After having a good meal and a few drinks, the group headed towards Taoyuan Grand Theater under the leadership of Fang Zhengyi.
It was already dark at this time, and many officials were still wondering what kind of show they could watch so late at night.
As soon as I entered the theater, I realized that the space inside the theater was extremely large, similar to a modern theater, but it only had one floor.
There were several huge lamp stands on the stage with oil lamps lit on them, and the surrounding walls were also covered with oil lamps.
There are also lenses on the wall behind the oil lamp to reflect the light toward the stage.
The seats in the theater are even more special. They are all dark-colored sofas covered with cloth, and are extremely soft to sit on.
The emperor naturally sat in the middle, with Li Miaohan and Li Yuanzhao on his two sides. Fang Zhengyi naturally arranged for himself to sit next to the princess.
As soon as Emperor Jing sat on the sofa, he sank into it.
I was a little scared at first, but soon I discovered the beauty of the sofa. It was soft and comfortable, as if it was floating in the air.
Then he narrowed his eyes and said, "Fang Qing... I am far inferior to you in terms of enjoyment. What is this chair called?"
Fang Zheng smiled and said, "This is called a sofa. I prepared it specially for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty likes it, I will have someone make a few more and send them to the palace after I return to Beijing."
They say it was specially prepared, but it’s actually a new sofa cover.
In order to improve the living standards of the people and solve the boring personal life, Fang Zheng spent a huge amount of money to build this theater.
The cost of building the entire Taoyuan Theater was second only to that of the Taoyuan County Government Building, but Fang Zhengyi regretted it immediately after it was completed.
He didn't like watching the performances by the people of Taoyuan. He thought it was boring to see people wearing costumes and making humming noises. After watching a few shows, he stopped coming. On the contrary, the people of Taoyuan watched the performances with great gusto.
Later, when he saw that the theater tickets were selling well, he wrote a lot of stories himself, such as abridged versions of Journey to the West and Legend of the White Snake.
The box office was also good, but that was a long time ago. He had no idea what was popular in theaters now. Before coming here, he just asked Ao Chen to arrange a few good shows in a letter.
All the officials were also surprised when they sat on the sofa and touched things left and right.
I wanted to ask Fang Zhengyi but was too embarrassed to open my mouth.
Li Yansong leaned back in his chair and took a long breath: "Oh... It's really nice, this place is really nice, I also want to get two chairs like this at home."
"It would be even better if there was one in the public housing. My waist has been aching for years, and it feels much more comfortable after sitting on this chair."
Zhang Dongxiang whispered, "Mr. Li, why don't you go ask Fang Zhengyi where he can buy this chair? I also want to buy two."
"Why don't you ask yourself?"
"I will never forsake villains!"
........................
After everyone was seated, the maid began to serve tea. The emperor's family naturally drank the tea that Fang Zhengyi usually drank, while everyone else drank the Dapin Tianxian Tea.
Fang Zhengyi specially prepared a small dessert for the princess. Li Yuanzhao showed a pair of red eyes through Emperor Jing and locked his eyes on Fang Zhengyi.
Fang Zheng ignored him and said to Li Miaohan, "Your Highness, today's play is very exciting, especially the last scene of the Legend of the White Snake, which tells the story of the beautiful love between humans and gods...I guarantee that your Highness will not regret it."
Li Miaohan smiled and nodded. She was very happy to be able to leave the palace today, except that she felt a little uncomfortable on the road. But after arriving in Taoyuan County, everything made her feel very fresh.
As soon as Fang Zheng finished speaking, he moved closer to Emperor Jing and whispered, "Your Majesty, the show will begin soon. I will go out and make some arrangements first."
Emperor Jing nodded in agreement.
Then he walked straight out of the theater and found Ao Chen who was guarding outside the door.
He asked, "How are the sweet potatoes in the field?"
"Master, rest assured. I ordered people to guard the land day and night after receiving the letter. Nothing will go wrong. I have reserved the best piece of land for you. I guarantee a good harvest!"
Fang Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well done! The guards watching the land will get an extra ginseng for dinner!"
"How is the preparation for the show going? What have you prepared?"
Because he didn't know what programs were popular in the county, he just gave Ao Chen a general instruction in the letter, and then specifically chose "Legend of the White Snake".
Is it appropriate to sit with a beautiful princess without telling a tragic love story?
After hearing this, Ao Chen suddenly slapped his thigh and said in annoyance: "Oh no! I forgot to inform the troupe that they were performing for His Majesty today. I only told the theater to clear the venue today..."
"But don't worry, sir. We have looked at the program list and all the programs in it agree with your requirements, so we forgot to explain it specifically!"
Fang Zhengyi frowned and said, "It's okay, just perform as usual. But what kind of show are we going to perform today?"
Ao Chen thought for a while and said, "Hmm... The first one is a children's performance, High School Musical, the second one is Fang Qingtian beheading Chen Shimei, and the third one is Legend of the White Snake. That's all."
After listening to this, Fang Zheng's brows relaxed.
Fortunately, these programs are indeed quite suitable, and Your Majesty and the officials must not be able to see these programs on a regular basis, so they will definitely be refreshed and feel particularly fresh.
"Great! That's it, just act normally."
"One more thing, has anyone from the Wu Palace come to the county recently?"
"I came here and got a batch of wine as usual, no more, no less, nothing special, just like usual, is there any problem, sir?"
Fang Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Pick two good fighters from the county and bring them to the capital. Don't let anyone know. When we get to the capital, investigate the King of Wu."
Ao Chen's face was serious: "Don't worry, Master, I will go back and make arrangements."
Since arriving in the capital, I have dealt with the King of Wu's men twice, and one time the King came to them personally.
Another time, the other party came to the door on his own initiative.
However, when going to Zangxiang Pavilion, Luo Ningxin's attitude towards him was a bit too enthusiastic.
Although the King of Wu had no ill intentions, the feeling that he was hiding behind the scenes already made Fang Zhengyi feel deeply uncomfortable.
When I was in Taoyuan County, I asked to see the King of Wu but was refused. Now that he is in the capital, he comes to find me on his own initiative... What is this trick?
The most important thing is that Prince Wu is obviously a well-known idle prince in the capital.
His private abilities are probably far beyond ordinary people's imagination...the problems involved must be serious.
Then Fang Zhengyi asked many questions about the county one by one.
In the middle, I went back to the theater door and looked through the crack in the door at the performance on the stage. A group of children dressed like flowers were jumping around.
It looked like a performance on the Spring Festival Gala, so stupid. I don't know why the people of Taoyuan are willing to watch such a crappy show. Seeing that it was really boring, I retreated and continued to chat with Ao Chen about the situation in the county.
Time passed by little by little, and most of the time had passed.
When Fang Zheng rushed into the hall, he found that the Legend of the White Snake had already reached its later stage.
Fang Zhengyi was stunned at the door at the back of the theater.
The emperor and his ministers slowly turned around and looked at him, their expressions filled with complicated emotions.
Then they turned their heads back slowly, in unison...
..........
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