The acrobatic troupe arrived early in the morning. Zheng Xiu, Xue Zhi and the two children were already awake. After the family had breakfast, Xue Zhi was about to take the two children to practice boxing.
When Xue Mian heard the maid say that the people had arrived, he started to act lazy and said that he had eaten too much. The wet nurse said that it was not good to do strenuous exercise after eating too much.
He did eat too much. Zheng Xiu thought of the breakfast for Haoyetang and asked Bai Zhu to prepare it in the small kitchen. It was not as exquisite as the chef of the Duke of Qing’s Mansion, but it tasted like home.
The breakfast of the day was bean flour Wo Wo Tou, ox milk horn, and eight-treasure porridge. Wo Wo Tou is the most common Wo Wo Tou, made with bean flour, which is more filling than the one made with flour. Ox milk horn was inspired by Zheng Xiu and asked Bai Zhu to make it based on the modern croissant. The finished product looks really like the real thing. Children like novelty, and they will eat more when the food has a new shape. The eight-treasure porridge is sweet and mellow, and the lotus seeds and red cashews are cooked until they are soft and melt in the mouth.
They are all home-cooked things, but they are also all things Xue Mian has never eaten before. In addition, Xue Shao is also grabbing food next to him, so he eats so much that he really eats too much.
Xue Zhi certainly won't let him go. This training requires perseverance. Don't say that today is just a troupe coming to perform. Even if there is something important, it doesn't matter if it takes half an hour.
Seeing that Xue Mian was about to make a scene, Zheng Xiu tried to mediate, "Mian, the circus troupe has just arrived, and they need to warm up and do some preparation before going on stage. The stage in front of us has just been set up, and they need some time to adjust to it. Second Aunt, please go to the front and take a look. When they are ready, we will have someone to call you, and we will start after you go there, okay?"
Zheng Xiu had been a teacher for several years, and knew that children of this age did not like adults because they actually did not like adults to treat them as incompetent children, so she used the tone of discussion between friends.
Xue Mian was reluctant to listen, but he still said, "Then Second Aunt, please go and help us first. If the show starts, please have someone call us immediately."
After it was agreed, he followed Xue Zhi to practice boxing.
Zheng Xiu went to the garden in front.
The stage in the garden had been set up, and it was half the size of a basketball court. The circus troupe had also arrived, and they were warming up on the side of the stage.
Butler Yuan came to supervise the performance in person, and had several sets of tables and chairs placed in front of the stage. He also arranged a bunch of maids and servants to serve.
There is a large theater in the mansion of Duke Qing, but it has not been used for many years. If it is used again, it needs to be repaired and tidied up. Zheng Xiu thought it was too much of a fuss, so she asked Xue Zhi to have someone build a temporary one.
Unexpectedly, the temporary stage was also built on such a scale.
Zheng Xiu smiled at the housekeeper Yuan and said, "I feel really bad for bothering you with such a small matter."
During the time in the mansion of Duke Qing, Zheng Xiu also had a certain understanding of the personnel in the mansion. The ancestors and fathers of the housekeeper Yuan all worked for the mansion of Duke Qing, and he worked for the Duke Qing in his early years. The current Duke Qing has been lying in bed for almost ten years, and many things in the mansion of Duke Qing can only be carried out in an orderly manner with his help.
The housekeeper Yuan cupped his hands and smiled, "Second Master has given the order, and I will naturally do my best."
Zheng Xiu thought that Xue Zhi was just teasing her to invite a troupe of performers on a whim, but she didn't expect that he would specially ask the housekeeper Yuan to do it.
The two exchanged greetings for a while, and Zheng Xiu saw that it was almost time, so she asked someone to call the two children.
Xue Mian and Xue Shao were not focused on practicing martial arts that day. They made several mistakes in a set of long fist that they had practiced countless times. When they heard someone calling them, they could not stay any longer.
Xue Zhi had no choice but to let them go. However, he still took them to change their sweaty clothes and wash them before taking them to the garden.
When they arrived, the owner of the troupe was talking to Zheng Xiu attentively, introducing the special skills of his troupe and promoting them.
Zheng Xiu listened and heard her say that those children had been training since they were five or six years old, from morning to night. Bending over and doing splits were the most common exercises, and there were also things like balancing pots and bowls on their heads and walking on stilts. She had originally wanted to have some fun, but when she thought of the pitiful situation of those children, she suddenly lost the desire to have fun. Especially the children preparing on the stage looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old.
Xue Zhi keenly noticed her emotional change, waved away the troupe owner, sat down next to her and asked softly: "What's wrong? Who made you unhappy?"
Zheng Xiu shook her head, "No one bothered me, I just heard the troupe owner say how hard the training for those children was, and I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart."
"Then are you still going to watch?" Xue Zhi asked.
Zheng Xiu looked at Xue Shao and Xue Mian who were waiting for the show to start, and nodded. "Look, everything is ready."
Xue Zhi asked the troupe leader to start.
At the beginning, it was the most common stilt-walking and balancing bowls, then balancing round vats on the head, and then fire-breathing, puppet shows and monkey shows. There were so many types.
The two children were fascinated by the show, and they applauded and cheered.
Zheng Xiu didn't think too much about it and devoted herself to watching the performance.
The highlight was the pole show, which was to stand a long wooden pole on a pile of upside-down blades, build a flag on the top, and one person would pull the flag out of the air, and the emphasis was on being as light and flexible as a monkey climbing a tree.
The big blades were as big as an adult's arm, and they were all cold and eerie when they were placed together.
Zheng Xiu felt goosebumps all over her body just by watching.
If it falls down by mistake... she dared not think about the consequences.
Just when the preparations for the performance were ready, the butler Yuan suddenly approached and whispered a message into Xue Zhi's ear.
Zheng Xiu was sitting next to Xue Zhi and did not hear a word. She was just waiting to watch the breathtaking performance on the stage.
Xue Zhi's face changed and asked the butler Yuan to go back to the front first. He turned to Zheng Xiu and said, "The prince is here."
Zheng Xiu hadn't reacted yet, "Who is here?"
Xue Zhi stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky. Zheng Xiu was so scared that she almost jumped up, "The prince of the East Palace is here?"
Xue Zhi nodded.
Zheng Xiu stood up from her seat with a swish. Xue Zhi quickly held her back and said softly, "Don't worry. The prince is here incognito, and he is not accompanied by the East Palace's ceremonial guards."
Zheng Xiu was still in shock. "It doesn't make much difference."
There is a difference. For an incognito visit, ordinary hospitality would be sufficient. If the East Palace's ceremonial guards were displayed, then he would have to be welcomed with the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects.
Zheng Xiu hurriedly said, "Don't worry about how the prince came. You should get ready to pick him up." Then he remembered that Xue Zhi said a few days ago that the prince wanted him to go to the East Palace for a walk, but he made the excuse that his injury had not healed yet. He said, "No, no, you should go back to bed." He told others that he was too injured to go out, but he was so excited to watch the show at home. What kind of thing is this!
Zheng Xiu had never been exposed to the imperial power, she had only seen it in novels and on TV. Would Xue Zhi's behavior be considered a crime of deceiving the emperor? The
more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. She dragged Xue Zhi back to Haoye Hall.
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