Mortal Realm Sells House to Pay Debt 8
But she was interrupted by the maids who brought her a basin of water and a rinsing bowl.
The two washed their hands and rinsed their mouths before going to the outer study together. Xie Guijin sat down and began to look through the playbook.
Xue Linchuan stood aside, his heart pounding like thunder. In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to his childhood in school, where the teacher was checking students' homework.
Xie Guijin looked quickly and smiled broadly: "Very good, this is exactly what I wanted, thank you."
"I know a few good opera troupes, should I send someone to talk to them?" Xue Linchuan asked with a smile.
"Aren't you busy? You've wasted quite a bit of time today," Xie Guijin asked instead of answering.
A hint of confusion flashed across Xue Linchuan's face, but he quickly came to his senses and said, "Recently, apart from Master Xie's case which I handled personally, the rest have all been official business involving review and signature. Now that Master Xie's case has been transferred to the Three Departments, I don't need to handle the transfer myself, so I'm not busy."
“I see,” Xie Guijin’s smile deepened, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Then please tell the opera troupe to speed up their rehearsals. I also need your help to pull some strings so that, in addition to setting up a stage outside the City God Temple, we can set up a stage wherever possible in the capital. Tomorrow afternoon, I want to invite everyone in the capital to watch the play.”
"Okay," Xue Linchuan said, taking the booklet and leaving in a hurry.
Xie Guijin prepared his brush and inkstone, and began writing invitations to the theater for thirty-eight distinguished guests.
The system hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Butler Hao said that Xue Linchuan has ill intentions towards you, and I can see that he does indeed have ulterior motives. You don't seem like the type to use your looks, and I'm not a pampered wife system. Why are you ordering him around like this?"
“You really don’t know?” Upon hearing this, Xie Guijin stopped writing and ruined a sheet of paper, put it aside, and picked up another one to rewrite.
"Know what?" The system scratched its head, looking completely bewildered.
Xie Guijin asked in surprise, "You don't know that he should be from the same place as me?"
"How is that possible?" The system categorically denied, "I only have you as my host, and I haven't sensed the presence of any other systems on him. You must be mistaken."
“No, I wasn’t wrong,” Xie Guijin said decisively. “Although I don’t know why I retain my memories while he doesn’t have memories of his original world, and in his consciousness he was born and raised here, I know that he must come from the same place as me. Actually, I only had a suspicion before, but I’m sure of it now.”
"Why?"
Xie Guijin, multitasking, wrote the last stroke and said solemnly, "Because we all believe that our land of China does not support idle gods, yet we are not afraid of ghosts and gods."
The system was confused; it didn't understand.
Xie Guijin didn't offer an answer. She sent someone to deliver the prepared invitations, made arrangements for tomorrow's promotional activities, and then went back to her room to wash up and go to sleep.
"Host, how can you sleep? There are only two days left of the mission, aren't you worried at all?" The system seemed to understand what it meant to be more anxious than the emperor.
Xie Guijin muttered with her eyes closed, "There's no use in being anxious. Anyway, I've done everything I can. Now we'll see how realistic your illusion is."
The system was even more confused and wanted to ask more questions.
Xie Guijin had already fallen asleep.
The next day, Xie Guijin stayed in bed until 10:00 AM. After breakfast, she lazily lay on a recliner in the back garden, lost in thought.
A maidservant came to report: "Miss, the troupe leader of the Liuqing Opera Troupe has brought his troupe to request an audience."
"Quickly take them directly to the stage in the flower hall," Xie Guijin ordered, her spirits lifted.
Xie Guijin was sitting on the viewing platform in the flower hall when she saw the troupe leader leading a group of people over.
The troupe leader was in his early thirties, with an ordinary appearance. He probably often served people, as he always walked with a slightly bowing and scraping demeanor.
Upon arriving, the troupe leader led the entire troupe in bowing to Xie Guijin. The troupe leader bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Miss Xie. I am Qing Xiyuan, the troupe leader of the Liuqing Troupe. You may call me Xiao Qing."
"Master Qing, you're too kind. I've heard that the Liuqing Troupe is the best opera troupe in the capital. It's a pity I've heard so much about it but never heard of it." Xie Guijin asked without moving, "I wonder if Lord Xue's attendant has explained things to the troupe leader? I'm inviting distinguished guests to watch the play this afternoon. How's your rehearsal going in such a short time? We can't afford any mishaps."
Master Qing said, "Lord Xue summoned me and personally gave me instructions. Miss Xie, rest assured, these scripts are very well written. We received them from our troupe yesterday and have been rehearsing them intensively ever since. They are ready to be performed on stage now. If you have time, Miss Xie, you might as well listen to them."
Upon hearing this, Xie Guijin stood up and walked behind the troupe leader. The members of the troupe dared not meet Xie Guijin's gaze and lowered their heads in unison.
"Raise your heads and let me see," Xie Guijin said sternly.
The members of the opera troupe raised their heads, their eyes not daring to wander.
Xie Guijin walked slowly, examining each person carefully, deliberately staring at them for a few seconds.
After examining the scene, she turned to the troupe leader and said, "No need. The costumes need time to be put on, so let's not delay. You should start preparing as soon as possible."
Then, she turned to the entire opera troupe and said enthusiastically, "Don't be afraid. The noble people know that you have little rehearsal time and won't be harsh on you. Even if there are any minor mistakes, it's a new play, and no one else will notice. Just sing boldly, and I'll take care of everything."
"Yes," the members of the opera troupe replied hastily, feeling much more at ease, some even with tears in their eyes.
The Xie family servants obeyed and saw the guests off, while the opera troupe members stood still and looked at their troupe leader.
Xie Guijin raised an eyebrow and said, "Does Master Qing have something else to say? Didn't Lord Xue specify the amount of the performance fee?"
"No, no, no," Master Qing hurriedly said, "Miss Xie, I heard that we are going to perform outside the City God Temple. I'm a little afraid that we might disturb the gods in the temple."
Xie Guijin laughed and said, "How could that be? There are often temple fairs outside the City God Temple. The City God loves a lively atmosphere, especially a play like ours. They will definitely be very happy to see it. This is also a merit of yours."
"It was my fault for being so talkative and misunderstanding. Please forgive me, Miss Xie. We'll go and make the preparations right away." Master Qing left with his men.
Xie Guijin yawned, leisurely returned to the back garden, and lay back on the recliner to doze off. It wasn't until 2:45 PM when the heat dissipated a bit that he led Steward Hao, Lingge, and others to the outside of the City God Temple.
The servants laid out chilled fresh fruit, top-quality dried fruit and candied fruit, various pastries, tea and wine, and waited quietly for the distinguished guests to arrive.
People in the city came to watch the performance by the Liuqing Troupe outside the City God Temple today.
The Liuqing Troupe usually performs at the homes of nobles, so they rarely have the opportunity to witness a live performance for free. People who love opera arrive early to reserve their seats.
We dared not touch the seats reserved for the distinguished guests, but the elm wood stools and poplar wood benches from yesterday were still there. Those who arrived early had a seat, while those who arrived late could only stand at the back.
Fortunately, plum juice and mung bean soup were provided free of charge, and the shade structure had not been dismantled, so there was no risk of heatstroke.
Some people did not leave the city to join the fun, because many stages had been set up in the city, and everyone was invited to watch the plays for free.
It was said that Miss Xie, to thank the people of the city for supporting the auction, specially invited everyone to watch the show.
Almost simultaneously, inside and outside the city, the first play, "The Evil Vine of Dreams," was performed. It tells the story of a poor herbalist in the mountains who dreams that there is a "calming vine" in a secluded place in the mountains that can be boiled into soup to cure insomnia.
When the herb gatherer awoke, he indeed found the same strange vine in the mountains as in his dream. He boiled it and drank the soup, which indeed made him sleep peacefully. From then on, the herb gatherer dreamed of the location of the "calming vine" every day, and he would always be able to dig it up the next day. He was overjoyed and sold the vine to make a fortune.
His wife was pregnant and slept little at night, so the herb gatherer cooked soup for her to drink every day. Unexpectedly, the "An Shen Teng" was actually the root of the dream ghost.
A demon possessed the unborn child in his wife's womb, using it to take human form and be born. The child then absorbed the yang energy of the couple who collected herbs, intending to kill them.
Fortunately, the divine beast Boqi noticed and devoured the dream ghost, saving the lives of the herb gatherer and his family of three.
To express their gratitude to Boqi for saving their lives, the herb gatherers used the money they earned from selling vines to create a golden statue of Boqi.
The spirit of Boqi appeared and said: "If you encounter a nightmare again or have a nightmare, you can pray to the northeast, 'Boqi, Boqi, do not drink alcohol or eat meat, always eat happy food, and let your nightmares go to Boqi,' to dispel the nightmare and eliminate the nightmare.
The second play is called "The Dream of the Ghost and the Ancient Mirror." It tells the story of a wealthy merchant in Qinchuan City who has a beautiful young lady who accidentally obtains an ancient mirror. When the mirror is used to illuminate the night, a handsome man can be seen who claims to be the woman's future husband.
The woman believed it to be true and became obsessed with the illusion in the mirror. She cuddled the mirror to sleep every night and gradually fell seriously ill.
The husband in the mirror is actually a ghost in disguise, absorbing the woman's yang energy to strengthen himself. He breaks out of the mirror and tries to take over the woman's body.
The woman's family members sensed something was wrong and managed to summon Zhong Kui to appear and capture the dream ghost, thus saving the woman.
A portrait of Zhong Kui was hung in the back room to ward off nightmares.
The third play is titled "Dream of the Ghost and the Lock of Love," which tells the story of a locksmith in Cangwu City with superb skills.
People admire the "love locks" he made, hoping to have a long and happy marriage with their loved ones.
Little did he know that once the locksmith became successful, he would abandon his wife and marry a wealthy young lady.
On their wedding night, as the couple shared a pillow, a ghost, summoned by the former wife, entered their dream and harassed the locksmith couple.
The locksmith was haunted by a nightmare, and the "love locks" he forged were imbued with ghostly energy.
The number of unhappy couples in the city has suddenly increased, and dream ghosts take human form by borrowing the resentment of lovers.
The Nine Phoenixes, who had been sleeping in Cangwu City, were thus awakened. They swallowed the Dream Demon in one gulp, and with a flap of their wings, the city was purified.
After the three plays were performed, it was time to return to the city.
The troupe leader went on stage to express his gratitude, saying, "There will be three more performances tomorrow. Please come again."
The common people were confused, but they thought the play was novel and entertaining. Some who had worshipped the Dream Ghost were a little nervous, but most thought that if they had nightmares in the future, they would go and worship the gods Boqi, Zhong Kui, and Jiufeng.
As the event ended and people walked out, they saw stalls displaying all sorts of portraits of Boqi, Zhong Kui, and Jiufeng, all inexpensive, costing only one coin each.
Many people took out their wallets to buy it. After bringing it home, they couldn't just leave it idle, so they found a place in their bedroom to hang it up. Since it was already hanging up, they burned three sticks of incense to offer as a sacrifice and to pay their respects.
That night, the capital was filled with the scents of incense, a mixture of cypress, sandalwood, and stick incense, and even a smoky smell, which alerted the Imperial Guards on night patrol, fearing a fire might break out somewhere.
Ordinary people are not as well-informed as nobles.
The nobleman who had seen the play recalled the rumors he had heard before and guessed that Xie Guijin was relying on opera to break the deadlock. What was the reason for this?
They wanted to ask Xie Guijin.
But Xie Guijin was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone?
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