"Old sir, before and after the sinking of the White Family Troupe’s boat, have there been any other incidents with troupes in town? Like, has any famous actress suddenly disappeared?" Yang Xiao was not yet disheartened.
The old accountant stroked his goatee, pondered for a long while, then shook his head, "I haven’t heard of such a thing. Famous actresses are the gold nuggets of their respective troupes, they can’t just have accidents willy-nilly."
No sooner had the old accountant finished speaking than a discordant voice rang out, "That’s not necessarily the case. With all the precautions in the world, it’s hardest to guard against a thief within one’s own household, heh heh. It’s hard to quell a springti heart; pretty boys too are hard to guard against, hahaha!"
A drunk man, reeling from his intoxication, staggered over from another table, his face flushed red and reeking of alcohol.
Upon seeing this man, the old accountant’s face turned sour, but out of politeness, he still got up and offered a forced smile, "Oh, Fourth Master Diao, what is wrong with my eyesight not to notice you here?"
"Heh, that rabble at Bai Family Stage deserved to die. What’s so special about Xi Yao? For to ask her to accompany was doing them a favor, and she dares to act all high and mighty, pah!"
"A bunch of riff-raff, actually thinking they’re sobody! If it weren’t for Ms. Chun running off with soone... Xi Yao that wench wouldn’t even have the chance to play lead roles. Dead, good riddance!"
As the man’s cursing grew more and more offensive, his friends at the table hurriedly ca over to pull him away, with one conscientious friend continuously apologizing to Yang Xiao and his companion, "Gentlen, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. He’s had too much to drink, talking nonsense. Please don’t let him spoil your mood."
After the man was dragged away, the old accountant sat down with a displeased expression, indicating that this was not the first ti sothing like this had happened.
"Who is this Ms. Chun he ntioned?" Yang Xiao quickly picked up on the na from the man’s rant.
The old accountant sighed, "That’s ancient history now. Bai Family Stage is the na around the neighborhood. In the industry, they’re known as Chunxi Troupe, one Chun and one Xi. This Chun refers to Ms. Chun, and Xi refers to Xi Yao. They used to be the mainstays of Chunxi Troupe, but... but then..."
Yang Xiao had also heard Master Feng ntion the na Chunxi Troupe before, but hadn’t given it much thought amongst pressing matters. Now it seed like a significant issue, "What happened then?" Yang Xiao took out another piece of silver, sliding it across to the old accountant.
Unexpectedly, the old accountant gave a wry smile, shook his head, and pushed the silver back, "That’s not what I ant. It’s just that it’s a difficult topic. Ms. Chun... Ms. Chun got involved with a young pretty boy who often ca to watch the plays, you know. This business really frowns upon such ssy affairs. Enraged, Master Bai kicked Ms. Chun out. Later, I heard that the pretty boy was quite the scoundrel — gambling, womanizing, you na it. They lived a quiet life for a few years, and then Ms. Chun died."
"There was another Ms. Chun in the White Family Troupe, why didn’t you ntion her before?" Su Tingting eyed the old accountant critically, nearly missing a crucial lead.
The old accountant gave a bitter smile, "That was so many years ago. It’s been 4 or 5 years since the White Family Troupe split, and after Ms. Chun was kicked out, she never showed her face in town again, nor did she perform. It’s been at least 15 or 16 years."
A chill ran through Yang Xiao’s heart, thinking it must be her. The ti between Ms. Chun’s expulsion from the White Family Troupe and their boat capsizing in the river was about 5 or 6 years, which matched the age of the child.
And since she was also cultivated by the White Family Troupe, and was a mainstay just like Xi Yao, it stood to reason her singing skills were on par with Xi Yao’s. Using her to impersonate Xi Yao, Master Bai had played a cunning ga.
However, he still needed to confirm one thing,, how exactly did Ms. Chun die?
"Old sir, how did Ms. Chun die?" Yang Xiao asked, feigning curiosity, "Do you know the exact ti?"
"This..." The old accountant pondered for a mont, shaking his head with difficulty while glancing at the next table, then lowered his voice, "Gentlen, I’m not familiar with Ms. Chun, but I know she lived with that pretty boy in Crouching Tiger Manor, about a dozen miles away from here. Moreover, the man at that table wearing the blue silk clothes is Master Zhou, who resides in Crouching Tiger Manor. Every few days he cos to our town to transport and sell mountain goods, an outspoken and understanding man. With your abilities, it wouldn’t be hard to get information from him."
Having said this, the old accountant stood up, cupped his hands in a bow to Yang Xiao and Su Tingting, and politely said with a smile, "Gentlen, please enjoy your al and drink, I’ll be getting back to work."
Su Tingting was anxious to ask the old accountant more questions and tried to stop him, but Yang Xiao pulled her back, "Don’t bother, he’s sharp. Seeing that we asked too many questions, he knows we aren’t here just to watch the play. Fearing trouble, he slipped away first. An old hand at this."
After the waiter brought up the dishes, Yang Xiao left one plate for Su Tingting and urged her to fill her stomach quickly, then took a plate of vinegar fish to another table.
Placing the vinegar fish on the table, and following Yang Xiao’s instructions, the waiter brought a bottle of fine wine. Yang Xiao looked at the people at the table and said with a smile, "There’s no greater joy than the joy shared with others. Would you mind if I join in the fun?"
Originally, there were four people at this table, eating almost entirely vegetarian dishes and drinking low-grade wine. With the arrival of Yang Xiao, the quality imdiately increased. The man dressed in the blue silk clothes stood up with a cupped fist, "My brother here made inappropriate remarks while drunk just now; how can we allow you to spend on our behalf?"
Yang Xiao laughed heartily, perfectly embodying the persona of a wealthy young master new to the jianghu, "Not at all, not at all, to et is fate. My father says, within the four seas, all n are brothers. Don’t be polite; let’s eat and talk."
A few cups in, the mouths of the people present started to loosen, and it was from Master Zhou that Yang Xiao managed to find out more about Ms. Chun.
According to him, Ms. Chun had an alright life at first after getting married, as she had sung opera for many years and had so savings. But later things took a turn for the worse. Her husband was a gambling addict who quickly squandered all her savings, and if she didn’t give him money, he would beat and curse her. The worst part was that he even used their child to blackmail her.
"They had a child?" Yang Xiao topped up Master Zhou’s wine glass, "Keep going, don’t stop!"
"Okay, okay, that’s enough." Elated to find soone to drink with, Master Zhou chugged his drink, "Where was I? Oh, right, they have a child,, a girl, quite adorable. Every ti I passed by with my cart full of goods, she’d run over and call Uncle Zhou. Alas, such a pity..."
"What happened?"
"She fell ill with her poor mother and died," Master Zhou exhaled a breath laced with the sll of alcohol, shaking his head in regret.
"When did this happen?" Yang Xiao stopped pouring wine and switched to water instead, since by this point, water and alcohol were much the sa.
Master Zhou, now sowhat fuzzy, drained the water in one gulp, still smacking his lips, recalling, "It must have been... about 10 years ago, I guess. I was quite shocked when I heard the news, especially since I had seen the child helping her mother cook and make fire just a few days before when I passed their house. How could it be that in just a few days,, two perfectly fine people were suddenly gone?"
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