Chapter 170

During this year’s New Year festival, the members of Cui Wei remained organized and disciplined.

However, unlike last year when Shen Cui organized lively festivities, there was no need for it this year. The youths were all busy studying behind closed doors—although the provincial examination was in August, there was a preliminary examination before that, held in May or June.

This preliminary examination served as a sort of practice test, and candidates had to achieve top rankings to qualify for the provincial examination.

Even though this preliminary examination wasn’t too difficult, Cui Fei had put in extra effort three years ago and successfully qualified for the provincial examination.

But Mu Er Pang and his friends knew better than never underestimate any exam, which was how they managed to progress this far.

At the beginning of the year, the opera adaptation of “The Rouge Immortal” was staged, and Cui Wu Niang sent several theater tickets in advance.

Shen Cui asked Lao Buyu and a few other youths if they were interested in attending, but they weren’t particularly keen. However, they expressed willingness to accompany her if she wished to go.

This was the advantage of Shen Cui not disclosing that she had written the script herself. Otherwise, if they knew the truth, they would definitely have put aside their books to accompany her.

Initially, Shen Cui had no intention of going, but the youths insisted.

“It’s still New Year’s. Last year, you gave us a day off to attend the poetry meeting. This year, let us give you a day off, and you can enjoy yourself.”

Later, when Cui Wu Niang learned that Shen Cui was planning to go to the theater alone, she made time to accompany her, along with Sun Ruowei. Together, they went to the theater.

The last time Shen Cui saw Sun Ruowei was on the day of her marriage to Cui Fei, back in August of last year. Now, just a few months later, Sun Ruowei seemed to have matured. Her features had softened, making her even more attractive.

During their conversation, Shen Cui learned that because Cui Fei spent less time at home, Sun Ruowei often accompanied Cui Wu Niang. As a result, she had started to help Cui Wu Niang with various tasks.

“Speaking of which, it’s all thanks to you,” Cui WuNiang couldn’t help but smile as she mentioned this. “I never thought Ruowei would be willing to help me. It was after that conversation we had about publishing the scripts that I tentatively shared the details with her. Seeing that she didn’t show any impatience, I made up my mind. Despite the extra workload for Ruowei after marrying into our family, she seems even more refreshed than before.”

Sun Ruowei pursed her lips and said, “A little refinement is more attractive. Besides, after marriage, most people just move from one house to another, dealing with household chores as usual. It’s still busy, but I’m enjoying life much more now.”

As she spoke, there was a sparkle in her eyes, and her expression exuded happiness, indicating her satisfaction with her current life.

After chatting for a while, the carriage from the Cui family arrived at the theater.

The theater was bustling with activity during the New Year festivities, and today was no exception; it was packed with people.

There were three resident opera troupes in the theater. One belonged to the theater owner himself, while the other two were recruited by the owner, including the one Cui Wu Niang was collaborating with, the Ji Feng Opera Troupe.

Normally, only one troupe would perform at a time, but during the festive season, all three troupes would perform simultaneously, offering a variety of plays for the audience.

The Ji Feng Opera Troupe was scheduled to perform after the theater owner’s troupe, but due to the generous donation of a fan, the owner decided to add an extra segment to their performance.

Seeing that there was still time, Cui Wu Niang decided to spend a little more money to buy tickets for the extended performance, and together with Shen Cui and Sun Ruowei, they entered the theater.

In the middle of the theater was a stage, surrounded by dozens of tables, chairs, and benches. On the second floor were private boxes separated by screens.

As the extended performance was already in progress, the audience was applauding enthusiastically.

Amidst the applause, Shen Cui followed Cui Wu Niang upstairs.

However, to Shen Cui’s disappointment, the play being performed by the theater owner’s troupe was still about scholars and young ladies—a genre she wasn’t particularly fond of. Coupled with her lack of interest in opera, she found herself feeling drowsy.

Cui Wu Niang and Sun Ruowei weren’t enjoying the play any more than she was; they were simply exchanging a few words to pass the time. “The imperial examination is coming soon. With Cui Fei’s success, the rest of the students in your academy shouldn’t have any problems. They’re bound to qualify for the provincial examination. What are your plans for later?”

“I plan to accompany them to the examination site,” Shen Cui replied. “After all, they’re not familiar with the surroundings near the Southern Prefecture, and although Cui Fei has been there before, we can’t rely solely on him to take care of all the students in the academy.”

Cui Wu Niang guessed that this was her plan, so she wasn’t surprised. “That’s true. They might look grown up, but they all see you as their leader. If you accompany them, they’ll feel more confident, and they’ll perform better naturally.”

With that said, Cui Wu Niang asked Shen Cui if she had enough money with her.

The first hundred copies of “The Rouge Immortal” had sold out before the New Year, and the second batch had just been printed.

Cui Wu Niang was waiting for the promotional effect of the new play before deciding when to put them up for sale.

So Shen Cui hadn’t received her share of the script’s profits yet.

“It’s enough. I always save money for emergencies. Besides, with Ashu and Afei around, I might end up fighting to pay instead. I might not even win against them,” Shen Cui replied.

Cui Wu Niang didn’t inquire further.

After chatting for a while, the extended performance finally came to an end, and it was time for the Ji Feng Opera Troupe to take the stage.

Shen Cui’s spirits lifted, but she noticed that many people in the theater were already standing up.

Just as the attendant came over to change their tea, he noticed Shen Cui looking around curiously and explained, “Madam, don’t be surprised. Isn’t today the first day the Ji Feng Opera Troupe is performing ‘The Rouge Immortal’? Before purchasing tickets, many theatergoers and connoisseurs always want to know what story will be performed. This new story lacks any romantic elements; it’s all about The Rouge Immortal exterminating demons and helping the needy… If the protagonist were a man, the situation might be different.”

Shen Cui couldn’t help but feel speechless at his words.

Cui Wu Niang reached out and gently patted Shen Cui’s hand, indicating that she had anticipated this situation.

As some theatergoers stood up, many new customers quickly filled in the gaps.

Among the new customers, there were mostly women.

Shen Cui glanced down from the second floor and vaguely recognized two familiar faces.

One was Sun Ruowei’s little aunt.

Sun Ruowei and Cui Wu Niang immediately went over to greet her, inviting her to join them.

The other was the woman Shen Cui had encountered at the bookstore, who had bought ten sets of scripts in one go. Shen Cui could tell she had been provoked by some gossipers at the time, which was why she acted that way.

But now, her willingness to come and watch the play indicated that she had indeed read the scripts after buying them and genuinely liked the story.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Shen Cui watched as the new play on stage began.

Despite still being a novice at appreciating opera, Mei Ruochu’s lyrics were exceptionally well-written. Sung by the masculine protagonist, they made it seem as though one could truly see the delicate yet resilient Rouge Immortal!

Unknowingly, Shen Cui watched the entire performance. Throughout, she didn’t even feel the need to speak to Cui Wu Niang and Sun Ruowei, and even after it ended, she still felt somewhat unsatisfied and wanting for more.

If even she, a novice, felt this way, then those who were accustomed to appreciating opera must have been truly captivated. Immediately, people started buying tickets for the next show, preparing to watch it two or even three times!

Seeing this lively scene, Cui Wu Niang became even more confident.

She decided to part ways with them, leaving Sun Ruowei to accompany Shen Cuimback home, while she herself went back to the bookstore. The first hundred copies she had printed were clearly not enough to satisfy demand, so she needed to push her staff to work overtime to print more!

…

In February, Shen Cui received her first share of profits, a hefty sum of twenty taels!

Cui Wu Niang said it was just the beginning. As more copies of the same book were printed, the production costs would decrease, and the profits would increase.

True to her words, Shen Cui received another thirty taels two months later.

After that, the profits gradually decreased.

After all, there were only so many wealthy ladies and madams in the capital who could afford to buy the scripts and enjoyed the story.

To make more profits, they would have to wait for Cui’s Bookstore to print the sequel.

However, at this time, most of Shen Cui’s attention was focused on another matter—her sporadic practice of the Needlework skill over the years had progressed to 950 out of 1000.

Although the provincial examination wasn’t until August, Shen Cui still had plenty of time to practice needlework fifty more times.

However, to prevent any tricks by the rules—such as deducting Mei Ruochu’s luck points even for the preliminary examination—Shen Cui decided to upgrade her Needlework skill before the imperial examination.

After working continuously for half a month, Shen Cui successfully upgraded her Needlework skill and then proceeded to create a batch of new items for Mei Ruochu to wear.

Mei Ruochu hadn’t been through any rough patches in recent years. Even when there were minor accidents, they were nothing worth mentioning to someone with Mei Ruochu’s high mental resilience. However, whenever Shen Cui asked him to wear something, he obediently complied.

Moreover, Shen Cui’s upgraded needlework skills produced much better-looking items compared to before. Although they couldn’t be compared to ready-to-wear clothes or tailor-made outfits, they were no longer particularly ugly.

His luck score had been boosted to 90, which, in terms of numerical value, was almost on par with Mu Er Pang.

Indeed, he encountered some strokes of luck. For instance, when he dropped his money pouch, it wasn’t picked up by anyone, and he effortlessly retrieved it when he retraced his steps. Or when a chair leg in the prefectural school suddenly broke, but he happened to stand up just in time to avoid falling.

Back at the academy, he shared these anecdotes with Shen Cui and the others, but Shen Cui didn’t find them amusing. She vaguely felt that these incidents were like bad omens.

Sure enough, not long after, the preliminary exam commenced, and as Shen Cui suspected, the dimensional laws didn’t spare even this preliminary exam. Mei Ruochu’s luck score dropped by 45 points.