The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

 

After a night of heavy snow, all the world was a field of white.

The stove where the medicine was simmering made a "gululu" sound. Two young servant girls were in charge of watching over it. They stood beside each other, muttering. Suddenly, two strong and powerful servants came in. They took away the medicine pot without saying a word.

"Hey! What are you doing? That's the eldest young master's medicine!" The younger servant girl grabbed the hand of the other girl and chased after them.

As they got closer and closer to the main courtyard, she didn't notice the momentary expression of panic on the face of the girl behind her.

In a bedroom with closed windows and doors, a young man draped in snow-white fox fur half-reclined against the head of the bed, coughing occasionally. Long, dark hair fell past his cheeks, and his skin was so white it was almost transparent.

"Are you feeling better? It's been cold lately, so you should wear more clothes." The Zhenbei Marquis heaved a sigh of relief. His eldest son had finally woken up.

If something happened to his eldest son at a time like this, the marquis and his family wouldn't be able to endure the consequences.

"Father doesn't have to pretend. There aren't any outsiders here. Does Father truly not know the cause of my illness?" As the young man spoke in a languid tone, he gave the Zhenbei Marquis a sidelong glance. "What's more, who can say whether Father worries more about me or about taking the blame? I'm afraid you're the only one who knows."

"Shen Yu!"

"Yes?" Shen Yu provoked the Zhenbei Marquis' anger with his words, but he didn't care.

In his previous life, Shen Yu would have been worried about maintaining their father-son relationship, but this was his new life, and Shen Yu wasn't going to wrong himself for anyone.

"I know why you're angry, but you have to go to the palace whether you want to or not!" The Zhenbei Marquis barely managed to suppress his anger and began persuading his son. "Father knows you don't want to do this. If it was anything else, I'd let you decide, but the decree is from His Majesty himself...."

Shen Yu frowned. No matter how grand and noble the marquis' words sounded, they couldn't hide the absurd fact that he was sending his only legitimate son and heir into the palace harem to secure his political future.

Shang JunLin, the emperor of Da Huan, had been on the throne for seven years, and the harem had been vacant the entire time. The ministers urged the emperor to accept one beauty after another, but Shang JunLin just ignored them. The ministers had lost all hope. Then, one day at court, Shang JunLin suddenly issued a decree ordering the son of the Zhenbei Marquis to enter the harem.

After Shang JunLin ascended the throne, his behavior became more and more violent, and no one wanted to risk their luck. The Zhenbei Marquis didn't dare ask any questions. He just hurried back to his house while his colleagues looked on with eyes filled with envy or schadenfreude.

Aside from Shen Yu, the Zhenbei Marquis had another son, the child of a concubine. Although love between men was widely accepted in Da Huan, there was no certainly no tradition where the eldest legitimate son would be married off as a wife. According to reason, the marquis should have sent the concubine's son to enter the palace. However, the child's mother, Madam Ru, blew a pillow wind in the ear of the Zhenbei Marquis and persuaded him to send Shen Yu to the palace instead.

No one thought the Zhenbei Marquis would actually send his only legitimate son into the harem. When Shen Yu was informed of the news, he was so angry he fainted on the spot.

Shen Yu remembered when this happened in his previous life. At the time, he refused to accept the Zhenbei Marquis' blatantly eccentric decision. He hatched a plan to make Madam Ru's plot backfire. In the end, the person who entered the palace was his half-brother. But now Shen Yu was reborn....

The Zhenbei Marquis was still talking. The marquis knew how difficult it was for Shen Yu to accept his decision. It was true the emperor's inner courtyard was empty, but the emperor's mercurial temper and murderous nature were equally well-known. Shen Yu was the eldest di son of the marquis. If he didn't enter the harem, he had a bright future ahead of him. On the other hand, if he entered the palace he might have the emperor's favor all to himself, but no one really knew what the emperor was thinking.

After listening for a while, Shen Yu felt more and more bored. Did the Zhenbei Marquis really not understand how dangerous it was to enter the palace? No, he simply wasn't interested. Compared to the marquis' own future, what did he care about a son he hadn't paid attention to since childhood?

"I know," he interrupted the Zhenbei Marquis. "Father goes on and on just to convince me to obediently enter the palace. Fine, but I have a request."

The Zhenbei Marquis didn't think Shen Yu would give in so quickly. For a moment he was stunned. Finally he said, "Go ahead."

"One of the maids in my courtyard has dirty hands and feet. Since Father is here, why don't you handle it for me." Shen Yu was lying in bed, and his tone was cryptic.

"If there's a problem with your maid, just deal with it yourself. Why ask me to do it?" The Zhenbei Marquis didn't understand how the topic suddenly jumped to dealing with a servant girl. He was a little confused.

His eldest son had always been assertive and handled such things by himself. This was the first time he'd come to his father to help. For a moment, the marquis' mood was a little uncertain.

It involves Madam Ru. Of course you have to deal with it, Shen Yu thought to himself. Just because he chose to enter the palace in this life didn't mean he was going to ignore all the things Madam Ru and her son had done.

"Here is your medicine, young master." A servant boy came in.

The smell of the medicine filled the air. The Zhenbei Marquis frowned and stepped aside to let the boy bring the medicine to Shen Yu. "Take your medicine first. We'll talk about the rest later."

Shen Yu had been in poor health since childhood, and it was common for him to take medicine. When he smelled the medicine he accepted it without changing expression. He picked up the spoon and stirred it gently.

The Zhenbei Marquis frowned more tightly when he saw Shen Yu hold the medicine without drinking it. The marquis was about to say something, but Shen Yu put down his spoon.

The spoon rapped against the medicine bowl with a clear sound. Shen Yu's ice-cold voice sounded at the same time. "Bring in the people outside."

Two servant girls were brought in, and a servant boy was holding a medicine pot in his hand.

The Zhenbei Marquis didn't know what to think. "What's this about?"

"Father might as well ask them to tell you what they've done." He looked at the people kneeling on the floor with a half-smile.

The Zhenbei Marquis looked at the two servant girls. Both of them were young. The younger girl's face was full of confusion, while the expression on the other girl's face was a little intriguing.

It was fearful, stiff, and uncertain.

The Zhenbei Marquis' face turned serious. "Tell me, what did you do?"

 

He seemed to be asking two people, but his gaze fell mostly on the servant girl who looked nervous.

This servant girl, Chun Yu, bowed her head and swept a glance at the young man half-reclining on the bed. She met his unfeeling eyes and looked away in panic.

"This, this slave didn't mean to do anything. It was Madam Ru who threatened this slave's family and told this slave to put something in the eldest young master's medicine." Chun Yu continually kowtowed as she spoke. "This slave didn't do it willingly. Begging the lord marquis and the young master, please spare this slave's life."

The Zhenbei Marquis couldn't help looking back at Shen Yu. His son looked unsurprised by this result. His eyes were half-closed and his expression couldn't be seen clearly.

Turning back, the Zhenbei Marquis said in a stern voice, "Do you know that slandering your mistress is a felony! You said Madam Ru threatened you to drug the young master? Do you have proof?"

"This slave wouldn't dare lie," said Chun Yu, whose forehead was bleeding. Trembling, she took out a jade bracelet from an inner pocket and held it up with both hands. "This is what Madam Ru gave to this slave."

The Zhenbei Marquis inclined his head, and the attendant behind him took the bracelet and presented it respectfully to the marquis.

It was a jade bracelet of superior quality, far from the kind of thing a servant girl like Chun Yu could afford. The Zhenbei Marquis had sharp eyes. He recognized it at a glance. This jade bracelet had once been worn by Madam Ru.

"If Father doesn't believe it, ask a doctor to test the medicine," Shen Yu said, seeing the Zhenbei Marquis' hesitation.

Since he was going to make trouble, Shen Yu had naturally prepared in advance. Madam Ru had ordered this servant girl to play tricks with his medicine more than once or twice. By the time he learned about it in his previous life, his health was mostly destroyed. After his rebirth, the first thing Shen Yu did was order someone to find Chun Yu's family, which was under Madam Ru's control, and then waited for Chun Yu to make a move.

As for how he got Chun Yu to betray Madam Ru, Chun Yu was willing to drug him for the sake of her family, so he was naturally able to turn her against Madam Ru with the same leverage.

The moment the Zhenbei Marquis saw the bracelet, he reached a conclusion. He looked at his eldest son and thought that he didn't really recognize him.

"What do you want?"

"Isn't that a question Father should answer? This son just hopes you'll handle it impartially. This son will soon go to the palace. Father doesn't want his son to enter the palace with a grudge against the marquis' residence, right?" Shen Yu tossed the question back.2

The Zhenbei Marquis had doted on Madam Ru for more than ten years. Shen Yu wanted to see how the Zhenbei Marquis would choose when his future was at stake.

"By the way, Father, don't keep me waiting. Your son hopes you'll give a satisfactory answer before it's time for me to enter the palace." Shen Yu looked at the Zhenbei Marquis with a faint smile. His body was obviously sickly and weak, but his smile was chilling.

There were still more than ten days before he'd enter the palace. Shen Yu didn't want the matter to drag to a standstill after he left. Because he occupied the position of eldest son, Madam Ru had played a lot of tricks on him in secret over the years. If it weren't for Shen Yu's vigilance, she would have succeeded in removing him long ago.

The Zhenbei Marquis gazed soberly at Shen Yu. For a moment, he thought he hardly knew his own son anymore. He pressed down his thoughts and nodded. "If this matter truly is related to Madam Ru, this marquis will not tolerate it."

 

The Zhenbei Marquis left with the two servant girls and the medicine pot. Not long after, Shen Yu got the news that the Zhenbei Marquis had secretly invited a doctor.

"Why did the young master completely give the matter of Madam Ru to the lord marquis? The young master knows very well how the lord marquis treats Madam Ru..."

Everyone in the marquis' residence knew the Zhenbei Marquis spoiled Madam Ru, and if she asked for the stars he wouldn't give her the moon. If it weren't for the laws in Da Huan that forbade concubines from ascending to a higher position, the post of Madam Marquis wouldn't still be vacant.

This was the reason Madam Ru regarded Shen Yu as such a thorn in her flesh. He couldn't say how much he'd suffered in secret as a child because of her.

He slightly raised his head and let the servant girl tie his cloak. Shen Yu held a hand warmer in his arms and said softly, "No matter how much the Zhenbei Marquis dotes on Madam Ru, he won't be confused this time."

After wrapping himself tightly, Shen Yu went out the door.

"Shen Yu!"

Shen Yu looked back. When he saw the face of the visitor, he was in a trance for a moment.

The man was dressed in white and had an outstanding appearance. He looked much more youthful than Shen Yu remembered. In a daze Shen Yu watched as the man came closer and closer. A hundred different emotions flooded his heart.

This was the lover he'd chased in his previous life. Shen Yu sacrificed everything for him, but in the end he discovered it was nothing but a scam. The deep affection was fake, the heartfelt love was fake.... Shen Yu would never forget the falseness and wretchedness the other man displayed when the plot was revealed.

Yes, who would have thought Shen Yu could be so crazy? He'd arranged so many schemes in secret, only to turn everything around at the last moment. On the eve of the man's ascension to the throne, he dragged them both into the abyss.

"Why didn't you tell me about something so important?"

The man in white looked gentle, and his eyes revealed just the right amount of concern. When Shen Yu saw it now, he thought it was funny. This man, this dignified prince, didn't hesitate to lower his dignity to befriend him, and tenderly wove a net of deception in the name of love to ensnare him. No wonder Shen Yu fell for it headfirst in his previous life.

However...

Since this man had come to his door, he wouldn't just let him go.

 

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TL Notes:

Hello! I had some free time so I decided to start tling this. I haven't decided how many chapters to do. If you like it (or have other feedback) make sure to let me know, thanks~ (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥1

 

love between men was widely accepted - from 南风盛行 - a southerly wind prevailed - An allusion to homosexuality

shu son - 庶子 - son of a concubine. Historically, the shu children weren't automatically entitled to an inheritance, which explains some of the scheming

eldest di son - 嫡长子 - eldest son of the official wife

di son - 嫡子 - son born of the official wife

(make) the plot backfire - 偷鸡不成反蚀把米 - try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice; go for wool and come back shorn

dirty hands and feet - 手脚不干净 - sticky-fingered; questionable in money matters

asked for the stars, wouldn't give the moon - 要星星不给月亮 - An idiom which means one does whatever the other person wants

hand warmer - 汤婆子 - An earthenware hot-water bottle

 

Handy mnemonic for "shu" vs. "di":

"A shu son is lowly like the shoes on your feet. Child of a concubine"

"A di son is the real deal. Child of the legal wife"

 

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

eldest young master - 大少爷 - dà shàoyé

Shen Yu - 沈郁 - Shén Yù - Our MC

Zhenbei Marquis - 镇北侯 - Zhènběi hóu - MC's father's title. Zhenbei means something like "guard the north"

His Majesty, Your Majesty - 陛下 - bìxià

Da Huan - 大桓 - The name of the empire

Shang JunLin - 商君凛 - Shāng Jūn Lǐn - The emperor. Our ML

emperor - 皇帝 - huángdì

Madam Ru - 如夫人 - Rú fūrén - Apparently 如夫人 is also another word for "old concubine" or "mistress", but she isn't given another name and it's more convenient to call her "Madam Ru" than saying "the madam" or "the concubine" over and over

marquis' residence - 侯府 - hóu fǔ - The official seat or residence of the marquis

lord marquis - 侯爷 - hóu yé

this slave - 奴婢 - núbì - slave, servant, servant girl, your servant

Chun Yu - 春雨

prince - 王爷 - wángyé - A grown-up prince with his own palace also has the title of "king"