Chapter 49: Lingering Sound (Part 2) (Pink Tickets 60)

  After the play is over, according to the rules, the troupe leader leads a few main actors on stage to kowtow to the audience. The audience should give them some money as a reward. Usually, the host gives the most, and others can give whatever they want.

  The fifth lady saw Cai Boji taking the two ladies home and became anxious.

  The old lady still hasn't appeared, and she took all the maids and nannies who could talk to her to the small courtyard, she has no idea who is holding the reward money.

  There is also Third Auntie Gan.

  Previously, the fourth sister-in-law was in charge of the household. This year, after the New Year's festival, her spirit became increasingly weak, and she voluntarily suggested handing over the household affairs to the third sister-in-law. At that time, the third sister-in-law couldn't conceal her joy and smiled uncontrollably. It was her first time hosting a family banquet, so logically, she should have been nervous and tried her best. However, instead of doing so, she took the young ladies from the Gan and Luo families to fly kites, and after they returned, she herself disappeared without a trace...

  Anyway, I'm still one of the masters of the Xu family, and I shouldn't let the atmosphere cool down just because two people in charge are not around.

  She immediately whispered to her personal maid, He Ye, to hurry back to her own room, open the trunk and bring 300 taels of silver to meet the emergency. She also instructed another personal maid, He Xiang, to quickly report to the people on the other side of the small courtyard that the play at Dian Chun Tang had already ended.

  The two maidservants departed in response to her summons and vanished into thin air, only then did she calm down.

  What's going on with Fourth Aunt?

  If it's an illness, she has been ill for a long time, and there is no need to avoid herself.

  Or is it that you had a dispute with Master Hou?

  As soon as she thought of it, she felt even more convinced that her idea was reasonable.

  Everyone else treats their husbands with reverence, except for Fourth Aunt, who seems to treat Lord Hou with a distant politeness. She arranges everything meticulously, from food and clothing to daily routines, yet somehow feels that something is missing between them. At least, it's not like her relationship with Fifth Uncle - even when they're fighting and ignoring each other, being apart for just a moment is unbearable...

  As she thought of this, her face turned slightly red, and then she heard the sound of cheering and shouting from the stage: "The DeYinBan troupe is bowing to all the ladies, madams, and misses."

  The Fifth Lady heard a rustling sound and saw Zheng Taigong sitting alone on the short couch, casting an awkward smile in her direction.

  The calanthe hasn't arrived yet!

  She walked forward with a slight headache and started chatting with the people in the German class.

  "...Zhou Ban's master has worked hard. I listened to Wu Niang in the broken temple, her singing voice was gentle and elegant, greatly different from the previous strong and powerful one, what is the reason for this?"

  Zhou Huidi, dressed as Zhao Wuniang, knelt in the center of the stage and said respectfully: "That's my humble opinion. Thinking about Wuniang's character, she is gentle but firm. She buried her parents-in-law with a simple funeral, which shows her strong and virtuous side. Therefore, in the scene at the broken temple, I made some adjustments to the singing style to let everyone know that besides being strong and virtuous, Wuniang also has a soft and gentle side..."

  The people in the compartment nodded in agreement as they listened.

  Mrs. Lin even asked him: "Your voice is loud and clear, your singing tone is beautiful. I don't know who you learned from?" As if she was very familiar with the opera troupe.

  "Home teacher Xiao Hui Lan."

  "Is it Xiao Hui Lan from San Qing Troupe?" Mrs. Lin asked in surprise, "I also listened to his opera when I was young. Your singing is quite different from his."

  Zhou Huidi hastily said: "I used to follow Master on the road, traveling all over the place. Once when we passed by a stone tablet, I heard someone singing a Nuo opera..."

  Everyone listened to him talking incessantly, but Eleven Maiden's heart was elsewhere.

  The old lady hasn't come back yet, and I don't know how things are going in the small courtyard either?

  I hope nothing else happens!

  I just want to leave the Xu family peacefully!

  She thought for a moment, and then saw the slender and elegant personal maid standing at the door of the house with a tray of red lacquer and gold inlaid sea buckthorn flowers. On the tray were thirty silver ingots neatly arranged.

  The fifth lady saw the lotus leaf and immediately let out a breath of relief, timely interrupting Zhou Huide's words, slightly raising her voice to say a single word: "Good".

  Zhou Huidi immediately led the people of De Yin class to thank and kowtow on the ground.

  Lotus leaf handed the tray to a little maid who was standing by, and the little maid handed it over to a young servant boy serving beside the stage. The boy was only about ten years old, and together they lifted the tray onto the stage, one on each side.

  Zhou Huidi thanked again and then got up respectfully to receive the tray.

  Madam Zheng and Madame Huang in the compartment also gave generous rewards, and Zhou Huidi thanked them again and again.

  Just as it was lively, a clear and crisp voice laughed and came: "Ah, the mother is still powerful, inviting De Yinban to sing in the hall, the result is that everyone is not willing to leave after the play is over. I've calculated the time to steam the fish. This time, I'm afraid it's going to be steamed too long..." Looking at the five madams standing in front of the short bed, the voice got stuck in her throat.

  "Where's your mother?" Her smile was somewhat stiff.

  How is it that Dan Yang is playing host here and entertaining these old friends...and thinking of what happened in the kitchen, a cold smile crept onto his face.

  Everyone only saw the mother beside the fourth madam, who was ordered by the fourth madam to send two plates of peaches for everyone to taste. The old lady ate two mouthfuls and felt uncomfortable, so she asked the fifth madam to accompany her out. Everyone guessed that she had eaten something bad and gone to the toilet... Later, when the fifth madam returned, everyone didn't pay attention anymore - as people get older, they care more about face, and although the fifth madam is a daughter-in-law, she is also the county mistress... Seeing the eleventh lady come in, she didn't pay much attention either. The fourth madam's body was weak, and speaking a few words would make her spirit decline, so how could she let her sister stay there like a maid?

  Since two people are going to the same place, it's nothing special to enter together.

  The three madams asked in unison, and everyone suddenly realized that Old Madam had been gone for a bit too long.

  "Dan Yang," Zheng Taijun said with some concern, "You were the one who accompanied Madame out just now... is she all right?"

  "Old Lady Wang told me to come back first!" said Fifth Lady vaguely. "Otherwise, I'll go take a look - Third Sister is here anyway."

  She was also worried that He Xiang had been gone for so long without returning, and now that the third madam had arrived, someone was in charge of the situation, and she didn't need to be there herself.

  Ke San's wife listened with a confused expression, looking at Zheng Taikun with a puzzled face, then looked at the fifth lady.

  Madam Huang explained: "Just now, Fourth Madam brought some peaches for us to taste..."

  The third madam couldn't help but scold: "Madam is getting old, how can she eat these things?" But her eyes were fixed on the fifth madam, with a hint of blame.

  Who knew that the fifth wife listened with a calm face, but made the eldest wife very uncomfortable, frowning and wanting to defend her daughter for a few sentences. She raised her head and saw the old lady walking in with her hand on the shoulder of a small maid: "I'm getting old, I ate a few peaches and my stomach is churning." The lotus fragrance sent by the fifth wife was not seen.

  "Mother!" The third and fifth wives rushed to the side of the first wife at the same time.

  The third lady-in-waiting was closer, and first supported the empress's left hand. The fifth lady-in-waiting was farther away, and a step later supported the empress's right hand. The two of them helped the empress into the side room.

  Everyone came forward to greet Mrs. Tai, and Mrs. Tai smiled and said repeatedly: "Nothing, nothing." Then she exclaimed, "The play is over? Has the reward not been given yet?"

  "Here it is, here it is!"

  The old lady gently patted the back of Wu's hand and smiled: "In that case, let's go to the flower hall - I've also asked someone to set off fireworks."

  Everyone in the house smiled and nodded "yes", surrounding Madam Tai on her way to the flower hall.

  "Should we send someone to inform the Fourth Mistress? It's not easy for her to come out this time."

  "No need, no need." The old lady smiled and said, "I just went to see her. She's not feeling well, she just took some medicine and is resting now."

  The old lady exclaimed "Ah" and asked: "What's wrong with her?"

  Old Lady smiled and said, "She's weak in the body, with all this commotion going on here, it's natural she wouldn't feel well. She took some calming medicine, nothing serious. I was also worried she couldn't take this turmoil, so I specifically had someone bring Rong Ge to my place to keep Jie Er company. Let her rest in the small courtyard tonight."

  A mother and daughter are connected at heart. Although Old Lady spoke kindly, Eldest Lady still worried.

  He hesitated for a moment, then said: "I'll still go take a look at her!"

  The eleventh lady suddenly found that the eyes of the old lady had quickly swept across everyone's face, and she smiled: "My dear family has entrusted their daughter to me, I love her as my own daughter, is there anything else to worry about? Besides, Little Fourth is watching over there. You can rest assured and follow me to eat. Let them busy themselves with serving tea or pouring water." As she spoke, the old lady smiled comfortingly.

  "Master Hou is here!" The old lady was very surprised.

  "Of course not!" The old lady laughed brightly. "Otherwise, why would I, as the mother-in-law, rush over here like nothing's wrong?"

  The eleventh girl couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart as she watched.

  The old lady... is also very formidable!

  She couldn't help but look for Qiao Lianfang in the crowd.

  The lights are dim, Miss Lin's white clothes are as beautiful as snow, Wu Niang is elegant and refined, Shi Niang is lonely and bright, Tang Miss is gentle and lovely, Gan San Miss is kind and steady, Gan Qi Miss is lively and pretty, but only Jo Lianfang's gentle and beautiful face can't be seen.

  The old lady took the hand of the big wife and walked out: "Let's go eat. The young people's affairs, let them worry about it themselves. Managing east and west, forever without a head..." Her tone was cheerful, as if there wasn't a bit of trouble.

  The lady nodded and they all went to the flower hall chatting and laughing.

  Eleventh daughter is silent.

  How many things must one go through to cultivate the skill of being as calm and collected as Lady Tai?

  The hall was brightly lit, and the black-lacquered square table shone so brightly that it reflected one's own shadow.

  She sat at a table with Shi Niang and two young ladies from the Gan family, while Wu Niang sat at another table with Lin and Tang's two young ladies. The famous tea and small dishes were brought up one after another, along with seasonal fresh vegetables and exquisite seafood delicacies.

  Miss Lin exclaimed: "Huh, where's Lianfang?"

  Miss Tang said: "Just now you were still walking behind me?"

  Old Lady listened with her eyes narrowed and smiled: "Go find him quickly, it's dark and he might bump into something!"

  The three madams immediately stood up: "I'll go take a look!"

  Suddenly found out, so many votes...