The Lian Manor was performing an opera, and Feng Zhao Lian had invited a theatrical troupe into the manor to perform. He had also invited some of the madams and young misses from the large families in the capital to come and listen. Among them, there was no lack of people from the Eighth Prince's faction. Even the daughters of the merchants that had followed the Eighth Prince were invited. The yard was very lively, and there were even some madams and young misses that would intentionally or unintentionally touch Feng Zhao Lian's body while talking. Those that succeeded in taking advantage of him would secretly smile with a red face. Their small faces were red as though they had seen their sweetheart.
But in their hearts, Feng Zhao Lian was indeed a girl; however, because he was truly too beautiful, he was so beautiful that even the girls' hearts were moved. Even those madams that were already quite old forgot about their feelings. Even if these people's homes had just been robbed clean, and even their jewelry had been used for the prayer for good fortune in the Wen Xuan Palace, after receiving an invitation from the Lian Manor, they still forgot about everything else and came over with gifts.
What was being played today was a play of brothers fighting over the family's assets. The brothers were all concerned about their father's assets, and they all hoped that after their father passed away, they would be able to inherit the family's assets and become the new head of the family.
Originally, it was a fair competition, with everyone relying on their own abilities, but there was one brother that was especially vicious. He did not walk the proper path and insisted on walking the unorthodox path. He did not think about how to win with his own abilities. All he did was think about how to get on good terms with his father's old friends. He had those old friends whisper into his father's ears every day, saying that the other brothers were not good in many ways and that only he was good. If not, he was thinking about how to frame the other brothers. It would be best if he killed them one by one. Like that, the family's assets would naturally belong to him.
His father's old friends also gave him face and believed that this person could succeed. In the future, when he became the head of the family, he would be of great help to them. They did their best to help this person get rid of any obstacles. In fact, when that brother asked for them to spend a large amount of money to help him succeed, these people were still happy. However, not everyone was willing to do so. Among them, there were a few who were somewhat hesitant. Thus, that brother simply went all the way and used his influence to rob those people's homes clean. He moved all the wealth he obtained into his own house, regardless of how miserable the people were.
It was unknown where this troupe had come from, but they sang beautifully. The one who played the role of the bad brother simply made the people watching below gnash their teeth in anger. There were even some madams who were more immersed in the role who stood up and stomped their feet, calling him a bastard. There were even some who grabbed the teacups on the table and threw them up. The teacups hit the actor, but he did not cry out in pain.
When the troupe leader saw that everyone was so immersed in the play, he couldn't help but admire the beautiful Miss Lian who had given him this play. They had originally planned to sing an old play, but Miss Lian said that they had already heard the old play 800 times, so it wasn't new. She then gave them this play and told them to learn how to sing it. As long as they sang it well, they would be heavily rewarded. Originally, he did not have much confidence in this play. He only thought that it was the master's request. They were paid to act in this play, so they could sing anything! He did not expect that it would make people so immersed in the play. This was truly an unexpected gain! When he returned, he would definitely discuss it with Miss Lian to see if he could buy this play. With such a good play, he had to guarantee that they would be able to sing it elsewhere in the future.
However, this troupe leader only knew the inside story and did not know the inside story. Why were these madams and young misses so impulsive? The play itself did not have such a large appeal. The reason it could create such a sensation was because it combined with what they had experienced.
Of course, not everyone was excited. Those who were angry were all people in the Eighth Prince's party, whether it was officials or merchants. These days, after experiencing the robberies of the great bandits, the estate was as poor as a church mouse. As madams of the boudoir and young misses who did not leave the house, they originally did not understand the situation. They only thought that the estate had really been robbed and even cursed at home for being so heartless as to empty out the estate, not even leaving behind a banknote.
But to be able to survive in this sort of estate and survive until now, how many good people could there be? The estate had been robbed, and the master had gone to report it to the officials. As a result, the matter was left unsettled. When he returned, he locked himself in his study to discuss it with his assistant. After coming out, he did not explain the situation no matter what they asked, leaving them anxious. Just as they were thinking about how they could not understand what was going on, well, today's play allowed them to understand! In the end, it was all that bastard Eighth Prince's doing?
Who knew if this play was intentional or just a coincidence. Although they knew that Miss Lian had a good relationship with Princess Ji An and Feng Yu Heng, with Feng Zhao Lian's appearance, when he casually made a pitiful and innocent expression, the hearts of these madams and young misses immediately melted. Forget it, they did not dare curse at the Eighth Prince, but they could curse at the performer, right? Using the play to express their emotions, they would be cursing to their heart's content today!
The Lian residence was lively for a while. Just cursing with their mouths was not enough for the madams and young misses. They also threw fruit peels and seeds. Many sets of tea sets that cost a few hundred taels had been thrown out. Hearing the noise, Wu Li Sheng, who had rushed over, felt distressed. She wanted to have Feng Zhao Lian advise them to chase these people away, but Feng Zhao Lian secretly told her that all of this was for the sake of cooperating with Feng Yu Heng's play, thus Wu Li Sheng fell silent.
After being noisy for over an hour, it finally calmed down a little. Feng Zhao Lian quickly had the performance troupe leave and had the servants clean up the scene. He then had the banquet set up again and poured wine for everyone. Only then was everyone's mood calmed down.
Looking at these madams and young misses, Feng Zhao Lian also felt bitter! The muddy waters in the capital really were muddy. Back in Qian Zhou, he felt that Qian Zhou's imperial family was vicious. In any case, Dashun was from the central region, and the people would be a little more docile. However, who knew that each and every one of them would be so evil. The degree of evil was not much worse than Qian Zhou's imperial family. Also, when they were up to no good, they still had smiles on their faces. It really was disgusting.
Over the past few days, he had secretly met with Feng Yu Heng. That damn girl had apparently been doing some "morning exercises"? After she was done, she would go to her residence to sit for a while. Damn, the sun had not even risen yet. What sort of martial arts was she practicing? He did not understand, but after hearing that Feng Yu Heng would be going to her fief, he felt very conflicted. In truth, he really wanted to go with Feng Yu Heng to her fief. He had even opened his mouth and was prepared to say his decision. But when he thought of how the seventh prince, Xuan Tianhua, was still living peacefully in the capital, he immediately closed his mouth.
Forget it, between a beauty and a handsome man, he still chose the latter.
"Miss Lian." A young miss from an official's family went over to Feng Zhao Lian's side. Twisting her butt, she pushed Wu Li Sheng away. "It's still your place that's the best. It's like a pure land, and there's a beautiful girl like you living here. I really envy the grass and trees in this manor."
Wu Li Sheng frowned upon hearing this. Where would there be grass in the middle of Winter?
"Miss Lian." Another young miss from a business family came over with tears in her eyes. Reaching out with her arm, she brazenly hooked her arm around Feng Zhao Lian's shoulder, which attracted a wave of sharp glances. "Only by being at your side can I feel safe. You don't know this, but our home has been robbed by thieves recently. Even the storeroom has been emptied. Every night, I can't sleep well, fearing that those thieves will come in again. If they can't get any money, won't they take lives? Wuu wuu! Miss Lian, I'm so scared. "
"Miss Lian." After the young miss finished speaking, the madam appeared. Feng Zhao Lian looked and found that this seemed to be the head wife of a third rank official's family. She was chubby and had a fierce look on her face. "Hah, I really pity such a beautiful girl like you. You must close the door properly at night. You must not allow thieves to enter your home!"
With her saying this, everyone expressed their concern for Feng Zhao Lian. There were even some that suggested that they move in to protect Miss Lian? This caused Wu Li Sheng to angrily shout for them to scram.
But who would listen to Wu Li Sheng's words. Everyone thought that Wu Li Sheng was crazy, calling her elder sister husband every day. What was there to say to this sort of person. Thus the people chose to ignore her and continued to pester Feng Zhao Lian; however, they heard Feng Zhao Lian say: "I'm not afraid. I'm just a commoner, and I don't have much wealth in my manor. This courtyard is also small. Thieves look down on this place. If we're talking about money, it would be in the palace. Hah, I heard that His Highness the eighth prince's manor is very well-off. Yesterday, it seemed that a jade Buddha was sent into the imperial palace. It was given to Noble Lady Li as a gift. Hah, apparently, the jade Buddha was of the highest quality in terms of material and craftsmanship. Thinking about it, who knows how much money was spent on it. "
It would have been better if he did not mention the Eighth Prince. Once that person was mentioned, the madams and young misses all gnashed their teeth, hating that they could not chew up the Eighth Prince. It was someone who quietly discussed: "Did you hear? Sheng Yuan Bank is still open. There were quite a few people who heard that the bank was robbed and feared that their money would not be safe, so they all went to withdraw money with banknotes. Sheng Yuan Bank is not afraid in the slightest. They will give out however much they withdraw. How does it look like it was stolen? "
"That day in court, didn't they say that they only lost the equivalent amount of banknotes that we lost? The bank still has reserves. Our money would not have emptied the bank. It would not have prevented others from withdrawing money. "
"Do you believe everything he says? I don't know what your manor is like. Either way, I will tell you the truth. Our manor's treasury has been completely emptied. Not even a single strand of hair is left. "
"Our manor is the same."
"It's the same for us."
"Isn't that enough! All of our residences have been emptied. What is it, only the bank left some face and did not empty it? Is there such a thief? "
"You mean to say …"
"Hmph, the owner of Sheng Yuan Bank is a relative of Noble Lady Li's maternal family …"
With these words, everyone's hearts became even clearer.
There were some that could no longer sit still. Standing up, they bid farewell and prepared to return to the manor to properly analyze this matter with their master. With someone taking the lead, the others also stood up. Although they were reluctant to part with Feng Zhao Lian, they felt that the results of today's analysis were even more shocking, thus they quickly returned to the manor, leaving behind only a table of leftovers.
Feng Zhao Lian waved his hand and ordered the servants: "Let's go!" Following this, the corners of his lips curled into a sly smile, as he thought to himself, little girl, oh little girl, I have helped you out once more. We will remember this debt!
In the embroidery shop in the eastern part of the city, Feng Xiang Rong packed up two bags that she carried with her. She also brought along some money that she had saved up and the banknotes that she had "swindled" from the fourth prince. She was currently saying to An shi: "Mother, I want to go with second sister to her fief …"
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