The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Chapter 108

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

After being exposed, Shang Junlin did not feel angry, but lifted his chin and said, "Noble Monarch's authentic works should naturally be placed in my hands. What do you think, Ah Yu?"

"That's what His Majesty said," Shen Yu said with a smile in his voice. "What about the ones I wrote for Jiang Huaiqing? Does His Majesty want those in your hands as well?"

Shang Junlin thought seriously for a moment. In fact, he wanted them, but those were things written for others, not like the playbooks...

Seeing Shang Junlin thinking seriously, Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh. "His Majesty wouldn't really want to claim those letters for yourself, would you?"

"Ah Yu has written so many letters for him and never wrote one for me," Shang Junlin said displeased. He also wanted letters written by Shen Yu himself.

"Doesn't His Majesty get tired of reading documents and letters when you have so many things to do?" If Shen Yu were the one handling these matters, he wouldn't want to spend his free time reading these things.

"Can what Ah Yu writes compare to the others? I am willing to read as much as possible," Shang Junlin said with a deep gaze.

"In that case..." Shen Yu dragged his voice. "What does Your Majesty want me to write? Love poems? Personal thoughts? Or something else?"

"I can accept anything," Shang Junlin answered with dignity.

He wanted everything.

Shen Yu smiled and glanced at him. "I remember, I will write for Your Majesty. Your Majesty can rest assured and wait for it."

Since he had promised, Shen Yu began to think about what to write to Shang Junlin.

With the answer he wanted, Shang Junlin's efficiency in handling documents had increased significantly.

"Young Master, there's a message from the Little Theater Garden that the play has been arranged and they want you to take a look." Mu Xi walked in from outside and said.

Shen Yu was writing a letter, and on the desk lay a pink letter paper, with pink peach blossoms painted on it using a slightly deeper shade. It was the same paper that Boss Ye had sent to the palace, along with a light blue and light green one.

According to Boss Ye, these letter papers sold particularly well and were very popular among the young masters and misses of noble families. Even though the price was high, they still sold out quickly.

Pink was suitable for expressing continuous affection and was perfect for writing to one's loved ones. If one was a bit shy, they could use light blue instead.

Shang Junlin specifically asked for pink, so Shen Yu had Mu Xi bring out the pink letter paper from the warehouse, intending to write one first.

Dipping the pen in ink, Shen Yu's beautiful calligraphy danced across the paper.

After finishing the last stroke, Shen Yu put down the pen. "Tell them that His Majesty and I will go over this evening."

"Yes, I will inform them. Your servant takes leave." Mu Xi left, and Shen Yu looked at the pink letter paper on the desk. He couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought that the decisive and resolute Emperor would secretly ask for a small letter?

When the ink on the paper had dried, Shen Yu carefully put it away and put it in the envelope that Boss Ye had sent. The seal on the envelope was printed with peach blossoms, which allowed people to know at a glance what kind of content would be inside.

The effectiveness of medical alcohol had been verified, but how to mass-produce it had become a major problem. Using Shen Yue's method was still too inefficient.

The Imperial Hospital had already obtained the method for making alcohol and had also obtained several sets of glassware from the palace. They had cleared out a few empty rooms and were now dedicated to producing medical alcohol.

In order to avoid confusion with alcoholic beverages, they were considering giving a new name to medical alcohol.

"High concentrations of alcohol cannot be consumed directly, as it can be life-threatening. Those who died from alcohol poisoning in the past, were they not because they drank alcohol with a high concentration, rather than someone poisoning them or eating incompatible foods?"

Over the years, countless physicians have studied this problem caused by alcohol consumption leading to death, but they have not found a solution. They found that these deaths had almost nothing in common except for alcohol consumption.

"It is possible that the people who delivered alcohol to the palace also repeatedly warned that the alcohol made with this method should not be consumed. If it is to have an effect on wounds, it must be accurately measured, otherwise, it will not only fail to reduce wound infection but will also cause secondary damage to the wound."

The head physician of the Imperial Hospital, Wu, emphasized again: "Remember, it must be strictly prepared according to the ratio!"

"Yes!"

"Gu Chong<sup data-mfn="1">Name of Physician Gu, come out with me."

Head Physician Wu was already old and planned to retire soon. Physician Gu, a younger physician in who he had faith, had exceptional medical skills and was steady in his work. He was Head Physician Wu's preferred successor.

He also hinted at his opinion to the emperor. He knew that Physician Gu was not as senior as the other two physicians, but he was the most suitable in other aspects.

"I asked you to come out to tell you that I will retire at the end of this year. I have recommended you take over as the head physician to the emperor. Perform well during this period." Head Physician Wu patted Physician Gu's shoulder.

"This...there are many physicians with higher seniority than me in the Imperial Medical Bureau. Why did you recommend me?" Physician Gu was a little stunned.

"I believe in your medical skills and your character. I also know that you are young and it is difficult for you to suppress those beneath you. Don't worry, I will arrange everything for you. With your loyalty to the emperor and your ability to take care of his health, the emperor will not make things difficult for you."

Before making this decision, Head Physician Wu also considered it for a long time but ultimately made this seemingly irrational decision. He could feel that Da Huan was going through some changes internally, and the Imperial Medical Hospital was bound to be involved. At this time, the controller became particularly important.

At other times, it wouldn't matter if the person in power was mediocre, but in the midst of changes, mediocrity would become an original sin.

The two people who were speaking didn't notice that someone was quietly following them, listening to their conversation.

Physician Sun hid behind a pillar, with a very ugly expression on his face. Last time, he took over Physician Gu's position to save Prince Huaiyu. He thought that saving the prince's life would at least bring him some rewards, but soon after, Prince Huaiyu was punished by the court. Not to mention rewards, just not being implicated was considered good.

After that incident, he hid like a quail for a while. Seeing Physician Gu gaining more power, he could no longer sit still.

When Head Physician Wu called Physician Gu out alone, he knew what was going to happen. So he followed them out quietly, but he never thought he would hear such words.

He entered the Imperial Medical Academy earlier than Physician Gu and his medical skills were not inferior to his. Why did Physician Wu have to pass on the position to someone who was not qualified? And why did he go to such lengths to pave the way for him?

Just because Physician Gu did a good job of taking care of the prince's health?

Physician Sun looked in the direction where Physician Gu was with resentment. He wouldn't just let it go. Anyone could sit in that position, except for Physician Gu!

In the evening, Shen Yu and Shang Junlin arrived at the small theater together.

They heard that His Majesty the Emperor was coming with the Noble Monarch, and the members of the theater troupe were very nervous. They still remember when His Majesty came for the first time, his cold and stern aura made people dare not look directly at him.

"Focus your efforts. This time, the Noble Monarch will see if there are any areas that need improvement. In a few days, you will be facing the entire capital." The troupe leader carefully inspected everything, striving for no mistakes.

"I think facing the entire capital is not as scary as facing His Majesty," muttered a young man in a low voice.

Other people nodded in agreement.

"Well, of course, they'd rather have a crowded audience under the stage. After all, that's the familiar scene for them."

"But I'm still happy to perform for you, sir. Since that time, you've only met with the troupe leader alone, and I envy him..."

The troupe leader had already walked over to their side, and the others fell silent, while the young man who had just spoken hurriedly lowered his head.

The troupe leader tried to ease the tension and said, "If you have to face the Emperor's scrutiny at the same time as meeting with the Noble Monarch, would you still be willing?"

So it turned out that they were not only meeting with the Noble Monarch but also with the Emperor! The young men widened their eyes as if to say, "Troupe leader is unfortunate."

The troupe leader twitched his mouth, "Alright, let's get ready. The Emperor and the Noble Monarch are coming soon."

Because Shang Junlin was jealous, Shen Yu had not been to the small theater much afterward. Every time he wanted to come, Shang Junlin would come up with various excuses to stop him. Once or twice could be considered accidental, but after four or five times, Shen Yu understood that Shang Junlin was doing it on purpose.

"If their performance doesn't meet my requirements, what does His Majesty plan to do to compensate me?"

"That's their problem. Why should I be blamed?"

"Do you really not know, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu poked his arm. "Who came up with all kinds of excuses to stop me from coming to the small theater to see the progress?"

"If they can't achieve the desired effect even though I've given such detailed instructions, then Ah Yu, we might as well just change to a different troupe."

"Your Majesty, you can't say that. This play is different from what they've performed before, and it's normal to have some uncertainties in certain parts."

Later on, to accommodate Shang Junlin's mood, Shen Yu only summoned the troupe leader to the palace to ask questions. Fortunately, the troupe leader was a smart person and knew the purpose of Shen Yu's arrangement. He not only executed Shen Yu's ideas perfectly but also made many useful suggestions.

After the improvements, the play would be even better, as Shen Yu was still a novice in this field compared to the troupe leader who grew up in the theater.

"Your Majesty and the Noble Monarch have arrived!"

"Your Majesty, greetings. We kneel to pay our respects." The members of the theatrical troupe knelt down to greet him.

"No need for formalities, I came today with the Noble Monarch just to be the first to see this play," said Shang Junlin as he sat down with a stern expression.

"Let Mu Xi and Meng Gonggong sit at the back as well," Shen Yu glanced at the palace attendants standing nearby.

They sat in the middle of the front row, with the best view of the stage. There were still many seats available behind them, so Shen Yu decided to let the members of the troupe who had not yet performed sit there.

At first, the music was cheerful and so was the beginning of the story. Slowly, the melody became melancholic, as the childhood sweethearts were forced to part ways. One went north to join the army, while the other stayed behind to endure the hardships of their hometown. Years passed, natural disasters struck, and starvation was rampant. The woman who stayed in her hometown had made a fortune in business and thought of her lover, who was far away in the disaster-stricken area. She decided to do something.

The relief food and supplies sent by the court were embezzled by corrupt officials. So, they organized people to donate money and food on their own. More and more people joined this team, and the court also sent new officials to punish the corrupt officials. They sent the vital supplies collected by the people to the disaster-stricken area...

In the end, the villains were punished, and the woman and her lover embraced each other tightly, living happily ever after.

Shen Yu stood up and clapped his hands: "Not bad, this is very good."

On the stage, the man in a pink dress who played the role of a woman heard these words and his eyes lit up.

Shen Yu turned to look at the palace maids and other members of the troupe, and each of them had an excited look on their faces. Obviously, their emotions had already been stirred up.

This was precisely what Shen Yu wanted.

The play did not need to be obscure or elegant. The most important thing was to make the audience feel involved, to make them unconsciously think about what they would do in such a situation. In the current drought in Subei, could they do something? Could they exert their meager strength like the woman in the play?

"The power of one person may be small, but when it is combined, it becomes an unstoppable force." Shang Junlin understood this truth very well.

"Yes, some people always overlook the fact that many small contributions can add up to a lot. Those who are too proud will eventually fall."

Shen Yu discussed some details with the troupe leader and Shang Junlin, and then they returned to the sleeping quarters.

"Ah Yu, did you notice that the man in the pink dress was always getting closer to you?" Shang Junlin approached Shen Yu from behind.

"No." Shen Yu's thoughts were all focused on the play, and he didn't have time to pay attention to such things.

Satisfied with Shen Yu's answer, Shang Junlin chuckled softly.

Shen Yu's ears were tingling from his laughter.

"Didn't His Majesty want me to write a letter for you? I have written it. I replied to Jiang Huaiqing 23 times and wrote twice as much to Your Majesty. This is the first letter. Would you like to read it?" Shen Yu walked to the hidden compartment and took out the envelope.