The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The Ministry of Works was busy lately.

With new funds and the cement recipe, they were frequently in the emperor’s eyes, and they had to work hard to produce results.

His Majesty said he wanted to repair a certain road. Naturally that was where they focused their attention.

After the Minister of Works discussed things with his subordinates, he decided to close off the section of road and keep their efforts quiet until they completed their task.

This was a decision he made after careful consideration. The cement formula wasn’t complicated and no one was sure how His Majesty would eventually make use of it. To be safe, they couldn’t release any news until they received clear orders from the emperor.

The main funder of these efforts, Yan Zheng, only knew that the road was being repaired. He didn’t know what techniques were being used in the enclosed area. His goal had already been achieved, and he didn’t care about the details.

After a hectic period of work, the repair was finally completed. The Minister of Works stood in front of the flat surface and gave a sigh. “It really is better than before.”

The person in charge of the repair was another official from the Ministry of Works. When he saw the minister, he walked over. “Your Excellency, this new road surface doesn’t absorb rainwater the same. If we’re going to build a lot of these roads, we have some problems to consider.”

“This official will submit a memorial to His Majesty about it. With this road you’ve made a great contribution. I won’t forget it.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Fu Xin couldn’t hide his happiness. He was just an insignificant official in the Ministry of Works. If he hadn’t studied road construction previously and won the attention of the minister, he never would have had a chance to show his ability by undertaking such an important task.

The Minister of Works patted him on the shoulder. “Good job. His Majesty attaches great importance to cement. As for the problem you mentioned, spend some time to think of a solution. His Majesty will come here to see the results in a few days. It’s up to you to make use of the opportunity.”

Excited, Fu Xin kowtowed to the Minister of Works. “Thank you for your encouragement, Your Excellency!”

He knew the Minister of Works was giving him another big opportunity. There was no need for the minister to mention him at all. The person on top only cared about the final result and wouldn’t notice a minor official under normal circumstances.

Time passed quickly, and the day they were scheduled to leave the palace soon arrived. This time Shen Yu and Shang JunLin were going to see the road paved by the Ministry of Works, so they didn’t put on a disguise. They wore their usual clothes and took a carriage out of the palace.

“Come to think of it, we’ve traveled on this road rather frequently.” Shen Yu lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked out. “Who would have guessed that when I leave the palace with Your Majesty it’s usually to visit the dark prison.”

“This emperor will take Ah Yu to other places more often.” Shang JunLin sat upright in the carriage. His eyes were always on Shen Yu.

“I was just talking casually.” Shen Yu lowered the curtain and returned to his seat beside Shang JunLin. “Is Your Majesty going to rebuild this entire road eventually?”

“If the Ministry of Works is successful, this emperor will replace the roads throughout the capital. Not just in this city, but official roads in other places as well.”

The carriage proceeded steadily, and Shen Yu leaned on Shang JunLin’s shoulder. “If Your Majesty is going to replace all the official roads in Da Huan, we’ll need better horseshoes. This kind of road is more convenient, but it will damage horse hooves over time.”

Da Huan’s horses were shod with simple horseshoes. Shen Yu had read in the book that concrete roads wore down horseshoes faster.

“The officials in the Ministry of Works can study it when the time comes.” Shang JunLin was keenly interested in the benefits that would come from improving the roads. As for other issues, they could be addressed in turn.

The carriage drove on for a while and then stopped.

The Minister of Works, who’d been notified of their visit, came up with several of his subordinates. The group saluted in unison.

“Greetings to Your Majesty.”

Shang JunLin got out of the carriage first and then helped Shen Yu down. “No need for formalities. Just take this emperor there.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Minister of Works stepped forward and led the pair to an area surrounded by a high fence.

Shang JunLin looked at the fence, which was as tall as a person, and said with a smile, “What’s the purpose of this?”

“This official thought it would be best to avoid prying eyes. To avoid any problems I enclosed the area.”

Shen Yu glanced around curiously. There were special guards posted at regular intervals. It was clear the Minister of Works had taken special care.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. This official posted notices at the fork in the road for travelers. I also arranged for people to guard the intersection from random pedestrians,” the Minister of Works explained.

“This emperor saw them just now. You’ve done well.” Shang JunLin put one hand behind his back and led Shen Yu with the other as they proceeded inside.

After they passed the barrier, they were immediately greeted with a straight, broad avenue. The blue-gray surface gave a feeling of neatness and flatness. Shang JunLin had seen concrete before, but even so he was deeply impressed.

Unlike the patch he’d seen on Shen Yu’s estate, the Ministry of Works had paved the entire road. The visual impact was stronger.

Some people from the Ministry of Works brought over a small carriage. The minister went up to it and said, “Your Majesty, we’ve already performed some tests. Over the same stretch of road a carriage will not only go faster, the bumps are also greatly reduced.”

Shang JunLin leaned to the side. “Does Ah Yu want to try it?” he asked in a low voice.

Shen Yu nodded.

The two got into the small carriage, and the driver was replaced by the one brought by Shang JunLin. The carriage headed down the road without any of the usual jostling.

The carriage turned around and came back. Shang JunLin didn’t say anything, but his face revealed deep satisfaction.

“Your Majesty, this official has one more thing to report.” The Minister of Works beckoned a man who was waiting to the side. “This is the official who’s made the greatest contribution to the pavement project. His name is Fu Xin.”

Fu Xin had no idea the Minister of Works was going to introduce him to the emperor. Trembling, he bowed. “This commoner greets Your Majesty and the noble monarch.”

“Fu Xin, was it? You did well and will be rewarded.” The result was better than Shang JunLin expected, and his dragon heart was pleased.

Fu Xin: “This commoner humbly thanks Your Majesty.”

Shang JunLin: “In the future, you’ll be responsible for the roads in other places as well. If you need anything, tell the Minister of Works directly.”

Fu Xin: “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Fu Xin didn’t think he’d be directly entrusted with such an important responsibility. He felt excited and a little uneasy. He was just an ordinary person. Could he really fulfill His Majesty’s expectations?

“Your Majesty, this commoner has one more thing to say,” Fu Xin remembered his previous business and hurriedly said, “It concerns the problem of water accumulation. This pavement doesn’t absorb rainwater like the old roads. If Your Majesty wants to use this kind of road in a large area of the capital, we have to handle the problem of water runoff.”

Shen Yu was surprised that someone had already thought of this. “Since you mentioned it, what’s the best method to solve this issue?” he asked with great interest.

“Replying to the noble monarch, this commoner has some ideas, but we won’t know if they can be implemented until we test them,” Fu Xin replied.

Shen Yu liked Fu Xin’s rigorous attitude. “If you’re entrusted with finding a solution, are you confident you can do a good job?” 

“This commoner doesn’t dare to guarantee, but I’ll try my best,” Fu Xin answered in a clear voice.

“Very good. I have a few proposals which I can give you as a reference when the time comes. You can decide the exact method with the people in the Ministry of Works.”

“There’s also the matter of horseshoes,” Shang JunLin added. “You’ve probably seen that this kind of road wears down horseshoes more quickly.”

The people of the Ministry of Works had noticed this, but they hadn’t given it much thought because horses hadn’t traveled on the road much so far. Only when His Majesty brought it up did they consider it seriously.

“This official was negligent. I’ll have someone look into it,” the Minister of Works said, bowing his head.

“There are many more potential uses for cement. You can use your imagination and see what other possibilities occur to you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After some explanation, Shang JunLin left with Shen Yu.

“His Majesty isn’t as terrifying as I thought,” someone in the crowd said quietly.

“His Majesty isn’t a scourge of doom. Of course he’s not terrifying.” The Minister of Works glanced sideways at the person who spoke, thinking to himself that the others were lucky they’d met His Majesty when the noble monarch was present. He was a completely different person otherwise.

“The noble monarch isn’t like the rumors either. A dragon’s wisdom with a phoenix’s beauty. Clearly a good match for His Majesty, and he knows so much. The noble monarch took into account things we never considered. He’s not what they say….”

“Careful.” Frowning, the Minister of Works interrupted his subordinates’ chatter. “Don’t stand around talking. We have work to do.”

Although their discussion was interrupted, the image these people had of Shen Yu and Shang JunLin had transformed. They’d never met the pair before and could only form their opinion from what others said. Now that they’d seen them, they understood the gulf between rumor and fact.

As Shen Yu sat in the carriage he thought about his past life. Shen QingRan had also produced cement, but it was kept firmly in the hands of the King of Yue and sold for enormous profits. It was never really used to benefit the common people.

Shen QingRan knew a lot of things, and there was another person like him in the palace, Shen Yue. Both came from the same place. Maybe he could find out other things that would benefit Da Huan.

“What is Ah Yu thinking?” Seeing that Shen Yu had been silent since returning to the carriage, Shang JunLin pinched the soft flesh on his face.

Shen Yu had gotten used to being handled like this from time to time. He collected his thoughts and said, “I was thinking about Shen QingRan.”

“Your shu brother? What about him?” Shang JunLin didn’t have a good impression of Shen QingRan. 

Shen Yu was silent for a moment. “Actually, the reason I know about cement has something to do with Shen QingRan. Does Your Majesty know what he said in his last letter to the King of Yue?”

Shang JunLin wasn’t sure why Shen Yu suddenly asked this, but he replied, “Does this emperor need to read his letters? It’s in the King of Yue’s possession. If Ah Yu wants to know what it says, I can tell the Hidden Dragon Guard to take a look.”

“Your Majesty, after we return to the palace I want to talk to Shen Yue.”

“If you want to see her, just have her brought to Yuzhang Palace. Did something happen today? You seem distracted all of a sudden.”

“I thought of something.” Shen Yu shook his head and pushed his confused thoughts aside. “Are we almost there, Your Majesty?”

If Shen Yu didn’t want to talk about it, Shang JunLin wouldn’t force him. “Yes, we’ll be there soon.”

Jiang HuaiQing was carrying a few books out to the courtyard to enjoy the sun. When he saw a carriage coming from a distance he called to the house, “ChengYu Xiong, are you expecting visitors?”

“No.” Hè ChengYu’s voice came from inside the house. “What’s the matter?”

“A carriage is headed this way.” Jiang HuaiQing scratched his cheek. “It’s not here for us, is it?”

Just as the words left his mouth, the carriage began to slow down. Finally it stopped at the entrance to the small courtyard.

“Who is it? No one said they were coming.” Jiang HuaiQing’s forehead was full of question marks. “ChengYu Xiong, come and see if you know them….”

When two familiar figures got out of the carriage and approached, Jiang HuaiQing’s eyes widened. The rest of his words were stuck in his throat.

Why did His Majesty and the noble monarch suddenly come here without a single word?!!

TL Notes:

dragon heart – 龙心 – refers to the imperial will, the emperor’s emotions

scourge of doom – 洪水猛兽 – lit. severe floods and fierce beasts (idiom) / fig. great scourges / extremely dangerous or threatening things

A dragon’s wisdom with a phoenix’s beauty – 龙章凤姿 – great handsome appearance; noble and handsome; a dragon’s literary talent and a phoenix’s appearance, outstanding

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

Fu Xin – 符信

this commoner – 小人 – person of low social status (old) / I, me (used to refer humbly to oneself) / nasty person / vile character / villain