The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The ice cubes were small and occupied the remaining space due to the great heat and extreme tangling.  The tongue could only dance around since it had nowhere to go.

There was no turning back.

The ice gradually melted in the warm mouth, slipping from the slightly parted lips.

Shang Junlin released Shen Yu and licked away the water stains from his chin.

Shen Yu leaned against the man's arm, breathing slightly.

"It's really delicious." The man's lips touched Shen Yu's skin, his voice husky as he spoke through the gap.

Shen Yu only felt the heat on his body getting more and more intense. He had eaten ice, but all he could feel was heat.

"Your Majesty, please let me go. It's too hot," Shen Yu steadied his breathing for a moment and pushed away the arm firmly holding onto his waist.

Shang Junlin's body temperature was too high, like a big stove. This kind of temperature was comfortable to hug in the winter, but unbearable in the summer.

Especially now, during the hottest period in Da Huan, although there was ice in the room, the amount was not much in consideration of Shen Yu's body. The two of them hugged for a while, making them feel hot from the inside out.

Shang Junlin saw his face flush and fine sweat beads form on his forehead. He could only helplessly loosen his grip on him. "Why is Ah Yu so afraid of the heat? Were you like this before?"

Shen Yu was stunned by Shang Junlin's question, and couldn't help but ask himself in his heart if he used to be this afraid of the heat.

It seemed like he wasn't. In his past life, he only feared the cold and found it hard to endure in the winter. But during the summer, he didn't feel as anxious and hot as he did now.

"I wasn't like this before," Shen Yu looked at Shang Junlin. "Before entering the palace, I don't think I was this afraid of the heat."

Shang Junlin raised his hand and gently touched Shen Yu's face, which had turned a light pink color due to his high body temperature.

Compared to that, Shang Junlin's hand became the colder one, which felt comfortable against Shen Yu's burning face. Shen Yu unconsciously leaned his head towards his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking like a spoiled cat.

"Let the physicians from the imperial hospital come and take a look." Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's face and lightly bit his lips.

Physician Gu was called over.

Before they arrived at the Yu Zhang Palace, the palace attendant had already informed Physician Gu about Shen Yu's condition according to Shang Junlin's instructions. Physician Gu's brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he listened. Something unusual must have happened. Although being suddenly afraid of heat seemed insignificant, given Shen Yu's physical condition, he shouldn't be this heat-sensitive.

Physician Gu carefully took Shen Yu's pulse, but still couldn't detect anything wrong with it.

Seeing Physician Gu's expression, Shen Yu knew that the result was still the same as before. Apart from being suddenly afraid of heat, he didn't feel any other discomfort.

"In fact, there is another possibility," Physician Gu pondered for a moment. "After a period of recuperation, your body gradually recovers to the level of a normal person. It's normal to be a little heat-sensitive because, in the past, your body was affected by cold and could withstand hot temperatures because of the coldness."

Since they couldn't find any other reasons, Shang Junlin temporarily believed Physician Gu's explanation.

After a bit of fuss, it was already dark outside. Shang Junlin instructed Meng Gonggong to escort Physician Gu out and then picked up Shen Yu. He pressed his forehead against Shen Yu's and whispered, "I hope everything is as Physician Gu said."

Shen Yu patted the back of his neck and said, "I'm really fine. I've never truly experienced the summer heat in Da Huanjing City<sup data-mfn="1">大桓京城 - probably the name of the capital? The 京 means capital and the first two characters read as Da Huan which is the Empire's location. This might be the name of the capital or just simply the Capital City of Da Huan? Are you confused? So am I! HAHA  Edit: Who am I kidding? This is definitely just the capital city of Da Huan, not the name of the capital. Good thing I revisited this for editing before. Perhaps that's why my body can't adapt, and I'm a bit more sensitive to heat than others."

Shang Junlin reluctantly believed this explanation and said, "Hmm."

Shen Yu deliberately changed the subject and asked, "Your Majesty, have the candidates for the disaster relief been determined?"

"The court is still discussing it. I plan to send Fang Jun. He still has some way to go before he can enter the cabinet."

"Official Fang Jun is just and honest. It's a good opportunity for him to go to the North to suppress the rebellion. The aristocrats probably won't let this opportunity slip away."

"Ah Yu is right. The aristocrats have repeatedly failed, and they can't sit still anymore. If there isn't any aristocrat among the officials sent to the North to suppress the rebellion, they won't agree easily."

"Do you want them to go, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, we can't delay the matter in the North. I don't want to waste too much time on this. If they can do their job well, I won't be stingy with their rewards."

The ministers all knew the importance of suppressing the rebellion in the North, and there was no obstacle in organizing the disaster relief. Although the aristocrats and the poor had long been at odds, they would not ignore the overall situation in such matters.

Those who disregarded the overall situation had already been dealt with by Shang Junlin, and those who could still stay until now were not allowed to make mistakes on major issues.

They might have their own thoughts, but in the face of such things, they would hide them well.

Soon, the officials who were going to Subei for disaster relief were confirmed. Fang Jun was the leader, with one aristocrat and several junior officials. They bid farewell to the emperor at the palace gate, and with the supplies, they set off toward Subei.

Considering the internal problems in Subei, Xun Chao returned to Subei first. Only his confidants knew about his trip to the capital city in a simple and low-profile manner, so as not to arouse suspicion. He did not show himself in the capital city.

Except for Fang Jun, other ministers did not know that Xun Chao personally delivered the reports on the disaster in Subei to Shang Junlin.

Not long after Official Fang and his men left, it rained in the capital city, and the long-lasting high temperature finally dissipated.

After the rain, the weather became cool, and Shen Yu and Shang Junlin changed into casual clothes and left the palace.

Shen Yu planned to go and see how his shops were doing.

The carriage "clattered" on the road paved with blue stones, passed through the alley, and inside the carriage, Shen Yu sat next to Shang Junlin and talked to him about the shops.

"The shops I have in my hands are partly left by my mother. These shops, like the farm, were not touched by the Marquis of Zhenbei and were directly handed over to me. The rest are either given to me as a reward when I was promoted, or given by the Marquis of Zhenbei before I entered the palace."

Despite the declining trend of the Marquis of Zhenbei's estate, the camel is still bigger than the horse. Over generations, the Marquis of Zhenbei has accumulated a lot of good things. After Shen Yu's affair with Aunt Ru, he entered the palace, and the Marquis of Zhenbei was worried that he held a grudge, so he gave him three times the usual dowry.contemporary romance

Shen Yu certainly wouldn't refuse something given for free. He took as much as the Marquis of Zhenbei gave him.

"After entering the palace, I didn't have time to come and see these shops. Today, I happen to be with His Majesty and can take him to see them."

Shen Yu's time was tight when he entered the palace, and after the shops were handed over to him, he had no time to inquire about them one by one. He could only entrust the matter to his subordinates.

Every month, the account book was handed over to Shen Yu by Mu Xi, and even if Shen Yu didn't have the opportunity to come and see, he had a certain understanding of the situation of these shops.

As an emperor, Shang Junlin had plenty of assets, and there were dedicated officials responsible for managing them, so he didn't have to worry too much.

After the carriage had traveled for a while, it stopped in front of a shop that sold writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, and inkstones.

Shen Yu and Shang Junlin got off the carriage and stood outside, looking at the plaque with the words "Wen Xuan Ge" written in a lively and vigorous style.

"The handwriting..." Shang Junlin looked at it for a moment, leaned over to Shen Yu's ear, and whispered, "Is this Ah Yu's handwriting?"

The heat from the man's breath hit Shen Yu's earlobe as he reached up to touch it. "I wrote it casually, I didn't expect them to use it as a plaque."

"When will Ah Yu write something for me too?"

Feeling his fingers rubbing against a soft spot, Shen Yu nodded. "His Majesty can write whatever he want. Let's go in first."

Although this shop was not on the busiest street in the capital city, there were still many people coming and going nearby, and Shen Yu could feel the occasional glances thrown his way.

Shang Junlin chuckled and let him go, leading him into the shop.

As soon as they entered, they could feel the difference between this shop and the others. A light fragrance lingered in the shop, and because it sold writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, and inkstones, the decoration was very elegant. The brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were all placed in separate categories and could be easily selected.

"The layout of this shop is quite unique."

The room was filled with shelves that were taller than a person, and the shelves were separated by partitions, with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones placed on the partitions for people to choose from.

"The guest has good taste. This arrangement was specially ordered by the owner. If you want something, you can go to the designated area to look. Over there is the experience area. After choosing what you want, you can try it out there. There is also a rest area on the other side where you can take a break..." The waiter in a uniform blue robe introduced the items to the two of them.

"We'll look around ourselves."

The waiter tactfully stepped aside.

Shen Yu and Shang Junlin walked around and picked out a little of everything.

"This paper is interesting." In front of Shang Junlin was a display of light blue and light pink rice paper, the former imprinted with faint green bamboo, and the latter with large blooming peonies, both packed in exquisite wooden boxes.

Shen Yu took a box of light blue paper and called the waiter over, "Where is your boss? There is a young man named Yu who wants to see him."

The waiter hadn't seen Shen Yu before, but Shen Yu and Shang Junlin both exuded extraordinary bearing. He had been in the shop for a long time and knew that people like this were either rich or powerful. He dared not neglect them, "Please wait a moment, I'll go get him."

As the waiter left, Shang Junlin lowered his voice and asked, "Did you come up with these designs?"

He knew that Shen Yu had many creative ideas, from large ones that could shake the court, to small ones like a new way to make a certain kind of pastry. Now that there was this store full of novelty everywhere, it was truly...a constant source of surprises for him.

"I just made a few suggestions, but I didn't expect them to make finished products so quickly."

"Things made from Ah Yu's small suggestions are often extraordinary." Shang Junlin tapped his forehead, "Water control methods, cement, ice-making methods...which one of them didn't cause a huge sensation?"

Just as the two were talking, the store owner hurried over.

The owner of the store was a middle-aged man in his thirties. When he heard that a young man named Yu had come to the store, he rushed to the front.

"Does the young master want to talk in the back?" The owner saw Shen Yu and a tall man acting intimately and practically floated over.

He knew Shen Yu's identity, so the identity of the man who came with Shen Yu was self-evident.

Shen Yu turned to look at Shang Junlin, who looked back at him, "If Ah Yu wants to go, we'll go."

Shen Yu was about to answer when a waiter in a green outfit came running, "Boss, something's not right, those people are here again."

"What's going on?"

"It's nothing. Both of you, please come with me to the back room for a while."

"How can it be nothing?" The waiter's face showed disgust. "Those people just come to harass us because they see that our business is better than theirs. They don't even reflect on themselves..."

"Shut up!" The boss reprimanded him sharply.

As they were talking, the noise grew louder and louder: "Oh, there are quite a lot of guests in the store today. How about that suggestion I made last time? Has the boss considered it?"

Translator's note: 30-05-23

So, I'm really disappointed and disgusted at how many mistakes I have just overlooked. There were many things that I got the title wrong, details, etc. Im gonna edit it constantly til I eliminate any mistakes. Please comment if you notice anything that does not make sense. 

done.co