378: Chapter 378 The Opening of the Play

"A drama?"

After finishing his farm work, the First Emperor wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel. Holding a newspaper in his hand, his gaze was fixed on the report about Zhao Fusu inviting the Great Qin Art Troupe to perform a drama at the Xianyang Palace. He murmured to himself, his face full of curiosity.

Zhao Fusu did not notify the First Emperor to go to the Xianyang Palace to watch it.

The reason was simple: the First Emperor had faked his death publicly.

Everyone had also accepted the premise of the First Emperor's faked death.

If the First Emperor were to appear openly before everyone again, it would be somewhat awkward.

"A rural tour performance!"

The First Emperor also knew that since he had faked his death, it wouldn't be good to appear in public again, especially since it would cause unnecessary influence on Zhao Fusu's rule.

Besides, his reputation was not good.

Fusu ascending the throne of power was the expectation of all the people of Great Qin. It could be said to be in accordance with the will of the people.

The First Emperor was sensible enough not to come out and fight for power; otherwise, the kind-hearted Zhao Fusu would have no choice but to invite him to mine coal to contribute to Great Qin.

The First Emperor planned to go and see the drama performance himself once the Great Qin Art Troupe went to the countryside.

Zhao Fusu always brought him surprises, and he believed this time would be no exception.

In the evening, the civil and military officials and the nobles of Xianyang who had received invitations all boarded their carriages and headed to the Xianyang Palace.

The Great Qin Art Troupe entered the Xianyang Palace to prepare for tonight's performance.

Chen Le and Zhou Lunfa looked around the Xianyang Palace with excitement and curiosity; its size was like that of a small city.

The other actors of the Great Qin Art Troupe were just as excited as they were.

Everyone's bodies were trembling, their nervousness reaching its peak.

The behind-the-scenes staff participating in this performance included the scene crew, makeup crew, prop crew, costume crew, and music crew.

After arriving at the place arranged for their makeup and rest, some actors were sent to get their makeup done, while others were sent to collect their costumes.

The scene crew set up the stage inside the Main Hall of the Xianyang Palace.

The members of the prop crew carefully organized every single prop.

They knew well the importance of these props to the performance; even a tiny mistake could affect the overall effect of the show.

The costume crew staff handed out costumes to the actors and, once they were dressed, meticulously adjusted them.

The musicians stood by, tuning various instruments.

Music is an indispensable part of a drama performance, capable of setting the atmosphere and enhancing the emotional impact.

They gently plucked the strings and struck the drums, listening to every note and constantly adjusting the tone and rhythm.

Every melody and every rhythm had been repeatedly pondered and practiced, all to ensure they perfectly complemented the actors' performances during the show, providing the audience with a soul-stirring audiovisual feast.

Both the actors and the behind-the-scenes staff were giving their all for this performance.

Finally, it was time for actors like Chen Le and Zhou Lunfa to take the stage.

They would be performing on the high platform in the Main Hall of the Xianyang Palace!

Zhou Qun said to everyone, unable to hide his excitement, "That's where the National Assembly officials hold their meetings!"

"And now, we can perform on it!"

Hearing him say this, everyone became even more excited.

"Below us, the high-ranking officials of the National Assembly are watching our performance!"

Zhou Qun's eyes sparkled, and his voice was full of excitement.

Chen Le asked, "Is His Majesty the Head of State in there too?"

He really wanted to see what His Majesty the Head of State looked like.

"Naturally."

Zhou Qun said, "His Majesty the Head of State is sitting right in the middle of the first row!"

Chen Le, Zhou Lunfa, and the other actors took Zhou Qun's words to heart; they couldn't wait to see Zhao Fusu.

"Act One!"

The narrator introduced the plot while announcing the scene.

Once he finished introducing the plot about the Yunmengze Water Bandits tearing up the tracks and forcing the train to stop, the curtain slowly rose, and Zhou Lunfa along with the other actors playing guards began their performance.

From time to time, Zhou Lunfa's gaze would steal a glance at Zhao Fusu in the center seat of the first row.

He wasn't the only one doing this.

All the actors on stage were looking at Zhao Fusu out of the corners of their eyes.

Since Zhao Fusu often endorsed products, the people of Great Qin were not unfamiliar with his portrait.

But they had never seen him in person.

Now that they were seeing Zhao Fusu with their own eyes, they realized he was much younger than they had imagined.

His young face exuded majesty and wisdom, and his eyes were deep and resolute, as if they could see through everything in the world.

They couldn't help but marvel in their hearts; to be able to lead the Great Qin Empire to prosperity at such a young age, he was truly young and capable!

The lights focused on them, and Zhou Lunfa quickly got into character.

He was a Captain of the Guards, and when faced with the attack from the Yunmengze Water Bandits, all the guards instinctively turned their gazes toward him.

His eyes were resolute, and his posture was upright.

"Don't panic, everyone."

He said, "Release the flares immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

The guards quickly complied.

Watching the Yunmengze Water Bandits charging toward them, Zhou Lunfa gripped the large saber in his hand and said, "We cannot let these bandits near the passenger cars! We cannot let them kill the passengers! Follow me and kill them!"

Disregarding the danger, he was the first to rush out of the carriage and charge at the Yunmengze Water Bandits.