The two plays performed by the Linfeng Opera Troupe have been running for some time now, but the enthusiasm of the people in the capital for listening to opera remains undiminished.
The main hall, which seats 300 people, is about 80% full, while the private rooms on the second and third floors are almost all booked.
Most of the guests who booked private rooms were women.
And those sitting in the lobby were mostly female guests.
The owner also said that some female customers have been coming to listen to every performance of these two plays since they started, without missing a single show, which shows how much they love them.
Ye Jingchen was naturally delighted to see such a grand occasion.
The more people listen to the opera, the wider it spreads, and the greater its influence naturally becomes.
Of course, these are just two plays. They may have some influence on people, but the degree of influence is limited. The idea of male superiority over females has been deeply rooted for thousands of years and is not so easy to break through.
What Ye Jingchen needs to do is simply plant a seed in people's hearts. One day, this seed will sprout, take root, and bloom into a beautiful flower.
After the opera, it was almost dark, and the carriage to return to the palace was waiting outside the opera house.
On the way back to the palace, Ye Jingshu was particularly excited. She had completely immersed herself in the role of the princess in the play, and she was eager for a learned and talented woman to appear. She wanted to be the discerning judge of talent and create a wonderful story with this extraordinary woman.
After enjoying herself, she started thinking about another play.
This was the first time in her life she had seen such an interesting play, so she was really looking forward to the other one.
"Brother, during the month's rest period, shall we listen to another performance of 'The Legend of Heroines'?"
Ye Jingchen really wanted to say no.
He could only have one day off a month, so naturally he wanted to sleep in late on that day and then go out for a stroll outside the palace.
But Ye Jingshu wasn't the only one who wanted to hear the opera. After hearing Ye Jingshu's question, several pairs of big, dark eyes looked over at the same time, making Ye Jingchen feel immense pressure. He could only nod in agreement.
"I'll go this afternoon," he emphasized. He absolutely had to sleep in, otherwise he would feel listless for the entire month!
"Yay!" the younger kids cheered in unison.
The next afternoon, there was a math class, and Ye Jingchen had them organize the prices of various commodities they had obtained the previous day.
When the prices of various commodities are listed on a single sheet of paper, many problems become apparent.
"Women's money is so easy to make!" Ye Jingshu exclaimed.
Of all the goods, rouge, face powder, silk, and jewelry were the most expensive.
“It’s easy to make money off intellectuals!” Ye Jingming said.
Secondly, there are books, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
"It's the hardest thing to earn money from ordinary people."
A peck of rice costs five coins, a large bundle of firewood costs eight coins, and a handful of tender, juicy vegetable leaves costs three coins.
"Isn't it because they didn't have any money to begin with?"
Perhaps because he grew up surrounded by gold and silver, Ye Jingyu developed a particular interest in numerology, especially accounting.
After returning to Weiyang Palace from school and having dinner, he calculated the cost of a meal for the two of them, the Imperial Concubine.
Seeing that he was having a great time, the Imperial Concubine not only did not stop him, but also summoned the eunuch in charge of purchasing at Weiyang Palace to help him calculate the bill.
The Imperial Concubine had never cared about these things before. She had studied numerology when she was still in the Ji family, but she was not good at it and had only a superficial understanding of managing accounts.
The fact that she was able to manage the household affairs without causing any trouble for so many years was entirely due to the several stewardesses she brought from the Ji family.
Although the eunuch did not understand why his young master wanted to calculate these things, since his young master had asked, he naturally answered all his questions.
However, the prices he quoted were vastly different from the prices outside the palace that Ye Jingyu had learned about.
"What kind of rice is so expensive? Just three measures cost a tael of silver?"
"How much do you think an egg costs? Two taels of silver?!"
"This leafy green actually costs one tael of silver?!"
The more Ye Jingyu asked, the more incredible it seemed.
It turns out that not only were the palaces of their Weiyang Palace gilded, but everything they ate and drank was also gilded!
"Third Prince, is there a problem with this price?" The eunuch asked tentatively, noticing that Ye Jingyu's expression seemed a bit off.
Ye Jingyu pondered the expenses of his meal with his mother and fell silent.
What's eighty taels of silver for a meal at Zuixianlou for dozens of people? He and his mother spent more than that on a single meal!
They're so wasteful!
"What's wrong? There are too many side dishes involved in this meal. Even if you can't figure it out, don't be discouraged. Even your mother can't figure it out at her age. There's nothing to be sad about!" Ji Wushuang saw that her son looked sullen and thought that he couldn't figure out the accounts, so she comforted him.
"Mother, I've figured it out," Ye Jingyu said in a muffled voice.
"You can even calculate this?" Ji Wushuang was very surprised, and after the surprise came joy.
"I knew it! Everyone in the Ji family is so smart, there's no way we could have a little fool! Yu'er, your talent isn't in studying, it's in mathematics. If your uncles knew, they would be so happy!" Ji Wushuang said excitedly.
Ye Jingyu was not pleased by Ji Wushuang's praise, and said irritably, "Mother, it costs a lot of money for one meal!"
"How much is 'a lot'?" Ji Wushuang asked curiously.
"One hundred and twenty taels!" Ye Jingyu announced a number.
"Only one hundred and twenty taels, is that a lot?" Ji Wushuang said dismissively.
“But for ordinary people outside the palace, a peck of rice only costs five coins!” Ye Jingyu lamented.
"Is there really rice in this world that costs five coins a bushel? Even the soil from our Ji family is more expensive than this rice!" Ji Wushuang exclaimed.
"But then again, they are poor, so they can only afford rice that costs five coins a peck. We are rich, so is it a problem for us to eat rice that costs one tael of gold a liter?"
Ji Wushuang's question was so obvious that Ye Jingyu was momentarily speechless.
After a long pause, he said somewhat helplessly, "Mother, your thinking is wrong! The Ji family is rich, but isn't their money ill-gotten gains obtained by exploiting ordinary people? We shouldn't enjoy it with a clear conscience!"
"Who told you these provocative words? Was it that little rascal Ye Jingchen?" Ji Wushuang's expression slowly changed, becoming more serious than ever before.
"Our Ji family is different from other aristocratic families. We disdain engaging in those exploitative practices that oppress the common people. You'll understand when you have the chance to go to Yongzhou in the future!"
"My brother, the Crown Prince, would never speak ill of the Ji family to me. It's you, Mother Consort, who always makes malicious assumptions about him!" Ye Jingyu said somewhat unhappily.
Because of this, he could never fully believe what his mother said.
For example, the Ji family—
The Ji family, as described by the mother, were benevolent and charitable, and deeply loved by the people of Yongzhou.
But the Ji family is the most powerful family in Dayuan. Having witnessed firsthand the Wang family's exploitation of the common people, Ye Jingyu found it hard to trust the Ji family.
"If you want him to bewitch you, then let him. You'll regret it later!" Ji Wushuang said, then turned and left.
Every time Ye Jingchen is mentioned, the mother and son always end up on bad terms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
