The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shang Junlin lowered his head, holding a lotus seed in his mouth along with Shen Yu's melancholic fingers.

He lightly bit down before releasing it.

"It's very sweet."

It's unclear whether he was referring to the lotus seed or something else.

Shen Yu's hand was withdrawn, as if scalded, and his face gradually turned crimson under the increasingly aggressive gaze of the man.

"Try it, Ah Yu," Shang Junlin said, leaning down and embracing the youth, kissing him deeply.

Shen Yu had just eaten the lotus seed, with its sweet, nectar-like flavor lingering in his mouth, tempting the man to suck harder.

The sweet fragrance of the lotus seed swirled between their lips, and Shang Junlin pressed down on Shen Yu, deepening the kiss.

The lotus leaves, at some point, tilted to one side, covering the faces of the two.

After the kiss ended, Shang Junlin slightly pulled back, maintaining some distance between them.

One of his hands still rested on Shen Yu's back, supporting him so he wouldn't collapse.

Shen Yu was breathing heavily, with a hint of rouge at the corner of his eyes, causing Shang Junlin's eyes to become even more darkened.

"Ah Yu..."

Sensing Shang Junlin's interest, Shen Yu turned his head and said, "Your Majesty, Meng Gonggong, and the others are still on the shore."

"Lower your voice, Ah Yu. They won't notice us," said Shang Junlin, brushing aside the messy hair on Shen Yu's face with his hand, his fingers lingering.

"No," Shen Yu refused without thinking. "Does His Majesty want me to lie down for a few days again?"

"I won't go overboard like last time, okay?" Shang Junlin knew he had gone too far that day, although he didn't actually go all the way, he had bullied Shen Yu inside and out.

Shen Yu looked around. They were surrounded by lotus leaves, far from the shore. Whatever they did, no one on the shore could see them.

"The imperial physician told Your Majesty to control yourself, didn't he?" Shen Yu remembered that night and didn't want to agree to it.

He didn't mind this kind of thing, but if it was going to be like last time every time, he'd rather not. His body couldn't take Shang Junlin's rough handling.

"Ah Yu, how long has it been since I bothered you?" Shang Junlin lowered his head and rubbed against Shen Yu like a clingy big dog.

Shen Yu was annoyed by his actions.

The two of them were tightly pressed together. Any reaction would be easily noticed by the other. Shang Junlin felt something and laughed softly, leaning his head on Shen Yu's shoulder.

"Do you want it too, Ah Yu?"

"I don't want it." Shen Yu glared at him. If it weren't for him rubbing against him, would he be like this?

"Okay, A Yu. I promise, just once, okay?" Shang Junlin was relentless, his warm breath spraying all over Shen Yu's neck.

Shen Yu was helpless and gave in, "Just once, and only with your hands."

Shang Junlin's eyes lit up like a dog that had just been given a piece of meat.

The unmanned boat swayed gently, creating ripples in the water beneath it.

Shen Yu bit his lip, trying to stifle any sound as the man's lips roamed up his neck, swallowing every noise he made.

The sun was gradually setting.

The palace attendants waiting on the shore occasionally looked anxiously toward the center of the lake. Mu Xi grew restless and asked, "Meng Gonggong, should we go and look for His Majesty and Noble Consort?"

It had been so long, and there was still no sign of them.

Meng Gonggong was also unsure of what to do. His Majesty had not given any orders, so they could not act recklessly.

"Let's wait a bit longer. If His Majesty and Noble Consort have not emerged before it gets dark, we'll send someone to look for them."

As the boat rocked, Shen Yu struggled to avoid the man's kiss. "Your Majesty promised only one-"

"I didn't lie, Ah Yu. Behave yourself." Shang Junlin nibbled on Shen Yu's tender skin around his neck, coaxing him in a husky voice.

It was true that he hadn't lied, but it had taken longer than expected.

Shen Yu was so angry that he bit Shang Junlin.

The man hesitated for a moment before becoming even more ruthless.

Just as Meng Gonggong was considering whether or not to send the guards to look for them, a boat slowly appeared before their eyes.

Meng Gonggong led the way to greet them.

Shang Junlin carried the young man wrapped in a black outer garment off the boat, and Meng Gonggong quickly instructed his men to secure the boat before following behind Shang Junlin.

"Your Majesty..." Meng Gonggong began.

"Let's go back first." The man's voice was filled with satisfaction.

Meng Gonggong wisely remained silent and followed behind Shang Junlin.

Unintentionally, he saw an arm hanging out of the black outer garment. The fair skin was covered in red marks. Meng Gonggong quickly looked away, focusing on his breathing and not daring to look anymore.

Shen Yu couldn't fall asleep, his leg was hurting, and what surprised him, even more, was that Shang Junlin actually carried those small bottles with him.

"Why would Your Majesty bring these?"

Shen Yu leaned back on the bed, playing with the jade bottle in his hand. He took it out of Shang Junlin's clothes, and just one bottle would have been enough, but Shang Junlin actually brought several!

The jade bottles were slender, held by fair and slender fingers, and seemed to have some kind of alluring meaning. Shang Junlin thought of just now, when a pair of hands held him, the skin on the palms was delicate, and the touch was slightly cool...

A taste that grows on you.

"Your Majesty?" Shen Yu stopped when he saw Shang Junlin lost in thought.

Shang Junlin coughed lightly. "I just thought it would be more convenient to carry them with me."

Convenient for what? Shen Yu didn't want to delve into it.

Suddenly, Shang Junlin reached out and held Shen Yu's hand, wrapping his hand and the bottle of medicine in his palm together. "Is Ah Yu feeling uncomfortable now?"

"It's okay." Except for a few places.

This time it was really okay. The next day, when Shen Yu woke up, he was in good spirits, except for some discomfort in certain areas. Compared to last time, there were no lasting effects.

"Master, Your Majesty sent a lot of lotus seeds over." Mu Xi led the way, bringing in the lotus seeds.

Indeed, there were a lot of them. Shen Yu silently counted, it would be enough for him to eat for a few days.

Shang Junlin was still worried about Shen Yu and called the doctor the next day.

"Your Highness is in good health." After checking his pulse, the doctor spoke.

Shen Yu also felt that he was fine. "I said you didn't have to bother the doctor to come over."

"Let the doctor take a look. I feel more at ease."

Afterward, the doctor was asked to the study to ask about Shen Yu's physical condition in detail.

In the middle of the night, Shen Yu was awakened by the noise, and Shang Junlin patted his back. "I'm going to take a look. You continue sleeping."

After that, Shang Junlin put on his coat and went out.

Shen Yu lay in bed for a while but couldn't sleep, so he sat up and asked Mu Xi to turn on the light. "What's going on outside?"

"It seems that some minister's residence has a water leak," Mu Xi had been waiting outside and heard the news from a palace maid.

"How could that happen?" The palace housed the emperor and high-ranking officials, all of whom were valuable assets. The servants were always extremely cautious, and it was almost impossible for such a big mistake to happen.

Shen Yu put on his cloak and walked outside, immediately seeing the towering flames.

"That direction... seems to be the residence of some aristocratic official," Shen Yu murmured.

"It's the residence of the Minister of Revenue. Why did you come out?" Shang Junlin walked in from outside and hugged Shen Yu directly.

The temperature in the palace was low at night, and Shen Yu snuggled in the man's arms for a while, gradually feeling warm. "I couldn't sleep, so I came out to take a look."

"We've already arranged for people to put out the fire. Don't worry," Shang Junlin stroked Shen Yu's hair.

A water leak in the palace was no small matter, and whether it was intentional or accidental, it needed to be thoroughly investigated. Shang Junlin sent Shen Yu back to his room to continue resting, while he himself went to meet with the ministers.

The prime minister and others had been waiting in the study for a while, and after Shang Junlin came in and took his seat, he knocked on the table. "What do you make of tonight's events?"

"Mr. Tan's response was that a servant accidentally knocked over a candle, which caused the room to catch fire. Fortunately, it was discovered early and didn't cause much damage."

"Who was injured?"

"Except for Miss Tan, who was injured on her face, everyone else is fine."

"Do you think this was an accident?"

"In my opinion, it doesn't seem like one. Why did it have to be Miss Tan who was injured, and why did it happen after such an incident?"

Shang Junlin wanted to use this as an opportunity to teach others a lesson, so he did not conceal the events of that day. It had only been a few days since then, and Miss Tan had almost died in a fire. No one would think that this was a coincidence.

In the courtyard of the Tan family residence, Miss Tan had just been rescued from the fire and was still in shock, leaning on her maid. She knew better than anyone else that tonight's fire was not an accident. If she hadn't taken precautions early, she wouldn't have been able to make it out alive.

She touched the wound on her face that had not yet been treated, and her eyes were full of confusion.

"It's really embarrassing to bring it in front of His Majesty. If you don't have the guts, don't have such ambitions. In the end, you will only implicate us for no reason," the eldest daughter of the Tan family looked down at Miss Tan, her tone full of ridicule. "You are really lucky to be able to survive such a fire."

Miss Tan silently clenched her fists.

"Dad, in my opinion, we should just get rid of those clumsy servants. After all, not many people were injured."

The eldest daughter of the Tan family has always disliked her younger sister, not because of the difference in their status, but because her good little sister, like her stepmother, likes to pretend to be weak. Every time she makes a mistake or wants something, as long as she puts on a bullied face, she can usually get what she wants.

This time, she had even more courage, going directly to His Majesty, without considering her own status. She dared to dream of that position, but the result was that the Tan family became the laughingstock of everyone.

"Alright," scolded the Ministry of Revenue, "first get a physician to check on your sister's face."

The Ministry of Revenue was too lazy to look at this embarrassing daughter and left with a wave of his sleeves.

Just thinking about having to explain all these things to His Majesty gave him a headache.

When Shang Junlin came back again, it was already daylight. Shen Yu didn't sleep well in the second half of the night, so he got up early and had lotus seed porridge made for him.

The snow-white lotus seeds floated in the bowl, and Shen Yu stirred them with a spoon.

"Why did you get up so early?" Shang Junlin walked in.

"Mu Xi, go and bring a bowl of porridge to His Majesty as well."

Shen Yu gave his orders before answering Shang Junlin's question, "I couldn't sleep. How did you handle things?"

"For the time being, it's only been determined as an accident. The Ministry of Revenue insists that it was a mistake made by a servant and has no intention of further investigation." Shang Junlin sat down beside Shen Yu.

The palace attendant soon brought the lotus seed porridge over.

"Your Majesty, have some too."

Shang Junlin picked up the porridge and finished it in a few mouthfuls, and Shen Yu also finished his bowl and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

"The Ministry of Revenue is on thin ice. He more than anyone else hopes that this incident is just an accident."

After the palace attendant finished cleaning up, Shang Junlin took Shen Yu's hand and walked towards the bed, "Ah Yu, let's sleep for a while longer."

Shen Yu thought about how he hadn't slept for most of the night, so he didn't refuse.

After changing his clothes, Shang Junlin held Shen Yu in his arms and lay down in bed, "It's more comfortable to be with Ah Yu."

Even if they didn't do anything, Shang Junlin could hold onto someone all day long.

On the other side.

In the closed study, a middle-aged man asked in a deep voice, "How is the matter going?"

"Don't worry, sir. We have already spread the news according to your instructions. When it's broad daylight, everything will be as you wish!"