The sudden toughness of the usually gentle Xiao Yingchu greatly surprised Fang Zhi.
First, her eyes widened slightly, and a hint of confusion appeared in her delicate almond eyes. Then, realizing that she had been lectured, she pursed her lips downwards, and an air of sheer recklessness suddenly emanated from her.
"You say I can't perform, and that's it?"
"Who do you think you are!"
Fang Zhi was not the least bit afraid of Xiao Yingchu.
Her father was the Chief Secretary. Except for Lü Songyuan, all the high - ranking officials' daughters in the capital had to curry favor with her. No one had ever dared to talk to her like this...
Xiao Yingchu was merely the daughter of a concubine - born son of the Prince of Ning's Mansion. Her whole family wasn't even recorded in the jade register of the mansion. Her status was neither proper nor legitimate. Was she out of her mind today? How dare she lecture her!
Fang Zhi was furious with embarrassment. A haughty and fierce look welled up in her eyebrows and eyes. Her tone of speech instantly became aggressive and extremely caustic.
"Don't think that just because you've helped me a few times in Zangshan Academy, you can act like an elder in front of me!"
"Normally, I call you elder sister just out of respect for the Prince of Ning's Mansion... Do you really think you're the legitimate eldest daughter of the Prince of Ning's Mansion?"
Xiao Yingchu's face instantly flushed red after being scolded like this.
She regretted her words as soon as they came out of her mouth.
She knew exactly what kind of person Fang Zhi was.
Fang Zhi was the only daughter of Prime Minister Fang. She had been doted on and indulged since childhood. Everyone she met only flattered and fawned on her.
This had cultivated Fang Zhi's overbearing and lawless temper. Sometimes, even Prime Minister Fang was at his wit's end with her.
In the past, when Xiao Yingchu talked to Fang Zhi, she always thought carefully before speaking. Even when she wanted to offer advice, she tried to make her words soft and smooth.
She was always afraid that a wrong word might touch Fang Zhi's sore spot and set off this merciless powder keg.
But today, she had spoken out of turn.
When Qinglan came to find her and told her the whole story, she immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
For the daughter of the prime minister to take the stage was simply a huge joke.
Since ancient times, no one had ever done such a thing!
If Prime Minister Fang found out, where would he put his face?
His beloved daughter becoming a dancing girl on stage, Prime Minister Fang would probably become the laughingstock of the whole capital...
By then, of course, he wouldn't have the heart to punish his precious daughter Fang Zhi. Instead, he would pour all his boundless anger on the Changxing Inn, blaming the inn for its improper origin and for leading astray his good daughter.
If that happened, the Changxing Inn would be finished!
Moreover, this was a crucial moment when Li Wanming was competing with the Director of the Imperial College. If this matter got out of hand, it wouldn't just be the Changxing Inn. All of Li Wanming's industries, including Zhaoyu Academy and the Li Family Wine Shop, would be implicated...
What about Xiao Jingnan then?
What about the Prince of Ning's Mansion?
One thing affected another. They were all interdependent and closely related.
By then, Xiao Jingnan's identity would surely be revealed.
Although some of the noble families in the capital already knew Xiao Jingnan's identity, it hadn't been officially announced yet.
His identity wasn't something that couldn't be made public, but it couldn't be made public because of this incident at this time.
Because if that happened, the Prince of Ning's Mansion would be forced to stand against Prime Minister Fang!
That would be a major event that would shake the court and the country. No one knew where things would go...
Xiao Yingchu couldn't just sit back and watch as Fang Zhi's momentary whim disrupted the peace of the capital.
So as soon as she heard that Fang Zhi had come here clamoring to take the stage, she rushed over in a hurry.
It was because she was in such a hurry that she didn't think it through and inadvertently retorted sharply at Fang Zhi. Her tone was a bit too harsh.
She didn't expect that Fang Zhi's reaction would be even stronger than she had imagined. Fang Zhi retorted bluntly and deliberately stabbed at her sore spot, humiliating her with her humble birth.
Xiao Yingchu was both ashamed and embarrassed. Her face was so red that it seemed to drip blood: "Sister Fang, I... I didn't mean that..."
Li Wanming felt a bit regretful.
She had thought that since Fang Zhi and Xiao Yingchu had been good friends for many years, Fang Zhi would surely give Xiao Yingchu some face. Who would have thought that Miss Fang would be so heartless, like a misfired musket, firing at anyone in sight!
As a result, Xiao Yingchu was now in such an awkward situation. Even Li Wanming felt sorry for her...
Li Wanming coughed lightly: "Well, Miss Fang, I'd like to ask, why do you want to perform here so much?"
According to Fang Zhi's own words, she didn't like memorizing play scripts, which meant she didn't like performing opera at all.
Looking at Fang Zhi's figure, she didn't seem to be good at singing and dancing either.
So, why was she so interested in taking the stage in her inn?
They had already told her that she wouldn't be playing a fairy, but she still wanted to come...
Fang Zhi raised her eyebrows and said, "The other day in the palace, I ran into Feng Xiao. He was telling the emperor about your bet with the Imperial College. He also said that your newly - opened inn was very interesting and fun, and he urged the emperor to come out and have a look..."
"Something that can make the emperor come out of the palace specially to see must be an extraordinary performance. If I can take the stage, I'm sure I'll become famous all over the world!"
Fang Zhi lifted her pointed little chin and said confidently: "I want to become the next Madam Gong!"
Li Wanming opened her mouth wide and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time.
So after all this fuss, Fang Zhi really thought of her place as a theater stage and came here for her "I Want to Be Famous" show?
No, where did she get this kind of confidence?
She was afraid of hardship, afraid of getting tired, pampered and spoiled, arrogant and domineering.
Moreover, her figure was as stiff as a dead branch in the cold winter. It would break with a gentle tug. She was also out of tune when singing, didn't understand music, couldn't dance, and was completely ignorant of the four arts of the scholar...
Why on earth did she think she could become famous?
Fang Zhi was completely oblivious to the strange look on Li Wanming's face and continued to say proudly:
"The hottest topic in the capital right now is Madam Cheng's shop. As long as I perform here, I'm sure I'll become an overnight sensation and surely outshine Lü Songyuan."
"By then, all those so - called top talents and well - bred young ladies won't be as famous as me!"
Hearing this, Li Wanming偷偷 glanced at Xiao Yingchu. The top talent Fang Zhi mentioned obviously referred to her.
But Xiao Yingchu was lowering her head, frowning, as if in deep thought, as if she hadn't heard a word.
Li Wanming sighed silently.
Fang Zhi was really like a firecracker full of fuses. She attacked indiscriminately without distinguishing right from wrong.
She only cared about her own pleasure when speaking and acting, completely ignoring the feelings of those around her.
Fang Zhi didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said at all. She even nudged Li Wanming: "Madam Cheng, am I right?"
Li Wanming thought to herself: Don't you have any self - awareness... Oh, you really don't!
Du Liniang was a character in the zhezi play. According to Li Wanming and Qingchuan's plan, there would be a song and dance performance at the beginning to quickly catch the guests' attention and draw them into the story.
If Fang Zhi were to perform...
Well, with her imposing, dull - witted, and aggressive manner, she might beat up her customers at the slightest provocation!
Unless Li Wanming was crazy, she would never let Fang Zhi take the stage.
Also, from what Fang Zhi had just said, Feng Xiao and Zhao Yanke were also coming?
It was already chaotic enough. What were they coming to add to the chaos for!
It was okay not knowing Zhao Yanke's identity before. But now that she knew, how could she let him come?
If anything happened to the noble emperor, even if her whole family was executed and their property confiscated, it wouldn't be enough to make up for it!
Li Wanming suddenly felt a splitting headache. She just felt that the thought processes of these royal relatives were all different from ordinary people, as if there were holes in their heads...
By now, Xiao Yingchu had calmed down. An idea flashed through her mind and she said: "Sister Fang, although the performance here at Madam Cheng's place doesn't require memorizing play scripts, there are still a lot of lines. If you really want to take the stage, the content you need to memorize is no less than that of a play script..."
Fang Zhi was stunned: "Really?"
Xiao Yingchu nodded and said seriously: "Really. Dean Qingchuan showed us the script. There are more than a dozen pages of lines in it."
She gave Li Wanming a look, and Li Wanming immediately understood.
"Yes! What Miss Xiao said is right. The script is this thick!"
She exaggeratedly gestured a width about half a person's height with her hands.
Fang Zhi was immediately frightened: "So much? You have so many lines? It's even harder to memorize than a zhezi play!"
Li Wanming took the opportunity to say: "Yes, yes. That's why no girl is willing to perform!"
"Miss Fang is really helping us out of a tight spot by being willing to come. Qinglan, go and get the script for Miss Fang. Let's start memorizing now!"
Fang Zhi's little face instantly turned pale. She shook her head like a rattle - drum and ran out.
"No, no! I hate memorizing books the most!"
"I'm not going to perform here!"
Li Wanming wiped the sweat off her forehead and let out a sigh of relief: "Finally scared her away."
She looked at Xiao Yingchu apologetically: "Sorry, I didn't know she would..."
Xiao Yingchu lowered her head: "Sir, you don't need to blame yourself."
There was an undeniable bitterness in her voice: "I've gotten used to it over the years."