After the two stepped forward to salute, Xie Danhong said with a sad face: "Hey, Lin Gongzi, for the sake of the Oiran Competition of Wanhualou and Qunfang Pavilion, our Grand Theater has stopped performing, and we will lose at least a few hundred taels of silver in the end." Three days is a few thousand taels of silver. What are we trying to do? The Oiran Contest doesn't have much to do with us right now. ”

Xie Yingying hurriedly said angrily: "What did Mom say? This time it is a three-city battle for hegemony, competing for the throne of the first Oiran in the southeast, which can be related to the status of my Hangzhou City. Although we are no longer in the flower world, we can't sit idly by. Besides, this matter has nothing to do with Lin Gongzi, didn't Lin Gongzi lose his family's business to preside over this matter? Silver is good, but you can't talk about everything. ”

Xie Danhong rolled her eyes and said, "Girl, you don't have a backache when you stand and talk." Do you know how much we spend in a day? In the past, we only had a few dozen people, but now we have almost 200 people, including painters, gaffers, handymen, and girls, eating and drinking ours, do you know how much it costs a day? The silver was not blown by the wind, but it was earned from performances. stopped performing for a day, and spent a few hundred taels of silver in return without it. Do you think I want to lift money? Talking about money is cheesy, and I Xie Danhong don't want to be such a cheesy person. ”

Xie Yingying frowned, but she had nothing to say. According to Lin Jue's requirements, the Grand Theater vigorously expanded its manpower and raised a large group of apprentices and painters. Lin Jue said that he was reserving manpower to prepare for the expansion of the Grand Theater, but this cost was really a lot. In the two places of Jiangnan Grand Theater, the Moon Tower and the East City, in fact, more than a dozen painters can be used for the painting of sets and slides. Plus fifteen or sixteen craftsmen are enough. But now there are nearly 130 painters and craftsmen alone, and with more than 100 actors and apprentices, the daily expenses are really not small. In terms of income, it is less than when there was only one theater and only two performances a day. Xie Danhong is a money-loving person, and once the income decreases, it is inevitable to mumble. However, most of the time it is just a matter of talking.

Lin Jue was used to hearing Xie Danhong's nagging and didn't feel anything, in fact, if it weren't for Xie Danhong's busy Zhang Luo and harshly calculating the cost of silver, the Grand Theater would not be where it is today.

"Sister Danhong, I know, I know, isn't this for the overall situation? It's just a few days, and it's just time to rehearse a new play. You can rest assured that you will earn a lot of money in the future. In the future, you won't have to do anything every day, just count the silver and play. Make a bed of silver, and pillows of gold, and a quilt of gold, and sleep in a heap of money every day. Lin Jue said with a smile.

"Phew! If gold is used as a quilt, won't it crush people? You will say these things to coax me, and draw a pie every day for me to see. Xie Danhong said.

Lin Jue laughed. Sometimes teasing this woman who loves money is also quite happy, although Xie Danhong loves money, she actually has a good heart.

Xie Danhong sighed: "It's not that I don't know that this Oiran Contest is a very important thing, but it's someone else's business, and I don't want to delay our time and money." It's not easy for us to earn some hard-earned money. ”

The little county lord on the side said in a deep voice: "Mother Xie, don't worry, all these losses will be compensated for you." All the labor expenses and delayed performance income will be settled for you afterwards. ”

Xie Danhong was stunned for a moment, quickly put a smile on his face, and put his hands together and said: "Amitabha, don't you dare to let the county lord compensate, the old man just said it casually." ”

The little county lord smiled and said: "Yes, this is not your theater's business, and the compensation should not be less." ”

"How's that good? However, for your royal mansion, this bit of silver is also a drop in the middle, and the old man thanked him first. Xie Danhong's face turned into a flower.

Lin Jue smiled: "Sister Danhong, put your heart in your stomach now." The county lord spoke, a lot of silver, and now he ate and slept well. ”

Xie Danhong nodded again and again: "That's, that's." ”

Lin Jue said to Guo Caiwei: "Since the little county lord compensates for the loss of the Jiangnan Grand Theater, then you won't sit idly by and watch the loss of my Lin family." ”

Guo Caiwei was surprised: "What? ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Do you want to pretend to be garlic?" My Lin family is a big steward, and I put my family's business to help the palace, how big should the loss be? Won't the royal palace make amends? ”

Guo Caiwei's eyebrows and eyes trembled, and she pouted her red lips and said, "You also want to make amends?" Okay. How about I treat my father and brother and compensate you for a meal? Make sure you are comfortable. ”

Lin Jue was surprised: "Do you want to play the board?" That's better to be free. Sure enough, it was a bully, and the palace bullied us little people without mercy. The county lord is rich and unkind, I want to protest, I want to sue. ”

Guo Caiwei was so amused by Lin Jue that she covered her mouth and laughed.

Xie Yingying, who was on the side, saw that there was a lot of teasing and intimacy in the words between Lin Jue and the county lord, and saw that Guo Caiwei's eyes were full of love when she looked at Lin Jue, and she couldn't help but feel sad in her heart. It seems that the relationship between Lin Gongzi and the little county lord is obviously extraordinary. Who wouldn't love a character like Lin Gongzi? Although the status of the county lord of the palace is noble, in fact, Lin Gongzi can also be worthy of her. On the other hand, he was born in the dust, although he was as guarded as jade, but after all, he had a bad reputation and a low status, Lin Gongzi was like leaving him, although he expressed something, but he did not have any reaction. It seems that he is difficult to accept by his son after all.

Xie Yingying was looking sad beside her, and suddenly heard Lin Jue laughing in her ear: "Miss Yingying, why are you stunned?" ”

Xie Yingying hurriedly raised her head, but saw Lin Jue standing beside her and looking at her with a smile, Xie Yingying hurriedly turned her head to look for the little county lord, but saw that the little county lord was already standing in front of a screen in the distance to watch. The two painters were nodding and saying something to the little county lord. The little lord kept nodding his head, and the gold and silver hairpin rings on his hair were shining.

"I'm asking you. How do you not keep your mind? Are you feeling unwell? His face didn't look like he was sick. Lin Jue asked with a smile.

"I'm sick of my heart, how do you know." Xie Yingying muttered in her heart, but a smile appeared on her face and said: "Oh, no, no, the slave family is just thinking, Gongzi mobilized so many people to do things, I don't know how wonderful it will be at the Oiran competition tomorrow night." The slave family can't think of it even if they want to break their heads. ”

Lin Jue said with a smile: "Actually, it's nothing, it's just some things like sound, light, painting, and shadow sets, which are commonly used in our Grand Theater, how can you not understand?" ”

Xie Yingying tilted her head and thought about it, then pointed to the huge picture scroll and said, "Is that "Luo Shen Futu" really genuine?" ”

Lin Jue smiled and said, "Sort of, because that is the only copy, Gu Kaizhi's authentic work has long been lost." In the world, only Liang Wangfu has this copy, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a genuine work comparable to the original. ”

Xie Yingying nodded and said, "The Liang Wangfu is rich and rivals the country, but it is really not a lie. However, if you have someone copy this painting on a tulle screen, is that to use the light as a stage scene? ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Clever, you guessed it." Tulle copying, the painting is transparent, just suitable for light and transparency. However, this is only one of the things in the set, and it will naturally be supplemented by other methods we have used, such as the magic of light and shadow. ”

Xie Yingying said: "I understand, I don't actually care about those, I just want to ask, you use Luo Shen Futu as the setting, what is this to perform?" Is it to reproduce the scene in the picture? ”

Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "You guessed it again, I just want to reproduce this picture, how about this idea?" ”

Xie Yingying looked at Lin Jue in surprise and said, "But...... How is that possible? Pictures can be imagined and depicted. How easy is it to reproduce with real scenes? There are mountains, rivers, dragons, and beasts on that picture, how do you reproduce them? How can Roselle's Lynx be on the water? What's more problematic is that this is an Oiran contest, so how do you get the skills of the participants to be displayed and matched to the picture and the picture in the mind? If you are not careful, it will be self-defeating, but it will be criticized by others and counterproductive. ”

Lin Jue nodded slightly: "What you said is very true, I admit that this is a bit risky, but I believe I can do it." All of this was in my head, and I was just worried that it wouldn't be the way I had it in my head. Besides, I'm not trying to paint a scoop from a gourd. Faithful to the painting, but not bound to it. To achieve the combination of imagination and reality, the combination of fantasy and reality, and add self-created dances, self-composed songs, and self-indulgence, this is the effect I want. ”

Xie Yingying was speechless with a pair of big eyes, to be honest, she didn't understand what Lin Jue meant. Just like before so many performances of the Grand Theater, when Lin Jue explained the lyrics and music in the play to her, and explained the meaning expressed by the effects of light and shadow, she couldn't understand most of the time. For example, how to use light to contrast the situation and inner emotions of the characters, Xie Yingying didn't understand the meaning of this at all, but after the performance, someone always told her how prominent her image was under the light of the scene on the performance just now, although she couldn't see her expression, she could feel her inner waves. After hearing too many words like this, Xie Yingying finally believed Lin Jue's words. It turns out that you can also use external means to set off the heart.

For example, Lin Jue likes to deliberately point out what type of music is played with which instrument is used here in the play, and he also wrote an article "On the Importance of Soundtrack" for them to see, at first they didn't think so, thinking that it was ruining the atmosphere of the play. However, every time the music sounded and the audience was silent, they really realized that Lin Jue's approach was right.

Therefore, even if he didn't understand or understand what Lin Jue was saying, Xie Yingying still believed what Lin Jue said in her heart. She believes that since Lin Gongzi is so concerned, this must be a shocking performance.

"Please arrange a good spot for me, I'm going to see it tomorrow night. But I'm afraid I'm too far away to see clearly. Xie Yingying said softly.

Lin Jue laughed and said: "That's natural, all the actors of the Grand Theater will have the best position tomorrow night, I hope everyone will be inspired by it, which is extremely beneficial to the future of the Grand Theater." This can be regarded as my fake public and private life. ”

……

In the middle of the night, it was bustling outside the north gate of Hangzhou. A large number of people disembarked at the pier outside the North Gate Gate and then registered outside the water gate to enter the city. Because Hangzhou City has adopted a strict inventory system in the capital, the identity of each person is put into the city one by one, so the city gate is almost always in a state of congestion, which has caused these people who are eager to enter the city to complain.

Several official ships leaned on the Beiguanmen Wharf in the midst of this chaos. Soon after, everyone on the boat got off the boat one after another, stomping their feet and beating their waists with yawns.

"Lord Liu, it can be regarded as coming, and this journey is enough to choke. Are you still eating? Shen Fang, the prefect of Jiangning, who was in a long robe and black beard, smiled at Liu Sheng, the prefect of Yangzhou who was beating his waist on the side.

Liu Sheng is in his fifties, and the long journey is indeed a chore for him. However, he didn't want to be underestimated, so he straightened up and smiled: "Lord Shen, if the old man can't bear it, I'm afraid you have already climbed down." It is said that back then, I was a county magistrate in Jinghai County, and I went to sea with the local people, and I was bumpy in the waves for three days and three nights, and I was still alive and well. What is this little wind and wave? ”

Shen Fang smiled and said, "I forgot about this stubble, Lord Liu has said it eight or nine times in front of this official." Everyone knows that you, Lord Liu, bravely resisted the wind and waves more than 20 years ago. Hahaha. ”

Shen Fang deliberately accentuated the words more than 20 years ago, in order to ridicule Liu Sheng for bragging about what happened when he was young. Liu Sheng didn't care, and laughed at himself: "Hahaha, yes, the hero doesn't mention the courage of the past, and now it's very different from before." However, this little waterway is still okay. ”

Shen Fang nodded and smiled, his eyes swept to the dark crowd and the shining lights in the moonlight at the city gate in the distance, and frowned: "What's wrong?" Why are they all stuck there? ”

Liu Sheng also squinted and nodded, "It's checking your identity." The prefect of Yan has issued martial law in the past few months, and the remnants of the bandits are still there, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, the prefect of Yan must be more careful. checked their identities one by one before they could be put into the city. ”

Shen Fang nodded and said: "Yan Zhengsu is a fine person, especially when he is about to leave, he will never let Hangzhou go into chaos." ”

Liu Sheng nodded and said in a low voice, "Have you heard?" Yan Zhengsu is afraid that he will be reused this time. The saint has always wanted to transfer him to the center, but he just refused. This time I shouldn't refuse. ”

Shen Fang nodded and said, "Eight or nine is not far from ten." I've heard...... This time, Governor Yan wants to enter the political hall, and I am afraid that he will pay homage to the vice minister. ”

Liu Sheng nodded and said, "I've heard about it too." Yan Zhengsu actually stayed in the capital back then, and now I am afraid that he has long been a pivotal figure. It's just that he insists on refusing, and I don't know what he thinks. If he enters the political hall to pay homage to the prime minister, with his temper, I don't know if he and Lu Zhongtian can cooperate and get along? ”

"Harmony? Lord Liu, don't you hear that one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, and two fierce horses can be tied in a manger? Prime Minister Lu and Yan Zhengsu are not people who can obey others, if Yan Zhengsu really enters the political hall as a deputy prime minister, then there will be a good show. ”

"You mean, the two of them will not tolerate each other?" Liu Sheng blinked.

"I expect a fight. If he worships the deputy prime minister solemnly, he will be in charge. He wasn't going to be a resignation. Otherwise, he would not have entered Beijing. This time, I guess the Holy One will give him some promises. But do you think, Prime Minister Lu is in the middle of the court, how can he come to someone to be an eyesore? Needless to say, there was naturally a fight. ”

"What you said is very true, no wonder Prime Minister Lu sent Lord Wu to Hangzhou this time, and Lord Wu gave us a lot of convenience. The celebrities of the Hanlin Academy and the capital were also introduced to Zhang Luo by Lu Xiang and Lord Wu. By the way, I see. This is to give Yan Zhengsu a dismount. This is to use this matter to kill his prestige before Yan Zhengsu goes to Beijing. Do you say yes and no? Liu Sheng said suddenly,

"Lord Liu, you understand. Do you think that with your and my face, those scholars and masters of the Hanlin Academy can take care of us? Naturally, Lu Xiang assisted. First, it can strengthen our strength, and secondly, it will make Hangzhou have no one to invite. Under the advantages of one another, it is to create convenience for us to defeat Hangzhou Mansion this time. Wu Chun came here to investigate the people's situation, but in fact, he came to see the joke. Shen Fang pinched his beard and laughed lowly.

Liu Sheng nodded slowly, and suddenly said: "By the way, you said that if we win this time, if Yan Zhengsu really enters the political hall and becomes a deputy minister, will he be unfavorable to you and me?" ”

Shen Fang smiled and said, "Lord Liu, Lord Liu, you can't help but underestimate Yan Zhengsu. Yan Zhengsu is not the kind of person with a small belly. Although he is stubborn and competitive, he is by no means a person who holds grudges and takes revenge, which you can absolutely rest assured. Lord Yan is a righteous man and a gentleman, but he is not as dirty as Lord Liu thinks. ”

Liu Sheng stroked his beard and said angrily: "You mean, I'm not a righteous gentleman?" Do I live with the heart of a villain? ”

Shen Fang laughed in a low voice: "Lord Liu said that he was laughing, is it a gentleman or a villain?" This official dares to admit that he is not a gentleman, and I don't want to be a righteous gentleman like Yan Zhengsu. Life is short, when you are happy in time, live as strict as you are, old-fashioned and boring, what's the meaning? ”

Liu Sheng smiled and said, "No wonder Lord Shen often patronizes your Fengyue Tower in Jiangning. I'm afraid that Liu Yiyi girl in Fengyue Tower is Lord Shen's heart. ”

Shen Fang was stunned for a moment, and said with a little embarrassment: "Lord Liu, don't talk nonsense." Hearsay is not to be believed. There's nothing between me and Liu Yiyi. However, Lord Liu wants to ask for the concubine in the sixth room, and the official knows about it. The official is also going to congratulate him. Speaking of which, Lord Liu is really old and strong, marrying a sixteen-year-old concubine, this official has really convinced you. ”

Liu Sheng also waved his hand in embarrassment and said: "Don't say it, don't say it, the old man also has something unspeakable." I am in my fifties, and I have no children. Several ladies have bad stomachs, and all of them are women. Unfilial piety is great, isn't it me who is also me, and pass on an incense to my old Liu family? ”

Shen Fang laughed and said, "Extenuating circumstances, extenuating circumstances." Let's not talk about this, is it interesting for you and me to expose each other's shortcomings? The two of us are going to join forces this time. Tomorrow night's Oiran Contest will be won. Whether it's my Jiangning Mansion or your Yangzhou Mansion, either one wins. But Yan Zhengsu must not be allowed to win. If we lose, I'm afraid Lu Xiang will be unhappy. You and I rely on Lu Xiang for our careers, but not Yan Zhengsu. ”

"Say, I'm still confident. However, I heard that the strength of Wanhualou and Qunfang Pavilion in Hangzhou Mansion is also not bad. Let's hope there aren't any accidents. I don't want to be scolded by Lu Xiang. ”

"Lord Liu, don't worry, this time we are prepared and we are bound to win. The Wanhualou and Qunfang Pavilion are not to be feared at all. I heard that these two top brands lost in the hands of a little-known small Qinglou last year. In Hangzhou, they can capsize the boat by themselves, not to mention facing the strong opponents of my Jiangning Mansion and Yangzhou Mansion? What's more, we have so much more to do? Relax and enjoy your trip to Hangzhou. Shen Fang said with a smile.

Liu Sheng nodded and said, "Since Lord Shen is so relieved, what else does this official have to worry about?" Lord Shen, do we have to send someone to inform you, when will we be able to enter the city? So many people blocked at the door? Yan Zhengsu is really pretending, we came, and he didn't come to greet us. ”

Shen Fang smiled dumbly and said, "You expect Governor Yan to come and greet us?" I'm afraid it's a dream. We can't be busy entering the city, Lord Wu is about to arrive with everyone in the capital, you and I just wait at the dock, I estimate that we should arrive before dawn. Let Yan Zhengsu check slowly at the gate of the city, after all, if you really sneak in with the pirates to make trouble, it will be troublesome. ”