I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 36 Concubine Liu's Reflections

"That won't work! Clothes make the man, and gold ornaments make the Buddha. These monk robes and cassocks are Tang Monk's Armani battle robes." Zhu Houxuan realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and stopped quickly.

In fact, from one perspective, the Tang Monk in the 86 version of Journey to the West is an ascetic male god wearing an Armani battle robe, who has bewitched the Queen of the Kingdom of Women.

To be honest, Zhu Houxuan found rare fun in the process of directing this play. He was holding back when designing some things, just waiting to see the reactions of these Ming Dynasty people.

For people in the Ming Dynasty, monk robes were much more exciting than Armani. A monk wearing a monk robe fell in love with the beautiful Queen of the Kingdom of Women. Abstinence plus taboo, double the happiness!

Zhu Houxuan couldn't wait to see the overloaded brains of these Ming Dynasty people.

You have to know what kind of story is the famous "Romance of the Western Chamber" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which has been sung for hundreds of years? It is just a story about a man and a woman breaking free from their shackles and falling in love freely. How can it be as interesting as the love story of a monk?

So Zhu Houxun prepared to stab his butt with a knife - to open the eyes of these Ming Dynasty natives. At this time, the Ming Dynasty people were not as extravagant as they were in the late Ming Dynasty.

But Zhu Houxuan was not afraid at all that the people of the Ming Dynasty would not be able to accept this, because the background of the story of the Kingdom of Women was so good. In essence, it was a story about overcoming temptation and pursuing one's true heart. As long as this background did not change, those excitements would only be embellishments of the story.

"What Armani battle robe?" Sun Gong asked puzzledly.

"Nothing." Zhu Houxuan quickly evaded the question, "The cassock is not gorgeous enough. Tang Monk's cassock is a brocade cassock inlaid with seven treasures!"

"Where can this servant find Qibao?" Sun Gong said with a sad face.

"It's said that Buddha relies on gold, so this cassock should have some gold thread on it. I remember that the clothing store still has a lot of gold thread for me to make clothes. Go get some and sew it on."

"I obey your command." Sun Gong said hesitantly.

Zhu Houxuan then finished his guidance work, and the newly formed drama troupe quickly came on stage to show him the results of their recent practice.

"Okay, okay! I'm quite satisfied." Zhu Houxuan clapped his hands and stood up.

"Everyone has been practicing for nearly two months. I have seen the hard work of these two months, and I am very satisfied with the results of these two months. I think it is time for more people to see this play."

"So I will invite all the nobles and officials in the palace to enjoy this play in the theater in the palace in three days. What do you think?"

There was a gleam of heat in the eyes of Master Zheng and Sun Gong.

"I will definitely live up to your trust, Your Highness!" Sun Gong said firmly.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Such a good play will surely become famous throughout the world. If we don't perform well in this first show, I, Old Zheng, will twist off my head and let Your Majesty kick it like a ball!" Troupe Master Zheng said excitedly.

"In that case! I'll leave it to you all."

Changchun Palace.

Concubine Liu sat alone in a chair looking at an invitation in her hand.

"My Lady Concubine, Eunuch Yu is here." Liu Yourong walked gently behind Concubine Liu and said softly.

"Let him in."

Yu Chunlai walked in quickly: "Your servant Yu Chunlai pays homage to the Concubine Dowager"

"Chunlai! I asked you to come here because Xuan'er just sent me this invitation." Empress Dowager Liu picked up the invitation and handed it to Yu Chunlai. Yu Chunlai carefully took the invitation, opened it and read it quickly, "I also have an invitation here, which was also sent by the young prince, and the content is exactly the same as the one from the empress dowager."

"How much do you know about Xuan'er's new play? They have been rehearsing for two months."

"I have never been to the Music Bureau to see it. I heard that the doors of the Music Bureau are always closed when they are rehearsing a new play, so no one knows what the prince's new play is like." Yu Chunlai said with his head lowered.

"It was you who suggested that Xuan'er rehearse the new play. Now let's see how effective this strategy is."

"The prince is determined and only goes to the music house for an hour every day. My strategy is not satisfactory," Yu Chunlai said carefully.

"Forget it. Xuan'er has grown up now and has his own ideas. Let's talk about the factory Xuan'er built outside the city. I heard that there are girls from poor families working there."

"Yes, the prince's factory has recruited about 1,500 female workers, providing them with food and accommodation, and they can also receive eight cents of silver a month as wages. The people around Qizhou are all grateful for the kindness of the prince's mansion." Yu Chunlai knew what Concubine Liu was most concerned about.

"Then this factory must cost a lot of money every month."

"I heard from Hou Sen who is beside the prince that the cotton yarn and cloth produced by the factory are selling very well, and they make a lot of money every month."

Concubine Liu was silent for a while and then continued, "What have my two younger brothers been doing recently? I haven't seen them for a long time."

"I heard that the two uncles got a prescription from the young prince some time ago, and they have been tinkering with the prescription. It seems that they even went to Wuchang City recently."

Concubine Liu sighed and said, "Forget about my two brothers, let them be."

Then he seemed to have thought of something and continued, "Chunlai, go and tell everyone in the mansion quietly that if the young prince's new play is not good, you are not allowed to gossip. If I hear it, I will not let you off easily."

After Yu Chunlai left, Concubine Liu sat alone for a while, and then walked to the flying shuttle loom made by Zhu Houxun, and next to the flying shuttle loom was a Jenny spinning machine.

Concubine Liu sat down in front of the spinning machine and began to spin yarn skillfully.
She stopped spinning and sighed deeply.

"What's wrong with you, Concubine?" Liu Yourong walked in with a cup of tea.

"Yourong, come and talk to me," said Concubine Liu as she took the tea.

"What did Toffee want to talk about?"

"Let's talk about Xuan'er. I'm wondering if I shouldn't restrict Xuan'er like this. Look, he made such a good spinning machine and loom."

Liu Yourong did not say anything, but gently rubbed Concubine Liu's shoulders.

"He also gave so many poor girls such a good life, eight cents of silver a month. If I could earn eight cents of silver a month back then, my mother might not have died."

"Toffee."

"Yourong, you don't know, twenty years ago when I was still a girl, my family was very poor, my father only knew how to study but didn't know how to make money to support the family, it was my mother who raised the three of us siblings, and she ended up getting sick from all the hard work."

"I worked so hard to weave and spin just to pay for my mother's medical treatment. Others could only weave one bolt of cloth a month, but I worked so hard day and night to weave three bolts of cloth a month. I sold them to pay for my mother's medical treatment, but the money was still too little. I watched her become weaker and weaker, and she passed away without any happiness. When she was buried, she didn't even have a coffin. She was buried in the ground with a straw mat. I became a motherless child."

"Don't say anymore, Concubine Zhang. Don't say anymore." Liu Yourong hugged Concubine Zhang and said anxiously.

(End of this chapter)