Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

56 Extracting Information, A Filial Child

Yu Huang Rong wasn't quite sure if it was the right decision to drop the topic and move on. He had done something wrong. He understood that. And considering that he wanted to marry Zhang Shi Lan and have a happy relationship with him in the future, that wasn't something they could just overlook. No, they had to work on this type of thing if they wanted to have a future together. Otherwise, this relationship might be fulfilling for him but it wouldn't be for Zhang Shi Lan. At the very least, it might be more troublesome for him.

He wanted to speak up but finally kept quiet. Yes, they should talk about this. But this was neither the right time not the right place to do so. No, he should wait until they were alone and could sit down to talk things through. Only that way would he be able to make sure that he didn't cause trouble for Zhang Shi Lan in the future again.

He sighed and then shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing specifically. Although I'd be interested to see what kind of topic Luan Xi—" His eyes widened and he gulped at Zhang Shi Lan's gaze. "Uh ... I'd be interested to hear what topic His Majesty chose for that essay competition."

Zhang Shi Lan stared at him for a moment longer before he gave a begrudging nod. "Very well, let's go there." He turned away and then walked ahead, seemingly not caring if Yu Huang Rong followed him or not.

Yu Huang Rong cursed himself and then rushed after Zhang Shi Lan. Somehow, everything seemed to go wrong today. He could only hope that his father and Minister Zhang would get along better.

Yu Huang Rong probably didn't have to worry about that. Even though the two men were rather different regarding their personalities, they were still both working at court and thus had something in common. Furthermore, the older General Yu was still trying to extract some information from Minister Zhang. So far, he hadn't had much luck though. He couldn't be too obvious but he knew that he didn't have much time either considering that he normally didn't see Minister Zhang around much.

Thus he couldn't help but throw in a few questions about their children and their marriages. "So ... How has it been going for your son? He is taking part in the events of the matchmaking pavilion together with Huang Rong if I remember correctly. He is a few years younger so his chances should be quite good, shouldn't they?"

Minister Zhang couldn't help but give an awkward smile. "Well, he might be younger but your son has been on the battlefield so it is understandable that he hasn't gotten married yet. As for Shi Lan ..." He shook his head. "I also don't know what it is. I thought he might have fallen in love with somebody without any chance of his feelings being requited. It came as a surprise that he suddenly decided to go to the matchmaker that day. I almost asked him whether he was sure about the decision and didn't want to reconsider. But then I remembered that that had actually been what my wife and I wanted." Mister Zhang shook his head at himself. Truly, what had he been thinking that day? He actually almost stopped his son when he finally came to his senses!

General Yu nodded slowly, continuing to walk with Minister Zhang to the poetry competition. "It's good that your son made the decision on his own. My son ..." He sighed. "My wife and I almost had to beg him before he went to the matchmaking pavilion and even then he only did so begrudgingly. I sometimes wonder if it was a good idea to have him go to the military. Since he's become a General, I feel that he doesn't listen to us anymore."

Minister Zhang showed the General a sympathetic look. "Well, your son seems to be very invested in fighting for our Chen country. He might be thinking that marrying and having a family would hold him back."

General Yu gave a huff. "What holding him back? I also wasn't held back when I married my wife!"

"Well, who knows what is going through young people's heads?"