Cai Xianqing immediately taught the doorkeeper to guard the door and not allow anyone to come in, while he sat next to the clay statue of the so-called "ancestor".
Not long after, the doorman came back and reported, "Master Cai, there is a man outside who claims to be your old friend. His surname is Li. He came from other places and said he wanted to meet his old friend."
Cai Xianqing gritted her teeth and muttered to herself: "This actor Li must be here to beat the autumn wind."
Then he turned to him and told him: "Call that man in."
"Oh, Xingchang, Xingchang! You still remember me, right? I acted in many dramas with you back then!" Li's old friend came over with a smile and put his hand on Cai Xianqing's shoulder.
"That's the name of a previous play, what's there to say..." Cai Xianqing smiled reluctantly, "How is Brother Li doing lately?"
"Okay, okay, but..." Li Gujiao winked maliciously.
"Brother Li, if you have anything to say, just tell him directly. There's no need to be secretive!" Cai Xianqing patted her chest and said cheerfully.
"Let's sit down and talk first."
Li Gujiao sat down on the chair in front of him, "Brother, because of my recent gambling, I owe some money to others... Those people are all brothers who play with me, and I don't dare to
Don't you want to give others face? I am living here just to find some work, earn a few coins, and pay off my debts properly. But who would have thought that those masters think that I am an actor and don't even look at me... Now I am really in trouble both internally and externally!
"He waved his hand and sighed heavily.
"What's this! I, Cai Xianqing, have been very prosperous recently, but I can't forget my brother. I'll take the money right now!" After saying that, he reached out to touch the silver in his bag.
"No, that's not a good idea..." This old friend of Li smiled broadly, but still tried to dissuade her with a pretentious expression.
"Ah..." Cai Xianqing touched her pocket with difficulty, looking a little embarrassed.
Li's old friend's face suddenly turned green: "What?"
"I didn't bring any money with me today, I hope brother you can... forgive me." Cai Xianqing said with a smile.
"That……"
"Put that aside for now," Cai Xianqing said, "Speaking of which, we haven't seen each other for many years. I wonder, brother, have you ever gotten married?"
Li Gujiao became a little careless: "It's okay to have a family, there's nothing to say... But if you don't bring any money..."
"Are you back?" Cai Xianqing saw the little actors coming in carrying fruits and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.
"These fruits are all fresh, hurry up and offer them up!" Cai Xianqing only glanced at the offerings and immediately ordered them.
"Brother Li, since there's nothing wrong, I won't keep you here..." Cai Xianqing ignored Li's old friend's anxious look, held his shoulders, turned back and glanced at the doorman: "See you off!"
Cai Xianqing immediately paid homage to his ancestor, without any extravagance. He just led others to kowtow a few times. After paying homage, Cai Xianqing arranged a play here and taught him the whole night before everyone dispersed.
The next day, they got ready and set off for the palace.
Cai Xianqing went to visit the prince again. This time, since he had no important responsibilities, he was unguarded and very accommodating.
Cai Xianqing then came out of the hall and led the actors to the room on the west side called "Yanbin Hall", which was used to welcome officials of all sizes. There was no screen wall in front of it, but it faced the empty hall.
The floor was covered with a gold embroidered woolen round carpet, and a colorful Western crystal chandelier lit up the head, which was very magnificent.
Aisles extended on both sides, and there were several rooms on the east and west sides of the corridor. Cai Xianqing just moved his clothes into the rooms and asked the actors to change their clothes and put on their makeup.
He had nothing to do, so he came out of the house and took a walk in the corridor. He had no intention of raising his head. Suddenly he saw a person walking outside the door. He was wearing official uniform, with half black and half white hair, and his back was facing here.
"Which official is that?" Cai Xianqing shouted.
The man turned around hurriedly, and Cai Xianqing saw that he was a little thin, but about eight feet long, half a head taller than himself. He had regular features and a few wrinkles on his forehead.
"Are you Mr. Cai, the man in charge of the troupe?"
Both of them had saluted, and then the man smiled and asked.
"Yes, yes. Who is this person?" Cai Xianqing asked curiously, not remembering that such a person existed in Nanjing.
"I am the newly appointed magistrate of Nanjing. My surname is Ye Yongjia and my given name is Tinglong. I still remember your kindness, but you have forgotten me." Ye Yongjia replied.
"Ye Yongjia...?" Cai Xianqing shook his head, "I'm too old and I really don't remember many of these characters..."
Ye Yongjia said: "In the past, I was deprived of Jinshi status by the imperial court about ten years ago. Thanks to me entrusting Wei Jijiu to pray to you, I was able to hold the position to this day."
"I remembered it!" He laughed heartily as if the sun had cleared the clouds: "This is a big deal. I also heard that you went to Chenzhou, and when you came back you became famous! You are only in your thirties this year, right? You are so young.
It’s promising!”
"How dare, how dare..."
"I still have to talk to you a lot, let's sit down and talk first!" Cai Xianqing took two chairs from the wall and sat down respectively.
"I would like to advise you, don't try to be arrogant and domineering just because you are the governor of a state. You must obey the prince first in everything."
"I understand." Ye Yongjia knew that he was Wan Heshun's confidant, so he did not dare to say more and was extremely cautious.
"What do you think of the prince?"
Cai Xianqing threw out these words casually, but Ye Yongjia suddenly panicked. He quickly replied: "The prince cares about the people and is devoted to the interests of the country. Of course he is a capable minister of the country."
Cai Xianqing saw that everything he said was flattering and knew that he was deeply wary of her, so he became a little unhappy: "I asked you sincerely, but you ignored me."
He stood up and said, "You don't dare to say it, but I have the courage to express my feelings clearly!"
Ye Yongjia saw that he had a stubborn temper, so he did not argue with him. He only said: "This is my fault. Mr. Cai just talks, and I just listen quietly."
"Okay! This is the right thing to do!" Cai Xianqing laughed again, "In my opinion, although this prince is smart and wise, and knows how to understand people's hearts, he lives in a fertile land and has tens of thousands of powerful soldiers, but he has nothing.
He is enterprising and willing to obey the emperor's orders without doing anything. From this point of view, he is not as good as Lu Deguang of Chenzhou!"
Ye Yongjia pressed his arm urgently and whispered: "You should speak more carefully..."
But Cai Xianqing was still unscrupulous and swung his hand violently, talking more and more enthusiastically: "Although I, Cai Xianqing, come from a humble background, I despise people like this who are like guard dogs in the palace! That's why I respect Mr. Wei.
This is not a lie, I respect him from the bottom of my heart!"
Ye Yongjia watched him talk calmly and didn't care about his words. He just wondered how a veteran like him who had been in the officialdom for many years could inspire such spirit when he should be as tired of worldly affairs as he was.