The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shen Yu tilted his head. “If Your Majesty wants to ask a question, just ask, don’t just move your hands.”

Shang JunLin rubbed Shen Yu’s neck, then let go. He said frankly, “This emperor likes to touch Ah Yu. Does Ah Yu like it?”

Shen Yu blushed slightly. He lowered his eyes and didn’t answer.

Shang JunLin thought too much teasing would scare him away, so he changed the subject. “The King of Yue has been clamoring to see this emperor for some time.”

“The King of Yue?” Shen Yu looked up. “What does he want?”

When discussing the King of Yue, Shang JunLin’s eyes darkened. “He says he’s innocent and hopes this emperor will find the truth and clear him of guilt.” 

“What about his hidden supporters? Has there been any movement?” Shen Yu remembered Shang JunLin saying the previous emperor had left a significant inheritance for the King of Yue.

“It’s strange, but after the He family came to the capital, they haven’t made any moves. It’s like they only came here to enjoy themselves.” Shang JunLin had ordered the Hidden Dragon Guard to pay close attention to what happened in the capital. “This emperor thought they’d take action.”

“What about Little Young Master He?” Shen Yu thought about it. If the He family did something, that would be fine, but a complete lack of action was disturbing.

“There are no changes.” After the attempted jail break, Shang JunLin tightened security around Little Young Master He. Maybe in the past there was a chance for someone to secretly rescue him, but there was no chance at all now.

“Don’t worry.” Shang JunLin went over to Shen Yu, took the young man into his arms, and printed a kiss on the side of his neck. “This emperor will take care of it.”

“The He family came to the capital for a reason. Since they’re here, they’re going to do something. All we have to do is wait.” Worrying about the problem wouldn’t solve it. Shen Yu stopped thinking about it.

“What Ah Yu said is right.”

In the small courtyard where the He family was staying:

“Father, are we really going to sit here and do nothing?” Eldest Young Master He had an unhappy expression on his face. “My younger brother is nowhere to be found. When we came to the capital, you didn’t say what we were going to do. Did you bring us here just for fun?”

“I’m worried about your younger brother, too.” The head of the He family knew his youngest son was in the dark prison. Of course he felt anxious. Who wouldn’t? Everyone who entered that place was guaranteed to lose a layer of skin. But what was the use of fretting about it? It wasn’t like he could break into the prison now.

“It doesn’t look like Father is worried at all,” Eldest Young Master He said coldly. “If Father was truly concerned, you would have inquired everywhere about my younger brother’s whereabouts when you came to the capital, but what did you actually do? You told us to keep quiet, avoid exposing ourselves, and not take any action.”

“There’s obviously a reason for that,” the He family patriarch said, frustrated.

“What reason could there be? What’s more important than finding my didi?” Eldest Young Master He was dissatisfied. “I don’t think Father has the slightest intention of finding him at all. If Father doesn’t want to do it, give me some men and I’ll go and find him myself.”

“Shut up!” The He family patriarch trembled with anger. “What did I say before we came here? You have to be careful about everything. The capital isn’t like home. If you’re not extremely cautious, you’ll make a grave mistake. Now stay put and don’t set foot out of this courtyard without my permission!”

Eldest Young Master He was incredulous. “Father!”

“Don’t worry about your brother. I said I’d bring him back, and I will!” Patriarch He flung his sleeves and strode away.

Eldest Young Master He stood in the courtyard and slowly clenched his fists.

A servant boy stepped forward hesitantly. “Young master?” 

The eldest young master and the little young master were sons of the same mother. They’d had a close relationship since childhood. When the little young master went missing, the eldest young master felt the most anxious about it. After finding some clues, it wasn’t easy for him to be told to do nothing. How could he just accept it?

“Since Father refused to look for him, I’ll do it. As for you” —Eldest Young Master He pointed to the boy— “take our men with you and inquire secretly. Remember, don’t make any big moves, and don’t let Father’s people find out.”

“Yes,” the boy replied and then withdrew.

Eldest Young Master He’s movements were indeed stealthy, but he couldn’t hide anything from the eyes and ears of the Hidden Dragon Guard. The moment he took action, the news reached the palace.

“Eldest Young Master He has deep affection for his younger brother.” Shen Yu took the report and looked through it. “It seems that the head of the He family didn’t tell his eldest son about his younger son’s whereabouts. He probably thinks his eldest son is too unreliable. Even if he conceals himself, he can still cause trouble.”

“It gives us an opening. Maybe we’ll find out something through Eldest Young Master He.”

Shen Yu thought so too.

“This emperor intends to meet with the King of Yue. Does Ah Yu want to come along?” Shang JunLin asked.

Shen Yu nodded. If it meant seeing the King of Yue at his most unfortunate, Shen Yu was quite interested.

Early spring had passed, and the weather was growing warmer and warmer. Shen Yu had taken off his heavy winter clothes. He now wore casual blue clothes, which made him look more and more like a young man as brilliant as orchids and jade trees.

When he laid eyes on the King of Yue again, there was no trace of the man’s usual learned and elegant appearance. In terms of looks, if the King of Yue used to score seven out of ten, he was now a four at most.

His hair was disheveled, his face was ghastly pale, his eye sockets were sunken, and he gave off an overwhelming aura of defeat.

The King of Yue watched blankly as a tall, upright figure approached arm in arm with a jade young man. Shen Yu was even more enchanting than when they first met. Shang JunLin had nurtured him carefully. His complexion was ruddy and there was some flesh on his face. His body wasn’t as frail as before, and his temperament was more reserved.

As the King of Yue watched the two people draw closer, a strange feeling arose in his heart. It was as if something important had left him forever, and there was no possibility it would ever return.

He opened his mouth, but the words he wanted to say caught in his throat. For a long time he didn’t make a sound.

As the King of Yue stood there in a daze, the jailer at the side felt disgusted and scolded him in a sharp voice, “How dare you not salute His Majesty?”

The King of Yue returned to his senses. He immediately saw that Shang JunLin’s arm was around Shen Yu’s waist.

He stared at that arm as if he wanted to bore a hole in it.

Noticing his gaze, Shang JunLin calmly tightened his arm around Shen Yu and pulled him closer.

Under the watchful eyes of the prison guards, the King of Yue reluctantly saluted them both.

“This servant greets Your Majesty and the noble monarch.”

He pressed his forehead to the ground. After a long time, the King of Yue still didn’t hear Shang JunLin speak. He lifted his head slightly and looked up.

Shang JunLin stared down at him from above. There was no emotion in his eyes. It was like he wasn’t looking at a person but an insignificant ant at his feet.

Again.

Again!

The King of Yue’s body tensed up, but he forced himself to maintain his composure.

In the past, he was his imperial father’s favorite son, and no one was ever discourteous to him. Back then, Shang JunLin was just a son who was despised by his imperial father. No one in the palace took him seriously. The higher-ranking eunuchs and palace maids could walk all over him if they chose. But that same Shang JunLin now sat in the position everyone dreamed of. He’d become the ultimate victor.

As Shen Yu studied the King of Yue kneeling on the ground, he saw the man’s resentment, but so what? In this life, the King of Yue was destined to carry this resentment until he died. The man would find that no matter how hard he fought, Shang JunLin would always stand like a mountain peak in front of him, towering and tall, an insurmountable barrier.

When Shen Yu thought about this, he laughed softly.

The laughter shattered the frozen atmosphere. For a while Shang JunLin looked at the King of Yue with an indecipherable expression. Then he said, “This emperor heard that you threatened your own life in order to see me?”

The King of Yue was chagrined. In the past, he was the one in the superior position when he stood across from Shang JunLin. But now the feng shui had turned. Today, in front of Shen Yu, their positions had reversed.

He couldn’t tell whether he was angry simply because he was now inferior to Shang JunLin, or because Shen Yu was here to see it. Even after so much time had passed, he couldn’t forget the day he first saw Shen Yu and the way his heart had skipped a beat.

As much as he wanted to straighten his spine and speak firmly, he couldn’t. Now he was the one who had to beg others for help.

“This servant wants to ask Your Majesty for justice. What the Grand Commandant did has nothing to do with this servant. Begging Your Majesty to judge clearly!” All he could do was kneel before Shang JunLin and plead for mercy.

In front of Shen Yu.

The King of Yue gritted his teeth. A raging flame ignited in his heart. He would definitely take back his rightful place. The one who laughed last would be him!

“This emperor knows.” A cold voice spoke above him. 

The King of Yue looked up incredulously. “If Your Majesty knows then why…”

His voice faded away, and his expression became more and more ugly.

The King of Yue was no fool. After a bit of careful thought he understood. If Shang JunLin knew that he was wrongfully accused, why did Shang JunLin allow the rumors to spread until they reached his ears?

There was only one possibility—

“You did it on purpose!” The King of Yue could no longer maintain his apparent calm. “Why are you doing this? You know very well I didn’t do it. Why are you still blaming me?”

Shen Yu looked at him coldly. “Maybe you didn’t do this, but what about those young women?” 

The King of Yue stared at Shen Yu in amazement. “You did that?”

Shen Yu avoided the question. “Your people made trouble with the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence, so they almost found the right person.”

In the eyes of the outside world, there was no line between Shen Yu and the Zhenbei Marquis. Shen Yu was the legitimate son of the Zhenbei Marquis, and the relationship between them was one of shared glory and loss. When Shen Yu entered the palace, countless people laughed at the Zhenbei Marquis behind his back for sending his legitimate son, but now many of them thought he was farsighted. So what if that was his only legitimate heir? Who else was so fortunate as to have won His Majesty’s favor?

“Why are you doing this?” The King of Yue felt so shocked that he moved forward a few steps. “Are you still angry with me? There’s really nothing between Shen QingRan and me. I only met with him because…”

“King of Yue, speak carefully,” Shang JunLin interrupted coldly.

Feeling the increasing strength of the arm around his waist, Shen Yu covered the big hand on his hip and patted it soothingly. When he turned to look at the King of Yue, the only thing in his eyes was coldness.

“Your Highness, don’t talk nonsense. We have nothing to do with each other. You don’t need to tell me about yourself and Shen QingRan. I don’t care and I don’t want to know. Whoever you’re with has nothing to do with me, understood?”

The young man’s voice was like hardened ice, and his bitter cold indifference was like a blade cutting through the skin and injecting a deathly chill inside. For a moment, the King of Yue almost felt that his heart was frozen solid.

He realized once again that he’d completely lost Shen Yu.

No, he never had Shen Yu. How could he talk about losing him?

The King of Yue smiled bitterly. “You sent the letters to those women? How did you know?”

“When you concealed your identity and approached me, you were doing the exact same thing to others. Did you really think I didn’t know anything?” Shen Yu answered carelessly.

The King of Yue collapsed in dismay. “Then you knew from the start that I approached you with a purpose?”

Shen Yu didn’t answer. The King of Yue interpreted it as silent agreement.

“Then I was wrong. I thought we meant something to each other. I was upset for a long time because of what happened back then….” the King of Yue murmured in a low voice.

What happened back then? Shen Yu remembered how he was rejected in his previous life, and how he rejected the King of Yue in this life, and didn’t speak.

Shang JunLin also thought of something. He glanced at Shen Yu and intimately stroked the hair on his temple. “Speaking of which, in terms of seniority, the King of Yue ought to call Ah Yu ‘imperial sister-in-law’.”

The King of Yue was thunderstruck.

TL Notes:

move your hands – 动手 – to set about (a task) / to hit / to punch / to touch 

a young man as brilliant as orchids and jade trees – 芝兰玉树 – lit. orchids and jade trees (idiom); fig. a child with splendid future prospects

the feng shui had turned – 风水轮流转 – fortunes rise and fall; times change; every dog has its day; turn By turns; to come full circle; the tables have turned; the wheel of fortune has swung round again

avoided the question – 避重就轻 – to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial / to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones

shared glory and loss – 一荣俱荣一损俱损 – honor one and you honor them all; injure one and you injure them all

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

the head of the He family, the He family patriarch, Patriarch He – 何家主 – Hé jiā zhǔ

this servant – 臣弟 – servant younger brother – the King of Yue refers to himself this way when speaking to the emperor (except when he loses his temper)

imperial sister-in-law – 皇嫂 – huáng sǎo – imperial older brother’s wife