Even if the banquet in the palace was noisy and crowded, in Downton's heart, it couldn't be worth a chuckle or a whisper from Hu Tao and Celes!
"I suddenly remembered, how can we miss out on hot pot on a snowy day?"
Downton glanced at Celes. Sure enough, the girl was looking at the palace, feeling sad.
"what is that?"
Little Hutao jumped down, opened her arms, and ran on the snow in front of the palace gate, leaving a series of footprints.
"Well, it's a kind of delicacy that only the whole family can enjoy together!"
Downton knelt down, pinched a snowball, and smashed it towards the walnut.
Snapped!
Hu Tao was shot in the head. She wiped the residual snow on her cheek with her sleeve and launched a counterattack, "Sister Celes, come on, come together and defeat him!"
"Thanks!"
Seeing his sister running on the snow, Rosicky thanked Downton sincerely. He knew that he made that hot pot for himself and his sister.
"To put it this way, it's simply too foreign!"
Downton fought back, hitting Prince Xueman in the face with a snowball, and then ran away without looking back.
With Downton's current power, if he wants anything, he can just give the order, and the servants will be ready in less than half an hour.
The freezing cold winter was indeed the best day to cook hot pot. Downton was worried that it would not be lively, so he invited Madeleine and Juliet to the dining table.
"Eat slowly, be careful not to burn it!"
Watching Little Walnut's juices splashing and white puffs coming from his mouth, Downton felt that no matter how rare and delicious the palace's delicacies were, they were not as good as these simple dinners.
In this relaxed and lively atmosphere, Downton, who has always been self-disciplined, got drunk for the first time. Of course, the culprit was Madeleine.
"A man who doesn't know how to drink will be at a disadvantage!" Captain Yujie almost grabbed Downton's collar and poured wine into his mouth. "You want to get a girl drunk, but you end up pouring it before her. It's not a loss.
Isn’t it embarrassing? So you must exercise your drinking ability!”
Madeleine's energy always seemed to be extremely high. Early the next morning, she kicked down the door of Downton's room and pulled him out of bed before he woke up.
"What?"
Being hungover made Downton's head hurt, and he couldn't help but frown. As for the cold wind blowing in from outside the door, given his physical condition, he couldn't feel it at all.
"It's time to rehearse the opera. If you don't want to be embarrassed and be called a native duke for the rest of your life, just give me one thousand percent of your efforts!"
Madeline grabbed the clothes on the bedside and threw them on Downton. "Put them on quickly!"
"I'm only responsible for the script. As for how to act it, it's your business. I'm not an actor?"
Downton is not proficient in opera, but he still knows a lot more than ordinary people. Not counting the classic plays he has watched in his dreams, but also the real world. Following a Lord Homer who likes literature and art, Downton's literary literacy also improves.
It won't get any lower.
"I want to strive for excellence this time. So you must be there to see if there is anything that can be improved. After all, the script is yours!"
Having written several best-selling scripts one after another, Madeleine believed that Downton was a natural talent for screenwriting. After all, literature requires talent. No matter how hard he develops, the work he creates will inevitably be full of craftsmanship.
"How about the morning? Let me sleep a little longer!"
Downton didn't want to go. He was so hungover for the first time that he didn't even want to open his eyes.
"No!" Madeleine threatened. "Don't force me to use special tricks?"
"All right!"
Seeing that the leader of the Royal Sisters was not throwing cold water on him, but was preparing to tear down the roof, Downton was frightened and quickly jumped up to get dressed.
In order to compete with the Black Swan Opera Troupe, Madeleine sent Pippin to rent a large warehouse overnight. As long as the door is closed, it can be kept secret, and the place is large enough to be isolated into several areas for simultaneous practice without contacting each other.
Influence.
"If you don't work for a week, won't it affect your reputation?"
Downton was very worried. Strike while the iron is hot. Toffee's career is currently on the rise. If it stops suddenly for a week, the losses will be too great.
"As long as you defeat the Black Swan, are you still worried about not being famous?"
Madeleine knocked on the door, and the silly big Pippin immediately answered and opened the door, and then the penetrating and clear singing voice poured into his ears.
"walnut?"
Downton almost had his eyeballs popping when he saw the little Loli describing her lines in an opera accent under the guidance of a woman. When did the little guy work so hard?
"She dragged me to ask for special training after dinner yesterday. It's obvious that she doesn't want to embarrass you!" Madeleine rolled her eyes at Downton, "You're not a lolicon, are you?"
"Absolutely not!"
Downton quickly clarified.
"Hey, it's strange to believe you. If you're not a lolicon, how could you write "This Killer Isn't Too Cold"?" Madeleine muttered.
"Big brother!"
Xiao Hutao was very embarrassed when she saw Downton.
Bang bang, Madeleine clapped her hands, attracted everyone's attention, and said, "Okay, the big screenwriter is here, everyone, show your energy and give it a try!"
Pippen was very discerning and quickly moved two chairs over.
As Madeleine started, a middle-aged man holding a pot of 'Silver Queen' walked into the venue. He is the mainstay of Toffee. He is twenty-eight years old. With a little makeup, he can
Meet the requirements of the male protagonist Leon.
Downton touched his chin with his right hand, quietly admiring it. The actors all gave their best in the performance, but his frown became deeper and deeper.
"How's it going? I originally put a lot of money into it, but I didn't expect that "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" would be so popular, so I didn't use it. Fortunately, otherwise we would definitely lose if we compiled a new play!"
Madeleine snickered, like a fox who had successfully stolen grapes from the manor, which was why she had the confidence to make a bet.
The opera lasted for three hours before it ended. Little Walnut probably wanted to prove herself in front of Downton so much that she made too many mistakes.
When the opera ended, the little Loli went directly to the backstage.
"How is it? In fact, Hu Tao performed very well before!"
Madeline felt a little guilty because she noticed Downton frowning frequently, which gave her a very bad premonition.
"It always feels like something is missing, Homer, what do you think?"
With Downton's current status, even if Homer is exposed, there is no need to worry about it being taken away, not to mention that the leader of the Royal Sisters is still one of his own.
"The appeal is not enough. To put it bluntly, these people's acting skills are not good enough!"
Homer has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, has seen operas from all eras, and has in-depth research on literature and art. Therefore, his opinions are to the point.
"Homer!"
Downton blamed Homer's words for being too direct and hurtful.
"Hey, actually I know that too!"
Madeline sighed.
"Why don't you replace a group of troupe members? Dig some of the leading actors from those big opera troupes? With your pocket, you can afford these gold coins, right?"
Homer was confused and noticed that the toffees Madeleine ate were high-end products produced in the Alps. The price of one was enough to cover the expenses of a family of four for a year.
"We are all like-minded people who have dedicated our lives to opera. We have our own ideas. If Toffee becomes the world's number one opera company by poaching, what's the point?"
In a way, Madeleine is stubborn, but stubborn in a cute way.
"Their enthusiasm is sufficient and they are very dedicated. But these cannot make up for their acting skills. There is no problem in defeating the second-rate opera troupe. But what you are going to challenge now is the Black Swan Opera Troupe, which is ranked among the top three in the Saint Laurent Empire. The five major pillars of the company can be anything.
If you pull one out, it will be worth as much as one of your opera troupes, no, several of them!"
As a literary youth, Homer understands Madeleine, but if this continues, she will definitely lose.
“Our passion for opera is definitely not inferior to theirs!”
Captain Yujie argued.
"I agree, but this favor will not bring victory!" Homer poured cold water on him, "You don't think Black Swan didn't rehearse the opera, do you?"
Madeleine looked slumped. A large theater company like this, in order to be prepared and not be eliminated by the market, starts preparing for a new opera as early as when it performs popular plays, so it is inevitable that Black Swan will have a new opera.
"The plot of "The Killer Is Not So Cold" is great, but these actors can't interpret its essence at all!"
Homer's advice is simple: change players, otherwise the outcome will be difficult to predict.
"But where am I going to pick someone now?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes. She didn't want to change people at all. These are people who have visions and ideals for opera. They are her friends and subordinates. As long as they don't resign voluntarily, she will not fire them.
"What you are doing now is burying Toffee with your own hands!"
Homer's voice couldn't help but become louder.
"No one can determine the consequences until there is a competition. I think they can definitely defeat Black Swan!" Madeleine retorted without any sign of weakness, "They are no worse than anyone else!"
Seeing the group leader arguing over a grimoire for everyone, the group members were moved to a complete mess. In the end, a mature and prudent group member was pushed out.
"Captain, please change someone. In fact, this adult is right. If this continues, we will lose!"
The members nodded. In fact, the group leader also spent a lot of money to buy high-quality scripts. Why didn't it become popular? It wasn't because everyone's acting skills were not good, but the group leader was stubborn and refused to change the members!
"Captain, we don't want to drag you down anymore!"
After the old member finished speaking, he bowed to Madeleine and then walked out of the warehouse. Then the members looked at each other, as if they had made an agreement, bowed one by one, and left one after another.
"Everyone……"
Madeleine reached out to pull it, but she didn't know what to say. She knew that Homer's quarrel had opened something that no one had been willing to touch for several years.
"Everyone, wait a minute, that's not the reason!"
Downton suddenly spoke, startling everyone.
"Hey, it's about your honor, so don't show any sympathy!"
Homer warns.
"I know!" Downton nodded and looked at Madeline, "No matter how powerful the appeal of opera is, it can only be this way. Have you ever thought of a new performance form?"
"New performance form? What is it? Drama and opera?"
I have to say that Madeleine really knows art well. She even knows dramas and operas from Eastern countries very well, and can even sing a few lines. (To be continued...)