The sectarian conflict that engulfed the Northern Military Command of Xiling Town, Taizhou, Zhongzhou, and a large area of ​​the surrounding region kept Ye Tao in suspense and anticipation for two whole months. Thus, when he and Tan Weiming came to Danyang again, the Grand Theater had been completely completed, and even the opening performance of the Grand Theater was nearing completion.

It was because of Ye Tao, Tan Weixin and others' creations that there were rich forms of performance, and also the position of "artistic director" to control the progress and style of a drama. In Danyang, those who liked to gossip had tried to have the same drama directed by different artistic directors and directors, but the results were usually completely different. After the original version of *Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai* by Liu Xiangyuan's troupe was taken off the stage, several small troupes had tried to re-enact it according to their own understanding, half as a gamble and half as an experiment, but from tragedy to comedy, a series of derivative dramas were actually created. In this way, while enriching the performance market and performance categories, it also made everyone pay more attention to the special functions of each role and each position in the troupe. And this time, the opening performance of the Grand Theater will also be the farewell performance of Tan Weishi, now recognized as the best artistic director, in Danyang. Tan Weishi is considered the best not only because she can always provide the troupe with sufficient funding, but also because she seems to have a unique insight, an insight into the kindness, courage, and warmth in the hearts of each character. Those positive characters can be explored more deeply, and those negative characters often become richer and more three-dimensional in the dramas directed by Tan Weishi. Among the many dramas that have been staged in Danyang, the negative characters that are still frequently mentioned almost all were discovered by Tan Weishi.

And this time, Tan Weishi painstakingly organized the opening performance in the Grand Theater. From the beginning of the planning and design of the Grand Theater, she began to write the script, and repeatedly discussed and consulted with Liu Xiangyuan and other professionals about this drama called *Midnight*.

*Midnight* describes the year when the Great Tang Empire disintegrated. In the drama, Tan Weishi described the various predicaments and lives of the empire at that time, and interpreted the various reasons and human nature of the various subjects of the empire who later became independent and became monarchs. In particular, the founders of the four countries of Dongping, Xiling, Chunnan, and Beiliao, which are now divided into four parts of the world, were heavily portrayed. She concentrated the various internal and external troubles faced by the late empire, and the various public and private conflicts inside and outside the court, into one night, and used six acts to tell an extremely complex story. Not only to make the story of that year clear, but also to constantly create conflicts and climaxes, so that all the audience can be immersed in it and not feel that this two-and-a-half-hour drama is boring. This is the night when a decaying empire moves towards death, and it is also the night when heroes with various purposes lead the people to new roads and new lives. Although she is the Princess Yuxiu of Dongping, Tan Weishi was surprisingly objective in her position when writing the script. Especially after learning the true story of the last prime minister, Chen Jia, she rewrote all the scenes of the only major villain in the original play with satisfaction, and shaped Chen Jia into a complex and full character who dared to bear the infamy and still harbored hope. As for the founder of Dongping, Tan's ancestor, she did not avoid Tan's origins and did not carry out more artistic processing than the founders of the other countries.

For such a grand drama, she didn't know how many times she revised the script alone. After the initial script was finalized, she had fierce debates with Pang Rong, a scholar of the Wenhua Hall, on the historical facts and artistic processing of the drama, the technicality and artistry, whether it was necessary to praise her ancestors to the sky, and whether it would damage the dignity of the Dongping royal family. Pang Rong's insistence on the position of "respecting the venerable" ultimately could not match the Tan family's tradition of never avoiding their origins. In fact, the only effect of such a fierce debate was that everyone suddenly discovered that the forever child in everyone's mind, the forever beautiful and lovely Embroidery Princess, also had such a persistent, persistent, and rational side. She has grown from a little girl to a dazzling young woman who dares to love and hate and dares to speak her mind.

In fact, from the beginning when he saw the script, Tan Xiaopei, as a father and monarch, fell in love with this drama. Regardless of the intention, form, or content, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this drama could be a model for future generations. In the entire script, almost every line can withstand scrutiny, and every conflict promotes the power of history. If he didn't know the time and energy that Tan Weishi had put in, and know every process of the script's progress, Tan Xiaopei really couldn't believe that such a script came from his own daughter's hands. And after Pang Rong was unable to make Tan Weishi make concessions, he did what he, as a monarch and a father, was most willing to do: pay the bill. He allocated all the funds from the inner treasury, and whatever other needs, as long as he could help, Tan Weishi could just ask.

And from the script to the performance, there were countless problems to be solved. Such a grand play, and also as the premiere play of the Grand Theater, the requirements were so high that it was staggering. Even though Liu Xiangyuan's troupe had always been under Tan Weishi's personal care, and its strength could be called tyrannical, it was still somewhat inadequate in this kind of play that was full of dramatic tension from beginning to end and required more masculine power. Fortunately, Tan Weishi was, after all, the princess that all the aristocratic children looked up to, and she was, after all, the most amiable and respectable princess in the minds of all scholars now. The final cast almost brought together all the powerful actors in Dongping. The pillars of those other small troupes were temporarily borrowed to play roles. Even some people who had previously played roles in dramas for fun and had outstanding performances, and who were now working in various places in Dongping, were borrowed by her by various means. After three performances, when this *Midnight* could be staged again, I am afraid that it would have to wait until the next generation of professional actors grew up under the promotion of Dongping's prosperous performance market. And the scenery, stage art, lighting, costumes, makeup, etc., were all being prepared at all costs. The whale oil used to test the lighting effects during the trials, rehearsals, and dress rehearsals alone amounted to thousands of pounds.

As many as 2,900 actors and staff participated in *Midnight* before and after, and as for the money spent in the open and in the dark, no one could count it. In addition to the accounts, there were also various materials and equipment supported by various parties. The set of crystal magic lantern slides specially made by Ye's Workshop for *Midnight* and two sets of spare magic lantern slides alone could not be priced. This was not just a matter of crystal and labor. How many telescopes and aiming mirrors could these crystals have been used to create? How much profit could it have generated? No one could figure this out. Among the materials used to make the costumes, many were top-quality silks that had been stored in the palace for many years and had not been used before. The master tailors who made the clothes were also old masters supported by the royal family. These could not be calculated with prices. As for the relationships that Tan Weishi could rely on, especially temporarily borrowing court officials to act, this kind of favor was even more terrifying. Although everyone knew that this was not a good thing, they still let Tan Weishi have everything she wanted to achieve her perfect farewell performance.

Even after Ye Tao came to Danyang, if he wanted to see Tan Weishi as soon as possible, he could only do so at the Grand Theater. After inspecting the finishing touches of the Grand Theater and presiding over the adjustment of some detailed acoustic components in the performance hall, Ye Tao became the audience for the first uninterrupted rehearsal of the entire play *Midnight*.

Cutting a complete play into details that are constantly interrupted, pursuing perfection in a line, an action, a chant, and performing the entire play as a whole, are completely different feelings. Without intermission, without intermissions, without the interruption of applause and cheers, the actors themselves seemed to become one with the characters they played in the entire two and a half hours. Those passions, regrets, sorrows, angers, and hatreds seemed to really happen in everyone's heart. And when the performance finally ended, and according to the arrangement, they took a bow to the empty auditorium that didn't have many people sitting in it, everyone suddenly realized that they had done things they couldn't usually do. The emotions they burst out and the words they performed all far exceeded the level of usual rehearsals. In the panorama of the end of the empire, everyone was so vivid and moving.

And after the rehearsal, the actors returned to the dressing room by tacit agreement, gradually cooling down their emotions, reflecting on their performances, reminiscing about the feeling of becoming one with the characters just now, and thinking about how to do better in the next performance. Everyone had the same idea: Ye Tao and the people around him applauded too little... When facing the entire full auditorium, when the entire auditorium bursts into thunderous applause, when many people shed tears for the content they perform, what kind of achievement would that be, what kind of feeling would that be?

And at this time, the staff of the performance began to review the imperfect details, the lights that should have been turned on but were not, the scenery that was placed in the wrong position in a hurry, the costumes and makeup that looked a little strange, and how unreliable the crystal reflectors used to give the actors prompts before and after the stage were...

But Tan Weishi was very proud at this moment and was eating with Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, Dai Yun and others. Such achievements after the tense and busy work made her whistle a little relaxed, but also made her even more hungry. And the specially made smoked venison that Ye Tao brought from Yunzhou, after being steamed, the fragrance that wafted out made Tan Weishi's index finger move.