Chapter 690

The backstage has always been a noisy place. It is already like this for an ordinary opera troupe's backstage, let alone today, which is the backstage for the "Flower Arena" of a Hall Gathering. The space is not much larger than a typical theater, yet there are seven or eight types of performing arts, over ten troupes, and dozens of people coming and going. They have to rush to apply makeup, change costumes, and wait for their turn. Even if no one were shouting loudly, it would already be as clamorous as a boiling pot.

Compared to the famous lead actors and troupe owners in those large opera troupes, Qiao Shuanglian is merely a drum-story performer. She has made a name for herself in the Kuan Cheng drum-story trade, but she is not yet top-tier. Being invited to such a grand Hall Gathering is already very fortunate, so naturally, she cannot get a good spot backstage. Not to mention a private room, there isn't even a chair; having a costume trunk to sit on is not easy.

At this moment, she is sitting on the trunk, using a palm-sized Copper Mirror to touch up her rouge.

The young girl learning music from her is only ten or so years old. She is dressed neatly and is serving her while holding a towel, saying, "Master, didn't you say you wouldn't do an encore? Why touch up your rouge? You'd be better off wiping your face; this rouge is bad for the skin."

Qiao Shuanglian dotted her lips with rouge and said, "Changqiu, I sometimes really don't know what kind of background you and Changxin come from. You clearly follow Sui Feng and the others, performing on the streets for a hard-earned meal, yet you know quite a lot. You even know this rouge is bad for the skin. But although there is no set for me today, who knows if they will call me to drink? This makeup cannot be ruined."

Changqiu said, "Ah, they'll still call people to drink? In this setting, surely not? I saw that they haven't called anyone over today."

Qiao Shuanglian said softly, "Yes, I hope they don't call me over today."

Just then, two servants came over carrying trays, holding boxes, and bearing wine pots. One of them said loudly, "Congratulations to Boss Qiao, you sang the drum-story well. The YoungMaster rewards you with twenty taels of silver, a pot of fine wine, and a box of snacks."

Qiao Shuanglian stood up with a face full of smiles, thanked them repeatedly, told the young girl to take them, and said, "Two brothers, please wait a moment, I will go to thank him for the reward right now."

The servant said, "No need to go over. Just take the reward; the YoungMaster didn't call for you." Qiao Shuanglian hurriedly fished out two pieces of silver from the reward money to hand over, then sent them off.

At this time, their troupe leader returned from the front, smiling as he hurried over and said, "Well done, Qiao Shuanglian, you took the lead. Of all those in front, who else got a reward? Only you. That was a beautiful performance."

Qiao Shuanglian smiled and said, "My throat was tight today, and I didn't sing well. I originally thought that as long as I didn't offend anyone, that would be enough. Perhaps I happened to please some YoungMaster's ears. The truly good actors are still to come. Where is Sui Feng? And I haven't seen A Yun either?"

The old troupe leader said, "A bit-part actor fell during a big martial arts play in the back, and they were one person short. They begged Sui Feng to save the scene, so he went. That child A Yun went to the front to watch the excitement, saying she had never seen that legendary Sword Guest and wanted to see him no matter what, and she even took Changxin along. I just went to grab her back, but the girl doesn't know where she ran off to. It just so happens that the old master has already stood up to speak, and the Sword Box has been moved up; it seems they are about to start taking out the sword. I wanted to see the result, but hearing you had a reward here, I naturally hurried back."

Qiao Shuanglian shook her head and said, "He is still such a soft-hearted person. The bit-part actors in the big plays are also professionally trained; why does he, an outsider, join in the fun? It's thankless work. If it goes smoothly, fine, but if there is any mistake on stage, they will blame him. And A Yun, this is not an occasion where people like us can run around. You, old man, still want to see the result—isn't it the same listening from backstage? If there are cheers outside, it naturally means it was a success; if there is no sound, then it didn't work. If you go to watch, it's fine if it succeeds, but if it doesn't and people see us, they might say we brought bad luck. The reward money is a small matter, but we might end up getting a beating. You are an old hand in the business; you shouldn't be unaware of this logic." While speaking, she opened the snack box to pick snacks for Changqiu and poured her a cup of wine.

The old troupe leader smiled and said, "A Yun is indeed out of line, but Sui Feng saving the scene is like fighting a fire... Eh, how old is Changqiu, is she in such a rush to drink?"

Qiao Shuanglian said, "If she isn't going to eat this bowl of rice, then she doesn't need to drink. If she is to eat this bowl of rice, how can she not know how to drink? Uncle, you also know that for drum-story, the singing accounts for four parts, being able to talk and handle affairs accounts for four parts, and the remaining two parts are drinking. She is twelve now, which is not young; in another two years, she will have to go on stage. If she doesn't drink, could it be that she wants to starve?"

Upon hearing the words "starve," Changqiu's eyes went blank, and she held the wine cup, tilted her head back, and drank it in one gulp.

The old troupe leader sighed and said, "You keep an eye on things, I'll go look for A Yun again." As he said this, he turned around, and just as he turned, he let out an "Ah!"—the sound was so loud that everyone around was startled.

Qiao Shuanglian hurriedly turned her head and saw a young man in green standing behind them, not knowing when he had arrived. His brows and eyes were smiling; if one were to speak of handsome features, it was truly the best she had ever seen in her life. Her heart gave a jolt, and she secretly thought: Which opera singer who plays female roles is this? What a handsome appearance! If he were to dress up and play the Chang'e descending to earth, it would be easy!

The old troupe leader said tremblingly, "Azhao... are you Azhao?"

He hadn't seen Azhao for four or five years. Over these years, Tang Zhao had grown from a child into a young man, and his appearance had changed quite a bit, but the feeling that his face gave people would not change.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "It's me, Sui Uncle, long time no see, have you been well?" After saying this, he ran over in two or three steps and hugged him.

The old troupe leader was extremely pleasantly surprised, took him in, and kept saying, "Very good, very good, you've grown so tall! You've grown taller than me!"

Sui Laotou was not tall to begin with, and Tang Zhao was indeed taller than him. Both were very excited to meet, speaking over each other for a moment, even being a bit incoherent. Qiao Shuanglian was a bit puzzled, then saw Changqiu watching from the side, first puzzled, then her emotions gradually becoming agitated, and she exclaimed, "You know him too? Only I don't know him."

Changqiu's eyes gradually filled with tears, and she murmured, "Brother... Brother..."

Qiao Shuanglian asked curiously, "He is your brother?"

She had long known that Changqiu and another boy, Changxin, were adopted by the Sui Family Troupe and were not surnamed Sui. Naturally, they had other relatives at home, and she also felt the two children were delicate and pretty, so their family's appearance should be quite good, but looking at them, they didn't look alike?

At this time, Tang Zhao had already asked about Sui Dage, Sui Yun, and Aunt Du. Sui Uncle told him the whereabouts of his two children, then said, "Your aunt recently found a job and went to work. It's rare that the work pays so well. How have you been? Did you pass the Scholar exam?"

Sui the troupe leader was an old hand in the business; his eyes were best at judging wealth. Looking at Tang Zhao's attire, he was definitely not poor, but not wealthy either. He was delicate and fair-skinned, looking like someone who hadn't done hard labor, which showed he was at least well-off and free from worries about food and clothing. The temperament he carried was still that scholarly air from back then; he must not have given up his studies. It seemed he had found a stable place to stand and had been studying ever since.

This was very good. Sui the troupe leader had always hoped that Tang Zhao could live such a stable life. If his own children could live such a life, it would be three generations of accumulated virtue.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "I didn't take the Scholar exam; I probably wouldn't have passed anyway. I've been... doing quite well." This was not Alie; he had basically returned the classics he studied back then to his teacher—or rather, not to Chen Zong, as Chen Zong didn't want them either.

Sui the troupe leader said, "As long as you are doing well, having food to eat and clothes to wear without suffering is better than anything. Don't be in a rush to take the Scholar exam; you are still young, take it slowly, and sooner or later you will be able to become a Zhuangyuan."

Tang Zhao thought to himself that things were even more chaotic now than a few years ago. It was clear that the world was the world of Sword Guests, and scholars didn't even have a place to put their desks. Sui Uncle was still so persistent about becoming a Zhuangyuan.

Sui the troupe leader smiled and said, "It just so happens I should introduce you. This is our troupe's Boss Qiao, Qiao Shuanglian. Our Lianhua Troupe is able to eat a hot meal all because of her. This is a little friend of ours, little Tang Zhao."

Tang Zhao bowed in greeting, thinking to himself: Good fellow, they even changed the name of the troupe to rely on others, changing it to Lianhua Troupe.

Qiao Shuanglian returned the greeting and curiously sized up this young man, thinking: This young master's temperament is definitely not just that of a little Scholar. I must have misjudged him just now; he must be a young master from a great family. Strange, they say dragons don't live with snakes, yet Sui Feng and the others actually know such a phoenix.

At this time, Changqiu suddenly shed tears and said, "It's you... where is my brother? Do you know where my brother is?"

Tang Zhao was startled, but immediately remembered something and said, "Are you asking about Wei Zhangle? Are you his younger sister?"

This girl was clearly one of the two children Wei Zhangle was carrying when they were at the ruined temple. When he left, he entrusted them to Sui Feng, and now they had grown so big.

When Tang Zhao first saw the two children, he didn't remember what they looked like; he only remembered them being skin and bones. Now, although one couldn't say they were plump, they had grown up healthy, their features slightly opened, and one could see a three-part resemblance to Wei Zhangle.

He once again marveled that the Sui family were truly good people. Before, they themselves were not wealthy, and the times were not peaceful; their own children were still hungry one meal and full the next, yet they could still raise two strange children. Good people are truly good people wherever they are.

Of course, one must also thank Boss Qiao for her care. She was so young yet was the pillar of the troupe; saying she was leading everyone to eat was no exaggeration.

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "Your brother is very well. We have been in contact these past few years, and I met him just a couple of days ago. He has been looking for you, but just couldn't find you. I will write to him now to tell him the news about you; he doesn't know how happy he will be."

Wei Zhangle should have been invited to Baiyujing along with the main force, but since the matter of the Jinwu Sword had been settled, he should be released very soon. When the time came for the siblings to reunite, it would be a rare stroke of luck for Wei Zhangle.

Changqiu nodded repeatedly with tears in her eyes; if it weren't for her experiences over these years, she would have burst into loud sobs.

Tang Zhao asked with a smile, "Zhangle should be taking the children back to Yunzhou. Uncle, do you still want to return to Yunzhou? Times have changed, and the government hasn't kept any record of you; there won't be any trouble going back. Moreover, Yunzhou is getting better and better now; in my opinion, it's better than Youzhou."

Sui Uncle was greatly moved. Although he was drifting in the world, Yunzhou was his hometown, and he had reached the age of wanting to return to his roots. He said, "We are fine, but Qiao Shuanglian is from Youzhou..."

Qiao Shuanglian immediately said, "I am also fine. I have long heard that Yunzhou is a peaceful world; what could be wrong with going there?"

It turned out that Qiao Shuanglian was very smart. Since she could see that Tang Zhao was extraordinary, she could naturally guess that Tang Zhao's proposal was not just a proposal, but a promise. If he took them to Yunzhou, he would certainly not stand idly by and would definitely provide help. This was an opportunity to change their fate. Although she could earn money by performing, the bitterness and hardship involved were not something to be told to outsiders. Now that she saw an opportunity, how could she not grasp it tightly?

Her eyes slanted slightly, seeing the eighteen taels of silver still piled on the table, and she thought: Perhaps a portion of this belongs to this young master. He is truly a thoughtful person; even when giving money, he considers people's dignity.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "That's good then. I happen to be returning to Yunzhou, and the carriages and horses are ready-made. Shall we go back together?"

Sui Uncle said happily, "Good, I also miss the mutton soup and stewed dishes of Yunzhou..."

Just at this moment, they heard the outside suddenly explode into chaos, with countless people shouting and footsteps sounding like a sudden downpour.

Tang Zhao frowned, thinking: I have already upgraded the Senior Sister's Lucky Bag, why are there still so many accidents?

Then they heard someone outside shout, "Catch the thief, catch the thief! Quickly catch the sword-stealing thief!"