Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

28 Making Progress, A Romantic Scene

The two men continued to practice for the performance. The longer they worked on it, the smoother the dance and the accompanying tune became. Yu Huang Rong couldn't help but feel that this was to be expected. Naturally, he would be able to work well with the person he loved. This was a given!

With the task at hand, Zhang Shi Lan also didn't feel too awkward talking to this person. And since this might very well be the last time that he would be able to interact with Yu Huang Rong while they were both still unmarried, he also felt that he shouldn't hold anything back. As long as he didn't speak about his feelings, this day could be theirs. It was alright for him to imagine that they truly were close and that this wasn't just something they had done as a task the matchmaker had given them.

Both of them had their own thoughts, letting them interact with each other as if they had known each other for years. Soon enough, the first half of the day had gone by and a knock sounded from the door.

Yu Huang Rong lowered the sword in his hand and Zhang Shi Lan's hand stilled above the strings of the guqin. The two of them exchanged a glance and turned to the door.

"Come on in."

Yu Huang Rong said so but he couldn't help but glare at the person walking in for disturbing his time with Zhang Shi Lan.

The person in question didn't mind at all. Instead, Madam Yan gave the two of them a brilliant smile. "General Yu, Scholar Zhang, I hope you've already managed to make some progress." She looked at Yu Huang Rong when she said so and smirked, her words laced with a double meaning.

Yu Huang Rong's lips twitched but he still answered truthfully. "Some progress was made. I'm sure the women will be awed by our performance later on. Scholar Zhang and I work together perfectly."

"Is that so?" Madam Yan glanced at Zhang Shi Lan before she motioned behind her. "It's already midday and with you both training so hard, I thought that you would like some dishes and refreshments to recover some of your strength. Afterward, you should probably take a short rest before the performance starts."

Yu Huang Rong nodded and went back to the table, looking at Zhang Shi Lan when he sat down next to him.

Madam Yan had her two aides and a few servants carry in the dishes and refreshments before she gave the two men another smile. "Since you've only chosen a few women, one performance will suffice. We'll be holding the event at the same venue as four days ago just that the sides will be opposite today. The women will be sitting in the pavilion while you are to perform on the meadow."

The two men nodded and Madam Yan took her leave, quietly closing the door behind her. She couldn't help but give a satisfied smile when she turned away and walked back to the study. It seemed her plan was working very well for now. The two had been able to spend a bit more time while having a clear purpose and should have gotten closer. At the very least, Zhang Shi Lan hadn't seemed like a trembling animal anymore in front of the General. Mn, this was already very good. Now, the question was on how to proceed.

Until here, things had been easy. When she talked to the two of them it had been obvious what was going on, inviting those eight gentlemen together and creating a big splash in the capital hadn't been a problem either. Even today's event could still be justified. But from now on, it would be getting troublesome. She didn't have a problem with helping them behind the scenes but as for creating opportunities to see each other ... This depended on themselves. Ah, should she have warned General Yu? But if he managed not to behave like a boor that would already be good enough. She didn't have much higher hopes right now.

She leaned back, crossed her legs and wiggled her foot. Well, it wasn't too late yet. Advising General Yu wouldn't be too difficult. The rest would rely on Scholar Zhang. Knowing him, even though he loved General Yu, he was serious about marriage. He had promised his family so he would continue to earnestly look for a wife even if he wasn't able to love her.