The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 140: Watching the West Chamber Baoyu's Intentions

"Good! We didn't miss the main event!"

Xue Pan's loud shout immediately woke up everyone in the Jia family who was present.

He immediately gathered his mind and moved towards the three people.

Zhang Yun逸 and Xue Pan dealt with them one by one, but Jia Baoyu looked absent-minded and kept glancing at the stage in the center.

After sending everyone away, Jia Rong welcomed the three people into the hall and sat them down in the seat with the best view.

Jia Baoyu's face flushed as he asked, "What kind of play is this? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"I didn't lie to you, did I?" Xue Pan said with a smug look on his face. "You usually follow the old lady and aunt, what new things can you see? Although I have never read a serious storybook, I know that what is sung here is a serious drama of Romance of the West Chamber."

"Really?" Jia Baoyu said in disbelief.

"How could it be false? If you don't believe me, go back and look for it yourself and you'll know."

Xue Pan said, "We have only sung the third act of the third volume now. The best part is yet to come!"

Jia Baoyu nodded silently and made up his mind to search carefully when he got back.

Zhang Yun逸 sneered at the good show mentioned by Xue Pan.

These obscene words are vivid and colorful.

He was also very familiar with the song's description of how children worked hard as children, how their fingers used to relieve fatigue, and the routines of folding and stretching.

However, these are nothing to him who has been influenced by later generations.

However, it was a big shock to Jia Baoyu.

He was not an inexperienced rookie, nor was he a seasoned man like Xue Pan. When he suddenly heard these dirty jokes, his impure thoughts were aroused and his face immediately turned red.

She murmured, "Her eyebrows are as green as distant mountains, her eyes are as clear as autumn water, her body is as soft as butter, her waist is as tender as a willow, her face is pretty and her heart is charming, her figure is gentle and her personality is calm. Although she doesn't know how to use acupuncture and moxibustion, she is better than Guanyin who saves people from suffering."

After reading it twice, Fang took a deep breath and sighed, "This 'Mian Da Xu' is really a portrait of Miss Cui..."

"It's not even time for the main show yet!"

Xue Pan looked at him with disdain, ignored him, and turned to introduce him to Zhang Yun逸.

"I helped Brother Zhen pick this troupe today. There will be a main show later. I promise Brother Yi won't be disappointed."

He seemed to have watched it countless times and knew the plot very well. He only glanced at the stage occasionally, as if he was looking for something.

Zhang Yunyi also chatted with him in a random manner.

Not long after, Xue Pan suddenly poked Zhang Yunyi with his elbow and said with a wink, "Here it comes, here it comes!"

"Boom, boom, boom!" A burst of rapid drum beats rang out.

The young man on the stage asked, "Who is it?"

The young actress dressed as Hongniang answered: "It's your mother in your previous life!"

"Is the lady coming?"

"You took the quilt and pillow, and the young lady came in. Zhang Sheng, how do you thank me?"

"It's hard for me to express my gratitude in words. Only heaven can express my gratitude!"

"Be gentle and don't scare her!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Sheng on the stage had already placed the Qingyi Zhengdan on the chair.

……

The narration sounded: "The embroidered shoes were just half taken off, the willow waist was stretched out, and she was too shy to raise her head, just leaning on the mandarin duck pillow. Her hair looked like a golden hairpin, and her bun was crooked..."

This time, even Zhang Yun逸 was slightly surprised and looked towards the stage in the center.

On stage, the fake play actually became real...

In ancient times, actors were of lower status than prostitutes. Zhang Yun逸 had never studied the reason in detail before.

Seeing the current scene, he finally understood something.

Be it a brothel or a business with half-closed doors, they still have to be closed to hide from the public.

But it is different for actors. Perhaps there is some entry threshold for such plays, or they will only be performed when invited home by dandies like Xue Pan and Jia Zhen, and will not be performed in public.

But even so, it is nothing but self-deception. There is no such thing as dedicating oneself to art in this era. How can actors who are used to playing these kinds of roles not be discriminated against?
Most of those who can afford such a troupe are playboys, and among them there are some guests with special hobbies. Once they are in the mood, they will do anything and must participate in the performance.

There are even many false ones, those who are always arguing with each other.

If you pretend to be serious, once it happens more often, your mentality will gradually change.

Even the young actors kept by the Rong family, Ouguan, who played the young male role, and Xiguan, who played the young female role, secretly turned their fake role into real life and pretended to be a couple. What about these adult actors?

Xue Pan was used to such vivid performances, so it was no wonder that he would set his sights on Liu Xianglian when he saw him making a guest appearance on stage.

These things even made Zhang Yunyi, who had seen a lot of the world, astonished.

Not to mention Jia Baoyu, who was meeting him for the first time and was not deeply poisoned.

Xue Pan was not afraid of trouble. Seeing that he looked very miserable, he encouraged him, "This play is not only good to watch, but also to perform. It just so happens that there is no need for any lyrics at this moment. If Bao brother is interested, just go up and I will let you do the performance."

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu pursed his lips, swallowed his saliva, glanced at the stage, then looked around at the people in the Jia family who were staring at him. In the end, he was concerned about the consequences and shook his head.

Xue Pan didn't force it, he smiled and said, "When we eat later, brother, I will go backstage to see that young man. Don't say I don't take care of you. If you are shy, come backstage with me later."

He was quite frank about his preference for young students.

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu's body trembled violently. He was obviously quite interested, but too embarrassed to speak. His eyes were fixed on the stage, but it was unclear whether he was looking at the female lead in green clothes who was leaning against the chair with a mandarin duck pillow, or at the young actor who was working hard there.

Xue Pan ignored him and turned to Zhang Yunyi and said, "If Brother Yi is interested, why don't you go over with us? It will be more lively with more people!"

Naturally, Zhang Yun逸 was not interested in such excitement.

Just at this moment, Jia Zhen came to inform that the banquet was ready.

Zhang Yun逸 satisfied his curiosity and didn't bother to pay attention to this pair of funny guys. He left the flower hall on his own and followed Jia Zhen to the hall to have dinner.

The guests invited from outside seemed to have agreed on it. Although they presented gifts, no one came to the banquet.

Jia Baoyu and Xue Pan seemed to have really gone backstage. In the huge hall, there were only him and a few idle people from the Jia family.

However, he was a little surprised that Jia Lan was sitting upright and not following Li Wan.

Compared to Jia Baoyu, who is older both in generation and age, Jia Lan seems a little different.

Zhang Yun逸 knew the invited personnel, and it would have been fine if it was just others, but even the two brothers Shi Nai and Shi Ding were not present.

However, he understood it after thinking about it.

Although the Shi family was not affected by the Ministry of Works' case, they would not be grateful to the Ning Mansion for this.

On the contrary, if historians are not involved in such matters, there is naturally no question of closeness.

Jia Zhen didn't think there was anything wrong with no one showing up, since his purpose was just to receive gifts.

Since no one was there, he could save some wine and food, and he even gave instructions to the kitchen early.

Zhang Yun逸 was also happy to have a leisurely life. He had an extraordinary status. Although the idle people in the Jia family wanted to curry favor with him, they could not talk to him.

With only Jia Zhen and Jia Rong accompanying him, there was no need for any socializing.

However, he was young and energetic after all, and after watching the lively show, he couldn't help but think of Ping'er's outfit today, and he even had two drinks in advance to liven up the atmosphere.

After eating, Fang stood up and said, "That's all the drama is about. I won't watch it later. I'm going to go back and rest first."

……

(I have copied a few paragraphs from the original text of Romance of the Western Chamber. I am afraid that if I copy too much, it will not pass the review, so I have picked out the ones that are as subtle as possible. Interested readers can search for them by themselves. The third book has four folds and the fourth book has one fold. The author can only help you here.)
(End of this chapter)