The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

A majestic voice came from behind them. Yi JianMing turned his head. The moment he saw that person coming towards them, incredible panic welled up inside.

He couldn’t help regretting it. Why did he bring that Zhao person here and go along with it when they suggested dealing with Jiang HuaiQing? He knew that in the capital the aristocratic families held up the sky with one hand, but he forgot that imperial power stood above everything. It wasn’t the nobles who decided everyone’s fate, it was the true master of Da Huan, Shang JunLin.

Seeing Yi JianMing’s face turn ugly, the others began to realize the seriousness of the situation. They tried to remain calm. Then they remembered all the things they shouldn’t have said.

Several of them knelt down in panic.

Shang JunLin glanced at the ministers behind him. He walked up to Shen Yu. “This is what you call an outstanding son of the aristocracy, Minister Yi?” he asked in a deep voice.

There was a subtle note of sarcasm in these words.

The face of this official turned red, then white with fright. He quickly knelt down to admit his guilt. “It’s because of this minister’s lax discipline. Your Majesty, please forgive me!”

Not long before, Minister Yi and several other officials from aristocratic families were discussing with Shang JunLin the scholars who passed this year’s exam. Aside from Fang JiaYi, of course, they wanted the best possible placement for the children of aristocratic families. They never imagined that one of these noble sons would stir up trouble before they could reach a decision.

Minister Yi’s heart was bleeding. The Yi family had carefully trained Yi JianMing. Not only did he not win first place, he was involved in this kind of incident too. What a waste. His Majesty was already unhappy about the influence of the nobility and consistently supported people from humble backgrounds to counterbalance them. What a fiasco to let His Majesty hear such things in person.

His Majesty heard it with his own ears which meant there was no chance to remedy the situation…. No, actually he didn’t hear it. After all, the emperor hadn’t heard the young master say it directly. The truth was still open to question.

After making these calculations, Minister Yi looked at the person who spoke just now. In addition to Jiang HuaiQing, there was a person who seemed like a promising young man.

The lower half of the young man’s face was hidden by a fan, revealing only his exquisite eyebrows and eyes.

When he sensed someone’s gaze, Shen Yu looked over. His eyebrows curved but there wasn’t a trace of a smile in his eyes.

For a moment Minister Yi fell into a daze. Then he abruptly realized this young man was none other than Noble Monarch Shen. He must have left the palace with His Majesty.

Why was he here with Jiang HuaiQing? What kind of relationship did they have?

A series of questions ran through Minister Yi’s mind, but he didn’t dare to assume anything. All of this could be an accident. It might also have been set up in advance.

“They really need some proper discipline. Today at the Qionglin Banquet they dare to quarrel with the tanhua appointed by the imperial court. In the future, when these young masters become officials, they’ll have even more power in their hands. Will they do even more things that should not be done?” Shang JunLin’s tone was icy.

“This minister is guilty.”

“This student is guilty.”

“Since you know your guilt, you can’t escape punishment. Otherwise won’t the victims say that His Majesty is biased towards the nobility? Or question the authority of His Majesty over the aristocratic families?” Shen Yu’s hand hidden under his sleeve hooked Shang JunLin’s fingers. “Your Majesty, don’t you think so?”

“What the noble monarch says is correct. Today this emperor and the noble monarch happened to be present. Otherwise no one would have known the tanhua was bullied. Minister Yi, why don’t you tell us—what’s the penalty for threatening and insulting Da Huan’s officials?”

It looked like His Majesty wasn’t going to let this go. Minister Yi and the other kneeling aristocratic officials were in utter despair. There wasn’t time to worry about poor scholars or women becoming officials right now. The most important thing was making sure His Majesty didn’t seize this chance to cut them down!

It wasn’t until now that Young Master Zhao realized how much trouble he’d caused.

The color in his face drained away. His family was dependent on the Yi family. If Yi JianMing was implicated because of him, or if other aristocratic families were dragged into it, the entire Zhao family was finished.

“Your Majesty, everything that happened is my responsibility. Young Master Yi had nothing to do with it. Begging Your Majesty to understand!” As Young Master Zhao took all the blame on himself, he was so agitated that he loudly knocked his forehead on the ground a few times.

“It’s only because I admire Young Master Jiang’s talent so much. I wanted to get to know him better. When I was rejected, I lost my temper and spoke out of turn. It really has nothing to do with Young Master Yi.”

The other young masters responded similarly, blaming themselves for the incident.

While Shang JunLin’s gaze swept over those young masters, several aristocratic officials exchanged glances. They sensed some room to maneuver.

“Your Majesty, I hope you will confirm the truth of this matter,” one said.

Shen Yu smiled coldly. “Is the minister suggesting that I would slander Young Master Yi? I don’t know Young Master Yi at all. I have no grudges or grievances against him. I’m from an aristocratic family myself. Why would I lie about what happened?”

Of course, Shen Yu knew these people would never meekly admit they were at fault. In order to minimize their losses they were bound to line up a few scapegoats to take the blame. That was why, during the argument just now, he deliberately got them to mention Yi JianMing. Otherwise why would he bother talking to these people?

Jiang HuaiQing had sensed his intentions and cooperated.

“This official doesn’t dare.”

“I think you’re very daring. ‘It’s not that easy to become an official’, ‘So what if you’re the tanhua? You don’t have any backers in the capital. Do you really think you can succeed here?’. Those are all things Yi JianMing said himself. How is it credible for you to say he’s ignorant of everything?”

Shen Yu lowered his fan and leaned against Shang JunLin. “Your Majesty, don’t let them ruin the Qionglin Banquet for everyone. Send these people elsewhere for now. When the banquet is over you can deal with them as you see fit.”

Shang JunLin looked down at the ministers kneeling on the ground. “What do the ministers think?”

“Your officials accept the decree.” They’d already said everything they could. What else could they do right now? Fortunately it would be handled after the Qionglin Banquet ended. They had some time to react.

“Very well. Get up.”

Guards came in and escorted Yi JianMing and his group away. Shang JunLin took Shen Yu with him. Jiang HuaiQing followed behind.

The remaining officials looked at each other. Instead of immediately following, they huddled together to discuss countermeasures in low voices.

“Do you think what happened today was an accident?”

“That no longer matters. Whether by accident or coincidence, it has already happened, and the noble monarch stumbled into it. After what happened in the past, do you still think the noble monarch’s an easy man to deal with?”

“We sent someone into the harem to restrain His Majesty’s temper. Instead he’s making things worse!”

“Well, let’s not talk about that now. We have to decide how to deal with the current situation,” Minister Yi interrupted.

“Let’s talk to the two ministers in the cabinet and see what can be done.”

“I thought that Jiang HuaiQing would be easy to handle. I wasn’t expecting him to get with the noble monarch. Tell your people not to move against him unless they’re completely sure. Some lessons need only be learned once,” Minister Yi instructed.

“Right.”

Meanwhile, when Hè ChengYu heard what happened, he apologized to the person he was talking to and hurried over.

“HuaiQing, are you all right?” He pulled Jiang HuaiQing to him and looked at him up and down. Fortunately he seemed to be fine. Hè ChengYu felt relieved.

 Jiang HuaiQing let his friend inspect him. Seeing that Hè ChengYu was worried, he comforted him. “Everything’s OK. His Majesty and the noble monarch are here. No one will try to do anything to me.”

Hè ChengYu felt chagrined. If he was there, those people wouldn’t have dared to attack Jiang HuaiQing. “I shouldn’t have let you go alone….” 

“It’s really fine. His Majesty and the noble monarch are both here.” Jiang HuaiQing pointed ahead.

Only then did Hè ChengYu release Jiang HuaiQing’s arm and salute the two men. “Greetings to Your Majesty and the noble monarch.”

“No need to be so polite.” Shen Yu took Shang JunLin by the arm and jokingly said, “Usually you two are together all the time. When I saw HuaiQing alone, I wondered why you weren’t with him.”

“I wasn’t paying attention and we were parted by the crowd. Thanking the noble monarch for your assistance with HuaiQing.”

“To be honest, we should thank him. If not for what happened today, I don’t know how much longer your appointment would be delayed. The noble families will want to protect Yi JianMing and the others, which means they’ll have to make some concessions.” Shen Yu didn’t expect that such a small amount of effort would turn things around so much.

When they reached an intersection in the path, the two groups separated.

After the incident at the banquet, a few things occurred to Jiang HuaiQing. “ChengYu Xiong, when you didn’t want me to move out, was it because you were worried the aristocratic families would make trouble for me?” 

“That’s one of the reasons,” Hè ChengYu admitted. “You don’t have to think about it too much. What I said before was the truth. The main reason is that I’m used to living with you.”

“I’m not thinking about it too much, but…” Jiang HuaiQing sighed. “It’s just that I’ve been imposing on ChengYu Xiong for a while.”

“You don’t have to feel like you’re imposing on me by living in my house. Those people won’t move against me because of my family. And after today, they won’t dare to do anything rash.”

Hè ChengYu suddenly stopped and faced Jiang HuaiQing. In a low voice he added, “I’m the eldest di son of my family. I was taught from an early age I’d be responsible for the family in the future. When I was a child, I had such a heavy workload that my younger brothers and sisters were ordered not to disturb me. Every time I tried to spend time with them the elders immediately called them away. The time I spend with HuaiQing is something I could only wish for in my childhood.”

Jiang HuaiQing pictured a young Hè ChengYu, a child who wanted to be close to his younger brothers and sisters but couldn’t because of the heavy weight on his shoulders. His heart softened and he took a step forward to embrace Hè ChengYu.

“If ChengYu Xiong doesn’t mind, you can consider me your younger brother in the future.”

Hè ChengYu stiffened. Slowly he put his hand on Jiang HuaiQing’s back. “… OK,” he said hoarsely.

The Qionglin Banquet officially began. Shang JunLin led Shen Yu to the main seat, said a few words of encouragement, and opened the banquet.

With Shang JunLin present, both the current and incoming officials were on edge. Shang JunLin knew that everyone felt restrained in his presence. After the necessary etiquette, he led Shen Yu away.

When they departed, the atmosphere gradually warmed up.

There weren’t many people outside the banquet hall. Shen Yu held Shang JunLin’s hand as they strolled along the path.

“Your Majesty, do you think Hè ChengYu pays too much attention to Jiang HuaiQing?” Shen Yu said in a vague way. “I don’t think HuaiQing has noticed at all.”

“They can handle their own affairs. Instead of caring about them, Ah Yu should care more about this emperor.” The only reason Shang JunLin paid attention to Jiang HuaiQing was because of Shen Yu. He didn’t care at all about the feelings between his officials.

“How would Your Majesty like me to care more about you? Should I ask if you feel hot or cold once a day? Wish you good health morning and night?”

“That’s not necessary.” Shang JunLin stopped suddenly and drew Shen Yu into his arms. “As long as Ah Yu is less distracted by other people.”

Shen Yu was caught off guard and fell into the man’s arms, smelling the scent of ambergris on his body. His lips curved in a smile. “Then I’ll think of Your Majesty once every morning, once again at noon, and once again at night, sound good?”

TL Notes:

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

Should I ask if you feel hot or cold – 嘘寒问暖 – ask people whether they feel hot or feel cold; be solicitous about sb.’s health; give them one’s assiduous and thoughtful attention; inquire after sb.’s well-being

ambergris – 龙涎香 – A solid, waxy substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. It’s rare and expensive and has been used in perfumes since historical times (Wikipedia)