When Xue Shen said he wanted to see a play, Shen Youying thought it was just about booking a private room at the theater. However, Xue Shen actually booked the entire theater, kicked out all the original guests, and personally selected a popular star to perform.
Apart from Shen Youying and Xue Shen, as well as their female attendants and guards, there were no other guests in the entire theater.
When the two actresses came over to greet her, Shen Youying could still see the fear and unease on their faces through the thick makeup.
Shen Youying couldn't help but feel a little sympathy. She turned to look at Xue Shen, who was quite interested beside her, and said softly, "Why did Your Highness suddenly want to watch a play?"
"Isn't it that the Princess Consort likes watching plays?" Xue Shen looked puzzled. "I heard from Wang Deshun that you often send Bailuo to the bookstore to buy some storybooks to read. Many of those storybooks have been adapted into operas. I thought you must also like watching plays, so I brought you here."
"What, does the princess not like it?"
Shen Youying: "..."
Having gained a new understanding of Xue Shen's domineering nature, Shen Youying gave a polite smile: "I like it."
It's not that I don't like watching plays, it's just that I don't like watching plays in such a cold and quiet atmosphere. Especially with a ruthless person sitting next to me, I have to pay attention to his mood swings all the time, which is really troublesome and mentally taxing. It's much more interesting to stay in Tingmei Pavilion, eating iced drinks and reading storybooks.
Shen Youying quietly pursed her lips, straightened her back, and looked at the stage.
The play began soon, and the first act was the third scene of "The Romance of the Western Chamber," titled "Responding with a Rhyme."
The actress playing Cui Yingying had her face painted with oil paint, her slanted eyes sparkling, and her scarlet water sleeves fluttering as she sang sweetly: "Oh, moon! A girl's heart is warm but her words are hard to express. Eighteen years have been wasted in her boudoir, failing to fulfill her promise of reunion."
Zhang Gong, who lived just a wall away from her, slowly emerged, seemingly lamenting: "The moonlight melts into the night, the flowers bloom in the quiet spring. How can I face the radiant soul, only to find no one in the moon?"
What makes a star performer so popular is simply the skill of singing and responding. Even an old piece like "The Romance of the Western Chamber," which has been heard countless times, can quickly capture the hearts of the audience.
Shen Youying was initially distracted by the people around her, but she was unknowingly drawn in and began to focus on the play.
Xue Shen glanced at her and, seeing that she was engrossed in what she was looking at, swallowed back the words he was about to say.
After the play ended, Shen Youying was still savoring the experience.
Just as everyone was eagerly waiting for the next act, Xue Shen suddenly said, "These popular actors are nothing special."
Shen Youying was taken aback and turned to look at him. She saw Xue Shen listlessly call over the troupe leader and say impatiently, "These are all old, tired plays. Is there anything new or interesting?"
Seeing his dissatisfaction, the troupe leader was quite frightened. Trembling and hunched over, he wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and cautiously asked, "I wonder what kind of novel and interesting things Your Highness would like to see?"
Xue Shen glanced at him and frowned: "If I knew, would I need to ask you?"
Seeing his growing impatience, the troupe leader repeatedly apologized, saying, "Recently, the troupe has acquired a new puppet show. The puppets are incredibly lifelike and quite popular... but they're just small-scale entertainment for ordinary people..."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shen immediately decided, "Then let's come up and take a look."
After saying that, he remembered to ask Shen Youying, "What does Your Highness think?"
Shen Youying smiled: "..."
You've already made your decision, so why are you asking me?
"Of course."
So they switched to a puppet show.
Just as the troupe leader had said, the puppet show featured incredibly lifelike puppets.
The puppets are carved from wood, with horsehair as their hair, and adorned with gorgeous clothing and accessories, making them very beautiful and exquisite. Strings are threaded through the puppets' necks and limbs, and the puppeteers, hidden behind a screen, manipulate the strings to guide the puppets' performance while providing lyrics.
Shen Youying had seen similar acrobatic tricks on the street when she was young. However, the puppets she saw back then were far less exquisite and realistic than those now, and the puppeteers who controlled them were simply hidden behind a piece of cloth, making them quite crude.
But the puppets are incredibly lifelike, their movements are agile, and even the stage setting is quite elegant. Coupled with the performers' superb singing, it's truly novel, interesting, and captivating.
This time, the evil spirit beside her finally didn't find fault and performed two scenes steadily. After watching them, Shen Youying felt that she had endless aftertaste.
She even found Xue Shen, who had forcibly brought her here, somewhat more agreeable.
Seeing the smile on her face, Xue Shen asked, "What does Your Highness think?"
Shen Youying nodded: "Very good, much more interesting than the puppet shows I saw on the street when I was a child."
"Since the princess is satisfied, then reward her." Xue Shen summoned the troupe leader and said, "Send this puppet show troupe to the princess's residence, and bring them back when the princess is tired of watching them."
Upon hearing this, the troupe leader was both surprised and delighted.
Although the King of Qin was a difficult and ruthless man, that didn't stop him from being generous!
If you can make people happy, you can earn more than if you performed dozens of shows outside.
The troupe leader was overjoyed and readily agreed, bowing repeatedly.
Shen Youying, who had been made the decision, finally realized that something was wrong. She frowned slightly and looked at Xue Shen, thinking that he was the one who wanted to see it.
*
The two went to the theater and brought back the entire puppet troupe from there.
Xue Shen instructed Wang Deshun to arrange accommodations for the opera troupe and then paid no further attention. This made Shen Youying uneasy, and she began to doubt her own guesses again. At the same time, she felt even more that Xue Shen was indeed unpredictable, with his likes and dislikes being unpredictable.
While Shen Youying was pondering that something was amiss, Xue Shen had already successfully met the person he wanted to see.
The performer, having changed out of his costume, knelt on one knee before him and reported, "Your Highness's prediction was correct. The Crown Prince's efforts to secure amnesty in Liangzhe Road have gone very smoothly, and the leader of the displaced people has agreed to accompany the Crown Prince to the capital. They are already on their way."
Xue Shen looked up at the map hanging on the wall, pointed his finger at Liangzhe Road, then slowly moved to the left, finally stopping at Huainan West Road.
"By the time we reach Huainan West Road, news of auspicious omens should be spreading. At that time, the Crown Prince's reputation for subduing the rebels without bloodshed or loss of a single person will be further enhanced. His foundation in the court will undoubtedly be more solid."
"I wonder what my good uncle will think when he hears this."
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