After three rounds of drinking, the stage was filled with singing and dancing. Li Qiuge played the piano herself, and Su Yunu composed a song, "May We Live Long" specially for Mei Niang's table. The beautiful melody, the heavenly voice, and the beautiful and wonderful words captivated all the literati and scholars in the room. Zhang Jingyun, Lingxuzi, and Lin Runan were also fascinated by the song. At the end of the song, Mei Niang smiled and raised her glass:
“May we live long and share the beauty of the moon, even though we are thousands of miles apart! This cup is for all my good friends in the world. I wish my friends a life of happiness, health and joy!”
Lin Runan also raised his glass: "Sincerity is forever, friendship is everlasting!"
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi accompanied them, raising their glasses and drinking.
After sitting for a while, Lingxuzi said, "It's getting late. Shouldn't you two go back? Especially Miss Cen..."
Zhang Jingyun also said: "Lingxuzi and I have something to do, so we need to leave the city to go to Guiyun Villa overnight. I will send you home first..."
Lin Runan was concentrating on watching the singing and dancing. When she heard that they were going home, she was unwilling to go home. She took Mei Niang's arm and said, "I haven't seen enough. Can you sit for a while?"
Mei Niang smiled and said to Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, "You two have important things to do, so please go ahead. I will stay with Runan for a while. It won't be too late. Shopkeeper Lu will take care of the return home, so don't worry!"
Zhang Jingyun wanted to say something, but Lingxuzi spoke first, "In that case, we'll leave first. There are many guards patrolling the city at night, so as long as it's not too late, nothing will happen."
Zhang Jingyun added: "It can't be past the hour of Xu, otherwise it will be night!"
Mei Niang nodded: "Okay, we will remember it."
After seeing off Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, Mei Niang and Lin Runan sat back in their seats, enjoying Su Yunu's beautiful dance while talking, drinking and eating. They didn't notice at all that the King of Qi, wearing a purple brocade robe, walked in at the door with four or five guards. Lu Xiangfeng went to greet them, but the King of Qi waved his hand and did not go up to the second-floor seats. Instead, he went straight to the front of the stage and sat down in an empty seat. Lu Xiangfeng signaled the waiter to serve the wine and food, but was stopped by the guards when he was about to pour wine for the King of Qi. Another guard came forward to check the wine and food before serving the King of Qi.
The King of Qi came here specifically to enjoy the singing and dancing. After a few days away, there were new changes in Xiankeliai. The small stage was decorated differently, and the scenery and curtains had a new style. Shopkeeper Lu said that everything in the store was managed and planned by the young owner, Cen Meimei. He really wanted to see this strange Cen Meimei again, but he never met her. Later, he felt that there was no point in seeing her. She was just an ordinary woman. Perhaps if he really met her, he would be disappointed, so it was better not to meet her.
The Queen Mother summoned him to the palace every morning and evening, nagging him non-stop, and wanted him to choose a woman from a noble family for him to marry. She had already thought about who would be the princess and who would be the concubine. He was very annoyed and just said:
"No one can enter my Qi Palace!"
Then he went directly to the imperial farm outside the city. The empress dowager did not let him go and followed him. The mother and son competed to see who would run back to the city first. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be him. It was all because Shan Yong praised Xiankelai too much. He said that not only were there several more delicious foods, the music of the piano was more pleasant, the singing and dancing were more colorful, and there was also a young drummer with great skills. The drum sounds were more exciting than the war drums on the battlefield. One person beat four or five drums, which was very majestic.
The King of Qi was feeling a little annoyed. He didn't pay attention to the situation around him and didn't care who was sitting next to him. He was playing with his wine cup. The drummer on the stand was dressed in tight clothes and was beating the large and small drums arranged around him with extraordinary agility. The drum sounds were passionate and clear, and it was indeed very exciting as Shan Yong said. A dancer held a sword in her hand and danced to the drums and string music. Although it was just a show, every move was very beautiful. It was obvious that she had been taught by a real swordsman.
When the song ended, the King of Qi beckoned to the guards, "Reward! I like this, bring more!"
The guards offered the reward and requested, "Another sword dance!"
Li Qiuge and Su Yunu nodded in agreement, but unexpectedly, the drummer Xiao Huan suddenly had a stomachache, and he squatted down with a pale face and couldn't get up. A group of people surrounded him, at a loss as to what to do.
The King of Qi looked at Li Qiuge helplessly, then turned and stepped down from the stage, walked to a seat on the left, bowed to the two young gentlemen, and said something. The two gentlemen were facing the stage with their backs to the King of Qi. One of them, who was wearing royal blue clothes, stood up. The King of Qi suddenly sat up straight, stared at the young man with wide eyes, leaned down, said something to the young man in red at the same table, walked quickly onto the stage, pulled out a purple ribbon from his sleeve, tied it around his forehead, and when he turned around, his heart sank again: that figure and demeanor, the posture of walking, were obviously him... But that face, was actually - that Cen Meimei
Cen Meimei went to see Xiao Huan first and asked him a few questions, as if to comfort him. Xiao Huan forced a smile and nodded, then was helped down.
Cen Meimei walked to the drum set in a carefree manner, with a dignified face, eyes like stars, and a radiant look. She picked up the wooden drumsticks and started the performance with a drum tap. The clanging string music responded with a touch of lingering love in the majestic and heroic manner. Su Yunu led eight dancers in colorful dresses and gauze skirts, with flying sleeves, dancing gracefully, and walked through the stage like a flash in the pan. Su Yulang and three other young men held swords, and jumped on the stage several times. They confronted each other, blending the swordsmanship with dance skills. The handsome young men performed it, with a unique masculine beauty, which was different from the feminine acting skills of the women, and deeply attracted the audience. Many people watched it and cheered loudly. Some people began to ask the waiters to give them rewards. Li Qiuge played the piano and sang in his slightly magnetic and infectious mellow bass:
The sword is unsheathed, murderous intent is raging,
On a moonless battlefield,
A thousand troops and horses rushing alone,
A brave and brave man,
Love between children and parents, accounts from past lives,
How can I forget your smile
Beauty's tears break one's heart.
This can take a person's life. It's rouge perm.
Farewell poem, two or three lines,
Written on the road of March spring rain,
If I could still walk beside you with an umbrella
Farewell poem, two or three lines,
Who will sing for me on the road to the underworld
If I could die beside you,
It’s worth coming to this world!
Mei Niang holds the drumsticks in her hands, beating the drums, hitting the cymbals, single-clicking, and continuously beating like flowing water. She is neat and tidy, and the melody is smooth. She accurately controls the speed and rhythm of the music. The perfect control of strength and speed reflects her skilled techniques and profound foundation. Skilled techniques and profound foundation? Is it true? Mei Niang secretly revels in it. In high school, she worked hard and had a lot of fun. After entering the society and working, she can only go to the club occasionally to have fun and relax her tense nerves. To reach this level, she is also very talented, right? Haha!
However, she really liked the song "Farewell Poem" sung by Hu Yanbin, so much so that when she taught Su Yulang to sing, she taught this song first. As a result, Su Yulang didn't learn it, but Li Qiuge could sing it. She also memorized the score and taught everyone to practice playing and singing.
Mei Niang was performing freely on the stage, beating the drums with abandon and concentration, completely unaware of the shocked and resentful look of King Qi in the audience. Coming back to his senses from the enchanting singing and dancing, his expression gradually turned from puzzled to gloomy, and he just stared at Mei Niang, who was beating the drums so agilely, without moving.
She was wearing a royal blue brocade robe embroidered with small floral patterns, her long black hair as shiny as jet jade tied up with a blue satin ribbon with jade flakes, her figure was slender, her movements were graceful, she had a kind and gentle aura, and those bright eyes that were all too familiar... He was not Jian Yu, nor was he the Qin Er in his mind. She was - a woman, a woman who had deceived him!
How dare she lie to him! This hateful woman!
That day in the carriage, she clearly saw that he was of noble status and begged him not to die, fearing that an accident would implicate her. Apart from Jian Yu, he didn't like anyone touching him, and even his close attendants would be kicked away when he was in a bad mood. But she could easily hug his legs, bandage him, and scold him at the same time... King Qi knew why that was the case. Qin Er, he was very similar to Jian Yu, with different facial features, but the same enchanting appearance, that expression, those eyes, his stature and temperament, his tone of voice, and even the aura on his body, and his habit of wrapping a white gauze scarf around his neck. He almost thought that Jian Yu had come back, and forced himself not to ask Qin Er: Do you know Jian Yu
Since Jian Yu disappeared, he has buried that name deep in his heart and never said it out loud. Now that the person is gone, he is afraid that the name will disappear too.
This damn Cen Meimei, it's fine if she disguises herself as a man, but what if she lets him know her true identity? Is she afraid that he will eat her? How ridiculous! She even dared to lie and say that she would come to visit him later, but in the end she hid herself and avoided him, leaving him waiting there foolishly. If she didn't come, he would go to great lengths to find her, secretly worrying that she might have met with something unexpected...
On the stage, Su Yunu and her brother bowed. Their wonderful acting won the applause of the whole audience. Various kinds of rewards kept coming to the stage. Mei Niang smiled slightly, put down her drumsticks, waved to Li Qiuge and Su Yunu, and walked off the stage. Lin Runan excitedly came up to her and held her. Before she could express her excitement, several tall men came around. One of them said with a grin, "Little brother, you play the drums very well. How about having a drink with me?"
As he said that, he reached out his hand to touch Mei Niang's face. Mei Niang tilted her head, and Lin Runan, who was standing next to her, swung a palm and hit the man in the face, shouting:
"Get lost! I'm blinding you. If you dare to stop for another step, I'll kick your head off!"
Over there, Li Qiuge and Su Yulang heard the noise and immediately rushed over with a few young men, asking anxiously, "What's going on?"
When the waiter Xiankelai saw that the young master was being teased, he quickly put down his work and came over. Someone ran to report to Lu Xiangfeng, who was handling matters in the back hall. His conversation was heard by people in the kitchen, and the cooks grabbed their tools and ran out.
The front hall of Xiankelai was in chaos. Guests upstairs were running up and down to watch the excitement, while those downstairs were crowding around the stage. Those troublemakers were not good people, and they had more than three or five companions. Once they started fighting, more than a dozen young men quietly emerged from all sides, all of them were equally strong and sturdy, and their skills were agile. The waiters of Xiankelai were not enough to fight, and they all fell down in a few seconds. Li Qiuge and Su Yulang drew their swords, but they could only resist one or two, as they thought they were playing with them. Lin Runan kicked one after another, but after all, she was a girl with insufficient strength, and was forced to the corner of the table. She was about to be caught. Mei Niang was furious - this happened in the blink of an eye, and it happened all of a sudden. No matter what, she couldn't control it. It was her own territory, who would want to mess it up? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)