Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

12 Words of Warning, Thinking of You with Fondness

While General Yu talked with Madam Yan, Zhang Shi Lan and Qian Mu Qing left the main house and stepped onto the square in front of it together. Zhang Shi Lan smiled at the merchant and motioned over to his carriage. "Mister Qian, please wait a moment. I'll go and tell my servant that I'll keep you company first so that he might go home."

Qian Mu Qing nodded. Honestly, as soon as they had been out of General Yu's sight, he had already felt much better. Asking Scholar Zhang to come with him felt a little over-the-top now. Then again, even though he himself didn't feel bad, he still felt that he should warn Zhang Shi Lan. After all, General Yu's gaze hadn't been normal. If it really was true and the General felt for him like this, then he needed to be warned.

He couldn't get too close to this man! Who knew what would happen otherwise? That guy was a cold-blooded general. If he wanted something, then he might try to take it by force. If Zhang Shi Lan wasn't careful, then something might happen to him. As a friend, he couldn't just watch and do nothing.

Zhang Shi Lan informed the servant that he could return without him for now since he would accompany Qian Mu Qing before he returned home himself. Afterward, he returned to Qian Mu Qing's side, even reaching out to lightly touch his arm to help him over to the carriage. "Are you already feeling a bit better out here, Mister Qian? I hope you didn't have to wait too long."

Qian Mu Qing smiled and motioned at his carriage, letting Zhang Shi Lan step in before him while the servant held the curtain aside. "Scholar Zhang is too courteous. To be honest, this whole event might just have been a bit too much. There were a lot of performances which took a lot of time and well, with all these people around ..." He stopped and awkwardly cleared his throat. Zhang Shi Lan's status was still higher than his. It wouldn't really be appropriate to say that he had a problem with these people of high status, would it?

Zhang Shi Lan smiled. Even though Qian Mu Qing hadn't spoken his mind, it was obvious from the way he had looked at him what he meant. He folded his hands in his lap and looked out of the window when the carriage started to move. "Even though my father is working in one of the ministries, I can understand how Mister Qian must have felt today. Young Master Feng and His Highness are of lofty status. People like us won't get to see them very often. It sure can make one nervous."

Qian Mu Qing nodded. "Yes, I wasn't too sure if Scholar Zhang would feel the same or if maybe you had another perspective on this based on your family's status. I didn't mean to be rude."

Zhang Shi Lan shook his head. "There's nothing rude about speaking your mind like this. I'm happy that Mister Qian trusts me enough to confide in me like this."

Qian Mu Qing didn't hesitate any longer. This Scholar Zhang really had a gentle temperament. Even if he said something that he didn't agree with, he wouldn't hold it against him. He cleared his throat and turned to face him, taking a closer look at his face.

To be honest, he could understand where General Yu was coming from. This Scholar Zhang had a special type of beauty to him that had nothing to do with being male or female. He exuded an aura that made people unwittingly feel comfortable around him. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that this was less about his appearance than his bearing. It was not just in the way he looked but also in the way he behaved. It made one relaxed.

"Scholar Zhang, I hope you don't find me too direct but I had a very good impression of you today. I think you are considering things very carefully and you do try to see other people's standpoint. That is a quality I do admire very much. If Scholar Zhang doesn't mind, then I would like to see you more often in the future."

Zhang Shi Lan smiled. "I'm honored that Mister Qian would have such a good impression of me even though I presumed to talk about you and your family like that. If you truly do not feel offended by what I said before, then it would be my pleasure to see you in the future again."