bayedsolid Chapter 502 You dare to steal my people?
Chapter 502 You dare to steal my people?
On a whim, Mu Xin Nuan also lifted her hem, and the group went straight into the courtyard.
Their behavior startled the little boy, who thought they were there to cause trouble. After all, it's rare to see adults watching shadow puppet shows in broad daylight.
Moreover, it's daytime now, and at this time of day, it's usually children who watch shadow puppetry. Where would you find adults dressed so elegantly?
However, seeing from afar that they had given the money and that Grandpa had gone inside to prepare for the performance, Xiao Tong felt a little relieved. He continued to sit outside by the doorstep, took a bite of the melon, and continued to hawk his wares.
Mu Xin Nuan watched for half an hour, thoroughly enjoying it. However, after the elderly couple came out from behind, she had to ask them for a long time before she finally understood what kind of play they were performing.
Mu Xin Nuan watched the shadow puppet show and got a pretty good feel for it, but she couldn't understand a single word of the singing.
Now that the old man has explained it to me in detail, I finally understand.
"Grandpa, this shadow puppetry is truly fascinating to me. Don't laugh at me, but I've hardly ever seen one in my life. Plus, my strict upbringing meant I never had a chance to ask. I've heard it's made of animal hides, is that true?"
"What the young master said is not wrong, but not all animal hides can be used. Moreover, it is quite troublesome to make them."
"Appreciate further details."
Seeing Mu Xin Nuan's humble and eager-to-learn appearance, the old man chuckled and stroked his beard, saying, "First, you need to remove the hair and blood from the sheepskin, donkey skin, or other animal hides. Then, soak them in herbs to make the hide thinner and semi-transparent, so that the light is both transparent and not transparent. Then, apply tung oil and draw various figures on it. Young master, this is not something that can be done in a short time."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded, then turned her head and saw several small tools in the yard. Some of them looked like carving knives, so she pointed and asked, "May I ask, sir, were these the tools you used to make these?"
"That's right! It requires carving with various tools before applying colors. The main colors used are red, yellow, cyan, green, and black. Both carving and coloring require immense patience. The painting and dyeing process is also quite particular. Women's hair ornaments and clothing often feature patterns of flowers, grass, clouds, and phoenixes, while men's use patterns of dragons, tigers, water, and clouds. Naturally, these differ in their quality. Loyal and virtuous figures are depicted with five-tenths of their faces, while villainous figures are depicted with seven-tenths."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded, playing with a princess-shaped shadow puppet less than a foot long in her hand. She manipulated the three stems on it, but couldn't get it to move. She said somewhat discouragedly, "It seems I'm really not suited to playing with these things."
"I can tell you're a distinguished person, sir. You wouldn't be playing with such low-class things. You're just looking at this to amuse yourself when you're bored or bored."
The old lady nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, if our livelihood as ordinary people can bring a smile to the face of a distinguished person, then we have accomplished our great task."
Mu Xin Nuan asked a few more questions and learned that his original surname was Pei, and he was known as Old Man Pei. He originally had a son and a daughter, but a few years ago, a disaster struck and his daughter-in-law ran away with someone else. His son went abroad to study and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a grandson and his young daughter to accompany him.
As they were talking, the little boy who had been guarding the door ran in as fast as he could, shouting, "Oh no! Grandpa, Grandma, the second young master of the Xue family is here again!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Pei's face changed drastically, filled with terror.
As soon as the child finished speaking, a slick-looking young man in fine clothes led a large group of people in and barged in. Seeing this, Mu Xin Nuan's guards naturally stepped forward and protected their master behind them.
The elegantly dressed young man swaggered in, immediately spotting Old Man Pei. He even smiled and gave a slight bow, saying, "Greetings to my father-in-law. Where is Miss Xiaomeng? Why isn't she out to greet her future husband?"
That's incredibly shameless!
Old Man Pei immediately glared angrily, "What are you doing here again? I've already told you, my daughter is already engaged. The wedding is coming up soon, so get out of here!"
The newcomer was none other than Second Young Master Xue. Upon hearing this, he immediately stopped laughing and put on a disdainful expression, saying, "What? In Huayang County, I've never seen anyone dare to snatch someone from me, Second Young Master Xue. So, which family are you from? Tell me!"
His henchmen behind him also joined in the commotion.
"Is there any girl in Huayang County that our Second Master can't marry? Old Man Pei, I advise you not to suffer a loss now. Our Second Master is genuinely fond of Miss Xiaomeng, which is why he came to propose marriage in person. If you accept, it will be a win-win situation. If you don't accept, hmph! Then don't blame us for being ruthless."
These words brought a smile to Xue Ershao's face. "Old Man Pei, I respect you as Xiaomeng's father. If you don't agree, what if I take her by force? Don't think that just because there's a damn Censorate in Huayang County now, I can't do anything to you. Let me tell you, if I'm unhappy, I'll dare to storm the county government office!"
As he spoke, he proudly stretched out his hand and raised his chin, looking utterly arrogant.
Having just talked with them for half a day, Mu Xin Nuan naturally knew that Pei Xiao Meng had never been engaged. Old Man Pei was only saying this to get them to leave quickly. But she never expected that these people would even say something like "kidnap the bride." They were truly lawless!
"Who are you? My Li family's betrothed, do you think you can just take her away?"
In short, not only was the young master Xue stunned, but Old Man Pei and his wife were also stunned!
Young Master Xue glanced at his men, who all shook their heads, indicating they didn't recognize him. He looked at Mu Xin Nuan with some puzzlement before saying contemptuously, "You look unfamiliar, aren't you from around here?"
Mu Xin Nuan raised an eyebrow, and with a swish, opened the folding fan in her hand with great style. "What? Just because you're not a local doesn't mean you can't marry Xiao Meng? Is this the rule you set?"
"Hey! You've got some nerve, daring to snatch someone from my hands?" As soon as Young Master Xue finished speaking, his men scattered. Mu Xin Nuan looked closely and saw that there were quite a few of them, at least twenty or thirty.
Old Man Pei was immediately frightened and hurriedly reached out to tug at Rong Yue's sleeve next to Mu Xin Nuan, "Young man, please tell the young master that it's best not to get involved in this mess."