The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

“Ah Yu has written to Jiang HuaiQing so many times. He doesn’t have any doubts about our identity?” Shang JunLin asked.

Shen Yu glanced at him obliquely. “Your Majesty read almost all of those letters. Doesn’t Your Majesty know?” 

In the beginning, Shang JunLin never cared about such things. He never asked in detail about what Shen Yu did. He didn’t think it was necessary. As long as it was clear that Shen Yu had no intention of harming Da Huan, Shang JunLin didn’t care. Later, his feelings changed, and he didn’t ask because he didn’t want to pry into Shen Yu’s personal space. He wanted to respect Shen Yu as a person. The reason he cared so much about Jiang HuaiQing’s letters came down to one word, “jealousy”.

Shang JunLin pestered Shen Yu several times with this excuse. Shen Yu ended up reading every letter with him, which spared him from being hassled under this pretext.

Shang JunLin didn’t have a shred of embarrassment at being found out. He leaned in close to Shen Yu’s ear. “Ah Yu is the one who wanted to read those letters with this emperor. Don’t blame me.”

Every once in a while, the ministers cast restrained glances at them. Shen Yu wasn’t in the mood to show off the closeness of his relationship with Shang JunLin. He pushed the man back. “He probably doesn’t know.”

If he knew, he wouldn’t have written to Shen Yu as often, nor would he sound like he was writing to an old friend. Jiang HuaiQing was younger than when Shen Yu knew him in his previous life, but some things were engraved in his bones and hadn’t changed.

“Maybe he doesn’t just want to think about it.” Shen Yu thought for a while and added, “The fact we live in the palace is actually a big flaw in our cover story. If he thinks about it deeply enough, he could probably guess our identity.”

“Ah Yu is right. For example, Hè ChengYu who’s frequently with him has probably guessed who we are.” After Shen Yu’s hint, Shang JunLin relaxed the arm around the young man’s waist.

Shang JunLin’s cold gaze swept the hall, and the ministers who were targeted lowered their heads in fear. They didn’t dare to look again.

Finally there was no more staring. Shen Yu felt relieved.

“Hè ChengYu is the di son of the Hè family, the top aristocratic family in Jiangnan. It’s reasonable for him to be perceptive.” Shen Yu had learned about Hè ChengYu’s background from Shang JunLin and wasn’t surprised he’d seen through their disguise.

The officials who scored the exam weren’t able to see the examinees’ names. Even Shang JunLin wouldn’t know which answer sheet belonged to which examinee until after the final scores were decided.

The results of Da Huan’s palace examination would be announced the same day. The examination officials were ready before the exam even began. After the candidates left the hall, the officials immediately began to review the exam papers.

During this time, the candidates stayed in a special side hall, where food was presented to them. The dishes and delicacies were all mouth-watering, which could be regarded as a form of reward for the scholars who made it this far.

But not everyone was able to enjoy the imperial palace’s food.

The side hall had a lot of space. Before the results were announced, the candidates could rest as much as they wanted. However, not many people were relaxed enough to enjoy it.

Jiang HuaiQing moved around a bit to loosen his arms and legs, then walked to Hè ChengYu. “ChengYu Xiong, how come you don’t look nervous at all?”

Everyone in the side hall seemed to be tense and could hardly sit down. There were countless delicious foods on the tables, but nothing could ease the anxiety they felt at the moment. Only a few people were calm enough to sit down and taste the delicious food.

Hè ChengYu was one. The other…

Jiang HuaiQing stared at the young man for a while. Then his eyes grew wider and wider. He poked Hè ChengYu with his elbow and said in a low voice, “ChengYu Xiong, look over there.”

Hè ChengYu followed his gaze and couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback.

“Isn’t that…”

Jiang HuaiQing nodded vigorously. His curiosity was almost overflowing. “It’s really her. Why is she here? Dressed up like that?”

The person Jiang HuaiQing was looking at was clearly Young Lady Fang JiaYi of the Fang family.

Jiang HuaiQing and Fang JiaYi weren’t well-acquainted. They hadn’t seen each other since they last met at Yingxing House. He never dreamed they’d meet again under such circumstances.

“Could it be her brother or something?” After saying this, Jiang HuaiQing shook his head. He couldn’t help but think it really was her.

Fang JiaYi sensed the eyes looking at her, and turned to see a familiar face. She paused for a moment, then got up and walked towards them.

“Jiang Xiong, Hè Xiong.”

Although she was deliberately speaking in a deeper voice than usual, Jiang HuaiQing recognized Fang JiaYi’s voice without much difficulty.

“Young…” He was about to call her Young Lady Fang, but after thinking that it sounded out of place, he suddenly changed his words. “Young Master Fang?”

“It’s me.” Fang JiaYi admitted it and casually sat down opposite them.

Now that his conjecture was confirmed, Jiang HuaiQing was dumbfounded. He turned to Hè ChengYu and saw a nearly imperceptible crack in the man’s expression. He gradually suppressed his astonishment.

Anyway, it wasn’t just him who was surprised. Jiang HuaiQing was open-minded and stopped thinking about it. He talked with Fang JiaYi in high spirits.

They’d met each other only briefly, but Jiang HuaiQing admired Fang JiaYi’s bold style, especially the way she handled the King of Yue. She defended the wronged young ladies resolutely and without delay. How many men were as courageous?

However, it wasn’t the right time or place to ask a lot of questions. Jiang HuaiQing’s personality wasn’t the type to demand immediate answers, so he skipped the topics that couldn’t be discussed for now. The two spoke happily.

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Hè ChengYu occasionally interjected a few words, and the three seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The young eunuch who served in the side hall observed everything, and it didn’t take long for this interaction to reach Shang JunLin’s ears.

At that time, Shang JunLin was reviewing the answer sheets which had been singled out as excellent. Shen Yu sat next to him, reading along. Meng Gonggong came over and whispered the news.

Shen Yu thought it was interesting. “The three of them got together?” 

“Yes,” Meng Gonggong said with a smile in his eyes. “They’re having a pleasant talk, and the atmosphere is harmonious.”

“Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu recognized that Young Lady Fang is a woman?” Shen Yu asked, sitting up straighter.

Meng Gonggong answered, “Replying to the noble monarch, that does seem to be the case. Young Master Jiang HuaiQing’s face changed greatly for a moment, though he recovered quickly. He must have recognized her. On the other hand, Hè ChengYu, Young Master Hè, didn’t seem to change his expression much.”

“Is Your Majesty going to announce Young Lady Fang’s identity later?” Regardless of Fang JiaYi’s final score, the palace examination was equivalent to taking the first step in beginning an official career at court. Becoming an official in the imperial court required careful verification of identity. Shang JunLin had covered for her several times, but this was something that even the emperor couldn’t cover up.

The two were standing a certain distance from the officials. When they spoke in low voices, they couldn’t be overheard.

Shang JunLin didn’t conceal his plans. “The final results will certainly be announced. Her intention was to enter officialdom as a woman.” 

“I can already predict the excitement at court during the next few days.” But not only at court. Once it was announced, there would probably be several stacks of memorials censuring the decision.

“However, there’s really no reason to confine women to the harem. There are so many things women can do.” Shen Yu would never forget the glimpse of the future he saw in that book. Just a glimpse was enough to fill him with wonder. It was difficult to imagine what it would be like to really live in that era.

“They’ll have to change their views on various things regardless. Not just allowing women to become officials at court, but also the new law on merchants. There may be more new things to come. If they refuse to accept it, they can be replaced. This emperor has never wanted officials who strictly adhere to old ways!”

At a fundamental level, Shang JunLin’s nature was murderous and audacious. He spent all of his youth and part of his young adulthood on the battlefield. He was more inclined to aggression than conservatism, whether it was governing the country or with regards to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu looked at Shang JunLin and sensed clearly that Shang JunLin was the emperor of Da Huan, a ruler who could not be disobeyed. When Shang JunLin was before him, he deliberately restrained his aggressive aura. Shen Yu suddenly realized that when faced with this autocratic, decisive Shang JunLin, he didn’t feel as resistant as he would have thought.

“Why are you looking at this emperor like that?” Shang JunLin stroked the hair on Shen Yu’s temple.

“I think Your Majesty is especially handsome today,” Shen Yu replied with a smile.

Shang JunLin laughed in spite of himself. “No matter how handsome, this emperor can’t compare to Ah Yu.”

When they were talking, the officials finished discussing the general results.

“Your Majesty, this servant thinks this answer sheet is good enough to rank first.”

“This servant is more optimistic about this one.”

Seeing that the officials were going to launch into another argument, Shang JunLin said, “Tell this emperor your reasons.”

“The answer this servant is holding is broad and wide-ranging. It covers the topic in depth….”

While listening, Shen Yu and Shang JunLin read the three answers together. Each essay explained the issue from different angles and had its own characteristics. At first glance, none of them was worse than the others. Shen Yu recognized familiar handwriting in one of them. He took that answer sheet and looked at it thoughtfully.

After carefully reading the other two essays, he reached a vague conclusion.

After some reasoned discussion, everyone came to a decision.

The prime minister picked up one of the answer sheets and stood up. “This servant thinks this scholar should rank first.”

This time no one objected.

The final result matched what Shen Yu expected.

In the palace examination, the top three scorers were the most difficult to decide. After these three were identified, the rest of the results were just about confirmed.

When that happened, ministers would find out who each answer sheet belonged to.

First place, not surprisingly, went to Hè ChengYu, and Jiang HuaiQing was third. When second place was announced, everyone was surprised. A minister immediately knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, no!”

“Oh? You chose these people yourself after discussing it. What do you mean by saying no to this emperor now?” Shang JunLin sat on the throne high above. His eyes were unreadable as he looked at the person kneeling below.

“This… This candidate impersonated a man and took the imperial examination as a woman. It’s the crime of deceiving the emperor!”

“Deceiving the emperor? This emperor doesn’t understand. How did she deceive this emperor? Minister Ming, if this emperor remembers correctly, a quarter of an hour ago, you were still arguing that her essay qualified her to take first place.”

“This servant didn’t know it was written by a woman…”

“A woman, but one who can produce such a beautiful essay. Is Minister Ming trying to deny the excellence of this answer just because the author is a woman?” Shen Yu spoke up to ask.

“… That’s not what this servant meant.” It happened that this article was his favorite a moment ago. Even if he wanted to deny it now, there was nothing he could say. If he said the article wasn’t any good, wasn’t he also saying that his judgment wasn’t any good?

Based on His Majesty’s expression, it was obvious he’d already known about it. Minister Ming sighed and retreated to the side.

After the results were decided, the candidates would face the emperor again. The results would be read out, and the candidates would bow to thank the emperor for his grace.

Jiang HuaiQing followed a group of examinees back into the hall. He stood in front with the other scholars who had the top results in the metropolitan exam.

They followed Meng Gonggong’s instructions to kneel down and salute. A calm voice came from above.

“You may rise.”

When Jiang HuaiQing heard this voice, he suddenly thought it sounded familiar. As he stood, he boldly took the opportunity to glance up.

! ! !

TL Notes:

I can already predict the excitement at [court|□□] in the next few days – 我已经可以预料到未来几□□堂上的热闹了 – Randomly censored word in the raw, replaced by me 

strictly adhere to old ways – 墨守成规 – hidebound by convention (idiom); stick in the mud; adhere to old habits; be fettered by old conventions; follow a stereotype routine

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

Minister Ming – 明大人