Chapter 135: Record of the Resting Husband

 Chapter 135: Record of the Resting Husband

As the number of people at the opera stage increased, Zhou Chengye asked a servant to bring over the playbill, preparing to select a new play. 

There weren’t many adults present, only a few, with most of the audience being young masters and young ladies from various families.

Zhou Chengye first asked a few adults, and after they all indicated they had no preference for the play, he directly took the playbill and went to find Xiao Yeyang.

“Prince, please choose a play,” Zhou Chengye said.

Xiao Yeyang glanced at the playbill, noticing Daohua craning her neck to look over, and smiled. He casually handed the playbill over to her. “You choose.”

Daohua wasn’t polite and immediately took the playbill. She and Zhou Jingwan beside her began discussing the plays.

The two young ladies chattered excitedly, deeply engaged in their conversation.

Below, Qian Bilian, who had been watching closely, nudged Yan Yihuan and then looked at Yan Yishuang and Yan Yile, whispering, “The playbill is now in Miss Yan’s hands. If you have any preferences, you can go tell her, and she will choose it.”

Yan Yihuan glanced at Qian Bilian and shook her head. “We don’t have any particular preferences. Whatever Big Sister and Miss Zhou choose, we’ll listen to that.”

Hearing this, Qian Bilian gave a forced smile, glancing at the young masters sitting around Yan Yiyi—these were all the sons of important officials from Zhongzhou Province.

Unfortunately, her father held a low-ranking official position, and she never had the chance to get acquainted with them.

Yan Yishuang and Yan Yile, however, were somewhat intrigued.

Since Big Sister was surrounded by such respected people, they also wanted to get to know them. They thought, had they known, they would have followed Big Sister when she came out with Grandmother earlier.

Soon, as it was almost time for lunch, Zhou Jingwan was called away. Daohua, who knew nothing about the opera, returned the playbill to Xiao Yeyang.

“Why didn’t you choose any play?”

Daohua moved her lips and finally said two words: “Don’t know!”

Xiao Yeyang immediately laughed. “How can you not know how to choose a play?”

Daohua snorted. “What’s wrong with not knowing? I grew up in the countryside, so of course, I never had the chance to watch plays.” She turned her head away, not looking at him.

Xiao Yeyang stopped laughing, glancing at Daohua’s expression. Seeing she wasn’t responding, he lost interest and threw the playbill to Zhou Chengye, asking him to deal with it.

Once Zhou Chengye selected the play, Xiao Yeyang noticed Daohua was still ignoring him, and he couldn’t sit still anymore.

Defu couldn’t help but glance up at the sky.v

His master was hopeless!

“Alright, I shouldn’t have teased you. It was just a joke, no need to be angry, right?” Xiao Yeyang hesitated for a long time before finally saying these words.

Daohua wasn’t actually angry; she just wanted to tease him because of his proud demeanor. Hearing his humble words, she decided to stop and turned to look at him.

“It’s true. If I’ve never encountered something, I naturally wouldn’t understand it. Take the time when we were escaping and begging for food, for example. Back then, you didn’t know, but did I laugh at you? Didn’t I teach you bit by bit?”

“I was wrong!” Xiao Yeyang immediately interrupted her, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. After confirming no one was watching, he let out a sigh of relief.

If others found out he had begged for food, he’d have no face left.

Behind them, Defu widened his eyes. He knew his master had gone through a tough time after being kidnapped, but he hadn’t realized it had been so difficult, to the point of begging for food!

Daohua, realizing it was time to stop, turned her attention to the beautiful women on the stage.

Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang rubbed his aching forehead and glanced at Defu, giving him a warning look.

Defu, who was now feeling sorry for his master, immediately swore an oath after receiving the look.

“Are you watching so seriously? Do you understand what’s going on?”

Xiao Yeyang couldn’t stand Daohua’s cheerful demeanor and couldn’t help but make a sarcastic remark.

Daohua turned to look at him, narrowing her eyes as if saying, “You’ve provoked me.”

Xiao Yeyang’s temples throbbed. “What I mean is, if you don’t understand, I can explain it to you.”

Defu: Sighing, he looked up at the sky!

Daohua smiled. "Alright, the people on stage are singing in such a way that I can’t even make out the words. Quickly, tell me what’s going on."

Xiao Yeyang suddenly felt a bit weary. It seemed that every time he interacted with Daohua, he ended up losing. Resigned, he looked towards the stage and began to explain in a low voice.

"This play on stage is quite famous..."

Daohua took it as a story to listen to, enjoying the performance along with the beautiful actresses. She nodded occasionally or asked a question or two.

Nearby, Zhou Chengye and Yan Wenxiu had been paying attention to Xiao Yeyang and Daohua. At this moment, seeing the two of them, one discussing the play passionately and the other engrossed in it, they both quietly relaxed.

The first few acts were light-hearted, but in the middle, a more chaotic play was performed.

"What kind of play is this?"

Daohua focused her attention on the stage and didn’t notice that Xiao Yeyang’s expression had suddenly turned somewhat grim.

"This play is called The Record of the Resting Husband. It tells the story of a lady who divorces her husband when he becomes successful, abandoning him and their young son."

Daohua looked surprised. "Why?"

Xiao Yeyang furrowed his brows. "It’s because the husband brought home a concubine and a son who was older than their biological child."

Hearing this, Daohua clapped her hands. "Good for her!"

Xiao Yeyang froze for a moment, looking at Daohua with surprise. "Don’t you think that lady is heartless?"

Daohua shook her head. "No, I don’t think so! I think she’s amazing. Though I haven’t finished hearing the story, based on my experience from reading storybooks, I think the lady did the right thing. If someone doesn’t want to stay, then let them go. The world is so big, who can’t survive without anyone?"

Xiao Yeyang’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked with some difficulty, "Why? She abandoned her husband and child, why do you think she did the right thing?"

Daohua replied, "Look, the husband brought back a concubine and a son, and that son is even older than the biological one. What does that mean? It means that before they even got married, the husband was already not faithful to his wife!"

"While the husband was away, the lady had to raise their young son and manage the household all alone. The hardships and bitterness of that must have only been known to her."

"When the husband returned and brought back a son older than her own, wasn’t that a slap in the face to the legitimate wife? If the husband continues to favor the concubine, then everything the wife had done before would just be a joke."

"What’s left in such a family to cherish?"

"I really admire that lady. She was able to leave her husband when he became successful, showing that she wasn’t someone who sought vanity."

"In this era, for her to divorce her husband, she must have had courage beyond the ordinary. Her decisiveness reveals an inner pride of ‘I’d rather be shattered than remain whole.’"

Xiao Yeyang stared at Daohua, stunned. He had never heard such an explanation before.

According to the education he received from a young age, in a family, the wife should always respect her husband, and a wife divorcing her husband was considered an unthinkable act.

"But she also abandoned her child."

At this, Daohua fell silent for a moment. "Ah, the child is indeed innocent. In the breakdown of a family, the one who suffers the most is the child. But this isn’t the lady’s fault, it’s the fault of that scumbag of a father."

Xiao Yeyang stood still, gazing intently at Daohua.

It wasn’t the wife’s fault, but the husband’s!

Was it really that simple? 

Behind them, Defu was already trembling in fear.

Damn it, why did Young Master Zhou pick The Record of the Resting Husband for the play?

(End of chapter)