Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

79 An Audience with the Emperor, Regret

The older General Yu didn't go to the palace immediately. Instead, he first went to retrieve something from his study that he hadn't looked at for many years. Seeing the small plaque now, he couldn't help but sigh. The good deeds done by the previous generation didn't account for much in the face of some hot-blooded youths, it seemed. He really couldn't understand how it had come so far.

He shook his head and tugged the plaque into his clothes, leaving his manor and heading to the palace. Contrary to Yu Huang Rong who had the habit to barge right in, the older General properly asked for an audience with Luan Xin, giving him ample time to prepare himself.

Inside the palace, Luan Xin looked at She Ning questioningly. "Are you sure you can pull this off convincingly? Yu Bao Tong is our Chen country's best General. He isn't easily hoodwinked. If he notices that this isn't real ..."

"Relax." She Ning didn't explain himself any further and continued to apply the mixture from the bowl in his hands to Luan Xin's face. His heart squeezed a little while he did so, making him hesitate for a moment.

With this, Luan Xin looked as if he hadn't slept much for the last few days. His complexion was wan and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was the personification of somebody who deeply regretted his past actions and wished every second of the day that he could take back the words he had said in anger and retrieve the weapon that had been thrust forward only to realize that it was impossible.

This kind of look ... was surprisingly hard to stomach. For all these years, regardless of whether he had to spy, torture, or kill, he had never thought much of it. But seeing Luan Xin like this, She Ning could feel some agitation in his heart. It seemed the indifference he had originally felt toward everything had been slowly whittled away by this person. That ... was probably also a form of torture.

She Ning shook his head at himself and then continued, only stopping when he felt that more would indeed alert the General to the fact that something wasn't quite right. He put down the bowl and nodded. "Done."

"Mn." Luan Xin took a bronze mirror and looked at himself, turning his face in all directions. "Well, I can't see that it's fake. Let's hope the General is the same."

She Ning nodded and stepped back, just quietly watching Luan Xin walk out of his chambers and toward the throne room. He really couldn't believe that the General would be able to tell. Not only did he trust in his skill, but he also trusted in Luan Xin's ability. What couldn't they achieve together?

Luan Xin sat down on the dragon throne, looking at the older General Yu with an unreadable expression. He kept quiet for a moment before he finally sighed. "I can imagine why you came."

"I'm not sure." The General smiled wryly. He didn't have anything to ask. He also didn't have anything much to say about what had happened. Even though he really wanted to teach this brat a lesson for losing his head over his emotions like that, Luan Xin was still the emperor, after all. He could hardly beat him up, could he?

"Then what did you come for?" Luan Xin's voice sounded faint as if he could hardly bring himself to say these words.

The old General felt better hearing that. Sure enough, that boy already regretted his rash actions. That was quite good. He might not have to worry about his son and Zhang Shi Lan's well-being in the future. Although ... It was hard to say how Luan Xin would take it when he asked for him to bestow marriage onto Yu Huang Rong.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There already was no way around this. He opened his eyes again and looked at Luan Xin. "Back when it was still your father's reign, I once saved his life."