White tea legend

Chapter 171 Theater Troupe

The first ray of sunshine in the morning penetrated the simple eaves and shone on the quiet corridor.

Xiao Qing was dressed in plain green clothes and was concentrating on brewing a pot of medicine.

There was a black iron medicine cauldron placed in front of her, and the firelight reflected her delicate face, revealing an elegance that was not stained by dust.

She held a bamboo fan in her hand and gently fanned the fire to keep the coals in the furnace at the right temperature.

Every movement seemed so calm and skillful, as if the process of brewing the medicine itself was a kind of practice.

There is a bamboo table next to it, which is filled with various medicinal materials: dry skullcap, fragrant cassia twigs, crystal licorice slices, and some grass roots and flower buds of various shapes.

These medicinal materials were collected by Bai Cha himself from the mountains and forests, and he asked Xiao Qing to prepare them for Shijun.

As the concoction boils in the cauldron, the aroma of herbs fills the air.

Xiaoqing used bamboo chopsticks to stir from time to time to prevent the concoction from sticking to the bottom of the cauldron.

Her eyes were focused and firm, as if she could see the power of the medicine merging and sublimating through the smoke.

"Fry over low heat and slowly to get the most out of the medicinal properties." She murmured to herself, this was what Bai Cha had told her.

"God." Xuanfeng snorted coldly as he passed behind her.

Xiaoqing was not convinced and stood up and said to him: "Why are you dragging me? It's 25,000 to 80,000 yuan. When Shijun wakes up, I will have a younger brother. Shijun will support me. You can't bully me!"

"childish!"

Xuanfeng ignored Xiaoqing and walked away.

Xiaoqing also made a face at Xuanfeng's back.

……

One day, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze was not dry.

The theater troupe drove carriages and carried their gear through the forest paths.

Willows cling to the roadside and birds chirp, creating a peaceful scene.

The troupe leader's name is Li Shen. He is upright, kind-hearted, and good at management, so everyone in the troupe is convinced by him.

As the team was slowly moving forward, the sharp-eyed young man discovered two unconscious passers-by, a man and a woman lying on the side of the road.

He hurriedly stopped the parking team and jumped out of the car to check.

"Master, there are two people unconscious here!" Xiaosheng shouted.

Li Shen immediately ordered someone to stop the carriage and went to check it out personally.

The man's green shirt is shabby, and the woman's clothes are ragged. Both of them have sickly flushed cheeks and weak breathing.

Li Shen saw this and felt pity: "I'm afraid these two are suffering from heatstroke. Please help them quickly."

The actors acted quickly, gently helped the two people onto the carriage, fetched water, and slowly fed them into their mouths.

Li Shen patted the man's back carefully, causing him to spit out a few mouthfuls of filth. The woman was also taken care of carefully.

After a while, the two gradually woke up.

The man opened his eyes and saw that he was in a carriage. Sitting next to him was a kind-hearted middle-aged man. He suddenly understood and thanked you with clasped fists: "Thank you for saving me. My name is Hongjian. This is my sister. My name is Ji Lan.”

Ji Lan also slowly regained consciousness, nodded tiredly, and thanked everyone.

Li Shen waved his hand and said with a smile: "We are all in this world, so why bother saying thank you! Now that you're awake, come with us to the next stop."

Hongjian and Ji Lan were grateful and agreed to accompany them.

The troupe set off again, and Hongjian chatted happily with the troupe along the way. However, he concealed his background as a monk, the encounter with robbers, Ji Lan's loss of virginity, and other details. He only said that the two were orphans.

Li Shen became more sympathetic after hearing their experiences, so he arranged for them to do chores in the troupe in exchange for room and board.

Hongjian was good at writing, so he was responsible for copying the script. Ji Lan helped with laundry and cooking.

The two gradually found a new sense of belonging in the troupe.

Soon, Li Shen noticed Hongjian's talent and began to let him participate in the choreography of the theater troupe.

Ji Lan's health gradually improved under the care of the troupe, and she sometimes appeared in small roles.

As the days passed, the troupe's relationship with Hongjian and Ji Lan became deeper and deeper.

The hardships and joys along the way have left an indelible mark on their hearts.

After walking around for a while, the troupe arrived at a city, and upon inquiry, it turned out to be Jingling City.

Hongjian couldn't help but sigh, after walking around for a while, why did he come back again?
In Jingling City, flowers are blooming and the streets are bustling.

Merchants gathered together with a dazzling array of goods. The willow trees beside the ancient road swayed gently in the spring breeze, and laughter and chatter in the market kept coming and going.

In this corner of the bustling market, a theater troupe was packing up and preparing to go to a wealthy family to celebrate the birthday of their elders.

This family's surname is Lu, a well-known wealthy gentleman in Jingling City. The elder of the family, Mr. Lu, is celebrating his seventieth birthday today.

The Lu family's mansion is located in the north of the city. The two towering trees in front of the door look quite majestic, and the door is hung with red lanterns, which is full of joy.

Li Shen, the troupe leader, led his team into the gate of the Lu family. They saw a wide courtyard, colorful flowers, lights and colors everywhere, and servants coming and going, very busy.

The servants of the Lu family led the troupe through the cloister and to the stage in the back garden.

This stage was built by the Lu family specifically for banquets. It was surrounded by curtains embroidered with gold threads, and carved wooden chairs were placed under the stage for guests to watch.

Li Shen straightened his clothes and stepped forward to salute Lu Weng and congratulate him: "Weng Lu, I wish you happiness like the East Sea and longevity as long as the Southern Mountains."

Lu Weng smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed. He was wearing a red robe embroidered with the Chinese character "Shou". He was energetic and his voice was as loud as a bell: "Haha, thank you for coming all the way. Just enjoy the performance."

As the gongs and drums sounded, the troupe began a wonderful performance.

A new play written by Hongjian, "Golden Peach for Life" is currently being staged.

The play tells the story of a fairy offering peaches to bring blessings, which not only coincides with the auspicious day of birthday celebrations, but also makes the audience laugh.

Ji Lan dressed up as a fairy and danced gracefully, as if she was really falling from the sky, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

The female members of the Lu family watched intently, and the children clapped their hands excitedly.

Lu Weng nodded frequently and cast approving glances from time to time. At the banquet, the table was filled with delicacies from the mountains and seas, and the glasses were filled with wine and jade liquid. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

As the play came to an end, Li Shen led the troupe to thank Lu Weng and exit.

However, Lu Weng waved to them to stay and said with a smile: "You all performed so well, I am very happy. Please accept this small gift." After saying this, he ordered people to send gold, silver, silk and other generous gifts.

Li Shen and others were overjoyed and quickly bowed in thanks.

Lu Weng's eyes stayed on Ji Lan, which made Ji Lan very uncomfortable.

In the evening, the class leader really called Ji Lan out of Datongpu.

During the heyday of the Li Dynasty, it was extremely common for wealthy families to invite opera troupes to perform when they held hall gatherings.

However, the selfish desires of some powerful families have lurked an unknown dark side behind this artistic exchange activity.

Some wealthy families even have an unwritten rule: the leading actress must spend the night with the master after the performance.

To the outside world, this may be difficult to understand, but in those wealthy mansions polluted by the secular world, it is a well-known "hidden rule."

The people in the troupe were already used to it.

Therefore, the moment Ji Lan was called out by the class leader, everyone knew tacitly what would happen next, but no one said a word.

Meanwhile, Hongjian was still writing furiously in the Lu family's study arranged by the class leader, writing the script for tomorrow's performance.

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