Value peace

Chapter 29 Longevity Troupe ([-])

Aunt Qin stood in front of the window of the wing room and looked at the kitchen not far from her.

Qin Yu, who claimed to be his niece, was killing fish.Gouging out the gills of the fish, beating the scales of the fish, cutting the belly of the fish...the movements are graceful and skillful, definitely not something that can be achieved in a day or two, but judging by her ten fingers that are like green onions, she doesn't seem like someone who does this often.

Aunt Qin went out of the house and heard Qin Yu instructing the cook: "... the meat should only be half-cooked, otherwise it will be like slag in your mouth... remember to take it out and use the water to fill it up, not straight well water , it’s town by town..."

Aunt Qin approached, and asked with a smile, "What delicious food are you doing?"

Qin Yu looked back and smiled, as sweet as honey: "We will eat twice-cooked pork today."

Aunt Qin nodded.

Qin Yu's culinary skills are undeniable. I have been here for five days, and it is not the same every year. The girls who have followed her to learn opera are now playing with her like sisters, and no one pays attention to her face. That birthmark.Apart from cooking, Qin Yu usually sat on the small bench under the eaves and watched them rehearse, holding his chin and squinting his eyes, looking as cute as a cat.

Aunt Qin touched Qin Yu's temples lovingly, and said softly, "Qin Yu, come with me, I have something to tell you."

Qin Yu handed the fish in his hand to the cook Hu Siniang, then washed his hands in the rice washing water beside him, and then followed Aunt Qin into her bedroom.

Aunt Qin's bedroom is simple and elegant, with a red lacquered canopy bed against the wall, hung with white curtains, next to the canopy bed is a cirrus table, on which there is dowry, and beside the cirrus bed is a round two-leaf There is a corner wardrobe, a round table in the middle of the room, and four embroidered piers.

Aunt Qin pointed to the embroidered pier and said, "Sit down." As she spoke, she took the lead on another embroidered pier.

Qin Yu sat down with low eyebrows.

"Let me tell you one thing." Aunt Qin sighed, "I was sold to the longevity class when I was three years old. I learned martial arts first, and then Huadan. The first play I sang on stage at the age of 12 was "Zhan Changzhou". I sang for 15 years. Later, I lost my waist when I turned the clouds and couldn't go on stage again. I took over the master's hand, and after another five years, I made the Changsheng troupe the largest troupe in Jiangnan. Last year in Mrs. Li's family sings a play, and Mrs. Li has taken a fancy to Xiao Taohong in Tsing Yi, who is in the team, and wants to take over the house. Xiao Taohong is not willing, and I am not willing. I think, if he really likes Xiao Taohong, he will accept her as a concubine. He only said to take over the house without making a promise, so Xiao Taohong followed him. Isn't it ignorant. In the end, Mrs. Li said that I didn't show face, so he ruined Xiao Taohong... that night. Xiao Taohong couldn't think about it for a while, so she went to the house hanged himself."

Speaking of this, Aunt Qin burst into tears: "Lord Li said to outsiders that Xiao Taohong's hands and feet were dirty and stole things from their house... I was imprisoned for more than nine months, and the old luthier broke my wrist." , the head of the Changsheng troupe, Fengxian, became an outsider for a seventh-rank official in Yuezhou Prefecture, Jiangnan County... The Changsheng troupe of the largest troupe in Jiangnan just disbanded."

Qin Yu frowned slightly.

Aunt Qin continued: "It's the first time I feel the impermanence of life, but what I can't bear the most is the masters and sisters of the longevity class... If I hadn't been so tough at the time... everyone would not have ended up like this. But the Longevity Class has formed some good karmas after so many years. Thanks to the assistance of the Seventh Aunt of the Liu Mansion, people in the Longevity Class who survived the catastrophe are able to live here."

Qin Yu comforted her: "There are unpredictable things in the sky, and people have good fortune and misfortune. Auntie, don't be too sad, since everyone has come out, things will gradually get better!"

Aunt Qin smiled reluctantly, and suddenly turned around to stare at Qin Yu with sharp eyes: "Yes, there are unpredictable things in the sky, and people have good fortune and misfortune. Only after the accident in the longevity class, I really understand what the old people often say, "Be kind to others, and be kind to others." I have left my way', I am now thinking of making good fortune, and I hope that girl, you can remember to bear good fruits and get good blessings, so as not to implicate these innocent people in the yard."

Feeling guilty, Qin Yu forced a smile and said, "I will keep my aunt's teachings in mind."

Aunt Qin stared at Qin Yu with sharp eyes like a knife for a long time, making Qin Yu feel a little restless, Aunt Qin said lightly: "You remember, if something happened to the people in this room because of your matter Mishap, I will never let you go even if I am a ghost!"

Qin Yu came out of Aunt Qin's bedroom, and the gentle spring breeze blew in her face, and she realized that her back was wet.A seven or eight-year-old girl was practicing kung fu in a dress with long water sleeves. Her name was Kou'er, and she was a young apprentice of Qin Yugang.Kou'er saw Qin Yu coming out of Aunt Qin's room, and called her with a smile: "Sister Yu, what did the master tell you? Did you cook delicious food and reward you with candies?"

Qin Yu gently caressed the little girl's face and said, "Yes, the master rewarded me with a big candy!"

On February [-]th, Mr. Gu personally submitted an apology form, saying that the second girl, Gu Xiyan, had chickenpox and needed to worship the pox empress at home, so she could not participate in the selection of concubines.

The imperial concubine personally sent a female official from the palace to visit.

At the end of February, Gu Panxi, who was sent to Songhe Academy in the south of the Yangtze River and stayed at his uncle's house, came back, and Mrs. Gu's cousin Liu Jihe also sent him back.

On the day Gu Panxi came back, Qin Yu was happily trying the powder that she had made by herself for the first time in her life.Kou'er carefully applied Qin Yu's powder on the back of her hand, smelled it, and said happily, "Sister Yu, this powder is so fine and fragrant."

Qin Yu felt complacent, and used her little fingernails to wipe a little bit on the back of her hands, looked at it, nodded and said, "Not bad, not bad. If it is sold out, I wonder if someone will buy it?"

"You go to Tongxinfang to buy a box of powder and cream, and then you will know the difference when you come back and compare them carefully." The one who advised Qin Yu was a fifteen or six-year-old girl named Qionghua, with a honey complexion and heavy eyebrows. Another apprentice of mine is Tsing Yi.

Qin Yu really went out and bought a box of Tongxinfang's makeup powder, and when he came back, he felt cold after trying it.

The color is not as natural as others, the time is not as long-lasting as others, the fragrance is not as pure as others...

Qionghua covered her mouth and grinned: "People's Tongxin Square has a history of almost 500 years..."

Qin Yu asked: "Gu Xiyan asked: "Did it rise during the Taichu Dynasty? "

Qionghua laughed and said, "Maybe it is!"

Qin Yu muttered a few words, then turned to dig out rice.

Kouer Yu Qionghua: "What did Sister Yu say?"

Qionghua turned her head and thought: "It seems to be saying something like 'do you want to live' or something!" "

Kou'er looked at the powder box in Tongxinfang in his hand: "What does this have to do with I don't know?"

Qionghua smiled inexplicably, turned around and went to practice.

In the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of March, and Shengjing seemed to have a lot of happy events overnight.First, the laurel crown of the crown prince, who had been pending for a long time, fell on the head of the fifth prince Yang Yu without any accident. Shengjing held a series of celebration activities, and then the fourth prince married the daughter of Liang Guogong Zheng Pengfei. On the main street, the gift box in front entered Liang Guogong's mansion, and the gift box in the back just came out of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City.While the people in Shengjing were still talking about this marriage, Fang Shaoqing, the grandson of Danbohou Fang Jinxiu who had broken off her marriage with Xu Zhen, got married in a low-key manner. It was said that the woman was the daughter of a prison official in the Ministry of Criminal Justice.During this period, the Xu family was not idle, and held a happy event. Xu's family took in a new concubine, who was as beautiful as a flower, and talented...

The longevity class also followed suit.First, the Zheng family invited a well-known troupe in Shengjing to sing a concert. Aunt Qin found a relationship to be a "green leaf" for a while, and then went to Xu's house to sing.Since the Longevity Troupe arrived in Shengjing, this is a very rare grand event. Although it is only a supporting role in the hall, being able to sing two halls in a month has greatly improved Aunt Qin's financial situation, and the people in the troupe Everyone is beaming with joy.Kou'er said innocently: "It would be great if Mr. Xu took concubines every day." Everyone laughed a lot.

Only Qin Yu always carried a trace of sadness, even with a smile full of worry.

Qionghua is having the best time with Qin Yu now, and she handed Qin Yu a grape: "Try it, Fengtai's tribute is from the Xu family."

Qin Yuxin took the grapes and threw them into his mouth, and said vaguely: "If only I could go to Fang's house to have a look!"

Qionghua spit out the grape seeds and pulled them with her hands, saying: "It's the sixth house of the Fang family who organizes weddings, and their family has never liked such things."

Qin Yu seemed a little distracted.

Qionghua caught Qin Yu: "Let's go, let's go, didn't you say you were going to see the largest Wanxiu Tower in Shengjing? Today our troupe will go there to sing an excerpt..."

Qin Yu followed the members of the Longevity Class to Wanxiu Tower.

Wanxiu Building is a theater, the largest and best theater in Shengjing. It is a bit like an opera house. It is square and has a two-story structure. There is a red carpet, a mahogany square table and chairs, melons, fruits, cakes and tea sets on the table, and plum vases with seasonal flowers. The waiters are wearing uniform green gowns, with cloth belts of the same color around their waists. , with a white towel on his shoulders, straight back, with a hint of pride in his humble expression, he ran upstairs and downstairs.There are bead curtains hanging in front of the box on the second floor, the scene above cannot be seen clearly from below, but the whole theater can be overlooked from above.

When the people from the longevity class went, there were already piles of play cards made of flowers in front of the stage, on which were written the titles of today's plays and the stage names of the protagonists.

Qin Yu is just a follower in the Changsheng class, helping deliver tea and running errands, and his status is similar to that of the Changsheng class in Wanxiulou. The reason why the Changsheng class can come to Wanxiulou to sing a play today is because Aunt Qin met in the past. An old sister who is now the head of the largest opera troupe in Shengjing, Lianzhu Troupe, she recommended to come to audition for a discount, and she also introduced the two "hall performances".

Apart from Qin Yu, everyone in the Longevity Class was very nervous about this performance. They didn't want to become famous in one fell swoop, but only hoped that they wouldn't be booed. After that, they would be able to sing in Wanxiu Tower by chance, which could be regarded as being in Shengjing. This hidden dragon and crouching tiger opened up the situation.

Kou'er was young and didn't have any plays, so Qin Yu joined him temporarily, and the two idle people were scurrying around the backstage of the theater.

The backstage was chaotic, people in makeup, people in costumes, people hanging their voices, people asking for tea, people asking for honey water, and little attendants running around, watching Qin Yu and Kouer look like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, Especially Qin Yu, who was more curious than Kouer, ran to touch other people's props, but was dragged out by a big man in black and shouted: "Which family's daughter is this, running around, don't take it with you." Qin Yu and Kou'er were so scared that they ran back to the small dressing room in the longevity class.

(End of this chapter)