. Anyway, it wasn’t her own young master who was waiting around for someone. She didn’t try to guess what the emperor was thinking.

After tidying himself, Shen Yu followed Shang JunLin from the room. Mu Xi poured hot tea and retreated.

Shang JunLin looked at Shen Yu without speaking, and Shen Yu asked in a mischievous tone, “Your Majesty, did something important happen for you to come here at this hour?”

Shen Yu never made things difficult for himself. His waking and resting times were quite regular, and after entering the imperial harem, he kept the same habits. The only person he answered to in the palace was Shang JunLin, and since the emperor had no opinion about it, no one else dared to say anything either. Shen Yu thought palace life was a lot more comfortable than the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence.

Shang JunLin knew Shen Yu’s usual schedule. He usually didn’t come during his rest time. Of course, most of the time when Shen Yu was taking his naps, Shang JunLin was still working on official business. What was going on today…?

“The palace banquet is coming soon. If you have any questions, you can ask this emperor. It’s your first time handling this kind of thing. It’s only normal to run into a few problems.”

“Is Your Majesty concerned about me?” Shen Yu felt slightly warm inside.

“If there’s nothing…”

“What a coincidence Your Majesty happened to ask about this. There really are some things I was wondering.” Shen Yu mentioned a few areas that a person who hadn’t lived in the palace wouldn’t understand. “Can Your Majesty clarify these things for me?”

Shang JunLin answered the questions one by one in a good mood, and Shen Yu thanked him with a smile. When Shang JunLin saw that smile he was caught off-guard and felt dazed.

“Your Majesty, I’m surprised the vassal kings returned to the capital this year. I didn’t think it was the customary time. Why did Your Majesty call them back?” Shen Yu had thought about this question for several days, but he couldn’t think of a reason. In his previous life, the King of Yue was the only one who returned to the capital, but he did so alone and for his own reasons.

“Now that the noble monarch has entered the palace, you should meet the imperial family.”

Shen Yu was startled. He’d thought of countless plans Shang JunLin might have in mind, but that wasn’t one of them.

“Tsk, although this emperor isn’t on good terms with the imperial family, the noble monarch doesn’t need to worry about them. Just recognize a few faces.” Shang JunLin mentioned the people who were his relatives and elders without any affection or respect.

Shang JunLin didn’t have a good relationship with the imperial family. Shen Yu had learned a little about this from the King of Yue in his previous life. Shang JunLin was the only legitimate son of the empress and should have been sealed as the crown prince, growing up smoothly and inheriting the throne. However, the first emperor wasn’t pragmatic or sensible. He threw away his legitimate son to make way for the son of his favorite concubine. And what came next…

In the end, Shang JunLin completely destroyed the late emperor’s son as well as the favored concubine. He took the throne by bloody means, something the imperial family had always criticized.

In Shen Yu’s previous life, the King of Yue had seized on this point, enlisting other members of the imperial family and making a lot of trouble. Unfortunately for him, Shang JunLin was too strong. In the early stages, his enemies could only inflict superficial damage. It was only later that Shang JunLin was really affected.

What imperial relatives were there?

Shen Yu fetched several names from his memory and decided the palace banquet would be a good opportunity to meet them.

The imperial edict to order the vassal kings to return to the capital had already been sent to the fiefdoms. There weren’t many vassal kings, and most were from the previous emperor’s generation. As for the princes of Shang JunLin’s generation, he’d eliminated most of them. The others had tucked in their tails and didn’t dare to make any moves.

After Shang JunLin’s brothers received the edict from the imperial capital, their first reaction was fear. Was the emperor finally going after them? When they found out they were just returning for a banquet they felt relieved.

No one dared to delay at all. They gave orders to pack their luggage as quickly as possible and immediately began the journey to the capital.

There was only one person caught off guard by the news—the King of Yue. He’d been looking for an excuse to return to the capital a long time, but he was already in the capital when the imperial messenger left with the decree.

The King of Yue had no choice but to stop what he was doing and rush back to his lands. He couldn’t let the emperor find out he’d secretly left his fief!

He rode several fast horses to death on the road. Traveling day and night, he hurried back and finally arrived just as the imperial delegation reached his fief. With no time for even a moment of rest, the King of Yue concealed the traces of his absence and met with the emperor’s messenger.

After the King of Yue received the decree, the palace eunuch who delivered it thought the King of Yue didn’t look healthy. He said with concern, “Is Your Highness unwell?”

“This king is sorry to cause the eunuch concern. This king is fine.”

The servant behind the King of Yue handed a purse to the messenger. The gonggong calmly weighed it in his hand, and his expression became more friendly. “Your Highness, take good care of your health. This one won’t disturb your rest,” he said with a smile.

After the messenger from the capital had gone, the King of Yue’s legs went weak and he almost fell. The servants behind him quickly helped him. “Your Highness!”

The King of Yue saw blackness before his eyes. He lost consciousness amid the anxious voices of his subordinates.

The King of Yue’s residence fell into turmoil.

The news immediately reached the ears of the Hidden Dragon Guard, some of whom were mixed in with the messenger delegation, which was then encrypted and quickly sent on to Shang JunLin.

The King of Yue had no time to rest. The emperor’s decree was urgent, and he was forced to set off for the capital immediately.

His subordinates worried he wouldn’t make it in time. Before the King of Yue woke up, he was loaded onto a carriage headed back to the capital. When he awakened in the rickety carriage and heard from his confidants, his insides twisted with anger.

One of his confidants bowed his head, ready to bear the king’s wrath. The King of Yue was a man who was extremely concerned with status. A large number of people had seen him embarrassed this time, and his anger was bound to be intense.

The King of Yue was so enraged he could do little but wave his hand. “This king knows.”

He was incredibly furious. He’d never endured so much suffering in his entire life, and there was another huge mess waiting for him in the capital. Just thinking about it made his head ache.

Shen QingRan was also having a bad time. In addition to his broken leg, he was imprisoned by the Zhenbei Marquis. He couldn’t visit the person he liked, and despite sending a message, he hadn’t heard from him in several days.

What made it even more unbearable for Shen QingRan was the constant chatter in his ears about how Shen Yu gained favor after entering the palace and the many things His Majesty did for him. Whenever Shen QingRan thought of how that could have been him, he almost went crazy with jealousy.

“The second young master beat several more servants yesterday. The underlings in the marquis’ residence are becoming reluctant to serve him,” Mu Xi reported as she put some plum blossoms in a vase.

Mu Xi had always thought the second young master was a two-faced phony. Day after day he told the servant girls that everyone was equal, but he never asked for fewer people to serve him or look after him less. However, those servants whose eyes weren’t as sharp believed his words and liked him more and more.

“Oh?” Shen Yu raised his eyebrows. “I thought he always objected to beating and scolding people at will?”

“Empty words,” Mu Xi said with disdain. “He just says nice things. I asked about it before. He’s never treated the servants in his courtyard as well as you treat your people, young master. I don’t know what enchanted potion those servants have been drinking to think he’s somehow better than you.”

Shang JunLin was approving official reports to one side. Hearing her say this, he raised his head. “Short-sighted and shallow, no eyes for a pearl. This emperor must say, the shu son of the Zhenbei Marquis is nowhere near as good as your young master.”

Mu Xi nodded emphatically. Her fear of Shang JunLin had subsided a lot. Recently Shang JunLin liked to take memorials to Yuzhang Palace to review them, and Mu Xi wasn’t as jittery around him.

“Your Majesty is finished?” Shen Yu paced over with a hand warmer in his arms. Shang JunLin had taken over Shen Yu’s normal reading spot. It was so comfortable that Shen Yu could nestle there all afternoon.

Seeing Shen Yu approach, Shang JunLin moved over to give him some room. He complained, half-sincere and half-pretend, “The noble monarch really doesn’t put me in your heart anymore.”

“Why does Your Majesty say that?” Shen Yu sat down, unworried, and sweet words came from his mouth. “Nothing will ever replace Your Majesty in my heart.”

“Noble monarch, look at this.” Shang JunLin handed him a folded missive.

Shen Yu took it, read it silently, and handed it back. Then he gazed at Shang JunLin without saying anything.

—It was a letter persuading the emperor to accept another imperial concubine.

“What does the noble monarch think?” The expression on Shang JunLin’s face was impassive. “This emperor has received many requests just like it.”

“Your Majesty.” Shen Yu suddenly grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him closer, and his voice was incredibly cold: “Your Majesty, believe it or not, if you invite anyone else into the palace, do you want to find out how many corpses I’ll make?”

TL Notes:

more than an hour – 半个多时辰 – more than half a shichen – A shí chen (时辰) is one of the 12 two-hour periods into which the day was traditionally divided. Therefore, half a shichen = 1 hour

(growing up) smoothly – 顺风顺水 – drift with the wind and the current; sail with the wind

completely destroyed – 连锅端 – remove/destroy lock, stock. and barrel; take all the pots and pans—take or get rid of the whole lot

superficial damage – 隔靴搔痒 – scratch an itch from outside one’s boot—fail to get to the root of the matter; attempt an ineffective solution

(Shang JunLin’s) brothers – 兄弟们 – xiōngdìmen – brothers / younger brothers

This one – 咱家 – I / me / my / (often used in early vernacular literature) / we / my home / my house

short-sighted and shallow – 目光短浅 – be shortsighted; improvident; myopic; a narrow vision

no eyes for a pearl – 有眼无珠 – have eyes but fail to see; be as blind as a bat [a mole]; blind; eyes and no eyes; fail to recognize a thing for what it is; have a narrow vision; ignorant; seeing sth. without knowing it; unable to discriminate

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

Your Highness – 殿下 – diàn xià – Alternatively: His Highness, Her Highness