Taiyue City is as prosperous as in the past, and the streets are crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder, and it is very lively.
At the door of a tavern, the proprietress holding a handkerchief pinched her waist and spoke angrily to the man in front of her. The waiter and the fat chef were hiding at the door of the kitchen and peeking.
The fat chef whispered: "How long has it been since our landlady lost such a temper?"
"Isn't that right," the waiter said, "Last time, the two of us had a big quarrel because the boss went to be the city lord. This time, it's because of our young lady, so naturally she got furious."
At the door of the store, the proprietress cursed: "You wolf cubs, bastards! You actually asked our little ancestor to accompany that bastard who suffered a thousand cuts. I think you are really tired of living. You really forced me to smash your troupe." , none of us can have a good time!"
The person standing in front of the proprietress was none other than the foreman of the troupe. He was lowering his head and couldn't help but apologize. The boss was helpless. He was a mortal who made a living by singing operas. How could he stop the son of a court minister from taking over an opera actor to perform in the palace.
In the end, it can only be that the two ends are not in harmony, and they are no longer human beings inside and outside.
"Sister-in-law is right," the troupe owner said helplessly, "but Boss Xie can't leave. Many guests are making trouble every day these days, asking their names to hear Boss Xie sing "You Will Not Return". Sister-in-law, please be kind and ask Boss Xie to come out and meet me."
"Don't even think about it!" The landlady waved her hand and shouted: "Our little ancestor will never sing again from now on. Whatever you like, don't come here again!"
"This, this, this..."
The troupe owner suddenly panicked: "This can't be done, old sister-in-law, how do you expect me to explain this to the guests..."
"Explain it to you however you like, leave quickly, we don't welcome you here, just leave, leave!"
The landlady pushed the troupe owner out. At this moment, Xie Lian'er walked out from behind the curtain and said, "Sister, don't embarrass him."
When the theater owner saw Xie Lian'er, he hurriedly ran to him and begged with a mournful face: "My boss Xie, you have finally shown your face. The hundred or so people in our theater troupe are all relying on you to survive. , if you don’t go today, our theater will be smashed up."
"I said I won't go, why are you so shameless?" The landlady grabbed the troupe owner's arm, pulled him out, and said to Xie Lian'er: "Listen to sister, we won't go."
Who wanted to thank Lian'er but nodded and said, "Sister, let him go. I'll go back with you."
"Really? You are truly a living Bodhisattva!"
The theater owner thanked him profusely and hurriedly took Xie Lian'er back: "We have a distinguished guest coming to our theater today, and they are waiting to hear your play, Boss Xie."
Xie Lian'er nodded and glanced at the landlady. But the landlady rolled her eyes, turned around and sulked silently.
The theater owner hurriedly said: "Look, the sedan at the door has been prepared for you. Let's go now."
Xie Lian'er didn't have anything to bring, so she went back to the house to change clothes, and then left with the troupe owner.
Seeing that they had all left, the waiter and the fat chef came over and asked the proprietress: "Madam proprietress, this lady has left. Look at our business..."
"What else are you doing?" The landlady stood up and said angrily: "Guan Zhang, we won't do business today!"
After saying that, she turned around and went back to the backyard.
The waiter and the fat chef looked at each other, helpless, and went about their own business.
…………
The entrance to the theater was guarded by a group of guards, and no one was allowed to enter. In the atrium, several people with distinguished backgrounds were sitting together. The leaders were actually the third prince Baili Shuze and the sixth prince Baili Hanran. On both sides, there were Wang Wenjin, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Jia Ying, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Gu Shuci, a student of the Imperial College, and others. These people who shouldn't be sitting together are strangely gathered together at this moment.
Baili Hanran said to Baili Shuze: "I didn't expect that the third emperor brother would invite me to come and listen to the play. Aren't you afraid of the second emperor brother's reproach?"
"Oh?" Baili Shuze raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, "I invited my sixth brother to listen to the play. Why does my second brother blame me?"
Baili Hanran also smiled and said: "Second Emperor Brother and I supervise the country together, and we have endless official duties to do every day. But Third Emperor Brother, you have nothing to do and you are light-hearted. Instead, you drag me here with you. Wouldn't it be a mess?" I passed it on to the Second Emperor Brother, do you think the Second Emperor Brother should blame you?"
"It's because I didn't think it through well," Baili Shuze said with a smile, "but I can't finish this state affairs, and my sixth brother can't be as diligent as my eldest brother. I just see you working too hard these days, so I decided to I wanted to take you out to relax."
"It is the third emperor brother who loves me the most," Baili Hanran said: "When I was a child, the eldest emperor brother was devoted to state affairs. The second emperor brother went to Xianshan to study and never returned. The fourth emperor brother lived in the military camp all day long. The emperor sister came alone. I went alone and disappeared without a trace. Only the Third Emperor Brother always came to take care of my food, daily life, and my studies."
Baili Shuze was silent, but his eyes seemed to be looking at the memories of the past.
Baili Hanran continued: "I really want to go back to my childhood, where I was carefree and free!"
"It's a pity that time can't be turned back," Baili Shuze turned to look at Baili Hanran: "If the sixth brother hadn't grown up, how could he be able to share his father's worries now?"
"Okay, brother, you are actually making fun of me," Baili Hanran said with a smile, "I will tell my father tomorrow and ask him to give you a job and help you contribute to the court."
Baili Shuze waved his hand and said: "Sixth brother should know that I am not familiar with political affairs, and I have no interest in the affairs of the court. It is better to just listen to the opera leisurely every day. There is a famous actor in this theater, and his best one is "Jun" "No Return", isn't it, Shuci?"
Gu Shuci nodded quickly and said: "The character who sings "You Will Not Return" is called Xie Lian'er. You will know after watching it that it is really good."
After hearing this name, Baili Hanran's mouth trembled slightly, imperceptibly, and he stopped talking.
Baili Shuze said: "It's my first time here too, so I don't know what to do yet. I'll let my sixth brother comment."
Baili Hanran looked calm and agreed casually: "It's all just according to the emperor's instructions."
With the sound of a gong, the play began. Xie Lian'er changed into her costume and stepped onto the stage, looking at Baili Hanran in the audience.
Their eyes met, but they quickly averted their gazes, not daring to stay any longer.
Sitting at the table, Wang Wenjin looked frustrated. He looked at the third and sixth princes in front of him, as well as Jia Ying beside him, and sighed, not knowing what to say.
Baili Hanran seemed to sense Wang Wenjin's emotions and asked: "Why, Mr. Wang doesn't like to listen to the opera?"
"Where is it?" Wang Wenjin quickly greeted him with a smile: "I'm just being invited by two princes, so I'm really frightened."
Baili Hanran chuckled when he heard the words and said: "Master Wang, I am deeply saddened by your passing. It's just that the affairs of the court are indispensable for Master Wang. Even if the Grand Master and Ge Lao transferred you to the Ministry of Industry , I still have to rely on you, Mr. Wang!"
Wang Wenjin was overjoyed and quickly said: "As long as the Sixth Prince has errands to do, it is definitely his duty to serve as an official."
"How can you say it's me? It should be said that it's for the imperial court."
"Yes, yes, for the imperial court, for the imperial court."
Gu Shuci and Jia Ying on both sides were silent, squinting at Wang Wenjin who was smiling with a bit of contempt and a bit of pity in their hearts.
…………
In a small pavilion, Baili Qingfeng and Zhou Qing sat face to face, playing chess.
Not long after, Zhou Qing surrendered and said, "The second prince is so good at chess that I am ashamed of myself!"
Baili Qingfeng also collected the chess pieces and said with a smile: "But this is the first game of chess that Prime Minister Zhou taught me to play."
"But I don't know if teaching you how to play chess is a good thing," Zhou Qing suddenly said: "Although I taught you how to play chess, I didn't teach you how to play chess in life. Although your chess skills are better than mine, how can you do that? Everything is calculated like a chessboard? Wouldn't it be too simple if everyone in this world were like chess pieces on the board and couldn't move around at will?"
Baili Qingfeng smiled slightly, packed up the chess pieces on the chessboard, and said, "If you have anything to say, Prime Minister Zhou, please tell me directly. Qingfeng will definitely listen."
Zhou Qingyan said: "Did you know that today the third prince invited the sixth prince to listen to the play, accompanied by Wang Wenjin, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Jia Ying, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, and Gu Shuci, the son of Gu Tinglan, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs."
"What's so strange about this matter that it has attracted so much attention from Prime Minister Zhou?"
Seeing Baili Qingfeng's indifferent expression, Zhou Qing's face turned ugly and he snorted coldly and said: "That's because I'm worrying too much. I still have some official duties to attend to. If you can't come with me, I'll take my leave!"
Before Zhou Qing could get up, Baili Qingfeng quickly stopped him and said, "Why should Prime Minister Zhou be so anxious? Among these people, there is only one Wang Wenjin who can sway him or her to join his sixth brother. But a man who betrayed his father for glory, even my grandfather... We can’t keep him, even if Sixth Brother takes him in, he’s just asking for trouble.”
After Zhou Qing heard this, he let out a sigh of relief and was no longer in a hurry to leave.
Baili Qingfeng gently pushed the chess box in front of Zhou Qing, then took out a chess piece from his own box, dropped it on the chess board, and said: "It's true what Prime Minister Zhou said. You can count all the tricks on this chess board, and you can make every move. . But in reality, it is often not as expected. Although Qingfeng is obsessed with chess, he can still distinguish this difference. The court has been tossing and turning. In fact, we are not playing this game of chess. We are just chess pieces in the hands of others. Are you right, Prime Minister Zhou?"
Prime Minister Zhou said in a deep voice: "God's will has been unpredictable since ancient times. It is better for the Second Prince not to ask me."
Baili Qingfeng smiled slightly: "In that case, how about we play another game?"
Zhou Qing nodded and asked again: "The grand master has been ill for a long time. I don't know when he will be able to return to the court."
Baili Qingfeng smiled and said: "Grandpa, he should be almost done waiting. He will be back in just a few days."
"So good!"
…………
In the palace, Wang Jin helped Liang Jingyi walk out of the monastery. Wang Jin smiled and said: "Grand Master, your illness has disrupted many things we have done. We all hope that Mr. Ge will get well soon!"
Liang Jingyi smiled slightly and said: "I have lived too long and have been despised by others. But as long as I still have breath, I have to work hard for Your Majesty. I can only live one day at a time."
"What did Mr. Ge say?" Wang Jin said: "Mr. Ge will still have to work hard for me for hundreds of years!"
Liang Jing said: "This world is ever-changing and no one can predict it. That's why the sages teach the golden mean. You can't rush, you can't live, and you can't do nothing. It's so difficult to govern a country and do things like this!"
A hint of coldness flashed in Wang Jin's eyes, and then he smiled and said: "Mr. Ge, please slow down, be careful of falling!"
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