Li Wanming felt that she understood every single word Fang Zhi said, but when they were strung together, she simply couldn't figure out what Fang Zhi was talking about.
Let's not even consider whether their Changxing Inn had a business of dressing up as fairies.
The real issue was you, Fang Zhi, the daughter of the Chief Secretary, the most noble young lady in the entire capital... planning to go on stage to perform in an inn?
...
Are you out of your mind!
Li Wanming rubbed her forehead and patiently explained, "There are indeed rumors in the capital that our inn is blessed by the Goddess Chenghuang. If someone has a karmic connection with the immortals, they can receive her blessing."
"However, I made an agreement with Chancellor Chen that I couldn't change the business model of the inn. So, it's not appropriate to turn this place into a Taoist temple or a shrine."
"For this reason, we came up with the idea of creating different themed stories in the name of the Goddess Chenghuang opening a fantasy realm, so that the guests can also become part of the story and have a more immersive experience."
"Stories?"
After listening for a long time, Fang Zhi finally understood a bit. "You mean there's no one dressing up as fairies?"
Li Wanming endured the headache and continued to explain, "There are no fairies, only actors in the story. It's just like an opera, except that we use the whole inn as the stage and let the guests become part of the play as well."
"Do they have to sing too?" Fang Zhi still didn't quite understand. "What if they can't sing?"
"The guests don't need to sing. They just need to follow the instructions of our actors and play games."
"So, the actors are also playing roles in the play, not fairies?"
Li Wanming was almost driven crazy by Fang Zhi's repetitive way of chatting. She took a deep breath and repeated what she had emphasized over and over again.
"Yes, there are no fairies."
"Our first story is *The Peony Pavilion*."
"We let the students from the academy play the main characters, like Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei. But for some less important characters, we'll let the guests play them, like the servants."
Fang Zhi widened her eyes. "You mean if I go to your inn, I can only play a servant?"
...
No, why is a young lady like you always thinking about acting?
Li Wanming finally understood Lu Songyuan's pain. She really wanted to open Fang Zhi's head and see what was inside.
However, the other party was the real daughter of a noble family with a powerful background. Li Wanming couldn't afford to offend her. So, she suppressed her irritation and patiently continued,
"For female customers, they can play some female roles, like Du Liniang's friend or a Taoist nun."
"I play a Taoist nun?" Fang Zhi suddenly raised her voice and pointed at herself. "With my temperament, you want me to play a Taoist nun?"
Li Wanming felt like she was about to have a heart attack. She softened her voice and almost pleaded, "It's not a real performance. It's just a game..."
Fang Zhi frowned and shouted, "I don't care! I want to play Du Liniang!"
...
For a moment, Li Wanming really hoped that Lu Songyuan was there to deal with this crazy young lady!
Play Du Liniang?
The daughter of the Chief Secretary wanted to play Du Liniang!
If Prime Minister Fang found out that his daughter was performing on stage like an actress, wouldn't he tear down their Changxing Inn?
Fortunately, besides Lu Songyuan, there was another person who could rein in Fang Zhi, this wild horse running out of control.
Li Wanming made a prompt decision and turned to Qinglan. "Qinglan, go and invite Miss Xiao here."
Back then, Fang Zhi, Lu Songyuan, and Xiao Yingchu came to Zhaoyu Academy to enroll in classes together. But after just a few days, both Fang Zhi and Lu Songyuan thought the work was too tiring, whether it was brewing wine or weaving cloth. So, they both refused to come anymore.
Only Xiao Yingchu surprisingly persisted.
Li Wanming originally thought that this young lady came to Zhaoyu just for show. She must have been trying to avoid the work as much as possible and only attended classes sporadically.
Who would have thought that she was really serious about it.
This really impressed Li Wanming.
You know, the courses at Zhaoyu were designed for future employment. They were rough and tiring, and required a high level of physical strength. Even for many poor girls who were used to working, it was not easy.
Unexpectedly, this delicate young lady from the royal mansion, Xiao Yingchu, actually gritted her teeth and persisted. And she did a pretty good job.
After that, when Li Wanming talked to her, her tone became much gentler.
— She appreciated women who could work!
However, later when Chen Jinde came to challenge them, Li Wanming needed to select some students from the academy to work in one to three shops. But Xiao Yingchu didn't sign up.
This made Li Wanming a bit confused.
Logically speaking, since Xiao Yingchu stayed in the academy to study after Fang Zhi left, it proved that she was interested in these things.
So, now that there was an opportunity to manage a shop, why didn't she want it?
Li Wanming asked Xiao Jingnan. Xiao Jingnan was silent for a while and then said, "Maybe as a young lady from the royal mansion, she doesn't want to show herself in public."
Li Wanming thought about it and felt that this reason made sense.
A young lady from the royal mansion coming to Zhaoyu to learn employment skills might just think it was fun or wanted to show that she was approachable. But it didn't mean that she really wanted to go out and work for money.
So, Xiao Yingchu continued to stay in the academy and learn about raw silk and cloth from Aunt Liu.
Now that Fang Zhi came to cause trouble, Li Wanming immediately thought of this powerful person again.
"Sister Fang, don't make things difficult for Sister Cheng..." Before Xiao Yingchu even entered the room, she hurriedly spoke.
Her cheeks were slightly red, and her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, obviously in a hurry.
Fang Zhi didn't agree with her.
"How is it making things difficult? If I play Du Liniang, I'm clearly helping Sister Cheng!"
"I'm naturally beautiful, with a face like a flower and a complexion like the moon. Who else is more suitable to play the female lead Du Liniang than me? Who can be more beautiful than me?"
Xiao Yingchu grabbed her arm. "It's not about beauty. You're a young lady from a prime minister's family. It's improper for you to go on stage so suddenly..."
"How is it improper?"
Fang Zhi said, "When I was a child, my family had an opera troupe. I even went on stage to sing for a while. They all said I sang very well... It's just that singing is too bad for the voice. They were afraid that I would ruin my voice, so they didn't let me do it anymore."
Xiao Yingchu was so anxious that her face turned pale. She continued to persuade patiently.
"This is different from when you were a child."
"Back then, you were at home, and the people who came were all relatives. Moreover, you were still young. When you went on stage to play once, everyone just thought it was a child's play and didn't take it seriously."
"But Sister Cheng runs an inn. The programs she prepares are just like the performances in the entertainment district. As a noble young lady, do you really want to perform in the entertainment district?"
Hearing this, Fang Zhi shook her head.
"The shows in the entertainment district are all about swallowing fireballs and balancing large jars. I can't do those."
Then, she smiled brightly. "That's why I came to Sister Cheng's place!"
"She said that this is not an opera. There's no need to memorize a lot of lines, and there's no need to do somersaults or balance large jars... Performing here must be really fun!"
Xiao Yingchu said, "Your father won't agree..."
Fang Zhi replied, "It doesn't matter. If Daddy finds out, at most he'll beat me up!"
...
Xiao Yingchu explained all the pros and cons in detail, but no matter what she said, Miss Fang remained unmoved. She was determined to come and play.
Xiao Yingchu's face turned cold. "No! You can't play!"