The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Shen Yu thought about it. The cell in the dark prison wasn't especially clean. If he didn't take a bath before bed, he definitely wouldn't sleep well.

"I need to change my clothes too," Shen Yu commented.

"After washing, this emperor will change the noble monarch into clean clothes."

After speaking to Shen Yu, Shang JunLin turned and said, "Mu Xi, get a set of clean, comfortable clothes and a heavier cloak."

"Yes."

Meng Gonggong received the order in advance and had already gone to prepare the bathing place. He returned by the time Shang JunLin finished dressing Shen Yu.

"Your Majesty, it's ready."

Shang JunLin picked up Shen Yu, who was half asleep. "Is the floor heating ready also? The noble monarch can't stand the cold. Is the temperature in the room warm?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I promise not to expose the noble monarch to the slightest chill."

"Your Majesty, aren't I going to bathe here?" Shen Yu heard Shang JunLin's orders. It didn't sound like he planned to stay in the bedroom.

"This emperor will take the noble monarch to another place. I'll carry you there. If you're sleepy, you can take a nap," Shang JunLin said in a low, soothing voice.

There was a special bath in the imperial palace, not far from Yuzhang Palace, where hot water was prepared in advance. The steps were made of white jade, and the air was dense with humid, sumptuous heat.

Shen Yu was carried in the man's arms, and only a portion of his mind was attentive to what was happening around him.

"Your Majesty, where are we?" Shen Yu asked in a quiet voice, looking at the completely unfamiliar scenery.

Shang JunLin was extremely patient tonight and answered every question. "It's a place to bathe."

"Your Majesty misled me. This isn't where I normally bathe at all," Shen Yu complained.

Shang JunLin gathered the person in his arms to avoid letting him be affected by the freezing wind. "This emperor didn't mislead you. The dark prison is gloomy and cold. This emperor took you to a place where you can soak in more hot water."

Shen Yu was suspicious. "Really?"

"Why are you so wary? Please explain, noble monarch, why would this emperor lie to you?" Shang JunLin lifted his eyebrows.

At the moment, Shen Yu was dazed and particularly easy to tease.

Shen Yu thought about it with a hazy mind and didn't come up with an answer. "I don't know…."

"We're almost there. Don't fall asleep yet." At the moment, all the roiling negative emotions were far away from Shang JunLin. In his eyes and heart, all that remained was the man he was holding in his arms.

The distance from the bedchamber to the bath wasn't far. It took less than a quarter of an hour to walk.

Meng Gonggong went ahead of them and opened the door. Hot air spilled out from the opening.

"Your Majesty, do you want someone to stay here to serve you?"

"No need." Shang JunLin stepped through the door with Shen Yu in his arms, and the oncoming heat met his face.

The huge bath was entirely indoors. Knowing that Shang JunLin wanted to use it, Meng Gonggong ordered the palace servants to light the floor heating in advance. When Shang JunLin brought in Shen Yu, there wasn't the slightest hint of cold in the room.

Suddenly brought to a warm place, Shen Yu stretched out a hand from his tightly wrapped cloak. "Your Majesty, where are we? It's so warm here."

"This is the bath. Noble monarch, have a look." Shang JunLin carried Shen Yu to a chair covered in rich fox fur.

After sitting there a while, Shen Yu felt hot and he slowly opened his eyes. The scene before him was hazy and white.

The only two people present were Shang JunLin and himself. There was a bath not far from them which occupied a large area of the room. It was filled with hot water. Warm steam rose continuously from the pool.

Shen Yu thought the bath was large enough for him to swim back and forth.

Warm rooms can easily make people drowsy, but when Shen Yu saw such an obviously comfortable bath, he was keenly interested in it. He tried to wake up a little and sat up straight.

Looking around, he saw that the hall was truly empty. It wasn't an illusion caused by the palace servants' well-trained unobtrusiveness. There really wasn't anyone else here to serve them.

Not even Meng Gonggong and Mu Xi.

Shen Yu tugged Shang JunLin's hanging sleeve. When the man looked at him, puzzled, Shen Yu asked, "Your Majesty, is it just the two of us here?"

Shang JunLin narrowed his eyes. "Who else does the noble monarch want to invite?"

Shen Yu didn't sense any danger. "What about the palace attendants? There's no one to serve us?"

"We don't need them," Shang JunLin answered lightly.

"Oh." Shen Yu withdrew his hand and slowly untied his cloak.

Shang JunLin bent down and took Shen Yu's hand.

Shen Yu looked at him in confusion. "Your Majesty?"

"This emperor will do it." Ignoring Shen Yu's surprise, Shang JunLin crouched down, pushed Shen Yu's hand aside, and skillfully began to untie Shen Yu's cloak.

He put the cloak on and took it off personally.

Shen Yu looked down at Shang JunLin's hands with their clearly-defined knuckles and couldn't help but wonder if he was actually dreaming?

How else could he explain why an emperor didn't want to be served by palace servants, and even personally attended him?

When Shang JunLin was young, he didn't receive the proper treatment a prince should have. Later, he lived in the army for a long time. He could do all the things ordinary people could do, but he could also do what ordinary people couldn't.

The temperature near the bath was high. After the cloak was removed, Shen Yu felt much more relaxed.

Because Shang JunLin was half-crouched, Shen Yu was looking down at him from an angle. He could see the man's long eyelashes, the straight bridge of his nose, and the shape of his beautiful thin lips.

It was said that people with thin lips fell easily in and out of love. Was Shang JunLin the same?

The eyelashes flickered slightly, and Shen Yu couldn't resist touching them.

As soon as his fingertips touched them, the man looked up.

Shang JunLin's eyes were quite dark, and Shen Yu had always thought they were pure black. Caught off guard, he suddenly saw a faint hint of purple in the blackness.

The purple was deep and mysterious, like an abyss that tempted people to fall into it. Shen Yu stared blankly as if he'd been pulled into that mysterious place.

"Your Majesty…"

"What is the noble monarch doing?"

Shen Yu suddenly withdrew his thoughts. He looked at Shang JunLin's eyes. There was no purple color anymore. He was probably so sleepy that he was bewitched.

Shen Yu, who'd returned to his senses, sobered up. "Your Majesty has beautiful eyes," he replied with a smile.

"The noble monarch is also very beautiful." Shang JunLin's tone was calm, as if he was just stating a fact.

Seeing another item of his clothes go missing, Shen Yu could no longer sit still. "Your Majesty, I'll do it myself."

"Doesn't the noble monarch think it's a little late for that?" Shang JunLin asked deliberately, looking at his masterpiece.

The cloak and outer robe were removed, leaving the thin middle robe, but the sash was already half loosened.

Shen Yu looked at his half-dressed self and fell silent.

Shang JunLin insisted, and Shen Yu let him continue. He was extremely drowsy and didn't want to move. He was happy to be waited on.

Shang JunLin was the emperor, the one above all others. If he was willing, Shen Yu didn't care.

Until there was only the last layer left and Shen Yu stopped Shang JunLin's hand.

"Your Majesty, that's enough."

Shang JunLin no longer insisted.

He stood, bent over to pick up Shen Yu, and put him in the bath. "Don't fall asleep," he admonished.

Now that he was soaking in hot water, Shen Yu felt much more refreshed. He nodded. "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I won't let myself drown.

"Does Your Majesty want to join me?" Shen Yu was immersed from his shoulders down. Only his head was exposed above the water, and his gaze drifted around.

His Majesty proved with his actions that he wanted to bathe together.

Shang JunLin cleaned himself much faster than Shen Yu did. Shen Yu hadn't been soaking very long when he felt water splashing around him.

Turning his head, he saw that Shang JunLin had swum over to him.

Unlike his usual appearance, dressed in imperial robes representing power and majesty, Shang JunLin's aura was much softer now, and the long hair that was usually tied up was loose and cascaded down. It suddenly made Shen Yu realize that, apart from his identity as emperor, Shang JunLin wasn't actually that old.

Shang JunLin noticed Shen Yu looking at him. "Why are you staring at this emperor?"

Shen Yu: "Your Majesty's wounds…"

From his shoulders and neck down, Shang JunLin's body was crisscrossed with scars. It was clear that some had existed a very long time.

Shang JunLin didn't care much about his scars. "Most are from the battlefield."

"Why are there so many?" And some were obviously worse because they hadn't been treated until a long time after the injury.

"When this emperor was younger, I joined the army, but the situation was complicated and I didn't use my true identity. I received many injuries at the time. Later on, the situation improved." When talking about the most difficult period in his life, Shang JunLin's tone remained calm.

Shen Yu gently stroked a scar on Shang JunLin's shoulder, which almost stretched across half of the man's chest. Even after many years, it was clearly a terrible wound. It wasn't difficult to imagine what it looked like when it first happened.

"Did it hurt at the time, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu couldn't help picturing a younger version of Shang JunLin, little more than a boy, wearing ill-fitting armor and fighting an enemy taller than himself.

After soaking in the hot water for a while, Shen Yu's hand wasn't as cold as it normally was. His hot fingers traced the scar, and Shang JunLin's heart leaped.

A strange feeling spread from the point where they were touching. His heartbeat unconsciously accelerated, and an unexplained stirring rose from the depths of his heart.

Like a pair of warm hands reaching through time and space, healing the wounds in the heart of a young, lonely boy.

"Noble monarch." Shang JunLin grabbed Shen Yu's wrist and pulled the man towards him with slight force. "This emperor stopped feeling it a long time ago."

When he first went to war, he received new wounds almost every day. As the injuries piled up, he eventually became numb to it. Later on, even if he was covered with wounds, he could take down the enemy's leader.

Shen Yu leaned against Shang JunLin's chest and listened to the man's strong heartbeat. He couldn't have said what he was feeling, but he couldn't help wondering why hadn't been reborn earlier. Even if it was only to reach out to a young man who'd suffered since childhood, that would be good.

"Your Majesty is obviously the proud son of heaven. You shouldn't have to suffer like this."

"This emperor thinks it's a good thing." Shang JunLin was glad, because he now had someone he wanted to protect. If he wasn't strong enough, how could he give this person an environment where he could live freely?

Shen Yu and Shang JunLin were stuck together until Shen Yu suddenly noticed the strange things happening below waist level and quietly moved away.

Before he could move too far, an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back.

Shang JunLin pressed against Shen Yu's neck and chuckled. "Where's the noble monarch trying to go?"

His hot breath swept across the sensitive skin of Shen Yu's neck, and he trembled. "Your Majesty…" You're hurting me….

The man seemed unaware of Shen Yu's embarrassment and continued to press against Shen Yu. "Noble monarch, stay with this emperor for a while."

Shen Yu's toes curled up. He was tempted to ask Shang JunLin whether he would want to stay if he was the one being painfully rubbed. But he couldn't bring himself to say anything because the image of a young version of a poor, pitiful Shang JunLin was still vivid in his mind.

"Your Majesty, can you loosen up a little?" When a burning sensation began, Shen Yu couldn't convince himself to ignore it anymore. He couldn't help but struggle.

After Shen Yu's body shifted, Shang JunLin stifled a groan. "Don't move," he said in a low voice. "If the noble monarch moves again, this emperor can't guarantee what will happen next."

TL Notes:

tried to wake up a little – 费劲赶走一些瞌睡虫 – tried to chase away some sleepy bugs – from a folk belief that when you're sleepy, sleep-inducing bugs are in your eyes (a mythological insect that makes people doze off)

fell easily in and out of love – 薄情 – inconstant in love; fickle; ungrateful

You're hurting me / the one being painfully rubbed – The verb used in both places is "硌" : (coll.) (of sth hard or rough) to press against some part of one's body causing discomfort (like a small stone in one's shoe) / to hurt / to chafe

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