Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

71 Preparing for the Act, Another Big Show

When Zhang Shi Lan woke up the next morning, the first thought that entered his mind was that today was the day they would act. The rest of his life would depend on how he managed to play his role in the hunt later on.

His heart beat madly at that thought. He closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. He could do this. There was no need to get nervous. After all, this wasn't a real ambush. It was just something that they were doing so he and Yu Huang Rong would be able to get married. Nothing could go wrong.

Zhang Shi Lan exhaled again, got up and put on his clothes. His father left early on to go and talk with some of the other ministers that he knew while Zhang Shi Lan stayed back alone, waiting for the plan to begin.

Since this was the first full day they would spend at the hunting grounds, today everybody would set out in the morning, going into the woods before they returned in the afternoon to present what they had hunted so that it could be prepared for the dinner.

The procession would stay at the hunting grounds for four days counting the one when they arrived and departed but Yu Huang Rong had told him that it would be best to let the problem arise today since most others would be bound to stay at the hunting grounds. Thus, he would have two days to get into his role without people inquiring too much. After that, he could still refuse most of the visitors under the guise of recuperating from his injuries but sooner or later, he would need to meet others. Giving him a bit of time to get into this act couldn't be bad.

Because of the same reason, the ambush was scheduled for not long after they went into the forest. Before that, they first needed to prepare though. Yu Huang Rong had told him that there were some things that needed to be done to make this ambush look more convincing but he didn't know any details yet. When they had spoken about it, the autumn hunt had still been quite a while away and Yu Huang Rong hadn't wanted him to worry too much so he had only told him the general plan and not explained any further. Now, Zhang Shi Lan wondered how things would proceed from here on out. Should he go and meet Yu Huang Rong? But that might also be suspicious.

Just when he pondered, a light cough sounded from the flap of the tent and a hoarse voice sounded. "May I come in?"

Zhang Shi Lan raised his head and got up, wondering just who might have come over at this time. He could only hope that it wouldn't impede their plan. "Of course."

The flap was lifted and a man in a dark robe stepped in. Zhang Shi Lan didn't have any impression of him.

She Ning looked at the scholar and noticed his blank expression. Obviously, he hadn't taken note of him yesterday. Well, it was to be expected. Zhang Shi Lan had looked terrified because of meeting the emperor. He probably hadn't taken any time to look around. Thus he nodded in greeting. "I'm She Ning, one of His Majesty's secret guards. I was told to come and help you prepare." He took the bag down that he had slung over his shoulder and motioned over to the table.

Zhang Shi Lan blinked but still motioned over as well. "Ah, I'm honored to be able to meet you. Thank you very much for your help. Please, have a seat."

She Ning went over but still shook his head. "Take off your outer robe and sit down."

Zhang Shi Lan stared at him, at a loss of what to do.

She Ning didn't care though. He put down the bag, opened it and took out some things. There was a small pouch that looked very thin and as if it had been filled with some dark liquid, as well as some thread. Zhang Shi Lan had no idea what this might be about.

She Ning saw his gaze and sighed. Well, this person was a scholar through and through. He couldn't expect him to be like Yu Huang Rong or Luan Xin who were able to recognize this kind of thing and understand what was going on. "I reckon General Yu didn't explain very much?"