Chapter 770: To Think Such a Show Was Staged

The garden of the Su Mansion is very large.

In the late autumn, the garden is full of blooming chrysanthemums of various colors competing in beauty.

The opera stage is set up in the middle of the garden.

Around the opera stage are several pavilions, with tables, chairs, fruits, and tea inside.

As a modern person, Tong Huaqiong doesn’t like listening to opera, finding the singing style quite unenjoyable.

However, Gu Taohua, Chen Sufen, and others enjoy listening to opera.

Arriving at the back garden, they looked at the opera stage with eyes full of excitement.

Especially Gu Taohua, whose mood was instantly restored after being ruined by Old Mrs. Su.

Who cares, since they are here, they might as well enjoy the opera and drinks.

In order to please Old Mrs. Su, the Lu family invited the most popular opera troupe in Shengjing.

Everyone was invited into the pavilion, and as the intense and passionate drum sounds began, the good show started.

The story of this opera is cliché but captivating.

Except for Old Mrs. Su and the Lu family, everyone listened with great interest, even Tong Huaqiong, who didn’t like opera, sighed along.

The opera tells the story of a poor scholar whose elderly mother is seriously ill, and he has no money to buy medicine. He falls off a cliff while gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains and is rescued by a hunter.

To repay the hunter for saving his life, the scholar marries the hunter’s daughter.

After marrying the scholar, the hunter’s daughter takes care of everything, serves her mother-in-law, tends to the crops, and even works as a maid in a wealthy family in town to earn tuition for the scholar.

The mother-in-law, proud that her son is a scholar, is unhappy with a hunter’s daughter as a daughter-in-law and often gives her a hard time.

The daughter-in-law endures it all.

The scholar appreciates his wife’s contributions, studies hard, and vows to become a high-ranking official to earn a noble title for his wife.

The scholar has no money to go to the capital for the examination, so his wife borrows from her family to gather enough tuition for him.

The scholar leaves for five years, and his wife waits at home in hardship, hoping to reunite with her husband, only to hear that he has abandoned her to marry a Commandery Princess for wealth and status.

The actors perform excellently, with rich emotions, drawing people into the story.

If this storyline did not mirror Su Shihang so much, the listening ladies would curse the heartless man as deserving of death.

The more Old Mrs. Su and the Lu family listen, the darker their faces become.

Tong Huaqiong thought, this opera troupe is too bold to perform such a play at Old Mrs. Su’s birthday banquet; even if it doesn’t reflect Su Shihang, this tragic atmosphere is unsuitable for a birthday celebration.

Ever since Tong Huaqiong came to Shengjing, she attended many banquets of wealthy families and knew that the opera repertoire must be reviewed by the host in advance.

This opera is performed so splendidly; the program list must have been manipulated by someone.

Even if the Lu family were foolish, they wouldn’t let the opera troupe perform this play to their own detriment.

Who among the madams and young ladies present didn’t know Su Shihang’s story? Listening to the opera, they couldn’t discuss it like other plays, lest they offend the host.

The atmosphere was terrifyingly quiet.

Chen Sufen, Liu Yueer, Mrs. Zhao, and Mrs. Min, among others, were engrossed, devoid of any burdensome thoughts.

After all, they didn’t need to consider the Su Family’s feelings and just focused on the opera.

Mrs. Zhao couldn’t help but whisper praise to Liu Yueer, "This opera troupe is better than the one we invited at Qinghe Bay during New Year, in both makeup and singing."

Liu Yueer replied, "Of course. After all, this is a Shengjing troupe, performing for nobility. How could they survive in Shengjing if they didn’t excel?"

Mrs. Zhao nodded, wiping her tears, feeling sorry for both the hunter’s daughter and the Commandery Princess, both deceived by a heartless man and tormented by the mother-in-law.

The actors performed so well, especially the one playing the heartless man, making people want to rush up and beat him.

Mrs. Zhao was deeply involved.

Listening to operas at Qinghe Bay usually involved discussing during the performance, fully immersing in the scenes.

The ladies in Shengjing sat properly and didn’t discuss, which made Mrs. Zhao feel a bit uncomfortable.

"This man is ungrateful."

"The original wife is pitiful, and so is the Commandery Princess."

"The original wife’s plight is the man’s doing; she should target the heartless man, not the Commandery Princess."

"This mother-in-law is incredibly malicious; dissatisfied whether served wholeheartedly by the first wife or respectfully by the Commandery Princess. Such an old witch is wasting food alive; she should be thrown into the mountains to fend for herself."

Mrs. Zhao couldn’t resist discussing with Tong Pandi.

The two were singing in harmony.

They were simply commenting on the performance on stage without implying anyone, but in the ears of others, it seemed like they were insinuating the Su Mansion.

No one else dared to respond, puzzled like Tong Huaqiong, wondering why the Su Mansion staged this play. Everyone knew about Su Mansion’s scandals; wasn’t this self-inflicted humiliation?

Old Mrs. Su’s face was dark enough to squeeze water out of.

These were two rural women brought by the Sui Feng Village Lady, noisy and lacking manners.

Old Mrs. Su regretted inviting Tong Huaqiong.

The Lu family, seeing Old Mrs. Su’s face, deeply regretted inviting the opera troupe, wanting to stop it several times. But with Princess Consort Yu enjoying it, she dared not stop the play for fear of offending her.

The Lu family felt bitterly regretful; she had told the steward to invite the opera troupe to please her mother-in-law, instructing them to perform operas attractive to the elderly, preferably lively and emotional.

The performance was lively and emotional for others, but for Old Mrs. Su, it was like slapping her in the face.

The Lu family felt cold all over, knowing that, based on her understanding of her mother-in-law, she would assume it was intentional to anger her.

Heaven’s truth, she really didn’t.

The opera’s storyline reached the point where the scholar and his mother used the original wife to design and force the Commandery Princess to death; the original wife was reinstated. The scholar’s career soared to become the Grand Secretary, and his power made him so conceited that he ended up betraying the country. Upon being discovered, he was imprisoned and beheaded during a heavy snowstorm.

"Finally got his due, well deserved."

At an exciting moment, Mrs. Zhao forgot where she was and clapped her hands, exclaiming that justice was served.

Some Mrs. Min’s intimate allies wished that Su Shihang’s end would be like the one in the opera, a fleeting illusion.

Old Mrs. Su almost couldn’t catch her breath.

The opera’s ending made her body tremble with anger.

The family destruction and execution depicted was like a curse on her own family.

"Vile woman."

Old Mrs. Su slapped the Lu family across her face.

"Didn’t you say you invited the best opera troupe in Shengjing to please me? This is what you call pleasing me? Performing such a play on a joyous day isn’t ominous? I think you’re deliberately trying to upset me."

"You malicious woman, pretending to be respectful on the surface while stabbing me behind my back. Don’t think I don’t know your intentions. Don’t you just want me dead so you can take charge of the Su Mansion? Keep dreaming."

Humiliated in public, the Lu family was ashamed and angry, defending herself, "Mother, I really don’t know why the opera troupe performed such a play. When the program list was delivered, it was also read to you, and you nodded your head at what to perform."

Seeing the Lu family dare to argue, Old Mrs. Su slapped her again and angrily said, "So, I cursed myself, didn’t I? Perhaps you switched the program list."

Old Mrs. Su vented all her anger on the Lu family.