The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

05/07/23 - edited

Shen Yu had been thinking about this plant for days, but when he finally saw it, he didn't feel anything special. It was just a beautiful flower. Upon hearing the words of Shang Junlin, Shen Yu couldn't help but cry and laugh, "What are you saying, Your Majesty? It's just a flower..."

Halfway through his sentence, Shen Yu suddenly stopped because he realized that the flower was actually swaying slightly with his movements.

Shen Yu looked at Shang Junlin, and both of them had an expression of disbelief.

"This flower..."

Shen Yu turned to look at the flower, and its stem was swaying without any wind. The petals were lighter in color than when he first saw them, like translucent jade, with slightly curled edges that were beautifully layered.

Shang Junlin called over the palace maid in charge of taking care of the flower, "Have you noticed anything unusual about it when you were taking care of it?"

"...No," the palace maid thought for a moment, "Wait, there was one thing. This flower occasionally moves around."

"Isn't it normal for it to move with the wind?" Shang Junlin asked calmly.

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. There were several times when the flower moved, but there was no wind." The palace maid kneeled down.

"I'm not blaming you. Please stand up," Shen Yu said helplessly.

It seemed that this flower wasn't just moving for him. Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, why did Prince An send this flower from so far away?" Shen Yu couldn't understand.

Other princes followed his hint and sent him "plain" gifts of gold, silver, and jewels, but only Prince An sent such a faraway flower.

"I had people secretly investigate Prince An's estate, but we didn't find another flower like this one. It's said that he accidentally came across this flower and thought it was pretty, so he sent it over with the gift."

Actually, Shang Junlin didn't plan to keep the flower at first. He didn't trust things with unknown origins to be near Shen Yu. But somehow, he felt that he would regret it if he threw it away. He guessed that Prince An wouldn't dare to do anything to the gift he sent, so he kept the flower.

Shen Yu continued to observe the flower. It was about half a person tall with lush green leaves and only one flower blooming, surrounded by a multitude of leaves that were like stars around the moon, giving off a brilliant radiance.

Could this flower really emit light at night?

Shen Yu couldn't help but wonder.

Under the cover of the night, everything seemed to disappear, leaving only this flower as the sole source of light, attracting living creatures like moths to a flame.

The petals stretched to their limit, revealing the shiny white beads wrapped inside.

What was that?

Shen Yu couldn't help but get closer to take a closer look but was suddenly brought back to reality by a voice calling his name.

"Ah Yu!"

Shen Yu turned around, with lingering confusion in his eyes, "What?"

His hand was firmly grabbed by the man, and Shang Junlin looked at him steadily, "You just wanted to pick that flower."

Before Shen Yu could react, the man embraced him tightly and took a step back, his gaze at the flower turning unfriendly.

Under the man's cold breath, Shen Yu's confused thoughts finally cleared up. When he looked at the flower again, his emotions were unstable.

It was too strange.

It seemed that only he had been affected.

Suppressing his thoughts, Shen Yu patted Shang Junlin soothingly, "I'm fine, I just saw it wrong."

Shang Junlin was still worried, so he carefully checked Shen Yu's body before leaving, still holding him.

When Meng Gonggong saw Shang Junlin carrying Shen Yu out, he hurried over, "Your Majesty..."

"Summon Physician Gu." Shang Junlin did not stop and walked towards the bedroom with Shen Yu in his arms.

Meng Gonggong didn't dare to delay and quickly went to call someone.

Shen Yu carefully sensed his body and leaned against Shang Junlin's chest, "I'm really fine."

That flower didn't bring him any discomfort.

Physician Gu was sun-drying medicine and was called urgently by Meng Gonggong to Yu Zhang Palace. He thought something big had happened, but when he came in, he saw that Shen Yu's face was normal, and it was Shang Junlin who didn't look too good.

After examining Shen Yu's pulse, Imperial Physician Gu put down his hand, and something flashed through his mind, but he couldn't grasp it before it disappeared.

Physician Gu asked Shen Yu some questions, and he answered them one by one. Imperial Physician Gu pondered, "I want to go see that flower first."

Shang Junlin ordered a palace servant to take Imperial Physician Gu there.

Soon, Physician Gu came back, "Your Majesty, rest assured, your Highness's body has not shown any problems. I went to see the flower, and it will not cause any harm to the human body."

Although Physician Gu assured them that there was no problem, Shang Junlin was still very scared. For the next few days, he had to keep an eye on Shen Yu at all times to feel at ease. He also forbade Shen Yu from going to see that flower again.

Shen Yu actually wanted to go see it again. He later asked around, and except for him, no one who had come into contact with the flower showed any abnormal behavior. He wanted to know if it was inevitable or just a coincidence.

Of course, after that day, Shang Junlin was furious and ordered the place where the flowers were placed to be cleaned inside and out. Actually, he knew that it might not be the flowers' fault, but rather someone might have tampered with the place. After all, Shen Yu was attacked on the day he entered the palace.

As it turned out, they did find something.

"It's a hallucinogenic drug, in a very small dose," Physician Gu said, sniffing at the small piece of wood he held under his nose. "Such a small dose doesn't have any effect on the human body, just a whiff, and it will be metabolized quickly. No wonder we didn't find anything wrong with Your Highness that day."

Shang Junlin was emitting a chilling aura. The small piece of wood was found on the flower rack, and it was obvious that someone had deliberately put it there. Shang Junlin had been on high alert, but he had not expected someone to still tamper with it.

The flower rack was brought over, and Shang Junlin said coldly, "Physician Gu, check if there's anything else here."

Physician Gu walked around the flower rack and shook his head. "Your Majesty, there's nothing else."

Shen Yu, with a veil over his face soaked in a specially prepared drug by Physician Gu, walked over. Shen Yu's body was slightly weaker than usual, and many drugs that were not a big deal for ordinary people could affect him. Shen Yu was also interested in things that could cause hallucinations, so he came up with this method.

The veil was not transparent, only revealing a pair of clear eyes.

Shen Yu's eyes were extremely beautiful, with the corners slightly upturned. Even when he wasn't smiling, he gave people the feeling of smiling, especially when half of his face was covered, the charm of those eyes became more prominent.

"How was this piece of wood discovered?" Shen Yu lowered his head and looked at the piece of wood placed on the small table, about two fingers wide, and the same color as the wooden flower rack, so it was impossible to notice it was embedded inside.

"It was an accident," Shang Junlin's chilling aura dissipated upon seeing Shen Yu, "a clumsy little palace maid accidentally knocked over the rack when moving the flowers, and the piece of wood fell out and was discovered by the responsible palace attendant."

Knowing that His Majesty was investigating, the palace attendant didn't dare to conceal it and reported it immediately upon obtaining the piece of wood. That was how Shen Yu came to see it.

All the flowers and plants were moved to another place. Shen Yu walked around but didn't see the flower that Prince An had sent. He walked over to Shang Junlin and poked the man's arm. "Your Majesty, what about the flower Prince An sent?"

"It's been moved to another place. Don't worry, it won't be thrown away." Knowing that the flower was not related to Shen Yu's strange behavior that day, Shang Junlin's hostility towards the flower subsided.

"Who put this piece of wood in here? They certainly came up with a clever idea."

"We're still investigating," Shang Junlin put his arm around Shen Yu's waist and led him away. "Don't get too close, Ah Yu."

The piece of wood was placed right next to the flower sent by Prince An, no wonder Shen Yu was affected when he was near the flower.

"What does this person want? To make Your Majesty think that Prince An harmed me?"

"When we catch the culprit, we'll know what they want to do." Although Shang Junlin's tone was gentle, his eyes were cold.

Shen Yu and Shang Junlin stayed for a while before Meng Gonggong came in and said that a minister was looking for Shang Junlin. Shen Yu then left with him.

The prime minister came to the palace, still for the matter of the Subei. Upper-level officials in Subei had been arrested, leaving many vacancies that were temporarily filled by people sent by the court. However, this was not a long-term solution and suitable officials had to be arranged to go there soon.

Not all local officials were corrupt, especially those in small towns nearby. Many of them were capable and were selected by Fang Daren. After examination, they were transferred to the main city for official positions. Some small officials who were originally stationed in the main city were also kept based on their abilities, while the others were sent to small towns for retraining.

The court officials who came to help with disaster relief were also called to the main city and temporarily assumed some duties. Hou Daren and others had been operating in Subei for many years and had a deep foundation. Although they were caught now, the network of relationships they left behind could not be cut off in a day.

To clean up the mess, Fang Jun was busy as a bee.

Time flew by, and soon it was the day of execution.

The Subei region was still clear and sunny, with no signs of rain.

Early in the morning, when the people learned that Minister Hou and others were to be executed, they went to the execution site one after another. The deceased would not come back, but they could at least see the chief culprits being punished with their own eyes.

The prisoners were escorted to the execution ground. The people present did not show any fear in the face of the impending bloody scene. They had excitement, desire for revenge, satisfaction, and hatred, but no fear.

Fang Jun sat in the main seat, with Xun Chao sitting at the lower end. Feeling the angry gazes from the execution ground, he smiled back.

"It's time!"

The sharp blade was raised high and then fell--

As if it had also cut away all the sins.

The bloody smell filled the air, in memory of the wrongfully executed souls in heaven.

"Boom--"

When the last person was disposed of, a large dark cloud drifted over and covered the scorching sun. The people watching the execution raised their heads in surprise, feeling cold water droplets falling on their faces.

--It was raining!

Just as these corrupt officials were being punished, it started to rain!

The people all knelt down and shouted, "Long live Your Majesty," in the direction of the imperial palace.

Even Fang Jun, who was accustomed to big scenes, was bewildered for a moment when he experienced this moment firsthand.

No one had expected that the rain that Subei had been hoping for would come at this moment, at this time.

The news was transmitted back to the court, and everyone was shocked.

"Ah Yu," Shang Junlin embraced the young man as soon as he walked in. "Sometimes I wonder if you're an immortal sent from the heavens, here to complete a mission before returning to the heavens again."

"Or perhaps," Shang Junlin continued, "you're a fairy among the flowers, and that particular flower only shows affection towards you. You even have control over the rain..."

As he spoke, Shang Junlin planted kisses on Shen Yu's face eagerly, as if trying to confirm Shen Yu's existence through this physical act.

Shen Yu responded with a worried expression, touching Shang Junlin's forehead. "Your Majesty, what happened to you? Why are you talking nonsense?"