Chapter 110 – Inspection Tour, Part 2 (36.1)
As per the prefectural magistrate’s wife’s kind invitation, Lin Jia Bao went to the magistrate’s mansion as a guest. The mansion was not very big, and the layout was very simple and atmospheric. The cherry blossoms in May were already in full bloom, decorating the backyard and looking very beautiful.
After lunch, the prefectural magistrate’s wife invited the best theater troupe in Luo City to sing opera. She even had Lin Jia Bao choose the opera play he wanted to see. Lin Jia Bao looked at the opera names on the cards. They were all new to him, so he picked one at random. Lin Jia Bao partook in refreshments while watching the opera. He thought he was very interesting.
Seeing that Lin Jia Bao was watching the opera very seriously, the prefectural magistrate’s wife happily asked, “Does Lin-cejun also like to watch opera?” The prefectural magistrate’s wife was already in her thirties and she loved going to the theater on the regular. She never thought that Lin Jia Bao, who was still so young, would also like operas.
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“Her Majesty likes opera very much, and I would often accompany her. But the repertoire in the palace is different from the repertoire here.” The opera performed in the palace were all specially arranged for the imperial family’s enjoyment, and any taboo subjects were strictly restricted. The opera performed in the palace were generally auspicious and lively dramas.
The prefectural magistrate’s wife heard that Lin Jia Bao often accompanied the empress to watch opera, and thought that this Lin-cejun was truly favored.
The theater troupe was currently performing a play called “Yuan Yang Kou.”
[T/N: Yuan Yang Kou 鸳鸯扣 – yuan yang 鸳鸯 are mandarin ducks. The Chinese believe that mandarin ducks mate for life, so they are used to symbolize the love of devoted couples. Kou 扣 means button.]
This opera play told the story of Liang Xiang, a scholar, and Lin Yuan Er, the daughter of a rich family. They fell in love at first sight after a spring rain. They used a mandarin duck button as a token of love. After that, the two eloped regardless of their family’s opposition, and they got married and lived in a place where no one knew them. Although life was difficult, the two were as sweet as syrup, gladly enduring the hardships as long as they were together.
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Thanks to her excellent needlework, Lin Yuan Er was able to support Liang Xian in his studies. And Liang Xian did not disappoint Lin Yuan Er. He passed the imperial exam as the top scorer. However, the good times did not last long. The princess took a fancy to Liang Xian and conferred him the title of the emperor’s son-in-law. Liang Xian abandoned Lin Yuan Er for fame and fortune. Back home, Lin Yuan Er waited for Liang Xian’s return, but he did not come back for a long time. Eventually, she heard the news that Liang Xian had married the princess. Completely disheartened, she held the mandarin duck button in her hand and threw herself into the Luo River.
The huadan* actor playing Lin Yuan Er on stage had a pretty face. Both his singing and movements were excellent. His singing voice carried Lin Yuan Er’s love, grief, and despair so well that it moved Lin Jia Bao to tears.
[*T/N: huadan 花旦 – role of vivacious young female in Chinese opera]
After the opera play ended, Lin Jia Bao specifically asked for the huadan actor who played Lin Yuan Er to come forward. Upon a closer look, he saw that the huadan was also a ger, and he immediately felt a connection with the other person.
“You sing really well!” Lin Jia Bao gestured to Shu Qin, who was behind him, and Shu Qin stepped forward to reward the huadan.
“Many thanks to the nobleman for the reward!” The huadan received the hefty reward, knelt down, and kowtowed to Lin Jia Bao. He felt very grateful. Then he withdrew.
When the huadan returned to the troupe, several other gers who had a good relationship with him stepped forward to surround him. “I heard that the one watching the show today is His Royal Highness’s favorite cejun. Is he really beautiful? Aye, for a ger to get to his status is really worth it! Quick, tell us… by the way, did he give you a reward?”
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Another ger said, “That’s right. Except for poor peasants who can’t afford to take a woman as a wife, who else would take a ger as a wife?!” A ger’s status in the Xuan Yuan Empire has always been very low. “I heard that that cejun started out as a palace servant. I hope that His Royal Highness will always love him in the future. Then our status as gers will also be improved a little bit.”
“That cejun’s temperament is very good and he is extremely beautiful. His temper is also very gentle, and he doesn’t have the arrogance of a nobleman at all. May the heavens protect and bless him. Here, look…” The huadan opened the bag of reward to find it filled to the brim with silver. The sight dazzled them all.
“Wow!” There were more than thirty taels of silver. Everyone was very happy.
When Xuan Yuan Han Cheng came to pick up his darling later, he saw that Jia Bao’s eyes were red. His expression turned cold in the next moment, and he asked, “What’s wrong, darling? Did you cry?” Did someone bully his darling? Did his treasure suffer any grievances while they were apart?
