The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

How should he explain to Gu Huai what the ointment was used for?

Doctor Gu blushed and snatched the box from Gu Huai's hand, putting it aside.

Realizing his mistake, Gu Huai lowered his head and apologized, "I'm sorry, brother, I didn't know I couldn't touch that."

Doctor Gu was one who preferred to be won over with kindness rather than sternness. Seeing Gu Huai admitting his fault, he couldn't blame him and couldn't resist patting the boy's head, "It's okay. This medicine is for the noble monarch. Children shouldn't touch things that are meant for adults."

"I'm not a child anymore, brother." Gu Huai sighed inwardly. He was about to turn eighteen soon, yet Doctor Gu still treated him like a child. He enjoyed being spoiled by Doctor Gu, but he didn't want to be seen as a child forever.

He had already grown up, no longer the child who could be easily manipulated. He could also protect his brother from the wind and rain and hold up the sky.

"Okay, I know you've grown up. Now go out and play. I'm almost done here."

Seeing Doctor Gu's firm attitude, Gu Huai didn't want to make him angry and obediently left. However, he was curious about what Doctor Gu was making and why he blushed when he asked.

After leaving the room, Gu Huai summoned a subordinate and described in detail what he saw in the box, asking, "Do you know what this is?"

The subordinate hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems to be something used to lubricate during sexual intercourse for men..."

After speaking, the subordinate quickly added, "Of course, this is just my guess, and it may not necessarily be true."

Gu Huai fell silent, but he couldn't help but associate Doctor Gu's blushing with what his subordinate had said. He couldn't be sure, but it was likely that what he saw was indeed what his subordinate had guessed.

When did his older brother learn how to make this thing? Judging from his brother's proficiency, it's obviously not the first time. Gu Huai carefully recalled their years of interaction, trying to find some clues from his memory.

Doctor Gu still didn't know that his secret was about to be exposed, so he focused on completing the last step and put the ointment in a small jade bottle. Looking at the finished ointment, Doctor Gu breathed a sigh of relief.

This batch should last for some time. Next time, he should find another place to make it. It's too embarrassing to make it at home and be seen by Gu Huai.

The finished ointment was quickly delivered to Shang Junlin's hands. Shang Junlin put it away and placed it in the compartment next to his bed for storing small items.

"What are you doing, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu walked in after watering the flowers and saw Shang Junlin bending over doing something on the bed.

Shang Junlin straightened up and walked towards Shen Yu. "The ointment that Doctor Gu sent last time is almost used up, so he sent some more."

"Did Your Majesty force him to make it?" Shen Yu saw through it at a glance. "Doctor Gu is a good doctor. Why do you always make him do this kind of thing?"

"All of this is for your health," Shang Junlin had his own reasoning. "Doctor Gu is taking care of your body, so naturally, it should include all aspects."

"If Your Majesty didn't force me to do it, we wouldn't need these things," Shen Yu said with annoyance.

Since the last time, Shang Junlin always liked to make him do that thing, although they never actually did it, but it made Shang Junlin satisfied.

The officials of the court could feel that the Emperor had been in a good mood lately.

The officials thought that Shang Junlin was in a good mood because he won them in the matter of appointing women as officials. Although they were unhappy about it, they couldn't show it and were quite upset for a while.

Apart from them, other officials hoped that Shang Junlin's good mood would last for a while.

He Chengyu, Jiang Huaiqing, and Fang Jiayi all entered the Hanlin Academy. Even if others were dissatisfied, the matter had been settled, and it was not appropriate to say anything more.

Fang Jiayi's article spread among students, and except for a small number of people with a strong bias against women, other scholars had no doubts about Fang Jiayi's ranking as second place.

Seeing that there had been no movement outside for a long time, the nobles were furious. They certainly wouldn't let it go and bought off a few scholars to spread the disadvantages of appointing women officials. But other scholars rose up against them, and the matter ended there.

"We have to thank Ah Yu for predicting this in advance, otherwise there would have been trouble." Shang Junlin held the latest confidential letter from the Hidden Dragon Guards and smiled.

"What happened?" Shen Yu prepared tea for the two of them and pushed one of the cups in front of Shang Junlin.

"The noble families really sent people to incite trouble among the scholars, but thanks to our preparations, nothing major happened. Look." Shang Junlin handed the letter to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu read it quickly and said, "They underestimated the power of the commoners and didn't understand what these scholars who had not yet entered officialdom were really concerned about. They had not yet been tainted by fame and profit and had their own aspirations."

In his previous life, Shen Yu had dealt with these people a lot. In the eyes of officials, they might seem very simple and easy to manipulate, but if you thought they were stupid and could be easily controlled, then you were wrong.

"As for the affairs of the court, rumors are always prone to distortion. We need to find a way to let the people in various places know the accurate situation of the court."

With downcast eyes and contemplative thoughts, Shen Yu was pondering how the reputation of the former Emperor had turned out the way it did. On one hand, it was due to intentional efforts by individuals such as the King of Yue. On the other hand, it was because of a huge information gap between the court and the local areas. There was simply no way for news of what the Emperor had actually done to spread to the ears of people in different regions. The information they received was what others wanted them to hear, making it easy for those with malicious intentions to manipulate.

"Is Ah Yu talking about a newspaper?"

"Yes, and more. We need more detailed information, not only for the local areas to know about the court's decisions and measures, but also for the court to know about the various situations in the local areas in reverse." In his previous life, Shen Yu had a nearly ubiquitous intelligence network in Dahuan, but it was different from what he proposed today.

This idea was still inspired by Shen Yue, whom he had unintentionally gained inspiration from the last time. If there could be a mutual exchange of information, reducing the time difference between them, it would be more advantageous for the court to control the local areas.

"What are your thoughts, Ah Yu?" After thinking deeply for a while, Shang Junlin felt that this method was indeed very beneficial.

"Your Majesty can discuss with the ministers. You cannot exploit me for everything." Shen Yu smiled as he looked at Shang Julin with his hands on his chin.

"You... "Shang Junlin was helpless. "Okay, I will first discuss it with the Prime Minister, and when we come up with a result, you can see if there is anything that can be modified."

"The Prime Minister and his colleagues are much better than me." Shen Yu only proposed ideas and did not want to bother with how they were implemented. The court officials were knowledgeable about Dahuan, and with the Emperor watching over them, the final method decided upon would not go wrong.

Shang Junlin saw that he did not want to participate too much and did not force him. He was willing to satisfy whatever kind of life his Ah Yu wanted.

"Your Majesty, many flowers have bloomed in the Imperial Garden. Shall we go admire them?" Shen Yu saw that the Emperor spent most of his days reviewing documents, and with the weather being nice recently, it would soon become hot. He wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather to go out more.

"Doctor Gu also said that you need to move around more." Shang Junlin had no objections and took the things and brought Shen Yu out.

The evening sun shone on them, warm and cozy. Shen Yu squinted his eyes contentedly.

The Imperial Garden was full of various flowers blooming, decorating a sea of green with colorful flowers competing with each other, making it a beautiful sight to behold.

The fragrant scent of flowers was carried by the breeze, and Shen Yu held onto Shang Junlin's sleeve, "Your Majesty, how many types of flowers are here?"

"Most of the flowers that can survive in the capital city are here. Take a look and see if there are any you like. I will have Meng Chang transplant them for you another day," Shang Junlin was not interested in flowers and plants. The management of flowers and plants in the palace was usually entrusted to the palace servants.

Shen Yu walked around and occasionally stopped when he saw something he liked. The more he was exposed to the fragrant smell of flowers, the more butterflies came around.

"Do you know that you can't pick the flowers here? You've already picked a basketful. Who told you to come here?" A commotion came from ahead, and Shang Junlin frowned. Meng Gonggong quickly walked over, "Let me see what happened."

Soon, Meng Gonggong came back, "It was Miss Shen Yue who came to pick flowers. She was scolded by the passing chief maid."

Shen Yu paused his steps, "Shen Yue? How did she come to the Imperial Garden?"

He walked in the direction where the voice seemed to be coming from as he spoke.

"What's going on?"

The man's stern voice rang out, and all the palace women knelt down in unison. A slightly older palace woman bowed and said, "In response to Your Majesty, this palace maid may not have known the rules here and picked some flowers. I have already reprimanded her."

She didn't know that Shen Yue knew them and was afraid that she would lose her life over a small matter, so she subconsciously defended herself.

Shen Yue looked surprised and glanced at the palace maid who had just scolded her, then quickly lowered her head and admitted her guilt.

"You all can leave. You stay." Shen Yu pointed at Shen Yue.

Before the palace maid left, she glanced at Shen Yue and wanted to say something, but was pulled away by Meng Gonggong.

"Get up. Why did you pick these flowers?" Shen Yue asked.

'I wanted to make fresh flower cakes for the Empress Dowager. I found the best place where the flowers were in full bloom and didn't notice that the flowers here couldn't be picked. I plead guilty,' Shen Yue replied.

"You're a first-time offender, so forget it," Shen Yu looked at the basket of flowers beside him and was curious. 'You can make pies out of flowers?"

"Not just flowers, but also pies made from fresh flowers. If Your Majesty is interested, when I make them, I'll send some to Yuzhang Palace," Shen Yue lowered her head. In fact, she was still in the experimental stage and wasn't sure if they would taste good.

On a whim, while strolling through the Imperial Garden, Shen Yu stumbled upon a new dessert and felt a surge of happiness.

After finishing the stroll, he returned to the Yuzhang Palace where the kitchen had already prepared a meal.

Shang Junlin had once said that if anyone could make the emperor happy with their cooking, they would be heavily rewarded. Because of this, the kitchen staff tried different ways every day to make delicious food.

Recently, Shen Yu had a good appetite and ate more than he did when he first arrived at the palace. The losses from his previous illness were slowly being filled, and he had even gained some weight.

Shang Junlin held his hand, feeling just right.

Shang Junlin was satisfied with Shen Yu's progress. After his last illness, Shen Yu's appetite decreased, and he became thinner and thinner. Shang Junlin felt helpless and could only order the kitchen to make more delicious food and find ways to get Shen Yu to eat more.

The imperial physician did not recommend that he consume too many supplements, such as bird's nest, as his body could not handle too much tonics for an extended period. Therefore, they had to gradually nourish his body.

Shen Yu did not like to eat these tonics anyway, so Shang Junlin fed him once every ten days or so.

"Now that I can eat more, will I become fat if I continue like this?" At night, Shen Yu lay in Shang Junlin's arms and remembered his recent increase in appetite, frowning.

"Where did you become fat, Ah Yu?" Shang Junlin grabbed Shen Yu's wrist and pinched it. "You still don't have much meat on your body."

Shen Yu looked at his wrist, which was a strong contrast to Shang Junlin's. The latter was strong and powerful, while Shen Yu's was fair and thin, with little meat.

He turned around and adopted a posture facing the man, lying in his arms. His movements rubbed against the man's waistcoat and revealed half of his chest.

Shang Junlin's body was covered with a very symmetrical layer of muscle, which was just right and not exaggerated. You couldn't see it when he was wearing clothes, but when he wasn't, you could see the smooth muscle lines.

Shen Yu didn't have much muscle in his body because of his physical condition. His flesh was soft and delicate in both of his lives. He was envious of Shang Junlin's muscular physique, but he didn't know that Shang Junlin loved every part of him.

Shen Yu poked at the muscles on Shang Junlin's body and said, "The Emperor is still the best."

"If Ah Yu likes, you can look and touch as you please," Shang Junlin let go of Shen Yu's hand and pressed it to his chest. He then wrapped his other hand around Shen Yu's waist and said with deep meaning, "I love every inch of your body, Ah Yu."