It has never been a secret that Duke Weiguo likes to watch plays. He came here just for the new Yao family troupe.
Duke Weiguo laughed heartily and said, "I came here today on a whim, and I didn't book a private room."
He was a frequent visitor to Tianyin Pavilion, and even if he didn't book a private room, the waiter would help him coordinate it.
But today, it was obvious that the waiter had no room to play, so Murong Yong hurriedly said, "Master Wei, I have reserved a private room. As the saying goes, a chance encounter is worse than a planned meeting. How about you come to my private room and have a seat?"
Duke Weiguo was never fussy about details and agreed readily.
Murong Yong was overjoyed, his eyes sparkling with joy.
Since he returned from Qingzhou with merit last time, he was promoted to the rank of fifth-grade cavalry captain, but it was only an honorary title.
The Weiguo Mansion has an extraordinary status in the Dajing Dynasty, and the Weiguo Duke's position in the military is even more unshakable.
Murong Yong had long wanted to make friends with him, but was reluctant to get close to him rashly. Meeting him by chance in Tianyin Pavilion today was fate and a rare opportunity.
At least, Duke Weiguo will remember his name from today on.
Murong Yong extended his hand as a gesture of invitation and led the Duke of Weiguo towards the private seats on the second floor.
The two of them chatted happily, but Murong Yong was the one talking most of the time: "Master Wei, it's a pity that you came a step too late. The first act has already been sung."
"The Yao family troupe is indeed worthy of its reputation. Look at this Hua Dan's singing style and body movements... They are among the best in the capital."
"And the Qingyi singer just now also sang well..."
Murong Yong spoke eloquently, while the Duke of Weiguo only said a few words like "what a pity" and "not bad".
As they were talking, they walked into a private room on the second floor facing the stage.
The waiter knew that "Mr. Wei" liked Shaodaozi, so he served them a jar of Shaodaozi as quickly as possible.
Murong Yong personally poured wine for the Duke of Wei, then raised the cup with both hands and toasted him, saying, "Duke, I will toast you a glass."
At this moment, there was no one else in the private room, so Murong Yong no longer addressed him as Master Wei.
Duke Wei sniffed the aroma of the wine in the cup and praised with a smile: "Good wine!"
When he laughed loudly, he had the heroism and arrogance of a local lord. He raised his head and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. As the spicy wine went down his stomach, he felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, and the winter chill was swept away.
"I have enjoyed countless fine wines in my life." Duke Wei laughed, "My favorite is Shaodaozi. I always feel that other wines are bland..."
He stopped talking halfway.
On the rough, dark face, a pair of brows were tightly twisted into a knot, his expression showed pain, even the blue veins on the corners of his forehead were prominent, and drops of cold sweat were oozing out rapidly.
Murong Yong also noticed that the Duke of Wei's face was not right, so he called out cautiously, "Duke..."
Before he could finish his last word, Duke Wei's face twitched violently, his body leaned forward, and a large mouthful of blood spit out from between his lips...
"vomit!"
Half of a pool of bright red blood was spit into the private room, and the other half sprayed out of the window, like a bloody rain.
Blood rain dripped down from the second floor and sprinkled on the lobby downstairs.
The audience were watching the show and were unaware of the noise above. They only felt something liquid dripping on their heads and couldn't help but frown.
Several people subconsciously raised their hands to touch their heads, then looked up and found that their palms were stained with blood, and some blood dripped onto the fruits and snacks on the table.
"Blood!"
A sharp female voice suddenly rang out from the audience, so sharp and so high-pitched.
Several other spectators who were spattered with blood also noticed it. Some looked up towards the second floor, some screamed, some quickly stood up, and some covered their mouths in fear.
The lobby on the first floor suddenly became a mess, with screams and shouts from men, women, young and old:
"Why is there blood here?"
"Look, the blood is dripping from the private room on the second floor..."
"Murder! Waiter, go report to the police right away!"
“…”
Amid the chaos, a young man in the private room on the second floor shouted at the top of his lungs: "Someone, call a doctor!"
The shopkeeper of Tianyin Pavilion finally reacted and quickly called a few waiters. He told one to go get a doctor, another to report to the police, and then asked two waiters to go upstairs to check the situation.
The shopkeeper himself stayed in the lobby, sometimes comforting the frightened guests, and sometimes ordering people to clean up the blood-stained tables and chairs.
There was a commotion in the lobby.
Some curious people went upstairs to watch the fun, but others were flustered and confused, like ants on a hot pan, and had no intention of watching the show.
Even so, the sound of stringed instruments did not stop, echoing in the air, and the actors on the stage all remained calm, singing or dancing to the music.
The princess had fallen ill because of the stimulation of the singing girl. Now she had just recovered from the illness. A few steps away, the prince of the marquis's mansion came to ask for forgiveness with an apologetic look on his face and sincere words.
The music then became sad and cold as frost, making people seem to see trees of white plum blossoms suddenly blooming in the cold wind.
The beautiful actress turned her head away sadly, as if she couldn't look directly at her beloved fiancé, and her deep gaze turned towards the private room on the second floor.
There was a faint light in those deep eyes.
The next moment, the actress covered her face with her sleeves, as if she was suppressing and enduring something.
On the stage, the sad and depressing atmosphere spread with the Huadan's every move, forming a sharp contrast with the chaos in the lobby.
After a while, the waiter came in hurriedly with an old doctor with gray hair and carrying a medicine box.
It was a very cold day in December, but the old doctor was sweating profusely as he ran up the stairs.
Gu Yanfei looked at the lobby downstairs, then at the bloodstained window sill next door, and nonchalantly played with the small and exquisite white porcelain wine glass in his hand, tilting his little face and boasting: "I'm right, right?"
"Okay." Chu Yi smiled gently, as gentle as jade.
Of course, he had no doubt about her abilities.
While drinking, Gu Yanfei said affirmatively: "It should be his old illness that is causing the trouble."
Just now, when she saw Duke Weiguo for the first time, she realized that his old illness had relapsed, and it would be severe and extremely dangerous.
That's why Gu Yanfei said that he was going to be in trouble.
Xiao Shi was standing outside the private room, his ears pricked up, feeling as if a cat was scratching him in his heart. He really wanted to ask the Duke of Weiguo if his life was in danger.
But Chu Yi didn't agree with him.
"Duke Wei has always been in good health. Even at the age of 50, his skills are still as good as before..." Chu Yi said thoughtfully. He had some guesses about the old illness that Gu Yanfei mentioned.
The sound of stringed instruments turned from sad to intense, with profound meaning. When Gu Yanfei looked at the stage again, he saw that the actress had left the stage again.
Although there were still seven or eight actors on the stage, it became a boring play for her.
Gu Yanfei thought of something and quickly flipped through the play script next to him. Upon flipping through it, he found that the next time the female lead appeared on stage would be the next act.
Boring! Gu Yanfei yawned lazily, and heard a noisy commotion from below, as if someone had rudely knocked on the door.
A team of tall and mighty yamen runners arrived in a hurry and rushed into the hall aggressively. They all had stern faces and looked like they were here with ill intentions.
The atmosphere in the lobby suddenly became solemn.
The guests were afraid of getting into trouble with the law, so they all remained silent. Only the sound of stringed instruments and singing like a storm still lingered in the air, like a complaint or anger.
"Sir, the yamen runners are here." The young official guarding the door of the private room stretched his neck to look around and said excitedly, "I'll go take a look."
Before he could finish his words, Xiao Shi had already disappeared.
Seeing Gu Yanfei flipping through the opera script, Chu Yi also leaned over to take a look. His half-tied and half-loose black hair cascaded down to his chest, and his clearly defined chin outlined a slender and gentle curve.
A strand of hair from his temple inadvertently brushed against Gu Yanfei's white cheek, gently and softly.
It's so itchy! Gu Yanfei subconsciously raised a finger to touch the strand of hair. The hair he touched was cool and smooth, like a piece of fine silk.
"..." The Adam's apple on Chu Yi's slender neck rolled up and down slightly, and he met Gu Yanfei's eyes as she looked at him.
Their eyes met, their faces close to each other.
"Young Master!" When Xiao Shi came back, he saw this intimate scene and his eyes widened.
My son was teased?! Xiao Shi was stunned, and inexplicably felt that he seemed to have disturbed something, and seemed to be redundant.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Xiao Shi kept talking about the situation next door: "Just now, those runners from Jingzhao Prefecture almost arrested Murong Yong, but when Murong Yong mentioned his identity as a fourth-rank guerrilla general, the runners didn't dare to arrest him, but they didn't leave."
After saying that, Xiao Shi left like a gust of wind. After a while, he came running back again: "The doctor just took the pulse of Duke Weiguo and gave him acupuncture to stop the bleeding."
This time, he received a comment from Gu Yanfei: "Useless."
When Xiao Shi ran back from next door for the third time, his eyes were almost shining, and he said admiringly: "Miss Gu, you are right, the Duke of Wei is still vomiting blood. He spits out blood after each injection."
Xiao Shi gestured a lot.
Gu Yanfei closed the play and murmured, "It's almost done."
“……” Xiao Shi didn’t hear clearly what she said and blinked in confusion.
Gu Yanfei was about to stand up, but then he thought about something and quickly drank the last two sips of wine in the glass. Then he stood up again, stroked his robe with one hand, and waved his sleeves with the other hand. He smiled and called Chu Yi, "Let's go and take a look."
(End of this chapter)
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