The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shang JunLin still wasn’t satisfied. “Is that all? Ah Yu won’t think about this emperor the rest of the time?” 

“Then how often should I think about Your Majesty?”

“This emperor thinks about Ah Yu every moment of the day.” Shang JunLin gave a strong hint.

“Ah, I see,” Shen Yu drawled. “Then, in Your Majesty’s opinion, I should think of you all the time as well?”

Shang JunLin nodded haughtily. “Mm.” 

Shen Yu lifted his head from Shang JunLin’s arms. His eyes were smiling. “Your Majesty, do you know what you look like right now?”

Shang JunLin had already achieved his goal and was in a good mood. He placed a hand on Shen Yu’s waist and gently rubbed him. “It doesn’t matter what this emperor looks like. What matters is that Ah Yu doesn’t forget the promise you made to this emperor.”

What promise was that? Shen Yu was about to ask when he realized Shang JunLin was referring to what he said a moment ago. Shen Yu buried his face in the man’s arms. “I understand. I’ll think about Your Majesty even more every day,” he said in a muffled voice.

Shang JunLin put his hand on Shen Yu’s back and traced down his long hair. A feeling of satisfaction rose in his chest.

They stood in the dim light, far away from the bustle of the world, completely wrapped up in each other. The atmosphere between them was so warm and harmonious that no one could come between them.

They held each other silently. After a while Shang JunLin let go of Shen Yu and the two continued along the path.

“After what happened today, the aristocratic families will probably relax some of their resistance to Fang JiaYi.” It was clear that Shang JunLin had the whip hand now. Even if the nobles objected, they couldn’t complain as loudly as before.

“This emperor gave them a chance to back down. They can act as they choose.” As Shang JunLin spoke of the aristocratic families his voice lacked emotion.

Shen Yu didn’t want to spoil Shang JunLin’s mood. He lightly changed the subject. “I saw the young lady from the Fang family a little while ago. She was surrounded by a crowd of scholars, perfectly at ease. The other people weren’t half as calm as she was.” 

Fang JiaYi had chosen to wear neutral colors today. She wasn’t dressed in the ornate, cumbersome skirt of a lady, nor was her hair arranged with elaborate hairpins. Her identity as a woman was clear, but she perfectly fit in with the atmosphere of the Qionglin Banquet.

“This emperor also noticed that she has a good relationship with the zhuangyuan and the tanhua.” When Shang JunLin was sitting high above the banquet, he kept an eye on what the people below him were doing.

Fang JiaYi was more willing to talk to Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu. The two didn’t act differently towards her just because she was a woman. Other people tried to behave naturally, but they always revealed traces of awkwardness in their words and behavior.

The atmosphere of the banquet was lively, and the students clustered together discussing scholarly topics. The more daring ones went up to ministers and asked them questions.

Some of the aristocratic officials felt so uneasy they could hardly sit still. The emperor was free to leave his seat at will, but they couldn’t. No matter how anxious they were to smooth things over for Yi JianMing, they had no choice but to sit there and force themselves to smile. They couldn’t show the slightest hint that something was wrong.

Minister Yi rapped on the table. “Did you send a message to those two ministers yet?”

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency. Someone has already gone.”

Fang JiaYi, Hè ChengYu and Jiang HuaiQing were seated next to each other because they had similar scores on the exam. Fang JiaYi, who was closely observing everything, noticed that some of the aristocratic officials had disappeared at some point. In a low voice she asked, “What happened just now? A few of the officials have strange expressions on their faces, and Young Master Yi isn’t here either. I remember seeing him when I arrived.”

The incident had been suppressed for the time being, which meant Jiang HuaiQing couldn’t talk about it openly. “He did something and His Majesty happened to see it,” he whispered vaguely.

That sentence was enough of an explanation for Fang JiaYi. The two tacitly agreed to change the subject.

Meanwhile, two cabinet ministers were notified about the incident at the Qionglin Banquet. The two went to the usual place they met to discuss things and sat down together.

The two cabinet ministers happened to belong to the Feng family and the Duan family. Among the noble families of the capital, they were eminent voices.

After taking their seats, the two dismissed their subordinates.

Minister Feng: “What can His Majesty mean by this?”

Minister Duan: “It’s obvious that His Majesty is forcing us to concede. Otherwise, according to His Majesty’s usual behavior, he would have disposed of that person on the spot. Normally he wouldn’t have given us any time to react.”

Minister Feng: “That’s true, His Majesty hasn’t changed at all. He never listens to advice.”

Minister Duan: “If he listened, he wouldn’t be His Majesty. Don’t you remember what happened when he took the throne? The late emperor asked him to allow the King of Yue to remain in the capital for training. Instead His Majesty sent him away at once despite the opposition of his ministers. How many officials did he deal with back then?”

Minister Feng: “The King of Yue is useless too. Otherwise we wouldn’t be in such a difficult situation.”

Minister Duan: “If you ask me, he’s wanted to end the King of Yue’s life for a long time. When he imprisoned the King of Yue, he assigned all of the blame for the fraud on the King of Yue and took advantage of the fact that no one could refute him. If the King of Yue wants to turn things around at this juncture, it will be even more difficult.”

Minister Feng: “Those people have contacted us. They said they want our help. Should we take action?”

Minister Duan: “There’s no rush. When the right time comes, everything will be clear.”

Minister Feng: “What about the imperial examination? Do we really have to do what he wants?”

Minister Duan: “What can we do about it now? He’s determined to promote poor scholars to oppose us, and now he’s even gone to the point of allowing women to become court officials. Sooner or later he’s going to self-destruct.”

At morning court the next day, there was less opposition than usual during the discussion about women entering the court as officials. Although Fang JiaYi’s assignment was still undecided, everything else was basically settled.

The weather grew warmer and warmer, and Shen Yu was able to spend more time outside. Imperial Physician Gu said that he should walk around more when the weather was suitable.

Shang JunLin paid close attention to Shen Yu’s health. When he heard Imperial Physician Gu say that more activity would be good for Shen Yu, he took Shen Yu outside for a walk whenever there was time.

Shang JunLin’s original plan was to have Shen Yu learn martial arts to keep fit, but Shen Yu flat out refused. This was his new life. He was going to make himself as comfortable as possible.

In the evening, after they ate, Shang JunLin put his work aside and took Shen Yu for a walk in the small garden outside Yuzhang Palace.

“The Feng and Duan families?” Shen Yu paused. He remembered a bit about them. In his previous life, they secretly allied themselves with the King of Yue. They did a great deal for that man before he succeeded in taking the throne.

“The Feng and Duan families have lived in Da Huan since its founding, but they were in their heyday at the end of the previous emperor’s reign. At the time, the emperor was under the sway of traitors and sycophants. Power fell out of his grasp, and various families on the sidelines vied for the scraps. Of all of them, the Feng family and Duan family profited the most.”

Seeing that Shen Yu was interested in hearing more, Shang JunLin continued, “When this emperor first ascended to the throne, I disposed of quite a few people. The Feng family and the Duan family were in the middle of everything and extremely well informed. This emperor wasn’t able to deal with them thoroughly.”

At the time, the imperial court was in chaos. The late emperor’s weakness led to havoc. Capable ministers were forced to resign or framed for crimes and executed. Most of the people left behind were traitors or collaborators. Shang JunLin’s foundation in the court was unstable. He took the throne with military power, and there weren’t many civilian officials he could use. After he spilled enough blood to wash the court clean of treacherous ministers, countless positions needed to be filled.

Shang JunLin had no choice but to temporarily make use of officials from the aristocratic families who remained loyal. But this led to endless trouble. The nobles were in ascendance, which would eventually threaten imperial power.

After he took the throne, Shang JunLin attached great importance to the imperial examinations and promoted scholars from humble backgrounds to important positions. This was done to strengthen other factions in the court. Only when the various forces were balanced could long-term stability be maintained.

Based on what Shang JunLin just said, he was ready to severely suppress the aristocratic families and break their arrogance. “Right now the prime minister is the only cabinet member who doesn’t belong to one of the aristocratic families. The nobles control the other two positions. Which minister has Your Majesty chosen as a replacement?” Shen Yu asked.

“Fang Jun.”

“Both the prime minister and Minister Fang are Your Majesty’s people. If they’re in the cabinet, it will be much more convenient for Your Majesty to do things.”

Shen Yu lowered his eyes and pondered. Given the book he read in his previous life, the help of Shen Yue, and what he learned directly from Shen QingRan, he was certain he could come up with a lot of new things that would benefit Da Huan. But if the aristocratic families interfered, those things would just become tools for the aristocrats to seize more power and profit.

In Shen Yu’s previous life, Shen QingRan introduced many inventions, but the aristocratic families hoarded all the benefits. It led to chaos throughout Da Huan. Shen Yu didn’t want to expend a lot of effort if it would only benefit the aristocrats.

“This emperor still hasn’t announced Ah Yu’s proposal to reform trade. The timing isn’t right.”

“There’s no hurry. Not all big changes can happen overnight. What’s more, the cement business is just beginning. Things will go smoother after we iron out the problems.”

Shang JunLin sighed with emotion. “Ah Yu understands this emperor so well.” 

“Your Majesty, when will Jiang HuaiQing’s appointment be announced?” Shen Yu was eager to find out what path Jiang HuaiQing would walk in this life without the misfortunes that afflicted him in the past.

“It will be soon. If there are no accidents, both of them will enter Hanlin Academy.”

Although their official rank wouldn’t be very high, the most important thing was the significance of entering Hanlin Academy. It was like having half a foot in the cabinet.

Jiang HuaiQing didn’t feel worried about the delay. Although his official appointment hadn’t come yet because of the controversy over Fang JiaYi, he was in a good mood every day.

Hè ChengYu sent a letter to his family saying that he’d been appointed zhuangyuan and probably wouldn’t be able to return to Jiangnan for a while. Even if he received an assignment in the countryside in the future, he wouldn’t be sent to Jiangnan as an official.

After handling some business, Hè ChengYu walked out of the house. “HuaiQing, didn’t you say a while ago that you’re running low on paper and pens? A new shop just opened. Do you want to take a look?”

Jiang HuaiQing was organizing his and Hè ChengYu’s books. It was a sunny spring day, a good time to let them air out in the sun.

When the books were spread out for sunbathing, they occupied almost the entire courtyard. Some of the books had been brought from home while others were purchased after they got to the capital. When Jiang HuaiQing heard his friend’s words, he turned back and said, “I’ll go.”

His pens and paper had already run out. Lately he was using Hè ChengYu’s supply. Jiang HuaiQing was embarrassed to keep taking advantage of his friend.

In the sunlight, the tall, jade-like young man dazzled the eyes. Startled, Hè ChengYu shook his head. He pressed his lips together and walked over.

Shen Yu fell into a dream about his previous life. He hadn’t dreamed about his past for a long time. Maybe it was because he’d been thinking about it recently that he had such a dream.

In the dream it was raining. He was lying in bed, and the blanket seemed to weigh a thousand catties. It was so heavy that he couldn’t breathe.

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. Shen Yu struggled to open his eyes, and then he saw the King of Yue. The man was dressed in imperial coronation robes. He stood beside the bed, staring down at him with dark eyes.

“Shen Yu, don’t you see? No matter how unwilling you are, this emperor took the throne exactly as ordained. This is destiny, and you cannot change it—”

No, no!

Shen Yu struggled to get up but couldn’t move at all. He broke out in a cold sweat.

“Ah Yu, wake up….”

A familiar voice came through the heavy curtain of rain. With difficulty Shen Yu opened his eyes and was startled by the face looming over him.

Shang JunLin saw the panic in his eyes and moved back a little. He touched Shen Yu’s sweaty forehead. “Why is Ah Yu so afraid of this emperor?”

TL Notes:

Apologies for not posting sooner! It’s been a hectic semester and I was worried about my grades, so that had to take priority. Also, my beloved pet died which was stressful and distracting. Fortunately everything is going really well now and I expect to have more time. TY for bearing with me (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ ♥ ♥

Is that all? Ah Yu won’t think about this emperor the rest of the time?… – 只有这几个时间吗？其他时间呢,  阿郁就不会想朕了吗？ – “Is that the only time? What about the other times? Will Ah Yu stop thinking about this emperor?” The tl during this exchange is a bit loose. When I tried to make it more accurate it sounded really stilted in English

Shang JunLin had the whip hand – from 把柄拿捏在商君凛手里 – the handle was in the hands of Shang JunLin – “To have someone’s handle in your hands” is a common idiom which means you have evidence you can use to coerce or negotiate with someone

(the King of Yue is) useless – 不堪造就 – be not worth educating; cannot be trained; hopeless of attainment by means of education or training; unpromising

go through a lot of effort only to benefit the aristocrats – from 可不想为世家做嫁衣 – didn’t want to make wedding clothes for the aristocratic families – “To make a wedding dress for someone else” is a common idiom which means to do something you hope will benefit yourself, only for someone else to benefit from it instead

catties – 斤 – jin, catty / (PRC) weight equal to 500 g / (Tw) weight equal to 600 g / (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g

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

Minister Feng – 冯大人

Minister Duan – 段大人

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