The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shen Yu lay in the man's warm embrace and fell asleep soon.

Shang Junlin looked down at him, originally not feeling very sleepy, but after watching Shen Yu's peaceful sleeping face for a while, drowsiness gradually crept up on him.

Not long after, Shang Junlin also fell asleep holding him.

After sleeping for a while, Shen Yu woke up refreshed and felt around next to him, but Shang Junlin wasn't there. He must have gone to deal with government affairs.

Hearing some movement, Mu Xi came in to attend to him.

After washing up, Shen Yu took a book and asked, "Did something happen? Your expression was off when you came in earlier."

Mu Xi pursed her lips and didn't know if she should tell Shen Yu.

Shen Yu rolled up his book and lightly tapped his head, saying, "Speak up, what's going on?"

"It's outside, they're all saying that the fire last night was set by you," Mu Xi said indignantly, "But you clearly didn't do anything, how could they slander you like this for no reason?"

Shen Yu suppressed his smile, sat down on the soft couch with the book in hand, and said, "Tell me more."

"This morning when I went out, I overheard someone privately saying that something was wrong with the fire last night, that it was deliberate, and the purpose was to deal with Miss Tan's family. Otherwise, with so many rooms, how could the fire happen to the place where Miss Tan lived?"

"It's indeed man-made, but we don't know what the true purpose of the mastermind behind it is," Shen Yu said, hiding his deep thoughts.

"They were discussing these things, which was fine, but suddenly they all agreed that you set the fire, saying that it was because you couldn't tolerate anyone else by the emperor's side, and also..." Mu Xi couldn't continue.

Shen Yu picked up the tea cup next to him and took a sip, "Go on."

"They said the emperor originally had his eye on Miss Tan and wanted to bring her into the palace, but you refused and had a big fight with the emperor. You even drove Miss Tan out and spread rumors about her to ruin her reputation."

After hearing this, Shen Yu already understood that the fire was ultimately targeting him.

"Does the emperor know?" Shen Yu asked.

"He knew early this morning. Before he left, he told us not to disturb your rest."

"He didn't tell you not to tell me about these things?"

"No," Mu Xi shook her head, "He just instructed us that if you found out about these things, there was no need to worry, the emperor will take care of it."

"How many people believe this now?"

"Except for those serving here, rumors are spreading everywhere," Mu Xi went out to inquire about the news as soon as she heard the rumors. The more she heard, the more resentful she felt. "My lord, don't worry, His Majesty has already taken care of it."

Shen Yu shook his head. "Without a convincing truth, it won't truly quiet down."

As the saying goes, "Three people make a tiger."1 Even if he did not do this, if enough people said it, it would be forcibly attributed to him.

This was probably one of the goals of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Shen Yu was right. Even though Shang Junlin ordered that private discussions were not allowed, the rumors did not disappear but instead spread wider and wider, not just within the palace, but also in the capital city.

Shang Junlin received a secret report from the Hidden Dragon Guard, and layers of dark clouds stacked up in his eyes, with his aura getting lower and lower.

"Summon the people of the Tan family to me."

Meng Gonggong did not dare to delay and quickly summoned the Tan family.

The ones who came were Mr. Tan and Miss Tan, whose wounds had just been treated.

"Have you heard the rumors outside?" Shang Junlin sat on his high seat, his tone cold.

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged," Mr. Tan knelt down with a frightened expression. "I don't know where those rumors came from. I can swear that I didn't do it. I don't know anything."

Miss Tan knelt silently and said nothing.

"Is that so?" Shang Junlin's voice did not reveal his anger or joy. "Then why did the news initially come from a servant of the Tan family?"

"I really don't know, Your Majesty, please discern the truth," Mr. Tan banged his head heavily, feeling nothing but fear in his heart.

When Mr. Tan first heard the rumors, he was already chilled to the bone. Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare to spread such words outside. Who did not know that Shen Gui Jun was the apple of His Majesty's eye? Did he deliberately court death by doing such a thing?

Shang Junlin also knew that it was not Mr. Tan's doing. He turned to the person involved and said, "Did you notice anything unusual last night?"

"I can be sure that someone was trying to kill me!" The woman who had been bowing her head and could not see her expression suddenly raised her head. "Last night, after I fell asleep, I vaguely felt someone walking in the room, and there were very low conversations. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but not long after, the room caught on fire."

"And one more thing, I don't know if it counts. Before I went to bed last night, a strange maid brought me a bowl of bird's nest soup, saying that my father had it sent for me because I was injured. I felt that something was not quite right and did not eat the bird's nest soup. I didn't dare to sleep too soundly at night either."

If she had eaten the bird's nest soup, and if it happened to be drugged with a sleeping potion, she would have probably died in the fire.

Shang Junlin ordered the Tan family to be placed under surveillance. There were many doubts in this matter, especially involving Shen Yu, which made it difficult for Shang Junlin to maintain his composure.

"Don't frown, Your Majesty." Shen Yu reached out to smooth the creases between the man's brows.

Shang Junlin embraced Shen Yu as he was affected by the insults they received. He buried his face in Shen Yu's neck and took a deep breath, "I'd rather they come after me than you."

Shang Junlin cherished Shen Yu deeply and could not bear to harm him in any way. The people who used such a vicious method against him were too audacious.

The more Shang Junlin thought about it, the angrier he became, and his body exuded a heavy aura. When he catches those people, he'll make sure they know what it's like to wish for death!

Shen Yu patted Shang Junlin's back, "Alright, your Majesty, don't be angry. There's no need to be angry."

It was just a verbal insult, and Shen Yu had heard worse. When he worked for the King of Yue in his previous life, he was called all sorts of names. Compared to those insults, this was nothing.

"I won't allow them to speak ill of you, Ah Yu. How can I let them slander you when you're such a good person? They're not worthy!" Shang Junlin said.

Shen Yu's heart warmed, and he relaxed in the man's embrace, "Your Majesty, do you know who did this?"

Shang Junlin was not sure.

"Do you want to know who did it?" Shen Yu blinked.

"Does Ah Yu know?" Shang Junlin asked, looking at him curiously.

"Not yet, but we will soon." Shen Yu smiled and whispered a few words in Shang Junlin's ear.

"Ah Yu is really..." Shang Junlin chuckled.

"Your Majesty should do what you need to do. For the rest, you only need to lend me a few members of the Hidden Dragon Guard," Shen Yu said.

In addition to the officials on the surface, Shang Junlin also ordered the Hidden Dragon Guard to investigate the matter and the Tan family was placed under surveillance, and each servant was interrogated.

Their efforts paid off, and they finally caught a clue.

The rumors grew louder and more widespread. "Everything is developing as planned. I believe that in due time, Your Excellency's wish will be fulfilled!" an underling flattered.

"You did a good job this time. Once the matter is settled, the things promised to you will belong to you completely."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" The subordinate's face lit up with joy.

"You may leave now and keep an eye on the situation outside at all times."

"Yes."

Doctor Gu and Gu Huai also heard about the incident.

"I believe that you are not that kind of person," Doctor Gu had been in contact with Shen Yu for some time and trusted him.

"Brother is right. If you really wanted to deal with that Tan family Miss, why would you use such a stupid method?" In the short time they spent together, Gu Huai had come to the realization that Shen Yu was not a fool who would do something so brainless out of jealousy.

"It's probably to provoke discord between you and His Majesty. You've been in the palace for so long, dominating His Majesty's attention, and he favors you so much that he won't take a concubine. Those who want to secure their positions by sending their daughters into the palace cannot sit still." Doctor Gu sighed, "I wonder if His Majesty will believe you?"

"Those people didn't even consider the consequences. If His Majesty dislikes it, what use is it for them to send people into the palace? They might end up suffering instead of gaining anything." Gu Huai was very disgusted with this kind of behavior of using women to gain status and power.

"Unfortunately, some people are blinded by power and will never understand this."

Gu Huai nodded in agreement.

The person behind the scenes was waiting for the day when Shen Yu would be rejected by Shang Junlin, but unfortunately, they waited and waited, and the relationship between Shen Yu and Shang Junlin remained unchanged. In fact, because of his concern for Shen Yu, Shang Junlin became even more clingy than before.

This was not what he had expected!

The person behind the scenes looked at the message sent through the spy, feeling so angry that he wanted to vomit blood.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty summons you."

The voice of a servant came from outside the room. He quickly put away the letter in his hand and strode out of the house.

When he arrived, he found that apart from Shang Junlin and Shen Yu, there was no one else.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects," he said as he knelt down, feeling increasingly uneasy.

"Minister Yi, I don't think we have any major grudges, do we?" Shen Yu's calm voice broke the silence.

Minister Yi's heart skipped a beat. "Your subject doesn't know what you're talking about, Your Majesty."

"Otherwise, why would Minister Yi set fire and hurt people, and then point all the evidence at me?" Shen Yu calmly looked at him.

Minister Yi's growing unease finally reached its peak, and he forced himself to remain calm. "Even if you are Your Majesty, you cannot make baseless accusations against court officials."

He had covered his tracks so well that even if he was exposed, everything would still point to Shen Yu, and he would never be discovered!

"The truth or slander, Minister Yi knows better than anyone in his heart. If you don't want others to know, don't do it yourself," Shen Yu stood up and walked to the man kneeling on the ground. "Minister Yi has read so many books of sages, don't you understand this simplest principle?"

"It seems that Minister Yi still refuses to admit it," Shen Yu sighed helplessly. "Is Lord Yi so confident that we won't find any evidence? "

Minister Yi gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"In fact, we wouldn't have found any evidence if it weren't for Minister Yi who personally brought it to us. Blood Swallow's Nest is such a precious supplement that Mr. Tan would never have given it to a disgraceful illegitimate daughter of his family. Not every aristocratic family has the resources like the Yi family. Of course, one serving of Swallow's Nest alone does not prove anything, but what about this?"

Shen Yu took out a rolled-up paper from his sleeve, with a special pattern at the end of the paper, which was used by Minister Yi to send messages to the capital.

"Why do you have this?!"

Minister Yi reached out to take it, but Shen Yu withdrew his hand. "Are you willing to admit it now?"