Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

78 A Row of Admirers, Not a Thoughtless Decision

Yu Huang Rong finally left the house of the Zhangs in a complicated mood. On the one hand, he felt guilty about tricking these good people into believing their son had been hurt grievously, on the other hand, he was elated that their plan had worked even better than expected. If he could, he would have liked to run over to the matchmaking pavilion to boast in front of Madam Yan. He still had to return home before he could do that though.

Thus he pulled up the hood of his cloak again and then rushed his horse through the streets of the capital, back to the estate of his family. When the servants saw him return, they were much less flustered than the one at the Zhang family's estate. He opened the back door, let him in and then closed the door with a look around to make sure that nobody had been following. Afterward, he went to inform the older General Yu that his son had returned.

When Yu Huang Rong stepped into his room, steps already sounded down the corridor. He turned and saw his father with a grim expression.

"What happened between Luan Xin and you?"

Yu Huang Rong looked away. This part was probably the most difficult. Mister and Madam Zhang would never be able to imagine that their son could lie to them just based on his temperament. And with Mister Zhang's own stance, he disliked thinking about court intrigues. He also didn't know much about the relationship between Yu Huang Rong and the emperor so he wouldn't be able to guess that there was more about this than what met the eye. His own father was different though.

Seeing that his son didn't want to answer, the older General Yu furrowed his brows. "What? Don't tell me you've lost your ability to speak! Just what has happened between the two of you for him to go this far?!" He pushed the door close behind him and rushed toward Yu Huang Rong, grabbing him by the lapel. "You tell me clearly now!"

Yu Huang Rong sighed and forced himself to think back to the day when he had found out about Luan Xin's feelings, when the angry tiffs from the previous weeks suddenly started to make sense. "Even if I told you, I'm afraid you wouldn't believe it."

"What not believe it? My son's best friend already tried to kill him. What else will I not believe? Speak!"

Yu Huang Rong reached up and plugged his father's hands off, before walking over to the table and heavily taking a seat. "I'm not even sure where to begin."

His father just stared at him. Obviously, he wasn't willing to give him any more time.

Yu Huang Rong sighed. Well, even if he stalled even longer, he still wouldn't get around this. There was something he had to get out before that though. He leaned back and then looked at his father. "Madam Zhang asked me to marry her son as compensation."

The General stared at him in a daze. Naturally, he had also heard the rumors. Thinking about it, he had felt that there might be some truth to it. After all, Zhang Shi Lan and his son had gotten along well since the day they met. When he saw them together at the Academy, they had also seemed very close. It was not impossible for that lad to be smitten with his son.

He looked at Yu Huang Rong again, trying to be objective. Most likely ... his son should have the ability to make somebody fall in love like that? He was an accomplished General who had earned his reputation with hard work, he had a good family, was good-looking, and before this whole fiasco, he had even had a good relationship with the emperor. What more could one expect of a man? The women in the matchmaking pavilion seemed to have been interested if he believed what his wife had excitedly told him some weeks prior. So if a man was interested in other men, then why shouldn't Yu Huang Rong be the recipient of his affections? It sounded quite plausible.

The General sat down opposite his son and nodded gravely. "You owe him. If ... if you think you can do it, you should do so. If you can't treat him as your wife, then maybe it would be better to explain to him and find another way to compensate him."