theater

The stage was high up, and the uniquely dressed actors twisted their waists and turned their heads, their water sleeves fluttering, singing in a melodious voice. The seats below the stage were packed with people.

Mu Qing followed the young prince to a box opposite the stage, where he could hear the lyrics very clearly.

"I am alarmed and suspicious. It must be some ugly demon that has bewitched us."

Upon hearing the male performer playing the young male lead sing this line, Mu Qing felt as if she had been scolded and glanced at the young prince.

In the play, there is an ugly girl who pretends to be a beautiful and talented young lady, intending to trick a handsome and talented man into marrying her. Although she is not ugly, her actions are similar.

Seeing that she wasn't watching the show but instead looking at him, Xiao Yu couldn't help but laugh and say, "Is it a pity that the ugly girl was exposed?"

"Hard to say." Mu Qing turned her head away sullenly and continued to look at the stage.

Knowing that the young prince had interfered in the arrangement of this play, she couldn't say it was bad. Besides, in the end, the imposter shouldn't have succeeded anyway.

However... she continued watching the show with unspeakable resentment, only to find that the subsequent events were unexpected.

The handsome and talented young man saw through the ugly girl's disguise, but he turned the tables on her, making her tidy up and suffer some hardships. In the end, she reformed herself, became sensible, and they happily married.

The audience below laughed from time to time, and as they watched, they sighed with admiration.

Mu Qing also clicked her tongue in amazement, "This ending is really strange."

Xiao Yu glanced at her, seemingly surprised by her surprise, "What's so strange about it? Isn't this how Bodhisattvas help people?"

"..."

Mu Qing felt a little strange.

She had also watched a play from this very stand on the day she first met the young prince.

The excerpt from that play tells the story of a virtuous woman who, unafraid of powerful figures, petitions the emperor from the common people, enduring numerous hardships in the process, and ultimately proving that justice exists in the world.

After reading it, she was filled with pride. When she saw the constables catching a thief while she was out shopping, she took a slingshot to help the constables and shot the thief. She felt very happy.

When a seemingly frivolous young man in fine clothes approached her, saying he wanted to return her slingshot and even asked to see her with a grin, Mu Qing felt that she had encountered a lecherous man and immediately raised her slingshot.

Ning Gu was terrified and hurriedly said, "No! He's the young prince!"

However, Mu Qing had only been in the Lu family for less than a year and had only learned some rules. He was not very familiar with the people and affairs of Weizhou and only remembered that the young prince was an idle and good-for-nothing.

She grew up in a mountain village and knew how to avoid government soldiers. Her understanding of the sons of nobles came entirely from the plays she had watched, and she knew that many of them bullied others by taking advantage of their status.

Seeing the Lu family guards retreat to the side, Ning Gu panicked. She stepped forward and stood in front of them, saying, "Ning Gu, don't be afraid. So what if he's the young prince? I'll deal with him."

Ignoring the guards' rebuke for her audacity, she took a slingshot and aimed it at the approaching young prince.

The young prince stopped in his tracks and said with a smile, "Miss, since we've met by chance, what's wrong with making friends?"

Mu Qing wasn't having any of it and warned, "Take one more step and I'll slap you in the face!"

"Smack!"

Her hand trembled, and the ball bounced off first.

The young prince covered his forehead as guards rushed towards him. The Lu family's guards initially dared not resist, but seeing that the other party was about to seize their young lady, they had no choice but to step forward to block them.

After the chaos, the Lu family's guards, outnumbered, were all captured, and Mu Qing had no choice but to ask the young prince to let them go.

But then he walked over, rubbing his forehead, and rather rudely lifted the white veil under her hat, looking at her with a half-smile, "Miss Lu, I'll remember you."

After returning home, Mu Qing listened to Ning Gu explain the situation and was reprimanded by the Third Madam. Mu Qing was filled with anxiety, fearing that the young prince, whom she could not afford to offend, would blame her.

A few days later, the young prince came to propose marriage.

Mu Qing couldn't understand it and suspected that the young prince planned to marry her and torment her. However, when she went to see him with trepidation, she always saw him laughing and joking with her.

Ever since she assaulted someone in the street, Aunt Ning has always advised her not to go to the theater. When she came occasionally after that, it was always with the young prince, and she usually watched plays that the young prince had arranged. What was the purpose of this play?

She acts as Miss Lu in her daily life, but she is also a character in a play, always acting. Could she have given herself away at times?

After a moment of thought, Mu Qing came to her senses and saw the young prince take a letter from the servant, glance at it, and quickly put it into his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Mu Qing asked.

"It's nothing," Xiao Yu said, sounding somewhat uneasy.

"It's rare to see Your Highness with such an expression; something must be wrong."

"When I hope you're clever, why aren't you this clever?"

"So, Your Highness wants me to play dumb now?"

Xiao Yu: "..."

The letter was written by Lu Xier, whom he had recently met, inviting him to meet.

He and she became friends through music, spending several days together. There are many people in the world who seek fame and reputation, but often their reputation is not matched by their abilities. He had made many friends and been disappointed many times. Now, he had met a talented friend who was good at playing the zither and witnessed her talent growing day by day. He thought it was a blessing and there was nothing to hide.

In the foolish eyes of the world, it seems that there is never anything clean and pure between a man and a woman; there must be some scandalous affair.

He was always unruly and didn't care at all.

But yesterday his mother spoke with him, saying that she had heard rumors that he had found a confidante and advised him to be careful.

"Confidant" already implies intimacy, but adding the word "female confidante" before it adds an extra layer of ambiguity.

Once someone is labeled a confidante, even the most upright and magnanimous person becomes ambiguous and difficult to explain.

He believed himself to be innocent and disliked the gossip of others, but he couldn't help worrying that rumors would reach the Lu family and cause unnecessary suspicion, which is why he came to the theater to watch the play today.

Before this could be explained, another letter arrived from Lu Xi'er.

I have heard something that has deeply saddened me. I long to meet you and speak with you.

The letter made no mention of music, but instead spoke of sorrow and grief. If others were to see it, it would be hard to believe that they were merely friends who played the zither.

He quickly put away the letter, and after Mu Qing pressed him for an answer, he thought for a moment and said, "Do you still remember the musician from Yiye Residence?"

Xiao Yu, with his sleeves tucked in, leaned against the small round table between the two of them. When he looked at Mu Qing, his expression unusually serious.

Seeing him get closer, Mu Qing felt a surge of nervousness before she could even think about it.

She restrained herself from going far away and said, "Of course I remember. That musician has now moved to the east of the city, not far from my home. She even visited my mother, and my mother praised her highly."

“I’ve been in contact with that musician recently,” Xiao Yu said, lowering his eyes before raising them again. “We often discuss music and exchange ideas.”

"Isn't that great?"

Mu Qing thought of the pieces the young prince had played for her, and how she always had to rack her brains to come up with critiques. Now that someone else was taking on this role, perhaps the young prince would be more satisfied.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling, as if she had gotten a good deal, clearly unaware of the rumors.

Xiao Yu glanced at the people around her and smiled, "It's just that I cherish her talent and am helping her to reach a higher level in her skills. For me, it's more interesting to play the zither for you and watch you scratch your head in response."

Mu Qing pursed her lips, about to retort, when a gong sounded and the sheng and flute began to play, signaling the start of the second act.

The second play was an old story about loyalty to the country. Although Mu Qing had seen it before, the powerful soldiers and the swirling spears on the stage still made her unable to resist watching it intently.

Xiao Yu also looked towards the stage, but his hand was clutching a letter hidden in his sleeve.

For the past few days, he and Lu Xier had been exchanging letters, discussing only music and nothing else. But today's letter had gone too far.

What sorrows did Lu Xi'er have that she wanted to tell him? He was a little curious, but when someone confides in him, he felt obligated to offer comfort. He couldn't refuse a young orphan like Lu Xi'er if she asked for help. Could things continue like this, and remain merely friends through music?

He turned his head to look at Mu Qing and saw that she was watching the play intently, completely absorbed and not bothered by the conversation just now. He couldn't help but smile and felt relieved, and he forgot about the letter in his sleeve.

Everyone else was watching the play, but he was watching Mu Qing with the same intense focus, which, in the eyes of others, stirred up a pang of sorrow.

At this moment, a young man wearing a black cap walked to the corner of the stage, looked up, and glanced around at the boxes where the audience was watching the play. He immediately saw the young prince wearing an apricot-yellow silk robe, casually crossing his arms, with a slight smile on his face. He turned his head to look at the woman beside him, and his eyes were completely captivated by her.

The boy's expression darkened, and he was hurriedly pulled away by a man in brown.

This scene was witnessed by another person in the audience. He turned around, glanced at the young prince and Mu Qing in the private room, and got up to chase after them.

"Lord Zhong, where are we headed?" the person sitting next to him asked.

Zhong Linlan paused, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, "Boss Lin, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

Mr. Lin is the owner of Treasure Pavilion. In the past two days, he has been visited by Imperial Censor Zhong, who has gained some fame in the city for investigating cases. Zhong comes to his door from time to time to chat about this and that, which makes him a little worried.

I came to see a play today and ran into Censor Zhong again. He heard that it was a day off for the government office and that he was here to relax. He was skeptical, thinking that he would have to deal with him after the play, but he didn't expect that he would leave so soon.

Just as Imperial Censor Zhong glanced back, he turned to look as well, and saw the young prince in the private room looking at a veiled woman with a smiling gaze. He was looking at Miss Lu, but Miss Lu's features...

Previously, every time he saw Miss Lu, she was wearing a veil; this was the first time he had seen her face.

He had excellent eyesight and saw it clearly in no time. When he looked away, he looked annoyed. After thinking for a moment, he sighed.

The play on the stage was in full swing, with performers from all sides taking turns to showcase their talents, drawing cheers from the audience. Occasionally, a figure would move about, but no one paid any attention.

Zhong Linlan walked quickly and caught up to the front yard of the theater, where she saw that the strange-looking young man and the man beside him had slowed down and were talking together.

Near the gate, there was no noise from inside, and the voices were easy to hear.

"Xi'er, impulsiveness is a big no-no."

Zhong Linlan strode forward and indeed saw that the brown-clad man who was speaking was actually Aunt Man in disguise.

When Aunt Man saw the person blocking her way, she was also surprised, "Lord Zhong."

"Why are you dressed like this?" Zhong Linlan looked at the young man next to her and noticed that she seemed to have applied something to her face, making her skin look dark and inconspicuous.

Aunt Man took her arm and said with a smile, "Our girl wanted to come to see the play, so she dressed up as a man. She was being mischievous and didn't expect the adults to recognize her."

When Zhong Linlan first saw Lu Xier's true face, even though she was still wearing a disguise, upon closer inspection, he could still see the sorrow in her beautiful eyes.

He said calmly, "Why did you come out before the show was over?"

Aunt Man sighed, "There's nothing we can do, our young lady isn't feeling well."

"Are you going to a nearby clinic? I can give you a ride."

"Thank you for your kindness, but it's not necessary. It's just a minor ailment that young ladies often have; I'll be fine after a rest at home."

Having said that, Zhong Linlan could no longer stop them. Seeing the two of them leave the theater, she turned and whispered a few words to Kunshan.