The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

“Your Majesty, I think it would be better if you let go of me,” Shen Yu proposed seriously.

“But this emperor doesn’t want to let the noble monarch go. Be good and let this emperor hold you for a while.”

Desire tinted the man’s voice with different colors, and Shen Yu’s ears were tingling.

The arm wrapped around his waist was firm and disciplined. Shen Yu remained motionless for a while. When he confirmed Shang JunLin really didn’t intend to do anything to him here, he felt relieved.

He didn’t dare to provoke Shang JunLin anymore. There were times men couldn’t stand to be teased. But after waiting a while, not only did the situation not subside, it got more and more serious. Shen Yu couldn’t remain where he was any longer.

The two were very close to each other, almost skin to skin, separated only by a thin layer of clothing. The thin layer was soaked in hot water and had almost no effect. The burning spread from outside to inside until Shen Yu felt so hot he was no longer sleepy at all.

If he was somehow still able to fall asleep at a time like this, it would really be too much. Shen Yu couldn’t ignore the situation no matter how sleepy he felt.

“Your Majesty, why don’t you let go of me.” It would be easier to calm down if they were alone than the way they were now.

Shang JunLin buried his head in Shen Yu’s shoulder and didn’t make a sound.

Shen Yu moved, and his waist was clamped in an instant. Shen Yu didn’t understand why Shang JunLin would rather suffer than let him go.

The room was quiet, and even the sound of splashing water had disappeared. Shen Yu’s body was getting hotter and hotter. He didn’t know whether he was being scalded by the water or by…

“! ! !”

“Your Majesty!” Shen Yu exclaimed. He felt the man behind him move slightly.

At that hot touch, Shen Yu’s scalp went numb.

Can’t stay like this any longer!

He had to move away from Shang JunLin!!!

A loud alarm sounded in his mind, and he felt a sudden sense of crisis. Shen Yu didn’t care about anything else. He broke free from the arm at his waist and tried to leave.

“Where’s the noble monarch going?”

Before Shen Yu could move away, Shang JunLin hooked the hem of Shen Yu’s clothes and brought him back with a strong pull. Shen Yu turned around in the water and fell into Shang JunLin’s arms, face to face.

This position was even more dangerous than a moment ago!

Shen Yu was extremely aware of this. He stiffened his resolve and said, “Your Majesty said you wouldn’t touch me.”

“…” Shang JunLin was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, “This emperor won’t do it all the way.”

Shen Yu’s hair was about to stand on end. After the weird mistake with the ointment, he’d asked Shang JunLin for some informational books and knew what men and men did together.

But that didn’t mean he could face this sort of thing calmly!

Just being held tightly had brought forth such an appalling aura—was it possible he’d go inside?!

“This emperor feels unwell.” Shang JunLin moved Shen Yu’s hand down. “The noble monarch should help me.”

The man’s tone was full of uncontrollable desire. His voice was lower, hoarser, more tantalizing than usual.

Shen Yu no longer noticed. He just wanted to withdraw his hand, but the man held him close and he couldn’t break free.

His strength was no match for Shang JunLin. Even though he resisted, in the end he touched it.

“Your Majesty…”

“Ah Yu, be good and touch me.” The man coaxed in a low voice.

“I don’t want to…. You… You let me go….”

Waves of water rippled around them, and in the hazy steam was sometimes heard the man’s low coaxing voice and the younger man’s slightly whimpering refusal.

After an unknown amount of time, the splashing sound gradually stopped.

Shen Yu rubbed his sore wrist and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “I’m not washing it anymore.”

“This emperor will help the noble monarch too.”

Shen Yu avoided Shang JunLin’s hand. “I don’t want to. I want to go back to sleep.”

Shen Yu didn’t understand how tempting he looked at the moment. The tail ends of his eyes were crimson, and water droplets were poised on his eyelashes, about to fall. With just one glance, Shang JunLin’s gaze darkened.

“Come here, Ah Yu.”

Shen Yu took advantage of the man’s relaxation to swim a distance away. When he heard Shang JunLin’s words, he trembled instinctively, shook his head, and retreated.

In a moment Shang JunLin swam to Shen Yu’s side, took him into his arms, and whispered in his ear, “Why are you running?”

“The water will get cold if we continue to soak here, Your Majesty. Let’s go back.” Shen Yu reached out to push the ever-approaching man away. He just wanted to end this absurdity quickly.

“Ah Yu needn’t worry. The water here won’t go cold. Didn’t Ah Yu notice? After all this time, the water in the bath is still hot.”

Shen Yu felt the water for a moment and realized it was true. After such a long time, it was reasonable to say the bath should have cooled already, but the temperature was about the same as when he first entered.

Now that they were closer, Shen Yu felt something and was shocked. “Your Majesty, didn’t you just…”

“Does the noble monarch think this emperor can be satisfied so easily?” Shang JunLin deliberately approached him.

The light fragrance of Shen Yu’s body was more and more obvious in the steaming heat, and Shang JunLin found it highly attractive. He couldn’t help but lower his head and inhale it lightly.

His lips and the tip of his nose brushed the skin of Shen Yu’s neck, making him tremble. When the familiar sensation returned, Shen Yu couldn’t help cringing a little.

“Your Majesty, my hand hurts.”

Shang JunLin rubbed Shen Yu’s wrist. “No hands this time.”

…

When it was over, Shen Yu was carried outside by Shang JunLin. Shen Yu had no strength left at all. His whole body was weak and hurt badly.

He hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but lay in Shang JunLin’s arms with his eyes closed as they walked out the door. Inside and outside were completely different climates. Shen Yu felt a little cold and tightened his grip on his clothes.

Noticing his movement, Shang JunLin stopped. “What’s wrong?” 

Shen Yu didn’t speak.

Shang JunLin paused for a moment. He ordered Meng Gonggong to bring over the cloak he was holding and put it on Shen Yu.

Until he fell asleep, Shen Yu didn’t say another word to Shang JunLin. He was too tired and didn’t want to talk to him!

He obviously said it hurt, but Shang JunLin refused to let him go.

Shen Yu was already very tired, and after this, he was even more tired. After holding on for a while, he couldn’t bear it anymore and fell asleep as they reached the bedroom.

When Shang JunLin returned with the person in his arms, Mu Xi, who’d waited most of the night, was about to welcome them, but Meng Gonggong pulled her away.

“Don’t you see that His Majesty is with the noble monarch right now? What are you doing by going over there?”

Mu Xi was worried. “Is the noble monarch all right?”

Meng Gonggong: “His Majesty’s here. How could there be anything wrong with the noble monarch?”

Mu Xi: “But… The noble monarch, he…”

Meng Gonggong: “Aiya, why don’t you understand? Think about it. His Majesty and the noble monarch bathed together for such a long time with only two people present. And His Majesty carried the noble monarch back….”

Mu Xi: “What does the gonggong mean?”

Meng Gonggong gave her a meaningful look. “I mean what you think.”

Shang JunLin carried Shen Yu all the way to the bed. He must have been extremely tired, because even when Shang JunLin changed his clothes and lay him down on the bed, Shen Yu didn’t wake up.

Not long after,. Shen Yu rolled over a few times, arched into Shang JunLin’s arms, found a comfortable position, and stopped moving.

Shang JunLin felt amused. He gathered the man into his arms and told himself: He was trying to avoid getting close to me before, but he’s honest when he’s asleep.

After the King of Li returned to his palace, he told Princess Consort Li that the Qian family’s affairs had been resolved and she shouldn’t worry anymore. At first she didn’t think too much about it, aside from being happy the Qian family had escaped. But all too soon, she noticed something was wrong.

Princess Consort Li was an intelligent woman. As long as she didn’t notice anything wrong, it was fine, but the moment she noticed the slightest thing, she’d pull the thread until she learned the truth.

In the morning, she stopped the King of Li, who was about to leave his room. “Are you hiding something from me?”

“What are you saying, princess? How could this king hide something from you?” the King of Li instinctively retorted.

“Whenever you feel guilty, you call me ‘princess’.” Princess Consort Li mercilessly pierced the King of Li’s lie.

“Not at all, why can’t you believe this king?” The King of Li knew he couldn’t conceal the truth, but he thought he’d have more time to tell her. He didn’t want the princess consort to blame herself.

Princess Consort Li listed the strange things that were happening in the palace one by one. “What did you say to His Majesty when you entered the palace? What did you trade for the lives of the Qian family?” she asked coldly.

“Don’t be upset. It’s really nothing.” Seeing how angry Princess Consort Li was, the King of Li knew he couldn’t hide it any longer. He told the truth. “I gave up the authority belonging to ‘the King of Li’. It really doesn’t matter. You don’t have to worry.”

“Really?”

“Really. As long as you don’t despise me for having nothing in the future.”

After making things clear with his consort, the King of Li stopped hiding. He took an inventory of all of the properties under his name, handed over what should be handed over, and sold what should be sold.

When something big happens, a lot of people soon find out about it. Some of the King of Li’s friends came over to make inquiries, but they were quietly blocked.

“The King of Li is actually quite clever. He decided to retreat in order to advance. Not only did he preserve his reputation, he made a good trade with His Majesty.” Shen Yu scooped a spoonful of porridge and slowly raised it to his mouth.

Mu Xi was puzzled. “Why does the young master say that?” 

“Originally, the King of Li angered His Majesty at the palace banquet. He probably understood that he’d done too much over the years. Instead of waiting for His Majesty to calculate the ledger, he took the initiative to show his attitude and retreated voluntarily. It’s not a bad result.”

Shen Yu had woken up at noon the next day, and Shang JunLin wasn’t there. When Shen Yu washed up, Mu Xi told him that His Majesty gave orders for Shen Yu not to be disturbed. Food was to be kept ready for whenever he awoke.

If Shen Yu had to say how he felt, he wouldn’t go as far as saying he was angry, but he was certainly a little sullen. When he woke up, he was not only still in pain, it was actually a little worse than before.

His hand… Fortunately, Shang JunLin had used his left hand last night. His right hand was unaffected. He suspected Shang JunLin did it intentionally. He actually thought in advance about which hand to use.

Not to mention his legs. It hurt to walk a few steps, and it always felt like a foreign body was present. That was the most unbearable thing for Shen Yu.

He didn’t have to look to know it was red.

It felt cold and moist when he woke up, probably from medicine.

He wasn’t sure who gave orders to the small kitchen, but today all the dishes were light. Shen Yu stirred the porridge in the bowl. “Mu Xi, bring me the books Meng Gonggong sent last time.”

“Yes.”

There were several books with descriptions of men with men written in the common tongue. Shen Yu had only glanced at them hastily before. Now, for his own sake, Shen Yu felt he needed to do more studying.

When Shang JunLin came to Yuzhang Palace, he saw that the place where he usually reviewed memorials was full of books.

He walked over, picked up a book, turned one or two pages, and put it down silently.

The whole thing was about… that, with pictures and text.

“Why is the noble monarch reading this?”

“Did Your Majesty also read it?” Shen Yu shoved one of the books into Shang JunLin’s hand.

Shang JunLin touched the spine of the book, puzzled. “Why?”

“The recipients shown in this book all have such delighted faces. So why do I hurt so much?” Shen Yu looked at Shang JunLin with wide eyes, as if he really didn’t understand.

However, Shang JunLin didn’t miss the glint of humor that flashed in Shen Yu’s eyes.

“Why did Your Majesty hurt me so much?”

It was close to an explicit statement that he wasn’t very skilled.

Shang JunLin swept a glance at the open book in Shen Yu’s hand. “Why don’t I try this position with the noble monarch next time, what do you think?”

TL Notes:

Brief summary: 

SY suggests SJL let him go. SJL coaxes him and says he won’t go all the way. SJL forces SY to give him a handjob. Vague language is used throughout. SJL becomes aroused again almost immediately and says he won’t use hands this time. Fade to black. 

Way back in Chapter 1, I said I wasn’t sure how many chapters of this novel I’d tl. This chapter is the reason why. I’ve read a lot of danmei and seen some extremely scummy gongs. I don’t require MLs to be perfect, but I’ve dropped novels before because I didn’t like the ML.

After working on this chapter I feel worse, because what I originally thought was just thigh sex is now pretty clearly going all the way. However, it happened totally offscreen. We don’t actually know because it’s just implied. 

I guess it’s good that SY wasn’t that mad afterwards and even makes jokes about it?

I’m willing to keep going for now if you guys are. The only reason I’m still posting chapters is because of your support.

Either way, please be civil to each other in the comments. Thank you ♥

1) Is there more noncon in this novel? (*mild spoilers*)

I haven’t read all 291 chapters. In the chapters I’ve read, SJL backs off and the rest is consensual.

According to a fellow tl who’s read the entire novel, this story has a lot of smut and it’s consensual (aside from this chapter maybe?) because SY falls in love. But I can’t make guarantees because I haven’t read it all myself. 

I also can’t guarantee there won’t be more jokes about SY feeling pain and SJL making light of it. Because it’s really common for authors to portray shous as whiners and gongs as sociopaths. However, communication is a good thing. I’m glad SY feels comfortable being honest with SJL, which is something that frequently doesn’t happen in RL relationships. If you’re in pain, you have to speak up or your partner won’t know. And there are usually things you can do to improve it, like using more lube. Be kind to yourself! ♥

2) Why is danmei smut so vague?

Writers have to be vague or they’ll be censored. That means they resort to extended metaphors, use vague language, or leave it out entirely. Censorship isn’t an issue for private sites, but this novel was posted on a popular public site (JJWXC). Censorship of danmei became even more strict in Fall 2021. Many of the workarounds writers used before are no longer available.

stiffened his resolve – 硬着头皮 – brace oneself to do sth; braving all rebuffs; put a bold face on it; summon up courage

desire – from 谷欠

(slightly) whimpering – 哭腔 – sobbing tone / sob / dirge / opera tune portraying mourning

having nothing – 一无所有 – have nothing at all; not have a stiver; not have a thing to one’s name; not own a thing in the world