Chapter 64: Escaping the Night-O Campeão Vestido de Brocado(Imperador)

Yu San's efficiency was remarkably high.

The storytelling pavilion had already been set up. The shed was constructed rather crudely; currently, only the area near the storyteller's seat at the back and the rows of tables and benches in the front were covered with oiled paper sheets, while the rest remained entirely open-air.

At this moment, on a platform a man's height high, the storyteller was animatedly recounting *The Biography of Yue Fei*, telling the story of General Yue Fei of the Song Dynasty resisting the Jin invasion.

The reason Zhu Hao gave this script to Yu San was that the story of Yue Fei resisting the Jin was widely spread among the common people, and numerous legends about Yue Fei already existed. Only when the common people had a general idea of the historical figures and events would they come to listen. Launching a world-shaking script without any mass foundation would simply fail to gather a large crowd in a short period.

This made full use of human psychology.

*I know this story; I just want to hear how others tell it and how it differs from what I know. While listening, I can also discuss the parts I understand with my companions...*

As for launching a new script, that would have to wait until the venue had gained some fame, taking a moment to test the waters and see which stories had more market appeal in this era.

Zhu Hao and Jing Hong were both young children with nimble figures, and they easily squeezed their way to the front.

As they approached the stage, they were blocked by a porter under twenty years of age, who pointed backward and said, "Children, don't crowd forward. You have to pay to listen to the storytelling."

Zhu Hao deliberately asked, "Isn't listening to storytelling free?"

"Listening from the back naturally doesn't cost anything, but the good seats in the front, especially the ones with chairs, definitely require payment..." The porter stared fixedly at Zhu Hao.

Jing Hong did not want to cause trouble and pulled Zhu Hao by the sleeve. "Let's go."

Zhu Hao pointed at Yu San, who was holding a broken gong in the front row—the gong filled entirely with copper coins—and said with a smile, "I'm looking for him... Yu San, I know him... Hey!"

Zhu Hao shouted loudly, instantly drawing the dissatisfaction of the surrounding audience.

After all, there were no good sound amplification systems in this era. In an open-air storytelling pavilion like this with no acoustic reflection walls, the storyteller had to have a loud voice and "endurance," unable to suddenly lose his voice mid-sentence.

People naturally did not look kindly upon hearing a child shouting in the previously quiet venue.

Yu San looked over, and seeing it was Zhu Hao, he approached with a beaming smile.

"Step aside, step aside, lacking all discernment... Master Hao, look, this stall is so lively, with at least a few hundred people listening. We've struck it rich this time!" Yu San began showing off to Zhu Hao right away.

Zhu Hao waved his hand. "I'm not here to check the accounts today. Go ahead and get back to your business, find us a place to sit, and bring over some melon seeds and pastries..."

"Right away!"

Yu San hurriedly made arrangements.

Originally, the seats in the front row had long been occupied by well-to-do listeners, but Yu San temporarily added two seats and arranged them at the edge near the stage.

Jing Hong asked in confusion, "Zhu Hao, do you know that man?"

Zhu Hao casually picked up a melon seed from the table in front of him, cracked it open, and said, "Of course I know him. From now on, listening to storytelling will always be free for us. This place is great—it's close to the imperial prince's estate, just a few steps away, so we can come join the fun every day, and we'll never have to worry about having nothing to do at night... Hmm, there's still plenty of open space around here. Later on, we can set up a stage and find an opera troupe to perform..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Do you think people will set up an opera stage just because you tell them to?"

Jing Hong simply assumed Zhu Hao was daydreaming.

Zhu Hao smiled and didn't bother explaining to Jing Hong for the time being. In truth, this storytelling pavilion was his own business. As the planner and backstage boss, if there was real money to be made, he could certainly add projects according to his plan.

However, an opera stage and a storytelling pavilion were too close to each other and prone to mutual interference, so they might need to find a separate location for it.

......

The storyteller was a middle-aged man in his thirties. His voice wasn't particularly high-pitched, but whenever he reached crucial points, his delivery was winding, undulating, and utterly captivating.

The pity was that he wasn't very familiar with the script and frequently had to lower his head to look at it. However, the lanterns hanging on both sides of the stage cast a dim light, and the characters Zhu Hao wrote weren't very large, forcing the storyteller to pause and carefully decipher them time and time again.

This made Jing Hong anxious to the point of exasperation.

It was rare to listen to a storytelling session, and it even featured points that fascinated him. For a child, there was no better entertainment experience than this.

Seeing Jing Hong stand up to peer forward with an eager expression, Zhu Hao thought to himself, "Oh no, if this kid gets addicted to this and neglects his studies from now on, wouldn't I be ruining him?"

Just as he was thinking this, Yu San trotted over once more.

"Master Hao, ever since the storytelling officially started the day before yesterday, more and more people have been coming to listen, though many are just drawn by the fact that it's free... When do you think we should start charging everyone?"

Yu San squatted nearby, quietly discussing business matters with Zhu Hao.

Jing Hong glanced sideways at Yu San, very much wanting to ask what kind of relationship Zhu Hao had with this man, but soon he was once again captivated by the story being told by the storyteller, ignoring everything unrelated to the storytelling.

Zhu Hao said, "Since the business is good, of course we charge money. Later on, use fences to enclose the venue and sell tickets at the entrance... Raise the price of the best seats in the front to five wen, or ten wen if tea is provided additionally. Melon seeds, candied fruits, and dried nuts will be charged separately... The middle seats will sell for three wen and two wen respectively, and the back ones for one wen... Tell stories two sessions in the day and one at night, collecting money three times a day. That way, we won't have to worry about losing money after all."

Yu San said with a grinning smile, "It goes without saying that making money following Master Hao is great, but we're a bit short on helpers. I brought two brothers over to maintain order, but they have their own livelihoods during the day and I'm not paying them wages right now, so we can't keep this up for long..."

"Hiring helpers is a necessity, but it must be built on the foundation of making a profit. For those who come to help for free now, give them priority when hiring helpers in the future."

Just as they were speaking, the storyteller on stage reached another exciting part, and the applause and cheers from the audience merged into one.

This was precisely the important reason why the storytelling pavilion could rapidly build up its popularity. When reaching exciting parts, the audience could not help cheering in unison; when encountering poor developments, they would jeer; and after finishing a section, they could even voice doubts about the previous plot points and ask about the subsequent development of the story. Naturally, the seats close to the stage held a natural advantage, and charging higher ticket prices was entirely justified.

......

As the second watch drum sounded, the number of listeners noticeably decreased.

Zhu Hao timely stood up and dragged Jing Hong away; he could not let this kid remain addicted.

on the way back, Jing Hong expressed some regret: "We only heard a rough outline, with neither head nor tail. How terribly uninteresting."

Zhu Hao glanced at him.

*Judging by the infatuated look on your face just now, you were acting exactly like a student addicted to reading novels during school. How dare you call it uninteresting? If it were interesting, goodness knows what you'd do!*

"Go back to sleep early. If you find it uninteresting, don't come out anymore. Listening to storytelling doesn't cost money, but taking a trip out of the imperial prince's estate cost me quite a bit of money."

Jing Hong immediately remembered the copper coins Zhu Hao had stuffed into the guard's hands when they left.

He wanted to speak up in support and pull out some money to share the cost, but unfortunately, his family hadn't prepared any pocket money for him. This was also related to the Jing family's upbringing, which avoided giving children too much exposure to worldly wealth.

There was food and drink aplenty inside the estate, and they even brought snacks along—why would you need to give money? If they gave you money, would you even have anywhere to spend it?

The two returned to the western gate of the imperial prince's estate. Zhu Hao stepped forward to knock on the door, and after a brief exchange through the entrance, the guard surnamed Lian opened the door and jeered, "Is your mother's illness cured? You're back so fast!"

Zhu Hao put on a deeply sorrowful expression. "I only went back to visit; I didn't dare delay too long since I still have classes tomorrow... We're heading back to rest, so we won't disturb you any longer."

"Go on, go on!"

Guard Lian waved his hand listlessly.

According to the rules, drinking was prohibited while on night duty, making night shifts quite dry and tedious. Moreover, they couldn't slip away to gamble like the craftsmen did, and even if they wanted to leave their posts, they had to wait until the latter half of the night when patrols ceased—though by then, no one had the energy left to play.

......

Returning to their courtyard, the two simply tidied up and lay down.

Neither of them fell asleep immediately.

Zhu Hao hadn't expected the business idea he conceived on a whim to progress so smoothly, attracting a large number of followers in just a few days. Perhaps people in this era lacked nightlife, and in a small place like Anlu, no one else had discovered this business opportunity; once launched, it instantly became popular across the entire city.

Another factor was that the scripts Zhu Hao wrote genuinely had a market.

For a storytelling pavilion to do well, it all came down to whether the story could captivate people.

"Zhu Hao, how did you get to know that person at the storytelling pavilion? Is he the manager?" Jing Hong broke the silence and asked.

Zhu Hao replied, "Just be glad you have free stories to listen to, don't ask too many questions... Wasn't that place great today? If it were anyone else going there, listening to a storytelling session would cost several wen... But we must prioritize our studies and not think about playing every day. Going to listen occasionally is already quite good."

Jing Hong turned his head to look at Zhu Hao, somewhat displeased. "If we don't listen consecutively, won't the story get disconnected?"

"You still want to hear a complete beginning and end? Wouldn't it be better if you buy the script books back and read them yourself?" Zhu Hao said, exasperated. "We came to the estate to study. You and I are still young and are right at the age to acquire knowledge. If your family finds out you sneaked out of the estate at night to listen to storytelling..."

Jing Hong had originally been fantasizing about sneaking out again in the future to continue the story, but upon hearing Zhu Hao's words, he couldn't help shuddering.

If his family found out he left the estate in the middle of the night...

Family discipline could break several canes during punishment!

"Alright, go to sleep, no more talking!"

......

The night passed without incident.

Waking up early the next day, Jing Hong was still hung up on the story he heard last night. Formal storytelling plots were far more captivating than the half-told stories Zhu Hao used to narrate.

"Zhu Hao, did you hear clearly? What did General Yue say in that part last night?"

"And also..."

Zhu Hao ignored Jing Hong.

*This kid is obsessed with storytelling, but I cannot let you sink into it. After all, you can half be considered my student.*

When Lu Bing arrived and the three of them were about to head toward the classroom courtyard, Lu Song came over and called Zhu Hao aside alone.

"Guard Lu, something the matter?"

Zhu Hao roughly guessed it was related to him sneaking out of the estate the night before.

Lu Song's expression was gloomy. "Last night... you left the estate, where did you go?"

Zhu Hao said, "I just took the young master of Magistrate Jing's family out to listen to storytelling. A storytelling pavilion opened on Western Avenue, and many people go to listen at night. Didn't Guard Lu know?"

"Listening to storytelling?"

Guard Lu obviously didn't believe Zhu Hao's words.

Zhu Hao curled his lip and said, "Why else would I go? Any intelligence gathered inside the estate—wouldn't it be better to wait until I go home every fifth day to report it? Besides, I didn't even catch a glimpse of the prince's heir, so where would I get any intelligence to report to my family? On the other hand, Guard Lu, you..."

Lu Song's expression instantly grew tense.

Zhu Hao was actually hinting to him: *You know far more inside details about the estate than I do, and you haven't reported them outward, so where would I?*

"Right, Guard Lu, we should go listen to storytelling together sometime. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to follow me secretly from now on. I have never had the intention of prying into the inner quarters of the estate for information. As I told you before, my purpose is to stay in the estate to study and accomplish something in the future. I won't ruin my own future just to investigate intelligence for my family."

Saying this, Zhu Hao turned and walked toward Jing Hong and Lu Bing, leaving behind a single sentence: "I imagine your purpose is the same."