The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Through some miracle, Shang JunLin agreed.

The two changed into nondescript clothes that wouldn’t identify them. With the Hidden Dragon Guard following in the shadows, they left the palace with Meng Gonggong.

As soon as they were past the palace gates, Shen Yu felt the atmosphere change. It was completely different from the imperial palace.

He lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked outside.

The streets were swarming with people. The city was alive.

There were families strolling through the crowd, and couples snuggling together to enjoy the excitement. The streets were full of little stalls in a variety of colors. The goods on display were dazzling and overwhelming.

People went out with their relatives and friends to enjoy the only fireworks event of the year.

The little carriage was the dividing line between two worlds. On the other side was the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Shen Yu could almost feel the energy beyond the carriage walls.

He was so intent on looking outside that he didn’t notice Shang JunLin, who was sitting beside him, kept looking at him.

The indistinct light from the window shone on the young man, making his face in the shadows appear blurred and remote. He was close enough to touch but also far away.

Shang JunLin’s fingers moved, but he restrained the impulse to take the young man into his arms.

Turning back, Shen Yu couldn’t wait to share his happiness with Shang JunLin. “Your Majesty, this is really exciting.” 

Shang JunLin averted his eyes a moment before the young man turned towards him. “En,” he said. “Does the noble monarch prefer it this way?”

“I do.” But after thinking for a moment, Shen Yu shook his head. “If it was this lively every day, I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy it.”

Shang JunLin, who’d just started to think about how to make the palace more lively, abandoned his thoughts. “Is there something the noble monarch would like to do?”

“Anything at all?” Shen Yu asked eagerly.

Shang JunLin nodded.

“Then Your Majesty will have to pay the money. Your Majesty didn’t let me bring a maid, and I don’t have a single copper coin on me.” Shen Yu held his chin and peered at Shang JunLin.

Shang JunLin was easy to persuade. “All right.” 

“I might want to buy a lot of things….”

“This emperor thinks I have more than enough money to support the noble monarch.”

The carriage didn’t travel for long before it stopped in a slightly isolated location. After Shang JunLin got out of the carriage, he reached out to assist Shen Yu.

Shang JunLin helped Shen Yu straighten his clothes. “There’s no need to call me Your Majesty outside.” 

“If Your Majesty thinks so. What should I call Your Majesty instead? Husband? Or Ah Lin?”

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Shang JunLin lifted his gaze and met Shen Yu’s smiling eyes. “I think husband is good. What does the noble monarch think?”

“I’d rather call Your Majesty ‘Ah Lin’. There are countless people in this world who call you Your Majesty, but I’m the only one who can call you ‘Ah Lin’.”

“Then I’ll call the noble monarch ‘Ah Yu’.”

After a short rest, the pair stepped into the busy street.

To avoid being separated by the crowd, Shang JunLin always protected Shen Yu with one arm.

Both of them were wearing similar wide-sleeved robes, one dark and one light, and both of them were men with outstanding looks. As they walked together through the crowd they attracted the attention of countless people.

“Young masters, please wait a moment.”

Shen Yu was talking to Shang JunLin when he heard a woman’s voice behind them and stopped.

When the men looked back, they saw two gorgeously-dressed ladies coming towards them, and there wasn’t a trace of shyness in their faces. The reason these ladies called out to them was plain.

The people of Da Huan had open customs, and there were few restrictions on women. If they saw someone they liked, bolder women would come forward and speak to the person directly. Every year around this time, quite a few widely-known tales would be spun which were initiated by women.

It was common for young men and women to look for a partner on this day. If things went well, they’d return home and ask their families to go to the other person’s home to propose marriage. Shen Yu and his partner had met two of these more daring girls.

The two sides were getting nearer and nearer. Just as the women were about to begin flirting a little, the man beside Shen Yu took his hand.

His five fingers were separated without any chance to refuse. Shang JunLin’s bony fingers pried into Shen Yu’s grip little by little until their fingers were tightly interwoven.

Shen Yu lifted his hand, but the grip didn’t loosen, and he was held even more tightly.

“Your Majesty?” Shen Yu whispered.

“Ah Yu used the wrong name,” Shang JunLin corrected him with a calm face.

Under the cover of their wide sleeves, the hands of the two men with their clasped fingers weren’t visible. Then Shang JunLin moved his arm, and the women coming towards them saw their interlocked fingers.

The two young ladies looked at each other and read the embarrassment in each other’s eyes. The first thing they’d noticed about these two young masters was their good looks and extraordinary bearing. They wanted to see if they had a chance, but they had no idea these two would turn out to be a pair.

The older lady felt embarrassed but forced herself to speak. “Sorry for interrupting you.” 

“We’re sorry to disturb the two young masters. I wish you both happiness,” the other woman said hastily

“It’s fine,” Shen Yu said with a smile. “I hope the two of you find sweethearts soon.”

After making such a big mistake, how could they stay? The ladies left in a hurry.

Shen Yu burst out laughing and collapsed against Shang JunLin. “They beat such a hasty retreat. How did Ah Lin come up with that technique?”

Shang JunLin wasn’t pleased. “Does Ah Yu mean to say you wanted to talk to them?” 

“Ah Lin, don’t slander me. The only reason that happened is because Ah Lin attracts so much attention.” Shen Yu could hardly restrain his laughter. In the end he heaped the blame on Shang JunLin.

“Ah Yu should reflect on yourself before you speak. Am I the one who attracts attention or is it Ah Yu who attracts too many birds and butterflies?”

They happened to be standing before a stall that sold masks. Shen Yu pulled Shang JunLin forward, chose a wolf mask and a fox mask, and put the wolf mask on Shang JunLin’s face.

“This way people can’t see you.”

Shen Yu put on the other fox mask.

The masks only covered the upper half of their faces. Below the mask, Shang JunLin’s sharp jawline was still visible.

It didn’t seem to help too much.

Shen Yu lifted his eyebrows and stared at the man whose face was half-covered. The black mask gave Shang JunLin a strange air of mystery. His deep eyes were concealed behind the mask, dangerous and fascinating.

Shang JunLin was also looking at Shen Yu. He’d always been aware that Shen Yu was extremely beautiful—he possessed the kind of beauty that blurred the boundary between genders, but it had none of the softness of women. His beauty was extravagant and aggressive. If he wanted to, he could make others fall with just a glance.

At that moment, the young man was wearing a fox mask that covered the upper half of his face. The mask was white with a pattern outlined in red. The mask couldn’t hide his charm. In fact, it added a hint of seduction.

Shang JunLin suddenly regretted taking Shen Yu outside. They’d already met two women in the street. How many others were secretly spying?

Shen Yu’s curiosity wasn’t affected by this little episode. Buying the masks seemed to turn on a switch. Shen Yu dragged Shang JunLin through a sweep of all the stalls.

Foodstuffs, toys, useful things. Soon, Shen Yu harvested a pile of loot.

Passing by a stall selling sugar people, Shen Yu stopped in his tracks. “Does Ah Lin want to eat a sugar man?”

Before Shang JunLin could answer, Shen Yu walked up to the little stall.

“What would the young master like? Something that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, swims in the water? I can sculpt whatever the young master desires.”

Shen Yu stood in front of the stall and looked at the selections for a while without speaking.

“If you’d like, I can sculpt one of yourself and this young gentleman.” The sugar vendor’s eyes were sharp. He saw at a glance that these two masked young masters didn’t have a superficial relationship.

When he heard this, Shen Yu perked up. “Ah Lin, come here. This old gentleman said he could sculpt us.”

Shang JunLin had no choice but to come over.

Shen Yu pointed to Shang JunLin, then pointed at himself and said to the sugar people vendor, “Can you make two little people based on us? And then make a wolf and a fox?”

“Of course I can. Please wait a moment, young gentlemen.”

Shen Yu and Shang JunLin stood by and watched the vendor make the candy figures. It was magical to see the sugar people take shape in the vendor’s hands little by little.

“The two gentlemen waited patiently. Here are your sugar people.”

There were four sugar figurines in total. Shen Yu reached out to get his own figure, but Shang JunLin snatched it first.

Shang JunLin took all of the sugar people from the vendor and gave the figurine of himself and the wolf to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu didn’t understand. “Why did Ah Lin give his figurine to me?”

“Ah Yu doesn’t like it?” Shang JunLin obediently tried to take it away.

Shen Yu hurriedly took it back. “I like it, I like it. There are four sugar people. Ah Lin can’t have them all.”

Shen Yu didn’t care which ones he ate. They were all made of sugar and tasted delicious.

“This is my first time eating sugar people.” Shen Yu held the little man and wolf figures of Shang JunLin. He bit off half of the wolf’s head with a crunch.

“Oh, it’s really good. Ah Lin, you should eat some too.” Seeing that Shang JunLin was staring at the sugar figure without speaking, Shen Yu encouraged him.

Shang JunLin slowly ate the little figure of Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was dissatisfied. “I saved Ah Lin’s figure for last. Why did Ah Lin eat me first?”

“This one is cuter.”

“Is it? Foxes and wolves are cute too. Speaking of which, the candy vendor is good at his craft.”

The little sculpted people and animals were lifelike and vivid.

Shang JunLin didn’t care about this much. “If Ah Yu likes it, you can invite the vendor home.” 

Invite him home? Didn’t that mean taking him back to the palace?

Shen Yu was startled by Shang JunLin’s suggestion. “Ah Lin shouldn’t indulge me like this. You’ll spoil me.”

“Your heart is like a clear mirror. How can I spoil you?” Shang JunLin pinched Shen Yu’s cheek with his free hand.

When the young man was eating the candy, his cheeks puffed out, which made them easy to pinch.

“Ah Lin, you’re really…” Shen Yu escaped his annoying hand. Under his breath he said, “I can’t guarantee that myself.”

The two continued to stroll along. After the earlier misunderstanding with the two women, Shang JunLin kept his arm around Shen Yu’s waist. Their pose was so intimate that no one else rushed up to chat with them.

There was still some time before the fireworks would be set off. Shen Yu and Shang JunLin walked here and there like ordinary people and enjoyed a rare bit of leisure.

When the crowd suddenly began to surge, Shen Yu was caught off guard and almost knocked over. Shang JunLin felt unhappy and firmly protected him in his arms.

“What’s going on?” Shen Yu was leaning against the man’s chest, and Shang JunLin could feel the vibrations of his voice.

“The time is almost here. They’re all looking for a good place to watch the fireworks.” Shang JunLin said steadily.

“Do we also have to go find a good place?”

“No, I asked someone to take care of it. We can go there directly.”

The press of the crowd lightened a little, and Shen Yu withdrew from Shang JunLin’s embrace. The two slowly made their way through the streets.

“Beauty, are you going to see the fireworks too? Why don’t you come with me? I guarantee you can see the most gorgeous fireworks without having to squeeze in with all these rowdy people.”

A slightly frivolous voice spoke from behind them. Shen Yu looked back and saw a young man in fancy clothes standing not far away. He was looking at Shen Yu with a drooling expression.

“Beauty, don’t worry. I’m not a bad person. If you’re worried, the man next to you can accompany you too.”

Shen Yu couldn’t believe it. He looked at Shang JunLin in disbelief. Was this man serious?

This guy was trying to snatch someone from His Majesty himself???

TL Notes:

beat a hasty retreat – 知难而退 – beat a retreat in the face of difficulties; Aware of the overwhelming odds against him, he retired from the scene; retreat before the impossible; shrink back from difficulties

attracts too many birds and butterflies – 招蜂引蝶 – attract the attention of the elegant young idlers; flirt with men

sugar people – 糖人 – A traditional Chinese form of folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create three-dimensional figures. These fragile, plump figures have a distinct brownish-yellow color, usually with yellow or green pigment added. Popular figures include animals such as dragons, roosters, and pigs. They’re mainly purchased for ornamental purposes due to hygiene concerns (Wikipedia)

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

old gentleman – 老丈 – lǎozhàng – sir (respectful form of address for an old man)

young gentlemen – 郎君 – láng jūn – a gentleman; a wife’s way of addressing her husband / my husband and master (archaic) / playboy of rich family / pimp