The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Because he was seated, Shen Yu was a little higher than Shang JunLin. When he lowered his head he was able to meet the eyes of the man who was looking up at him.

There was no anger, no dissatisfaction in those eyes. Just slight confusion and enough indulgence to drown someone in.

Shen Yu completely forgot what he was going to say.

"Your Majesty, please get up."

No one would have believed the person crouched in front of him was the emperor of Da Huan, a man famous for his ruthlessness and brutality.

"Is Ah Yu still angry with this emperor?" Shang JunLin didn't move. "This emperor isn't good at getting along with people. If I did something to make you unhappy, Ah Yu, you must tell me."

Even if Shen Yu was angry, there was no way he could be angry anymore. Not to mention he wasn't that mad in the first place. He just wanted to use the opportunity to distance himself from Shang JunLin.

"To be honest, I'm not that angry." Shen Yu looked at the man's dark eyes. "But I hope that Your Majesty views me as Shen Yu the person first, and Noble Monarch Shen second."

The first meant Shen Yu belonged only to himself. The second meant he was the property of Shang JunLin.

"If it's the former, what will the noble monarch do? And what about the latter?" Shang JunLin asked.

"If I'm the former, Your Majesty may have to suffer a little of my anger from time to time. If I'm the latter, Your Majesty will have a proper noble monarch." But nothing beyond that.

Shang JunLin understood his meaning. "This emperor will pay attention in the future. In this emperor's eyes, Ah Yu will always be just Ah Yu."

Shang JunLin chose without hesitation, and Shen Yu didn't know how to feel. If Shang JunLin chose the latter, he could have immediately drawn a line between them. But Shang JunLin chose the former.

Automatically and without a second thought.

It was his immediate answer. Which meant Shang JunLin had always thought that way.

Shang JunLin made a choice. What about him?

Shen Yu silently traced Shang JunLin's features in his mind's eye. Once again he felt a throbbing in his chest, the same one he felt the first time he met Shang JunLin. In this life, what would develop between the two of them?

Shen Yu slowly lowered his eyes, and his voice was as light as a feather: "I understand."

"What about this emperor?" Shang JunLin gently cupped Shen Yu's chin. "What is this emperor in Ah Yu's heart?"

Shen Yu looked away. "Your Majesty is Your Majesty."

His Majesty, who was unique and unmatched, distinct from all others.

"Will Your Majesty get up now?" Shen Yu moved to one side of the soft couch and made room for Shang JunLin.

Shang JunLin smoothly sat beside Shen Yu. He began to talk with Shen Yu about what progress was being made with the King of Huaiyu.

"The King of Huaiyu has been cooperative. From the list he gave, we found that most of the princes aren't descended from the previous emperor. There remain some others whose parentage hasn't been determined."

As he spoke of the fact his biological father was made to wear a green hat, Shang JunLin's voice didn't fluctuate. He had no brotherly feelings for the other children left by the previous emperor.

"Decades have passed since then. It may not be easy to confirm." A person's true bloodline was easy to conceal and extremely difficult to verify.

"The method of recognizing relatives with drops of blood isn't reliable," Shen Yu reminded him.

"This emperor knows. The result of blood recognition is only one type of supporting evidence. The actual confirmation doesn't rely on that method." Shang JunLin took Shen Yu's fingers and played with them. "It's all thanks to the King of Huaiyu, who left so much evidence when he did everything."

Shen Yu was startled. "He actually left evidence? He wasn't afraid of being discovered?"

"… He probably wanted the emperor to find out. Who would have thought the emperor never suspected at all." As he said this, Shang JunLin was a little bemused.

There were numerous beauties in the previous emperor's harem, and there were many children. He didn't care if some of the children didn't look like him. He was only interested in pleasure. New beauties arrived constantly. Aside from a few who were particularly favored, he hardly thought of any of them more than a few times a year.

Shen Yu didn't know what to say. "The late emperor had such a carefree attitude…."

It was already noon. They spoke for a while, and then Shen Yu felt a little sleepy.

Shang JunLin glanced at the sky and stopped talking. "It's time for Ah Yu to take a nap."

Shen Yu nestled in the man's warm embrace and didn't want to move. "What about Your Majesty?"

It was now early spring, but the weather hadn't warmed up yet, and there wasn't much change compared to before the New Year. Shen Yu's body was prone to cold. He always liked to keep the room warm, but Shang JunLin was energetic and young and sometimes even felt hot. At such times, Shen Yu especially liked to be close to Shang JunLin.

Like his personal heater.

"This emperor will stay with you."

Shen Yu felt satisfied. He half-closed his eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, carry me to bed."

"Yes."

As soon as Shang JunLin spoke, Shen Yu felt himself lifted into the air, with a pair of powerful arms steadily holding him, and then the man walked forwards.

He put Shen Yu on the bed. Without calling for the palace servants, Shang JunLin personally removed Shen Yu's outer robe and covered him with the quilt.

Shen Yu listened to the sound of rustling cloth on the bed and gradually lost consciousness.

As he slept, he sensed a heat source close by and couldn't resist moving closer to it. He found a comfortable position in the man's arms and fell deeply asleep.

Shang JunLin looked down at the young man in his arms, slowly approached, and printed a kiss on his forehead.

Shang JunLin wasn't in the habit of taking naps. He quietly watched the young man sleeping in his arms, and there was a tenderness in his eyes that he himself didn't realize.

After an unknown amount of time, Meng Gonggong carefully pushed the door open and called softly, "Your Majesty."

Shang JunLin got up with careful movements, threw on his clothes, and went outside. "What's the matter?"

"Prime Minister Wang asks for an audience. He said there's an urgent matter." Meng Gonggong lowered his voice to avoid waking Shen Yu.

"Tell him to wait in the imperial study. This emperor will go there."

"Yes."

Shang JunLin left and returned to Yuzhang Palace before Shen Yu's nap ended.

When Shen Yu woke up, Shang JunLin was sitting by the bed reading a memorial.

"Has Your Majesty been sitting here the whole time?" After waking, Shen Yu's voice was low and hoarse, very different from usual.

Shang JunLin put down the memorial. "No, this emperor just returned."

Shen Yu sat up and slowly began to get dressed. "Did something important happen? If Your Majesty needs to do something, you don't have to keep watch here all the time."

"It's regarding the King of Huaiyu. The prime minister said he found some men suspected to be the biological fathers of the former princes."

That was the reason the prime minister went to the palace to request an audience. Everyone thought the men who gave the previous emperor a green hat were killed long ago. When they suddenly learned those people were alive, they didn't know how to proceed. The prime minister went to the palace personally to ask Shang JunLin to make a decision.

“! ! !”

Shen Yu instantly felt alert. "They're not dead?" he asked incredulously.

What in the world was the King of Huaiyu thinking? He couldn't possibly have wanted to take those men to see the previous emperor and infuriate him face to face, could he?

Shang JunLin: "This emperor is also surprised the King of Huaiyu kept those people alive."

Shen Yu: "What about those men? How did they get into the palace and meet privately with the concubines? Even if they had the help of the King of Huaiyu, it's not that easy to get in and out in one piece."

Shang JunLin: "That's something only the King of Huaiyu knows."

Prime Minister Wang was mainly responsible for handling the issue of the late emperor's bloodline. The person dealing with the King of Huaiyu was Minister Fang, who was previously responsible for Imperial Censor Zhang's case.

Minister Fang exhausted all methods but didn't get any useful information from the King of Huaiyu.

After another interrogation session, Minister Fang was so angry he almost cursed. "Aren't you just relying on the fact we don't dare to use aggressive measures? This official would like to see how long you'd keep your mouth shut otherwise!"

If it wasn't for the King of Huaiyu's poor health, would they have to put up with all this?

"He still won't say anything?" A majestic voice rang out.

Minister Fang and the others turned around and saluted respectfully. "Greetings to Your Majesty."

When Minister Fang saw the young man standing beside Shang JunLin dressed in a deep blue cloak, he hesitated, then said, "Greetings to the noble monarch."

The rest of the people stared at each other—I look at you, you look at me—and saluted with confused faces.

"You may rise." Shang JunLin led Shen Yu into the prison.

Wasn't that Noble Monarch Shen? Rumors said he was extremely favored by His Majesty.

Many of the people were so curious they couldn't help but stare at the young man walking beside the emperor dressed in black.

The young man was almost completely shrouded in a cloak. All that could be seen below his hat was the snow white, delicate line of his jaw.

Noticing the secretive glances, Shang JunLin looked back with a slight warning.

Everyone quickly looked away, staring at their noses, with their noses on their chests. They didn't dare to gawk anymore.

Minister Fang, who observed everything, sighed a little to himself. His Majesty obviously cared a great deal about the noble monarch. Minister Fang didn't know where those rumors came from. It didn't look like Noble Monarch Shen had fallen from favor at all.

"This emperor has something to ask the King of Huaiyu. All of you may go."

"Yes."

After everyone left, Shang JunLin helped Shen Yu take off his hat.

Shen Yu walked up to the King of Huaiyu. "Does Your Highness remember me?"

The King of Huaiyu's condition was worse than the last time they met. Shen Yu sensed that his vitality was rapidly draining away. Instead of dying from illness, it would be more accurate to say he'd given up on life.

When a seriously ill person lost his will to live, his energy would recede like a flood after the floodgates were opened. There was no cure for it.

"The child of the Zhenbei Marquis?" The King of Huaiyu struggled to open his eyes. He didn't so much as glance at Shang JunLin, but he focused a deathly stare at Shen Yu. "This king told you last time that there are no good men in the imperial family. Look, hasn't your dear emperor already abandoned you?"

"Where did you hear those rumors?" Shen Yu took Shang JunLin's hand and shook it in front of the King of Huaiyu. "We're fine. The King of Huaiyu needn't worry about us."

The King of Huaiyu's face was stained with dirt. He squinted and looked at their hands, and then his gaze moved further upward. After a long while, he averted his eyes without apparent interest.

"Very well. What do you want to ask this time? I advise you not to waste your time. Isn't it clear? Just dispose of me according to the law. For me, each new day of life is another day of torment."

Shen Yu and Shang JunLin looked at each other and understood that they were unlikely to learn anything about the King of Huaiyu's other conspirators. Shen Yu thought about it and asked a surprising question.

"Did the King of Huaiyu know my mother?"

"… I didn't."

"I didn't say who my mother was. Why did the King of Huaiyu answer so quickly?" After speaking, Shen Yu watched the King of Huaiyu closely. He didn't miss the consternation that flashed across his face.

The King of Huaiyu actually knew his mother! Shen Yu tightened his grip on Shang JunLin's hand.

Sensing the change in his mood, Shang JunLin held Shen Yu's hand soothingly, as if silently offering comfort.

Shen Yu calmed himself down and continued to ask questions, trying to gain some clues about his mother. In two lifetimes, he'd never learned what kind of person she was. It would be false to say he didn't care at all.

But no matter what Shen Yu asked, the King of Huaiyu refused to answer. All Shen Yu could do was give up.

"Since the King of Huaiyu doesn't want to answer my questions, can you clear up something for me?" Shen Yu looked over. "Why did the King of Huaiyu preserve the lives of those men?"

"Why? Because I wanted to take them all before my good brother one day and tell him that his favorite children aren't even his! Not only that, I wanted him to suspect that none of his children belong to him—I wanted him to understand his entire life was a joke!"

The King of Huaiyu's face distorted with madness. "Best of all would be when he's terminally ill, lying on the dragon bed unable to move, and all he can do is stare with wide eyes as I take those men to him one by one, identifying which prince's father this one is, and that one is! Ha ha ha ha! What a beautiful scene!

"Such a pity, he died before I could carry out my plan! He's dead—how could he just die like that? I spent decades preparing such a wonderful scene just for him. How could he die before he even saw it…?"

TL Notes:

the method of recognizing relatives with drops of blood- 滴血认亲的法子 – A useless type of ancient "paternity test" in which the blood of both parties is dripped into a bowl of water to see if the blood coagulates. Under normal circumstances, that would happen if one person's blood has antibodies against the other person's blood type, for example Type A vs Type B. However, given the way blood types work and are inherited and the widespread distribution of blood types, it's impossible to determine relatedness from this method (Baidu, Zhihu)

carefree attitude – from 心很大 – big heart – This means someone is careless, carefree, not very scheming, defenseless when they should be cautious etc. (Baidu)

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