The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

“Last time Your Majesty said the bet would only count if I won. Didn’t Your Majesty already get your reward?”

When Shen Yu thought of the kiss and what happened afterwards, his face flushed with heat.

A calloused finger stroked the inside of his wrist, and a tingling sensation danced across his skin, spreading upwards.

Shang JunLin gazed at Shen Yu, and his eyes grew deeper and deeper. “This emperor did say that, but this emperor wants to do it again. Will Ah Yu agree or not?”

His wrist felt like it was touched by a fire that was burning from the outside, moving inwards. Shen Yu retracted his hand, but the man stopped him.

Shang JunLin didn’t have a strong grip on his arm. It was just enough to prevent him from breaking free. Shen Yu tried several times, but he couldn’t get loose.

The man took his hand, lifted it, and slightly lowered his head. A soft kiss fell on the back of Shen Yu’s hand.

As if being scalded, Shen Yu’s fingers curled up slightly.

Shang JunLin didn’t let go. The tender kiss traced down the back of his hand and met his fingers, and the thin lips parted slightly.

Shen Yu felt a moist heat on his fingers. He wanted to pull back his hand, but he was forcibly restrained by the man.

A nibbling sensation met his fingertips. The man’s eyes looked up at him. It was like he wasn’t biting Shen Yu’s fingers but other delicious things instead.

“Your Majesty, let go. It’s dirty….” Shen Yu turned his face away from the man’s gaze, exposing his blood-red earlobes.

The Adam’s apple in Shang JunLin’s throat rolled, and the flames in his eyes gradually ignited into a wildfire.

“Ah Yu, this emperor wants to kiss you,” the seductive voice said.

Shen Yu’s eyelashes trembled. He bowed his head and didn’t speak.

Shang JunLin laughed softly, and the tip of his tongue wrapped around Shen Yu’s fingers, leaving a trace of wetness.

Shen Yu looked down at the man. At some point his hand had been released. The man came up behind him and leaned into his ear. “Ah Yu, let this emperor kiss you, OK?”

Although it was a question, Shang JunLin didn’t really intend to listen to Shen Yu’s reply. He gathered that bright red and luscious earlobe into his slightly opened mouth.

The red, ripe fruit was taken into his mouth, and the tip of his tooth ran gently across it. The fruit was delicate, and he was afraid of bruising it, so he didn’t dare to use force.

When he felt his earlobe being treated like this, Shen Yu began to tremble all over, and his senses became hazy. Suddenly there was a feeling of unreality to everything. The only sensations that came through clearly were the places he was being touched.

At some point Shen Yu became seated in the man’s arms.  The increasingly scarlet earlobe was released, and the touch moved to the side of his neck.

Drifting along the delicate jawline, the touch finally met his lips.

Taking cities and seizing territory.

Before his eyes was a field of peach blossoms in full bloom, white with hints of pink. Little by little, they occupied his sight.

Slender white fingers clutched the black robe tightly, leaving creases.

The sun to the west drew long, slanting shadows. Layer upon layer of hazy orange light and shadow surrounded them, outlining everything in gold.

Occasionally a few small whimpers could be heard. Before they reached anyone else’s ears, they were taken by the wind.

Meng Gonggong stood with the waiting palace servants in the distance. Their heads were bowed, and they didn’t dare to look at anything.

As Shang JunLin predicted, the next morning, the court exploded because of Fang JiaYi.

They selectively ignored the fact that Shang JunLin had taken Shen Yu to watch the palace examination.

In the eyes of the officials from aristocratic families, breaking tradition and admitting a woman as an official was far more serious than anything else.

“Your Majesty, it cannot be! There has been no such precedent since ancient times. That Young Lady Fang concealed her identity to participate in the imperial examination. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!”

“Your Majesty, how can we set such a precedent? If all women in the world copied her, wouldn’t there be chaos?”

An official who read Fang JiaYi’s answer sheet yesterday retorted, “Not all women are that talented.”

“So what? If we survey all of history, which dynasty ever had a woman as an official? A woman should marry quietly, remain in the inner courtyard, serve her father-in-law, and produce branches and leaves.”

“Minister Zhao’s words are simply wrong. There are more than a few talented women. How can you speak with so much prejudice?”

Minister Zhao snapped his head to the side. “Is there something wrong with what I said? If everyone just accepted their place in life, would today’s incident have happened?”

The ministers in the hall debated endlessly, and Shang JunLin didn’t say anything. Shen Yu, who was standing in the back hall, shook the cup in his hand and said to Mu Xi:

“You see, they don’t have anything to say. The point about deceiving the emperor is all they have. They’re anxious for His Majesty to put this ‘deviant’ woman to death immediately.”

Shen Yu intentionally got up early today to wait for Shang JunLin in the back hall. He was curious what would happen in morning court.

After hearing the voices in the main hall, Mu Xi got angry. “They actually think women exist to do nothing but stay in the back courtyard and produce branches and leaves for men?”

“Indeed, it shows that His Majesty is right. Some ministers in the court really do need to be replaced.”

Their eyes could only see one-third of the field in front of them. With such short-sightedness, all they knew was how to form factions to pursue personal gain day in and day out. Keeping them around was a waste of their salaries.

The bickering in the main hall continued. Some officials, led by the prime minister, recognized Fang JiaYi’s achievements, although they felt that the question of letting women become officials in the court was still open for discussion.

The surviving members of the Qian family sided with the prime minister. After the incident with the King of Li, Shang JunLin had taken the opportunity to promote more of his own people. There was already some new blood in the court.

A group of older officials led by the aristocratic families refused to yield. No one from the leading families had entered the top three, and one of the places was even occupied by a woman. How could they accept it?

To give them added motivation, one of their own people was in fourth place. If Fang JiaYi was pushed out, their family member would rank in the top three, which wouldn’t be nearly as embarrassing.

All of this was plain to Shang JunLin. Seeing that they intended to continue bickering left and right, Shang JunLin interrupted, “Look at yourselves. All of you have red faces and ears. Is this the behavior of the country’s foremost ministers?”

The hall fell silent.

“Meng Chang, show them the answer sheets of the top graduates. You say a woman shouldn’t be an official. You should read the woman’s essay before you speak.”

Meng Gonggong led the young eunuch who was waiting to the side and handed out the essays that had been prepared in advance.

After reading them, some ministers who’d raised objections a moment ago because of Fang JiaYi’s status as a woman bowed their heads in shame. Those who’d managed to keep their positions under Shang JunLin’s reign had some awareness. They could see how well the essay was written.

Other ministers, who didn’t want to admit that a woman could do better than a man, turned pale. In particular, Minister Zhao, who’d tried to push Fang JiaYi into the mud a moment before, turned white, then green.

No matter how biased he was against women, he had to admit the article was extremely well-argued. If he hadn’t been told in advance that it was by a woman, he wouldn’t have believed it was possible for a woman to come up with it.

Shang JunLin looked down at them from above. “What do you have to say now?” 

The ministers silently bowed their heads.

The prime minister stepped forward. “This servant thinks this woman has great talent and should be given a position.”

Immediately, many people echoed him.

Minister Fang stood in the crowd, feeling proud as well as distressed. He was proud that his daughter was so excellent, but he was distressed about what his daughter would have to face as she walked this road.

There were already so many objections, and she hadn’t even begun. When his daughter actually entered the court, how much pressure would she face? How many hostile stares?

Even if they saw the excellence of Fang JiaYi’s essay, some of the ministers were still unwilling to accept a woman as an official. Minister Zhao was one of them.

He exchanged a few faint glances with certain others, then stood up. “Your Majesty, your servants recognize the excellence of this article, but there’s no precedent for a woman to become an official in the court since ancient times. This servant hopes Your Majesty will consider it carefully.”

“This servant hopes Your Majesty will follow precedent and carefully consider the matter.”

Soon, a row of officials lined up.

“Oh? Then what do you think this emperor should do about it?” Shang JunLin looked down, and neither happiness nor anger could be distinguished in his tone.

“This servant thinks Your Majesty can give the person a certain reward, but Your Majesty should also issue a warning to the world. There can be no next time!” Minister Zhao said loudly.

When Mu Xi heard this, her hands twitched. “Young master, Minister Zhao is going too far, isn’t he? What’s the difference between doing that and openly destroying Young Lady Fang?”

“True, he wants to ruin Young Lady Fang. Look at what he said before. He thinks that women should be trapped in the inner courtyard. He thinks that women don’t deserve the same treatment as men. You’ll see. When Young Lady Fang enters the court, he’ll be the first to deal with her.”

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to be self-interested. All people were prone to having a few careful thoughts and being selfish. What wasn’t good was when people destroyed dissidents because of their self-interest. Da Huan wasn’t the sole property of that man.

Shang JunLin laughed quietly. “Warn the world? According to Minister Zhao, Fang JiaYi did something that overturned the normal order and committed an intolerable injustice. Is it right to issue a warning?”

“Well…” Minister Zhao hesitated. “She took part in the imperial examination as a woman….”

“Minister Zhao, as a high-ranking minister of Da Huan, have you actually read the laws of Da Huan in detail?” Shang JunLin gazed at him without the slightest emotion. “Tell this emperor, which law, which article, says that women are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations?”

Under heavy pressure, Minister Zhao’s legs softened. He fell to his knees. “This, this servant…”

“Since Minister Zhao doesn’t know, you’d better go back and learn the laws of Da Huan by heart. Until you’ve memorized them all, there’s no need to come back to court.”

“Your Majesty!” Only then did Minister Zhao clearly understand to what extent he’d crossed Shang JunLin. At first Shang JunLin’s attitude had been ambiguous, which gave him the wrong impression, and then he’d taken one wrong step after another.

That’s right, how could he forget what kind of man Shang JunLin was? How could he ever allow someone to walk all over him? Minister Zhao slumped to the ground. He’d already broken out in a cold sweat.

After Minister Zhao was dealt with, the rest of the ministers who were in opposition didn’t dare to act rashly. They glanced around with cold eyes. Some people who’d been loudly disagreeing a moment ago were now standing with their heads down, afraid they’d be targeted next.

“Since the law has not been violated, this matter will be handled as it should be handled. Both men and women are people of my Da Huan. This emperor doesn’t want to hear anyone talking about gender in the future.”

The ministers felt solemn inside. In unison they said, “This servant will obey.”

When he left court, Shang JunLin saw Shen Yu, who’d been waiting for him, and he took the man into his arms. “Ah Yu waited a long time, didn’t you? You should have slept more before coming over.”

“It’s all right. It was fun to hear them argue.” Shen Yu had listened to the ministers bicker all morning. He lifted his head from the man’s arms. “Has the matter been settled?”

“No one will make trouble for now. Once the new graduates are formally appointed, they’ll most likely make another fuss.” Shang JunLin stroked the loose hair on Shen Yu’s back. “There will probably be some noise about the official position that will be given to Fang JiaYi.”

“Your Majesty isn’t afraid of those people.” Shen Yu’s eyes flickered. “Just now Your Majesty was really powerful.”

It wasn’t clear what ran through his mind, but Shang JunLin suddenly moved a little. “Ah Yu, tell this emperor, which part of this emperor is powerful?”

TL Notes:

Sometimes I’m like: SJL, would you just listen when your husband doesn’t want to? 

But most of the time I’m like: SY, the man loves you so much, give the damn emperor a kiss!

Taking cities and seizing territory – 攻城略地 – capture territory, plunder

(the court) exploded – 炸开了锅 – the pot burst – blowing up, buzzing etc. 

produce branches and leaves – 开枝散叶 – e.g., expand the family tree, have children

deviant – 离经叛道 – discard the classics and rebel against orthodoxy; be guilty of heterodoxy; be heretical and deviate from the true teachings; depart from the classics and rebel against orthodoxy

the normal order – 伦常 – feudal order of importance or seniority in human relationships

intolerable injustice – 天理不容 – Heaven and earth will not tolerate; intolerable injustice

to what extent he’d crossed Shang JunLin – 触犯了商君凛多大的忌讳 – how much of Shang JunLin’s taboo (he’d) violated

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

Minister Zhao – 赵大人