The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The King of Yue was already agitated, and when he heard Shen Yu’s comment, the blue veins on his temples bulged. It took most of his endurance not to curse.

“You weren’t like this before.” He was so angry that he lost all discretion and began blurting out his true thoughts. “Do you still blame this king for not finding a way to keep you from entering the palace…?”

“Stop,” Shen Yu interrupted. The King of Yue really didn’t have much mental fortitude, did he? A few words was all it took to make him reveal so many of his secrets.

In Shen Yu’s previous life, the King of Yue was never this honest in front of him. He’d pieced together the King of Yue’s identity through clues. Why was he in such a hurry to tell him everything now?

Did Shen Yu’s entering the palace really have such a big impact on him?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Shen Yu’s mind, but his face didn’t reveal a hint. Pretending to be puzzled, he launched a series of questions at the King of Yue. “What does the King of Yue mean? I don’t remember having any contact with His Highness before I entered the palace. How does my entering the palace have anything to do with Your Highness?”

The King of Yue’s brain was broiling over with anger, but under the barrage his thoughts finally cleared up a bit. When he realized what he’d just said to Shen Yu, his complexion was so ugly it was difficult to look at.

“This king…”

“Or does the King of Yue mean that he concealed his identity and contacted me? Let me guess, the King of Yue mentioned Zhao Yue a moment ago. Is it possible His Highness is Zhao Yue?” Shen Yu stood on the steps with his arms folded, looking down at the man in the garb of a prince.

The King of Yue didn’t think Shen Yu would guess the truth so quickly. He made a flat denial. “This king is not.”

“Then you’re Young Master Wang? Or Young Master Lin? Or Young Master Xu?”

As each name was listed, the King of Yue’s face darkened another shade. He was already at the limit of endurance when he thought he was a substitute. But it turned out he was just one of many substitutes…???

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Shen Yu pretended to be distressed. “There are too many possibilities. Your Highness the King of Yue, why don’t you just tell me directly? Which one are you?”

“Shen Yu, you’re going too far!”

“I’m going too far? Who eavesdropped on me talking to my maid just now? Who followed me here? Who deliberately concealed his identity and approached me under false pretenses? Your Highness, I’d really like to know exactly what you’re trying to do.” Shen Yu’s face was cold.

The King of Yue took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. “This king only came here to give you a reminder. Don’t think that just because you have the emperor’s favor you can do whatever you like inside the palace. A lot of people are watching the throne. Your swaggering will only make you a thorn in their side and drive them to get rid of you.” 

“The King of Yue doesn’t have to worry about this. I have faith His Majesty will protect me. After all, His Majesty isn’t like some people who say with their mouths that they can’t live without me, turn a blind eye to my plight a moment later, and then desperately beg to be recognized afterwards.”

Shen Yu walked down the stairs, approaching the King of Yue step by step. “King of Yue, are you angry with me because I didn’t find a way to avoid entering the palace?”

“… This king is not.” The King of Yue instinctively lowered his voice, but that really was how he felt when he first heard the news. Shen Yu’s words were like a gust of wind, driving back his self-deceiving camouflage to reveal the selfishness underneath.

Shen Yu retreated a few steps, passing by the King of Yue without any sign of reluctance. “I now think that entering the palace is the best decision I ever made. No matter what identity you used to approach me, there was no relationship between us before, and there won’t be one in the future.”

Yes, all that remained were two lifetimes of hatred.

The servant who’d secretly followed the King of Yue returned to the King of Li and told him everything that happened.

The King of Li touched his beard. “How unexpected. Our Noble Monarch Shen actually had a relationship with the King of Yue.”

“Your Highness, should we…?”

“Such a big handle must be well-grasped. Shen Yu, Noble Monarch Shen… he’s quite arrogant, isn’t he? Do you think His Majesty will treat the noble monarch so well when he learns of this? This king can’t wait to find out.” The King of Yue smiled with good humor. He never thought he’d find such a big surprise just by sending someone to follow the King of Yue.

He’d been worrying about how to deal with Shen Yu, and the solution came right to his door. It seemed that heaven itself was on his side.

“Send someone to check, and check carefully. This king needs to know the details of everything that happened before Shen Yu entered the palace.”

On the second day of the palace banquet, several people who’d been disrespectful to Shen Yu were dismissed from their posts. The ministers who suspected this might happen weren’t surprised. His Majesty dismissed the people when he might have beheaded them. It could be regarded as mercy.

In addition, none of those people were in high-ranking positions, and their character wasn’t flawless. The dismissals didn’t cause much of a splash.

As the New Year began to draw nearer, Shang JunLin was no longer as busy as before. The time he spent in Yuzhang Palace increased day by day.

Because the New Year festivities were approaching, Shang JunLin gave orders for the vassal kings to spend the New Year in the capital before they were allowed to depart.

In an elegant room, the King of Li took a shallow sip from a wine glass. “Does Your Highness have any idea why His Majesty won’t let us return yet?” 

The King of Yue really had no idea. He was so distracted by Shen QingRan’s matters lately that he didn’t have time to pay attention. “Is it possible that Imperial Uncle knows?” 

“This king can make a few guesses. I’m afraid some people have big ideas, and His Majesty will take this opportunity to knock a few heads.” As he spoke, the King of Li looked at the King of Yue with profound meaning.

The King of Yue’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t show it on his face. “Well… This nephew really doesn’t know anything. This nephew has been busy with personal matters lately and lost track of other things.”

The King of Li smiled and didn’t prod further, but what he said next almost made the King of Yue jump from his seat.

“Has my nephew considered what to do about your relationship with Noble Monarch Shen? His Majesty is so fond of the noble monarch these days. If he knew you had an ambiguous relationship with the noble monarch before he entered the palace, wouldn’t that be…”

The King of Li didn’t finish his words, but the King of Yue understood. The matter between him and Shen Yu could be big or it could be small. If someone wanted to take advantage of it, all his well-laid plans over the years would be over.

“Imperial Uncle must be joking. This king doesn’t know the noble monarch. How could such a relationship exist?”

“Your Highness shouldn’t rush to deny it. Since this king dares to speak, naturally there’s evidence. Now, both of us have the same goal. Is the King of Yue willing to watch his former lover spend the rest of his life in the arms of someone else?”

The King of Li had no idea his subordinates would discover such interesting things. The King of Yue had actually concealed his identity and sneaked into the capital. He befriended the Zhenbei Marquis’ eldest son and spent a lot of time with him in an intimate way.

“Your Highness, you and I may as well work together. What I want is to appoint the next empress. If you still want Shen Yu after this is over, you can take him back to your fiefdom.”

The King of Yue knew that since the King of Li dared to say this, he must know something, but he also knew there was a big difference between possessing information and having a direct confession from the source.

After a moment of silence, the King of Yue said, “This king will cooperate. But Imperial Uncle should be clear on one thing—it’s Zhao Yue who has an old relationship with the noble monarch. This king has nothing to do with it.”

The King of Li smiled. “This king understands. His Highness the King of Yue stayed in his fief and never left it until the imperial edict arrived.”

“A toast to Imperial Uncle.” The King of Yue took up his wine glass and drank it in one go.

“If Imperial Nephew needs anything, please come to this king. As long as this king can help, I will never refuse.”

The King of Yue’s hand tightened on his wine glass.

Shen Yu.

He couldn’t bear the way Shen Yu looked at Shang JunLin. Whenever he remembered it, a fire burned in his heart.

“Ah-choo.”

Mu Xi brought in some hot water. “Young master, why don’t you get some rest? It’s getting late.” 

“It’s nothing.” Shen Yu put down his pen. He lowered his hands into the hot water and soaked his fingers, waiting for them to warm up before taking them out. 

“Young master, are you sure the King of Yue won’t do anything?” Mu Xi had been worried ever since she found out Zhao Yue was actually the King of Yue. If he made up some nonsense about the past, who would His Majesty believe?

Ever since ancient times, there were a few things men couldn’t endure, and that was one of them. Besides, His Majesty was the highest-ranking man in the world, which would make him even less tolerant.

“Do you think he’d be stupid enough to die with me?”

Mu Xi shook her head. She was just afraid the King of Yue was so angry with her master that he’d lose his head and stab in all directions.

“Besides, nothing happened between the two of us. Even if he wanted to make something out of it, he might not be able to.”

Shen Yu didn’t think the King of Yue would just give up, but he certainly didn’t expect things to unfold the way they did.

Looking at the men who stood before him, Shen Yu halted. “What are the two princes doing here?”

When Shen Yu saw the fine weather, he left Yuzhang Palace to take a walk. He was planning to deliver his belated birthday gift to Shang JunLin. Unexpectedly, he ran into the King of Yue and the King of Li on the way.

“We came here to see the noble monarch. We have something to say. Shall we walk together?” The King of Li spoke in a seemingly amiable manner, but the King of Yue was silent.

Shen Yu didn’t think they were here for a good purpose, and he didn’t want to waste his time. “Just say what you have to say.”

“Then this king will get straight to the point.” The King of Li narrowed his eyes. With a hint of threat he said, “This king knows what happened before the noble monarch entered the palace. If the noble monarch doesn’t want everyone else to know these things too, you’d better find a way to persuade His Majesty to accept another concubine.”

“So that’s what this is about? Your Highness the King of Li, you really surprise me. Why do you think you can threaten me?” Shen Yu raised his eyebrows. “If the King of Li has nothing else to say, let’s not waste more of each other’s time.”

“Do you think His Majesty won’t care?” The King of Li was rapidly growing disgusted with Shen Yu’s fearless attitude. His tone was sinister. “Maybe the noble monarch thinks these are all things that happened before you entered the palace, and His Majesty won’t investigate too closely. But what if this king told you that he also knows you left the palace to have a secret meeting with your old lover?”

Shen Yu’s expression became a bit subtle.

The King of Li thought he’d nailed Shen Yu’s sore spot. The corners of his mouth lifted.

“This king has no desire to publicize such a scandal to the world. As long as the noble monarch does what this king says, I guarantee no one will talk about your private meetings with another man. Noble monarch, consider carefully before you answer.”

“Consider what?” Shang JunLin’s low voice came from the other side. “This emperor is the one who met the noble monarch that day. Why, does the King of Li have an opinion?”

The smile on the King of Li’s face froze over. “This servant doesn’t dare.” 

“This emperor likes to play games with the noble monarch once in a while. Do we have to tell you about it?”

TL Notes:

Hello lovely readers! ♥ The next chapter is the first VIP chapter, so please remember to support the original author if you can ٩(◕‿◕)۶

To celebrate entering V, the author made the next chapter 3x the normal length o(≧∇≦o) That’s more than I can handle in one day, so I’m planning to split it into three normal-sized parts. I’ll post them according to my usual schedule. Speaking of the schedule, tomorrow is another “off” day.

I hope you’re enjoying the story so far… There are a lot of things I like about this novel! I find myself appreciating the banter, flirting, and smackdowns even more as I work on the tl version. TY for reading + TY to the commenters and people giving other forms of feedback!! You guys give me the fuel to continue ♥

New Year – 春节 – The Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival. Based on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, observance traditionally begins the evening preceding the first day of the year, through the Lantern Festival on the 15th. The first day begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February (Wikipedia)

knock some heads – 敲打敲打 – strike, beat

spent a lot of time together – 同进同出 – “went in and out at the same time”, frequently seen together

the highest-ranking man – 九五之尊 – refers to the imperial throne – the royal prerogative; the imperial throne; the position of an emperor

play games – 情.趣 – inclinations and interests / delight / fun / interest / appeal

VIP – After a novel “enters V” on jjwxc, the new chapters have to be unlocked by spending points

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

Young Master Wang – 王公子

Young Master Lin – 林公子

Young Master Xu – 许公子

imperial uncle – 皇叔 – huáng shū

nephew – 侄儿 – zhí ér – nephew; brother’s son; son of a male relative of the same age

imperial nephew – 皇侄 – huáng zhí