The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

They left the palace and headed towards the dungeon. There was a stretch of cement road leading to the dungeon, which made the ride smoother than in other places.

Shen Yu lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. "It would be much more convenient if all the roads in Dahuan were paved like this."

"When there's a chance in the future, I'll take you to tour around Dahuan," said Shang Junlin.

"Okay, Your Majesty, you promised not to go back on your word."

The dungeon was brightly lit and surrounded by layers of imperial guards.

Shen Yu followed behind Shang Junlin and got off the carriage, feeling amazed. "This is probably the busiest the dungeon has ever been."

Indeed, in addition to the imperial soldiers, there were also many prisoners who had escaped from the jail. Shen Yu seriously doubted whether the dungeon could hold all these people.

On the other hand, upon learning that the secret order and manpower had been taken away by Young Master He, the head of the He family was furious. "Are you all idiots? You let him take away everything?! Didn't I say that except for me, no one can touch these things?! "

"Master, this really can't be blamed on us," the servant was almost in tears. "Young Master He was holding your letter and said you had ordered him to come. You also told us before that we needed to be vigilant tonight and that Young Master He was sent by you."

This really could only be said that Young Master He had picked the perfect timing.

After all, he was his eldest son, and when the head of the He family was doing things, he would not deliberately keep him in the dark. Except for some things that he really couldn't let him know, he would reveal a little bit to Young Master He about other matters.

The thing that happened this time was that the head of the He family had no guard up against the eldest son of the He family, and was easily tricked.

"Let me see the letter," he said.

The servant tremblingly took out a letter.

The head of the He family took it and after reading it, he almost burst out laughing. The handwriting and tone of the letter were almost identical to his own, no wonder the servant didn't suspect anything. In addition, the eldest son of the He family had created a time difference, and no one suspected him as he took the people away.

"Sir, what should we do now?" the servant asked.

"That scoundrel probably knows where his brother is. Take some men and try to retrieve him. If you can, there is still a chance. If you can't..."

The servant didn't dare to delay and immediately left. However, he had not gone far before he saw a group of imperial guards surrounding them.

Against the well-trained imperial soldiers, the He family had no resistance at all. The head of the family gritted his teeth and led a few trusted aides to retreat to the secret passage.

He had truly raised a good son!

In the end, the head of the He family and his "beloved" eldest son were reunited in the dungeon.

When Shen Yu and Shang Junlin arrived, everyone had already been captured.

Shen Yu and Shang Junlin walked into the dungeon, which was lit up with torches and as bright as day. It was the first time Shen Yu had seen the dungeon in such light.

The head of the He family and the eldest son were imprisoned next to the youngest son, and the King of Yue was held in another cell. The remaining prison escapees were either executed on the spot or imprisoned together.

The King of Yue had heard the commotion in the dungeon early on and thought these people had come to rescue him. However, they did not stop at his cell and went directly to another location where they were caught by the hidden imperial guards.

From beginning to end, the King of Yue was stunned. He had been in contact with people outside and they had promised to rescue him today. He had waited eagerly but when they finally came, they didn't even spare him a glance.

The interrogation was being handled by a dedicated official, and Shang Junlin and Shen Yu were only there to observe the situation.

The remaining matters were all clear at a glance. Young Master He, who was eager to save his younger brother, didn't realize he had fallen into the trap set by the hunters from the very beginning. He led the people straight into it and was caught red-handed. He ended up being detained with Young Master He.

After sending away the commander of the imperial guards, Shang Junlin brought Shen Yu to the place where the King of Yue was being held.

"You knew it all along, didn't you? I was able to communicate with the outside world because you allowed it. You were waiting for this moment, weren't you?" The King of Yue thought of many details as he calmed down.

Why was it that when he first entered the dungeon, he couldn't contact anyone outside no matter what he did, but suddenly, one day he was able to? Besides that, there were many other strange things. At the time, he was in a hurry to leave and didn't think much of it even if he noticed something was off. Now thinking back, there were many loopholes.

"The King of Yue is smart for once, but it's a pity that even if they wanted to rescue you, they wouldn't dare show themselves in person. They only dared to send some people from the unreliable He family," Shang Junlin sneered.

The King of Yue hated him, but now he had lost miserably and could only watch Shang Junlin stand in front of him as the winner.

He was an emperor who looked down on everything, while he was a prisoner who had fallen into the dust and his future was unknown.

Shen Yu was also looking at the King of Yue. The difference between the current King of Yue and the man in his memory from his past life was too great. It was so great that he began to doubt whether they were the same person.

Without the so-called halo of the protagonist and the praise that had been intentionally imposed on him, he was just an ordinary person.

Shang Junlin handed over the matter of the prison break to Fang Jun, who had hurriedly arrived, and took Shen Yu back to the palace.

Along the way, Shen Yu didn't speak. After arriving at the Jade Palace, Shang Junlin directly carried him off the carriage.

"Are you still thinking about the King of Yue?"

Shen Yu shook his head and then nodded. He was thinking more about his past life. He thought that what he had seen with his own eyes and the book he had read after his death in his past life was the whole truth, but at this moment, he suddenly realized that both had misleading aspects.

Indeed, one should not rely too much on the so-called world plot.

Shang Junlin did not put Shen Yu down and carried him directly inside. As they passed by, the palace maids all bowed their heads.

Shen Yu struggled a bit and said, "Your Majesty, please put me down. There are so many people watching..."

The leader of the imperial guards explained what had happened that night as he walked alongside the two of them. "According to His Majesty's orders, we secretly observed the eldest son of the He family while guarding all the exits of the dungeon. Sure enough, a group of suspicious people met with the eldest son of the He family and then came straight to the dungeon..."

"I am holding my precious subject, isn't it right and proper? Not only can I hold him, but I can also kiss him, and..."

"Alright," Shen Yu interrupted, not wanting him to continue, "Your Majesty can hold me if you wish, as long as you don't mind my weight."

"How could I mind Ah Yu's weight? He should actually gain more weight, so it's more comfortable to hold him." Shang Junlin weighed the young man in his arms, and for him, Shen Yu's weight was nothing.

Although Shen Yu had gained some weight during his illness, his weight was still much lighter than that of a normal person.

After taking down the He family, they finally traced the clues of the mysterious forces behind them.

Although they couldn't find the real mastermind, it was still a great improvement compared to before when they had no clues.

During the recent purge of officials, many positions were emptied, and Shang Junlin arranged for officials from local areas to fill those vacancies. Gradually, new officials who passed the imperial examinations also entered the court. Everything seemed to be thriving.

The Grand Preceptor, who had planned the cheating in the imperial examination, was stripped of his title and exiled along with his nine relatives. His position was now vacant.

The noble and common officials were fighting fiercely for this position in the court.

Especially the noble families, who had already suffered too much, would be greatly affected if someone not from their faction took the position.

As a group of new officials promoted by Shang Junlin gradually entered the court, the monopoly of the noble families over the court was finally broken, and the position of Grand Preceptor, due to the interference of the noble families, was still undecided.

These disputes did not affect the tranquility of the Hanlin Academy for the time being.

"Are you two here together again?"

Jiang Huaiqing greeted the person he was talking to with a smile and replied, "I hitched a ride on Chengyu's carriage. You know, I've been a little short on money lately."

It started with Jiang Huaiqing taking a fancy to a rare book that he really wanted, but he was afraid someone else would buy it if he waited, so he had to grit his teeth and buy it.

"I know, I know. Don't forget to lend it to us after you've copied it."

"I won't forget."

Jiang Huaiqing and He Chengyu were on duty together. At first, Jiang was a bit cautious and didn't want to get too close to him, but later on, seeing that their colleagues were all easy to get along with, he became more casual in his behavior.

They still live together now, and they come and go together. The people in the Hanlin Academy know that they have a good relationship and often tease them.

It took about ten days for Jiang Huaiqing to go from being embarrassed to facing it calmly.

"Oh, by the way, I think I found the file you asked me to look for last time. Do you want to come and take a look?"

"Thank you!" Jiang Huaiqing's eyes brightened.

"It's been decades, why do you need these things?" the person asked curiously.

"I admire the great scholars of the past and want to learn more about them," Jiang Huaiqing explained with a smile.

"Ah, I see. You are really interested in these things. I will keep an eye out for anything else that might interest you," he said without suspicion. After all, Jiang Huaiqing's hobby of buying rare books had become well known in the Hanlin Academy. It was quite normal for someone who would spend all his money on a rare book to be interested in the deeds of the great scholars of various eras.

Fortunately, he was good friends with He Chengyu and could occasionally receive help from him.

Occasionally, Shen Yu could receive letters from Jiang Huaiqing talking about some interesting things in his daily life, and Shen Yu would write back.

For some reason, Shen Yu noticed that Shang Junlin didn't seem to like talking about the King of Yue in front of him lately. Even if he asked, the topic would be diverted after a few sentences.

"Why does Your Majesty suddenly not want to talk to me about things related to the King of Yue?" After being sidetracked again, Shen Yu asked. He wanted to know if Shang Junlin simply didn't want him to know about the King of Yue, or if he didn't want him to know about other things either.

Shang Junlin rubbed Shen Yu's neck and said in a hoarse voice, "I had a motive when I took you to the dark cell that day."

"Hmm?" Shen Yu was confused.

"I know that the King of Yue approached you when you were outside the palace, and I wanted you to see him," Shang Junlin said.

"Your Majesty," Shen Yu interrupted him, "Does Your Majesty care about this?"

Shang Junlin looked at him deeply.

The more he loved someone, the more he couldn't tolerate any shadow of that person. Whether it was his domineering or his paranoia, he didn't want anyone else to occupy Shen Yu's gaze or mind. He took Shen Yu to see the King of Yue to make him realize more deeply that the King of Yue was not worth his affection.

After a while, Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's hand. "I thought I could ignore what happened to you outside the palace, but I was wrong. I can't help but care about everything that happens to you, and I can't help but care about everything that happens to you."

"Did you really mean what you said to the King of Yue? Did you really just see him as a substitute for me?"