Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 414 - 414 415 Startling Beauty Part 1

Chapter 414: Chapter 415 Startling Beauty Part 1 Chapter 414: Chapter 415 Startling Beauty Part 1 The gong sounded outside; Little Yang Guo was making his entrance. Muniang had kept Chen Yuhua backstage waiting for her cue to enter, as she herself made her way to the front to watch.

The pageboy said with a grimace, “Lady, we don’t have many spectators today. It might be because everyone knows Yue Guan’er won’t appear in the first act, so many have gone to New Moon House instead. I sneaked a peek over there just now, and they have more spectators than we do.”

Muniang glared at him, “Don’t put on such a deathly face. The first act draws the crowd for the actor, but from the second act on, they come for the play. Why worry about all this nonsense here?”

The pageboy was startled and somewhat confused.

Muniang sighed, “Rest assured, you won’t starve. If Mei Garden can’t survive this little tempest, there’s nothing worth saying. Go on, get back to work.”

The pageboy acknowledged and went downstairs.

Muniang ascended to the upper floor. Looking down at the hall, it was indeed less crowded than the last play, which had been sold out at every show. It seemed many had gone to see Guo Yuehua’s new play. New Moon House’s new play was a hit on opening day for two reasons: first was Guo Yuehua’s fame, and second was the absence of Zhong Yulang from Mei Garden’s first act.

The competition between the two top billing shows naturally made it difficult to outshine one another. But with this side’s star not appearing, a gap was inevitable, making New Moon House’s better performance today understandable.

But Muniang was really not worried at all. She had already sent people to secretly scout New Moon House during their rehearsals. The plays they presented were just the usual hackneyed romances of gifted scholars and beautiful ladies, utterly common and vulgar. If the audiences could be captivated by such commonplace storylines, it would be odd indeed!

And sure enough, the spectators at New Moon House really did find it boring. The audience was mainly men, and the women who attended were usually daughters from wealthy families. The sort of script that typically attracted cloistered young women wouldn’t appeal to grown men who disliked incessant sappy love stories.

Moreover, even among women, not all were interested. Daughters from prominent households were raised with strict teachings; their tastes naturally weren’t poor. Stories about eloping with men might be fine as whispered scandals, but staging them openly was simply shameless. They cared about their reputations; being known for watching such plays would surely devalue their social standing.

As a result, not even halfway through the play, some were already restless and leaving, while others outright dozed off in their chairs, bored to death.

Huang Bin had no clue what the spectators were thinking; all he knew was that today New Moon House had won a beautiful victory, at least in terms of money earned from this play compared to Mei Garden!

Though Huang Bin was oblivious, Guo Yuehua could sense it. Her confidence on stage used to stem from the eager, excited eyes of the audience below, but this time, there was no enthusiasm among them, and they all looked sleepy and bored. How tedious must they find her performance? But no matter how disgruntled she felt inside, she had to endure it.

The “scholar” acting opposite her touched her hand, conveying his affection, “Jingjing, how I long to be with you forever and ever.”

Guo Yuehua was supposed to coyly withdraw her hand, displaying the demure demeanor of a young lady. But her temperament was far from gentle, and she was feeling aggravated. She pulled her hand away brusquely, “The gentleman is speaking nonsense again.”

Even her line delivery was lackluster.

The spectators below found the scene somehow awkward and all shook their heads helplessly.

In stark contrast to this cool reception, Mei Garden was buzzing with excitement. Little Yang Guo had created a huge scene at Chongyang Palace, directly turning against a group of old Taoist priests, who were now in pursuit of him. The audience’s hearts were in their throats as they speculated on how Yang Guo would escape this time.

Finally, when an old lady from the Ancient Tomb Sect was seriously injured trying to save Little Yang Guo, several layers of light gauze suddenly floated across the stage. Everyone was startled; the actors on stage pretended to be shocked, but the people in the audience were genuinely astonished. Chen Yuhua, dressed in white, “stepped” between the layers of gauze, flying over the heads of the audience. Accompanying her entrance, a servant on the roof beams timely began to scatter flower petals. There were exclamations from downstairs and the spectators on the second floor were also startled. Chen Yuhua was thus suspended and swayed before everyone’s eyes. As her hands moved the gauze slowly, her ethereal face was revealed, making nearly everyone’s heart skip a beat—she was truly like a fairy descending to earth!

This had been meticulously planned by Muniang. The audience thought the actors would only appear on stage, but this time she wanted to give them a surprise and let Little Dragon Girl “fly” in from the main hall, which greatly enhanced the visual effect.

Chen Yuhua landed on the stage, and with a light flick of the knife blade at her fingertips, the trace of her being hoisted was gently cut—and the white cloth suspending her broke, avoiding any giveaway.

Her eyes were clearly innocent, yet they deliberately flashed with a cool light.

Even after Chen Yuhua had landed, the audience still seemed stunned, evidently dazzled by the fairy-like figure.

Then, as if awoken from a dream, someone started clapping and shouted loudly, “Excellent!”

The entire hall burst into applause, with everyone excitedly clapping, filling the grand hall with the sound of thunderous applause.

Only then did Chen Yuhua sigh in relief, seeing that everyone had accepted her was the greatest comfort she could have. Her nervousness that she had initially felt had now dissipated quite a bit, and she began to interact with the Chongyang Palace’s old Taoist priests on stage with great composure.

Muniang smirked, it seemed everyone was quite impressed. She had put a lot of effort into this opening act, aiming to make the scene dreamlike and otherworldly, right down to how Chen Yuhua should “fly” in the air, how to use the gauze, and how to slowly reveal her face—all were part of her meticulous planning.

The female lead’s first appearance in the play was meant to dazzle from all sides, and Muniang hoped this performance would excite everyone present.

As the gong sounded, this act finally came to an end. Although Zhong Yulang did not appear in this part, it was immensely satisfying for the audience, who left Mei Garden wearing happy faces, content that the new play lived up to their expectations—it was indeed impressive.

After the performance, Chen Yuhua finally exhaled deeply. Muniang had been waiting for her and said with satisfaction, “Not bad at all. Strive for even better next time, hmm?”

“Thank you for the compliment, Lady,” Chen Yuhua smiled sweetly, but then her brow furrowed suddenly: “But it seems there weren’t many people here today. Maybe they don’t really like me as the lead.” After all, they all went to see Guo Yuehua’s play.

Muniang laughed and said, “Who says they didn’t like it? Look, their eyes were glued to you when you made your entrance. Just wait, after today, you’ll become famous overnight—getting popular will be a breeze!”