The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shen Yu let Shang JunLin hold him without saying anything. Strictly speaking, this was the first time they’d been so close.

The man’s arms were so strong that Shen Yu’s waist hurt from being squeezed. But he was painfully aware he was needed right now.

He couldn’t have said what he was feeling, or what thoughts were going through his mind. The man’s scent wrapped around him from all directions, fully occupying the gaps between him and the outside world. It seemed to last forever, but it also felt short.

He didn’t know how much time passed before Shang JunLin slowly loosened his arms. “This emperor forgot himself.”

Shen Yu didn’t continue the topic from before. He knew that people sometimes needed time to digest certain things. If an outsider tried too hard to intervene, it would only increase the pain.

“Your Majesty, you hurt me just now.” Shen Yu leaned against Shang JunLin and breathed slowly to ease the ache in his waist.

“… This emperor will give you medicine.”

Shang JunLin was already familiar with the procedure. There was a small cabinet at the head of the bed, which was full of medicines for improving blood circulation and removing bruises, as well as some unidentified ointments sent by the imperial hospital.

“It’s not that serious.” Shen Yu pressed down Shang JunLin’s hand with the medicine. “Your Majesty, has the King of Huaiyu incident reached a conclusion?”

Shang JunLin: “He quickly confessed his guilt, but this emperor still thinks there’s something wrong.”

Shen Yu: “Your Majesty feels the same way I do.”

Shang JunLin: “Oh? What does the noble monarch think?”

“Doesn’t it seem too easy to Your Majesty?” Shen Yu pulled Shang JunLin to sit on the soft couch. “Based on what Your Majesty said before, the King of Huaiyu has been planting moles in the palace for years without being discovered. It’s strange that he was exposed so easily.”

Shang JunLin nodded. “There are a lot of suspicious things about the King of Huaiyu, and his activity spans many years. This emperor isn’t finished with him yet.”

The King of Huaiyu was locked up in the dark prison, and specially-trained people interrogated him every day. Unfortunately, no matter what method they used, the result was the same.

Either he confessed immediately or he refused to say a word. The more he was interrogated, the more suspicions and loopholes he created.

“What about those women? Did they say anything?”

Since the presence of “Fei Meng” was discovered in the palace, the former concubines who were previously living in a remote courtyard of Yuzhang Palace were confined in another location by Shang JunLin. One reason was to prevent information from leaking, and another was to eliminate the chance that someone would attack again.

“Their information was almost the same.”

Although things might appear to be resolved, in fact there was no conclusion at all.

“Based on the information this emperor learned, the King of Huaiyu is indeed one of the people behind the plot. The former concubines and some of the palace attendants were his eyes, with one exception,” Shang JunLin said with a teacup in his hand.

“The young eunuch who threatened Concubine Yu?” Shen Yu guessed.

If that eunuch hadn’t made a move and frightened Concubine Yu, she wouldn’t have asked for help, and without her confession, they wouldn’t have found out about the King of Huaiyu so quickly.

Shang JunLin: “Yes, but that’s the only breakthrough so far. The young eunuch pretended to work for the King of Huaiyu, but we later discovered he never carried out any orders for the King of Huaiyu. That leaves just one possibility. He said it to mislead us.”

Shen Yu: “Deliberately putting all the blame on the King of Huaiyu, so the real mastermind could escape.”

Shang JunLin: “It’s a pity the young eunuch died without giving more evidence. The trail of clues has been cut off.”

When Shang JunLin’s people found the discrepancy and tried to interrogate the young eunuch again, they discovered the man had committed suicide. This confirmed Shang JunLin’s suspicions more and more.

The King of Huaiyu’s arrest caused a stir. All of the court officials and the imperial family heard the news. At morning court, some of the ministers directly asked the emperor about it, and Shang JunLin had no intention of hiding it. He told them what happened and assigned a specific official to take charge of the matter.

Now that the investigation was so close to being resolved, it had turned into a dead end. The official in charge of handling the case was so anxious that his mouth blistered.

The New Year was approaching and everyone would normally be at home on holiday. But now, forget about a holiday, they were worried about getting drawn into the palace investigation.

Didn’t everyone see how several officials had been implicated and lost their black hats?

Meanwhile, the Zhenbei Marquis had been eager to see Shen Yu for a long time, but he wanted to see him alone, not with Shang JunLin.

Finally, he found his chance.

It was at the New Year’s Eve palace banquet.

Having learned from past experience, no one dared to make trouble for Shen Yu at the banquet, but the meal was long and boring. After finishing the necessary etiquette, Shen Yu said a few words to Shang JunLin and slipped out quietly.

Shen Yu went for a casual walk with Mu Xi. After a while he saw a figure in front of them, and stopped.

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The visitor saluted. “Noble monarch.” 

“Your Highness the King of An.” Shen Yu was surprised. “What brings Your Highness here?”

Shen Yu had intentionally walked a little farther from the hall where the palace banquet was held. They were close to the harem now. If the King of An went out to get some air, he wouldn’t be all the way over here.

“This servant hasn’t been to the palace in quite a while. I wanted to visit the place I used to play when I was a child,” the King of An explained calmly.

“It looks like someone is looking for the noble monarch. This servant won’t bother you.” The King of An nodded his farewell.

Shen Yu turned back and saw a boy dressed as a servant heading towards him.

“Noble monarch, the marquis asks if you’ll meet him for a moment.” The boy had served the Zhenbei Marquis a long time and spoke with a respectful attitude.

“Father wants to see me?” Shen Yu was bored and didn’t feel like returning to the hall yet. “Where is he?”

“Noble monarch, please come with this slave.”

Shen Yu walked a short distance with the boy before he saw the Zhenbei Marquis standing by the path.

Shen Yu had no intention of completely severing ties with the Zhenbei Marquis for now. “Father wants me for something?” 

The Zhenbei Marquis had sent several messages to the palace, but there was no reply. He was a bit angry. “This marquis didn’t know it would be so difficult to meet his own son.” 

Shen Yu acted puzzled. “What does Father mean? Didn’t I make a special trip to the marquis’ residence not long ago?”

“This marquis wanted to see you alone, not for you to bring His Majesty along with you.” As he spoke, the Zhenbei Marquis’s face turned unhappy. There were still people who thought he helped his son cover up a private meeting with his lover outside the palace.

He couldn’t tell anyone that it was His Majesty who came to the mansion with Shen Yu that day. There was no outside lover at all. He could only grind his teeth and hold his tongue and stubbornly endure it.

“Doesn’t His Majesty have an opinion about this? Outsiders are saying you have another lover, that you’ve been unfaithful to His Majesty. Don’t you want to make things clear?”

“Hmm? Other people are saying that?” Shen Yu really didn’t know anything. He thought it was just the King of Li who’d threatened him with the story. Was someone else spreading it?

“Public opinion can melt metal,” the Zhenbei Marquis said bitterly. “Hearsay and lies can ruin a person. You shouldn’t take it lightly.”

“I see. I’ll take care of it. Is that the only reason the Zhenbei Marquis wanted to see me?”

His words were almost direct. If there was nothing else, he didn’t want to waste his time.

When he heard Shen Yu’s careless tone, the Zhenbei Marquis almost fell over in anger. “Are you even listening to your father? You think you can rely on His Majesty to favor you alone. That’s why you don’t take any of this seriously, but once there’s a new man by His Majesty’s side…”

“There is no such possibility.” Shen Yu glanced at him. “Instead of worrying so much about me, the Zhenbei Marquis should worry about your own backyard. That Aunt Ru of yours seems to be making a lot of little moves.”

“You…” The Zhenbei Marquis was furious. “Fine, I’m not going to talk about this anymore. I came here to ask you about His Majesty’s plans for the King of Huaiyu.”

Originally, the King of Huaiyu should have been executed before the New Year, but Shang JunLin said he didn’t want to stain the occasion with blood, so the case had lingered until now.

The evidence was overwhelming. Why hadn’t the emperor already given the order? Was it true he didn’t want to shed blood during the New Year, or was there some other secret? No one could guess.

“Do you think a consort like myself would know the reason for His Majesty’s decision?” Shen Yu stared at him and said seriously, “Since you’re my father, I’ll give you a word of caution. If someone told you to ask me this question, you should try to stay away from that person in the future. If you’re asking because you yourself want to know, I can only warn you that if you have nothing to do with this matter, don’t get involved.

“Whether you want to listen to me or not, Father, it’s up to you to decide.”

The Zhenbei Marquis felt shocked. He really had asked Shen Yu because someone else suggested it. But after listening to Shen Yu, he couldn’t help but consider to himself whether that man wanted him to ask for a reason?

Given the current political tensions, one wrong step and the entire game would be lost. If he was careless, he’d lose his life and everything he held dear. 

After this, the Zhenbei Marquis had no desire to continue talking to Shen Yu. He left in a hurry.

On the way back, Mu Xi didn’t understand. “Noble monarch, why did you say that to the marquis?”

After serving Shen Yu for so many years, Mu Xi knew better than anyone that Shen Yu had no father-son relationship with the Zhenbei Marquis at all. If one ever existed, it was erased by one disappointment after another.

“Because I’m still his legitimate son. If the Zhenbei Marquis is overly stupid and falls into someone else’s trap, I’m the first one who will be implicated.”

Shen Yu hadn’t completely severed his relationship with the Zhenbei Marquis. Until that day, he couldn’t tolerate anyone using the marquis as a weapon against him.

“Tell someone to keep an eye on the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence.” Shen Yu ordered lightly.

“Yes.”

It wasn’t the right time to draw a clear line between himself and his family. He still had to wait. Shen Yu smiled—he wasn’t in a hurry.

After the palace banquet, Shen Yu returned to Yuzhang Palace and changed into normal clothes. Compared with the expensive and cumbersome garments of a noble monarch, Shen Yu preferred to wear simpler things.

“Happy New Year, noble monarch.” Shang JunLin took out the red sealed envelope he’d already prepared.

“Is this for me?” Shen Yu’s voice was a little uncertain. He felt startled for a moment, then accepted it under Shang JunLin’s affirming eyes.

As he held the red envelope, Shen Yu felt that his palm was hot.

“I didn’t prepare one for Your Majesty. What should I do?” Mu Xi had been responsible for distributing gifts to subordinates. Shen Yu didn’t ask her, and he naturally didn’t prepare an envelope himself for Shang JunLin.

“This emperor is just giving this to the noble monarch. The noble monarch doesn’t need to give one in return.”

“That won’t do.” Shen Yu thought. “I’ll have to owe Your Majesty this time and make it up to you later.”

Shang JunLin didn’t have much interest in gifts. “As the noble monarch wishes.” 

After Shen Yu put away the red envelope, Shang JunLin asked, “There’s a fireworks display tonight. Would the noble monarch like to go and see it?”

Every year Da Huan held a grand fireworks event, and every year the people of Da Huan would take their relatives and friends to watch it.

Shen Yu’s eyes lit up. “Is it possible to leave the palace?”

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Shang JunLin was only planning to take Shen Yu to watch it from the palace walls, and he fell silent for a moment. “You want to leave the palace?”

“They say the fireworks event outside the palace is exciting, and everyone takes their loved ones and friends to see it. Is it possible for Your Majesty to accompany me?”

Shen Yu tilted his head to gaze up at Shang JunLin, and the eager expression on his face made it almost impossible to refuse.

TL Notes:

It feels like a game of king whack-a-mole in that palace

moles – 暗桩 – submerged piles installed to prevent the passage of boats / (fig.) informer / spy

his mouth blistered – 急得嘴里起了好几个泡 – There’s a common saying that when someone is angry or worried, they get blisters or sores on their mouth

(explained) calmly – 不疾不徐 – neither too fast nor too slow; at an appropriate speed

hold his tongue – 往肚子里咽 – swallow (the words) into his stomach

Public opinion can melt metal – 众口铄金 – lit. public opinion is powerful enough to melt metal (“… while accumulated defamation wears the bones”) / fig. public clamor can obscure the actual truth / mass spreading of rumors can confuse right and wrong; If you throw enough mud, some of it will stick

his life and everything he held dear – 身家性命 – man’s life and family possessions

red sealed envelope – 红封 – red seal / red sealed letter – In modern times, red paper envelopes or packets (红包) are monetary gifts given during holidays or for special occasions by seniors to juniors who are unmarried or still in school. In ancient times, the tradition involved coins, ingots, or auspicious tokens (Wikipedia)