Chapter 65 - Childe Liang?
Just then, a wisp of mist drifted by and Yuan Ge suddenly felt a change in the atmosphere as an unprecedentedly enthusiastic murmurs of admiration spread through the audience off the stage. When he looked closely, he saw a noblewoman in a Manchu palace attire sitting not far away from the middle seat with a faint smile on her face, while beside her, a young man of 18 or 19, dressed in royal yellow robes, stood respectfully and solemnly…
The Empress Dowager Cixi and the Emperor Tongzhi?!
Although Yuan Ge had dreamed of the Qing Dynasty many times, this was the first time he had actually seen such famous historical figures. However, no one questioned his existence or was surprised to see him watching a show with Empress Dowager Cixi. So, for the people in his dream, was he the actual phantom?
By now, the play on stage had turned into a lively performance of the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea". The actors in the Jinyu Troupe, dressed as the eight drunken immortals on stage, each showed off their divine skills and turned the sea upside down before finally getting into an argument with the Koi Fairy.
Qiuchen played the beautiful, bright and lively Koi Fairy.. He was full of charm as he bantered with the Eight Immortals with vivid expressions and humorous lyrics. To combat Lu Dongbin's disrespectful remarks, he displayed a heroic spirit of a woman who fought all the immortals single-handedly. Whether it was his dance-acting or vocal skills, he stood out from the crowd and far surpassed the others. To see him was to believe in the existence of immortals in the mortal world.
When the play was finished, the audience applauded. The Empress Dowager Cixi was so pleased that she had the masters of the Jinyu Troupe rewarded, saying, "Your Jinyu Troupe is now very famous in the capital; you two masters have brought out such outstanding seven young apprentices, all of whom have exquisite skills and excellent stage presence. In my ranking of the opera stage flowers, the top few places are all taken by your troupe. For today's performance, each of them will be rewarded twenty taels of silver, and Qiuchen will be rewarded a pair of ruby hair ornaments in addition to one hundred taels of silver..."
Just as Yuan Ge was thinking to himself, that Qiuchen was indeed a magnificent actor of his era before he entered the House of Rong, and his status, fame and income were truly extraordinary, he saw Cixi turn her head towards him, "Commander Rong, you have pleased me by inviting the Jinyu Troupe to perform today. More such events can be arranged in the future."
"Certainly, Your Imperial Highness, certainly!" Ronglu was full of promises, and the voice of the Third Lord, Huilu, also came from nowhere, "If it pleases Your Imperial Highness, I will assist my brother next time to make this water stage more refined, and also bring all the famous troupes in the capital over..."
"No need. Having Jinyu Troupe and Qiuchen is enough." Cixi said with a smile, not at all like the stern face in the history books.
The members of the Jinyu Troupe came before Empress Dowager Cixi and thanked her for the reward. Qiuchen, still dressed in his Koi Fairy costume, walked in gracefully. After greeting the many nobles one by one and thanking them for their patronage, he actually came to him, with a hint of imperceptible delight and a familiarity hidden in his eyes, and greeted him in a low, affectionate voice, "Childe Liang ..."
***
"Childe Liang?!" Yuan Ge woke up with a jolt.
The lights in the room had all gone out at some point, and a thin layer of frost had formed on the outside of the window panes, reflecting the faint glow from the street lights. The room was still dark and uncomfortably quiet. The sounds of gongs and drums, the lively audience and the red stage were floating vividly in front of his eyes, making it almost impossible to believe that such a realistic scene was nothing but a dream.
"Childe Liang? … Shouldn't it be Childe Yuan?" Yuan Ge sat on his bed in a total loss, pondering over the name. The unparalleled beauty of Rong Qing was clearly in front of his eyes, coupled with the lyrics of "the peerless beauty threw herself into the river" in his ears, and he could not help but be amazed at his own ability to make up scripts and lyrics in his dreams.
Suddenly, there was a "beep", the sound of the fridge starting up, and then the lights in the room came on, leaving Yuan Ge's heart palpitating. It seemed that the power cut must have occurred while he was asleep.
Last night, the little loony "Rong Qiuchen" was sitting right next to him, holding his hands while staring at him with wide eyes, yet he was able to sleep soundly, without any dreams. Now that he was gone, why did these strange dreams come back to haunt him? And what were these dreams about? They seemed so real, and they were often continuous, like a television series. What kind of a role did he play in this "dream drama"? Who exactly was he in it? Why was it even more baffling than the test at King Guan's audition?
Yuan Ge was always reluctant to delve into such fluttering emotions. He got his inspiration - no matter where he got it - It would be best to use it on set during filming. Didn't Fat Chow say that Yin Fenghua, the male lead chosen to play Rong Qing, was finally coming on set?