Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 121

Chapter 121

The Mid-Autumn Festival at the Cui Residence began with a modest family dinner and concluded with a piece of homework and plans for future studies. However, not all families celebrated in such a low-key manner. Wealthy officials and gentry households not only celebrated on the fifteenth of August, but also hosted grand banquets and operatic performances for several days before and after.

The five opera troupes that performed the Three Kingdoms for the Peace of Mind Study were in high demand. The courtesans who portrayed beauties from the Three Kingdoms during the evening performances became highly sought after, with numerous people vying to invite them to their residences for private shows. Their daily fees soared to over a hundred taels of silver and they only agreed to perform if the host provided premium incense, candles and surrounded them with four-sided beauty screens.

—The incense could not be the inexpensive four-blend incense called the ‘The Poor Man’s Four-Fold Fragrance’ used by the Cui family; it had to be high quality pieces of agarwood or sandalwood. A single banquet could burn through dozens of taels of silver just on incense.

Despite the high cost, many in the capital were willing to stake a thousand pieces of gold on one throw for this limelight. Those who could  not secure a performance had to swallow their pride and attend festivities at other people’s homes to enjoy the opera.

Only Gao gonggong’s residence could sustain such extravagance, inviting a Mid-Autumn Festival troupe from Zhending to perform, starting the banquet and opera at noon and continuing the celebrations for six days. His family did not employ famous troupes or the currently popular Three Kingdoms play, opting instead for 《Journey to the West》.

Gao Su had no other alternative but to do this—

The Gao Residence had received numerous invitations to listen to the《Three Kingdoms》opera in the evenings. These performances either featured the troupes that had drawn crowds at the Huang Family’s gardens or the famous courtesans who had played one of the Five Beauties of the Three Kingdoms. The troupe he had invited had just arrived in the capital and was already at a disadvantage in terms of reputation. If he held the banquet in the evening, and other households were featuring the renowned Three Kingdoms beauties while he was showcasing an unknown provincial troupe, who would the guests choose to visit?

Gao Su only regretted his late arrangements and that he was unable to secure a top-tier troupe. He feared that if guests attended his midday performance and then another household’s in the evening, they might compare the two and find his lacking. Thus, he decided to have the troupe perform their speciality, rather than compete with the 《Three Kingdoms》. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival troupe excelled in performing 《Journey to the West》, a play written by Yang Jingxian at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

Gao Su figured that this celestial play, filled with ethereal mists and smoke, could be impressive. He asked someone to consult Shopkeeper Ji about how to create the special effects, such as making the immortals disappear into the smoke and exit gracefully, like real celestial beings and fairies. Shopkeeper Ji, who had arranged nighttime performances, but was less familiar with daytime productions, did not dare to brush him off and promised to research it. That evening, he went to consult Cui Xie.

Cui Xie had considerable expertise in this area and initially intended to explain the stage setup in detail. However, with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, there was no time to arrange for elaborate backgrounds with fake mountains and trees. They had to resort to using curtains to create a fade-in, fade-out effect.

Before the performance, several layers of muslin sheets as curtains were to be hung high on the stage, tied to the side pillars with thick ropes. Once the scene was over, the curtains would be released layer by layer. The gauze, from thin to thick, would gradually obscure the figures on stage, while incense smoke added from the outside would enhance the ethereal effect.

The Gao Residence had an abundance of fine silk with gold embroidery. They selected white and sky-blue curtains to hang. During the curtain call, the actors would not exit through the back door, but instead be gradually obscured by the falling curtains, creating the artistic impression of disappearing into the abyss of mist and clouds.

The troupe first performed a trial show at the Gao Residence, presenting the first scene of the third act, 《Gods and Buddhas Subdue Sun Wukong》. This scene depicted Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing and Prince Nezha subduing Sun Wukong and returning the abducted Princess of the Golden Cauldron Kingdom to her homeland.

Heavenly King Li Jing donned golden robes and golden armor, Nezha had a face as beautiful as a woman’s and Sun Wukong was dressed in bright red armor with a silver crown. The Princess of the Golden Cauldron Kingdom was played by Little Yuegui, with eye makeup inspired by the Three Kingdoms characters designed by Cui Xie. The Princess of the Golden Cauldron Kingdom wore a flowing, swallow-tailed robe, the hair styled in a celestial bun adorned with gold and jade ornaments, resembling the legendary goddess of the Luo river, Consort Mi¹.

During the scenes where the immortals appeared and when Heavenly King Li Jing commanded the Four Heavenly Kings to escort the Princess of the Golden Cauldron Kingdom back home, there was a swirling mists of incense, making it seem as if they were treading through the clouds. In the scene where Nezha led the heavenly soldiers to search the mountains for the Monkey King, layers of curtains were unfurled, leaving only Heavenly King Li Jing on stage. Then Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, emerged from the center of the curtains, piercing through the ethereal mist, a sight much more captivating than simply entering from behind the curtains.

Gao Su personally sat in the audience to monitor the effects. Initially, he intended to find faults, but soon he was dazzled and continuously praised, exclaiming, “Good! Good! Good!” Isn’t this 《Journey to the West》much more spectacular than 《Three Kingdoms》? It is a pity that there is no Luo Guanzhong (author of the Three Kingdoms) to write it into a novel. Otherwise, I would have the Peace of Mind Study publish a 《Journey to the West》and I would surely buy eight or ten sets!”

Invite more people! Write more invitations! Such a splendid performance should not be enjoyed alone, but shared with distinguished nobles, as well as familiar friends and colleagues.

Gao Su sent invitations throughout the Northern and Southern Administrative Offices. After the fifteenth of August, when the Jinyiwei no longer had to be on duty in the palace, those who had free time all came to his residence to watch the performance. 

Since Xie Ying had previously helped Gao gonggong obtain a painting of the《Banquet to Celebrate Peace in Heaven》and never took credit for it, both father and son regarded him as one of their own. Naturally, Xie Ying was invited. On the twentieth of August, he happened to be off duty, so the Steward of the Gao Residence personally escorted him to the Gao Residence, where he joined several invited nobles and officials, including Assistant Commissioner Zhu Ji and others to enjoy the play.

《Journey to the West》consisted of six volumes with twenty-four acts. On the twentieth of August, the troupe was performing the sixth volume, featuring the acts ‘The Poor Lady’s Heart Seal’, ‘Sun Wukong Responds with the Zen of Emptiness’, ‘The Gathering at Lingyi Mountain’, and ‘Tang Sanzang’s Great Pilgrimage’, all focusing on monastic themes.

During the act 《Seeking Enlightenment and Retrieving the Scriptures》, the three disciples recite verses bidding farewell to their master and then disappear behind a thin single-layer muslin curtain, not exiting the stage, but instead sitting in meditation behind the curtain. As Tang Sanzang chants, ‘Three monks have achieved nirvana; this humble monk will join them in the final fire’, a muslin curtain painted with flames slowly lifted from the ground in front of the three disciples, swaying mid-air and then falling.

When the curtain descended, the three disciples stood up, making various hand gestures like the mudra of wisdom, the mudra of fearlessness, and the mudra of turning the wheel, portraying the scene of shedding their mortal bodies and attaining liberation through Nirvana.

The audience erupted in applause. One guest exclaimed with delight, “I always dreaded this part of《Journey to the West》. Seeing the three disciples leave the stage one by one, singing about ‘when they pass, decapitate their heads and sell them with their tails for five strings of cash’ followed by the old monk lighting a fire, would it not really turn into a pig roasting? Only in your esteemed residence did I realize that Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujin did not die, but attained Buddhahood!”

Especially, with the flames rising and falling, the disciples transformed from the appearance of achieving nirvana after passing away in seated postures into standing figures. Paired with Tang Sanzang’s chant, ‘Step forth from the field of right and wrong, leap out of the pool of self and others’, it truly imparted a sense of liberation and detachment.

Xie Ying softly murmured a Buddhist chant and sighed, “Don’t know where Gao-xiong found this troupe that performs so wonderfully. I have seen several different troupes sing《Journey to the West》, but have never seen such intricate and exquisite staging.”

Gao Su leaned closer to him, grinning proudly, “How could those regular troupes understand such details? It is already impressive enough if they can perform the play. The ones who truly create these intricate settings are those with meticulous minds, steeped in scholarly ambiance.

He leaned in closer towards Xie Ying’s ear, adopting a whispering posture but speaking in a voice not much quieter, “Did you notice that incense burner? Does it not resemble the one used during the Five Beauties contest at the Peace of Mind Study?”

Xie Ying glanced at the incense burner on the stage and when he showed a hint of sudden realization, Gao Su smiled and said, “I reached out to the former owner of the Peace of Mind study for help. On his instructions, the Peace of Mind Study’s Shopkeeper, the troupe manager and even the cosmetics shop, the Hall of Glorious Brocade, all worked in tandem to prepare this play for me.”

He shook his head with a bit of regret, “Unfortunately this act only features the Old Woman Wu questioning the Heart Sutra, there are not any beauties. Otherwise, you would see that the makeup style created by the Hall of Glorious Brocade is even more beautiful than what those Three Kingdom troupes put on!”

Xie Ying praised, pointing to the stage, “Master Sanzang’s appearance is far more refined than others I have seen. Just look at how clean and handsome the monks look, naturally they will look even better in female roles. If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely come to your residence to bother you with another play.”

Gao Su generously said, “If Xie-xiong desires to see beauties, there is no need to wait for my plays. Before the Mid-Autumn festival, the Hall of Glorious Brocade released an eyeliner paste. The actors in my troupe all use it, which allows their eyes to appear bigger and brighter. Take a few boxes back from my residence and have the women in your household use it. Have them perform ‘The Beauty Trap of the Jin Yun Hall’ for you in the evening. Would that not be better than going elsewhere to watch a play?”

His face showed an expression of reminiscence, suggesting that his household frequently performed this play. One wondered if he ever donned armor to play Lu Bu.

Xie Ying waved his hand, declining, “I do not have anyone special at home who would need it. Gao-xiong should save it for a lady of your choice.”

Gao Su’s eyebrows shot up, “What do you mean by that? Maybe you do not have someone at home, but surely there must be someone outside you are close to? Nowadays, many ladies apply heavy eyeliner, which looks striking at night, but can be a bit much during the day. If you have someone you fancy, give her a box of good eyeliner paste. It would make her look better and please you as well.”

That is not necessary…the person I know outside actually sells this eyeliner paste.

Seeing that Xie Ying did not refuse at that moment, Gao Su clapped his hands and called for two boxes of eyeliner paste to be brought over. He handed them to Xie Ying with a nod, saying, “This eyeliner paste is so popular that only twenty boxes are sold per day; it is not easy to get. Even my own concubines do not have it yet. If it were not for Xie-xiong, I would rather give others ordinary spiral conch dye.”

Xie Ying, now holding two boxes of eyeliner paste that had been stuffed into his pockets for which he had no use for, could not very well return them. He had to thank Gao Su for his generosity and took the two boxes home. While others might not have received such a thoughtful gift from Gao Su, the《Journey to the West》performance itself was superb and the innovative stage design rivaled the evening’s 《Three Kingdoms》performances, leaving everyone satisfied.

With this performance of 《Journey to the West》, the Gao Residence’s Mid-Autumn Festival banquet managed to steal some of the spotlight from those who had booked the original 《Three Kingdoms》troupes. Although Gao gonggong was in the Imperial Palace and had not been able to attend, he was pleased to hear about the banquet’s success and felt it had given him much face. Even when Liang Fang tried to curry favor with Imperial Noble Consort Wan by presenting the eyeliner paste and received her praise, it did not bother him at all.

When Gao Su returned home during his day off, Gao Su hosted another banquet and invited the troupe to perform 《Journey to the West》.

The play opened the scene where Tang Sanzang’s father, Chen Guangrui and his wife, Yin Wenjiao were attacked, leading to Tang Sanzang’s birth and Moses-like trip down the river, resulting in the moniker of ‘River Float’. Despite having seen countless beauties in the Imperial Palace, Gao gonggong could not help but praise the actress playing the wife, “What a beauty!With such an actress to lead the troupe, they are sure to become famous in the capital.”

Gao Su, beaming with pride, recounted how he found the troupe, how he enlisted Cui Xie’s help to set up the stage and how this performance of 《Journey to the West》had become so exquisite and gained so much attention in the capital.

When Gao gonggong heard these two words, eyeliner paste, his eyelids could not help but twitch a couple of times as he asked, “Eyeliner paste? Is that sold by Young Master Cui’s shop? Why did you not send word to me in the palace earlier!”

Had he known that it was from the Cui family’s shop, he would never have let Liang Fang, that sycophant, steal the limelight! He could have presented it to the Empress Dowager, Imperial Noble Consort Wan, the Empress, Lady Bai and others himself–would that not have been  much better?

He stomped his foot in frustration and pointed at his son, yelling, “What is the use of you getting married so early? You do not even have the sense of that taijian, Liang Fang. How could you not think of giving eyeliner paste to people as gifts!”

It was already gifted to someone else ah…gifted to Xie Ying, so he could give it to his lover outside.

Gao Su kept his mouth clamped shut, not daring to speak and waited until his father had finished scolding him before saying, “Although Liang gonggong presented the eyeliner paste, this is a product sold by our acquaintances, the Cui family, with whom we are closer to. Why don’t we ask them for some more eyeliner paste to give away. Even if Liang gonggong wants to obtain some, he must send someone to the shop to buy it. How could he give that many away? We could place an order with them to supply to us exclusively…”

“Supply exclusively to the Imperial palace? Take over the procurement? If we can really persuade the Emperor to allow the purchase of eyeliner paste from outside the palace, it would indeed present a good opportunity. However, procurement has always been lucrative and many will vie for this task. Liang Fang, Wei Xing and others will surely keep an eye on this piece of meat. We must plan carefully…” Gao gonggong sighed, “Never mind, the chance to curry favor with Imperial Noble Consort Wan has already been stolen by him. Let us see first if the ladies of the harem like the product. There is still a long road ahead for future opportunities.”

Gao Su realized that he had messed up this task. After the play on stage concluded, he called the actress to come out and pay her respects to his adoptive father, showcasing her makeup.

While the Gao Residence was studying the eyeliner paste, the Xie Residence was also conducting their own examinations.

Xie Ying used a fine eyeliner brush to draw eyes according to the illustrations in the instruction manual, then dipped it into the paste to draw a smooth line on the paper. The line was slightly longer, arched higher in the middle than the eyes and tapered upward at the end. After applying the eyeliner paste, he added a delicate fan-shaped crease above it and long, straight sword-like eyebrows, making it resemble the eyes he had in mind.

As his fingers gently traced the painted eyes, a pair of even brighter, more expressive and lively eyes from a real person came to mind. The eyelids quivered slightly and the gaze seemed to carry countless unspoken words, waiting to be shared with him. Xie Ying could not help but smile faintly. He folded the paper and placed it inside the eyeliner paste box, substituting it for the instruction manual and personally stored it carefully on the top shelf of his treasure cabinet.

Unfortunately, he was not skilled at drawing and could only create this rough version. If only he could make it more lifelike.

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Footnotes:

1. Luo Shen was a deity in Ancient China, She was also known as Consort Mi. She was the daughter of the mythical emperor Mi Xi and drowned when crossing the river, transforming into a river deity. In Cao Zhi’s rhapsody, she is described as a being of an utmost beauty and tenderness. ↩︎

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TN: Hope you all are doing well! Enjoy the chapter! Personally love the references to some famous myths which seems timely considering the release of the new game that has taken the world by storm (Black Myth Wukong) ❤

Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters for Blood-Sucking Empress OR TMD, those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a college student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!

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