Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

80 His Majesty's Decree, Make Peace with It

Seeing a eunuch from the palace in front of their door with an edict in hand, the Zhang family couldn't help but become afraid. Their son had already almost died because of the argument between General Yu and the emperor. If it was possible, they would have liked for Zhang Shi Lan to stay far away but the child had fallen in love and probably wouldn't be willing to give up considering his personality so asking the General to marry him had seemed like the best idea. Now, they regretted it though. The emperor wouldn't want their son's head for this, would he?

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. The whole family including their servants and guards gathered in the courtyard to receive the edict, not only a few of them worrying whether they would also be implicated in whatever was going on.

The eunuch looked at the people in front of him, furrowing his brows when he didn't see the family's son. He didn't say anything though and just announced what he had to say: "By the decree of His Majesty, the Academy's Scholar Zhang Shi Lan is to wed General Yu Huang Rong in two weeks' time. The two of them will be granted an estate on Fen Cha lane as a wedding gift. They may start moving in immediately. That is all." The eunuch raised his gaze to Mister Zhang who knelt on the ground in a daze.

What was the meaning of this? The emperor granted his son's marriage? He bestowed an estate on him and the General? Why?

The eunuch furrowed his brows even further when the Minister didn't react. "Minister Zhang, step forward and accept the decree." It was bad enough that the person mentioned in the decree wasn't there but considering the rumors that he had been injured previously, that was to be expected. But now, not even his family wanted to accept the decree?

Mister Zhang was startled out of his thoughts by the eunuch's voice. He straightened up and raised his hands. "We accept the decree."

The eunuch nodded and handed it over before leaving together with the guards from the palace. The people of the Zhang household continued to kneel on the ground for a while longer, none of them sure what to think.

In the end, Mister Zhang and his wife got up and went to the room of their son. Before, Zhang Shi Lan hadn't been awake so they hadn't been able to speak to him about what had happened. They had only been able to assume. Even going ahead and asking General Yu to marry him had been a gamble on whether everybody had understood wrong. They doubted it but there was still such a possibility. Now, regardless of whether or not they had been wrong, he would need to marry the General.

At that time, Zhang Shi Lan was slowly waking up in his room. He had been awake for most of the time that they spent traveling to the capital but had been knocked out before they came into sight of the gate to make sure that nobody would accidentally notice that he was actually alright.

The act they were putting on was a dangerous one. All of it relied on the rumors that had been spread around. If somebody got a glimpse at him and another rumor spread that he had looked quite well, it wouldn't do. No, they had to make sure that nothing would go wrong at the last minute.

When Zhang Shi Lan opened his eyes, his sight was still blurry. Whatever it was that Yu Huang Rong had given him, it truly was too potent. He really felt as if he had been gravely injured or maybe ill for a long time. There was not an ounce of strength in his body.

"Shi Lan? Shi Lan?!" His mother's anxious voice sounded next to his ears.

Zhang Shi Lan blinked to clear his vision and then slowly turned his head. "Mother?" He cleared his throat, feeling awkward that he actually sounded so hoarse. Had he really not been sick? Maybe all of what had happened after they were ambushed in the forest had been a long dream?