The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

1

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.