The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits
Chapter 107

07/06/2023 - currently been edited. if found any mistakes, please  comment the sentence.

Shen Yu's voice was very low, each word seemed to have hooks that dug into Shang Junlin's heart.

Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's lower back with one hand, supporting the young man's body. Shen Yu's hands climbed onto Shang Junlin's shoulders since he was sure he wouldn't fall.

The distance between them got closer and closer, and they looked at each other, their figures reflected in each other's eyes.

Their lips met.

A tremor rose.

Shen Yu slowly closed his eyes and pecked at the man's lips. 

Shang Junlin's other hand also held Shen Yu's waist, his fingers tightly gripping the flexible waist.

He restrained the urge to devour the young man and let him lightly touch his lips.

It was like quenching one's thirst with poison.

Shen Yu knew that the man wouldn't be satisfied with just that touch. He slowly pried open the man's lips and explored inside.

Similar to Shen Yu's usual style, there was no direct roughness in his actions. Each movement carried extreme temptation and intended to lead the other into the abyss of desire.

As Shen Yu was about to withdraw, Shang Junlin took the initiative, seized the young man's lips, and invaded fiercely.

The attack was more ferocious than any previous ones.

The white and slender fingers weakly grabbed the man's shoulder, leaving behind folds on the black clothes. However, at this moment, no one cared about any marks left on the expensive clothes.

After the kiss, Shen Yu lay on the man's shoulder, breathing slightly: "Your Majesty, are you still angry?"

The black color in Shang Junlin's eyes deepened, his voice slightly hoarse: "If I say that I am still angry, will Ah Yu coax me again?"

"What does His Majesty think?" Shen Yu's voice was lazy, with a hint of huskiness.

After his breathing returned to normal, Shen Yu turned over and leaned against Shang Junlin's chest. The man's arm wrapped around his waist and rested on Shen Yu's lower abdomen.

Shen Yu glanced at the desk, where Shang Junlin had placed the documents he was reviewing. There was a pile of unfinished documents next to it, waiting to be reviewed.

"Your Majesty, you should finish reviewing the documents first." Shen Yu pointed to the pile.

"Ah Yu, accompany me." Shang Junlin rested his head on Shen Yu's shoulder and reached out to pick up a memorial, unfolding it.

This document was written by the Prime Minister and was about the assessment of officials.

Every year, there was a civil service exam held in Da Huan, and based on the results, officials would be promoted or demoted the following year. In the past, this was handled by the court.

The assessment took place in winter, and it was about the official's performance throughout the year. Special officials would gather information from various places and report it to the court. After the court deliberated, it would report to the Emperor, who would make the final decision. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

During this period of time, the prime minister has been extremely busy, especially after discovering that some officials were slacking off all day, he couldn't tolerate it anymore. He bluntly asked the emperor to re-examine the evaluation of these officials in previous years. At the end of the memorandum, he hoped that His Majesty could send some capable people to assist him.

The other two ministers in the cabinet were also busy, not only with state affairs but also with family matters. Before announcing their donations to the public, they had to decide on the items to donate and the amount of gold and silver to give, so as not to be underestimated by others or make the emperor jealous.

Moreover, with Shang Junlin leaving things to the prime minister to handle, the burden on the prime minister's shoulders was even heavier than that of the other two cabinet ministers.

"For the officials, His Majesty might as well send He Chengyu and the others to the prime minister's side. This way, they can help the prime minister and receive training in advance," Shen Yu thought of He Chengyu and others who were still in the Hanlin Academy and suggested.

"I also have this intention. Compared to the Hanlin Academy, it is currently the most idle. The court lacks manpower, so it is suitable for them to adapt in advance."

The next day, as usual, He Chengyu, Jiang Huaiqing, and Fang Jiayi, who were on duty at the Hanlin Academy, received an edict from the palace.

The three were stopped at the gate of the Hanlin Academy, and after the edict was read, the palace eunuch urged, "Gentlemen, pack up quickly and come with us to the prime minister's place."

Jiang Huaiqing and He Chengyu exchanged glances and saw bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Although they didn't understand, they quickly packed up and were sent to the prime minister's place. The prime minister was sitting in his study dealing with official business. When he saw the newcomers, he spoke in a low voice, "Since His Majesty has sent you here, focus on your work and don't worry about anything else. Look over there, these are the things you need to handle today. Go ahead."

After speaking, the prime minister lowered his head and continued his work.

Jiang Huaiqing took a glance at the place pointed by the Prime Minister and saw a pile of documents on a small table that was five and a half feet tall, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Are these all the things they have to deal with today?!"

A few days later, Jiang Huaiqing rubbed his sore neck and walked out of the Prime Minister's mansion. "These few days have made me realize how difficult it is to be a good official."

Every day, there were endless documents to handle. Compared to working in the Prime Minister's mansion, working in the Hanlin Academy was much easier.

"The Prime Minister is really not easy," Fang Jiayi exclaimed, "I always thought my father was very busy, but I didn't expect the Prime Minister to be even busier."

"Although it's a bit tiring, I have learned a lot these days. Apart from being serious about official business, the Prime Minister is very easy to get along with at other times."

The officials of the court also noticed that the top three scholars of the current year were always following the Prime Minister, almost wherever he went, and even accompanied him to the morning court.

Some people had some complaints about this, but since the Emperor didn't blame anyone, they didn't say anything.

The two reports written by Fang Jun arrived on Shang Junlin's desk, one earlier than the other, and the latter was sent through official channels seven days later.

"This one," Shang Junlin said after reading both reports, picking up the latter, "was deliberately leaked by Fang Jun to cover up the truth. It says that everything in Subei is normal, and the disaster situation is not severe. The supplies they brought are just enough."

"So this one is about the doubts in Subei," Shen Yu picked up the other report without opening it, "How is the situation with the Subei army?"

If there were only problems among the officials of the court, it would be relatively easy to resolve the matter. But if there were also problems within the Subei army, it would be troublesome.

"Fang Jun has not found any abnormalities for the time being. When I was in Subei, I separated the Subei army from the Subei officials system, and they operated independently without interfering with each other," Shang Junlin did this because he was not comfortable handing over so many Subei soldiers to the Subei officials.

"Your Majesty sent Gu Huai to lead the Hidden Dragon Guard there, not just to protect Official Fang in secret, right?" Shen Yu walked around and sat next to Shang Junlin.

"You know me well, Ah Yu. Their real purpose is with the Subei army. I need to understand the situation with the Subei army."

Subei is an important barrier between Da Huan and Bei Mo. The existence of the Subei Army deters the possibility of Bei Mo's army marching south. Every time the Beimo army tries to invade Da Huan, they will be stopped outside the gate by the Subei Army.

Late at night, in Subei.

Black-clothed figures like ghosts infiltrated the Subei Army silently.

They all wore black masks, reflecting a cold metallic luster under the faint moonlight.

"Who are you?"

"Hush—" A silver dagger was pressed against the neck, and a cold breath enveloped the man.

"Who are you? Do you know that trespassing in the military camp is a serious crime?"

"If you don't speak, no one will know that someone came here tonight."

The voice from behind was hoarse, and the man being held captive wanted to turn around, but as soon as he moved, the dagger on his neck penetrated his flesh. He was too scared to move again.

"Let's talk, let's talk."

"I'm asking you, do you know about the imperial government sending people to Subei?"

"Yes, I know. They are here to assist with disaster relief."

"What else do you know? Speak!"

The dagger pierced the skin, bringing waves of pain.

"I really don't know anything else... Ah, I mean, I mean, they seem to be very concerned about the situation of the Subei Army and the disaster in Subei. A batch of supplies they brought had already been looted before arriving in Subei. That's all I know, really."

The person behind him asked a few more questions, and the last sentence scared him to break out in a cold sweat.

"I know that you entered the Subei Army through connections. It's better not to talk about tonight's events. I believe the person behind you doesn't want to see the undercover line sent into the Subei Army disappear without doing anything."

The pressure behind him suddenly disappeared, and the man turned his head to look. There was no one else in the tent except himself. If it weren't for the dagger on his neck reminding him that everything that had just happened was real, he would have suspected that he had a nightmare.

He touched his neck but didn't feel any blood. He stood up in disbelief and walked to the place where the water basin was placed, looking down.

His neck was really intact.

Could it be that he had just had a dream?

The man touched his neck, pondering, and he was indeed a high-level official planted in the Subei Army. His identity had nothing to do with the Subei officials on the surface. Otherwise, he would not have been able to enter the Subei Army. Only a very few people knew about this matter.

He wanted to pass on what had just happened to his superiors but suddenly realized that something was not right. He forcefully suppressed this idea. He couldn't gamble with his own life.

The next day, he asked the soldiers guarding the tent, but all of them said that nothing unusual happened last night.

"Official Hu, did something happen?"

Official Hu subconsciously touched his neck and said, "It's okay. Is the General in his tent now? I have some questions about disaster relief that I would like to discuss with him."

"He is. Please come this way," the guard replied.

The intelligence on the Subei Army was personally delivered to Shang Junlin by the Hidden Dragon Guard.

"The Prime Minister seems to think highly of He Chengyu and the other two," Shen Yu glanced at the documents that Shang Junlin was reading, "He's praised them several times in these reports."

"I heard that ever since these three began working with the Prime Minister, he has been able to find time to enjoy tea and occasionally play chess with Jiang Huaiqing and He Chengyu," Shang Junlin did not comment on the Prime Minister's contentment with his current lifestyle.

"Huaiqing wrote to me as well, and he said that besides handling a large amount of paperwork every day, the Prime Minister is very considerate of them in other ways."

In just a few days, the three of them had already grown a lot. With their help, the Prime Minister's progress had also been greatly accelerated. When Shen Yu's play was performed outside the palace, the policy on donations was formally implemented.

"He's still writing to you?" Shang Junlin grabbed Shen Yu's waist and pinched the soft flesh on his waist. "When will Ah Yu write to Us? You sent some peach blossom stationery last time, Ah Yu can use that to write."

"No wonder His Majesty was staring at it for so long last time. Why didn't you say anything to me then?" Shen Yu turned his head to look at Shang Junlin, his eyes full of banter. "Also, the theater troupe said that His Majesty wanted to take my manuscript. What do you want the original manuscript for?"

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