Ning He poured tea for Ye Shu and said, "Your Majesty said: This year is a disaster year. Many places have lost their harvests due to drought, and the people's lives are very difficult.
The prince is worried about the people and wants to do something for them."
Then, Ning He briefly explained to Ye Shu what King Chen had told him.
Finally, he said: "Your Majesty asked me to go to the Daxiangguo Temple today. Therefore, I can't talk to my husband today. Let's get together another day."
When it came to what King Chen had explained, Ning He's heart was racing and she couldn't wait.
Ye Shu looked at Ning He happily and was very excited, "The prince treats his concubine very well and always thinks about her.
The concubine must seize this opportunity and complete the tasks assigned by the prince.
If this is done, the concubine will definitely become famous in Beijing, and may even receive a commendation from the emperor.
At that time, when the world looks at the concubine, who dares to disrespect her?
Maybe, the prince straightened the concubine directly."
Ning He also thought this way. If she could really get her wish, she would become the mistress of the palace - Princess Chen.
By that time, even her grandmother would have to pay her respects when she saw her, let alone Ning Wei.
In front of her, she stood, and Ning Wei did not dare to sit.
She didn't let Ning Wei speak, and Ning Wei didn't dare to open her mouth. She told Ning Wei to go east, but Ning Wei didn't dare to go west.
Just thinking about it made Ning He feel relieved.
Ning He stretched out his hand to hold Ye Shu's hand and said, "Then let me borrow your good advice from you! If I can become the royal concubine, I will hold a banquet in the mansion for three days, and I will invite you to take a seat."
Ye Shu held Ning He's hand tightly with her backhand and said, "Okay, wait here."
Ning He took out his hand and said to Ye Shu: "I won't see you off, sir. Let's talk about it another day."
Ye Shu thought for a moment and said, "I'll accompany my concubine. Maybe I can help."
Ning He happily agreed. "Thank you sir!"
Jiang Xingyu and his party arrived at Fengle Building, and Duanmu Rui led people to greet them at the door.
After some pleasantries, the group walked inside, and Jiang Xingyu asked, "Will Gu Lan be on stage today?"
Duanmu Rui leaned forward and said, "Yes."
With that said, Duanmu Rui led Jiang Xingyu, Ning Wei and his entourage to the south courtyard.
Shi Jingchen looked around as he walked, and said curiously: "I haven't been here for a long time, and this place has changed a lot."
Duanmu Rui explained with a smile: "According to the prince's wishes, the south courtyard was renovated. The original lobby was changed into a place where the Le Family Class performs on stage, and it was named Jinyuan.
Ladies, let’s go this way, there is a separate staircase here.”
"Lejia troupe? Theater troupe?" Shi Jingchen asked curiously.
"Yes! I said before that I would introduce Gu Lan to you, but I never had time. I just happened to meet him today. I will introduce Gu Lan to you later."
Jiang Xingyu first responded to Shi Jingchen's question, then turned to look at Shi Jingxing.
Shi Jingxing nodded, "Okay!"
Jiang Xingyu said to Duanmu Rui: "After Gu Lan is on stage, let her come to see us."
Duanmu Rui leaned forward and said, "Yes, I understand."
Ning Wei asked: "How many performances does the Lelin class perform every day? Does Gu Lan need to be on stage for every performance?"
There have been too many things lately, and she has been so busy that she has no time to take care of anything else, so that after Gu Lan arrived at Fengle Building, she had not been here yet.
Duanmu Rui leaned forward and said: "The Lelin class performs twice a day, with one day off every month. Miss Gu Lan comes on stage once every three days. It's a coincidence that the ladies are here. Today is Miss Gu Lan's performance. Miss Gu Lan, please!"
When they reached the second floor, Duanmu Rui led everyone forward.
Ning Wei looked around and saw many silk paintings hanging in the corridors on both sides.
Duanmu Rui led everyone to the door of the Peony Hall, stopped, stretched out his hand to open the door, and bowed to let them in.
Ning Wei followed Shi Jingxing into the private room. The room was not large. There was a table placed near the window. There was a row of chairs beside the table. Through the window, she could see the stage in the lobby.
Duanmu Rui said: "Opposite the Peony Hall is the Xiangrui Garden. If the ladies don't want to listen to music anymore, they can go to the Xiangrui Garden opposite to rest."
Shi Jingchen walked to the window, stuck his head out and took a look, and said, "This private room is in a good location. The downstairs is already full of people. Is it about to start?"
Duanmu Rui looked up at the hourglass beside the stage and said, "There's still a quarter of an hour left!"
Several waiters came in carrying fruit refreshments, red clay tea stoves, and kettles of tea.
Duanmu Rui stepped forward and arranged the fresh and dried fruits himself.
Seeing the waiter put the small red clay stove in place, Jiang Xingyu said, "Put the tea here and we can make the tea ourselves."
After hearing this, Duanmu Rui placed a set of tea sets, then leaned forward and said, "Young ladies, please use it with caution. Please excuse me."
There is someone guarding the door, if necessary, the lady will just give instructions."
Jiang Xingyu knew that he was busy and said, "Go ahead. If the prince arrives, please let someone know."
Duanmu Rui agreed, bowed and exited the private room.
Ning Wei walked to the left, sat down, and poked her head out to take a look. Sure enough, there were no empty seats downstairs.
Not only that, there are still people standing in the last row.
He turned to Jiang Xingyu and said, "It seems pretty good! The seats are full, and there are about ten people standing behind."
Jiang Xingyu walked to Ning Wei, looked down, nodded and said, "Well, I heard from the prince that you should be a little quieter in the first few days.
After the reputation spread, more and more people came every day.
Normally the attendance rate is 80% to 90%, but today it is full because Gu Lan will be on stage."
Ning Wei lowered his head and looked down again, and said: "The attendance rate was 80% to 90% in a short period of time, which shows that Lelin Class has a good foundation."
At this point, Ning Wei stopped, stared at the person opposite and said, "Is that Cousin Jie?"
Ning Wei's eyes fell on the small table in the corner of the first floor, which was placed against the wall. Xu Guanjie, wearing ultramarine clothes, was sitting there alone, drinking tea.
Jiang Xingyu looked at Ning Wei and asked, "That outstanding cousin of the Xu family in Baoping Lane? Isn't he on duty in the palace? Is he resting today?"
"Who are you two talking about?" Shi Jingxing and Shi Jingchen stood up and stretched their necks to look in Xu Guanjie's direction.
"The son of Awei's cousin, Xu Guanjie, the eldest son of Commander Xu's family in Baoping Lane."
Shi Jingchen stared at Xu Guanjie and asked, "The one who gets the top spot in Qiu Yuan's hunt and is rewarded with the Emperor's Dragon Roaring Sword?"
Shi Jingxing recognized Xu Guanjie, "It's him. Isn't he on duty in the palace? How come he has time to listen to music?"
Jiang Xingyu turned to look at Ning Wei and asked, "Would you like to go down and say hello? Or ask someone to ask Mr. Xu to come up?"
Before Ning Wei could reply, the room suddenly became dark.
"Why is it dark?" Shi Jingchen asked.
Jiang Xingyu explained: "It's not dark yet. The show is about to start. The curtains are closed."
Shi Jingchen looked around and saw that the curtains around him were drawn, and several strings of large lanterns slowly rose up on both sides of the stage, illuminating the stage brightly.
"It's so beautiful!" Shi Jingchen exclaimed.
Jiang Xingyu said with a smile: "These lanterns are made of red sandalwood and pear as the bones, silk yarn and colored glaze as the clothes. The patterns drawn on the lanterns are consistent with the background of the stage."