The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Mu Xi had no idea Shang JunLin would arrive just now, and the emperor didn't tell anyone to announce him when he entered. Shang JunLin came to Yuzhang Palace at specific times, mostly in the evening or at night, while Mu Xi usually discussed things with Shen Yu in the morning.

After entering the palace, Shen Yu continued to have his people keep an eye on the Zhenbei Marquis' residence. His focus, of course, was the original book protagonist, Shen QingRan. Reports made their way back to him in the palace every so often.

He hadn't expected the King of Yue and Shen QingRan to hook up so soon, much earlier than in the book. Was it because Shen Yu was no longer in the way?

By this time in his last life, Shen QingRan had already entered the palace, and the progress of his relationship with the King of Yue naturally stagnated for a while. But Shang JunLin was now here, and Shen Yu didn't have time to think about anything else. He quickly gathered his thoughts and got up to meet the emperor.

"Did Your Majesty finish your work today?"

Shang JunLin was diligent about government affairs. He spent most of his day managing his duties, and sometimes even brought official reports to Yuzhang Palace.

Shang JunLin didn't answer Shen Yu's question. "If this emperor hadn't come here at this hour, I wouldn't have heard your little servant say such interesting things." His falcon-like gaze fell on Mu Xi. "Tell this emperor, who troubled our noble monarch?"

"Your Majesty, forgive this slave. This slave…" Mu Xi fell to her knees with a "thump" and bowed her head.

Shen Yu was unconcerned. "His Majesty is just curious. What's the harm of saying it? At worst, your dear master will be ridiculed."

Mu Xi couldn't help looking at Shen Yu. She was surprised to see that his face wasn't flustered at all. He seemed to think what she had to say wasn't a big deal.

Shen Yu really didn't care if Shang JunLin knew. The relationship between himself and Shang JunLin wasn't the normal relationship between an emperor and a concubine. And the emperor might already know what Mu Xi wanted to keep from him.

"Then I'll say it. Your Majesty, don't make fun of me." Sighing, Shen Yu walked to Shang JunLin and pulled his sleeve with an aggrieved expression. "I just found out that a person who said he liked me before I entered the palace is now involved with my di brother at home. Obviously, when that man spoke of love, it was just empty talk, completely untrustworthy."

"Oh?" Shang JunLin smoothly took Shen Yu's waist, trapping Shen Yu in front of him. Shang JunLin bowed his head and said intimately, "Then is the noble monarch broken-hearted?"

His voice was full of affection, with an indefinable meaning. The skin on Shen Yu's neck turned pale pink beneath the man's warm breath.

As that jade-like skin was dyed with a blush, the emperor's eyes darkened.

His voice was low and hoarse. "This emperor will take vengeance on him for you, all right?"

The atmosphere was suddenly ambiguous, and the strength of the arms around his waist increased. Shen Yu stared into the man's dark eyes and felt his heart pound.

Warm sunshine poured in from the open window, partly falling on them. Shen Yu thought the arms around his waist were even hotter than the sun itself, as if they were about to burn up.

"Your Majesty…" Shen Yu turned his head and avoided the man's heavy gaze. "You're hurting me."

Shang JunLin looked at him deeply for a moment, then loosened his arms. "The noble monarch is so delicate. Whatever shall we do in the future?"

The other meaning of those words successfully spread scarlet into the young man's cheeks. It was especially obvious on his earlobe, like a ripe, lustrous fruit that longed to be picked.

Shang JunLin's fingers slightly moved, wanting to touch that reddish earlobe.

Freed from the heat of the man's body, Shen Yu's mind slowly calmed down. If Shang JunLin wasn't still here, he would have rubbed his face.

"Mu Xi, you can go." Shen Yu's eyes swept to the servant girl kneeling to the side. He cleared his throat.

Mu Xi bowed her head and retreated.

Shang JunLin had arrived alone. When Mu Xi left, only Shang JunLin and Shen Yu remained in the room.

Shen Yu poured himself a cup of tea. After drinking it, he felt he was being rude and poured a second cup. "Would Your Majesty like some?"

Shang JunLin took it and drank. "Does the noble monarch really not want this emperor to take revenge for you?"

Shen Yu looked up at the man and was stunned. There was no playfulness on Shang JunLin's face at all. It was a serious question.

Shen Yu rubbed the teacup. He said lightly, "Your Majesty, I don't care about things that happened before I entered the palace. Besides, how can anyone else compare to Your Majesty? With Your Majesty here, nothing they do matters to me."

"You…"

Shen Yu interrupted after one word. "But if Your Majesty can cause them misfortune, I'd be happy to see it."

Those two were the protagonists from the book he saw after his death. Shen Yu would be delighted to make them unhappy.

Meanwhile, the situation in the court was changing rapidly. Minister Fang was an official from a humble background, promoted by Shang JunLin soon after the young emperor ascended the throne. He enforced the law impartially and had great talent in investigating cases.

He was a member of Shang JunLin's own faction and served in the Court of Judicial Review. At present his official rank wasn't high. Shang JunLin began to cultivate his influence in the court on a large scale after ascending the throne, but there still weren't many people he could use.

The deeper Fang Jun investigated, the more he thought the case was more complex than it appeared. He was originally supposed to investigate the people who tried to break into the prison. To his surprise, what he found was evidence that pointed to Imperial Censor Zhang's corruption and perversion of the law.

Bit by bit, piece by piece. It was shocking.

He finally understood why Imperial Censor Zhang was sent to prison so abruptly.

The officials who assisted him with the case fell silent when they saw the evidence. Not long ago, they were complaining about the injustice done to Imperial Censor Zhang with genuine concern. Now those memories slapped them in the face one at a time.

Their faces stung.

"Minister Fang, this…"

The evidence was hot in their hands. The most worrying thing was that they didn't know the emperor's attitude. Did the emperor know about Imperial Censor Zhang's crimes? If so, how much did he know? And why didn't he make it public when Imperial Censor Zhang was first imprisoned?

"I'll go to the imperial palace. Don't act rashly and don't leak the news. Otherwise…"

"This lowly official knows, yes indeed, Minister Fang can rest assured."

The officials exchanged glances. There was no getting around it now.

Minister Fang took the incriminating evidence to the palace. He spoke with Shang JunLin in the imperial study all afternoon. No one knew what they said, but Fang Jun's words set off huge waves in the court the next day.

How could this be?

The ministers stared at each other in dismay. Several who obviously knew the inside story averted their eyes, not daring to look at the man on the throne.

Did His Majesty know? How much did he know? Were their secrets also exposed…? Countless questions swirled in their minds. In their panic they couldn't help but pray: Please don't let the emperor find out about me!

After the initial shock, a minister stepped forward. "Daring to ask Minister Fang, can you guarantee the evidence is authentic?"

"This official has verified all the evidence and witnesses separately. The evidence is conclusive. There is no possibility of false accusation." Fang Jun knew what they were thinking. When he first saw the evidence, he had the same doubts. It was only after confirming everything that he dared to enter the palace to face the emperor.

"Wow—"

The discussion in the court grew even louder. No one thought Fang Jun would uncover such a big story when investigating the prison break case. So, did His Majesty suddenly and mysteriously put Imperial Censor Zhang in jail because he knew about this all along, or did a blind cat happen to find a dead mouse?

"Have you finished your discussion?"

An emotionless voice spoke from the throne. The court officials suddenly quieted down, and a pin drop could have been heard in the main hall.

Shang JunLin's eyes skimmed carelessly over the ministers. Several with poor psychological quality almost knelt down then and there.

With one hand on his chin, Shang JunLin said coldly, "Fang Jun, tell them what you found."

Fang Jun cupped his fist. In a loud voice, he said, "The criminal official Zhang YuHua appropriated two thousand mu of fertile land in the seventeenth year of Qingping, and in the twenty-first year of Qingping…"

In the large space, only Fang Jun's voice could be heard. It took close to half an hour to read through the incriminating evidence.

Amid the silence, Shang JunLin's slightly cold voice rang out, "Does anyone else wish to plead for Imperial Censor Zhang?"

No one dared to answer. A few days ago they unanimously knelt here and asked the emperor to take mercy on Imperial Censor Zhang. And what was the result?

They were wrong about the whole damn thing.

Trembling, an elderly minister stepped forward. "Your Majesty, was it for this reason that Official Zhang, the criminal minister, was arrested in the first place?"

Shang JunLin: "What does Old Chen think?"

Old Chen: "This minister was deceived by appearances."

Shang JunLin: "Fang Jun, this emperor will leave the matter of Imperial Censor Zhang to you. Don't disappoint this emperor."

Fang Jun: "This minister will obey and will live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

After morning court came to an end, the ministers were in a complex mood, and the story of Imperial Censor Zhang spread all over the capital. The people who were still complaining about the injustice done to Imperial Censor Zhang were dumbstruck.

There was a small number of people who still refused to believe it, but given the conclusive evidence, there was nothing they could do.

The news also spread in the palace.

"I told you His Majesty wouldn't attack an innocent person. Sure enough, Imperial Censor Zhang deserved to be arrested."

"Yes, Imperial Censor Zhang was always known as fair and honest—who would have thought he was actually doing all sorts of evil in private?"

"Outside they talk about how cruel His Majesty is, but if you think about it, we've worked in the palace for years and years, and we've never seen His Majesty dispose of people randomly."

"True, and that includes the servants who died last time. Didn't they explain later that all those people were conspiring with outside officials and secretly selling information from the palace? I'll just say it, those people were killed for good reason."

When Shen Yu heard this chatter in front of him, he stopped, and the person walking beside him stopped as well.

But, as it happened, they'd already made too much noise. The palace servants ahead of them stopped talking and began to head their way.

Shen Yu took Shang JunLin over to the side to hide.

Of course, it was already too late. The palace servant who came to check found them immediately.

"Your, Your Majesty…"

The man immediately knelt down. When the servant thought of what he'd just said, he went white with fear.

When the other servants heard the commotion, they immediately knelt to pay their respects. Their bodies trembled and their expressions were ugly.

Shang JunLin's face was cold, and he didn't speak. Shen Yu pulled his sleeve, and when the emperor gave no sign of opening his mouth, Shen Yu quietly sent the frightened servants away.

After they left, Shang JunLin asked coldly, "Is this emperor so unpopular with everyone? When we ran into a few palace people, you tried to pull this emperor into hiding."

Shen Yu didn't know why the emperor was unhappy, but he automatically smoothed the man's fur. "What is Your Majesty thinking? I just didn't want to scare them. Look, they're shaking as they hurry away."

Shang JunLin frowned, realizing he'd spoken out of turn. "This emperor…"

"Your Majesty," Shen Yu cut in. He suddenly leaned closer to Shang JunLin. "Does Your Majesty want to say something?"

Shang Jun's sight was suddenly occupied by a magnified, gorgeous face. For a moment he was stunned. "What?"

"Just now, when you heard those little palace maids, did anything come to Your Majesty's mind?" Shen Yu's eyes sparkled with interest. "Maybe Your Majesty would like to explain to the outside world what those maids just spoke of?"

Shang JunLin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "This emperor sees that you're getting bolder and bolder."

TL Notes:

official reports – 折子 – a booklet in accordion form with a slipcase – Sometimes refers to memorials to the throne (奏折), which were written on paper folded the same way (Baidu)

take vengeance, take revenge – 出气 – give vent to anger, vent one's spleen; feel avenged; air out

Court of Judicial Review – 大理寺 – Dàlǐ Sì – Sometimes called "Dali Temple" or "Dali Court" in mtls – AKA Court of Judicature and Revision – A central government agency in charge of reviewing judicial proceedings at all administrative levels and singling out cases for retrial by court officials or the emperor himself. It worked closely with the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Censorate and was one of the Nine Courts, the service agencies below the Three Departments and Six Ministries (Wikipedia)

deceived by appearances – 着(zhuo) 相 – A Buddhist term which means to cling to appearances and one's pre-existing concepts, deviating from essence (Baidu)

smoothed his fur – 顺毛 – This means to brush an animal's fur in the direction of growth, a soothing or appeasing type of action (Baidu)

Transliterated names, places, and titles—new in this chapter:

Fang Jun – 方均

Zhang YuHua – 张宇华

Qingping – 庆平 – Means something like "Celebrating Peace". We can infer this is the era name for the previous emperor's reign

Old Chen – 陈老 – Chén lǎo

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