The Beacon of Kyushu

Five days later, just after daybreak, the Yun Qingxiang Opera Troupe drove three carriages into the city with great fanfare. These three carriages were not boxcars for passengers, but carts for pulling things, and at a glance, they were fully equipped with gongs, drums, erhu, suona, and other instruments.

The troupe owner, Lou Mingli, was a middle-aged man wearing a dark brown robe and a mustache. He urged the team to move forward while calculating how much money he could earn by going to Beijing. Most of the actors in the troupe were not famous actors, so naturally they didn't have to be so particular. They all had clear faces and walked beside the carriage towards Bianhe Street.

The scale of Yunqingxiang is much larger now than that of the late Tang Dynasty, and the staff is definitely not comparable to the grass-roots troupe at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Everything seems to be much more prosperous than a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, there are not many famous actors in the troupe. If it were not for the three famous actors in the past, it would be difficult for them to survive in the booming opera industry.

When the team was about to reach Bianhe Street, a beautiful girl in a green skirt and a girl of 13 or 14 blocked their way. Lou Mingli didn't know these two people, and thought that they were dissatisfied with him for entering Beijing without paying respects to the emperor, which was against the rules of the opera industry. He hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Ladies, I am Lou Mingli, the owner of Yunqingxiang Troupe. May I know your name?"

The girl in the green skirt smiled sweetly, "Master Lou, my name is Qingyu, and I am a singer in Nanqing Palace. Our prince wants to invite your troupe to sing in Nanqing Palace for a few days. What do you think?"

Lou Mingli was shocked, thinking that he had misheard, "This... Miss, what did you just say? Asking our troupe to perform in the palace of the Eighth Prince? You... You are not kidding us, are you?"

Qingyu shook her head and said, "Master Lou, everyone knows the name of Yun Qingxiang. How could I tease you? Here is the deposit from the prince. After you finish singing, there will be another valuable gift." As she spoke, she took out a large golden ingot from her sleeve and handed it to Lou Mingli without hesitation.

Lou Mingli had been around for so many years, but he had never seen anyone so generous, and he couldn't stop smiling. Qingyu also smiled, and took out dozens of gold ingots of different sizes from his sleeves, and stuffed one into the hands of each of the class.

Yun Qingxiang had been running the troupe for so many years, but apart from the countless gold and silver gifts from Li Cunxu a hundred years ago, when had he ever received such a huge sum of money? From the troupe owner Lou Mingli to the young actors who had just joined the troupe, they had never dreamed that they would be able to encounter such a good thing in their lifetime, and they were so happy that they knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Qingyu.

Qingyu was already used to seeing these people, but Liu E saw it for the first time. She laughed in her heart, "These guys pretend to be emperors and generals, gods and ghosts on the stage, but they still look like servile slaves off the stage. It's a pity that I'm not a man, otherwise I would have to try hard to show off my style. Then I could have real emperors, generals, gods and ghosts kowtow to me. That would be really fun!"

"Boss Lou, you have received the gold. I believe you will go to the party in Nanqing Palace, right?" Qingyu looked at Lou Mingli who was kneeling at his feet, and said slowly in a lukewarm voice.

Lou Mingli looked at Qingyu and said with a smile: "Don't worry, young lady. We will go to Nanqing Palace right now. We will not stop until we sing for ten days and ten nights and die of exhaustion on the stage!"

Qing Yu nodded slightly, "Okay, the stage has been set up in Nanqing Palace, and we are just waiting for Master Lou and the other bosses to come and enjoy the show. Remember, this performance is not only for our prince, but also for the emperor and the King of Wei, so your words and actions must be appropriate. If you are not careful and anger the emperor, none of us can afford it!"

"What!" Lou Mingli had heard a little about the Eighth Prince's straightforward and peaceful temperament, so he didn't feel much pressure to sing for him. But when he heard that the Emperor and the Prince of Wei were also coming, his heart was immediately in turmoil. Countless thoughts merged into a stream and rushed straight into his mind, making him feel as if he was in a fog. Qingyu looked at his expression and asked, "What's wrong, Master Lou? Others have tried their best to see this royal relative but still can't get a chance. Now that the emperor has personally come to honor you, are you going to back out? It doesn't matter if you don't dare to go. Return all the gold and I will invite the troupe that dares to sing to go."

Lou Mingli couldn't bear to return the gold before it was even warm, so he had to bite the bullet and said, "Okay, I'll sing for the emperor, I'll do it! Please lead the way, young lady, we'll go to Nanqing Palace now!"

Qingyu nodded in satisfaction, holding Anian's hand, and walked lightly towards Junyi Street. Lou Mingli and the actors in the class looked at each other, each of them determined to go through fire and water for this piece of gold, and followed the two girls' graceful backs to the Nanqing Palace.

Soon, the troupe arrived at the gate of Nanqing Palace. They looked at the magnificent palace in front of them, and their legs still felt a little cramped. Qingyu knew these people's concerns, so he didn't take them to see Zhao Defang right away. He only sent Liu E to report the news, and he led them directly to the stage prepared in advance in the garden.

Liu E was still young, and her steps were brisk. She arrived at Yin'an Hall in a blink of an eye. She saw Zhao Defang sitting in the hall, drinking with a beautiful girl in one hand, and walked in with a smile, "Brother Zhao, Sister Qingyu invited the troupe, and they are resting in the stage now."

Zhao Defang smiled and nodded, letting go of the singing girl in his arms, and waved to Liu E, saying, "Anian, haven't you been complaining these past two days about not having seen the emperor for so long in Tokyo? I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you again this time."

Liu E was somewhat disappointed and asked, "Brother Zhao, didn't you just send someone to invite him? You are his nephew, don't you think he will even give you this little face?"

Zhao Defang sighed, "Alas, the emperor said he didn't like watching operas, so he only sent his son here. As for which prince it was, I don't know, but I think it was probably the third prince Yuan Xiu who loves to eat, drink and have fun."

Liu E pouted and said, "No way, it's Zhao Yuanxiu who's here? I thought it would be the handsome and well-versed Zhao Yuanzuo. Even the second prince Zhao Yuanxi is better than him!"

Zhao Defang was startled and asked, "Anian, do you know Zhao Yuanxiu?"

Liu E nodded, "Yes, that day Sister Qingyu took me out to buy things, and we met this Zhao Yuanxiu on the road. He relied on the fact that he was a prince, and rode his horse wildly on the street. Unexpectedly, the horse ran too fast and almost hit Sister Qingyu. Sister was furious and argued with him, but he was not only unreasonable, but also cried loudly in the street, as if he was the one who almost got into trouble. Later, he was tired of crying, so he threatened Sister to sing for him. If you don't sing, he will drag us to the palace and let the government punish us. Sister Qingyu had no choice but to sing a song for him. Guess what happened?"

Zhao Defang asked curiously, "I wonder if this guy is interested in your sister Qingyu?" (End of this chapter)