When I first entered the inn, I had already met Yi Cheng, so the two knew each other.
As soon as Yi Cheng entered the door, he knelt down towards Zhong Jinwei, straightened his waist and cupped his fists and saluted Zhong Jinwei: "I came here specially to congratulate the Marquis!"
Zhong Jinwei was stunned after hearing this. Could it be that his marriage had spread all over the country? It seemed a bit exaggerated. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask: "How did you know?"
Yi Cheng's face was full of smiles, and he replied to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Hou, we in Kaifeng are famous for our obsession with drama. The most famous capital of singing, dancing and opera in the Ming Dynasty, besides Yingtian Prefecture, is our Kaifeng Prefecture.
.As soon as this extraordinary play was performed, it caused a sensation in the whole city."
Zhong Jinwei was stunned after hearing this. It turned out that he had misunderstood. But he still didn't know what the Yi Cheng wanted to congratulate him for, what kind of unique show it was, and what it had to do with him? Zhong Jinwei asked tentatively: "You mean...
?”
Yi Cheng was startled after hearing this, and then he quickly blamed himself: "Ah, you see, the villain is so happy that he even forgets that the Marquis has just arrived and has not gone out yet. Lord Marquis, the play you created is now very popular in Kaifeng Mansion.
Many theater troupes have begun to imitate it."
It turned out that this was the case. Zhong Jinwei was stunned when he heard this. He had just proposed an idea at the beginning, and Wen Yuren and Wu Bing worked together to do the specific thing. I didn't expect that the credit would be taken by himself alone.
This is actually very easy to understand. Zhong Jinwei’s official position and achievements are far greater than those of Wen and Wu. Naturally, people in the theater troupe like to use Zhong Jinwei’s name. Don’t say that this is indeed created by Zhong Jinwei. Even if it is not created by him, as long as
If you can have any relationship with him, you may be able to take all the credit on him and use his banner.
"Is it a theater troupe from the capital?" Zhong Jinwei asked. He thought that it might be a theater troupe cloned by Wen Wu and began to promote it across the country. However, he seemed to be talking about the Jiangnan area at first. There are also Henan in the Central Plains. I'm afraid
The Yi Cheng said it was because this is the capital of singing, dancing and opera.
"Your Majesty is wise. It was only after the opera troupe from the capital came to perform that it caused a sensation in the whole city. As long as the Marquis goes out and sits in a teahouse and restaurant, he is sure to hear someone discussing this play." Yi Cheng was beaming as he spoke.
, made Zhong Jinwei feel that this person seemed to like drama very much.
"Is it that exaggerated?" Zhong Jinwei was a little disapproving, and then ordered, "Get up and talk."
"Thank you, Lord Marquis." It had been many years since Yi Cheng had sent him there, and his understanding of people's attitudes had become very good. He could sense that Zhong Jinwei's attitude towards him had changed.
Yi Cheng was so happy that he stood up and explained to Zhong Jinwei: "Our Kaifeng Mansion was originally not keen on dramatic music, but after the King of Zhou came, the prince took the lead and gradually became fond of dramatic music.
In Kaifeng Mansion, as long as the family has some money, they will keep a few prostitutes to compose music and listen to music. Mr. Hou, your play is something we Kaifeng people have never seen before. Now I can’t go out without talking about the play for a few words.
I'm sorry to go out."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he could understand the atmosphere. He couldn't help but become interested and asked Yi Cheng: "Does the opera troupe from the capital perform the story about the persecution of the Han people in Liaodong?"
"Yes, Lord Marquis, if you want to see other things, it may take some time before you can see them. It is said that the prince of the palace is editing the drama "Bao Qingtian Judgment" and "Water Margin." Yi Cheng took it upon himself to introduce more to Zhong Jinwei.
, to show the strength of Kaifeng Mansion.
Why is it the palace again? Zhong Jinwei has heard it several times in this short conversation. However, Zhong Jinwei felt that he had no interaction with the palace, so he lost his mind. He continued to ask Yi Cheng: "How about the tickets for the drama?
Do you want to buy it?”
Zhong Jinwei became interested and wanted to go live to see how the play performed among the people.
"Master Hou..." Wang Peng had been standing beside Zhong Jinwei without making a sound, until he heard what Zhong Jinwei meant, as if he wanted to go out to watch a show. Considering the safety of Zhongxing Hou, he still warned him, thinking that it would be best to persuade him to stop.
Zhongxinghou, I won’t go out.
Zhong Jinwei stretched out his hand to stop Wang Peng's next words, while looking at Yi Cheng, waiting for his answer.
Yi Cheng looked at the Dongchang fan, a little hesitant. When he turned around, he saw Zhong Jinwei waiting for his reply. He hesitated for a while before replying: "If Mr. Hou wants to go see it, of course he doesn't need a ticket. There are boxes on the second floor of the theater."
, Mr. Hou will not be harassed by idle people in the box."
Zhong Jinwei nodded after hearing this, then turned to Wang Peng and said: "It's just a show in Kaifeng Mansion, everything will be fine. Otherwise, I won't be able to go out. What fun would there be in life!"
Wang Peng thought about it and felt that what Zhong Jinwei said was reasonable. Nothing would happen in the Kaifeng Mansion. He also heard that Zhong Jinwei's words were a bit harsh, so he stopped insisting.
Seeing that Wang Peng no longer objected, Zhong Jinwei turned back and asked Yi Cheng: "Is there an opening in the afternoon?"
"Yes, yes, yes. It will start in about half an hour." Upon hearing this, Yi Cheng replied quickly.
"Okay, let's all change into casual clothes. I want to pay a private visit incognito!" Zhong Jinwei stood up and ordered Wang Peng with a smile.
Wang Peng had no choice but to agree, thinking that he, Li Laosi and others together had about ten people to protect the Marquis, so it should be okay.
When the postmaster saw Zhong Jinwei preparing to leave, he suddenly knelt down on the ground with a thump and begged Zhong Jinwei: "Please leave a calligraphy treasure to the postmaster."
"Mo Bao, I don't have any." Zhong Jinwei was just thinking about whether to take the four little guys with him, when he suddenly heard the Yi Cheng asking him for something, and he didn't react. After a short circuit for a few seconds, his brain returned to normal: "Ah,
You mean my signature?"
"Master Hou, it's rare for you to come here. The inn is so beautiful. To tell you the truth, I have loved opera since childhood and have been obsessed with it. Please leave a picture of it in calligraphy, Master Hou!"
"After Yi Cheng finished speaking, he kowtowed.
Now Zhong Jinwei was dumbfounded. Can his calligraphy be shown to outsiders? But looking at this Yi Cheng, he must have put in so much effort for this purpose, which is comparable to those of later generations of star chasers.
When I thought about how I would be treated like a star in future generations, a sudden flash of inspiration came to my mind. Aren't the signatures of future stars all like ghost drawings? I just wrote it down casually and let a group of "experts" support me.
Thinking of this, Zhong Jinwei smiled proudly, and then said to the confused Yi Cheng: "Get up, stop knocking, I promise you."
When Yi Cheng heard this, he was overjoyed. He jumped up from the ground and said excitedly to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Marquis, please wait a moment. I will bring the Four Treasures of the Study immediately."
After saying that, without waiting for Zhong Jinwei's consent, he ran out to get something like a gust of wind. His movements were so fast that even Wang Peng, a master of Dongchang who boasted good qinggong, felt inferior.
"Master Hou, do you use a calligraphy brush...?" Wang Peng had seen Zhong Jinwei's calligraphy and was a little worried for Zhong Jinwei. He was afraid that taking it out would damage Master Hou's face! But he did not dare to say it openly for fear of
Zhong Jinwei's self-esteem was hurt, so he had to draw a long tone. Anyway, Zhongxing Hou should be able to understand what he meant.
Zhong Jinwei naturally knew what Wang Peng meant, he smiled at him and said: "It's okay, it's up to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Cheng came in again like a gust of wind, holding the four treasures of the study in his hand, diligently placing them on the table in the room one by one, and then began to polish the ink.
Zhong Jinwei took his time and waited for Yi Cheng to polish the ink. He luckily rolled up his sleeves, then picked up the brush and started writing "shushuashuashua".
Wang Peng and Yi Cheng gathered around to watch curiously, but Zhong Jinwei moved very quickly. By the time they took a closer look, they had already finished writing.
Zhong Jinwei felt a little guilty, so he put down his pen and said loudly to Wang Peng: "Call those four little guys, put them all into casual clothes, and go out to listen to the opera and watch the music!"
Wang Peng just glanced at it and felt that the rice paper was filled with flying dragons and phoenixes. Even though he had read books for many years, he couldn't recognize the words written by Zhong Jinwei.
Yi Cheng, like Wang Peng, frowned while analyzing Zhong Jinwei's calligraphy. After reading it for a while, he felt a little ashamed. He had never seen such fonts before.
Seeing Yi Cheng's serious look, Zhong Jinwei felt even more guilty, and said directly to Yi Cheng: "Don't you recognize it? This is a popular font in my hometown. Pack it up first and go to watch a play with me."
Yi Cheng suddenly realized that it turned out to be the font of Zhongxinghou's hometown. Official news said that Zhongxinghou came from overseas, so it was understandable that he didn't recognize it.
He did not dare to disobey Zhong Jinwei, so he quickly and carefully packed away the four treasures of the study, then went out to change clothes and wait for Zhong Jinwei to go out.
None of them expected that such a prank-like calligraphy would make later generations of historians struggle to guess what the word was, and it eventually became a mystery.