On a late spring afternoon, Tang Xianzu's "The Story of the Purple Hairpin" was being performed on the stage of Guyang Garden in Songjiang.
The person who invited Kunban from Suzhou was Yin, the daughter-in-law of Dong Qichang, a famous local gentry.
This spring, Ms. Yin went around "donating" and sold paintings, calligraphy, embroidery, ancient porcelain and other items donated by celebrities in the city, earning thousands of taels of silver.
This noble lady, wearing a brocade hairpin, stood up in front of everyone, and in the name of the head of the "Jishan Society", she sent a few taels to various orphanages, Zeluo Hospital, Jimin Pharmacy, etc. in Songjiang. "Charity" ranging from more than ten taels.
But she still felt that the limelight was not enough, so she took out another hundred taels of silver from the donation and invited the famous Kunban from the Nanzhili area to Songjiang to sing for the gentlemen and celebrities participating in the charity sale for a few days.
Gu Shouqian had previously donated the embroidery "Minghe Sea Battle Picture" by Mu Atai, so he was naturally among those invited.
In the afternoon, as soon as Gu Shouqian stepped into Guyang Garden, Mrs. Yin, who was dressed like a golden pheasant and greeted guests with Dong Zuchang, walked forward with a smile and pretended to be affectionate and asked: "Hey, Mr. Gu, what's going on with Ameng?" not coming?"
"She went on an outing with Mistress Han." Gu Shouqian said with a touch of greeting.
"Going for an outing? The pomegranate flowers are about to bloom, why are you going for an outing? Where are you going? Sheshan?"
Yin's barrage of questions only received an ambiguous "hmm" from Gu Shouqian.
Mrs. Yin pursed her lips: "Ameng is a very busy person. On weekdays, he is more busy outside than inside. It is rare that he has time to go hiking in the mountains and enjoy the spring. It is a pity that she has to miss the good show of Yu Jiaban today. , Mr. Gu, you see, we specially reserved the seats in the front."
Gu Shouqian's expression turned even colder. He returned the gift hastily and walked to his seat in front of the stage.
Dong Zuchang complained to his wife in a deep voice: "It's not like you don't know that Mrs. Gu went to Chongming and didn't open or pick up any of the pots she did? After all, she came up with a masterpiece to show you off, didn't she?"
Ms. Yin said disapprovingly: "How am I laughing at him? I'm just trying to fight against injustice, okay? This is the direct grandson of the Gu family, a handsome young master like a god. Many aristocratic families in Songjiang City want to marry their daughters to him, but Miss Han doesn't know how to marry her. Jane. Mr. Gu is a man in his prime, but he is now alone. If you regard yourself as his senior brother, then don’t I count as his sister-in-law? Therefore, I insist on reminding him. If that doesn’t work, I will take a concubine as soon as possible. Take care of him, and secondly, you can cure the eldest lady’s domineering spirit.”
Dong Zu often heard this and laughed secretly. As a lady, she clearly resented Han Ximeng for ignoring Jishan Society, so she took the opportunity to stab Miss Han in the back.
Dong Zu often looked back towards the stage and saw a table of men sitting behind Gu Shouqian. After identifying them several times, he couldn't help but curiously asked Mrs. Yin: "Where are those people wearing blue and green silk brocades?"
Yin said: "The cotton merchant from Denglai passed by the academy that day and bought several paintings."
Dong Zuchang wondered: "Shandong people come to Songjiang to sell cotton?"
Yin sneered: "The price of Shandong cotton is low. In recent years, Su Song's cloth mill often harvests Shandong cotton."
"Oh, so," Dong Zuchang frowned slightly, "No wonder he behaves vulgarly."
Mrs. Yin said displeased: "Today is a singing party, not a cultural gathering. Someone has given a lot of money to Jishan Society. Why, Mr. Gu can come, but they can't come?"
Dong Zuchang smiled and said: "Okay, as long as the lady is happy."
Not long after, all the guests arrived, a gong sounded, and "The Story of the Purple Hairpin" began.
"Thank you for the emperor's grace for the lights and the moonlight, and thank you for the grace of the spring and the years. It is written all over the world that the country is peaceful and the people are safe. Invite me to sing."
The tune "The Garden Is Good" sounded, and it was the scene where the male protagonist Li Yijia was enjoying the lanterns during the festival. For a moment, the lotus lanterns were shining brightly on the stage, and the golden dragons were swimming, making it very lively.
Kun Opera was born in Kunshan and became popular in six prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River. It is loved by many celebrities in Songjiang. Gu Shouqian has been obsessed with Kunqu opera since he was a child. Now that he saw the smooth and beautiful tunes of the Yu family from Suzhou, he temporarily forgot his worries and concentrated on enjoying the opera.
I felt relieved for a moment, but I heard the men behind me, who looked like wealthy businessmen without scarves, talking loudly.
One spat: "Hey, what kind of dance is this, like a bird, a lantern, a dragon, breaking off one section after another? It's like fried dough sticks, it's so fun for me."
Another one said: "Hey, this little daughter-in-law who is coming out now is pretty good, she has a pretty face, and I love her to death."
While talking and laughing, a few people bit the pecans unscrupulously, throwing the broken shells on the ground, and even threw them on Gu Shouqian's shoes.
Gu Shouqian looked sideways at them several times and saw that they were not restrained. He had to take advantage of the narration in the play to cup his hands and say to the wealthy businessman: "My dear friends, can you please keep your voice down? Besides, you can spit out dried fruit peels in this." "
After saying that, he placed the small porcelain jar in front of him on the table of the wealthy businessmen.
The faces of the three men all dropped, especially the oldest one with swollen eyes, who looked the most fierce.
"If you, young master, dislike us as a big boss, you can go and sit somewhere else." He said solemnly with swollen eyes.
In today's venue, all guests have fixed seats, and there are no empty tables anywhere in the venue.
Gu Shouqian could only sigh helplessly and turned back to continue watching the show.
The few wealthy businessmen behind him lived peacefully for a short time. When Li Yi and Huo Xiaoyu swore an oath and said goodbye at Baqiao Mountain, the swollen-eyed and rough voice sounded again.
"It's boring and boring. It's babbling. I don't know what to sing. It's not as exciting as the Wu Lao Er singing from my hometown."
"The one who sings Wu Lao Er" is Shandong Kuaiban'er, which happened to be a folk art that came out during the Wanli period. Most of the artists told stories about Wu Song in Water Margin, such as fighting tigers and killing golden lotus, so it was called "the one who sings martial arts". "The middle child", or "the big one".
A toad-mouthed man next to the swollen eye said with a smile: "Brother, I will take you to a teahouse tomorrow to learn about books. Although I don't play Allegro, the story is interesting. It said that bandits robbed a young lady in Songjiang. "
"Oh?" The swollen eye suddenly became energetic, "How did you grab it? Did you get it?"
"They are all bandits, how can we still get it? I heard that the girl's family is in the cotton business like ours. The ancestor was still a prime minister, named He Qi."
"My name is Han Qi," the toad-mouthed companion took over and said to his swollen eyes, "Brother, the little girl of the Han family went out to play and asked the water bandits to rob her back to the village. She entered the bridal chamber. Three days later, A group of guards came from the imperial court, killed the bandit leader, and rescued Miss Han. Guess what, this Miss Han was actually plotted by an aunt from her husband's family who was engaged to be married. Don't tell me, don't tell me, brother, go and listen for yourself .”
With swollen eyes, he smacked the chopped walnut meat in his mouth, and said with a sullen face: "I was rescued after three days, I'm afraid there is a little bandit in my belly. So, did Miss Han get married later?"
"Snapped!"
There was only a crisp sound of breaking porcelain, causing Huo Xiaoyu's slow singing to come to an abrupt end.
Gu Shouqian stood up, kicked away the stool, waved his hand and punched the swollen eye.
…
"Lv Xian, my brother will accompany you to the hospital and ask the doctor to apply some ointment."
Dong Zuchang followed Gu Shouqian's footsteps, his hurried tone full of apologies.
Just now, "The Legend of the Purple Hairpin" was being played on the stage and was getting to a point where Gu Shouqian and several wealthy businessmen suddenly got into a fight.
The scene suddenly became chaotic. Dong Zuchang hurriedly ordered his servants to come forward and separate them. Gu Shouqian's forehead was already stained, and his jacket was torn.
Dong Zu often asked questions, but the wealthy businessman from Shandong walked away angrily.
Gu Shouqian also dressed and left the table under the surprised and searching gazes of the guests.
Yin asked the group to continue singing with a sullen expression, while Dong Zuchang chased after him.
Gu Shouqian turned around and held up his hands: "I have disturbed Brother Dong and Second Mistress' distinguished guests today because of the situation. I will definitely come to your door to accuse you of the crime in the future."
Dong Zuchang grabbed him and said, "Lv Xian, you don't have to go to the hospital. I'll order my servant to take you back home."
"What? Brother Dong is worried that those rats can still rob them halfway? Songjiang is not their hometown, Shuibo Liangshan, and I, Gu Shouqian, am not a useless playboy in your eyes."
Dong Zuchang was slightly startled when he heard the last half of the sentence, and immediately realized that his father's beloved disciple in front of him was not only angry but also depressed.
He then let Gu Shouqian walk farther away, then winked and asked his servant to follow him.
Not long after, the servant appeared in front of his master again with a bitter look on his face.
"Second Young Master, Mr. Gu scolded me back."
At this time, when I just handed over the application, the streets of Fucheng were busy with cars and pedestrians.
It was clearly a harmonious scene of warm breeze and joy for all living beings, but Gu Shouqian felt that the smiles on those faces were mocking him.
Distraught, he raised his sleeves to wipe the blood on his forehead, then simply left the street and walked to a secluded place by the Moon River.
"Sir, sir, would you like to take a boat ride to relax? There is new tea on the boat."
In the sparkling light, a neat little fairy boat sailed slowly from the middle of the river, and the boat owner was soliciting customers diligently.
Gu Shouqian raised his eyes to look at the blue sky and white clouds, nodded and said: "Shake to the foot of Sheshan Mountain."
