I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 167 Theater Troupe

The old woman stopped trying to persuade him, for fear of offending Xiao Shirong.

Xiao Shirong thought about Fang Qinrou's appearance just now, and said thoughtfully: "However, Fang Qinrou recommended the opera troupe in this way, and I always feel that there is something fishy about it."

A lowly concubine who wished she would never see him again suddenly had the courage to come to her and ask her to find a theatre troupe. Anyone would be surprised.

Xiao Shirong ordered: "Go and find out the origins of this troupe."

"Yes." The old woman did it immediately.

Xiao Shirong slowly stroked the jade ring on his hand and sneered.

"If you let me know that you are deliberately scheming, then don't blame me for being cruel."

The opera troupe from other places is indeed very famous. They perform everywhere and are very popular.

Even Xie Fei brought Fu Yu and Mother Liu to see it, and gave them some money as a reward.

Fu Yu exclaimed, "Oh my god, the girl actually gave money to outsiders. Is the sky going to fall?"

Xie Fei said: "It's been a long time since I've watched such a good show. They've worked so hard, I can't just do it for free."

"What is freeloading?" Fu Yu asked.

Xie Fei smiled without explaining, and asked Mother Liu, "What do you think?"

Mama Liu said, "I seldom watch plays."

The implication is, not very good.

Xie Fei just laughed.

In fact, in her previous life in modern society, she also didn’t understand those elderly people who loved to watch operas. She always felt that the singing was so confusing that sometimes she couldn’t even hear what was being sung.

In this era, not to mention mobile phones and television, even novels, or so-called storybooks, are scarce, making it even more difficult to pick out some good ones.

Therefore, Xie Fei also learned to watch plays, listen to music, and listen to storytelling, which finally added some interest to the boring days.

The play was over and the guests left one by one.

Xie Fei was about to leave, but he saw a familiar maid go backstage, grab a young boy, and chatter something.

Mother Liu was sharp-eyed and said, "That looks like Miss Fang's maid?"

Fang Qinrou only had this one girl, and she was always with her. Mother Liu remembered her after seeing her once.

Xie Fei also recognized it and was watching from upstairs.

The maid took the boy to the side courtyard, and Xie Fei and the other two followed.

They were upstairs with a wider view, and they caught a glimpse of Fang Qinrou, wearing a veil, waiting in the corner.

As soon as she saw the boy, Fang Qinrou took off her hat and handed it to the maid, then took out some copper coins from her purse and stuffed them into the boy's pocket.

The boy looked listless and had no enthusiasm after getting it.

Fang Qinrou said something else, as if giving careful instructions, and the boy nodded slowly, but he still looked listless, as if he was very resistant.

Fang Qinrou showed reluctance, and finally patted the boy on the shoulder before hurriedly leaving with the maid.

Fu Yu looked at him for a while and said, "That boy looks to be only eight or nine years old. Could he be Fang Xiaoniang's brother?"

Xie Fei nodded and said, "Fang Qinrou has younger brothers and sisters. Judging from their ages, it should be her."

The only person who could have allowed someone as timid as Fang Qinrou to sneak out of the house and go to the opera troupe to meet someone could be her own brother.

It seems that in order to make a living, he got his younger brother into the opera troupe.

On the way back, Mother Liu said, "This is also a good way out. Although actors have a low status, at least they can earn a living."

Actors were of the lowest class, even lower than some slaves, and their status was very low. But as long as they worked hard to sing, someone would be willing to give them a few copper coins, and at least they would not starve to death. Fu Yu said, "I'm afraid that Miss Fang had no choice but to send her brother to the troupe."

"She is the backbone of the family, and it is not easy for her to make this decision." Xie Fei remembered that Fang Qinrou's father died early, leaving her with only her mother and siblings.

Her mother was seriously ill and frail, and her younger siblings were young, so she had to rely on her to save a little bit of her monthly allowance and give it to her family.

If there was no other way out, he would not have sent his brother to join the opera troupe, hoping that he would gain skills and find a way out.

In Pei Mansion, Xiao Shirong also knew about this.

"Fang Qinrou sent her brother to join the opera troupe?" Xiao Shirong asked in surprise, "Does she have a deep hatred with her brother that she would do such a despicable thing?"

The maid said, "Ms. Fang must be at her wit's end."

The fake Pei Yuan is bedridden and may die at any time. A lowly concubine like Fang Qinrou doesn't even know where to escape.

Her mother is seriously ill and she has to spend money on medicine every month.

Not to mention giving money to her brother and supporting him in his studies, it would be difficult to support the entire family with her meager monthly salary alone.

I had no choice but to make this decision.

But Xiao Shirong couldn't understand.

"This girl is short-sighted. What's the difference between sending my brother to a theatre troupe and selling him to a brothel?" Xiao Shirong said leisurely, "If it were my brother, I would make him study hard and pass the imperial examinations to get a good reputation."

The maid remained silent.

But in this way, Fang Qinrou's previous advice to Xiao Shirong to hire a troupe of actors also made sense.

After all, her brother was in that opera troupe. If he had the chance to perform on stage and was noticed by a wealthy family and kept in their house, at least he wouldn't starve to death on the streets.

If you meet a generous master or mistress, you can get some money by just giving her a generous reward.

Xiao Shirong leaned back, leaning comfortably, and asked indifferently, "Is that troupe really good at singing?"

The maid said, "Yes, even Miss Xie brought people to see it."

"When that woman was at the farm, didn't she like going out to watch plays?" Xiao Shirong raised an eyebrow and said, "But since this troupe is really famous, we should arrange a show to bring good luck to the master."

The maid went to do it quickly.

However, the troupe was very popular and had to perform in various cities, with schedules scheduled for half a month later.

Everyone in the mansion soon learned the news. The concubines were regretting that they could not go out to listen to the news, but now they could all listen to it, so they were all very happy.

In Songyueju, Fuyu was grinding ink for Xie Fei and said, "The lady finally did something gratifying, even though it was just an excuse to bring good luck to the master."

Xie Fei stopped writing, blew on the paper, and said, "Isn't it that when a sickly person marries a normal person, it is called a happy occasion?"

Fu Yu said, "Who cares what his excuse is? Since the Madam has arranged it, we might as well listen to it. Didn't you regret not being able to listen to it again?"

Xie Fei washed the brush and placed it on the pen holder.

"I like going to the theatre alone. It's very uncomfortable to go with a lady."

Who knows whether Xiao Shirong is acting on a whim and really wants to invite the people in the mansion to watch the show, or whether he has some other tricks up his sleeve and wants to plot against someone?

There is a lot of turmoil in this mansion, so we can't be careless at all.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and Xiang Xiaoniang and Fang Qinrou were taking a walk in the garden.

Fang Qinrou said happily: "The Madam really wants to invite a troupe of actors. She has always been generous. If she can give some silver as a reward, my brother will surely be able to share a few copper coins."

Xiang Xiaoniang smiled and said, "The lady is always generous to the opera troupe. As long as the singing is good and can please her, there is no need to worry about not getting a reward."

(End of this chapter)