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As Lee Yong-hyun began his opening remarks, the camera focused on the stage and zoomed in, revealing a red curtain that was slowly drawn back.

The set is a magnificent ancient Western palace. The actor playing King Chen Ying sits on the golden throne in the center, flanked by maids in white dresses holding golden bowls and flowers. Seven princes, played by Le Jing, Gu Minxing, Ye Zhixi, An Kexin, Lu Yun, Qin Feng, and Liya, sit on either side of the king.

A long marble table lay across the room, upon which were placed silver wine jugs and vessels, gold candlesticks, lifelike delicacies, various fruits, and large bunches of scattered red azaleas.

Dancers in costumes gracefully twirl in the foreground, while armored knights escort Liu Jibai, playing a navigator, step by step to the center of the stage. The dancers then twirl and disperse from both sides, and the title of the play appears on the screen within this beautiful composition:

"The Treasure Presentation"

The navigator Liu Jibai knelt before the throne and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the sole ruler of this land, I have brought back a treasure that rivals even yours, and I present it to you. Behold—"

Servants presented the white porcelain vase with red flowers and birds on a golden pedestal, placing it on a marble pillar in the center of the stage. The lights dimmed, focusing on the vase. Dancers in red dresses danced again, walking onto the stage and surrounding the vase. The crowd sang, "A treasure from the distant East, offered to the one and only king, the most crimson pigment, the purest white porcelain, do not underestimate its charm, everyone will be captivated, captivated—"

Luo Xi couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, how gorgeous!"

Song Wenchen was also stunned by the stage design: "Isn't this incredibly detailed?"

An Kexin, upon rewatching the film again, still exclaimed, "That's right, the actors are all incredibly talented."

Chen Ying stood up steadily, his voice strong and powerful: "My dear subject, although this treasure is beautiful, I don't know how many such porcelains I have. I have many more colorful, large, and magnificent porcelain vases. Why do I have to choose this one as a treasure? Forgive my bluntness, but I don't see anything special about it."

"What makes this treasure special is that anyone who sees it wants to possess it, yet can never break it!"

"Oh?" The king strolled over to the treasure and admired it closely.

The dancers, standing silently around the vase and becoming one with it, began to sing again:

"The king saw his people, he saw new territories, he saw countless treasures of gold and silver; he could not break through them."

"I truly cannot break this terrible treasure; it is cursed! It will bring curse and disaster to our kingdom!" The king retreated in terror, then angrily ordered, "Guards, drag the navigator overboard! Execute him!"

The navigator cried for help and was dragged off the stage by the armored knights.

“I cannot break it. If this awful vase remains here, our nation will be cursed and doomed. My children, which of you can break it?”

"Whoever can break it will become the new king!"

"A new king! Smash the vase and become the new king—" As the chorus sang, the eldest prince, Gu Minxing, stepped forward.

The eldest prince blindfolded himself and tried to smash the vase with a stick, but he couldn't hit it no matter what he did while blindfolded. And if he knew where the vase was, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The second prince, Le Jing, put the treasure into two unseen boxes, intending to randomly choose one to break, but he could never pick the right one.

He angrily pointed at the bottle and shouted, "This vase is indeed cursed!"

The Third Prince Ankexin wanted to throw it from the sky, but he couldn't; he couldn't let go.

The fourth prince, Ye Zhixi, said he hoped the king would give him the vase, and he would leave the country with the vase, while also giving up the throne.

The king saw through him and said, "Your courage is only temporary and will not last. After you get this vase, you will want more and more things."

No one noticed that the fourth prince was secretly poisoning the king's wine cup at that moment.

The seventh prince, Qin Feng, was terrified because no matter who became emperor, his fate would not be good.

The lights dimmed again, symbolizing the Seventh Prince's inner world: "What should I do? Perhaps I can ask my cat friend for help?"

The kitten, played by Song Chuchu, hopped and skipped onto the stage.

"My dear cat friend, can you break that vase and end this curse?"

Song Chuchu wore cat ears and drew cat whiskers, imitating cat movements, saying, "Leave it to me, I'll sweep it off with my tail."

"Humans will be affected by its curse, but animals will not."

The fifth prince, Lu Yun, kept trying but failed. The king then dismissed him and let the sixth prince try.

"No, I haven't failed yet, I haven't!" the fifth prince roared, drawing his sword and, in a fit of rage, stabbed the king, killing him.

The palace servants fled, creating chaos. The princes fought each other in pairs, and eventually, each of them was stabbed multiple times and fell to the ground dead.

The seventh prince, who had been hiding, became the final survivor and ascended the throne amidst the singing.

The cat said, "My dear new king, I will now break the vase to lift this curse for you!"

The Seventh Prince arrogantly declared, "No, this treasure is mine now. You cannot break it! Guards, seize the cat and lock it up!"

The dancers began to sing again, "Treasures from the distant East, offered to the one and only king, the most crimson pigment, the purest white porcelain, do not underestimate its allure, the new king is already deeply in love, deeply in love—"

As the song played, the seventh prince coldly picked up the king's wine cup, drank the poisoned wine, and quickly died from the poison.

The play ends, the curtain falls, and the sound of a violin rises, concluding the story of a desolate kingdom... with Lee Yong-hyun playing the violin.

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"Wow..." Luo Xi didn't know how to describe it, and could only sigh deeply.

"Really? It's really good, isn't it?" An Kexin said happily when he saw Luo Xi's expression.

"Although I don't understand it, it feels very profound! Is it trying to convey some kind of moral or principle? The ending gives that feeling."

"It seems to be themed around curses." An Kexin couldn't quite put his finger on it either. "It's something like not being too competitive for fame and fortune? But that doesn't quite seem right... loving cats?"

"A vase can incite desires; that's the curse this show is designed to incite," Lee Yong-hyun suddenly said, unable to bear it any longer.

"He acted very well, not awkward at all. Hua Ge's acting is really good!" Song Wenchen and Le Jing said from the other side.

Shen Yunhao chimed in, "Yeah, what's awkward about it? Hua-ge is good at everything."

Le Jing scratched her head and said, "I get really distracted when I see myself acting, haha. And compared to Teacher Chen Ying, I'm really not good enough. We rehearsed for so many days, and this is the best take."

Annika rubbed her chin, pondering the meaning of the show. "This variety show is also about desire. The last murder mystery show was also about desire..."

“Yes, both variety shows featured a ‘vase’—that’s the treasure.” Mai finally sat down and spoke her first words in front of everyone, trying her best to blend in as she discussed with Annika whether the vase was a spoiler for the show’s later episodes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the long table, Lu Yun, Zhang Shuaizhen, Lin Sheng, and others were laughing and joking about Lu Yun's appearance, saying that Lu Yun had applied too much powder and his face and neck were two different colors. They were also imitating Lu Yun's crazy actions in the play, and the group was having a great time.