TL: Hua
“I heard that when Master was young, his troupe performed The Drunken Concubine in the palace. At that time, the Empress Dowager liked it very much and rewarded them with several large plates of gold. Xiaoyu, if you perform well this Sunday, you will become famous in Shanghai. Huang Jue will definitely be angered to death.”
Qi Xiaoyu listened, smiled, and said nothing. He held a steamed bun in his left hand and bit it from time to time. His right hand, holding the chopsticks, didn’t touch the plate of pickles.
Seeing Qi Xiaoyu’s look, Qi Wanrou, who was carrying food to the table, kicked the two apprentices under the table with her foot, signaling them to shut up, and then said to Qi Xiaoyu,
“Xiaoyu, don’t feel pressured. Dad asked you to sing because he has confidence in you. Just do it as you usually do, and there will be no problem.”
Then someone said, “Dongsheng, you should worry about yourself. Xiaoyu is much more stable than you. Your hoarse voice always cracks.”
After saying that, he pinched his throat and said it in falsetto.
This caused everyone to laugh.
Qi Xiaoyu also laughed, but he was still a little absent-minded.
Among the people at the two tables, only Gu Zizhen looked at him silently.
After breakfast, the door was closed. The apprentices formed teams and began training according to Qi Fengjian’s instructions.
Qi Fengjian chose to rent this old house because it was large inside. The front hall was spacious enough to accommodate many people. Once the door was closed, the training would not affect the people next door.
Everyone trained with a lot of effort; some trained with big swords, some trained with water sleeves, some trained with fake whiskers, and some trained their arm dance movements.
As other apprentices said, Qi Fengjian strongly valued The Drunken Concubine the most and specially called Qi Xiaoyu to a small room to practice alone.
Walking in a circle, door curtain, lying fish, and straightening cloud hands…[mfn]These are Peking opera dance routines. I can’t attach all the pictures, but you can Google it if you’re interested.[/mfn]
Qi Xiaoyu had learned this play before, and now Qi Fengjian is staring at him, repeating each movement one by one, hitting if it’s not right, and repeatedly practicing several outstanding points.
“A good actor can control the scene, and as long as he wants, he can make the people below cheer.”
Although Qi Xiaoyu was thinking about other things when he was eating earlier, he was focused when he started practicing.
Qi Fengjian taught him since he was a child, “The play is more important than anything else,” and once he was on stage, he couldn’t fool around.
Qi Xiaoyu was also hard-working, practicing from morning to night, and then until midnight, until the other apprentices outside fell asleep, and only his voice was left.
When he finished practicing, he went out of the small room and saw Gu Zizhen standing there against the wall.
Qi Xiaoyu closed the door and whispered, “Brother, why haven’t you gone to bed yet? Are you waiting for me?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Gu Zizhen waited for a while, changed his posture, and shook his numb legs.
“I think you probably couldn’t sleep as well after practicing so much. Why don’t we have a talk?”
Qi Xiaoyu thought about it and nodded, “Everyone else is asleep; shall we go to the roof?”
“Good.”
The two climbed to the roof one after the other and chose a clean place to sit down. It was a little cold at night, but there were stars, dotted like broken diamonds in the deep blue sky.
Gu Zizhen glanced at his little junior brother beside him and spoke first, “When Master asked you to sing The Drunken Concubine this morning, I saw that your expression was not very good.”
Qi Xiaoyu looked at the stars in the sky. “There are so many plays that can be sung in the troupe; I don’t know why Master wants me to sing this one. I’m not afraid of difficulty, but this play—”
Gu Zizhen interrupted, “We don’t have the costumes for this play.”
“Yeah.” When Qi Fengjian asked him to sing The Drunken Concubine during the day, his heart skipped a beat, and he began to worry about this matter.
Other people didn’t know, but he and Gu Zizhen helped count the belongings, including the trunk, headwear, and other miscellaneous items, so they clearly knew what was available.
At that time, the escape was too urgent. They had already thrown away as much of their belongings as possible to save the costumes and props, but they still lost a lot of good things.
Peking Opera’s costumes are expensive. The palace’s maid costumes, top flowers, and shawls already cost a lot of money, not to mention Concubine Yang’s dragon robe and jade belt and the thousand-gold phoenix crown on her head, which is the most expensive.
Gu Zizhen thought and said, “I still have one dragon robe left, and the jade belt can be used after modifying the ready-made one. The most important thing is the phoenix crown. I remember that the phoenix crown that Master used to keep was all handmade and decorated, but now it’s hard to find.”
Qi Xiaoyu nodded slowly, “That’s why I’m surprised. I don’t know why Master thought of letting me sing this.”
Gu Zizhen pondered for a while and whispered, “Maybe it’s because this play costs money.”
“Yeah.”
Qi Xiaoyu paused for a moment, but with a little guidance from Gu Zizhen, he immediately realized that this stage was equivalent to what Xun Qian had given them. Qi Fengjian didn’t want him to lose face.
Qi Fengjian was doing his best to support him in front of Xun Qian.
Gu Zizhen continued, “I think that Master is going to spend the dowry money left for Junior Sister.”
Qi Xiaoyu lightly bit his trembling lips.
Gu Zizhen patted his junior brother’s shoulder and then took out a white cloth bag embroidered with blue patterns from his pocket. “I have some private money here; you can take it. It’s definitely not enough to buy one, but you can talk to people and see if you can rent a phoenix crown.”
Qi Xiaoyu did not refuse, lowered his head, and took the money. “Thank you, senior brother. I also have some money myself. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go to inquire.”
“Go early. Since Master usually gets up at seven, you should go out at six. It’s almost time for Wusu Road to open.”
“Yes.”
The two settled down and looked at the starry night sky together.
After a while, Gu Zizhen said to himself, “I hope Shanghai’s stability can last longer. We can sing for two more years, save money, and then slowly buy new headwear.”
Qi Xiaoyu did not speak; he thought of Xun Qian.
After saying this, Gu Zizhen also thought of Xun Qian. He turned his head to look at Qi Xiaoyu, “That Commander Xun, is he really good to you?” Qi Xiaoyu thought about it and shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what his intention is.”
Gu Zizhen pondered for a moment, “Everything seems fine at the moment, but the future is unknown.”
He said, rubbing Qi Xiaoyu’s hair, then stood up from the ground, patted the dust on his clothes, and pulled Qi Xiaoyu up, “Don’t think too much; go to rest quickly; you have to get up early tomorrow.”
*
Qi Xiaoyu came out of the room early the next morning while the others were still sleeping. Both upstairs and downstairs were quiet.
As a result, when he arrived at the living room downstairs, he saw Qi Fengjian holding two walnuts and standing there.
Qi Xiaoyu wanted to turn around and go back, but it was too late. Qi Fengjian glanced at him and said, “You got up early today.”
Qi Xiaoyu had to bite the bullet and move forward, thinking that the aged ginger is spicier[mfn]The older, the wiser.[/mfn].
Qi Fengjian said to him, “Since you are up, accompany me for a walk.”
“Yes.”
Qi Xiaoyu agreed, tightened his purse, and followed his master obediently. They got on the rickshaw and went to Wusu Road.
Wusu Road is a whole street dedicated to selling the four treasures of the study[mfn]Brush, ink, paper, inkstone[/mfn], costumes, and antiques. Qi Xiaoyu originally wanted to come here by himself.
He now felt like he was caught cheating by his master.
But Qi Fengjian didn’t mention it to him. After getting off the rickshaw, he walked half a step in front of him and asked,
“Do you know why I asked you to sing The Drunken Concubine?”
Qi Xiaoyu shook his head and said obediently, “Master must have his own intentions.”
Qi Fengjian snorted, holding two walnuts in his hand, and said under the early summer morning light, “The more you do this business, the more you can’t let people look down on you.”
Qi Xiaoyu bowed his head and listened.
“We must have something that can hold the fort. We can’t underestimate ourselves and be played with by others; otherwise, we will really become playthings.”
Qi Xiaoyu nodded. “Xiaoyu remembered it.”
Qi Fengjian looked back at his little apprentice and lowered his voice a little, “Your master is old, and the troupe will rely on you to support it in the future.”
Qi Xiaoyu was stunned and hurriedly said, “There are many senior brothers in the troupe, and you’re not old, Master.”
“Zizhen,” Qi Fengjian paused, “works hard and has talent but lacks a little ingenuity. If the Red Moon Troupe wants to develop, it needs a really famous actor. He alone isn’t enough.”
After saying the above, Qi Fengjian stepped into the largest store. “I think the current situation in Shanghai can be peaceful for a few years. You should work harder to take advantage of these good times. Boss, do you have the phoenix crown of the imperial concubine for sale?”
The store is full of opera props, including knives, spears, swords, and phoenix crowns. There is a sign hanging outside called “You Long Xi Feng,” which is quite famous. Qi Xiaoyu heard about it when he was in Huanxi Garden. If you want to buy good costumes, come to this store.
After Qi Fengjian asked, the shopkeeper with a matchmaker’s mole[mfn]Mole above the upper lip.[/mfn] looked at the visitor and said, “Boss, do you want to see it or buy it?”
Qi Fengjian, “Buy it.”
The shopkeeper immediately responded, “Boss, wait, I’ll get it for you right away.”
Immediately, the shop assistant brought out a large mahogany box.
Upon opening it, there was a shimmering phoenix crown inside, with each pearl shining like a night pearl, adorned with golden borders and a bright, full emerald blue hue.
It looks well-made at first sight. No wonder people say there are so many good costumes in “You Long Xi Feng”.
Qi Fengjian and Qi Xiaoyu thought so in their hearts and couldn’t take their eyes off it.
Then, Qi Fengjian asked the price.
Qi Xiaoyu hurriedly stopped him and persuaded him in a low voice, “Master, let’s rent a different headwear first. This one is too good. We will buy it later when we save some more money.”
Qi Fengjian knocked on Qi Xiaoyu’s head with his hand, “What did I just say to you?” He then said, “I brought enough money today. If not, don’t you have your private money?”
Qi Xiaoyu didn’t dare to refute but heard the shopkeeper say, “There is no troupe singing the Drunken Concubine recently. This crown has been kept for a long time. Now the Economic Department is controlling prices throughout the city. If you buy it, I can definitely give you the lowest price.”
Half an hour later, the shopkeeper watched the two guests finally carry the mahogany box with the phoenix crown that he had collected for five or six years, feeling distressed and relieved. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, collapsed on the chair, and rested for a while, then walked aside to call the people in the commander’s mansion, saying carefully,
“Butler Cheng, it was sold to Mr. Qi at the price you said.”
The other side agreed, “I will send the payment to you today to make up for the price difference.”
The shopkeeper was a clever person. He thanked the other person, no longer feeling sad about the crown, and added, “It’s a coincidence that many people came to buy the imperial concubine’s accessories today.”
“Who else came to buy?”
“Just now, after Mr. Qi and Master Qi left, Rong-beile also came and bought a jade belt and a mud gold folding fan.”
Butler Cheng hung up the phone and turned around to tell Xun Qian about it.
Xun Qian called Zhang Han, “During the incident at Hu Haibing’s place, was Rong-beile present?”
“Yes, he didn’t want me to take Mr. Qi away at that time.”
“I understand.”
After this small episode, Sunday soon arrived.
Xun Qian had been waiting for this day to come. He didn’t dare to disturb Qi Xiaoyu on Aitong Road in the previous few days.
On this day, thinking that he could finally see Qi Xiaoyu, he asked someone to drive to the Laurel Stage just after lunch.
His box was in the middle of the second floor, and Rong Qing was sitting next to him.
If you’re not reading this translation at knoxt.space, it’s stolen content!!!
Consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
If you notice any mistake or error, comment or contact me on discord –> huarricane
![Flying Dust [Fei Chen]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9k.png "Flying Dust [Fei Chen]")
