The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The woman stared incredulously at the young man who stood before her. His face was like a crown of jade, his smile like the spring breeze, but the smile didn’t touch his eyes.

The young man’s eyes were pitch-black. Where he stood he blocked out the light, and his eyes were as deep as an impenetrable abyss.

Fear crawled up her spine as she realized this young man meant what he said and he really would carry out his threat.

How could he be so bold?! In front of the emperor himself, he didn’t conceal his desire to monopolize his man? Since ancient times, how many emperors tolerated this temperament in the person who shared their pillow? Wasn’t he afraid the emperor would come to hate him?

With her last bit of hope, the woman looked at the emperor standing behind the young man. Then her heart sank little by little.

No wonder, no wonder Shen Yu was so unscrupulous. It turned out his behavior was condoned.

“Why don’t you speak? Are you unhappy with my proposal?”

When Shen Yu said these words, the woman’s face went even paler. She forced back her fear and said in a trembling voice, “This concubine dares not.”

“I think you dare very much.” Shen Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing the woman who knelt on the ground.

A pair of delicate and moving eyes, a face like hibiscus in clear water. She had not only the purity of a girl but the charm of a mature woman. There was no wonder she had such thoughts when she was only in her twenties.

“What happened to Ling Meimei? Why don’t I see her?”

“She seems to have gone that way just now. Why don’t we go and have a look?” a woman called out as she walked, and her voice gradually approached.

Shen Yu turned his head to look at Shang JunLin. Seeing his nod, he knew their target was among this group of people.

Shen Yu moved slightly to the side. When the women arrived, they immediately saw the tall, straight figure of Shang JunLin.

They were stunned, but there was no time to think about how the emperor suddenly appeared here. They quickly knelt in salute.

The ones who had little thoughts in their minds did their best to show their advantages as they knelt.

Shen Yu silently surveyed these people and took in their movements one by one. Finally his gaze fell on one not especially remarkable woman.

Compared with the others, she didn’t especially stand out, though she was attractive. Her light blue aoqun was inconspicuous among the crowd of other charming beauties.

Lin ZhiLan, the woman who was involved in the case of Imperial Censor Zhang.

Today Shang JunLin’s attitude wasn’t the same as normal. He was still cold, but he didn’t give off the overwhelming feeling that strangers weren’t allowed to approach. The ladies who were more daring couldn’t help but want to fight for their chance.

Looking at the young emperor who was almost surrounded by a cluster of beauties, the ink-black color in Shen Yu’s eyes slowly darkened.

The woman kneeling on the ground looked at the scene in front of her with fear. Just now she “accidentally” ran into the emperor and was almost killed by Shen Yu. And right now so many women were paying court to the emperor….

The woman couldn’t help regretting everything. If she’d known Shen Yu was so crazy, she never would have acted so recklessly.

“Your Majesty is so popular.” A slightly teasing voice rang out. 

The women looked in the direction of the voice and saw Shen Yu standing not far away, looking at them coolly.

Their hearts trembled although they didn’t know why. A strong sense of foreboding began to fill them.

“Noble monarch, come to this emperor.” Shang JunLin’s gaze was deep. It wasn’t clear what he was thinking.

Shen Yu walked over to stand by his side and slightly tilted his head. “Your Majesty, who are these people?”

“They’re the concubines of the previous emperor.”

“Ah, so they’re the concubines of the previous emperor. Why are they staring at Your Majesty? If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were Your Majesty’s concubines.”

Shen Yu had been standing slightly behind Shang JunLin. These women were so focused on the emperor they didn’t even notice Shen Yu was here too.

None of them thought Shen Yu would see through them so easily. Their faces turned red, then white.

“Noble monarch, this concubine came here to look for Ling Meimei,” one woman said, and the rest agreed as if they’d suddenly found strength.

“Yes, yes, when Ling Meimei didn’t show up we were worried about her, so…”

Shen Yu listened to them quietly for a while, then lifted his chin and said with a smile, “Is this the person you’re looking for?”

They followed Shen Yu’s gaze and saw a pale woman kneeling on the ground.

“That’s… I don’t know what Ling Meimei did wrong…”

“It’s nothing,” Shen Yu said lightly. “It’s just that when I saw her crash into His Majesty’s arms, it put me in a bad mood.”

The ones who originally wanted to speak up for the woman to show their kindness closed their mouths. If there was any other reason, they could have begged for mercy, but if what Shen Yu said was true, it would be foolish to plead for her again.

“Why are you just standing there? Didn’t you hear what I said?” Shen Yu was half-leaning against Shang JunLin. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and his voice was unhappy.

A few young eunuchs heard his words and walked up to the woman kneeling on the ground. Ignoring her struggles, they grabbed her arms.

“Your Majesty! Noble monarch, noble monarch, please spare my life. This concubine wasn’t sensible! I didn’t mean it. Please spare me, noble monarch, ah—!”

The heavy scent of blood filled the air. A spray of blood drenched the ground. The woman clutched her arm and fell down, in so much pain that she couldn’t speak.

“This is what happens when you covet a person you shouldn’t covet.”

As the slightly chilling words fell, several women shrank back involuntarily. They didn’t dare have any more thoughts after witnessing such a thing with their very eyes.

Shen Yu’s eyes swept meaningfully over the suddenly quail-like and honest women. “According to the palace rules, what should be done with them?”

“According to the seriousness of the case, the punishment is confinement or the choice of white silk or poisoned wine,” Meng Gonggong replied.

“Your Majesty, spare my life! Noble monarch, spare me…” Of course, they knew how serious the consequences of failure could be, but they would rather gamble than waste the rest of their lives without hope in the harem.

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And… That man told them that if they succeeded, they could have whatever they wanted in the future: glory, splendor, wealth, and rank, not to mention power. The only thing they hadn’t expected was that Shen Yu would do exactly what he said.

In the face of life and death, how could they care about anything else? Right now, they only wanted to live.

As for Shen Yu, he didn’t really want to kill them either. He deliberately pretended to waver, and the beggars saw a glimpse of hope.

“Noble monarch, please spare our lives! We promise to never, ever make trouble again or trouble the noble monarch’s eyes…”

Shen Yu thought for a moment. “Then take them to Yuzhang Palace. After I vent my anger, I might let you go.”

They quickly thanked him for his mercy.

After the people were brought back to Yuzhang Palace, Shen Yu locked them up in different rooms. They were so frightened they didn’t dare to object. All of them did whatever Shen Yu wanted.

Lin ZhiLan was secretly taken away by Shang JunLin’s people, and no one in Yuzhang Palace knew about this except Shen Yu himself.

As Shen Yu anticipated, the people behind the scenes didn’t notice anything. Thanks to the rumor that Shen Yu refused to allow the emperor to take any other concubines, when the news of the incident spread, everyone just assumed that Shen Yu brought these people back to Yuzhang Palace to torture them more conveniently.

Shen Yu was too lazy to care what anyone thought. After handing the person over to Shang JunLin, he didn’t ask anything else about it.

As for the other women who were brought back, Lin ZhiLan wasn’t the only one with problems. If they weren’t acting under someone’s orders, why did they keep trying so diligently to get close to Shang JunLin?

Mu Xi brought in the medicine. “Young master, it’s time for your medicine.”

Shen Yu took it and drank it down.

Mu Xi handed over a handkerchief. “Young master, the Zhenbei Marquis has asked to see you.”

“Why does he suddenly want to see me?” Shen Yu remembered ordering Mu Xi to send someone to the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence before. “What’s the situation there now?”

“After this slave sent the person over, Aunt Ru, whose relationship with the lord marquis eased for a while, somehow angered the lord marquis and was confined too. Shen QingRan’s treatment also changed back to what a normal shu son would have. The mansion is now run by an aunt who’s at odds with Aunt Ru and her son….”

Mu Xi described the recent events in the marquis’ residence. After listening, Shen Yu said, “Send a reply to the Zhenbei Marquis and say I’ll find time to see him.”

“Very well.”

In the evening, Shang JunLin arrived and Shen Yu told him about the Zhenbei Marquis.

“You want to leave the palace?” Shang JunLin frowned.

“After all, it’s my father. It’s not good if I don’t visit him.” Shen Yu lowered his eyes.

“Since when has the noble monarch been so devoted to the Zhenbei Marquis?” Shang JunLin raised his eyebrows. “This is a lie for others. You’re trying to fool this emperor too, hmm?”

“Your Majesty, I haven’t been back to the mansion in a long time. I miss it a little….”

“The noble monarch doesn’t have to pretend in front of this emperor.” Shang JunLin lifted Shen Yu’s chin. “This emperor knows very well how the noble monarch lived in the marquis’ residence before. I don’t think the noble monarch truly wants to go back to the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence, do you?”

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“Actually…” Shen Yu blinked and said slowly, “I heard that Shen QingRan has been unlucky recently. He was always so arrogant in the marquis’ residence. I want to see the excitement.”

It would be such a pity if he didn’t see their bad luck with his own eyes.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if the noble monarch was so honest from the start?” Shang JunLin shook Shen Yu’s chin.

Shen Yu reached out to free his chin. “Does Your Majesty agree?”

“Mm.” Without waiting for Shen Yu to speak, Shang JunLin added, “This emperor will go with you.”

Shen Yu didn’t want to leave the palace merely to go to the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence. That was a side trip. If Shang JunLin went along with him, he wouldn’t be able to do the other things he needed to do.

Politely refusing, he said, “Your Majesty has been so busy lately. I don’t want to delay Your Majesty’s affairs.”

“The noble monarch doesn’t want this emperor to go with you.” Shang JunLin narrowed his eyes and approached Shen Yu with a sense of oppression. “Why?”

“If Your Majesty is able to accompany me, I’d be only too happy. Why wouldn’t I want you to join me?” Shen Yu rested his hand on the man’s shoulder.

A light scent of medicine filled his nose, mixed with a faint fragrance that seemed to be absent before. Shang JunLin’s eyes darkened, and he retreated along Shen Yu’s path. “This emperor will tell Meng Chang to prepare for a visit to the Zhenbei Marquis. The noble monarch should rest.”

When Shang JunLin went to wash up, Shen Yu stared at the bed hangings and worried. He originally wanted to meet his subordinates, look for a birthday gift for Shang JunLin, and then go to the marquis’ residence to see the fun.

If he left the palace with Shang JunLin, he could only go to the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence.

“What is the noble monarch thinking about?” Shang JunLin came back with a breath of water vapor on his body.

“I was thinking about something,” Shen Yu said in a low voice. “Is there anything Your Majesty wants?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Nothing, just asking.”

Shen Yu didn’t expect to get an answer, so he yawned and leaned towards the heat source in his bed.

What would be the best gift?

TL Notes:

Ahh whenever I try to work on this chapter there are literally 3 people talking to me. Due to the challenges, for this and the next couple chapters I won’t be able to do 100% of my normal editing. I’ll give everything another pass when I get home in a couple of days, I promise!

aoqun – 袄裙 – Ǎo qún – jacket skirt – This is a type of ruqun (襦裙), a two-piece traditional Chinese outfit worn primarily by women. The top consists of a jacket which closes on the right, known as an ao (袄). The ao might be padded or have multiple layers for added warmth. This is worn over a long skirt, the qun (裙) (Wikipedia)

found strength – from 找到了主心骨 – found their backbones

quail-like – 鹌鹑一般老实的女子 – A common way to describe someone who is timid

white silk or poisoned wine – 白绫、毒酒 – The traditional choice given a concubine ordered to commit suicide

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

Ling Meimei – 玲妹妹 – Sister Ling

Lin ZhiLan – 林芷兰