The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

When Jiang HuaiQing saw the two people before the throne, his reaction could be accurately described as “heaven and earth turned upside down”.

A man in black imperial robes stood shoulder to shoulder with a young man in blue. Their faces looked somewhat different, but the aura that surrounded them was unmistakable.

Even though their faces were a little changed, Jiang HuaiQing recognized them at once.

—Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong.

Jiang HuaiQing’s mind went blank. If someone to the side hadn’t tugged the hem of his robe, he might have totally forgotten himself in front of the imperial court.

Jiang HuaiQing hastily collected his thoughts and finished saluting with the other scholars. While the rankings were announced, his thoughts began to drift again.

It turned out that Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong were actually the emperor and Noble Monarch Shen. The two concealed their identity, left the palace for unknown reasons, and happened to appear in Yingxing House. When Jiang HuaiQing recalled everything he’d been doing lately, he wanted to clutch his head.

He was worried about Yu Xiong, uh that is, the noble monarch’s situation at home, interfered in His Majesty’s relationship with the noble monarch, and sent letter after letter….

Why did he do that ah? He even put things in his letter about someone asking him to cheat in the exam. After the fraud case was handled so smoothly, he thought at most that the two belonged to an important official’s family. He never dreamed they stood at the very pinnacle of power in Da Huan.

But that wasn’t all. For example, when the noble monarch wrote him back, he said in a joking tone that his husband drank a lot of vinegar because of all the letters Jiang HuaiQing had been sending. And what in the world did he do as a result? He spent most of his reply making fun of Lin Xiong, er, His Majesty’s behavior.

As the two became more familiar, his tone became more and more casual. If he knew those letters were going to the palace, he wouldn’t have written such things at all! And he certainly wouldn’t have written as often!

After the rankings were announced, Shang JunLin said some words of encouragement and warning to the examinees. Shen Yu stood beside him and looked down at Jiang HuaiQing, watching with a smile as the expression on Jiang HuaiQing’s face changed again and again.

It seemed that he’d recognized them.

Shen Yu was amused, but right now Jiang HuaiQing probably felt shocked.

During the rest of the ceremony, Jiang HuaiQing was distracted until Shang JunLin said Fang JiaYi’s name.

“Among the graduates this time, one has a unique identity. Our newly promoted bangyan is Fang JiaYi, the daughter of Minister Fang Jun. It’s the first time in Da Huan’s history that a woman has achieved such a good result.”

What???

Second place was a woman???

The moment Shang JunLin said these words, a commotion broke out in the hall below. Shang JunLin didn’t care. He kept the top three graduates behind and sent the rest out of the palace.

Several ministers wanted to speak up, but they stopped themselves. Shang JunLin’s demeanor was so imposing that they couldn’t bring themselves to say anything. They followed the other graduates out of the hall.

Several people gathered together and began to talk in low voices.

“But… Since ancient times there’s no precedent for a woman to become an official. Are we just going to let His Majesty do whatever he wants?”

“The results were chosen by everyone together. What’s the use of discussing it now? Are we going to take away the ranking she deserves because of her status as a woman?”

“But Fang JiaYi entered the examination hall disguised as a man. It’s against the rules.”

“The rules? How do you think she managed to hide herself from the people who searched her body before the exam? Even if she’s the beloved daughter of Minister Fang?”

“What the prime minister means is that… His Majesty agreed to this from the very beginning?”

“What else could it be? Look at what happened today. Was His Majesty the slightest bit surprised?”

“Then, are we going to let a woman enter the court as an official?”

“A lot of people will have something to say about this. Right now, only a few of us know, but when the results are announced, all of the officials will find out. Not only that, scholars all over the empire will know. His Majesty won’t face opposition from just the court officials.”

The prime minister smoothed out the folds in his sleeve and said quietly, “Do you think His Majesty will care what those people think? When has His Majesty ever made a decision and changed his mind because other people opposed it?”

One of the ministers was unhappy. “Is the prime minister going to indulge His Majesty?” 

“Your Excellency shouldn’t flatter me. This official doesn’t have the ability. This official only wants to remind you that it’s better to accept the established facts than try to fight against His Majesty.”

As long as a person had the ability to truly work for Da Huan, the prime minister didn’t care at all about their origin, gender, or other external traits. He was fed up with people who occupied positions and didn’t do any work. It greatly increased his workload.

In the main hall, Jiang HuaiQing was still a little dazed, but the mood of the other two people was slightly complicated.

It was one thing to guess the identity of those two men, but facing the truth in person was something else. Hè ChengYu was absent-minded. Compared to Jiang HuaiQing, he hadn’t interacted as much with Shen Yu and Shang JunLin. The problem was, from what he’d seen, Shang JunLin was too unlike the popular image of Da Huan’s emperor.

Everyone in the world knew that the current emperor of Da Huan had waded through an ocean of blood and corpses and ruthlessly forced his way to the throne. Although the means by which he’d become emperor were criticized by many aristocratic families, his contributions to Da Huan meant that he still had a good reputation where ordinary people were concerned.

Hè ChengYu had heard that Shang JunLin was brutal and decisive, a man of his word who didn’t tolerate disobedience. But the Young Master Lin he knew was almost subservient to his wife. He didn’t talk much or have much of a temper. No matter how Hè ChengYu tried, he couldn’t link the two together.

Two distinct personalities somehow belonged to the same person.

Fang JiaYi’s thoughts at the moment were complicated too. She felt a little confused. She knew that the road she’d chosen would be difficult, and she was ready for a hard fight, but she never thought the first step would be so easy.

After a pause Shen Yu said, “Meng Gonggong, bring in some chairs for our newly announced top three graduates.”

Meng Gonggong immediately went to carry out the order. A little while later, there were three more chairs in the hall.

Shen Yu pulled Shang JunLin to sit down. “I probably don’t need to say this, but I think you must have guessed the identity of myself and His Majesty. It’s exactly what you think. When we left the palace, we never thought we’d meet the future zhuangyuan and tanhua.”

With those words, he confirmed what Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu guessed.

“I hope you won’t blame us for hiding it.”

Thanks to Shen Yu’s efforts, the atmosphere wasn’t as stiff as it was at the beginning. Hè ChengYu had been prepared for a long time and quickly adjusted his state of mind. Jiang HuaiQing took longer to digest the news. He barely managed to calm himself down.

Shen Yu knew that with his and Shang JunLin’s current status, it would be difficult to return to the relationship they previously had with Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu, and they weren’t going to force it. That wasn’t the reason they asked the three to stay behind.

“A lot of things have happened during this session of the imperial examinations. Now that the results are out, there will likely be some controversy. The reason this emperor kept you was to assure you that you received the results you deserve. No matter what you experience in the future, this emperor hopes you will maintain your original intentions and goals.”

Shang JunLin didn’t say it explicitly, but everyone present knew what he meant. First there was the fraud case, which Jiang HuaiQing was involved in. Then Fang JiaYi, a woman, won second place in the exam. For some time to come, there was going to be a lot of trouble in the court.

The three stood up and saluted respectfully. “This scholar will keep Your Majesty’s instructions in mind!” 

This was Shang JunLin’s home field, and Shen Yu didn’t say much. Shang JunLin said a few more words and let the people leave.

When they exited the palace, Jiang HuaiQing breathed a long sigh of relief.

Fang JiaYi intended to return to her house and said goodbye. Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu returned to Yingxing House together.

Once they were in the carriage, the more Jiang HuaiQing thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He elbowed Hè ChengYu. “ChengYu Xiong, did you already know?” 

Hè ChengYu, who was resting, opened his eyes. “Know what?” 

“The true identities of Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong. I think I was the only one who was shocked. It seems like you expected it.” Jiang HuaiQing lowered his voice.

Hè ChengYu didn’t conceal it. “I guessed, but wasn’t sure until today.” 

“You should have warned me,” Jiang HuaiQing wailed. He collapsed against the floor of the carriage. “Do you know what I did? All those letters… My goodness, I actually had the guts to write something like that!”

Hè ChengYu pulled the man up. “Did His Majesty or the noble monarch say a word about it? You didn’t know their true identity at the time. When you wrote to the noble monarch, he sent you a normal reply. It’s fine.”

“You know what?” Jiang HuaiQing’s eyes were listless. “At the time, I only thought the noble monarch had married into an aristocratic family. I gave him a lot of advice on how to deal with an extended clan and how to make sure Lin Xiong would side with him….”

When Hè ChengYu pictured that mental image, he couldn’t help laughing. He patted Jiang HuaiQing’s shoulder. “Just pay attention in the future. His Majesty and the noble monarch are generous and open-minded. They won’t take offense.”

It wasn’t as simple as whether His Majesty and the noble monarch would take offense! Whenever Jiang HuaiQing thought about what he’d done, he cringed to death.

They were riding in a carriage sent by the palace. As soon as they arrived at the gate of Yingxing House, the owner greeted them with his employees. Here were the new zhuangyuan and tanhua, and they were both guests of Yingxing House. It was a great honor.

Amid the congratulations of the crowd, the two got out of the carriage. Yingxing House had prepared a small banquet for them. They were just waiting for the two guests of honor to arrive.

Fang JiaYi also returned to the Fang residence in a carriage sent by the palace. Minister Fang and his wife went out to meet her. When he saw his daughter dressed as a scholar, an indistinct sense of pride rose in Minister Fang’s heart.

He only had this one daughter, but so what? She wasn’t inferior to any son in the world.

“Father.”

“Well done.” Minister Fang rubbed the top of his daughter’s head. “Your family is prepared. Now that you’ve gotten such good results, don’t worry about anything else. Your father will take care of it.”

His daughter had achieved such an excellent score. He couldn’t wait to see how shocked those old-fashioned ministers were when they found out.

“Your Majesty will have a headache tomorrow.” Under the gazebo, Shen Yu poured a cup of tea for the man across from him.

Shang JunLin accepted the cup and took a sip. “The day I promised the daughter of the Fang family, this emperor anticipated the consequences. The issue has been decided. No matter what kind of trouble they make, it won’t affect the outcome.”

“Your Majesty announced the results early. Was that deliberate?” As far as Shen Yu could remember, the results of the palace examination were generally announced after one to three days. This year, Shang JunLin made the announcement on the same day, presumably to inform the world before anyone had time to react.

“Ah Yu isn’t wrong. The prime minister won’t be any trouble. It’s probably the officials from aristocratic families who won’t like the result.” Shang JunLin took Shen Yu’s wrist. “After all, not a single one of their people ranked in the top three.”

“Hè ChengYu is from an aristocratic background, but the Hè family doesn’t have many ties to the leading families in the capital.” Shen Yu smiled. “They probably never thought the scores would end up like this.”

Shang JunLin rubbed Shen Yu’s wrist, and his eyes darkened. “Ah Yu, this emperor won again.”

TL Notes:

drank a lot of vinegar – 吃了不少醋 – Jealousy. Refer to the note in Ch 47

My goodness(, I actually had the guts) – 天啦 – Tiān la – Oh my God, gosh, etc.

had the guts – 吃了熊心豹子胆 – ate bear heart and leopard gallbladder – things that make one fierce

generous and open-minded – 宽宏大量 – magnanimous; be kind and generous; A harbor has room for many vessels — be broad-minded and generous; be most liberal and large-minded; capable of generous actions

cringed to death – 生无可恋 – (Internet slang) nothing left to live for

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

zhuangyuan – 状元 –  “top thesis author” –  The candidate who won first place in the palace examination. Refer to the note in Ch 58

bangyan – 榜眼 – “eyes positioned alongside” – The candidate who won second place in the palace examination

tanhua – 探花 – “flower snatcher” –  The candidate who won third place in the palace examination