Chapter 56: The Spring Joy Troupe

"Old sir, before and after the Bai Family Troupe's shipwreck, were there any other opera troupes in this town that met with trouble? For instance, did any famous female lead suddenly disappear?" Yang Xiao was still unwilling to give up.

The old accountant stroked his goat-like beard, pondered for a long while, and then shook his head. "I've never heard of such a thing. Famous, well-known leads are the golden nuggets of every troupe; how could they easily meet with trouble?"

Just as the old accountant finished speaking, a discordant voice rang out. "That's not for sure. You can guard against everything, but it's hard to guard against a thief within your own house. Hehe, a spring heart is hard to ferry, and a pretty boy is hard to guard against too, hahaha!"

A drunken man swayed his body as he walked over from another table, his face bright red and reeking of alcohol.

Upon seeing this person, the old accountant's expression immediately turned ugly, but for the sake of appearances, he still stood up and offered a forced smile. "Oh my, Fourth Master Diao, look at my eyes, how did I not notice you?"

"Heh, that bunch of lowly things at the Bai Family Gatehouse deserve to die. What does that Xi Yao think she is? For me to want her to pour a drink is giving them face, yet she still puts on airs. Bah!"

"A bunch of low-class trash, they really think they're people! If it weren't for Chun Jie running off with someone, would it... would it ever have been the turn of that little girl Xi Yao to take the lead? Die, she deserves to die!"

Seeing the man cursing more and more foully, his friends at the same table hurried over to pull him away. One of the more sensible ones kept apologizing to Yang Xiao and his companion. "The two of you, apologies, apologies. He has had too much to drink and is babbling nonsense. Don't let it disturb your enjoyment."

After the man was dragged away, the old accountant sat down looking displeased; it seemed this kind of thing had happened more than once before.

"Who is the Chun Jie he mentioned?" Yang Xiao had keenly captured this name from the man's words.

The old accountant sighed. "That was a very long time ago. 'Bai Family Gatehouse' is just a name used by the locals; their trade name was the Spring Joy Troupe. One 'Spring', one 'Joy'—this 'Spring' was Chun Jie, and 'Joy' was Xi Yao. A long time ago, they were both the pillars of the Spring Joy Troupe, but... but later..."

Yang Xiao had also heard the name Spring Joy Troupe mentioned by Master Feng, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time as he was busy. Now, it seemed there was a major problem. "What happened later?" Yang Xiao took out another piece of silver and pushed it toward the old accountant.

Unexpectedly, the old accountant gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and pushed the silver back untouched. "That's not what I meant, it's just that this story isn't easy to tell. This Chun Jie... this Chun Jie privately got involved with a pretty boy who often came to listen to the opera. You know, this trade is most sensitive to such messy affairs. Master Bai, in a fit of rage, drove Chun Jie out. Later, I heard that the pretty boy wasn't a good sort either—he was into drinking, gambling, and whoring, and didn't live a peaceful life for more than a few years before Chun Jie died."

"The Bai Family Troupe had another Chun Jie, so why didn't you say so just now?" Su Tingting stared at the old accountant, nearly causing them to miss something important.

The old accountant gave a bitter smile. "How many years ago was that? The Bai Family Troupe split up four or five years ago. After Chun Jie was driven out, she never showed her face in town again, nor did she ever sing opera again. Thinking about it, it must have been at least fifteen or sixteen years."

Yang Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He thought it must be her. From the time Chun Jie was driven out of the Bai Family Troupe to the time the Bai Family Troupe's ship capsized in the river and everyone died, there was an interval of about five or six years, which matched the child's age.

Moreover, since they were both trained by the Bai Family Troupe and were both pillars alongside Xi Yao, he imagined her singing skills wouldn't be inferior to the latter. Using her to impersonate Xi Yao—Master Bai really had a clever scheme.

However, he still needed to confirm one point: exactly how did this Chun Jie die?

"Old sir, how did Chun Jie die?" Yang Xiao asked, feigning curiosity. "Do you know the specific time?"

"This..." The old accountant thought for a moment, shook his head with great difficulty, glanced at the table next to them, and then lowered his voice. "Two masters, I'm not familiar with this Chun Jie, but I do know that she and that pretty boy lived in Crouching Tiger Manor, about ten-plus miles from here. Also, that Master Zhou wearing the blue silk clothes at that table lives in Crouching Tiger Manor. Every few days, he comes to our town to transport and sell mountain goods. He is a reasonable and forthright man. With your abilities, it shouldn't be hard to get information out of him."

After speaking, the old accountant stood up, bowed to Yang Xiao and Su Tingting, and said politely with a smile, "Two masters, eat and drink well, I'm going back to work."

Su Tingting was anxious and wanted to stop the old accountant to ask a few more questions, but she was pulled back by Yang Xiao. "Don't waste your effort. This man is sharp. Seeing us ask so many questions, he knows we aren't here just to watch the opera. He's worried about inviting trouble, so he's slipping away. He's an old hand."

After the waiter brought the dishes, Yang Xiao left one plate for Su Tingting and told her to fill her stomach quickly, then carried a plate of vinegar fish to the other table himself.

Placing the vinegar fish on the table, the waiter followed Yang Xiao's instructions and brought a bottle of fine wine. Yang Xiao looked at the group and smiled. "Enjoying things alone is not as good as enjoying them with others. Do you mind if I join in the fun?"

There were originally four people at this table, eating almost entirely vegetarian dishes, and the wine was also of low quality. Once Yang Xiao arrived, the level of the meal immediately improved. The man in the blue silk clothes stood up and cupped his hands. "Brother, my brother was drunk and said the wrong thing just now. How could we trouble you to spend your money?"

Yang Xiao laughed heartily, bringing the persona of a wealthy young man new to the world to life. "No matter, no matter. Meeting is fate. My father said that all within the four seas are brothers. Don't be polite, let's eat and chat."

After a few cups of wine, the men at the table had no filter. It was from this Master Zhou that Yang Xiao learned the news about Chun Jie.

According to him, after Chun Jie married, life was initially passable. After all, Chun Jie had sung opera for so many years and had some savings. But later, it went downhill. Her husband was a gambler who soon lost all of Chun Jie's savings. If Chun Jie wouldn't give him money, he would beat or scold her. The worst part was that he even used their child to threaten her.

"They had a child?" Yang Xiao filled Master Zhou's wine cup. "Continue, don't stop!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Master Zhou, finding a kindred spirit in his cups, gulped it down again. "Where was I? Oh, right, right, they had a child. It was... it was a girl, quite cute. Every time she saw me passing by with my cart, she would run over and call me Uncle Zhou. Sigh, it's a pity..."

"What happened?"

"She caught a terrible illness along with her poor mother and died." Master Zhou exhaled a breath of alcohol and shook his head with great regret.

"When did this happen?" Yang Xiao stopped pouring wine and switched to water; in any case, by this point, the water and wine were about the same.

Master Zhou, dazed, downed the water in one gulp and smacked his lips, recalling, "It must have been... it must have been ten years ago. I was quite shocked when I heard the news. After all, a few days before, I had passed by their courtyard and seen the child helping her mother cook. How could two perfectly fine people suddenly be gone after just a few days?"