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墨書 Inktalez
Ouyang Yue's features relaxed, and a hint of contentment appeared on her usually lazy and fatigued face. Clearly, the uniquely designed program at the beginning had pleased her greatly. She chuckled softly, "I heard that thirty years ago, Flowing Sand Kun was a master of illusion, capable of creating something out of nothing. Unfortunately, since his passing, no one has inherited his legacy. What Qin Langjun has come up with now is quite interesting. Perhaps the tricks are decent, but our performance is meant to bring joy; as long as we can make the guests smile, whether the technique is top-notch is secondary."
Yan Xixi nodded repeatedly. It was her first time witnessing such a performance, and after laughing, she felt that the performers from the Brothel Management Office, who were also skilled in tricks, might not be lacking in technique, but when it came to stage effects, they truly couldn't compare to the show before them.
Next came acts like dressing in firewalls and shattering wine glasses from afar—various marvelous performances in succession. Many people couldn't help but speculate whether a certain master had graced them with his presence. If it weren't for the fact that most of those on stage were familiar faces, some might have genuinely believed that a naive courtesan would ask for an immortal to 'pat her head and grant her longevity.'
Gao Feng and Qin Wenyuan had specially made time to come and watch. Since everyone present were courtesans from the Brothel Management Office, they didn't have to worry about etiquette. The two simply sat at the back, drinking tea and chatting.
Qin Wenyuan had never seen these performances before and was captivated by them. Even Gao Feng showed signs of nostalgia; back then, they spent their days either on missions or training with little time for entertainment. Only during the New Year could everyone gather together to laugh and watch the gala on television.
At that time, Qin Yaru loved watching a rather famous magician perform magic tricks. After seeing it once, she insisted on figuring out how it was done. Together with the Crazy Girl Wu Chunmin from her team, she practiced diligently. With their agile skills and having studied many magic trick manuals, they even visited the magician's home during their holidays to learn directly from him. Eventually, she managed to understand most of the simpler tricks and occasionally performed them on stage to entertain her rough-and-tumble teammates.
"I didn't expect that after several years of neglect, she could still recreate it; Qin Yaru really has a good memory."
Back then, Qin Yaru had only learned for fun; once she mastered it and played around with it for a while, she lost interest and would only remember to support a magician's performance occasionally.
Now being able to recreate most of those magic tricks in this Northern Song era was still thanks to the skills of the courtesans from the Brothel Management Office.
Everything was going smoothly until Qin Yaru watched those perhaps still somewhat inexperienced performers on stage successfully engaging the audience when suddenly something went wrong.
"What happened? What's wrong with Yi?"
The final act was 'Escape from Underwater,' starring a sixteen-year-old performer named Yi, who was currently under Yan Xixi's care as a lady-in-waiting. Both her parents were acrobats; she came from a family of performers and was quite agile.
At a critical moment, Yi suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain—not from eating too quickly—but because she had just matured. Qin Yaru glanced at Yi's pale face and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time; at this age, girls usually matured early—typically around thirteen or fourteen—but she truly hadn't expected that this girl was sixteen and still hadn't grown up yet.
“Where is Afei?” Qin Yaru ran to the backyard, scanning the area but did not see Afei, who was supposed to be training as a backup performer.
Afei was there, her face scrunched up, trembling all over. “Sister, sister, I can’t do it! There are too many people, I can’t do it!”
Qin Yaru was so angry she almost cried. This girl had been eager to get on stage during rehearsals, but now at the critical moment, she was falling apart. She had performed many times at the Brothel Management Office, dancing for the patrons, so why was she faltering now?
Afei felt wronged. “Wuwu, when I performed before, I just hid on the outskirts and danced; no one even looked at me more than a glance. But this time…”
Qin Yaru coaxed and persuaded her. From the front came sounds of nervous gasps and bursts of laughter; the last performance was about to start, yet Afei still shook her head like a rattle drum, refusing to go on stage. She even considered skipping the last performance altogether and doing it later, but everyone else was unwilling. They had worked hard for so long and suffered so much; how could they be satisfied if it ended up incomplete?
“Yes, back then Qin Langjun demonstrated it. Now you can change into a different outfit, put on a mask, and you’ll look quite similar to the performer; it won’t affect the show.”
The performer was tall; although only sixteen years old, she was about the same height as Qin Yaru. The props used by the performer could also be worn and used by Qin Yaru.
In the end, Qin Young Lady had no choice but to agree.
As two very talkative Mynas went up to sell their cuteness again, the lights on stage suddenly dimmed. Eleven Ladies-in-Waiting went up and covered the lanterns with dull yellow scarves.
Six men in short coats huffed and puffed as they carried a huge ceramic water jar that was about one and a half times a person's height onto the stage. Ouyang Yue looked at Yan Xixi in surprise; she recognized this water jar as it was placed in the backyard of the Brothel Management Office, usually used for storing water but was essentially just a decoration.
Qin Yaru wore a leather fox mask and a rather splendid long robe. While others couldn’t tell who she was, those familiar with her could recognize her at a glance.
Qin Xiu wore a somewhat stiff smile and nervously looked at her sister, muttering, “Sister, why don’t I do it instead?”
Qin Yaru found it both amusing and frustrating; she lowered her voice and whispered, “It’s fine if those below don’t know what’s going on, but you know it’s all fake—what are you afraid of?”
Qin Wenyuan's eyes nearly popped out, and Gao Feng was also startled, but he chuckled. It had been years since he had seen Qin Yaru perform on stage like a young girl. In fact, unless Qin Yaru was drunk or overly happy, she would always go to great lengths to maintain her composure and elegance, let alone perform in front of a large crowd. Unexpectedly, upon returning to the Song Dynasty, she had become much more relaxed.
At that moment, a series of gasps erupted. Qin Wenyuan's face turned pale with fright as he jumped up from his chair. "What is going on? What does this look like?"
If it weren't for Gao Feng's quick reflexes in grabbing him, he might have rushed up to pull his sister away.
Qin Yaru was surprisingly bound with a long chain from her shoulder down to her knees. While two Lady-in-Waiting struggled to tie her up, several men carried a water tank, positioning the opening toward the audience. They even moved closer and asked Ouyang Yue and Yan Xixi in the front row to check and confirm that the water tank was intact.
Qin Xiu took a deep breath and smiled brightly. "Everyone, is there any problem with the water tank?"
Everyone shook their heads, and the pre-arranged helpers shouted loudly, recounting the history of the water tank.
"Then let's fill it with water."
Without a microphone, Qin Xiu held a homemade horn-shaped amplifier that shielded her face somewhat; at least it could cover her blushing embarrassment.
Ouyang Yue watched with interest as twelve strong men struggled to pour water into the tank. Before long, the water overflowed and splashed onto the high stage.
Qin Xiu waved her hand, and several girls dressed identically pulled down a thick opaque curtain that had been taken from the Brothel Management Office to surround the large water tank.
Ouyang Yue chuckled. "These girls really know how to save money." The curtain had been taken from one of the rooms in the Brothel Management Office; after all, it wouldn't be easy to find such quality curtains elsewhere.
When Qin Yaru was lifted and placed into the overflowing water tank, two strong men then raised a huge stone to seal the tank's opening and used chains to secure it together. Even Ouyang Yue was startled and exclaimed, "What is going on? Quickly let her out!"
Qin Wenyuan felt dizzy and moved forward to pounce. Gao Feng helplessly grabbed his arm and laughed. "This is just an entertainment program; don't make a scene or you'll ruin Qin Yaru's performance, and she won't be happy."
Even if Gao Feng gave countless guarantees that there would absolutely be no problems, Qin Wenyuan still felt restless. It wasn't just him; even Ouyang Yue and Yan Xixi were on edge.
Especially Yan Xixi, who had a good relationship with Qin Yaru. She was aware of the close ties between Qin Young Lady and Gao Feng, fearing that if something happened to Qin Yaru, Gao Feng might vent his anger on them. Her brows were tightly furrowed.
At this moment, Qin Xiu had calmed down and directed everyone to lower the curtains, wrapping the water tank securely. Only then did she smile and take out a funnel, raising it high: "Our 'Mage' will escape from the water tank before the sand runs out. Let's all wait and see!"
Her voice was clear and seemed full of confidence, causing all the courtesans in the courtyard to whisper among themselves. Many who were unaware of the situation showed anxious expressions.
As the dripping sound continued, everyone grew more tense. The sand in the hourglass was running low, almost reaching the bottom, but there was no movement from behind the curtain, and Qin Yaru made not a single sound.
At this moment, the audience below was sweating nervously, and even Qin Xiu's expression began to darken. She paced back and forth on stage, occasionally glancing at the curtain and then at the hourglass. Finally unable to bear it any longer, she secretly lifted the curtain to peek inside.
Everyone was made anxious by her actions. Ouyang Yue frowned: "Could something have gone wrong?"
Yan Xixi was even more frightened; she straightened up and shouted: "Yuexin, if it’s not working, quickly pull her out! This is not a joke."
Qin Xiu was taken aback, seeming quite troubled. After whispering a few words with a lady-in-waiting, an elderly woman rushed onto the stage with a medicine box, clearly having called for a doctor in advance out of fear of an incident.
Qin Wenyuan's face turned red. After a moment, he could no longer hold back; disregarding Gao Feng's obstruction, he dashed out. He bumped into several courtesans who scrambled to avoid him, their faces pale with fright. (To be continued)
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