On the morning of August 14th, Lin Jue took Fang Huanqiu to the rehearsal venue inside Qingbo Gate. Last night, Lin Jue told Fang Huanqiu some things that happened between himself and Wangyue Tower. Of course, there were some grievances in the family. Lin Jue
It was not mentioned. Unexpectedly, Fang Huanqiu found it very interesting when she learned that Lin Jue was secretly helping Wangyue Tower win the Oiran Competition. This made her look forward to the outcome of the Oiran Competition.
For Fang Huanqiu, the Oiran Competition was just for fun, and she didn't care at all who won the Oiran. But now, Fang Huanqiu found a sense of participation, because Lin Jue helped Wangyue Tower, which brought her into it.
Today is the last intensive rehearsal of the storybook. After half a month of polishing and repeated scrutiny of every detail, the storybook called "Du Shiniang" has come close to the feeling that Lin Jue wants.
Lin Jue has put a lot of effort into the costumes, characters, lighting, lyrics, and dialogue. The girls in Wangyue Tower have lived up to expectations. From being awkward and unaccustomed to the performance at the beginning, to the smooth performance now, Lin Jue has not been disappointed.
It took two sticks of incense, Lin Jue and Fang Huanqiu, as the only two viewers, to watch the fully formed "Du Shiniang" from beginning to end. The moment the curtain closed, Lin Jue
Lin Jue nodded with a smile. Although it is not yet known whether such a play will meet the taste of the judges and the people, Lin Jue believes that this play is close to perfection.
There was a gentle sobbing sound coming from beside him. Lin Jue turned around and saw that Fang Huanqiu was gently wiping his tears, seemingly very excited.
"Junior sister, why are you crying?" Lin Juexiao asked.
Fang Huanqiu turned his head with red eyes and said, "I was moved. It's such a tragic story, but it's also very beautiful. Did you really write this? If it were staged at the Oiran Competition, it would definitely be full of excitement.
The audience shed tears.”
Lin Jue smiled and said: "This is just a story, it's not true. Don't get too excited. Don't get too excited. I wrote the story, but no matter how good the story is, it won't be a good performance. These
I have been working hard here for half a month, just for this play. It has finally been polished into shape. Are you going to pick out the shortcomings? Didn’t you say you want to give me some advice?"
Fang Huanqiu shook his head and said: "I can't find any faults, not one of them is bad. Even if this play doesn't win the first prize, it will definitely be spread."
Lin Jue laughed heartily. While the two were talking, the lights in the room turned on, and the women who starred in Wangyuelou came out from behind the curtain one after another. Xie Yingying and Hongxiu, who played the role of the young master Li Jia in men's clothing, led everyone to Lin Jue and saluted.
Lin Jue and Fang Huanqiu hurriedly stood up and returned the courtesy.
"Mr. Lin, are you satisfied with everyone's performance? Today is the last day. If there is anything we can think about, we can make changes in one day." Xie Yingying said with a smile on her face.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "I'm quite satisfied. I don't know if the judges of those competitions are satisfied or not."
Xie Yingying said with a smile: "As long as the slave family and the sisters are satisfied with the master, as for the rest, let it take its course. Didn't the master say that you should do the part you can control without regrets? The master has tried his best, and we sisters have also tried our best.
.”
Lin Jue nodded and said: "Very good, it's good to have this mentality. I'm just worried that you will feel disappointed if you fail. This play has been polished to this point and is complete. You can now have a good rest and wait.
The oiran competition is tomorrow night."
The girls clapped together, with faces filled with joy. Xie Danhong and Lan Niang ordered everyone to change clothes and pack their things before returning to Wangyue Tower. Xie Yingying accompanied Lin Jue and Fang Huanqiu out to the yard.
Under the autumn sun, the sky was high and the clouds were light. Xie Yingying escorted Lin Jue to the door of the courtyard, stopped and said: "Master Lin, I will see you off not far away. I have to pack up. In the afternoon, it will be my turn for the preliminary selection of Wangyue Tower. If I win consecutively,
If you can't pass the preliminary round, then your hard work will be in vain. The slave family needs to polish the composition and singing skills of Young Master's song Yi Jian Mei, and I don't want to capsize the boat in the gutter."
Lin Jue chuckled and said: "This will never happen. Also, the song Yi Jian Mei was not written by me, but by you. Don't let it slip then. I'm waiting for your good news.
Yes. We can talk more when we board your red boat tomorrow afternoon."
Xie Yingying nodded in agreement, and Yingying bowed down to say goodbye to Lin Jue and Fang Huanqiu.
Lin Jue took Fang Huanqiu out of Yongjinmen to the West Lake. That was the venue for the Oiran Competition, and Lin Jue wanted to take a look. When they arrived outside Yongjinmen, they saw a large amount of wood and bamboo piled up on the dock mountain on the east bank of the West Lake.
A dozen large boats are carrying logs, bamboo rafts and other items from the shore to the water a hundred steps away from the shore. There, a huge floating platform with a radius of 20 feet made of floating rafts and logs is taking shape.
The fifteen brothels in the semi-finals compete for the oiran competition.
The layout of the floating platform has begun to take shape. One side is closed and three sides are open. The closed side is naturally used for people to change and wait. The other three sides are surrounded by water, facing the Hangzhou City Wall to the east. The water can be reached a hundred steps away from the shore.
The boats are docked, and the avenues on the shore and even the city walls and towers are available for people to watch. This should fully take into account the number of people who will come to participate tomorrow night.
Lin Jue and Fang Huanqiu wanted to take a boat to get closer, but were stopped by several soldiers before they reached the dock.
"According to the orders of Mr. Yan, the prefect, and Mr. Song, commander of the Ning Navy in Hangzhou, from midnight yesterday to noon tomorrow, the coast of the West Lake and the water surface were sealed off by Ning Haijun's water, land and water troops to ensure the normal conduct of the Oiran Competition and that no one else could approach. The notice was posted in the city
Didn't you see the gate?" A soldier pointed at the city gate and shouted loudly.
Lin Jue hurriedly led Fang Huanqiu back into the city. He really didn't pay attention to the notice posted when he left the city. Ning Haijun, a regular army stationed in Hangzhou Prefecture, had already been dispatched to maintain public order, which shows how much the government attaches importance to this oiran contest. It should be noted that Ning Haijun is
The regular army will not be dispatched unless there is a major event.
Although Lin Jue has been a man for two generations and spent almost his entire life in Hangzhou in his last life, he has never participated in the Oiran competition once, and he did not know that the scene and momentum could be so grand and huge. Since August, I have seen it with my own eyes
He personally felt the grandeur of this grand event, and Lin Jue began to feel excited and expectant in his heart.
I missed so many wonderful things in my last life, how could I live my whole life in such a muddle? It is really puzzling.
…
At the end of the afternoon, the examination room for the preliminaries of the Oiran Competition was set up in the Hangzhou Pavilion Hall. In the waiting area outside, twenty or thirty brothel girls, accompanied by their maids and mothers, each occupied a screen and waited to take the stage.
There are already ten finalists in the preliminaries in the morning. Chu Xiangxiang from Wanhua Tower, Gu Panpan from Qunfang Pavilion, Ai Zhenzhen from Piaoxiang Courtyard and other ten strong contenders have been shortlisted. Especially Chu Xiangxiang and Gu Pan
Hope, the two composed a song and dance with new lyrics by Dongfang Weiming and Sima Qingshan, who were two of the most popular poets in the world at that time. As soon as they finished the song, they directly locked the place for direct promotion without the need for time to focus on the recommendation. It can be said that they are very powerful.
Extremely.
Xie Yingying was sitting at a small table behind a green bamboo screen, drinking the tea she brought to soothe her throat and waiting. Xie Danhong on the side was obviously a little nervous, looking outside the screen from time to time. She cared too much about this Oiran competition. Originally, she didn't
She planned to participate, but then Xie Yingying brought the storybook of "Du Shiniang" and it touched her heart.
This sentence is very suitable for the life of a brothel girl, and since she entered the flower world, similar tragedies have happened countless times before her eyes. I don’t know how many brothel girls hope to find a good man to entrust them to their whole life.
She was abandoned and trampled on by others, and ended up in abjection and death. And she herself had encountered bad people. Although she was not as miserable as Du Shiniang, she still felt sorry for her. So she agreed to Xie Yingying's request and...
On the one hand, it was because the storybook impressed her, but on the other hand, Wangyue Tower was indeed at the point of life and death. Those who were suppressed had no way out, and the only way to turn things around was to win the Oiran.
However, in the past half month, Wangyue Tower had not made any money, but had spent a lot of money rehearsing this play. Xie Yingying spent her own money, and Xie Danhong also spent some money. They had spent nearly 500 taels of silver.
How could Xie Danhong not care about the result of this time? That was her pension money. She had been in the flower world for so many years, but she actually didn’t have much savings because she couldn’t bear to exploit the sisters in the building too much. She was also born in the world, and she knew it.
of joys and sorrows.
A woman's cry came from outside the screen, mixed with a woman's scolding: "Little hoof, I asked you to learn more skills every day, but you just don't want to. In our line of work, is it just lying down and spreading your legs?"
Simple? Nowadays, in the building in Hangzhou City Flower World, it’s not that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has its own abilities, but I’m so blind that I took you as the leader. I’m not making progress all day long. I can’t even pass the preliminaries, and I keep boasting that I want to be the leader.
Oiran, you have brought shame on me. I can tell you that the cost of this registration will be deducted from you. Why are you crying? If you had known this, why don't you make progress on weekdays? Walk around, it's embarrassing..."
The woman's scolding and the woman's crying gradually faded away. Xie Danhong smacked her lips and rubbed her hands and whispered: "It seems that Miss Wanwan, the number one player in Jinshui Pavilion, has failed. Alas, this is already the sixth consecutive defeat.
It’s too difficult for thirty people to compete for five seats. It’s so unfair. Why were ten seats given away in the morning? Ouch!”
Xie Yingying frowned and said to Xie Danhong: "Mom, you are so anxious, it makes me nervous. Don't be nervous, okay? You have been restless, which makes people feel uneasy. Didn't we agree? If you really can't even pass the preliminary round,
, I take full responsibility. After the Oiran Competition, I...I will just comb the cage and start receiving guests."
Xie Danhong said hurriedly: "Yingying, mom didn't mean that. That's all, mom shouldn't make you nervous. I just went out and left you alone for a while."
Xie Danhong sighed and walked out, hearing someone outside shouting: "Wangyue Tower, Miss Xie Yingying. Please come into the hall to compete."
Xie Danhong suddenly turned around and saw Xie Yingying slowly getting up, grabbing the pipa on the spring bench next to her and holding it in her arms.
