Her situation was different from that of the three children in the Zhu family; she had never met Zhu Jianqiang.
It could even be said that her only connection with the Zhu family was because Liu Yingying was her godmother.
Because Liu Yingying lives in the Zhu family, that's why she lives here.
And that's exactly why she was so uneasy.
Liu Yingying looked at her with a smile and said gently, "Huiyun, your godmother is asking you, if one day your godmother leaves here, will you choose to stay or go with your godmother?"
Upon hearing this, Huiyun's eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked up at her.
"Godmother, I'll go wherever you are!"
Huiyun's biggest worry was that Liu Yingying would abandon her and leave alone. Now that she had heard Liu Yingying's words, she was completely relieved.
As long as her godmother is willing to take her with her, she's not afraid to sleep on the roadside or in a doghouse!
A thought stirred in Liu Yingying's heart, and she pulled Huiyun into her arms, gently stroking her hair.
Business at the Dragon and Phoenix Theater has been slow lately; all the old customers have gone to the Hundred Flowers Garden across the street.
White Peony was helpless in this situation; after all, people in this world crave novelty.
The Hundred Flowers Garden had famous singers invited from all over the country to perform, and it also introduced new singing styles from the Huaiyang region.
With such a stark contrast, the Dragon and Phoenix Theatre can be said to have stagnated.
Bai Mudan had been so worried about this that she hadn't slept well for several days and nights. When Liu Yingying came to visit her again, she was startled.
"Boss Bai, what happened to you? Why are the bruises under your eyes so bad?"
Bai Mudan leaned against the headboard, dressed in a plain white undergarment, without any makeup, a bitter smile on her face.
"Yingying, I'm so sorry. We used to have a contract to receive a batch of snack orders from you every month, but now... you can see the situation here. No customers are coming, and the snacks can't be sold. Many of them are getting moldy in the warehouse."
Seeing Bai Mudan's apologetic expression, Liu Yingying sighed softly, "Let's not talk about those things now, they're minor matters. The most important thing right now is to get your health back first."
Let me take your pulse first!
Upon taking Bai Mudan's pulse, Liu Yingying discovered that Bai Mudan had symptoms of liver fire and dryness, as well as qi stagnation and blood stasis. She then prescribed a medicine accordingly and had her maidservant fetch it.
Bai Mudan felt a surge of emotion as she watched Liu Yingying busy herself for her sake.
"Yingying, thank you. But I know my own problem. This medicine... only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
Liu Yingying understood that she was worried about the business of the Dragon Phoenix Theater.
If this continues, the theater might have to close down. Fortunately, that's exactly what she came here for today.
"Don't be so discouraged, look what I brought you..."
"What's this?" Bai Mudan looked at the few notebooks that Liu Yingying handed over, her face full of questions.
Liu Yingying smiled smugly, "Why don't you open it and take a look?"
This is a script she tailored specifically for the Dragon and Phoenix Theater.
Due to limited time and Liu Yingying's lack of skill in calligraphy, she barely managed to finish writing a copy of "A Chinese Ghost Story" despite her hurried efforts.
Bai Mudan was immediately captivated by the contents of the book.
"A Chinese Ghost Story" tells the story of a wealthy merchant's daughter who dies of illness while moving with her family. Her father buries her under an old locust tree, but little does he know that the old locust tree is actually an ancient demon that has cultivated for a thousand years.
The ancient demon controlled many female ghosts like Xiaoqian, who served her by luring passing men and absorbing their life essence for her own use.
Xiaoqian was kind-hearted, but forced by the tyranny of the ancient demon, she had to go against her conscience and harm those men. After absorbing people's life essence, she would hide away and silently shed tears.
When a scholar named Ning Caichen passed by, Xiaoqian developed feelings for him and couldn't bear to harm him. She wanted to break free from the control of the thousand-year-old demon. Later, with the help of the Taoist Yan Chixia, she killed the thousand-year-old demon and was finally reborn as a human again.
Bai Mudan was in tears after reading this story.
"It's...it's so beautiful...so touching..."
"Yingying, who wrote this?"
Liu Yingying gave her a look, guess what?
Bai Mudan exclaimed in astonishment, "You didn't write this yourself, did you?"
The next second, her guess was confirmed.
This storybook was indeed written by Liu Yingying herself!
She never expected that Liu Yingying was not only a good cook and had a business mind, but also a writer of storybooks!
Bai Mudan excitedly grabbed Liu Yingying's hand and asked, "Yingying, is there anything you can't do?"
Liu Yingying: "Yes, but I can't break a boulder on my chest!"
"Pfft!" Bai Mudan was finally amused by her.
The two then got down to business.
Liu Yingying: "Isn't the Hundred Flowers Garden across the street using innovation as a gimmick to attract customers? You should innovate too and go against them!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Mudan looked surprised. "You mean you want me to rehearse and perform 'A Chinese Ghost Story' on stage as well?"
Liu Yingying nodded. "You arrange these first, and win back some customers. I'll find time to send you two more new stories later."
She refused to believe that, based on her experience reading classic works from various countries and thousands of online novels accumulated in modern times, she couldn't possibly be outdone by the stories written by these ancient people!
Bai Mudan was only briefly shocked before quickly regaining her composure.
She has been immersed in the world of Peking Opera for over twenty years and knows the ins and outs of the industry intimately.
With her keen sense of smell, she could almost be certain that once "A Chinese Ghost Story" was brought to the stage, it would surely cause a huge uproar in the Peking Opera world.
If she could get a few more storybooks of the same quality, she was confident that she could completely defeat Baihuayuan!
Bai Mudan was also a woman of action. With this spirit sustained her, she no longer lingered in bed.
Xiaoling was asked to fetch hot water for him to wash up, change his clothes, and do his makeup. Then, he was summoned to a meeting by everyone at the Dragon and Phoenix Theater.
The once stunning and charismatic Boss Bai is back!
This time, she aims to innovate not only the opera itself, but also the costumes.
While introducing famous actors from outside the region, Baihuayuan also drew inspiration from the new costumes of the Huaiyang area.
In this way, the guests will find it even more novel and appealing.
Liu Yingying stepped in again, using her experience from her multiple lifetimes to provide Bai Mudan with sketches for a new costume.
In designing the new costumes, she incorporated many modern elements, carefully blending new elements from later generations with old elements from this era.
When the costumes were finished, Bai Mudan and the others were all greatly amazed!
Looking at the dan (female role) costume in Liu Yingying's hand, which shone brightly in the sunlight, Bai Mudan hesitated to reach out and touch it.
These costumes are absolutely gorgeous!
It was so beautiful that she felt it was unreal, and she was afraid that the clothes would disappear if she touched them!
"Yingying, how did you do that? How could you design such beautiful clothes?"
As Bai Mudan spoke, she quickly told Xiaoling to lock up the costumes.
Before the official performance of "A Chinese Ghost Story" on stage, the news from the Dragon and Phoenix Theater must not be leaked, lest it give the competitors an opportunity!
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