The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

25.3

Shen Yu got up to meet Shang JunLin. "Your Majesty arrived so quickly."

"The person you sent to call this emperor looked anxious, so I came immediately. What happened?" Shang JunLin led Shen Yu back to the main seat.

Shen Yu told him the information he'd just received. "That's all I had time to ask."

Shang JunLin sat down on the main seat, stroked Shen Yu's wrist and said lightly, "Continue."

The rest wasn't very complicated. The man who was behind the scheme continued to send things to the former concubines via palace attendants and asked them to do "inconspicuous, trivial tasks", and he finally ordered them to find a way to get close to the emperor.

"At first the man wasn't as persistent about making us approach His Majesty. Later, after the noble monarch entered the palace, it was like he became obsessed for some reason. He gave strict orders that we should find a way to become His Majesty's women...."

"You don't know who was giving these orders?" Shen Yu asked.

"I don't know. He always sends messages to us through palace servants. We've never seen him in person."

"Who are the servants who sent you the messages?"

"Xiao Guizi, Aunt Fan, Xique..."

Shen Yu silently noted the names. "Do you know who else besides you follows his orders?"

Concubine Yu reported several names.

Shen Yu and Shang JunLin looked at each other, and their eyes were grave. Lin ZhiLan wasn't one of the people on Concubine Yu's list.

Shang JunLin ordered someone to take Concubine Yu out, and then asked, "What does the noble monarch think?"

"Either Concubine Yu doesn't know about Lin ZhiLan, or different people are controlling them." Shen Yu leaned more towards the latter explanation.

"Your Majesty's palace really is 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon'," Shen Yu teased.

"Then this emperor should thank the noble monarch for working hard to give this emperor a 'clean' palace." Shang JunLin pinched Shen Yu's cheek.

Shen Yu covered his face and didn't let Shang JunLin succeed. "Did Your Majesty's side make any progress?"

"Lin ZhiLan provided some information, but not enough to catch the person behind everything." Shen Yu was involved from the beginning, and Shang JunLin didn't intend to hide it from him.

"Catch the person identified by Concubine Yu first. There could be a relationship between the two of them," Shen Yu suggested after thinking about it.

"What the noble monarch says is reasonable."

Then Shang JunLin took out a waist token. "This is for the noble monarch. If you have orders for the Hidden Dragon Guard, use this token."

The token was pitch-black, engraved with a dark red flower pattern. Shen Yu picked it up and traced it with his fingers. There were small uneven characters on the back. He didn't even recognize the type of script it was written in.

"Why is Your Majesty suddenly giving me this?"

"The noble monarch is helping this emperor with work, and this emperor should recognize it. At most, you can mobilize a single team of Hidden Dragon Guards. The noble monarch can accept it without worrying too much."

Shang JunLin had other things to do and left after giving a few orders.

When Shen Yu returned to his chambers, he took out the black token and looked at it carefully.