Bachelor

Chapter 157 Wooden Drum, Unexpected Person

Strictly speaking, Zhanbu can be considered a rich man in the capital.Bu Guan is a native of Suzhou. He has sung Kunshan tune since he was four years old. He went to Beijing with his master when he was 11 years old. At 16 years old, he became the most popular actor in Beijing because of his soft and beautiful singing voice. At the age of 23, because of a cold, his throat fell down, so he withdrew from the stage and became the boss of the theater troupe.

After years of hard work, the Zhanjia troupe is now the leading troupe in the capital, and several actors in the troupe are even more popular, which has also brought a lot of money to Zhanbu.Among them, Yue Guan and Qie Guan are his most capable go-getters. The "Huan Sha Ji" sung by these two is the finale of the Zhanjia class, and the classic aria is even more popular.From the lord to the public, down to the traffickers and pawns, they can hum a few words.

Today's Buguan has a big house and a large-scale theater club under his name, and he is considered a successful person in the capital.

In ancient times, the status of an actor was as humble as a prostitute, and his popularity in the capital had a lot to do with this guy's ability to dance.It is heard that Zhanbu has an inexplicable and ambiguous relationship with several ministers in the court.Since the Ming Dynasty, there has been one of the court laws: serving officials cannot engage in prostitution.

Moreover, officials are not allowed to bring their family members with them when they take office in a local area.

This was also the social basis for the literati in the Ming and Qing dynasties who liked to have sex with children.

Sun Dan has no interest in other people's moral concepts and sexual orientation. In his view, Zhanbu can be regarded as a friend of his own, but a friend of a gentleman.No matter what he said, he is also a modern person, he is open-minded and open-minded when looking at people and things, but he doesn't despise Zhanbu because he is an actor.

Although, the femininity and coquettishness of Zhanbu made him a little uncomfortable.

After leaving Zui Chang'an Restaurant, he hired a carriage and arrived at Zhanbu's house in a short while.

The Zhanjia troupe only performed at night, and the actors lived and ate in Zhanbu's mansion.These [-]- and [-]-year-old girls go to bed late at night, usually sleep in in the morning, and only get up lazily at noon. After dinner, their rehearsal time is in the afternoon.

After Sun Dan entered the yard, he could still hear the voices of those girls hanging their throats, making a lot of noise.

The weather was cold, the girls were all rehearsing in the room, and Zhanbu was sitting by the fire, wearing a white cloak with a foxtail collar, holding a copper hand stove in his hand, and his face that could be broken was rosy. Like dripping water.

As soon as he saw Sun Dan, Zhanbu stood up with a coquettish voice, "It's Brother Dan, you, you, you haven't come to see my family for so long. People thought you forgot me, and really made my family feel uneasy .”

An orchid finger poked it again.

Sun Dan got out of the way in fright, and asked, "Boss Zhan, where is Yue Guan? Why didn't I see her?"

When Sun Dan mentioned Yueguan, Zhanbu looked a little jealous, and said coquettishly, "I hate it, are you not afraid that I will get angry if you mention another girl in front of me?"

Sun Dan had goosebumps all over his body, and he was also depressed: "Zhanbu is getting more and more abnormal, and this place will come as little as possible in the future."

He straightened his face: "Boss Zhan, where is Yueguan? Don't make trouble, I have business to look for her."

Only then did Zhanbu reply with some disappointment: "Yueguan is practicing music in her room now. Her room is the third from the left in the backyard. There is a clump of bamboos at the door. A fancier is with her. Hmph, why don't you come looking for her?" I, people are angry."

Sun Dan was familiar with the way in Zhanjiaban's house, so he didn't need anyone to guide him, so he walked straight to the backyard.As soon as I entered the yard, I heard the voices of two people inside, singing one by one: "Weeping willows and green leaves reflect the clear waves. Although the scenery is good, it will pass by in a moment, but it will not live up to the spring. Walk slowly and calmly by the stream, leaning against the stream. Shi Huan Shaluo."

One of the voices was of course Yue Guan's. She was only 13 years old this year, but her voice was clean and pure, like a gurgling stream.But the other female voice is high-pitched and clear, piercing the clouds and cracking stones, with an explosive power. Although the connection between the libretto and the libretto is a bit blunt, and the exhalation is not professional enough, it also makes people feel refreshed. Keep shouting hello.

When Sun Dan heard this, he was pleasantly surprised. It turned out that the other woman who sang opera was Jiang Ruoying from the third house of the Sun family.He had heard from Zhanbu that Yueguan was staying with a fellow fan, so he thought it was a man.If an actor wants to be famous and popular, he needs someone to support him. It is understandable that he has inexplicable relationships with some powerful men.

But Sun Dan never expected that Jiang Ruoying would run over to find Yue Guan.However, it is understandable to think about it.Jiang Ruoying originally had a good voice and was extremely talented in singing. After getting acquainted with Zhan's troupe in Daming Lake last time, he became very interested in singing and playing tickets.Yueguan was the top card in the Zhanjia class, so it was understandable for Jiang Ruoying to come over to compete with her.

Sun Dan laughed: "Good song, good voice, Miss Jiang is here too."

"Ah, it's Brother Dan." A bright yellow figure flashed by, and Jiang Ruoying rushed out of the room, grabbing Sun Dan's arm with a smile on his face and shaking it non-stop: "Since I saw you on New Year's Eve, it's been half a year. Months have passed, where have you gone. I have never had a chance to talk to you, and I finally caught you today, so don’t even try to run away, tell me a story.” Her excited baby fat There are two small dimples on her round face, which looks innocent and outrageously cute.

Sun Dan was a little overwhelmed, hurriedly opened her arm, and said with a smile: "I'll talk about the story later, why did you come here, and you're not afraid of being seen, and being scolded by your aunt after you go home?"

"Never mind her, I ran out secretly, if you don't complain, who else will know?" Jiang Ruoying stuck out her tongue playfully: "Jiajia runs out of the house all day long, and Aunt Jing doesn't care, it's really enviable Ah! By the way, what are you doing here?"

Only then did Sun Dan remember his purpose of coming here: "I'm here to find Yueguan."

"Then go in quickly. Sister Yueguan's singing skills are so good. I have been studying here for several days, but I haven't learned it yet." Jiang Ruoying was talking, and suddenly stared at Sun Dan suspiciously: "You won't Are you here to hold the Moon Officer?"

Sun Dan smiled wryly, and said in his heart: I, Sun Dan, hate traditional drama the most. I feel dizzy when I hear it. I don't have much interest in this kind of thing.It seemed that Jiang Ruoying suspected that she had unreasonable thoughts about Yueguan.

Sun Dan remembered that Yueguan was a thin girl with no breasts and buttocks. She looked very boring and belonged to the type he hated the most.When Jiang Ruoying asked this question, she was simply doubting her own aesthetic taste.

"Sister Yueguan, Sun Dan is here to see you." Jiang Ruoying dragged Sun Dan into the house.

The room was a little messy, not quite like a girl's room, dresses, jewelry, accessories and the like were thrown in a mess on the bed and table, and a handful of three-stringed strings and a handful of four-husbands were randomly thrown in the corner, Sun Danda frowned unknowingly. head.But this is also understandable, the girls in the troupe left their parents and came to Zhanbu at a few years old, no one cares about them, and their ability to take care of themselves is extremely low.Don't talk about needlework girls, I'm afraid it would be an impossible task for them to cook a meal.

Yueguan is not tall, with dark skin, thin and small, which has nothing to do with the word "beautiful".But it was such a little girl who was like an ugly duckling, but with a good voice and excellent stage skills, she became popular in the whole capital in the past six months.

She was practicing kung fu, and when she saw Sun Dan coming in, she was very happy: "So it's Mr. Sun, and the cloth official was thinking about asking you to write a joke for him a few days ago, why do you have time today?"

Sun Dan: "I came here specially to find you today."

"Looking for me?" Yue Guan hesitated slightly, and asked in a soft voice: "I don't know why Mr. Sun is looking for the slave's family?"

Sun Dan said: "Let me ask you, Yueguan, do you know a man named Guo Zeng?"

"There is such a person." Yueguan replied, "It can be regarded as a guest who often comes to listen to my opera."

"Really, it's that simple, it doesn't matter?" Sun Dan asked back with a half-smile.

Yue Guan's slightly dark face suddenly turned red: "In my opinion, this is the only thing that matters. As for what people think, it has nothing to do with my family. This man looks a little silly. He even sent a bottle of rose water last night. He said some crazy things, it was really annoying, but fortunately, the class leader kicked him out."

After speaking, Yueguan pointed to the dressing table, on which there was a vial of sacrificial red, probably left by Guo Zeng.

Not only did Sun Dan nod inwardly, thinking that it was indeed the case, and finally the trip was not in vain.Even Jiang Ruoying was very excited: "Ha!" and teased Yueguan: "Yueguan, you little guy is doing something, tell me quickly, aren't you?"

"What is it?" Yue Guan was ashamed and annoyed: "It's just a heartless fool."

Sun Dan was amused: "Why is he short-hearted?"

For a girl, being admired is a very happy thing.However, if a fool fell in love with him, he would feel a little ashamed.Yueguan is just a 13-year-old girl, no matter how precocious she is, she is still just a child.Among the girls in the opera troupe, they often talk about being liked by so-and-so, and they may not have no intention of comparing them in private.To be liked by such a fool as Guo Zeng is simply an insult to Yueguan.

The age of 13 is just the age of dreaming. I don't know what is true love. This is true in ancient times and modern times.

Yueguan said angrily: "That young master from the Marquis of Wuding's mansion that Guo Zeng said was actually very poor, and he still said he wanted to praise me? He is so shabby, he can only talk stupid things. Yesterday I was a bastard. He sent me a bottle of rose dew, saying that he came from the Western Regions, which is great. In fact, it is only worth one or two taels of silver, and the ones I have used on weekdays are much better than this."

Sun Dan frowned when he heard that, she was just a little girl who was greedy for vanity, but Sun Dan didn't have the heart to criticize other people's morality.He just said: "Guo Zeng wants to come to praise you, let him do it."

Yueguan was very surprised: "Mr. Sun, do you really want him to praise you?"

Sun Dan didn't know what to say, so he nodded solemnly: "Yes, let him praise you."

Jiang Ruoying couldn't understand what they were talking about, so she asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"

Sun Dan looked deeply at Yue Guan, but didn't speak.It can be seen that Yueguan is a very shrewd girl, she should know what she is talking about.

Yueguan thought for a while, then suddenly smiled: "Mr. Sun, isn't this embarrassing the slave family?" She is not interested in playing with Guo Zenggu.

Sun Dan: "What?" It feels very bad and helpless to be rejected.It seems that there is still some work to be done to convince Yueguan.

I was about to say something more.

Yueguan didn't mention this matter anymore, Rouju said: "Mr. Sun, you are here anyway, so why don't you write a joke for Yueguan. It's boring to sing those old songs all the time.

"Yes, yes, yes, Sun Dan, don't refuse, write another short piece, I want to sing it too."

Sun Dan had no choice but to refuse Yueguan's face, but Jiang Ruoying was his friend, so he had to agree.He had no choice but to say: "Let's just write a ditty." He pointed to the sanxian and a snare drum in the corner: "Which of you can play the sanxian?"

"I will, I will." Jiang Ruoying happily picked up the sanxian and plucked a chord.

Sun Dan picked up the drum hammer to beat a rhythm, raised his voice and sang: "Thousands of miles of swords and shadows, hatred burns nine cities, no one returns on a full moon night, and there is no peace in a land of fragrant flowers..." It is the TV series "Four Generations Under One Roof" "'s theme song "Reorganize Rivers and Mountains for Younger Generations".This song was originally one of the classic songs of Jingyun Dagu. Mr. Luo Yusheng sang it, and pop singer Han Hong also sang it. The tune is sonorous and powerful, and Sun Dan used to like it very much.In a hurry, he couldn't write a new drama, and he didn't have that thought, so he just randomly made such a scene.

His voice had never been good, and as soon as he sang, Jiang Ruoying giggled.While laughing, he adjusted the tune of the sanxian.

When Yueguan first heard it, she wanted to laugh, but she also knew that Sun Dan was good at words, and his "Lin Chong's Running at Night" was widely sung in the capital, and it was a famous piece of the Zhanjia class.

After calming down and listening to a few words, Yueguan became more and more surprised the more he listened.Although the tone of this piece is weird, it has a long charm, far surpassing Kunqiang in terms of beauty.

What she didn't know was that Jingyun Dagu originated from wooden drums. After it was introduced to Beijing in the late Qing Dynasty, it absorbed the characteristics of Peking Opera, and Kunqiang is the ancestor of Peking Opera.Speaking of which, Jingyun Dagu and Kunqu opera are originally inherited in the same line, and the techniques of flat tune, high tune, falling tune, throwing tune, and undulating tune are much better than the current Kunqu tune.

Yue Guan closed his eyes after listening, his lips moved slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

At the end of the song, when Sun Dan closed her voice, she took the drum hammer in Sun Dan's hand and started to beat the rhythm, signaling Jiang Ruoying not to stop the sanxian in her hand. Her chest heaved and she suddenly said: "There is no peace on a full moon night. There is no peace in the land of fragrant flowers. There is no sound and blood, and thousands of motherly love..."

This song was pure and exquisite, long and full of Beijing flavor, so beautiful that it made people tremble in the heart.

As expected of the No.1 character in the capital, the same singing voice is in her mouth, compared with Sun Dan, one is in the sky and the other is underground.

With this sound, Jiang Ruoying's hair stood on end, and there were sparkles in her eyes.

"Okay!" A man's cheers also came from the yard.

Then came the Buguan's panicked cry: "Lord Huo, you are not allowed to enter this yard. Yueguan is not feeling well today, so I can't see you, so please forgive me." Hearing his tone, it was obvious that Huo was very concerned about this. Adults are very afraid.

"Let's get started, an actor actually took the big prize in front of me?" That Mr. Huo spoke with a southern accent, which made it sound very difficult, and he didn't know whether he was speaking Cantonese or Hakka: "I, Huo Tao, have been in Zhengde for nine years. Huiyuan, Jinshi Jidi, is now the head of the Ministry of War, a dignified sixth-rank official, what status do you have, how dare you stop me. What a joke, an actor, someone praises it and pushes it away?"

"Huo Tao...that name is so familiar!" Sun Dan pondered.Huiyuan is the first person in the test, and this person actually won the first place in the test, which can be regarded as a character.With such test scores, he should have been admitted to the Hanlin Academy, but he didn't expect that he was only a small head of the military department now.It seems that there should be other reasons.

Buguan still begged for mercy: "My lord, you really can't go in. Yueguan is only thirteen this year, and he's still a child."

Huo Tao's southern accent sounded again: "What's the matter with being 13 years old? It's her luck that I fell in love with her. Mr. Huo, I came here today with sincerity, and I even found the middleman. Let's not talk nonsense, today you have to promise Promise, if you don’t agree, you have to agree, I must accept that Yueguan.”

Sun Dan sighed and shook his head again and again.Sure enough, it was this kind of thing. Huo Tao had taken a fancy to Yueguan and wanted to ask her to be his concubine.It's a pity that Yue Guan is the pillar of Zhan's class, how could he be poached away just like that.

After looking back at Yue Guan, the little girl also had an angry face, and she didn't want to be made a kid by others.She whispered: "Miss Jiang, Mr. Sun, you can go from the back. There is something troublesome about Yueguan here...offended."

Jiang Ruoying knew that Yueguan was in trouble, and asked, "Is it all right?"

"It's nothing, Miss Jiang, let's go."

"Okay, then let's take our leave first." Jiang Ruoying hurriedly pulled Sun Dan.

Sun Dan: "You go first, I'll come back later."

"Cough...then I'll go first." Jiang Ruoying was a lady after all, so naturally she wouldn't stay in such a place of right and wrong. Seeing Sun Dan standing still, she stomped her feet and hurried away.

The few people outside were still entangled with each other, so the cloth official couldn't stop begging, but Huo Tao refused.

At this time, a steady voice sounded: "Boss Zhan, Master Huo is also an official of the court. Yue Guan is 13 years old this year, and he can still sing with you for a few years? If a woman's family is always looking for a home, Master Huo He is a distinguished family in the South China Sea, and he is also a man of outstanding talent. It is a good thing for Yue Guan to follow him. Why do you stop him from agreeing? Master Huo will definitely return you ten times and a hundred times the money you spent on buying Yue Guan. .”

"Yes, yes, I will offer 500 taels." Huo Tao shouted loudly: "Why, you still don't agree, don't you just want to keep Yueguan in your troupe to sing for you for a few more years and earn more money? Huo Tao Tao lacks everything, except money."

Sun Dan heard it amused: This Huo Tao is also a Jinshi, and he has won a Huiyuan. Why is it so unbearable to talk about women?Besides, Yueguan is so ugly, Master Huo's vision is really not flattering.

Looking at the Yueguan again, his face was so black with anger that it was about to drip water, and when he used his hands, the knuckles of the drum hammer turned white.

Outside, Zhanbu was still begging: "Master Huo, this kind of thing needs to be based on your affection and I'm willing, and Yueguan doesn't want to be with you, what can I do?" The man said: "Xia Xingren, Mr. Xia, you also came from reading moral articles. Tell me, isn't it difficult for Mr. Huo to do this?"

"I just want to force you, how about it?" Huo Tao was still clamoring.

Sun Dan's heart was shocked: Isn't Xia Xingren Xia Yan?This guy should still be an official in the Pedestrian Division.

Xia Yan was a powerful figure in the Jiajing Dynasty, and later served as the chief assistant of the cabinet, and was one of the influential figures in the early years of the Jiajing Dynasty.

Sun Dan was already famous for Xia Yan, but he didn't have the chance to know him, but he didn't want to meet him on this kind of occasion.

Sun Dan's heart moved, he turned to Yueguan and said, "I can help you through this difficult time, but you have to promise me what I said earlier."

Yueguan gritted his teeth: "Mr. Sun, as long as I can get rid of that disgusting thing outside, I will do whatever you say."

"It's not that I want you to do something bad, I just want you to socialize with Guo Zeng." Sun Dan smiled, and was about to speak when the door curtain moved, and a young man who looked like a black and thin hozen broke in.

This person should be Huo Tao.

He is not tall, with dark skin, thick lips, high cheekbones, and a typical South Asian face, which is really ugly.

Seeing his appearance, Sun Dan immediately understood what was going on: It turns out that Yue Guan thinks Huo Tao is ugly!

It's funny to say, Yueguan doesn't look good, but his aesthetics is fine, so he naturally wouldn't like this kind of hozen-like man.However, Huo Tao's liking for Yueguan is puzzling. Ordinarily, Mr. Huo is also an official, and his family has money. He can't buy any kind of beautiful girl, but he is obsessed with this dark and thin little girl.And that Guo Zeng was also confused by Yue Guan.In this way, there is only one reason to explain: both Huo Tao and Guo Zeng are fans of Yueguan, and there is no reason for fans to worship idols.

Although the ancient actors had a humble status, they were still like big stars in the eyes of the ancients, and they were also sought after by people.

It's just that Guo Zeng adopted the method of stalking and entanglement blindly, while Huo Tao simply came to be a bully and force his bow.

As soon as Huo Tao entered the room, he saw another man in Yueguan's room. He immediately yelled, grabbed Sun Dan's sleeve, and shouted angrily, "Who are you, and who are you? Yueguan, I'm in vain!" Tao is so obsessed with you, throwing in so much money to praise you, is this how you treat me?"

Sun Dan was angry and funny: "Lord Huo, pay attention to your identity. How can you be decent with your current appearance?"

Huo Tao was stunned.

At this time, Zhanbu and another man also entered the room, seeing Sun Dan being held by the sleeve by Huo Tao, they also stepped forward to persuade them, and finally separated the two.

The other strange man should be Xia Yan. Sun Dan glanced at him and applauded in his heart: what a handsome man!With a straight nose, clear eyebrows, and a long beard reaching to the chest, he was worthy of being a famous person in the Jiajing Dynasty. His appearance alone made him look like a prime minister.

In contrast, Huo Tao looked really wretched.No wonder he was a dignified Huiyuan, but he only became a minor official in the Ministry of War, instead of entering the Hanlin Academy as usual.To be an official, you still need to have a good skin.

(End of this chapter)