The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

10/06/23 - edited

As soon as the young man's voice fell, the refugees ahead suddenly rose up and rushed towards them with a clear target in mind.

"Protect the official!"

The officials were stunned, wondering what had happened.

The guards surrounded them, but they were outnumbered and the attackers, despite looking like refugees, were skilled and focused on their target, the official named Fang.

The young man stood protectively in front of Fang Jun, like a wolf cub, watching for anyone who might approach.

The uprising happened in an instant, and those around them had no time to react.

Fang Jun remained calm in the face of the violent intent, realizing that these people were sent by some officials in the capital to eliminate him because they thought his arrival would disrupt their plans.

"Protect them, don't worry about me," he calmly said and tried to separate from the group.

Although the officials accompanying Fang Jun were frightened, they had been through a lot recently and were more cautious than before, crowding around him and refusing to leave.

Having spent time with Fang Jun, they knew exactly how much he had done and that any one of them could be injured or even killed, but Fang Jun was irreplaceable.

They couldn't bear to watch Fang Jun being harmed right in front of them!

The "refugees" ignored the officials in front of them, and although they had some training, they couldn't match the strength and focus of those who had come with a clear purpose and were quickly pushed aside.

Soon, someone broke through the crowd and headed straight for Fang Jun, brandishing something sharp.

It was intercepted by a scarred hand belonging to the young man who had been with Fang all along.

The young man had impressive physical strength, and for a moment, those people couldn't get the better of him. However, they realized they were running out of time, and one of them lunged towards the young man.

"Watch out!"

The young man sidestepped just in time but was grazed by the blade, leaving a bloody gash on his waist.

Fang Jun frowned. Over the years, he had also learned some martial arts and could barely handle the people in front of him. But he didn't want to delay, afraid that these people might hurt other officials or civilians around them.

This road was always busy with people going back and forth. After Fang Jun arrived, he found them some work to do, so they could earn enough to eat and help their hometown. They hadn't reacted at first, but now that they saw the unidentified people were about to harm the official who brought them food, they became instantly angry.

"What are you doing?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Dare to harm the official? Ask us if we agree first!"

The crowd picked up their tools and encircled the attackers.

The group of "refugees" did not expect that more and more people would surround them. They intentionally chose a place with fewer people to start trouble, but they didn't expect that Fang Jun had just sent many commoners to work in this area.

After experiencing drought, locusts, and famine, the people were sincerely grateful to Fang Jun for providing them with food. Fang Jun's arrival told them that they had not been abandoned by the court. Official Fang brought them not only food but also hope, and they would never allow anyone to harm officials who had helped them.

With the addition of the people, the situation was reversed. The "refugees" were surrounded by the people. In order to appear more like refugees, they did not carry too many weapons that did not match their "refugee" identity, and their numbers were no match for the people who surrounded them.

"Don't be afraid, Official Fang and all the officials. With us here, we will never let these refugees hurt you!"

The Northerners were tall and strong, and they had great strength. After Fang Jun came, they could also eat their fill. They were not at all disadvantaged when facing these refugees.

The officials helped each other up and watched as the aggressive people surrounded the "refugees". For a moment, they felt a sense of role reversal. Why did these people look even more fierce than those who had just attacked them?

The people ignored their own safety and broke through the "refugees" encirclement, protecting Fang Jun and his party.

Gradually, more and more people arrived and formed a circle around the "refugees", enclosing them in the middle.

In the deadlock, the sound of horse hooves gradually approached.

Fang Jun looked in the direction of the sound.

Trained soldiers wearing armor hurriedly arrived. "What happened?" they asked.

The people were wary of them.

The leader of the soldiers looked them up and down, and when he saw Fang Jun surrounded by the crowd, he clasped his fists and said, "My Lord, I am Yang Zhiyuan, here to deliver supplies on orders."

"General Yang, please arrest those disguised as refugees," Fang Jun remembered that the general sent by the court to deliver supplies was surnamed, Yang.

Seeing that the situation was lost, the "refugees" attacked.

The people surrounding them were caught off guard and almost injured, but General Yang's men acted quickly and prevented further casualties.

General Yang's troops were strictly disciplined and had elite weapons, quickly capturing and defeating the "refugees".

"Today, I am writing to express my gratitude to everyone for saving my life. Thank you all in advance," said Fang Jun, expressing his gratitude.

"No need, no need," said the sturdy man in front, waving his hand. "If it weren't for Official Fang, we wouldn't be here today. Regardless, we can't just stand by and watch Official Fang being harmed by those thieves."

The others nodded in agreement.

Seeing this scene, the young officials following behind Fang Jun couldn't help but feel their eyes welling up. In fact, they had never thought about what they would gain from their actions. But today, they were being protected by those they had helped, even risking their lives. Their hearts were filled with indescribable gratitude.

At this moment, they all made a decision in their hearts: they would definitely become good officials who could benefit the people in the future!

General Yang was followed by a large troop from the capital, so they were moving more slowly. Fang Jun looked in their direction and could vaguely see the shadow of the convoy.

"We heard some commotion over here, so we came to check it out first," General Yang explained.

"Since we've already met, let's go together," Fang Jun said, looking at the young man who didn't seem to care about the injuries he had sustained. He asked, "Do you have any medicine on you, General? My guard was injured while protecting me."

General Yang reached into his pocket and took out a bottle of medicine, saying, "Some of our traveling companions are doctors. When they arrive, they can take a look at the young man's injuries."

"Thank you very much."

Some of the common people had also suffered minor injuries. Fang Jun found a nearby place for them to rest and put the injured people there, waiting for the rest of the troops to arrive.

Soon, the troops arrived, and General Yang said a few words before returning with two people dressed as doctors.

"Physician Wu?" Fang was surprised to see the newcomers.

"Official Fang."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Physician Wu and his disciple approached to inspect the injuries of the wounded.

Fortunately, none of them were severely injured, and the young man's wounds were carefully bandaged. Physician Wu also treated the wounds of the other injured people.

A tall, burly man said carelessly, "It's nothing. When Subei was in chaos, we often fought with those from Beimo. We get these types of injuries every few days, and they heal on their own in two or three days."

"Would the people from Beimo still come here?" one official couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. Before His Majesty brought peace to the north, it was chaotic here. One small mistake could have cost us our lives."

These men from the north were used to fighting with the people from Beimo, and they had a fierce nature. So when they saw someone pretending to be a refugee attacking Fang Jun and his entourage, they dared to surround them directly.

This type of situation was commonplace in the north a few years ago.

After a short rest, the group continued on to their destination.

On the road, Fang Jun learned a lot of news about the capital from General Yang.

Fang Jun looked at the convoy behind him and asked, "Are these things not being sent to the capital?"

"The Emperor said to hand them directly to you. Since the officials in the capital don't think they need assistance, we don't need to bother with them. The Emperor also asked me to give you a message: It's time to act."

This message was a signal. Before Fang Jun came, Shang Junlin had privately summoned him and told him that the journey to the northern frontier was dangerous. Shang Junlin had also given him something and told him to wait for orders from the capital.

Now, General Yang was telling him that he could take action.

General Yang and his team settled down with a large amount of supplies. Fang Jun gathered the junior officials and announced, "I'm going back to the capital. You guys take care of things here."

After handing over the affairs here, Fang Jun mounted his horse and rode for a while. Suddenly, he stopped and said to the empty space behind him, "Didn't I tell you to stay here and wait for me?"

A young man walked out from the corner.

The news of what happened in the north was passed to Shang Junlin through the Hidden Dragon Guard, and Shen Yu also found out.

"Official Fang saved a young man in the north and got attached to him?"

"Fang Jun wants to send the young man back to the capital. What he needs to do is too dangerous, and the young man is not suitable to be with him."

Therefore, when the relief convoy returned from the north, it also came with a young man.

Shen Yu was curious about the young man who saved Fang Jun and wanted to meet him.

"Fang Jun asked me to take care of him, so I will meet him first."

Directly bringing someone into the palace was not appropriate, so Shang Junlin and Shen Yu changed into civilian clothes to go out. It so happened that Shen Yu needed to talk to Yan Zheng about their future cooperation.

Shang Junlin had many mansions outside the palace, some of which he lived in before his accession. The meeting place for him and the young man was a mansion he had briefly lived in before his accession.

Shang Junlin led Shen Yu inside and said, "At that time, I had just returned from the frontier and was not favored by the late Emperor. The mansion had nothing. Fang Jun found this residence for me."

Shen Yu looked around. The estate was not big, but the environment was very quiet. Some places were already old, but they were carefully maintained, indicating that the owner cared about this place.

"His Majesty has never brought me here before," Shen Yu said as he looked around.

"I have many estates in various places. In the future, I will bring Ah Yu to live in them. But most of them are on the frontier, and I don't know if Ah Yu can adapt to the environment there." Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's hand, overflowing with tenderness.

"Wherever His Majesty can live, I can live. I just don't know how precious I am in His Majesty's eyes," Shen Yu smiled and looked at him.

"In my eyes, Ah Yu deserves the best." Shang Junlin had spent a long time on the frontier, so he knew what the environment was like there. He could take Ah Yu there temporarily, but he did not want Ah Yu to live there permanently.

Turning a corner, Shen Yu saw the young man standing in the courtyard.

The young man turned his head when he heard the sound and looked confused for a moment.

"Have we met before?"