Chapter 17: Women’s Opera Troupe

Chapter 17 Women's Opera Troupe

Dressed in new attire, Chen Yuhu appeared before the gathering, each guest accompanied by her daughter.

Chen Yuhu wore a warm smile, her accessories perfectly complementing her appearance.

Every detail was worthy of close inspection and quiet admiration.

She wore several bracelets on her wrists and had added a few extra ornamental hairpins.

Since all had brought their daughters—some meeting for the first time—it was customary to present greeting gifts.

Those invited were either relatives by marriage or friends of close associates.

In short, these were relationships that required careful nurturing. Managing the household was no simple task.

This level of spending was merely trivial; only narrow-minded families would be frugal here.

Most guests had come well-prepared, just like Chen Yuhu.

Indeed, Chen Yuhu warmly greeted everyone at the entrance, admiring the lovely young women from each family until her eyes were thoroughly delighted.

Most were around Lin Qingjiao’s age, with several fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds at the prime age for betrothal, all graceful and refined.

Chen Yuhu took great liking to them and gave generously.

Once seated, the atmosphere remained initially reserved. Everyone sipped tea properly, still somewhat restrained.

Yet the garden bloomed with vibrant scenery, and Chen Yuhu had arranged an elegant and pleasant activity—tea brewing by a stove—where all could participate.

All eyes turned toward the activity, but without the host’s invitation, no one dared take the lead.

Then the cousin of her sister-in-law, whose grandfather served as Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy, stepped forward. She came from a distinguished scholarly family.

Though her sister-in-law’s family was also scholarly, it ranked slightly lower than the cousin’s.

The cousin’s surname was Zhang, her given name Jianzhen, derived from the phrase: "The pearls remain still, eyebrows knit; all makeup fades, revealing innocence."

Her grandfather had altered the character "见" to "鉴," and her childhood name carried equal significance: Untarnished.

Sure enough, upon noticing the open space Chen Yuhu had prepared, the girl smiled and even playfully winked at her.

Had she been a man, he would surely have been enchanted.

Though they were cousins, there was a notable age gap. She had already been married for three years, and her child was only two.

Her sister-in-law said, "Jianzhen, didn’t you say you had a surprise for everyone? Why not go ahead?"

Cousin Zhang glanced around, clapped her hands, and said, "I’d love to, but I didn’t expect so many young girls to be present. It makes me feel a bit self-conscious."

The older guests laughed at her remark.

A dignified lady dressed in emerald green spoke up.

Her husband was the Prince of Pingning, son of the Grand Princess.

Glancing at the nearby puzzled young girls, she smiled and said, "What treasure have you brought to show us? Or is it something inappropriate for the young to see?"

"I wouldn’t mind if it were just us older folks, but we mustn’t risk tarnishing the reputations of these young ladies."

A lady in yellow tossed a fruit at Mrs. Shi, the Marquis, and said, "Who are you calling an old hag? I think it's you."

Yellow is delicate, and this lady looked delicate too.

Mrs. Shi patted her mouth and said, "Oh, my mistake. My mouth ran away with me, and I forgot there are such young spring chickens here today."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Everyone cracked up.

Though they joked, none of the women present today were particularly old.

Though Mrs. Shi dressed matronly, she wasn’t actually that advanced in age.

Chen Yuhu’s sister-in-law said, "Chen Yuhu wasn’t wrong about one thing—if the girls’ reputations get tarnished, they’ll all have to marry into your family."

Mrs. Shi, née Lu, was named Yurong.

Zhang Jianzhen wasn’t fazed at all and, planting her hands on her hips, said, "If my family had enough boys, I’d just have them all marry into my family."

"But your son's still young, isn’t he?"

Everyone laughed again.

After the laughter and banter, it was decided through discussion that the young girls would stay, under the pretext of letting them get some worldly experience.

Then servants brought in the theater troupe that Zhang Jianzhen had arranged earlier, who had been waiting for some time.

As the troupe entered, everyone did a double-take.

The group was entirely made up of men, and everyone was shocked. What was this about? Were they all throwing their reputations away to go down in flames together?

Was the Marquis Zhongyong’s residence going to turn into a den of iniquity?

Chen Yuhu’s expression blanked for a moment before she quickly caught on.

It was a troupe of women dressed as men.

Zhang Jianzhen hurriedly stepped forward to explain.

Everyone ate and watched, and though they knew they were all women, they still found it thoroughly entertaining.

Mrs. Shi grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stared intently: "This… this…"

After stammering for a while, someone next to her asked, "This what?"

Mrs. Shi blinked and said, "Men have it made!"

"In the future, we should invite troupes like this more often, much more often."

Some of the ladies present nodded along knowingly, while others laughed heartily.

The young girls watched with oohs and aahs, some even blushing.

The makeup was detailed, and they had even used height enhancements, making them look like genuine young bucks.

However, everyone who entered had been vetted—there was absolutely no chance any man could sneak in.

If something like that were to happen, the troupe would be ruined and their name would be mud.

Although the current disciplining of women and strict separation between men and women are not as severe, if everyone's reputations were compromised, this troupe would surely disband.

Everyone was enjoying the lively performance when, unexpectedly, an audience participation part began.

A group of ladies started flirting with these "young masters," teasing them until they turned red-faced.

The young girls watched, so embarrassed that they hid their faces behind their handkerchiefs.

Out of consideration for the children present, everyone held back somewhat.

However, Chen Yuhu had her worldview turned upside down.

She had assumed that women in ancient times were mostly shy and adhered strictly to rules, but they turned out to be even more uninhibited than she was.

Noticing Chen Yuhu's shocked pupils, Zhang Jianzhen pointed at Chen Yuhu's face and said, "Everyone, look at the Marquess's wife's face. Stop touching their faces now—you’re scaring her to death."

Zhang Jianzhen covered her mouth with a handkerchief, laughing until she nearly collapsed, appearing graceful and charming.

But Chen Yuhu remembered how Zhang Jianzhen had also teased the actors in various ways, even holding their hands.

"It seems there's still an innocent type among us."

"Hahaha, look at Yu Hu's face. Qiuying, go sit closer to the Marquess's wife so she can get used to it."

Chen Yuhu forced a smile.

At the previous autumn banquet, everyone had composed poetry and enjoyed refined activities, which aligned with her impression of ancient gatherings, even though there was also music and dancing.

But this time, the atmosphere was entirely different—these ancient people had truly given Chen Yuhu, the old stick-in-the-mud, a lesson.

Qiuying was quite handsome, but for Chen Yuhu, who had seen many handsome men in the entertainment industry, he still didn't measure up.

"Lord Hou must be exceptionally handsome; otherwise, why would the Marquess's wife not fancy Qiuying?"

Zhang Jianzhen loved stirring the pot.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Feng set down her teacup lid and remarked, "Her Lord Hou... is quite well-built, though he doesn't quite measure up compared to my general..."

Before she could finish, one of the young girls had already fled with her face covered in embarrassment.

The ladies were stunned.

Mrs. Feng opened her mouth, then closed it again, finally managing to say, "Why did they leave without a word? Weren’t they sitting here just a moment ago?"

After one girl fled, Lin Qingjiao also blushed and followed suit. As the host and with the conversation involving her father, it was proper for her to excuse herself.

The young girls, all red-faced, gradually withdrew one after another.

They had their own separate party to enjoy.

The ladies laughed for a while.

Even Chen Yuhu was in stitches—Mrs. Feng's mouth hanging open and the girls' flushed faces were simply too amusing.