After the two of them stepped forward to salute, Xie Danhong said with a sad face: "Hey, Mr. Lin, because of the Oiran Competition in Wanhua Tower and Qunfang Pavilion, our Grand Theater has suspended performances. We have lost at least several hundred taels this day.
As for the silver. Three days is just a few thousand taels of silver. What are we trying to do? The Oiran Competition has nothing to do with us now."
Xie Yingying hurriedly scolded: "What did mom say? This time it is a three-city fight for hegemony, vying for the throne of the No. 1 courtesan in the southeast. This is related to my status in Hangzhou City. Although we are no longer in the flower world, we can't just sit back and watch. Besides, we are no longer in the flower world.
Well, this matter has nothing to do with Mr. Lin. Didn’t Mr. Lin lose his family business to take charge of this matter? Although money is good, you can’t rely on money to talk about everything."
Xie Danhong rolled her eyes and said: "Girl, you can't stand and talk without pain. Do you know how much we spend in a day? We used to have only a few dozen people, but now we even have painters, lighting engineers, handymen, and girls.
Do you know how much it costs for two hundred people to eat and drink from us a day? This money is not brought by the strong wind, but is earned from performances one after another. If the performance is stopped for one day, hundreds of taels of silver are spent.
There is no reward for going out. Do you think I want to raise money? Talking about money is vulgar, and I, Xie Danhong, don’t want to be such a vulgar person."
Xie Yingying frowned but had nothing to say. According to Lin Jue's request, the Grand Theater vigorously expanded its manpower and raised a large group of apprentices and painters. Lin Jue said that it was to reserve manpower to prepare for the expansion of the Grand Theater, but
This cost is really quite a lot. In the two locations of Jiangnan Grand Theater, Wangyue Tower and Dongcheng, a dozen painters are enough to paint the scenery and slides. In addition, fifteen or sixteen craftsmen and handymen are enough. But now
There are nearly 130 painters and craftsmen and handymen, plus more than 100 actors and apprentices, the daily expenses are really not small. Calculating the income, it is better than before when there was only one theater and only performances every day.
During the two shows, I made less money. Xie Danhong is a money-loving person, so once her income dwindles, she will inevitably complain. However, in most cases, it is just verbal chatter.
Lin Jue was used to hearing Xie Danhong's nagging and didn't think anything of it. In fact, without Xie Danhong's busy planning and strict calculation of money expenses, the Grand Theater would not be what it is today.
"Sister Danhong, I got it, I got it, isn't this for the overall good? It's just these few days, it happens to be rehearsing a new play. You can rest assured that you will earn a lot of money in the future. In the future, you don't have to do anything every day, just
Play with counting the silver. Use the silver to make a bed, the pillows are made of gold, and the quilt is also made of gold. You just sleep on the pile of money every day." Lin Jue said with a smile.
"Bah! If gold is used as a quilt, wouldn't it crush people to death? You will say these words to coax me, and draw a cake for me to see every day." Xie Danhong spat.
Lin Jue laughed heartily. Sometimes it was quite fun to tease this money-loving woman. Although Xie Danhong loved money, she actually had a good heart.
Xie Danhong sighed: "It's not that I don't know that this Oiran Competition is a very important matter, but it is someone else's business. Don't waste our time and money. It's not easy for us to earn some hard-earned money."
The little princess on the side said solemnly: "Thank you, Mom, don't worry, all the losses will be compensated for you. All the labor expenses and the delayed performance income will be settled for you afterwards."
Xie Danhong was stunned, then quickly put on a smile on her face, clasped her hands together and said: "Amitabha, I don't dare to ask the princess to compensate, I just said it casually."
The little princess smiled and said: "That's right. This is not your theater's business. The compensation should not be less than one tael."
"How good is that? But for your palace, this little money is just a drop in the bucket, so I'd like to thank you in advance." Xie Dan's face turned into a smile.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Sister Danhong, please put your heart in your stomach now. The princess has spoken, and one tael of silver is quite a lot. Now I can eat and sleep well."
Xie Danhong nodded repeatedly and said: "That is, that is."
Lin Jue said to Guo Caiwei: "Since the little princess is compensating for the losses of Jiangnan Grand Theater, then you won't sit idly by and watch the losses of my Lin family."
Guo Caiwei said in surprise: "What?"
Lin Jue smiled and said, "Are you just pretending? I, the great steward of the Lin family, put aside my family business to help the palace, how much will the loss be? Doesn't the palace compensate me?"
Guo Caiwei's eyebrows were crooked and her smile was trembling, she pursed her red lips and spat: "You also want to make up for it? Okay. When I tell my father and brother, how about I give you a slap in the face? I guarantee that you will be comfortable with the beating."
Lin Jue said in surprise: "Are you trying to make a fool of yourself? Then let's get rid of it. It is indeed a bully. The prince is merciless when he bullies us ordinary people. The princess is rich and unkind. I want to protest and file a lawsuit."
Guo Caiwei was so teased by Lin Jue that she covered her mouth and laughed non-stop.
Xie Yingying on the side saw that the words between Lin Jue and the princess were quite playful and affectionate, and she saw Guo Caiwei's eyes full of love when she looked at Lin Jue, and she couldn't help but feel sad in her heart. It seemed that the relationship between Mr. Lin and the little princess
The relationship between the two is obviously extraordinary. Who wouldn’t love a person like Mr. Lin? Although the status of the royal princess is noble, Mr. Lin is actually worthy of her. On the other hand, I was born in a dusty world. Although I keep my reputation like a jade, I still have a good reputation.
Due to his low status and low status, Young Master Lin treated me in a distant manner. Although he expressed his feelings, he did not react in any way. It seemed that he was unable to be accepted by the Young Master after all.
Xie Yingying was feeling sad beside her when she suddenly heard Lin Jue laughing in her ear: "Miss Yingying, why are you so stunned?"
Xie Yingying hurriedly raised her head, only to see Lin Jue standing next to her with a smile on her face. Xie Yingying hurriedly turned around to look for the little princess, only to see that the little princess had already stood in front of a screen in the distance and watched. Two painters were nodding and bowing and talking to the little princess.
What? The little princess kept nodding her head, the gold and silver hairpin ring in her bun shining brightly.
"Let me ask you something. Why do you look so distracted? Are you feeling unwell? Your face doesn't look like you are sick." Lin Jue smiled and asked.
"I have a mental illness, how could you know." Xie Yingying muttered in her heart, but a smile appeared on her face and said: "Oh, no, no, the slave family is just thinking that the young master has mobilized so many people to do things. I wonder what will happen in the oiran competition tomorrow night?
What a wonderful show. I can’t think of it even if I try hard to think of it.”
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Actually, it's nothing. I'm just doing some sound, light, painting, and scenery. These are commonly used in our grand theater. How could you not understand?"
Xie Yingying tilted her head and thought for a while, then pointed at the huge scroll and said, "Is that "Luo Shen Fu Tu" really authentic?"
Lin Jue smiled and said: "That's right, because it is the only copy, and Gu Kaizhi's original work has been lost long ago. In the world, only Prince Liang's Mansion has this copy. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is as authentic as the original."
Xie Yingying nodded and said: "It is true that Prince Liang's palace is as rich as the country. But if you ordered someone to copy this painting on a gauze screen, are you going to use lights to set it off as a stage scene?"
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Smart, you guessed it right. The tulle copy and the transparent painting are suitable for lighting. But this is just one of the settings, and naturally it needs to be supplemented by other means we have used.
, such as the magic of light and shadow lanterns.”
Xie Yingying said: "I understand, I actually don't care about those things. I just want to ask, what are you trying to perform with the Luo Shen Fu picture as the background? Are you trying to reproduce the scene in the picture?"
Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "You guessed it again. I want to reproduce this picture. What do you think?"
Xie Yingying looked at Lin Jue in surprise and said: "But... how is that possible? Pictures can be imagined and painted as much as you want. How easy is it to reproduce them with real scenes? There are mountains, rivers, dragons and strange beasts in the picture. How do you reproduce it? The Ling of the Goddess of Luo
How can you do this when the waves are on the water? What's even more troublesome is that this is an oiran competition. How can you show the skills of the contestants and match them with the scenes in the pictures and in people's minds? It's a little bit different.
Be careful, it will be self-defeating, it will be criticized by others, and it will be counterproductive."
Lin Jue nodded slightly and said: "You are right. I admit that this is a bit risky, but I believe I can do it. Everything is in my mind. I am just worried that it will not be presented as it is in my mind.
That's all. Besides, I don't want to copy the gourd. I am loyal to the painting, but not rigidly bound to it. I want to combine imagination with reality, illusion with reality, add my own dance, and compose my own music.
Self-control, this is the effect I want."
Xie Yingying was speechless with her big eyes open. To be honest, she did not understand what Lin Jue meant. Just like before the performance of many plays in the Grand Theater, Lin Jue explained to her the lyrics and music in the play, and the effects of the use of light and shadow.
The meaning was the same as before, and she couldn't understand it most of the time. For example, how to use light contrast to highlight the character's situation and inner emotions. Xie Yingying didn't understand the meaning at all. However, after the performance, someone always told her that the performance just now was
Under the scene of light, her image is so prominent. Although she cannot see her expression, she can feel the waves in her heart. After hearing such words many times, Xie Yingying finally believed Lin Jue's words. It turns out that it can still be used
External means enhance the inner self.
Another example is that Lin Jue likes to specifically point out what kind of instruments are used to play what type of music in the play, and he even wrote an article "On the Importance of Musical Music" for them to read. At first, they didn't take it seriously and thought it was a bad idea.
It ruined the atmosphere of the play. However, every time when the music sounded and the audience was silent, they truly realized that Lin Jue's approach was right.
Therefore, even if she didn't understand and didn't understand what Lin Jue was talking about, Xie Yingying still believed what Lin Jue said in her heart. She believed that since Mr. Lin was so serious about it, this must be a shocking performance.
"Please arrange a good location for me. I want to go see it tomorrow night. But I'm afraid I'm too far away to see clearly." Xie Yingying said softly.
Lin Jue laughed and said: "That's natural. All the actors in the Grand Theater will have the best seats tomorrow night. I hope everyone can get inspiration from it. This will be extremely beneficial to the future of the Grand Theater. This can be regarded as my self-interest.
Go back."
…
In the middle of the night, Hangzhou City was bustling with activity outside the North Gate. Ships arrived continuously at the pier, and a large number of people disembarked at the pier outside the Beiguan Gate, and then checked in from outside the water gate. Because Hangzhou City has adopted a strict interrogation system in the capital, each person is interrogated. People's identities were released into the city one by one, so the city gate was almost always jammed, causing complaints from those who were eager to enter the city.
Several official ships docked at Beiguanmen Pier amid the chaos. Soon, everyone on board got off the ship, yawning, stamping their feet, beating their waists, and moving around.
"Master Liu, we are finally here. It has been a long journey. Can you still bear the food?" Shen Fang, the magistrate of Jiangning in long robes and black beard, said with a smile to Liu Sheng, the magistrate of Yangzhou, who was beating his waist.
Liu Sheng was in his fifties, and traveling long distances was indeed a hard job for him. However, he did not want to be looked down upon, so he straightened his back and said with a smile: "Master Shen, if I couldn't stand it, I'm afraid you would have climbed down long ago. By the way, back then, I When I was the county magistrate in Jinghai County, I went to sea with the local people. I was tossed in the waves for three days and three nights, and I was still very active. What does this little storm mean?"
Shen Fang smiled and said: "I forgot about this. Mr. Liu has said it eight or nine times in front of me. Everyone knows that Mr. Liu bravely resisted the storm more than 20 years ago. Hahaha. "
Shen Fang deliberately emphasized the words "more than 20 years ago" to tease Liu Sheng for bragging about what happened in his youth. Liu Sheng didn't take it seriously and laughed at himself: "Hahaha, yes, a hero will not mention his bravery in the past. Things are very different now than before. However, this waterway is still okay."
Shen Fang nodded and smiled, looking at the dark crowds and shining lights under the moonlight at the city gate in the distance, frowning and saying, "What's going on? Why are they all stuck there?"
Liu Sheng also squinted his eyes and nodded: "We are checking the identity. Magistrate Yan has issued martial law in the past few months, and the remnants of the pirates are still there, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. Magistrate Yan must be even more cautious Be careful. Your identity will be checked one by one before you can let them into the city."
Shen Fang nodded and said: "Yan Zhengsheng is a meticulous person, especially when he is about to leave his job. He will never let trouble happen in Hangzhou."
Liu Sheng nodded and whispered: "Have you heard? I'm afraid Yan Zhengsheng will be reused this time. The Holy One has always wanted to transfer him to the center, but he just refused. This time he probably won't refuse."
Shen Fang nodded and said, "It's the same as ten. I heard... that Magistrate Yan is going to enter the political hall this time, and I'm afraid he will have to pay homage to the deputy prime minister."
Liu Sheng nodded and said, "I've heard that too. Yan Zhengshen actually stayed in the capital back then, and I'm afraid he has become a central figure now. It's just that he refused, and I don't know what he thought. If he joins the Political Affairs Hall to pay homage to the prime minister, With his temper, I wonder if he and Lu Zhongtian can work together and make peace?"
"Harmony? Mr. Liu, don't you hear that one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, and two strong horses can be tied in one manger? Prime Minister Lu and Yan Zhengsu are not people who can take orders from others. If Yan Zhengsu really entered the political affairs hall and became the deputy prime minister, , then there will be some fun to watch.”
"You mean, the two of them can't tolerate each other?" Liu Sheng blinked.
"I guess there will be a fight. If Yan Zheng is the deputy prime minister, he must be in charge. He will not be willing to be a submissive idler. Otherwise, he will definitely not come to Beijing. This time I guess the Holy Lord will Give him some promises. But think about it, Prime Minister Lu is at the height of his power in the court, so why would he want someone to be an eyesore next to him? Needless to say, there will naturally be a fight."
"You are right. No wonder Prime Minister Lu sent Mr. Wu to Hangzhou this time. Mr. Wu gave us a lot of conveniences. It was Prime Minister Lu and Mr. Wu who introduced Zhang Luo to the famous people in the Hanlin Academy and Beijing. "By the way, I understand. This is to give Yan Zhengsu a show of strength. This is to use this matter to kill Yan Zhengsu's prestige before he goes to Beijing. Do you think so or not?" Liu Sheng suddenly said,
"Mr. Liu, you understand. Do you think that because of your reputation, the scholars and masters of the Hanlin Academy can talk to us? Naturally, Prime Minister Lu helped us. On the one hand, it can strengthen our strength, and on the other hand, it can also make Hangzhou No one can be invited. The reason for this is to create convenience for us to defeat Hangzhou Prefecture. Wu Chun came here saying he came to check the public sentiment, but in fact he came to see a joke." Shen Fang pinched his beard. Laughed softly.
Liu Sheng nodded slowly and suddenly said: "By the way, if we win this time, if Yan Zhengshen really enters the political hall and becomes deputy prime minister, will he be harmful to you and me?"
Shen Fang chuckled and said: "Master Liu, Master Liu, you underestimate Yan Zhengsu too much. Yan Zhengsu is not the kind of person with a weak heart. Although he is stubborn and competitive, he is by no means a vindictive person. Man, you can rest assured on this. Mr. Yan is a gentleman, not as dirty as Mr. Liu thinks."
Liu Sheng stroked his beard and pretended to be angry: "You mean, I am not a gentleman? I treat him like a villain?"
Shen Fang laughed softly and said: "Mr. Liu is joking, is it so important whether you are a gentleman or a villain? I dare to admit that I am not a gentleman. I don't want to be a gentleman like Yan Zhengshen. Life is short, you should enjoy yourself in the moment, live your life What does it mean to be as harsh on yourself as Yan Zhengsheng, to be old-fashioned and boring?"
Liu Sheng chuckled and said, "No wonder Lord Shen often visits your Fengyue Tower in Jiangning. Miss Liu Yiyi in Fengyue Tower is probably Lord Shen's pet peeve."
Shen Fang was stunned and said slightly embarrassed: "Master Liu, don't talk nonsense. You can't trust what you hear. There is nothing between me and Liu Yiyi. But Master Liu wants to discuss the matter of the concubine in the sixth room. The officer knows about it. I am planning to go and congratulate you. Speaking of which, Mr. Liu is really getting better and better with age. I am really impressed by you for marrying a 16-year-old concubine."
Liu Sheng also waved his hands in embarrassment and said: "Don't say it, don't say it, I also have something to hide. I am already in my fifties, but I have no children. Several ladies are not living up to their expectations, and all the children they have are girls. There are three ways to be unfilial and have no children. Damn it, am I not the one who can pass on the incense to my old Liu family?"
Shen Fang laughed and said: "It's excusable, it's excusable. Let's not talk about this anymore. Isn't it interesting for you and me to expose each other's shortcomings? Our two families are going to join forces this time. We will definitely win the Oiran Competition tomorrow night. .Whether it’s my Jiangning Mansion or your Yangzhou Mansion, whichever family can win is fine. But we must never let Yan Zhengsheng win. If we lose, I’m afraid Prime Minister Lu will be unhappy. Your and my career depend on Prime Minister Lu, not Seriously."
"That's right, I'm still confident. But I heard that Wanhua Tower and Qunfang Pavilion in Hangzhou are also very powerful. I hope there won't be any accidents. I don't want to be scolded by Lu Xiang. "
"Don't worry, Mr. Liu. This time we are prepared and we are bound to win. There is nothing to fear about Wanhua Tower and Qunfang Pavilion. I heard that these two top brands were lost to a little-known brothel last year. In Hangzhou they Even if you can capsize by yourself, let alone face the strong opponents from Jiangning Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture? What’s more, we still have so much help? Relax and enjoy this trip to Hangzhou." Shen Fang laughed.
Liu Sheng nodded and said: "Since Mr. Shen is so relieved, what else do I have to worry about? Mr. Shen, should we send someone to inform you when can we enter the city? There are so many people blocking the door. ?Sheng Zhengsheng is really putting on a show, he doesn't come to greet us even when we come."
Shen Fang laughed dumbly and said: "You expect Governor Yan to come to greet us? I'm afraid it's just a dream. We can't rush into the city. Mr. Wu and everyone in the capital are about to arrive. You and I might as well wait at the pier. I guess we should be there before dawn. We’re here now. Let Yan Zhengsheng conduct a slow check at the gate of the city. After all, if pirates really sneak in and cause trouble, it will be troublesome.”
