Chapter 228 Whoever wants my life, I will take their life!
(Thanks to reader 20230507190952043 for casting 3 monthly tickets.)
Li Shiyue picked up a pastry from the table and started eating. Just as she was enjoying her meal, she saw the lobby on the first floor gradually filling up with people, and people were carrying props up the stage in the center of the lobby.
"Second Uncle, what kind of show is this tonight?"
Li Wangming said, "I really don't know, let me see."
He picked up the brocade-wrapped folding booklet from the tray in the center of the round table, and the first thing that caught his eye when he opened it was the name of tonight's play—"The Tale of Jeong-ri".
As Li Wangming looked at the script introducing "The Story of Zhenli," he read the prologue to Li Shiyue: "The spring breeze in March greens the southern bank, the scenery of silk reeling along the Zhenli River is beautiful..."
"Oh my, this is interesting."
The last time I heard the play "The Two Brothers" here, there wasn't this excerpt with the introduction to read.
Is it possible that only the private rooms here offer this discount?
"We didn't have this on the other side last time?"
Just as Li Shiyue finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. It was the waiter coming in to refill the tea.
Li Shiyue walked over, took out a few copper coins from her purse, put them all on the table, looked up at the waiter and asked with a smile, "Brother waiter, may I ask if the script for this play is only available in our room?"
Or does everyone have one?
The waiter smiled and bowed to Li Shiyue before replying, "Honored guest, the opera troupes we hire at our restaurant usually don't lose money."
However, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the shopkeeper specially invited the Hechun Troupe from Jiangnan to perform.
The play "The Story of Zhenli" is currently the most famous play in Jiangnan. However, the play was originally sung in Wu dialect. When it came to Andong, the tune was changed, which is why this version was created.
With this discount, distinguished guests can understand the play better.
Therefore, this loss is present in every private room.
The waiter's reply was excellent; he explained the reasons for the loss in detail.
When the waiter saw that Li Shiyue nodded, he went to get the few copper coins from the table.
By the time the gong sounded downstairs, Li Shiyue had already eaten about half a full meal.
It was only after hearing the sound of the gong that she looked downstairs again. And guess what? Who did she see?
"Ah! Isn't that the Great General?"
Li Qiutian looked at the tall, muscular man standing at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor with some surprise.
Li Shiyue watched as Liu Tan stood sideways behind someone, raising his hand forward as if guiding that person.
"Who can guide us with the help of a great general?"
Li Shiyue and Li Qiutian exchanged a glance, both showing surprise in their eyes.
Who else in this Andong territory could command such respect from Liu Tan as the one who guides him, besides the Prince of Zhenbei?
Looking behind Liu Tan and the Prince of Zhenbei, Li Shiyue saw about ten people following them, including Ma San and Zhao Da, whom he knew well.
Li Shiyue silently prayed, "As long as it's not next to our bamboo grove, it's fine!"
At that moment, Li Shiyue happened to meet Ma San, who was walking to the second-floor stairwell.
Li Shiyue didn't dare to move an inch. She was gambling that Ma San's eyesight was so bad that he couldn't even see her face clearly.
But she lost the bet!
Ma San, a deputy general who followed the general through thick and thin, was skilled in riding and archery. With his sharp eyes, how could he not see Li Shiyue's face?
Faced with Ma San's smile, Li Shiyue had no choice but to quickly smile back at him.
What upset Li Shiyue even more was that she clearly heard someone go into the pine grove next to her bamboo grove.
The Prince of Zhenbei and Liu Tan entered the pine forest!
Sure enough, after waiting a while, the play on the high platform downstairs had already started. The play was about a daughter named Zhenli from the Li family in Jiangnan, whose family made a living by reeling silk and weaving brocade.
After observing three years of mourning for her father, Li Zhenli had already turned eighteen.
As the opera reached this point, footsteps could be heard outside the door. Li Shiyue stood up and said to her mother and the others, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back soon."
After telling Li's mother and the others, Li Shiyue left the private room without waiting for Li Wangming's questions.
Sure enough, she saw Ma San standing outside waiting for her, and the two of them stood at the door talking quietly.
"October, what are you doing here?"
"Brother Ma, this isn't the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion. My mother, my uncle, and I came to the prefectural city to celebrate the festival, so we came here to watch the play."
"Brother Ma, what's this? I think I've seen the Great General?"
When Li Shiyue mentioned Liu Tan, Ma San glanced at the door of the room in Qingsongjian and then gestured for Li Shiyue to follow him outside.
The two walked about ten steps outside and reached the pillar at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Ma San then lowered his head and whispered to Li Shiyue, "Tell me, isn't this a coincidence?"
The prince and the general have arranged to meet Lady Yan, right next to your private room!
"Madam Yan? Ninth Sister's mother?"
Ma San nodded in response to Li Shiyue's question.
"Just watch the show and pretend you don't know anything."
After exchanging a few more words with Ma San, Li Shiyue returned to the private room.
When Li's mother and Li Wangming saw her return, they assumed she had gone to the outhouse and didn't ask her anything.
Li Qiutian and Shi Tou noticed her unusual behavior. Li Shiyue smiled at Shi Tou to comfort him before turning back to shake her head at Li Qiutian's worried gaze.
Meanwhile, on the high platform downstairs, the play had progressed to the point where Li Zhenli and a scholar had become husband and wife, living a life where he would study while she would reel silk.
Among the green pines, the Prince of Zhenbei, wearing a white jade crown and a long, black robe with wide sleeves, sat in the main seat.
Beside the Prince of Zhenbei was Liu Tan, who was serving tea. Opposite the Prince of Zhenbei sat two people, one of whom was Yan Xuefei, and the other was Li Mingfeng.
Yan Xuefei and Li Mingfeng naturally arrived wearing Taoist robes, and they were only a quarter of an hour earlier than the Prince of Zhenbei.
Yan Xuefei arranged to meet the Prince of Zhenbei at a restaurant through Liu Tan, all for the purpose of discussing Yan Jiuniang's marriage.
The performance offstage reached a minor climax. Six months after Li Zhenli got married, she gave birth to a daughter, and her sweet singing voice drifted into the private room.
"I only have one child, Jiu Niang, in my whole life. If anyone makes things difficult for Jiu Niang, it's like taking my life!"
"Whoever wants my life, I will take theirs!"
The audience below the stage was noisy and boisterous, but the pine trees were completely silent.
After a few breaths, the Prince of Zhenbei finally looked at the opposite side, but he didn't look at Yan Xuefei whom he hadn't seen for many years, nor did he speak in response to what Yan Xuefei had said about Yan Jiuniang.
Instead, he stared at Li Mingfeng's handsome face and questioned, "And who is this?"
Li Mingfeng naturally ignored the words of the Prince of Zhenbei. He looked directly at the Prince of Zhenbei and said, "I am Li Mingfeng, and I am Fei'er's senior brother."
"Hehe, senior brother?"
I bet it's a lover!
Liu Tan sat to the side, and right now he was really at his wit's end.
He never imagined that the Prince of Zhenbei, who always acted like a strict father in front of him, would be so sarcastic and cryptic towards a stranger after meeting Yan Xuefei, and would even say such astonishing things as if he were jealous of her.
"Liu Cong, are you out of your mind?!"
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