The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

With no way to retreat, Shen Yu could only let Shang JunLin approach him. “It seems that Imperial Physician Gu already knew how bad his medicine tastes.” 

“After you get well you won’t need it anymore.” Because of his poor health Shen Yu had to take all sorts of medicine every day, and Shang JunLin ached to see it. That was the reason he indulged Shen Yu with so many sweets.

“Your Majesty is only saying that to make me feel better.” Shen Yu knew his own body, and there was no way around it. He would have to take a variety of prescriptions for the rest of his life.

“This emperor will find someone to cure Ah Yu. If no one in Da Huan can do it, this emperor will search other countries. The world is vast. This emperor believes a cure for Ah Yu can be found.”

These weren’t empty words. Shang JunLin had already sent people to search far and wide for famous doctors, but he hadn’t discussed it with Shen Yu. He didn’t want to say anything until he was certain he wouldn’t falsely raise Shen Yu’s hopes.

When you truly have a person in your heart, you can’t help but pay attention to everything about them. Shen Yu’s illness was painful for Shang JunLin.

He’d asked Imperial Physician Gu for every detail. Imperial Physician Gu told him that as long as Shen Yu’s illness remained, he couldn’t guarantee Shen Yu’s lifespan. Throughout history, people with this kind of health deficiency rarely lived as long as others. Shang JunLin was the emperor, but not even he could overturn life and death.

Shang JunLin refused to accept this. He sent teams of people to seek out famous doctors. He’d give anything to cure Shen Yu.

All this was done without Shen Yu’s knowledge.

Shen Yu lifted his fingers to Shang JunLin’s forehead and smoothed the lines between his eyebrows. “Your Majesty shouldn’t worry. I’ll take good care of myself. I’ve had this sickness for so many years. To be honest, I’m used to it. If I actually get better someday I won’t know what to do with myself. Please don’t frown. I’ll be good and take my medicine.”

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Shen Yu drew closer and took Shang JunLin’s hand. He drank the medicine and showed Shang JunLin the empty bowl. “All gone.”

Then Shen Yu pressed his lips together. “Imperial Physician Gu was telling the truth. This medicine’s a lot better than the last one.”

Except for the time Shen Yu had a sudden attack of sickness, Imperial Physician Gu’s medicine wasn’t that bad. Shen Yu only bothered to complain about it in front of Shang JunLin. When Shang JunLin wasn’t around, he drank the bitter-tasting concoction without changing expression.

Shang JunLin felt a warm yet cool touch on his forehead. When he was about to speak, Shen Yu interrupted. “Although it’s not that bad, I still want some candied fruit. Will Your Majesty bring some over?”

Seeing that Shen Yu was feeling lazy and didn’t want to move, Shang JunLin got up and brought over the fruit that had been prepared.

Shen Yu leaned against Shang JunLin like a chick waiting to be fed by a bigger bird. “I want Your Majesty to feed me.” 

Shang JunLin had been feeling downcast because of Shen Yu’s health, but he was defenseless against this kind of coquettish tone. After feeding Shen Yu the candied fruit and some water, Shang JunLin’s low mood was swept away.

“Does Your Majesty have any plans this afternoon?” Seeing that Shang JunLin was back to normal, Shen Yu’s mood relaxed as well.

“This emperor is meeting with the prime minister and the Minister of Works later. Aside from that, there’s nothing.” Shang JunLin stroked the long, silky hair that fell behind Shen Yu’s shoulders.

“I plan to bring Shen Yue here to speak with her. Would Your Majesty like to join me, or…”

“Does Ah Yu want this emperor to stay?”

“That’s up to Your Majesty to decide.”

“It’s rare to hear that from Ah Yu. This emperor will join you and call the ministers to the palace when you finish things here.”

After the two decided they told Meng Gonggong to bring Shen Yue over from the dowager concubine’s quarters.

The dowager concubine lived in a palace that was relatively isolated. After Shang JunLin ascended the throne he wanted to assign her a better location, but she refused. She’d lived a life of struggle in the late emperor’s harem. In her remaining years she wanted peace and quiet.

The dark prison was a terrifying experience for Shen Yue. It wasn’t until later, when she was sent to the dowager concubine’s palace, that she finally found some peace. She wasn’t a total fool. Given time to reflect, she realized that she was now living in a historical period that didn’t place a high value on human life. Here, imperial power was absolute. This wasn’t a world where love reigned supreme like in all those romance novels she’d read.

After all, she came from modern times. She had more knowledge and education than the people who worked in the palace. After serving the dowager concubine for a while, Shen Yue gradually won her approval.

“Shen Yue Jiejie, the dowager concubine wants to see you.”

The clear voice of a young woman rang out from the doorway. Shen Yue quickly finished folding the clothes she was holding. “I’ll be right there.”

Shen Yue didn’t dare to delay. She put down what she was doing and hurried to the other room.

When the dowager concubine saw Shen Yue, she smiled. “Someone’s here to summon you to Yuzhang Palace. The noble monarch wants to ask you some questions. Be sure to answer well. If it weren’t for the noble monarch’s help, you wouldn’t be working here now.”

“This slave knows. Don’t worry, dowager concubine. This slave used to be ignorant, but that was in the past,” Shen Yue said in an obedient voice.

The dowager concubine called Shen Yue over and gave her a few more words of advice before saying, “Go.”

As Shen Yue followed the junior eunuch away from the isolated palace, her nervousness and fear began to increase. It wasn’t until she was trained by the dowager concubine that Shen Yue came to realize how far she’d crossed over the line before. It was no exaggeration to say that she would have been executed if the noble monarch hadn’t directly intervened.

She’d been serving the dowager concubine for a while and it had taken her some time to accept her status. “Why is he able to do all those things when I can’t?” Even now she couldn’t help second-guessing her fate, but they were thoughts she couldn’t share with anyone else.

The journey from the residence of the dowager concubine to Yuzhang Palace wasn’t especially long, but it also wasn’t short. As they walked, many things passed through Shen Yue’s mind, but she reached no conclusions. When the young eunuch leading her suddenly stopped, she realized they’d arrived.

The gates to the majestic palace came into view. Compared to last time, Shen Yue’s attitude was drastically different.

“Your Majesty, what is Shen Yue’s current situation?” After handing her over to Shang JunLin to deal with, Shen Yu never asked about her again.

Shang JunLin toyed with Shen Yu’s fingers. They were white and slender like the finest lustrous jade, with defined joints and strong lines, not as soft as a woman’s. Shang JunLin liked Shen Yu’s hands very much, especially when they were gripping his clothes or himself.

A few images flashed through his mind. Shang JunLin coughed softly and forced his attention back. “This emperor sent that person to the dowager concubine and explained that she would need some ‘discipline’. Later on the dowager concubine sent a message saying that she’s changed a great deal. Ah Yu will find out when you see her.”

They didn’t have to wait long. Meng Gonggong soon brought Shen Yue inside.

“This slave greets Your Majesty and the noble monarch.” Shen Yue bowed according to the proper etiquette.

Shang JunLin wasn’t the type to hold a grudge against a little girl. “You may rise.” 

Shen Yu observed the woman whose behavior and words were so different from before. She really did seem to have changed. From the moment she walked through the door she never once tried to look them in the eyes, and there was no trace of reluctance or resentment in her bearing.

“How have you been doing lately?” Shen Yu asked in a warm voice.

Because of the previous incident, Shen Yue felt some gratitude towards Shen Yu. She glanced carefully at the emperor who was sitting beside him. Seeing no displeasure on the emperor’s face, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“This slave is doing well. The dowager concubine has been very kind to this slave. The people in the dowager concubine’s palace are also easy to get along with.”

“If you’re not used to it, you don’t have to call yourself ‘this slave’.” Shen Yu knew that in the world Shen Yue came from, everyone was equal and the rules were very different. He didn’t mind accommodating her a little if it would help him gain her earnest cooperation.

When Shen Yue heard this, she looked at Shen Yu in surprise. As someone who was born and raised in modern times, she really wasn’t used to a world where she had to kneel and constantly call herself a servant or a slave. But by now she’d fully learned the meaning of the idiom, “Do as the natives do”.

There weren’t many rules in the dowager concubine’s palace. The concubine didn’t like to see people kneel in front of her. Aside from having to refer to herself as ‘this slave’, Shen Yue thought her current life was more comfortable than her previous one.

“I called you here to discuss something. Recently the Ministry of Works is making plans to pave roads with concrete. If you have any suggestions of your own, you can put them forward. Da Huan will have its first female official soon. There’s a chance for you to change your status, if you want.”

“Concrete roads? Women officials?!” Dumbfounded, Shen Yue stared at Shen Yu. She couldn’t tell which of the two things shocked her more.

This man was also a transmigrator. Did Shen Yu propose using concrete? And a woman becoming an official—did Shen Yu put forward that idea too?

“That’s right.” Shen Yu leaned forward slightly. “You should think about what you might be able to do for Da Huan. If you have something to contribute, you can change things. The world is a big place. It would be a pity if you have to stay inside the palace forever. What do you think?”

Shen Yu’s voice was soft and contained an almost imperceptible hint of persuasion. A tiny wisp crept into Shen Yue’s heart. She couldn’t help thinking about it. Did she really want to spend the rest of her life like this? After transmigrating, did she want to be a palace maid and nothing more? Her old life was a mess, but now she had a second chance. Did she want to live the same as before?

“The way I acted back then was outrageous. I even wanted to destroy you. Why are you willing to give me another chance?” Shen Yue didn’t understand. She knew how much of a jerk she was in the past. What Shen Yu was proposing made no sense.

“It’s because you come from the same place. That’s why I’m willing to give you another chance—as long as you’re willing to use your knowledge to help Da Huan.”

Shen Yu looked at Shen Yue. His dark eyes almost seemed to glow, tempting the woman to step inside a new world.

Shen Yue stood there in a daze. Then she suddenly knelt down and gave Shen Yu a deep salute. “I’ve done a lot of things I shouldn’t have. But I also know that an apology without actions is worthless. I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making up for my mistakes.”

By no means was Shen Yu a person who would easily forgive someone who did wrong. He was willing to give Shen Yue another chance for specific reasons. First, Shen Yue might have really changed. Second, Shen Yue’s face looked like his, and he couldn’t help thinking that Shen Yue had some sort of connection to himself. Third, Shen Yue’s origin was unusual, which was the most important point.

His knowledge of the other world came from two sources, the book he’d read and Shen QingRan. He wasn’t the same as Shen Yue, who’d lived in that world. He was curious about that place and wanted to know more. It would be even better if he could bring some of that world’s knowledge to Da Huan, in addition to flood control methods and cement.

After their talk, Shen Yu asked Shen Yue to go back and think about things. He’d planted a seed. Now he just had to wait for the seed to break through the soil, sprout, and grow tall.

Shang JunLin summoned the prime minister and the Minister of Works and told them about Shen Yu’s suggestion. If Da Huan was going to implement a new type of examination it couldn’t be achieved in one day, but he wanted them to start thinking about it.

When he returned to Yuzhang Palace it was already dark. Shen Yu was sitting on a soft couch reading a book. Shang JunLin walked over, took the man in his arms, and pulled Shen Yu’s hand into his own.

“Ah Yu seems extremely tolerant of Shen Yue.”

“I’m mostly concerned about where she originally came from. The dowager concubine must have gone to a lot of effort to temper her personality.” His fingers were being gently pressed and squeezed. Shen Yu relaxed and leaned against Shang JunLin’s arms. “Is this what Your Majesty expected when you sent Shen Yue to the dowager concubine?”

“This emperor thought she might reveal some clues about the late wife of the Zhenbei Marquis, so I asked the dowager concubine to take her in.” Shang JunLin interlaced his fingers with Shen Yu’s. “Ah Yu shouldn’t underestimate anyone who was able to survive the previous emperor’s harem. The dowager concubine lived in the late emperor’s harem for years. She’s seen every type of person there is. To her, Shen Yue is nothing at all.”

“It’s fortunate that Your Majesty’s harem is clean. If not…” Shen Yu paused. If Shang JunLin’s harem wasn’t empty, would he have agreed to enter the harem?

Maybe, but his relationship with Shang JunLin certainly wouldn’t be like it was now.

“There was never any chance of that,” Shang JunLin said. He took Shen Yu’s chin, making him turn to look at him, and lowered his head to print a kiss on Shen Yu’s lips. “This emperor doesn’t want anyone else. In this life it’s enough to have Ah Yu.”

TL Notes:

Do as the natives do – from 入乡随俗 – When you enter a village, follow the local customs (idiom); do as the natives do / When in Rome, do as the Romans do

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

dowager concubine – 太妃 – tàifēi – Concubine of the late emperor

jiejie – 姐姐 – older sister; a common way to address an older woman of the same generation as you