The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Not so good.

Shen Yu thought to himself.

He wasn’t sure what kind of switch had been flipped in Shang JunLin. Shen Yu felt like the man was different from before.

Shen Yu quietly put away his book. He didn’t intend to provoke Shang JunLin any further. If he continued, the biggest victim would be himself, and his legs and hand still hurt.

Can’t do that again.

Shang JunLin noticed Shen Yu’s left hand was stiff, and he reached out and held it. “Still uncomfortable?”

Warmth spread from his fingers, and Shen Yu’s fingertips trembled. “Doesn’t Your Majesty already know that?”

Shang JunLin lost his smile. “How can the noble monarch be so delicate?” 

“It’s not that I’m delicate,” Shen Yu retorted. “It’s Your Majesty’s fault for taking too long. If it was someone else, they wouldn’t be able to bear it either.”

Shang JunLin sighed a little and rubbed Shen Yu’s fingers with moderate force. “This emperor will massage it for you.”

Shen Yu lay lazily on the soft couch with his hand in the palm of the man in black. The massage was neither light nor heavy. He was being served by the emperor, and he wasn’t the slightest bit embarrassed by it.

When he saw the atmosphere becoming more and more ambiguous, Shen Yu decided to change the subject. “Your Majesty, how is the King of Huaiyu doing?” 

“There’s no serious problem with him right now.”

“I don’t understand why he had such a different attitude towards me. It’s not because of our relationship, is it?” But Shen Yu didn’t think the King of Huaiyu’s opinion of Shang JunLin was that good.

“Maybe it’s because the noble monarch reminded him of his past.”

 Shen Yu felt curious. “Is it possible the King of Huaiyu gave up seeking the throne for a different reason?”

“There are countless secrets in the palace. The only thing outsiders know is that the King of Huaiyu gave up his position due to illness. They don’t know that something else happened before that.”

Seeing Shen Yu’s interest, Shang JunLin slowly added, “Back then, the King of Huaiyu had a close relationship with a man of unknown origin. The previous emperor seized hold of this flaw and plotted to kill the man. He made sure the blame pointed to one of his other rivals, leading the two to tear each other down. In the end, one was dead and one was injured, and the previous emperor reaped the benefits.”

Shen Yu: “How did the King of Huaiyu find out about the true murderer? Does Your Majesty know what the King of Huaiyu’s lover looked like?”

Shang JunLin: “There’s no information about that man. The King of Huaiyu destroyed the relevant records. As for what he looked like, probably no one knows. After all, not much time passed before the man’s departure, and his details were always secret. If not for the King of Huaiyu, almost no one would know he existed.

“This emperor isn’t certain how the King of Huaiyu learned about the real murderer. Based on when the King of Huaiyu began his scheme, it must have been just after the late emperor took the throne.”

There was some unseen strangeness about the entire thing. In Shen Yu’s last life, he had no idea the imperial family had this kind of secret. The book he read after his death centered on Shen QingRan’s perspective and didn’t mention it at all.

“Will Your Majesty continue to investigate?”

Shang JunLin nodded. “That person hid everything too deeply, and it’s unclear what his actual purpose was. This emperor thinks the King of Huaiyu’s actions are related to what happened back then.”

“But the King of Huaiyu refused to say.” Shen Yu frowned. “Wouldn’t say, or couldn’t say? What exactly was he planning all this for?”

No one knew the answer.

In the end, the King of Huaiyu’s punishment had to be put on the agenda. They couldn’t get any further information from him, and they couldn’t keep pushing the matter off when courtiers and other royal family members were watching. During the first morning court after the New Year, Shang JunLin ordered someone to announce the charges against the King of Huaiyu.

Everyone who heard it was shocked.

No one could have imagined that the King of Huaiyu, who always kept a low profile, had done so much in secret. They never thought he’d scheme for so many years to avenge his dead lover. Not to mention he was so crazed that he threw the bloodline of the imperial family itself into disarray.

More than anything else, confounding the imperial bloodline was unacceptable. There was an immediate petition for a full investigation.

Prime Minister Wang XiangCi stood up. “Your Majesty, this is of great importance. We must thoroughly investigate!” 

At once, every member of the imperial family who shared the same father as Shang JunLin was under suspicion.

Some people were unhappy with this. “Prime Minister Wang shouldn’t have suggested such a thing. How can we expose such a big scandal to the public?” 

“What’s more important, the imperial family’s face or the purity of the imperial bloodline?” the Prime Minister asked rhetorically.

“But… Do we want everyone in the world to know the previous emperor was given a green hat by so many people?” the Minister of Justice asked hesitantly.

“It’s not necessary to make it explicit,” the Prime Minister replied.

The ministers began a new round of quarreling on the question. Some believed the matter’s importance meant it had to be strictly investigated. Others said the face of the imperial family was at stake and it was inappropriate to cause an uproar.

Shang JunLin sat high above, overlooking the arguing ministers. Behind the tassels of his crown, no one could see the emperor’s expression.

It was Prime Minister Wang who put an end to the argument. “Begging Your Majesty to decide.” 

“In that case, the matter will be handed over to Prime Minister Wang.”

“This minister will obey.”

When the King of Yue heard the news, he was still confined at home. His first reaction was disbelief.

He grabbed the shoulder of his informant and demanded, “How can this be? How is it possible this king is not his father’s child?”

“Your Highness, don’t be anxious. Nothing has been confirmed yet. Besides, Your Highness looks similar to His Majesty. There can’t be a problem with your birth.”

The King of Yue let go of his confidant’s shoulder and paced anxiously around the study. If there was a problem with his parentage, everything he planned would be in vain. No matter how good his reputation or how many people supported him, if people thought he wasn’t the biological son of the late emperor, everything he’d done would come to naught!

The mere fact he didn’t share the late emperor’s bloodline would mean those old foxes wouldn’t let him ascend to that position.

And he couldn’t do anything about it. At present, he had little influence in the capital. He couldn’t go up against the imperial court at all.

The King of Yue took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “This king rushed to conclusions. There’s no evidence I’m not the son of the previous emperor. I shouldn’t have lost my head.” 

“Your Highness is exactly right. There’s no need to worry. Everyone can see that you and the current emperor look similar. Besides, Consort Li was always favored by His Majesty….”

“Mother Concubine would certainly never do something so disgraceful!” The King of Yue rubbed his forehead. “Continue to keep an eye on things outside. If anything goes wrong, inform this king immediately.”

A major scandal had erupted just after the end of the New Year festivities. It put everyone in a complicated mood, especially the princes of the previous emperor.

During the late reign of the previous emperor, he was weak-minded and incompetent. The more ambitious princes fought each other to the death for the right to the throne. Later on, Shang JunLin intervened in force and prevented the internal struggle from escalating.

The result was a tragedy. In one fell swoop, Shang JunLin killed numerous princes and officials. And now the court that had finally calmed down was almost in confusion again. Shang JunLin held firm and used direct force to suppress the turmoil and prevent another eruption of civil strife.

The ministers who’d lived through the previous round of chaos felt relieved. Fortunately, none of the other princes had ascended the throne. Who could have imagined that the Third Prince, Seventh Prince, and Fourteenth Prince who were so favored by the previous emperor weren’t even his sons?

Who would have guessed the King of Huaiyu’s methods were so powerful that he planted an entire grassland on the late emperor’s head?

The late emperor had numerous descendants. As the investigation deepened, more and more princes were found to have problems with their parentage. Especially for the younger ones, it was almost all of them.

Every day new developments arrived at the palace. Shang JunLin didn’t avoid Shen Yu when dealing with these things, and Shen Yu learned a lot of details.

“There’s no problem with the King of Yue’s background?” Shen Yu wasn’t especially surprised. If the King of Yue wasn’t descended from the previous emperor, he wouldn’t have looked somewhat similar to Shang JunLin.

“The noble monarch always seems to pay a lot of attention to the King of Yue.”

“Isn’t Your Majesty clear about why? He lied to me, and I don’t want him to have an easy time. It’s that simple.”

""

Shen Yu assumed that Shang JunLin knew what happened between him and the King of Yue. Even if he didn’t, Shen Yu didn’t mind telling him.

“This emperor is afraid the noble monarch will be disappointed. Consort Li, the mother of the King of Yue, is one of the rare individuals in the harem who was devoted to the late emperor.”

Although Shen Yu had been in the same camp as the King of Yue in his previous life, Shen Yu didn’t know much about Consort Li. “Your Majesty, please tell me more.” 

“The late emperor had a lot of concubines, but not many won his heart. Consort Li was one of them. She was a clever woman who didn’t fight or scramble for favor in the harem. Before the previous emperor passed away, Consort Li asked to die with him. The late emperor was moved by her request and did many things for the King of Yue.”

It was the last favor the previous emperor did for the King of Yue as his father. It was also why the King of Yue was able to survive the conflict for the throne.

At last Shen Yu understood why the King of Yue had always wanted that position so badly.

It was because someone planted a seed in his heart and supplemented it with nutrients. As time passed, the seed grew, and eventually the King of Yue fulfilled the role that person wanted.

“Did Your Majesty find anything new when investigating the vassal kings?”

“The noble monarch is asking about the King of Yue, right?” Shang JunLin shook his head. “There’s no evidence he’s done anything extraordinary. Even if we pursued it, the consequences would be minor.”

Shen Yu knew the King of Yue was still acting with extreme caution during this period. He wouldn’t expose his true ambitions to outsiders until he was certain.

Who would have thought that His Highness the King of Yue, who’d always been refined, elegant, and aloof from worldly success, was actually seeking that position?

“The previous emperor must have given a lot to the King of Yue before he died.” Shen Yu pondered. Although the late emperor was weak, after all, he’d been the emperor for decades. If he wanted to be partial, he might have left something to the King of Yue to protect him or even provoke his ambition.

Shang JunLin didn’t like hearing the words “King of Yue” from Shen Yu’s mouth. “The noble monarch shouldn’t think too much about that person. If you have so much time, you might as well think about when you’ll do what you promised this emperor before.” 

Sensing the man’s quiet approach, Shen Yu silently moved aside. After Shen Yu had jokingly complained about it last time, Shang JunLin didn’t let go of the issue. He wrapped it in the nice-sounding phrase, “the more we practice, the better it will feel”.

Shen Yu tried to resume the previous topic. “Your Majesty, we’re talking about serious things.”

Shang JunLin appeared calm, but there was an appalling storm beneath. “This emperor thinks the noble monarch should be more concerned about my affairs.” 

He stretched out a hand to stop Shen Yu’s backward movement and leaned forward.

Shen Yu held his book against this ever-approaching man. He gave a playful frown. “Did Your Majesty eat the new plum dessert the small kitchen made today?”

Why are you so sour?

Shang JunLin heard the unspoken meaning of Shen Yu’s words and lifted his eyebrows. “Why doesn’t the noble monarch taste for yourself and find out whether or not I’ve eaten it?”

TL Notes:

so crazed – 丧心病狂 – become frenzied; as mad as a March hare; be frantic; be seized with crazy ideas, losing all balance of judgment

green hat – 绿帽子 – green hat (figuratively, a symbol of being a cuckold)

the tassels of his crown – 旒冕后 – crown in the form of a horizontal board with hanging decorations / imperial crown

old foxes – 老狐狸 – A metaphor for someone who is very cunning and shrewd

sour – 酸 – A reference to jealousy

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

Prime Minister – 丞相 – chéngxiàng – In ancient China, the highest administrative official under the emperor, and the chief of officials who assists the emperor in political affairs. This specific title had various roles and positions throughout history but generally means the most senior minister (Wikipedia)

Wang ZhongCi – 王茽赐

Consort Li – 丽妃 – Lì fēi – Alternatively: Concubine Li

mother concubine – 母妃 – mǔ fēi