The Ming Dynasty 1626 Enlightenment

Chapter 57 Entertainment 1626?

"At this moment, the eldest brother's eyes were narrowed, his face flushed, and he actually used the Tsukuyomi illusion technique. Taking advantage of He Jinyin's momentary lapse in concentration, he struck his chest hard with a fist the size of a sandbag!"

"He Jinyin winced in pain, his moist lips parted slightly, and he exhaled a fragrance as sweet as orchids!"

A burst of laughter erupted in the hall.

Some people were slapping the table, while others were laughing so hard they leaned on the shoulders of the people next to them.

At this moment, Jin Yidao's ears turned red, and he lowered his head to drink tea voraciously, wishing he could bury his face in the teacup.

Zhu Ming's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air. Was this a familiar rhythm? Wasn't it just the plot of King of Destruction?

Without a doubt, someone must have traveled through time to get here!

Is he the middle-aged storyteller on stage? Or the person behind this Red Bean Pavilion?

But this is really interesting? Entertainment 1626?

The storyteller remained unmoved by the audience, his expression unchanged, and continued, "He Jinyin retaliated with a punch, and his other hand wasn't idle either; he secretly grabbed the eldest brother's hair and pulled it all the way down the thicket of black hair!"

To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment!

The storyteller on stage finished his tale in one breath, and the gavel fell heavily, marking the end of the performance!

Amidst the cheers, shouts of "One more song!" began to rise.

Zhu Ming assessed the situation and prepared to do something!

But before the cheers had even subsided, a voice rang out clearly from a corner, "An insult to scholarship! An insult to scholarship? An insult to scholarship!?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and behind the innermost screen, a middle-aged man wearing a worn dark blue robe stood up.

He held a wine glass, his face slightly flushed, his chin a bit more pointed than usual, but his eyes were sharp as knives under the light.

He took two steps toward the front of the stage, stopped, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on the storyteller.

"Sir, I meant no offense."

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, but his voice was not soft. "There is one thing I don't understand. This Red Bean Pavilion was originally a refined place. For the past half month, it has been frequented by scholars who discussed poetry, philosophy, and current affairs. It was quite an elegant place on the south bank of Linqing."

"Why did it suddenly change owners three days ago and become such a... such a common thing?"

Someone in the hall recognized him and exclaimed in a low voice, "Isn't that Qian Qianyi, the great scholar!"

"I remember a few days ago, I was left speechless by a teenager at the Red Bean Restaurant!"

"Yeah, and they even brought up the Three Questions of the Sage! It's absolutely hilarious!"

"What's with all this talk about saving or not saving, right or wrong, killing or not killing? That young master Fang Yizhi just analyzes the specific problems and solves them all!"

"That talented scholar Qian even said that the New Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes were a disastrous policy that harmed the country and competed with the people for profit! Without saying a word, Young Master Fang exchanged all his silver for the New Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes!"

"They say the Liaodong barbarians are insignificant; the real internal threat is the eunuch faction's monopoly of power under Wei Zhongxian!"

"Yes! Now the Jurchens of Liaodong have bombed our capital and destroyed our military facilities. We should unite against this enemy. His Majesty the Emperor and Lord Wei have always been thinking of us, the people, and have donated money and supplies to provide relief at the first opportunity."

"Yes, yes, yes, I heard that when the Heavenly Dragon turned the tide a few days ago, the Six Divine Guards of Apocalypse rushed to the disaster area to help the people!"

"If it weren't for the Da Ming Daily, we would still be kept in the dark by these intellectuals!"

Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Zhu Ming put down his teacup in a corner and looked suspiciously at Qian Qianyi, the talented scholar from the late Ming Dynasty, who was reeking of alcohol and had no regard for his image.

I thought I was just here tonight to listen to this "energetic show" and have some fun, but I never expected to run into this person.

And wasn't this guy dismissed by Wei Zhongxian in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign? How come he's in Linqing?

The storyteller stood on the stage, returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and said calmly, "Mr. Qian is right. I am only here to tell stories at someone's request, and the Red Bean Pavilion did indeed change owners three days ago."

"The new program schedule set up by the new owner, which uses storytelling instead of evaluation reports, is also to help Hongdou Pavilion generate more revenue."

"So, your Red Bean Pavilion changed the commentary time to this kind of disgusting storytelling program?" Qian Qianyi was a little angry. This time used to be his commentary time. "It's simply an insult to culture!"

However, now the Red Bean Pavilion has changed owners without notifying him, and even his dedicated time slot has been replaced with an exciting program!

"The judging session ended long ago, Mr. Qian, you can come earlier if you'd like to hear it!" the middle-aged storyteller said politely. "It starts every day at 7 PM!"

"How can the common people understand with that repetitive reading style?" Qian Qianyi was clearly aware of this change.

"The boss said that newspaper information is time-sensitive; as long as the people know, that's enough," the storyteller said. "Therefore, broadcasting the key information is excellent!"

The so-called flowing reading format and the broadcast of key information, with Zhu Ming grasping the crucial points, isn't this just the evening news?

It seems that the person behind the Red Bean Pavilion is a time traveler, and Zhu Ming already roughly knows who this time traveler is.

"Is the new owner here?" Qian Qianyi frowned. Seeing that the storyteller was unmoved, he could only ask to see the boss!

"Yes and no!" The storyteller chuckled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said leisurely, "The new owner is a man who doesn't like to show his face. He only said one sentence: 'If Mr. Qian has any objections to this program, Red Bean Pavilion has paper and ink ready, and we are always ready to offer our advice.'"

Qian Qianyi was taken aback.

He probably didn't expect the other party to respond like that; without arguing or quarreling, he simply handed over the paper and ink.

So you're offering suggestions? The restaurant belongs to them, what good are their suggestions?

He paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips as he recited, "Laugh at that scoundrel who talks about heavenly secrets, his mind is confused by mere theoretical discussions. The newly issued paper money has no value, and his old writings are now untitled."

The courtyard fell silent for a moment after the poem was recited.

Qian Qianyi was, after all, a proper third-place scholar in the imperial examinations. These few lines of poetry were impeccable, with neat sentences and clear meaning. He said that he, a scholar, had sat here for half a month, watching all sorts of novel things appear one after another, but it was all just "armchair theorizing."

The money, the daily newspaper, and the new-style programs were all just a bunch of scoundrels making a racket, while someone like him had nothing to write about.

The storyteller smiled but didn't reply. He simply turned slightly to the side of the back hall and said, "Master?"

"A thousand sails have passed, the water flows on; let no old sorrows be spoken of to the new tide."

In less than a few breaths, a young page peeked out from the side door, his voice clear and crisp like the tapping of porcelain, calling out a single word without missing a beat.

two sentences.

Just two sentences.

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience.

In just half a poem, he outshone Qian Qianyi!

"I've learned a lot," Qian Qianyi said, a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead, as he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the side door.

Without lingering any longer, he slunk away!

As he passed Zhu Ming, he paused for a moment and glanced at Zhu Ming.

His gaze lingered on Zhu Ming's face for a moment before he looked away and continued walking.

"That's interesting!" Zhu Ming thought, watching the scene unfold. "It's quite exciting."

Meanwhile, the young apprentice from earlier in the day had somehow slipped to the table, carrying a basket in his hand, and approached with a grin, "Young...Young Master, it's you again!"