The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

36

Not so good.

Shen Yu thought to himself.

He wasn't sure what kind of switch had been flipped in Shang JunLin. Shen Yu felt like the man was different from before.

Shen Yu quietly put away his book. He didn't intend to provoke Shang JunLin any further. If he continued, the biggest victim would be himself, and his legs and hand still hurt.

Can't do that again.

Shang JunLin noticed Shen Yu's left hand was stiff, and he reached out and held it. "Still uncomfortable?"

Warmth spread from his fingers, and Shen Yu's fingertips trembled. "Doesn't Your Majesty already know that?"

Shang JunLin lost his smile. "How can the noble monarch be so delicate?"

"It's not that I'm delicate," Shen Yu retorted. "It's Your Majesty's fault for taking too long. If it was someone else, they wouldn't be able to bear it either."

Shang JunLin sighed a little and rubbed Shen Yu's fingers with moderate force. "This emperor will massage it for you."

Shen Yu lay lazily on the soft couch with his hand in the palm of the man in black. The massage was neither light nor heavy. He was being served by the emperor, and he wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed by it.

When he saw the atmosphere becoming more and more ambiguous, Shen Yu decided to change the subject. "Your Majesty, how is the King of Huaiyu doing?"

"There's no serious problem with him right now."

"I don't understand why he had such a different attitude towards me. It's not because of our relationship, is it?" But Shen Yu didn't think the King of Huaiyu's opinion of Shang JunLin was that good.

"Maybe it's because the noble monarch reminded him of his past."

Shen Yu felt curious. "Is it possible the King of Huaiyu gave up seeking the throne for a different reason?"

"There are countless secrets in the palace. The only thing outsiders know is that the King of Huaiyu gave up his position due to illness. They don't know that something else happened before that."

Seeing Shen Yu's interest, Shang JunLin slowly added, "Back then, the King of Huaiyu had a close relationship with a man of unknown origin. The previous emperor seized hold of this flaw and plotted to kill the man. He made sure the blame pointed to one of his other rivals, leading the two to tear each other down. In the end, one was dead and one was injured, and the previous emperor reaped the benefits."

Shen Yu: "How did the King of Huaiyu find out about the true murderer? Does Your Majesty know what the King of Huaiyu's lover looked like?"

Shang JunLin: "There's no information about that man. The King of Huaiyu destroyed the relevant records. As for what he looked like, probably no one knows. After all, not much time passed before the man's departure, and his details were always secret. If not for the King of Huaiyu, almost no one would know he existed.

"This emperor isn't certain how the King of Huaiyu learned about the real murderer. Based on when the King of Huaiyu began his scheme, it must have been just after the late emperor took the throne."

There was some unseen strangeness about the entire thing. In Shen Yu's last life, he had no idea the imperial family had this kind of secret. The book he read after his death centered on Shen QingRan's perspective and didn't mention it at all.

"Will Your Majesty continue to investigate?"

Shang JunLin nodded. "That person hid everything too deeply, and it's unclear what his actual purpose was. This emperor thinks the King of Huaiyu's actions are related to what happened back then."