Chapter 172: A power struggle between brothers, a life-or-death game of power.
(Thanks to reader 20210327123836840 for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
Li's mother was really going all out. She actually gave Zheng Meiniang money and told her to go to the clothing store and buy Li Shiyue a delicate peach-colored dress.
Li Shiyue was truly speechless. She didn't understand why her mother was so obsessed with her clothes and appearance.
In the past, when she wore a man's hairstyle and a drab, work-appropriate outfit, Li's mother had always disliked her.
However, during that period, Liu Jiatun was busy with spring plowing, building paper mills, and constructing houses. At most, Li's mother would glance at her and sigh a couple of times, but she did not insist that Li dress like a young lady.
But now that they've arrived in the city and are going to the restaurant to watch a play, Li's mother is demanding that Li Shiyue act like a proper young lady when they're out and about.
"Mother, Mother, why did you buy this dress?"
I'm not used to wearing clothes like this, so I'll just wear this outfit. Let others laugh if they want, I don't care.
This dress is for my elder sister; I don't want to wear this color.
But Li's mother completely ignored what Li Shiyue said. She directly reached out and ripped off Li Shiyue's clothes, intending to put this delicate peach-colored dress on her.
Li Shiyue naturally dared not resist. She could only let her mother strip off her clothes and dress her in this soft and delicate dress that made her look like a young lady.
Of course, she wasn't unable to resist; she was just afraid that if she used too much force, she might hurt Li's mother.
Therefore, with this concern, and considering that this is her own mother, what could Li Shiyue do?
She could only let her mother do as she pleased, and as long as she didn't speak and stood there obediently, she did look quite like a cute little girl.
It must be the effect of the fertility pills and vitality water that caused Li Shiyue to have a thinner figure and a fairer complexion than the average woman.
If you get closer to her, you can almost smell the unique youthful scent of Li Shiyue.
Her appearance, dressed like that, surprised Li Wangming, who was waiting in the lobby of the restaurant.
"My daughter has come of age!"
"Sister-in-law, I think you shouldn't find me a wife yet. Instead, find a good husband for our youngest daughter!"
Before Li's mother could reply, Li Shiyue, no longer maintaining her composure, blurted out, "Forget it, Second Uncle, I'm not getting married. I have to stay home and look after you all. I have to keep an eye on all of you."
If we must talk about this, we should let my older sisters come first.
Li Shiyue directly steered the conversation towards the Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian sisters. Li Qiutian wasn't embarrassed at all; she simply smiled and picked up where Li Shiyue left off: "I'm going to find a husband to marry into my family; I'm not getting married!"
"I'm going to have a son-in-law marry into my family! I'm not getting married!"
Li Xiatian mimicked Li Qiutian's words and said the same thing, adding at the end: "When the time comes, I will stay at home and live with my mother and sister for the rest of my life!"
Zheng Meiniang reached out and flicked Li Xiatian's nose, who was clinging to her arm, and replied, "Alright, alright, our Xiatian will stay at home and live with her mother for the rest of her life!"
The whole family left the small restaurant and walked quite a distance before Li Wangming led them into the Yuelai Restaurant.
As soon as they entered, they saw a stage about half a person's height in the center of the lobby on the first floor, where opera performers would be putting on a show later.
Because they arrived right on time, and it would be 50 o'clock in the afternoon in a quarter of an hour, the brightly lit restaurant was bustling with people. There were about ten square high tables around the stage in the main hall, and they were all full of people.
After Li Wangming showed the waiter on the second floor the small wooden slip for ordering the table, the waiter let them go upstairs.
Following the instructions on the wooden strip, they found the house with a plaque carved with hibiscus flowers and went inside.
Upon entering, it was found to be quite spacious, with a round table in the center and a low couch placed against the wall next to the table.
The two open windows face the high platform in the center of the lobby on the first floor, which will be convenient for watching the play when it starts.
As the group stood by the window looking down, there was a knock on the door.
As soon as Li Wangming opened the door, a waiter came in to refill his tea and water, and asked if he wanted the dishes served now or after the performance.
Li Wangming told the waiter to bring the dishes directly, thinking that he would move the table to the window later so that the whole family could watch the play and eat at the same time, which would be very comfortable.
At exactly 5:00 PM, the clear sound of a gong rang out from the high platform, interspersed with occasional "dong dong qiang" music, which was quite interesting to listen to.
A short man with a white-painted face came up from the platform. He immediately let out a long "Ah!" which earned him cheers from many people.
"good!"
"What a great voice!"
Just then, Li Shiyue heard a waiter carrying a tray shouting loudly from the first floor around the high platform: "Liu Silang is rewarding the lotus room on the second floor with twenty taels of silver!"
The waiter shouted three times before carrying the tray to the backstage area.
"Second Uncle, how much did you spend on booking this table?"
"Don't we have to reward people too later, will we?"
Li Wangming was also a bit stunned. It was his first time watching a play at this restaurant, so he had no idea that there was something fishy going on inside.
"No way?"
The deposit for this table is ten taels of silver.
"So expensive!"
Li's mother was the first to exclaim in surprise. She quickly covered her mouth after she spoke, afraid that her exclamation would make others look down on them.
“Mother, this is the prefectural city, how can we let it go so easily?”
I'm not talking about my second uncle spending money, I just want to ask, if there's a precedent or rule, we have to pay even if we don't want to.
My second uncle is studying in this prefectural city; we absolutely cannot let him be looked down upon because of a few dozen taels of silver. It's not like our family doesn't have that kind of money."
Later, Li Wangming opened the door and asked the waiter standing outside. He then learned that there was no rule that guests in private rooms had to give tips. However, it was acceptable to give a tip of one or two taels, or three or five taels, when the party ended.
Having resolved their doubts, everyone finally had the mind to go downstairs and listen to what kind of opera was being performed.
After listening for more than fifteen minutes, Li Shiyue finally managed to figure out what was going on in this performance tonight.
In short: It's a power game where brothers fight each other to the death.
Expanding further, it becomes a power struggle between the eldest son of a wealthy merchant's concubine and the second son of his legal wife.
The current situation is that the second son, taking advantage of his status as the legitimate son, wants to oust the eldest son who controls the family business. However, the eldest son has been in charge of the business for many years and is not so easily manipulated.
The eldest son also had his own ideas, wanting to find fault with the second son so that his schemes would not end well.
The play wasn't over yet, but the more Li Shiyue listened, the more she felt that the play was about General Liu Tan and Prince Liu Shu.
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