The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

<strike>I seriously dont have any face to address how I broke my promise one by one. So sorry. my laziness caught up my butt. </strike>

05/07/23

The kisses on his face were intimate and urgent, and Shen Yu could feel the thick unease emanating from Shang Junlin's body. It was the first time he had ever experienced such strong emotional fluctuations from Shang Junlin.

"I'm not sick," Shang Junlin said, his lips pressed against Shen Yu's forehead, his breath spraying onto Shen Yu's skin. He grabbed Shen Yu's hand and placed it in his palm. "I'm not sick."

"Why did His Majesty suddenly say such a thing? I'm just an ordinary person, how could I be the immortal in His Majesty's mouth?"

But Shang Junlin couldn't listen now. He was caught in his own speculation, thinking more and more that it made sense. "If he's not an immortal, how could Ah Yu know so much? How could he know that there would be rain in Subei?"

Everything Shen Yu brought out was unprecedented.

Shen Yu opened his mouth but found himself unable to explain. Reincarnation was too terrifying to talk about, and he hadn't decided whether to tell Shang Junlin yet. It was his biggest secret and his biggest trump card.

However, he soon heard the key point from Shang Junlin's words.

"It's raining in Subei?"

His shocked expression was not feigned, and Shang Junlin looked at him for a while. "Didn't Ah Yu already know?"

"How could His Majesty think I knew? If it weren't for His Majesty telling me, I wouldn't have known."

"Subei is raining, isn't it because of Ah Yu?" Shang Junlin spoke while staring at Shen Yu's face, not missing any changes in his expression.

"Why would His Majesty think that?" Shen Yu was at a loss. "How could I make it rain in Subei?"

"The time was set by Ah Yu," Shang Junlin finally regained some sanity and sat down on the couch with Shen Yu in his arms. "Subei reported back that it rained heavily after the execution that day, and the rain continued for several days. Now the disaster in Subei has basically been alleviated."

"Why does His Majesty think that the rain has something to do with me?" Shen Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Because the timing was too coincidental, just at the moment the execution ended." Shang Junlin stroked Shen Yu's fingers. When he received the news, his first reaction was that the rain was related to Shen Yu. Otherwise, how would one explain Shen Yu's choice of timing?

At that moment, he was very grateful that he did not expose Shen Yu when he gave the order. Then he was overwhelmed by fear, and as he connected all the mysterious aspects, he became more convinced that Shen Yu was the immortal in the rumors.

"Your Majesty, the rain in Subei really has nothing to do with me. I just checked the books and found that it rains heavily in Subei every year at this time. I just set the time before the heavy rain came. If it didn't rain, we wouldn't have suffered any losses, but if it rained, we would have more room to maneuver afterward."

Shen Yu did not want to let Shang Junlin continue with this dangerous idea. He understood this man well, and if he was convinced that Shen Yu was a fairy who could leave at any time, who knew what he might do.

Moreover, this statement wasn't a lie. It was just that he had memories of his past life and was certain that it would rain during this period of time this year. However, he didn't expect the specific time of the rain to be after the execution was over.

"If His Majesty doesn't believe me, he can look at the notes I've made." In order to calculate a relatively small range, Shen Yu had looked up a lot of information about Subei during this period of time and transcribed information about the autumn rainfall time. Combining this with the records from his past life, he estimated a rough time frame.

Shen Yu's manuscript was placed nearby, and Shang Junlin's thoughts wandered back to the time when Shen Yu had asked him for books. "You asked for so many books back then just for this?"

"Otherwise?" Shen Yu reprimanded him, "His Majesty should know that I don't like reading those kinds of things."

"I thought you had changed your preferences." As soon as Shen Yu brought it up, Shang Junlin remembered that there was a time when Shen Yu stopped reading novels and started reading books that recorded local conditions.

Shen Yu brought the notes he had recorded and placed them in front of Shang Junlin. "Your Majesty, take a look for yourself."

After flipping through them, Shang Junlin's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

"At that time, I thought His Majesty would ask," Shen Yu said half-jokingly, relieved that Shang Junlin was no longer tense. "If you had asked, I could have received a reward."

"What does Ah Yu want? It's not too late to say now."

"After the Subei matter is over, His Majesty can accompany me to stay at the Zhuangzi for a few days. I always go there for a few days during this time of year."

Shang Junlin felt guilty, so of course he agreed to whatever Shen Yu said.

"Ah Yu, you've worked hard," Shang Junlin embraced him again, "but the role you played in this matter, I'm afraid it can't be made public."

This matter was too bizarre. If it were spread, Shen Yu would be pushed to the forefront and scrutinized by everyone, which was not a good thing, especially since it was because of something so inexplicable.

People feared the gods, but there were always those who had the courage to do things they shouldn't. Moreover, there were still several forces hiding in the dark, enemies disguised as friends. Shang Junlin didn't want to take risks with Shen Yu.

"Your Majesty, even if you don't say it, I will ask His Majesty to conceal my existence. Besides, I haven't done anything wrong."

Shen Yu has always known that words can be dangerous. This matter can be made big or small, but the effect of keeping it mysterious on him is far less than ideal.

The rain came at just the right time and the timing was so perfect. This was such a good opportunity that it would be a waste not to take advantage of it.

The rain was heavy, but no one complained. The people of Subei were almost moved to tears. There was a feeling of unreality. They had been hoping and waiting for this rain for so long, and it fell suddenly and unexpectedly.

Everyone was happy about the rain after the long drought.

Fang Jun was a very clear-headed person. After a moment of confusion, he quickly realized that this was a good opportunity to gather public support.

It rained for a whole day and night without stopping, but the rain gradually decreased. The cracked earth absorbed sufficient water, and the flowers, trees and grass on the roadside also blossomed with new life.

The common people walked in the drizzle wearing straw hats or raincoats, feeling the hard-earned rain and discussing the long-awaited rain.

"We've been waiting for months, and it's finally raining."

"Yeah, but do you guys think this rain is a reward from heaven for the court's punishment of corrupt officials?"

"I think so. Otherwise, why didn't it rain earlier or later? Why did it rain at the exact moment when those corrupt officials were being punished?"

"They disregarded human life and deserved to die!"

The whole Subei was talking about this rain, and those officials who were punished were also discussed.

Originally, there were still some remnants of power who wanted to cause chaos, but after a heavy rain, many of their followers ran away. To make matters worse, many of them went to the government to report them in order to reduce their own guilt.

Because of this timely rain, the power that Minister Hou and others had been operating in Subei for many years was easily destroyed. These people couldn't even cause chaos, and they were grateful just to avoid being caught by the government.

Fang Jun issued a reward order, and the people of Subei had already concluded that the drought was a punishment from heaven to punish these corrupt officials. They showed no mercy in catching the remnants of the power.

Everyone thought that if it weren't for them, Subei wouldn't have had such a severe drought.

The news from Subei spread from the capital to all parts of Da Huan. When the people who were closely following the disaster in Subei heard about it, it caused a great stir.

In restaurants, teahouses, and streets, everyone was talking about it.

"Have you heard? It's raining in Subei now, so we don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Cutting off corrupt officials results in rain. Do you think the previous drought was related to these corrupt officials?"

"Speaking of that, do you remember the rumors that were circulating a while back, saying that the drought in Subei was caused by dissatisfaction with the emperor's policies and deliberately causing a disaster?"

"How could we forget? It was simply groundless. Even if it was dissatisfaction with the emperor's policies, why was it a drought in Subei instead of the capital? The capital is much closer to the emperor."

"They just wanted to slander the emperor. I don't know what kind of intentions they had. When the emperor sent people to execute the corrupt officials, it immediately started raining heavily. This shows that even if heaven is dissatisfied, it's not with the emperor, but with those corrupt officials."

"Since the emperor ascended to the throne, our lives have indeed been getting better. We don't even have to worry about enemy armies attacking the city gates at any time. I also can't understand why someone always wants to slander the emperor, saying that the emperor kills the innocent and is cruel and unfeeling. But since the New Year, every person the emperor has punished deserves it. If punishing criminals is also considered killing the innocent, then I have nothing to say."

"Now that you mention it, it seems to be true. Were there hidden reasons for the ministers the emperor killed before? Who didn't cry foul for Zhang Yushi at the time?"

"You can't just look at the surface of things. Were those previous criticisms of the emperor true or not? If the court could give an explanation, it would be great."

"Doesn't the government have a suggestion box? Why don't we ask them?"

As the discussion ended, there was silence all around.

Turning around, the officials received anonymous inquiries from the people. Those anonymous letters that could be solved at the lower levels would not be brought up to the court, but this matter was obviously beyond their control, and they also wanted to know if there was any inside information.

After much thought, the officials brought up the matter in court.

The ministers looked at each other, mainly because many of them were not clear about the inside story. If there really was some hidden information, it would be understandable, but if not...

"He Chengyu, Jiang Huaiqing, Fang Jiayi, I am entrusting this matter to you. Don't disappoint me."

"We obey, Your Majesty."

No one expected that Shang Junlin would hand this matter over to three inexperienced young officials to handle. Some people instinctively wanted to speak out against it but were pulled back by those around them.

It was obvious that Jiang Huaiqing and the other two would be heavily relied upon, and they had never been able to influence the emperor's decisions.

"Your Majesty, didn't you plan to send these three to the north? Why are you giving them this task?" Shen Yu understood Shang Junlin's plan. Soon, Fang and his team would return, and the officials sent by the court would also set off.

"Ah Yu, didn't you want to know who was behind the rumor-mongering? We will know soon enough." Shang Junlin did not directly answer Shen Yu's question.

"Your Majesty, are you trying to force that person's hand through this incident?" Shen Yu asked.

Seeing the stigma that had been gradually building up on Shang Junlin's name being resolved one by one, and even causing him to become more beloved by the people, would the person behind the scenes be able to sit still?