People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "I have a bit of a cold, I'll take some medicine."

Honglian pouted, "It must have been my brother who infected me!"

"Come on, let's go to my place. This place is too gloomy."

"Oh, by the way, what does Madam Mingzhu want with you?"

"He seems to be lusting after me..." Cao Ze thought to himself, then laughed and said, "It's nothing, just a small matter."

Honglian didn't care about that. She said, "Tomorrow is Sister Hu Meiren's birthday. I'm planning to go to the theater today to rehearse with you. What do you think?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking."

Lady Mingzhu watched Cao Ze leave, chatting and laughing with Honglian, from the shadows. She felt a pang of jealousy and left with a soft snort.

Having already taken control of Cao Ze, we can now inform my cousin and begin the plan to have Cao Ze act as an informant within Ji Wuye's inner circle.

……

Chapter 266 They started fighting without warning.

The ninth day of the first lunar month.

Suitable for: travel, sexual intercourse, teaching...

The rooster-man in the theater stared at the four-tiered dragon-shaped bronze water clock, striking a drum with one hand and loudly announcing the time.

"Shenzheng, Bicheng—all crafts cease their work, millet ears hang heavy with grain, Heaven gathers the forms of all things. Hence it is said, Bicheng!"

Bi Cheng, according to the "Shiming·Shitian", represents the completion of a day. As the sun gradually sets in the west, people who have finished their work can begin to rest.

In modern parlance, this is called "getting off work".

……

Before sunset, Cao Ze, who had just finished his afternoon nap, was hurriedly dragged to the theater by Honglian.

"Your Highness, it's only Shenzheng now, and there's still an hour and a half until Wushi (7 PM). Isn't there a need to rush?"

Cao Ze was speechless. He had practiced for most of yesterday and all morning today. He had memorized the lyrics perfectly and could sing them smoothly, so why was he so unsettled?

Honglian looked at Cao Ze and whined, "I'm nervous, can't I ask you to stay with me?"

As the lead actress, she wasn't like Cao Ze, who only had a few lines in the play.

The entire story is narrated by Daiyu herself, which gave her a headache from memorizing it in the palace.

Cao Ze raised his hands and chuckled, "Okay, okay, I understand."

The troupe leader of the opera house was originally a clown, with a comical and cheerful appearance.

"Princess Honglian, do you need any arrangements made for the musicians?"

Honglian waved her hand and said, "No need. Let all the irrelevant people leave. We have musicians."

Just then, Nongyu, dressed in a pale yellow robe, entered from outside the theater carrying a guqin.

At Princess Honglian's request, she will accompany the music tonight.

Nongyu stood quietly and respectfully beside Cao Ze, her gaze lingering on the surroundings for a moment.

This was her first time visiting the opera house, and she was surprised to find the courtyard so beautiful—plum blossoms amidst the snow, a small bridge over a flowing stream, artificial hills and strange rocks, and lanterns and decorations everywhere.

It surpasses even the Zilan Pavilion.

The ugly troupe leader chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away."

Several days ago, he received a request from Consort Hu in the palace to book the entire venue.

The reason their troupe's theater was able to establish itself in Xinzheng was entirely due to the support of Hu Meiren, a wealthy patron. Therefore, when Hu Meiren wanted to book the entire theater, he agreed without hesitation.

The ugly troupe leader went to make arrangements, so Honglian could only chat idly with Cao Ze Nongyu in the courtyard.

What's the next line after "coming from purity and returning to purity"?

While Honglian was chatting idly, she suddenly said this.

Before Cao Ze could speak, Nong Yurou smiled and said, "It's better than being trapped in a filthy ditch."

"Oh, right, right..." Honglian muttered to herself, "Now that you are dead, I will bury you, but who knows when I will die? Today I bury flowers and people laugh at my folly, but who will bury me in the years to come..."

Cao Ze thought to himself, "I didn't realize that Xiao Honglian also suffers from stage fright."

"Your Highness, please don't be nervous. There are only a few of us inside, so it will be fine."

Honglian gritted her teeth, "Is it possible to just stop being nervous like this?"

After saying that, she became annoyed again, thinking that she should never have acted or sung in plays herself.

I didn't think it was anything at the time!

Just as Cao Ze was about to give Xiao Honglian some pointers, he suddenly noticed that someone was secretly watching them from time to time.

Although it was well hidden, to his perception it was no different from a firefly in the dark.

This person's strength is average.

After making his judgment, Cao Ze glanced at it discreetly.

Ok?

Cao Ze was stunned.

In a corner of the theater, a person wearing a dirty hemp robe was doing dirty work.

His body was hunched over, his disfigured face was wrapped in several discolored bandages, and his clothes were tattered and made it difficult to keep him warm.

The hunched old man seemed to realize that Cao Ze had noticed him, and quickly lowered his head.

But soon after, he subconsciously looked at Cao Ze and the other two, or more accurately, at the Fire Rain Agate hanging from Nongyu's waist as a skirt weight.

Cao Ze had a plan in mind. If he wasn't mistaken, this person was Li Kai.

As for why people pay attention to them, it's probably because of the fire and rain agate on Nongyu's body.

If Liu Yi and Li Kai could recognize Nongyu's Fire Rain Agate, how could Madam Hu, Nongyu's birth mother, possibly overlook it?

Cao Ze pondered for a moment, listening to Honglian and Nongyu rehearsing their lines, but chose not to make a move.

Let Madam Hu find out, anyway, Liu Yi won't live for more than a few days.

Lee Kai, the former Right Sima of Korea, lowered his head and pushed the night-scented cart of the theater out of the side gate and left.

Beneath his hempen robe and hood, his body trembled uncontrollably.

It is a fire and rain agate, the kind of fire and rain agate that he commissioned to be crafted.

Li Kai was so shaken that he was momentarily dazed and almost collapsed in the snow on the street.

"I can't die, I can't die..."

Li Kai muttered to himself as he looked at the Night Fragrance Carriage.

What sustained him through the hardships of life in Baiyue and his return to Xinzheng after more than a decade of wandering was his desire to see his former lover and find his daughter.

Is that little girl my daughter?

Li Kai recalled the beautiful girl who had been laughing and chatting with the princess earlier. If his daughter hadn't died, she would probably look just like her...

Inside the theater, Cao Ze continuously attacked Hong Lian.

"...Just treat us like cabbages, treat the stage like your own home, don't worry about making mistakes or how well you sing, just focus on making people happy..."

Honglian listened with great excitement, but after a while, she became dejected and uneasy.

Cao Ze patted his forehead and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Is this the legendary "I can't do it"?

Nongyu smiled gently. She understood Honglian's feelings. She had been just as uneasy when she first played the zither in front of strangers.

A short while later, the sky darkened, and the stars shone exceptionally brightly in the cool night sky.

As dusk approached, Consort Hu and Madam Hu, accompanied by three or four palace maids, entered the theater together.

After an hour of mental adjustment, Honglian finally relaxed and walked over with a smile.

"Wishing Madam Hu good health and peace this winter."

Madam Hu smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess."

Cao Ze usually wanted to say "Happy Birthday," but that wasn't the custom at the time, so he could only imitate Hong Lian...

"May your wife be blessed with good fortune!"

No one seemed to realize that Cao Ze was being silly.

Out of courtesy, Nongyu stepped forward to offer her blessings to Madam Hu.

Madam Hu accepted with a smile, and was about to praise the pretty young girl when her eyes involuntarily drifted to the fire-rain agate at Nongyu's waist.

"boom--"

Madam Hu's mind went blank, her smile froze on her face, and she stared blankly at Cao Ze.

Cao Ze coughed lightly, nodded slightly, and moved his lips a few times.

"Don't make a sound."

Madam Hu regained her senses, trying to suppress her excitement and hold back her tears, but she still couldn't help but grasp Nongyu's small hand.

"Young lady, what's your name?"

Nongyu was a little uncomfortable with Madam Hu's sudden warmth and awkwardly said, "My name is Nongyu, and I am a friend of Mr. Cao Ze."

So they knew each other. No wonder the master kept telling her to rest assured... Madam Hu wanted to tell Nongyu now that she was her mother and her long-lost daughter.

But reason gradually prevailed. Liu Yi was still alive, and for her daughter's safety, she couldn't expose herself.

Now that her husband is taking care of her daughter, she can finally relax.

“Nongyu, Nongyu…that’s a beautiful name.”

Hu Meiren looked at her older sister in surprise, somewhat confused.

My sister has always been aloof and has never been this affectionate towards me before. If you didn't know better, you'd think she was my daughter.