Chapter 582: Shangjing City

Chapter 582: The Capital City

On the bustling streets of the capital city, at this moment, the Imperial Scholar Lü sat in a sedan chair, cradling his young grandson, Lü Tongsheng, with careful tenderness as he peered out through the window at the shops lining the street.

The opulent interior of the sedan chair made it clear that this place was worth its weight in gold. In times past, someone of his lowly status would never have dared to enter such a place.

With a hearty kiss on his grandson's cheek, the white beard of the scholar tickled the child’s nose, prompting a wail of protest from the infant.

"Tongsheng, my little ancestor! Look at what we've got here! Our Lü family is truly about to see smoke rise from our ancestral grave!"

"This has been my dream for a lifetime, and I never imagined I’d live to ride in a sedan chair today. Heh heh heh, so this is what it feels like to be carried by others." The scholar gently adjusted his rear, feeling utterly blissful.

"Ugh—" Hearing a nauseating sound from outside the sedan chair, the scholar frowned and lifted the curtain just enough to peek back. There, his eldest son, the Scholar Lü Ju Ren, had his head sticking out, vomiting his breakfast into the street.

Seeing the meat paste and flour that came up, the scholar’s heart clenched with pain. "What are you doing?! Ju Ren! Look at the ground! What a waste! How much money could that sell for?"

Pale-faced, Lü Ju Ren fought down his nausea and spoke to his father, "Father, this rocking is making me sick. Can I get out and walk for a bit?"

"You don’t even know how to enjoy good fortune! Shut your mouth! If you throw up again, I’ll make you eat it all back!"

Lü Ju Ren nodded with a bitter expression, covering his mouth and pulling his head back inside.

Before long, after only half a stick of incense had burned, the sedan chair carrying the Lü family came to a slow stop.

As Lü the Scholar stepped out with his grandson, a three-story pavilion in emerald green stood before him. On its front, a large red plaque bore the words “Guangde Garden.”

The scholar’s eyes widened, not blinking once as he slowly entered.

The roof tiles, the columns, the beams, the windows and doors—

The exquisite carved reliefs, pierced carvings, and painted decorations dazzled his eyes. And some parts even glistened with gold leaf and silver dust.

The scholar was utterly stunned by the splendor. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

When his gaze fixed upon the opera stage within the garden, a eunuch approached with a respectful bow and said softly, “Esteemed elder, this is the opera house the Emperor gifted you.”

“This... this... this...” The scholar stammered like a man possessed. “This... this is mine?”

“Yes indeed. Do you find it satisfactory? If not, you may choose among all the buildings in the capital until you are satisfied.”

At this point, the scholar could hear nothing else but that one word.

His eyes red with emotion, he emitted meaningless, trembling sounds and rushed toward the stage. Then, like a madman, he began circling the pillars and the platform, touching the floor tiles over and over again—almost licking them.

"Dad, Dad! Don't do this," Lü Ju Ren shouted, dragging Lü Xiucai to pull him away.

Once Lü Xiucai was brought down from the stage, seeing his father still dazed and confused, he spat into his palm and struck his father several times across the face.

The sharp sting brought him back to his senses. He looked at Lü Xiucai in shock. “You hit me?”

“Pfft! You’re embarrassing me. Don’t say I’m your father,” Lü Xiucai sneered with disdain.

“You dare hit me?!” Lü the Scholar rolled up his sleeves and raised his pipe.

But in the end, he did not fight with his younger son, because a crowd had gathered around the opera house.

“Feng Family Troupe greets Master.” With a rustle, over a hundred men and women, old and young, knelt before the scholar.

“Oh my goodness, no need, no need, it will shorten your lifespan,” startled, the scholar pushed his two sons aside to avoid their prostrations.

“Esteemed elder, please accept us. Without a troupe, an opera house is useless. With them, Guangde Garden will bring in riches daily.”

After repeated refusals, seeing they were sincere, Lü the Scholar finally stood before them, trembling slightly.

“Feng Family Troupe greets Master.” Again, the crowd knelt and shouted.

This time, Lü the Scholar didn’t dodge. Standing before them, he felt tingling all over, as if floating. “Um... fellow performers... could you please repeat that one more time?”

Though some were puzzled, seeing the eunuch’s hand subtly wave beneath his sleeve, they repeated it. “Feng Family Troupe greets Master.”

“Hehehehe～” Lü the Scholar laughed like a fool, nearly jumping for joy. “Don’t... don’t... don’t stop!”

“Feng Family Troupe greets Master.” “Hehehehe～”

“Feng Family Troupe greets Master.” “Hehehehe～”

Lü Ju Ren watched from the side. Compared to his father’s reaction, he was relatively calm. After all, this opera house was a gift from the Emperor to his father, and before his father passed, it wasn’t his to claim.

Still, even so, he felt excited. How could someone like Gao Zhijian, that simpleton, become Emperor and give such a grand gift to his family? It all felt like a dream.

Turning to his younger brother, Lü Xiucai, he found him picking his nose with impatience.

Noticing his brother’s gaze, Lü Xiucai stuck out two fingers and flicked them at Lü the Scholar. “Nothing else to do, I’m leaving. Go stay with this crazy old man.”

Saying that, Lü Xiucai, sword at his side, turned and walked toward the exit of the opera house.

“Hey! Where are you going, Xiucai?”

“The others are going to meet my master in the palace. Naturally, I should go too. My master has become so powerful now. Maybe he can teach me some of those awesome skills.” Saying that, Lü Xiucai ran toward the palace gate.

He hurried along the way, finally catching up with the other sedan chairs at the palace entrance. Though the sedan chairs didn’t require walking, they weren’t exactly fast either.

“Hey! Lü Xiucai! What are you doing here? You look tired as a dog.” Dogwa, draped in silk, poked his head out of the sedan chair to tease him.

“Get lost! Are you all going into the palace?” Lü Xiucai looked around the other sedan chairs and saw only Chun Xiaoman, Zhao Wu, Yang Xiaohai, and Dogwa.

“What? Not allowed? I tell you, entering the palace is a big deal. The Emperor didn’t call you, so don’t try to tag along like a pest.”

“Hmph, you talk like that? I’m not going to see him—I’m going to see my master.” Lü Xiucai jumped into Dogwa’s sedan chair.

“Hey! You! Get out! This chair only holds one person!”

“Don’t be so stingy! That night, if it weren’t for me saving you, you’d already be dead by that Taoist guy! You owe me!”

“Shut up! It was clearly me who saved you that night!”

In the sway of the sedan chair, they slowly entered the palace gates.

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Volume Two - Main Text

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