The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

By the end of Shang JunLin’s sentence, there was a deep chill in his voice.

Cold sweat broke out on the King of Li’s forehead. He knelt down with a ‘plop’. “This servant doesn’t dare!”

“This emperor thinks you dare too much! If this emperor hadn’t come across you today, how else were you planning to coerce the noble monarch?”

Shang JunLin stepped behind Shen Yu and reached out to take him into his arms. “This emperor didn’t know the King of Li and the King of Yue were so concerned about the private affairs of myself and the noble monarch.”

The King of Yue was already kneeling. Under the pressure of the emperor’s authority, he hardly dared to glance up at Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was leaning in the arms of the taller man, his posture relaxed. There was no trace of fear on his face.

He wasn’t afraid at all that Shang JunLin would find out what happened between them before!

The King of Yue finally understood this.

How much did Shang JunLin spoil Shen Yu? His eyes darkened.

“Who gave you the courage to persecute this emperor’s noble monarch? Hmm?”

 Shang JunLin’s slightly chilly voice rang out on the empty path. The palace servants around them were all kneeling, and the King of Li buried his head. The clothes on his back gradually became soaked with sweat.

He couldn’t figure out why Shang JunLin had suddenly appeared here.

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Clearly, his informant in the palace had said the emperor was having a discussion in the imperial study and wouldn’t leave for a while. When the King of Li happened to see Shen Yu leave Yuzhang Palace alone, he intercepted him.

The King of Li knew Shang JunLin was too difficult to deal with, so he wanted to start with Shen Yu. He never thought Shang JunLin would catch him in the act.

“Your Majesty, this servant is guilty.”

Under the full force of Shang JunLin’s anger, the King of Li didn’t dare to make any excuses for himself, let alone try to figure out how long Shang JunLin had been listening to him threaten Shen Yu.

“This servant is aware of my offense,” the King of Yue, who’d been silent until now, said in a hoarse voice. “This servant just wanted to ask the noble monarch about something for a friend.”

The King of Yue said this to remind Shen Yu not to suddenly talk nonsense in front of the emperor.

When Mu Xi heard this, she glared at the King of Yue. He actually presumed to say such a thing—what a scumbag.

“His Highness the King of Yue is such a devoted friend. I wonder what kind of relationship the King of Yue has with this person. Is this friend worth the King of Yue taking such a big risk to enter the palace on his behalf?” Shen Yu glanced obliquely at the King of Yue kneeling on the ground, as if his eyes saw something distasteful.

“This servant…”

Shen Yu interrupted. “The person the King of Yue is talking about isn’t himself, is it? If the King of Yue wants to ask me anything, just say it directly. No need to talk in circles.” 

The King of Yue was silent. Shen Yu was right. The King of Yue didn’t dare to reveal any details in front of Shang JunLin. It was a major crime for a vassal king to flout the orders of the emperor and return to the capital without permission.

Shang JunLin squeezed Shen Yu’s hand. In a low voice, deliberately pitched so both the King of Li and the King of Yue could hear him, he asked, “Does the noble monarch know what the King of Yue wanted to ask you?”

The King of Yue’s fingers curled involuntarily. He stared at the ground with the fear of death in his eyes, and his heart rose into his throat.

He was afraid Shen Yu would say it, but he also felt some anticipation, thinking that Shen Yu might admit the unspoken relationship between them.

“Maybe he wants to ask why I agreed to enter the palace? Who knows,” Shen Yu replied carelessly.

Shang JunLin gave Shen Yu a deep look and decided to change the subject. “What about the King of Li? Why did you come looking for the noble monarch?”

“This servant…”

“Of course it’s because of the position of empress.”

The two voices spoke almost at the same time. And now that Shen Yu’s words had been said, the King of Li knew it was useless to try to contradict him, so he simply shut up.

“Your Majesty, I should tell you that the King of Li ordered me to persuade you to accept a concubine. To make me agree, he threatened me with the fact that you accompanied me to the Zhenbei Marquis’ mansion.”

“This is all a misunderstanding on this servant’s part. This servant will make amends to the noble monarch.” The King of Li had no choice but to admit guilt. His Majesty himself had stated that he was the one who visited the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence. If the King of Li insisted otherwise, he was only asking for trouble.

No matter who else was with Shen Yu at the Zhenbei Marquis’ residence that day, Shang JunLin had spoken. No one could say anything.

The King of Li couldn’t figure out what was so good about Shen Yu. Why did the emperor favor him so much?

Shang JunLin gazed down at the two people for a while. In a quiet voice he said, “Someone come. The King of Li and the King of Yue have disrespected the noble concubine. Give them one hundred blows with a stick.”

“Your Majesty!” The King of Li looked up incredulously, “You’re going to cane your own uncle for this devilish concubine?!”

Shang JunLin lowered his eyes. “You can also choose to go to the dark prison.” His words were unhurried. 

“Shen Yu, you devilish concubine! Your Majesty, Your Majesty! You can’t do this. I’m your uncle!” The King of Li began to struggle.

“It’s obviously His Majesty who gave the order. Why blame me? Since Your Highness the King of Li is being punished, it’s best to reflect on your actions.” Sensing the King of Li’s resentful eyes, the corners of Shen Yu’s mouth curved up. “King of Li, don’t pretend to be confused. No one here is stupid. Do you really think I don’t know why you came to see me? You wanted me to make way for you and your good niece, but I don’t think you’re worthy.” Shen Yu laughed mockingly.

“You… You…” When the King of Li heard his plans revealed so clearly, he was so angry his face turned red. Seeing that the King of Yue hadn’t spoken up, the King of Li couldn’t help but add, “King of Yue, don’t you have anything to say? You’re just going to watch Shen Yu go on like this?”

“Imperial Uncle, what we did is wrong. We deserve to be punished.” The King of Yue didn’t know why Shen Yu hadn’t immediately exposed him in front of Shang JunLin, but Shen Yu was crazy. It was impossible to guess what he’d do next.

He was no longer grasping Shen Yu’s handle. Shen Yu was grasping his. He couldn’t afford to gamble.

Shang JunLin took Shen Yu with him and walked up to the King of Li. He said in a cold voice, “This emperor warned you long ago that you shouldn’t have certain ideas. Don’t think this emperor will tolerate you for a lifetime.”

The King of Li had been making small moves in private and tried to control him by meddling with his harem. Shang JunLin had put up with him for a long time.

The guards dragged the two men away despite the King of Li’s struggles. His Majesty himself had given the order. Even if the person was a king, the executioner would carry out the sentence.

Shang JunLin led Shen Yu to the imperial study.

“Did they mistreat you?” Shang JunLin ordered someone to pour hot tea and urged Shen Yu to drink it.

Shen Yu froze. He didn’t think this was the first thing Shang JunLin would say. He assumed Shang JunLin would ask him about the King of Yue.

Shen Yu smiled. “Your Majesty came just in time. They didn’t mistreat me.”

If you were going to talk about mistreatment, Shen Yu thought the King of Li and the King of Yue had the worst of it.

“Why did Your Majesty suddenly happen to pass by?” Shen Yu knew that in the past few days, Shang JunLin had been dealing with a few things related to the palace and was a little busier than usual.

“This emperor heard a report that the King of Li and the King of Yue were roaming the palace. This emperor went to see what they were up to.”

In fact, he was in the middle of dealing with political matters, but after hearing the report from the Hidden Dragon Guard, he learned the King of Li and the King of Yue were planning to make trouble for Shen Yu, and he rushed over on purpose.

“No matter why Your Majesty happened to come, I thank you for helping me.” Shen Yu nestled into the soft cushions of the couch like a cat.

The soft couch had been placed in the imperial study at Shang JunLin’s command. It was convenient for Shen Yu to rest there when he visited, although it didn’t match the overall cold and hard style of the imperial study.

Previously, Shang JunLin had been using the couch where Shen Yu read his books. One day Shen Yu casually said, “Your Majesty is occupying my territory, so Your Majesty should make it up to me.” The next day, a soft couch appeared in the imperial study.

Later, Shen Yu noticed that it wasn’t only the imperial study. Wherever he might happen to go, there was a comfortable place specially arranged for him to rest.

“How can this emperor allow others to bully my noble monarch?” Shang JunLin sat in the imperial seat and continued to read memorials.

When he heard Shang JunLin say this, Shen Yu felt a slight ripple in his heart. In both of his lives, Shang JunLin was the only one who ever stood in front of him unconditionally, sheltering him from the wind and rain.

“Your Majesty is so kind to me.” It wasn’t the first time Shen Yu had said this, but every time he said it, he felt it more deeply than the last time.

Maybe in the beginning he’d said it in part to please the most powerful man in the empire, but every time after that, the impurities were washed away little by little, leaving only the purest feelings.

Meng Gonggong had already received instructions to have the imperial kitchen send in hot food. Before long, a palace servant came in with a steaming meal.

“It just so happens that it’s time to eat. The noble monarch should stay and dine with this emperor.”

After receiving His Majesty’s orders, the imperial kitchen prepared Shen Yu’s favorite dishes. There were also a few snacks that met his preferences, things Shen Yu hadn’t seen in Yuzhang Palace before.

“Your Majesty, does the imperial kitchen have a new chef?” Shen Yu popped one of the sweet white morsels into his mouth. He squinted with contentment as he enjoyed the flavor.

“It’s a new style they’ve been working on. If you like it, this emperor will tell them to serve it in Yuzhang Palace.” Shang JunLin wasn’t interested in sweets. He ate the food in his bowl in his usual way.

After having dined with Shang JunLin so many times, Shen Yu knew that Shang JunLin didn’t have any opinions about food. He ate whatever he was given.

Shen Yu still remembered having dinner one time with Shang JunLin, when a certain dish presented by the imperial kitchen had an unspeakably awful flavor. Shen Yu took one mouthful and couldn’t force himself to eat another bite, but Shang JunLin finished most of the dish without changing expression.

After that, Shen Yu complained about Shang JunLin’s taste in food for a long time, and now whenever the two dined together, all of the dishes matched Shen Yu’s preferences.

“Your Majesty, why have you sent so many beautiful things to Yuzhang Palace?” Shen Yu bit his chopsticks. “If this goes on long enough, won’t Yuzhang Palace become the richest courtyard in the imperial palace?”

Shang JunLin: “The imperial palace belongs to this emperor, and the noble monarch belongs to me too. If putting these things in a different place can please the noble monarch, they’re fulfilling their purpose.”

Shen Yu: “Your Majesty is really getting better and better at romantic talk.”

Shang JunLin frowned. “This emperor just said the truth.”

Shen Yu smiled without saying more. Sometimes it was the most unintentional romantic talk that was the most touching.

TL Notes:

I’ve been sleepy lately so releases will be a little later in the day (✿◡‿◡) zZZ

this servant – The King of Yue is calling himself “servant brother” (臣弟 – chén dì ). The King of Li uses “servant” (臣)

(he) actually presumed – 不敢当 – really don’t deserve this; am not worthy of such compliments; not equal to the honor; You flatter me

talk in circles – 拐弯抹角 – lit. going round the curves and skirting the corners (idiom) / fig. to speak in a roundabout way / to equivocate / to beat about the bush

Someone come – 来人 – The emperor said this to summon a servant/indicate he was issuing an order

noble concubine – 贵妃 – guì fēi – SJL says “concubine” here instead of “monarch” for whatever reason

devilish concubine – 妖妃 – yāo fēi – Alternatively: demonic, bewitching, enchanting, etc. Previously encountered in Ch 5 as “bewitching devilish concubine”

the most powerful man – 至尊 – the most revered and respected, the most honorable / the most respected / supreme / (archaic) the emperor

romantic talk – 情话 – terms of endearment, words of love, lover’s prattle, sweet nothings