The deacon held up the plate and shouted to the audience, "Gao Yanei has given us five taels of silver as a reward. I would like to thank you on behalf of Madam Ding!"
"And here's my reward, ten taels of silver." A handsome young man stood up from the seat next to him, holding a shiny silver in his hand. He showed it to the people around him and then threw it into the plate in the butler's hand.
"Mr. Li Changwen rewards Mr. Zhang with ten taels of silver." The deacon shouted while holding up the plate.
"Li Shiyi, I'll give you five taels, and you should give me ten." Gao Yanei shouted at the young man, "Are you hitting me in the face?"
Li Changwen smiled and bowed to Gao Yanei, "I'm sorry, Yanei. I really like Madam Ding's music and couldn't help but want to give her more. I have no intention of competing with you for victory."
Gao Yanei snorted and took out another piece of silver and threw it into the butler's plate.
"Who is he?" Zhang Shixun asked.
"That guy is the eleventh child of Li Langzi's family. He looks a lot like his father and is a very playful person."
"Li Langzi?" Zhang Shixun glanced over there. The name was very strange and sounded very "langzi".
"That's Li Bangyan, currently serving as Shangshu Zuocheng (Minister of the Left), who holds a high position in the eyes of the emperor."
"Oh!" Zhang Shixun nodded. He seemed to have some impression of this person's name, but he couldn't remember it at the moment. Since he was the Shangshu Zuocheng, he was probably a well-known figure in the court. He only heard someone in the front row shouting for rewards, the voice was shrill and a bit harsh.
"Dang", "Dang!", two sounds in a row.
The deacon held up the plate and shouted, "Master Wang Hongfu, here's a twenty-liang reward. Thank you for the reward!"
When Gao Yanei heard the name "Wang Hongfu," he leaned over to Zhang Shixun and whispered, "This man is the son of Shaozai Wang Fu. He became a deputy minister at the age of fourteen. The people of Tokyo, who are good at speaking, nicknamed him Husun Daizhi."
"Hu Sun Daizhi, do you have anything to say?"
"Look carefully, isn't this guy's hair different from ours?"
Zhang Shixun looked at Wang Hongfu and saw that he had a fair complexion and a decent appearance, but his hair was slightly yellow. At this moment, he was nodding to Ding Dusai who was thanking him on the stage, looking very polite.
"Look carefully, this guy has yellow hair."
"Could he be a Hu person?" Zhang Shixun seemed to understand.
"He's a hybrid. His ancestors were Hu people. His father, Wang Fu, had even yellower hair and grey eyes."
"oh!"
"Don't be fooled by this fellow's gentle appearance. He is a bad guy just like his father. He can't walk when he sees a beautiful woman and has done a lot of bad things." Gao Yanei continued in a low voice.
"Is his father Wang Fu a bad person?" Zhang Shixun asked.
"Of course they are very bad, arrogant and domineering, bullying men and women, and doing all kinds of evil... This hat is just right to put on the heads of them, father and son." Gao Yanei applied Zhang Shixun's comments about him in the morning here.
Just as the two were talking quietly, shouts of rewards came one after another.
The amount of reward money varied. Even the people sitting on the benches at the back gave tips. However, they gave less, mostly copper coins, and the smallest was only one cent. The deacons did not shout, but just bowed to express their gratitude.
Taking advantage of this moment, Zhang Shixun stood up and said to Gao Yanei, "I'm going to see Madam Ding."
Gao Yanei grabbed him and said, "Wait!"
"What's wrong?" Zhang Shixun was puzzled.
"You want to be beaten?"
"What do you mean, who dares to beat me?"
"No outsiders are allowed backstage. That's the rule."
Gao Yanei pulled Zhang Shixun back onto the stool and pointed at a few burly men on the left side of the stage. "See? Those burly men holding white wax sticks are the ones who control the stage. If anyone dares to barge into the backstage area, they will definitely be beaten with sticks."
Zhang Shixun looked over there and said, "Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?"
"Do you think you can just enter other people's inner quarters?" Gao Yanei asked back.
"Of course I won't barge in, but this is a tile house, not someone else's house."
"The backstage is divided into two areas. One is on the right, where the musicians, drummers, and other performers, all men, are. The other is on the left, where the young ladies put on makeup and change clothes. How can you, a grown man, sneak into someone's changing room? How can you get in?"
"Oh! Forget it then." Zhang Shixun was a little disappointed.
It is indeed not appropriate to enter the place where actresses change clothes.
Although I really want to see Ding Dusai right away, I can't be rude.
Anyway, I know that Ding Dusai is in the Lotus Shed, and we will have a chance to meet in the future, so there is no need to rush.
The reward activity lasted for quite a while before it ended.
Zhang Shixun originally hoped that Ding Dusai would appear again, but he didn't expect that after waiting for a long time, apart from a few small variety shows, he didn't see Ding Dusai again.
"Will Madam Ding come out again?" Zhang Shixun asked Gao Yanei.
"No, she is the mainstay of the stage and only sings one or two pieces every day. Today, Madam Ding sang quite a lot of pieces." Gao Yanei ate melon seeds and watched the stage with relish.
There was a Hu girl dancing. This Hu girl was different from the Hu girl who had danced the Hu Xuan dance before. She was wearing thin clothes with a half-open collar, revealing half of her snow-white belly. From time to time, she kicked her legs, revealing her thighs.
"Let's go." Zhang Shixun came here for Ding Dusai. Since she would not appear again, there was no need to stay here.
"Wait, let me finish watching this erotic scene." Gao Yanei spat out the melon seed shells in his mouth, his eyes still fixed on Hu Ji on the stage.
Zhang Shixun had no choice but to patiently watch with him.
This kind of dance lacks both artistry and entertainment value. The only attraction is exposure. However, compared with dances of later generations, it is really nothing. It is just an ordinary dance, but in this era it is considered a striptease.
Wang Hongfu in the front row seemed very excited. He stood up and shouted to the Hu Ji on the stage, "Little girl, come home with me and live a happy and romantic life. I will guarantee you fine clothes and delicious food."
Gao Yanei was unhappy: "Wang Husun, shut up and don't delay others from watching."
Wang Hongfu turned around and saw that it was Gao Yanei, so he raised his chin and said, "Young Master, I am very happy. What do you think?"
"Who are you calling me master in front of?" Gao Yanei was very angry. Without saying a word, a chicken claw flew over and hit Wang Hongfu in the face.
Wang Hongfu was furious. He kicked the stool away and rushed towards Gao Yanei with his sleeves rolled up.
Gao Yanei was not vague either. Without waiting for Wang Hongfu to get close, he picked up the wine bowl and poured it at him, splashing the wine all over Wang Hongfu's head and face.
Wang Hongfu wiped his face, yelled to his followers, pointed at Gao Yanei and shouted: "Help me beat this thief!"
Several followers were sitting in the back. Seeing that their master was at a disadvantage, they immediately rolled up their sleeves. Some of them carried stools, some carried teapots, and rushed towards Gao Yanei in a mess.
While Wang Hongfu was calling his followers, he had already rushed to Gao Yanei and punched him in the face.
Gao Yanei cried out "Ouch!" and covered his nose.
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