The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

“Of course…” Shen Yu paused deliberately. “He wished Your Majesty and I a hundred years of happy marriage. What did Your Majesty think it could be?”

Shen Yu’s voice was full of teasing. When Shang JunLin heard it, he immediately felt the tip of his teeth itch.

The wound on Shen Yu’s neck wasn’t healed. Shang JunLin just rubbed it gently.

“The noble monarch says such nice things.”

“Oh, right, there was something else too. He wanted to apologize to me,” Shen Yu added.

“Apologize? Did Jiang HuaiQing offend Ah Yu?”

Shang JunLin put his head on Shen Yu’s shoulder. As he spoke, his warm breath caressed Shen Yu’s neck.

“It was for what happened last time. Or did Your Majesty forget about that secluded alley…”

“This emperor remembers,” Shang JunLin interrupted. When he thought of what happened that day, a light flush appeared on his face. “It’s fitting that he apologized.”

“It only happened because Your Majesty disregarded the proper time and place…. Why should someone else apologize for that?”

“Because he interrupted this emperor’s private time with the noble monarch,” Shang JunLin said in a low voice.

Shen Yu turned around in Shang JunLin’s arms, coming face-to-face with him. His index finger nudged the man’s shoulder. “Your Majesty doesn’t think you crossed the line?”

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Shang JunLin frowned. “How so?” 

“Doesn’t Your Majesty care a little too much about my affairs?” Shen Yu clarified.

Shang JunLin tightened his arm around Shen Yu’s waist. “Ah Yu is this emperor’s noble monarch. We have a marriage contract. What’s wrong with this emperor caring about Ah Yu?” 

Shen Yu was speechless.

At first glance, there was nothing wrong with anything Shang JunLin said, but when Shen Yu thought about it more carefully, it wasn’t quite right.

Shang JunLin didn’t give Shen Yu more time to ponder. “Or does the noble monarch think what this emperor said is wrong?” 

Shen Yu opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, and finally gave up. “There’s nothing wrong with what Your Majesty said.”

Shang JunLin knew to quit when he was ahead. After getting the answer he wanted, he changed the subject. “Minister Fang made some progress. Would the noble monarch like to see it?” 

Shen Yu was surprised. “Minister Fang moved already?”

It had only been a few days since Shang JunLin handed over the King of Yue’s case to Minister Fang. Obviously the man really loved his daughter.

“It’s not only Minister Fang. The families of the other ladies intervened as well.” Shang JunLin lifted Shen Yu into his arms.

Shen Yu’s feet were off the ground. “Your Majesty—” he exclaimed.

“Don’t worry. This emperor won’t let you fall.” Shang JunLin carried Shen Yu to the soft couch and set him down.

“Next time can Your Majesty tell me when you’re going to do that?”

“This emperor will try.” Shang JunLin sat down beside Shen Yu.

Shen Yu crossed his legs and leaned against Shang JunLin’s shoulder. “Your Majesty said some of the other families intervened. What happened? Which families?” 

“Aristocratic families attach great importance to face. In doing what he did, the King of Yue violated their cardinal rules. They’ll spare no effort to move against him, whether it’s for the sake of their family’s reputation or to show their loyalty to this emperor.” Shang JunLin adjusted his posture to make Shen Yu more comfortable. 

Shen Yu let Shang JunLin settle himself. “It’s true that most of the people who confronted the King of Yue that day were from eminent families.”

The King of Yue’s original intention was to gain access to the families behind those women. If they were ordinary people, the King of Yue would never have bothered to befriend them personally.

“What about those ladies?” Shen Yu asked.

Shang JunLin didn’t follow. “What do you mean?”

“I just thought of something. Aristocratic families value face. In their eyes, the behavior of those women certainly brought disgrace on them. If that happened in a family that’s a bit more merciless, I’m afraid those young ladies won’t end well.”

“The noble monarch shouldn’t worry. This emperor beat them down a little by asking the imperial guard to send the women back.”

When he ordered the imperial guard to escort the women home, Shang JunLin’s attitude had been made clear. No one who thought about it a little would take action against his daughter in that situation.

“Your Majesty is so thoughtful.” Shen Yu stroked Shang JunLin’s shoulder. “It won’t be easy for the King of Yue to escape this time.”

Shen Yu never concealed his disgust for the King of Yue. He seldom hid any of his feelings from Shang JunLin. The more open he was, the deeper Shang JunLin’s fondness for him grew.

The person Shang JunLin liked wasn’t the elegant di son of the Zhenbei Marquis, the gentle, mild, and polite gentleman known to the outside world, but the Shen Yu who revealed his true nature in front of him.

“This emperor can’t kill the King of Yue for the time being, but after this it will be hard for him to return to his fief in one piece.” Shang JunLin played with Shen Yu’s fingers, as if he was talking about something unimportant.

Shen Yu didn’t ask for more details. Just as he had secrets he couldn’t tell Shang JunLin, Shang JunLin would also have things he couldn’t say openly. “He won’t have it easy with Minister Fang and Young Lady Fang around.” 

“Indeed. Thanks to the cooperation of the noble families, Minister Fang found a lot of interesting things.” Shang JunLin took out a memorial and unfolded it for Shen Yu to read.

Shen Yu leaned lazily against Shang JunLin and listened to him as he read the contents of the memorial.

“The King of Yue made a lot of small moves in recent years and planted several moles in the capital. Minister Fang and his people removed those moles. Families who were close to the King of Yue abandoned their intention to protect him when they saw the situation. They cut off contact unilaterally.”

“It seems the King of Yue lost years of hard work.” Shen Yu sighed.

“This emperor doesn’t care what he wants. In this empire, he has to abide by this emperor’s rules!”

Minister Fang’s work progressed smoothly, so smoothly that it was almost like someone was secretly feeding him clues step by step.

In fact, Minister Fang began to worry that it might be part of a trap. After investigating carefully, he didn’t find anything wrong, but he made a note of his suspicions.

The King of Yue was jailed in the dark prison and lost all contact with the outside world. He had no way of knowing that Minister Fang was about to wipe away years of his arrangements in the capital.

The more Minister Fang uncovered, the more shocked he felt. In the end, he couldn’t sit still any longer and asked to see Shang JunLin in person.

Minister Fang came to the small courtyard in the afternoon. Shen Yu was taking a nap. To avoid disturbing him, Shang JunLin chose to meet Minister Fang outside.

Minister Fang reported his progress, then put forward his doubts. “I think there may be a force that’s secretly handing me clues.”

Shang JunLin tapped the table with his knuckles. “You haven’t found the source?” 

Minister Fang bowed his head in shame. “The official is incompetent.” 

“Tell this emperor more.”

“This official tried to trace the clues to track down that party, but they were too well-hidden. There was no trace of them at all. This official even began to wonder if I was overthinking it.

“But it’s impossible for so many coincidences to exist. The King of Yue operated in the capital for years, and he had the assistance of the late emperor back then. For it to be so easy to discover all this, something really has to be wrong.”

Shang JunLin agreed, and his action of tapping on the table slowed down. “Have they made any other moves aside from this?”

“No.”

When Shen Yu woke up from his nap, he heard the conversation between Shang JunLin and Minister Fang outside, and the corners of his mouth curved up.

No one in the world knew the abilities of the King of Yue better than Shen Yu. In order to help the King of Yue in his previous life, he’d learned more about the King of Yue’s forces than the king himself.

“Mu Xi.”

Hearing him speak, Mu Xi came in from outside. “Young master, are you awake?” 

Shen Yu dressed and got out of bed. “Tomorrow I’ll ask His Majesty to come to the manor for a day of fun.”

Mu Xi understood the meaning of Shen Yu’s words. “This slave will go in advance to prepare.”

Before leaving the palace, Shen Yu ordered Mu Xi to handle some things and gave her some letters. He told her to find an opportunity to send the letters to his people in the manor without causing anyone’s suspicion.

After leaving the palace, Shen Yu made excuses to be alone with Shang JunLin. They didn’t take their servants with them when they went out to enjoy themselves. Mu Xi left many times, saying that she was shopping or going to see her friends. She was just one of Shen Yu’s maids, and the Hidden Dragon Guard wouldn’t pay too much attention to her movements. After confirming several times that everything was fine, she relaxed her vigilance and quietly passed on the letters.

There was nothing too important in the letters. Shen Yu’s true plan was deployed long before he entered the palace. However, Minister Fang’s thorough investigation of the King of Yue was the perfect opportunity for Shen Yu.

In the hands of Minister Fang, the King of Yue’s resources were dug up ahead of time. Except for the fact everything went a little too smoothly, there were no suspicions. Shen Yu’s people didn’t really participate in it from beginning to end. All they did was make a few clues a bit more obvious.

It now seemed that his plan was going well.

Shen Yu wiped the expression from his face. “Well, remember to prepare the dessert you told me about last time. I’ll take His Majesty to try it.” 

Shang JunLin heard Shen Yu’s voice and walked into the room. “Is the noble monarch awake?”

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“Did Your Majesty finish dealing with political affairs? Is that minister still outside?” Shen Yu glanced at the door.

“It was Minister Fang. He finished and went back on his own.”

Minister Fang, who was in the middle of speaking to the emperor when His Majesty abruptly turned around and left, was standing in the courtyard with a blank face.

Meng Gonggong came forward with a smile. “Minister Fang is excused.”

After thinking about it, Minister Fang decided that he’d said everything necessary for the time being. There really was no need to stay, so he went back.

“Your Majesty, where are we going today?” Shen Yu asked excitedly.

“To Cangqi Mountain.”

Cangqi Mountain was located in the northern suburbs of the capital, and the scenery was beautiful. Every year, people invited relatives and friends to go there on spring outings to enjoy the view.

Cangqi Mountain wasn’t far from their temporary residence. After half an hour, the carriage stopped.

This time they brought several palace attendants with them to arrange a resting place. Shen Yu and Shang JunLin strolled along together.

The sun was bright and the breeze was warm. As far as the eye could see, the green landscape was dotted with flowers of all colors. Occasionally, pretty young women walked by, enjoying themselves. The people were even more charming and delicate than the flowers.

By the river, scholars had gathered to drink wine and write poems. Shen Yu saw Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu among them. Considering Shang JunLin’s mood, Shen Yu didn’t suggest going over.

The two walked through the crowd side by side, listening to the laughter around them. Their mood was relaxed and happy.

Shen Yu sighed. “If every day could be this pleasant, how wonderful it would be.” 

“If Ah Yu likes it, we’ll come again later.”

“Isn’t it too much trouble?” After all, Shang JunLin was the emperor. Something that was easy for ordinary people was more than a little troublesome for them.

If Shen Yu liked it, who cared about a little trouble? Shang JunLin thought to himself as he looked at the smile on Shen Yu’s face.

“Watch out!” 

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through. Shang JunLin had no time to think. He grabbed Shen Yu in his arms and turned around.

“Ah—” There were exclamations all around.

Past Shang JunLin’s shoulder, Shen Yu saw a man in gray flash by.

For some reason Shen Yu’s heart leaped in his chest. Without conscious thought, his hand tightened on Shang JunLin’s arm.

“Your Majesty…”

Thinking Shen Yu was frightened, Shang JunLin gently stroked his back and comforted him. “Don’t be afraid.”

Shen Yu calmed down, but he couldn’t ignore the palpitations in his heart.

Who was that man? Why did he come here?

TL Notes:

cardinal rules – 大忌 – big taboo

(return to his fief) in one piece – 全须全尾 – full beard and full tail – The family property is intact or the body is free from disease and disaster