The Exiled Villainess and Her Shopping Dimension

The theater troupe’s fame skyrocketed further after the debut of a new, previously unknown play. The performance and script were far from boring, and the compelling and trendy plot helped them gain even more recognition. The troupe, known as "The Light of Arts," created numerous spectacles for their audience. Led by the chief performer who played the guzheng, even though he kept his face covered, his mysterious aura captivated and fascinated people.

However, the troupe leader was not one for much talking, so most people became familiar with other performers such as the pipa player, erhu player, luogu player, Chinese flute player, and xun player. Additionally, there were many other beautiful and talented actors among them. Their rising fame also boosted the popularity of all the performers.

Yet, no one knew that the renowned and celebrated troupe was actually under the control of a single woman. Perhaps it was because this woman was the one who gave them this opportunity that the troupe leader worked tirelessly for her without her even needing to ask.

"Oh, is that the theater troupe we’ve been hearing about?"

"It really is them. I heard they are performing a charity play once a week, and today must be the day."

"This is truly a rare sight. I must hurry home and gather the children to come watch. Usually, only the nobles can afford to hire them to perform at their manors. How could we, poor commoners, ever get such a chance?"

"Exactly. Since they became famous, the troupe no longer performs casually. Look at how much profit they must be making now, with their costumes fitting their roles perfectly."

The bustling market was filled with excited voices as people caught sight of the famous theater troupe. Today, they were performing as announced, stating that they would not charge for the show to uplift the spirits of the townsfolk. They committed to performing once a week as a charity event, allowing the audience to watch for free.

Initially, this decision displeased many of the upper class because they had to wait in line to hire the troupe for private performances at their manors. Now, they had to postpone by one day a week to allow the celebrated troupe to perform on the streets.

They themselves had plenty of money to hire the troupe, but these people didn’t care and continued with their original plan. It’s unclear why they made this decision, but when the news reached the Wang’s ears, he was very pleased with the idea. He even praised it during a banquet held at an aristocratic family’s manor where he was the guest of honor.

He commended the troupe for their kindness and compassion towards the townsfolk, stating that such a troupe deserved even more support. He also rewarded them generously.

Of course, the Wang’s support was also because one of the plays intended for the townspeople featured a beloved bandit character, portraying the villainous bandit as a good person. Therefore, the Wang hoped that the townspeople would understand that there might be hidden motives and that the one-eyed bandit wasn’t entirely evil.

Due to the Wang’s remarks, the aristocrats could no longer object. Additionally, many of them were excited to watch the play again. When the location of the performance was announced, the nearby inns were fully booked. The aristocrats certainly didn’t want to stand with the commoners, so they reserved inns that also offered delicious food.

During the various social events, they didn’t just sit and chat with friends or lovers as usual. This rare opportunity allowed them to watch the performance and share their thoughts together.

"Miss Wei, have you arrived? Please come upstairs," one of the inns greeted an elegant lady from a high-ranking family. The staff were ready to welcome her warmly.

Today, Miss Wei of the Wei family arrived with two friends and four attendants. Her attire was as exquisite and luxurious as ever, maintaining her reputation as a rare beauty. However, recently there had been some unsavory rumors about her, leading to the first instances of people speaking ill of Miss Wei.

For example:

"Isn’t that Miss Wei, the one who is said to admire Official Mu?"

"Yes, she is truly beautiful. It’s a pity that Official Mu already has a wife."

"Official Mu’s wife is no less impressive. Have you seen her? She is as beautiful as a goddess."

"Sigh, I know her. After all, there aren’t many first ranked lady in the Region. How enviable for Official Mu to have two excellent women vying for him."

"Before this, Miss Wei had never shown interest in any man. I even thought she would remain single forever. I never imagined that upon meeting Official Mu, she would become so interested."

"I heard that Miss Wei even went to the government office just to meet Official Mu. Is that true?"

"Ah, it is definitely true. Someone said that Miss Wei brought him a warm soup to help with the cold, but Official Mu had already brought his wife’s soup. So, he declined Miss Wei’s offer. At that moment, someone saw her crying."

"How pitiful!"

"Everyone says so. Actually, noble families can have as many wives as they want. The only pity is that the Mu family won’t allow their eldest young miss to become a concubine or a secondary wife. And now, Furen Mu has been appointed as the primary wife by the emperor. Therefore, she can’t be demoted or made a concubine."

"Official Mu is quite commendable. Even though he is a noble, there’s no news of him having any concubines. He only considers Furen Mu as his wife."

"Usually, nobles take concubines when their wives are pregnant. But Official Mu doesn’t do that. He respects Furen Mu greatly. So, for having a second wife, even if Miss Wei agreed to be a secondary wife, it’s unlikely that Official Mu would accept her."

The whispers grew louder when they saw the young miss of the Wei family enter the inn with her servants. Wei Mudan’s eyes gleamed with a hint of malice upon hearing the commoners’ talk, suggesting that even if she agreed to be the secondary wife, the other party wouldn’t accept her. This made her feel a rage she could hardly contain.

Fortunately, Wei Mudan had enough sense not to act out herself. She merely felt regret that she couldn’t initially use the bad rumors about Yueqian to attack her. It was good that she hadn’t acted personally but had someone else handle it. Otherwise, if those men and their caravan blamed her, it would have been a bigger issue.

If that idiot hadn’t been foolish enough to criticize in front of Minister Mu’s younger siblings in public, maybe the plan to make the villagers suspicious might have worked.

Moreover, what annoyed her the most was when she saw the play "The Proud Beauty" at a banquet. How could this be anything other than the blatant praise of Yueqian, openly solving her crisis? It shouldn’t have been like this, should it? Wei Mudan didn’t want to speculate further. She really wanted to know what the villagers would think if they watched this play.

Perhaps they would change from suspicion to admiration immediately!

Thinking this, Wei Mudan no longer felt angry at those who talked about her becoming Official Mu’s secondary wife. Instead, she felt the need to find an opportunity to target the people from this troupe.

Once she entered the inn and settled into a private room, the servant who followed Wei Mudan immediately rushed to her side, whispering.

"Miss, that man there is the leader of the troupe." The servant pointed to a slender man who was playing a guzheng with graceful movements like a woman, yet still exuding the elegance of a man.

Wei Mudan frowned slightly upon seeing his demeanor. It was impossible to tell what he looked like, but she had heard he was quite popular with both men and women.

"Why is he hiding his face? Could he be a nobleman? Or perhaps he was born into a high-ranking class?"

"That’s possible, because he seems to have quite a sharp mind, like a scholar," commented a companion who had come with Wei Mudan. They had been curious about him since they first saw him, noting that he was the only one wearing a hat and covering his face.

This only piqued Wei Mudan’s interest further. However, her servant felt an irresistible urge to speak up. She had seen this man before, even though it had been a long time. She was certain she couldn’t be mistaken because there was only one such person in the capital.

"Oh, Miss, how could he be a noble? If he were a noble, he would still be working at the government office. Besides, if he were from a noble family, would he really become a musician? I still remember, this person used to be a wandering musician."

After her servant finished speaking, all the young misses immediately turned to look at her, especially Wei Mudan, who already disliked the troupe. She asked with keen interest.

"So you know who he is? Why does he hide his face?"

"Of course, miss. I’ve heard rumors about his face before. They say he looks like a demon."

"Hmm? A demon?"

"Yes, miss. Among the servants, it’s said that he has a large scar on his face, making him look very frightening."

"No way! If his face is really like that, it’s terrifying, isn’t it? How could the nobles allow someone with such a face to perform? Wouldn’t that be cursing themselves?"

"Exactly. I never knew that. Should we stay and watch today? If his face is that scary and I happen to see it, won’t my future children look terrifying too?" The two women were very scared. The highborn women had rather peculiar beliefs, thinking that if they saw something scary, it would affect their future children.

Just like when there was killing, women were not supposed to be involved. That’s why there were no female strategists or employees in the Department of Corrections in this era.

"Calm down. That’s just a rumor, isn’t it? Besides, if he really had such a scary face, everyone in the village should know. Otherwise, if every villager’s children were born looking terrifying, wouldn’t the entire Bai Region be..." Wei Mudan stopped speaking, letting the others draw their own conclusions.

As expected, her companions couldn’t accept this upon hearing it. They planned to save the Bai Region. No! It was all to avoid seeing that horrendous sight themselves.

"You all, find someone to expose him. We must unmask that man."

"Exactly. We can’t let him use that demonic face to scare others. We must reveal him before he performs."

Hearing her friends say this, Wei Mudan secretly smiled with satisfaction. If he truly had a scary face, performing in front of the villagers would be impossible. As for performing for noble households, that was out of the question. They wouldn’t support someone so frightening.

She hoped... she could manage it in time before the rumors beneficial to her disappeared.

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