The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Chapter 132

In the mind of Shang Junlin, an irresistible image of being alone with Shen Yu emerged. Shen Yu's proposal was very tempting, especially for Shang Junlin, who had always been in a state of half-satisfaction.

Shen Yu could see his interest at a glance and continued, "If Your Majesty wishes to hold a feast, it can be arranged on Your Majesty's birthday. As for my birthday, let it be a private celebration for the two of us."

"Ah Yu, do you know why I want to celebrate your birthday grandly?" Shang Junlin's gaze dimmed slightly as his fingertips caressed the delicate skin on Shen Yu's neck.

"I want to proclaim to the world that Ah Yu belongs to me." Without waiting for Shen Yu's response, Shang Junlin had already given the answer.

"I have long been bound to Your Majesty. I am Your Majesty's noble consort, and no one can deny that." Shen Yu leaned his head and rubbed Shang Junlin's hand.

Noble consort.

Shang Junlin used to think this title was excellent, but now it sounded like something was missing.

"Does Ah Yu want to be the Empress?"

When asking this question, Shang Junlin's tone was calm, as if he were asking about an ordinary matter, rather than a significant issue concerning the succession of a nation.

"Why does Your Majesty suddenly ask about this?" Shen Yu was slightly surprised. "I actually think things are fine the way they are now."

Shen Yu was not particularly interested in the position of Empress.

"Just feeling that besides Ah Yu, no one else can take that position."

Before Shen Yu entered the palace, Shang Junlin had never thought that one day there would be someone in his life whom he couldn't let go of.

Seeing Shen Yu's lack of enthusiasm, Shang Junlin didn't continue the topic. He silently made a note of it in his heart, waiting for an appropriate moment to announce it.

"If Ah Yu doesn't want a grand feast, what about a small one?" Although Shang Junlin wanted to have some private time with Shen Yu, he also didn't want Shen Yu to have any regrets.

"Your Majesty doesn't need to think about these things. I used to celebrate my birthday at the estate in previous years. Why not accompany me there this year?" Having lived two lifetimes, Shen Yu truly wasn't interested in such things.

"Then let's do as Ah Yu wishes."

There was still some time before Shen Yu's birthday, and although Shang Junlin agreed to go to the estate with Shen Yu, he hadn't completely abandoned the idea of having a birthday banquet in the palace.

He wouldn't let Shen Yu miss out on anything that others had. Shang Junlin couldn't be a part of Shen Yu's past, but in the present and future, he would ensure that Shen Yu wouldn't have any regrets.

After heavy rain, the Subei region began to recover, and Fang Jun and Xun Chao joined forces to stabilize the situation.

Because of the abundant rain brought by the heavens, the remnants of the Hou family and other officials' forces were unable to stir up any trouble, which saved Fang Jun a lot of trouble.

With timely prevention and intervention, the drought didn't bring about more severe consequences, and the epidemic that everyone was worried about did not occur.

Before the newly appointed officials took office in the court, Fang Jun and his group needed to temporarily stay in Subei to handle follow-up matters.

Thanks to the efforts of Jiang Huaiqing and the other two, Shang Junlin's reputation among the common people underwent a great reversal. The stains that should never have been associated with him were gradually cleared, and the people couldn't help but speculate who was behind all of this.

Shen Yu knew that part of it was done by the King of Yue, but aside from that, there was another hidden force that had been lurking in the capital for many years. However, this force was also on the verge of being discovered and dealt with by Shang Junlin.

With the news released by Jiang Huaiqing and the others, the misunderstandings about Shang Junlin that had persisted since his ascension gradually dissipated. This was undoubtedly a situation that the mastermind behind the scenes didn't want to see.

They had been laying the groundwork for so long, only to incite discontent among the people towards the current monarch. Over the years, this accumulated dissatisfaction would have a significant impact when they finally wanted to take action.

"How long do you think they can endure, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu thought that the masterminds behind the scenes would have already lost their patience. However, so much time had passed, and the situation remained calm outside.

"They dare not do anything now. Perhaps they think we lack concrete evidence to take real action against them, so they want to retreat and wait for this storm to pass."

Shang Junlin would naturally not give them the opportunity.

After all the rumors were clarified, Shang Junlin ordered his people to spread a certain direction among the people, letting them speculate on who could have done such a thing. At the same time, he brought up the matter during court sessions.

"In these past few days, I have heard some interesting words. Tell me, who has been tirelessly smearing my actions in the hearts of the people year after year?"

In the grand court, Shang Junlin sat calmly on the dragon throne, speaking his doubts slowly, and his eagle-like gaze swept across the faces of the ministers.

"In the past, I didn't care about these empty titles. I never knew that in the eyes of the people, I was such an emperorindiscriminate killings, disregarding human lives, harming the loyal, cruel, and merciless..."

With each word Shang Junlin uttered, the breath of the people in the court became lighter.

They had certainly heard such rumors and even some officials who were unclear about the truth believed in those rumors. After the court announced the deeds of the deceased officials, they felt ashamed for having once believed in the rumors.

"Who is behind all this manipulation? I need a result," said Shang Junlin as he pointed at several ministers. "I'm assigning this task to you. If you can't find any useful information, then you can forget about holding your positions."

Minister Feng, who remained silent, felt a jump in his heart. It was quite coincidental that the officials the Emperor had pointed to had varying degrees of connection to him.

After the morning court session, Minister Feng hastily got on a carriage and rushed back to his residence, disregarding the calls from people behind him.

"Why is Minister Feng in such a hurry today?" asked Minister Duan, frowning as he watched Minister Feng's hurried departure.

Minister Duan and Minister Feng entered the cabinet almost at the same time and had worked together for many years. He had noticed Minister Feng's unusual behavior lately.

Everything happening outside the palace reached the ears of Shang Junlin and Shen Yu.

After hearing about what happened during Shang Junlin's morning court session, Shen Yu smiled and asked, "Did Your Majesty intentionally assign those ministers to investigate?"

"The Prime Minister has been complaining that they have occupied their positions without doing any work for a long time. Moreover, it's almost time for the officials who were sent outside to return to the capital and report on their duties. I plan to keep a group of them here."

It was equivalent to admitting that it was intentional.

"I'm sure Minister Feng's expression must have been quite interesting," Shen Yu said as he picked up his teacup and took a sip. "When did Your Majesty discover that this matter was related to Minister Feng?"

"In fact, I had some candidates in mind from the beginning. The aristocratic families initially supported me not out of genuine sincerity, but because they thought I had no foundation in the court and could be easily manipulated. However, they were mistaken from the start. I have never been an easily manipulated person and always sought alternative paths," Shang Junlin explained.

"But at that time, when I reclaimed the land of Da Huan and had military power in my hands, even if they wanted to do something, they wouldn't have succeeded. I didn't pay much attention to my reputation among the common people before, but it was thanks to Yu'er's reminder that I realized there were some conspiracies against me that were set in motion from the very beginning."

"It has been over a decade, and the officials in the court have changed batch after batch, but only a few have remained. The scope has narrowed down all of a sudden," Shen Yu pondered.

"Indeed, and those who have the capability to do this are even fewer. Once we identified the suspected targets, I ordered the Hidden Dragon Guards to investigate every detail about these people. Initially, we didn't find much, but it was after the rain in Subei that I had Jiang Huaiqing and the others 'clear the false accusations' and finally caught a glimpse of the culprit's true intentions."

Minister Feng knew he had been too impatient during this period. Despite having the matter of his young son as a cover, it was still easy for others to detect clues. But to expect him to sit back and do nothing was something he simply couldn't accept!

After returning to his residence, he dismissed all the servants and entered his study alone. The secret compartment was opened, and he walked inside.

Through a long underground passage, he arrived at a small house on the outskirts of the capital.

"I suspect that I've been exposed. What should I do now?" Minister Feng paced anxiously in the empty study.

"I work for you. You can't just abandon me!"

After a while, another person's voice echoed in the room, "Minister Feng seems to have misunderstood something. Do you remember our deal back then? We helped you enter the cabinet, and in exchange, you were supposed to assist us with some small favors. Now that you have exposed yourself due to your own mistake, do you expect us to clean up after you?"

"Aren't you afraid that I will expose you? Our current Emperor is not someone with a forgiving nature. If he finds out about your existence, guess what he would do?" Minister Feng threatened with a menacing tone.

"If you behave, there's a chance we might consider your years of hard work and help you protect your bloodline. But if you insist on telling Shang Junlin something, we won't be able to stop you."

Minister Feng was suddenly shocked, realizing that these people weren't afraid of being known by Shang Junlin. Who were they, and why were they so confident?

Cold sweat started to trickle down his back as he took a step back and slumped onto a chair. He suddenly realized that despite working for these people for many years, he knew very little about them. He wasn't even clear about their identities.

"You can't just abandon me. I am a minister of the cabinet. Without me, who will provide you with information from the court?"

"Why would Minister Feng think that when such a situation arises, Shang Junlin would allow you to remain unscathed in the court? He has wanted to reclaim that position of yours for a long time. Do you think he would let this opportunity slip away?"

"Minister Feng, you better take care of yourself."

After the mysterious person left, Minister Feng remained seated in the same spot for a long time. Now he knew very well that he had become a discarded pawn.

His blank expression gradually turned fierce. After sitting in a high position for so many years, he was no longer the collateral branch scion that could be easily manipulated. He had so many resources at his disposal, couldn't he fight for an escape route?

"Why is Minister Feng not satisfied even after reaching this position?" Shen Yu couldn't understand. Entering the cabinet was already the highest achievement for a civil servant in Dahuan. What more did Minister Feng want?

"Who would complain about having more power in their hands?" Shang Junlin spread his palms. "Even I sometimes feel unsatisfied."

"People like Yu'er<sup data-mfn="1">"er: another endearment way to say a loved one's name, who doesn't crave power, are few and far between."

Shen Yu smiled. He had also been lost in the pursuit of power, exhausting everything in the chase, but now he was simply tired of it.

"Minister Feng probably realized that he has been exposed; otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so abnormally."

"I intentionally let him know. If he didn't realize the danger he was in, how would he seek help from the person who has always been hiding behind him?"

With each step closing in, Minister Feng did exactly as Shang Junlin had anticipated and sought out the person behind him.

Unbeknownst to him, the individuals arranged by Shang Junlin were following closely behind, accompanying him to a hidden stronghold.