Pear Garden Opera Troupe
Their eyes met, and after a moment of silence, the short, pink-faced man jumped up first, shouting in a loud voice, "A monster! A monster! A monster!"
Yan Dan was furious. She was just a little disheveled and her clothes were a little dirty. How did she look like a monster? These two mortals—well, let's just say they were mortals for now—had faces painted like white walls and cheeks brushed like monkey butts. How dare they call her a monster with such makeup? It was outrageous!
The short man shouted twice, his voice high-pitched and shrill, as he stumbled and squeezed through the small door, yelling all the way: "A monster! A monster covered in green liquid is falling from the sky—!"
Yan Dan took a shaky step forward and stretched out a hand. The tall man, who had been frozen in place, suddenly stumbled back, slamming into the wall with a thud. He gripped the broom beside the wall, his hand and foot trembling, and stammered, "You...you are...what kind of...what kind of demon are you, daring to...cause such trouble here?!"
Yan Dan glared angrily. Why were these mortals so convinced that she was a demon, instead of a fairy who had fallen to this place? Although she wasn't anymore, she had been a fairy for hundreds of years.
Suddenly, she heard several heavy footsteps approaching. Yan Dan's eyes widened as she saw a burly man with his face painted in black and red greasepaint, wielding a large blue dragon broadsword, shouting at her, "What kind of monster dares to come here?"
Yan Dan mustered all her strength and shouted loudly, "I am not a monster!"
With a clang, the Azure Dragon Greatsword slammed to the ground, sending dust flying. It was clearly a genuine large sword, not one of those hollowed-out pieces used for show. If she were to be cut by this sword… Yan Dan's lips twitched; the consequences were something she didn't even want to think about. A pale face slowly emerged from behind the burly man—it was the short man who had jumped away in fright earlier: "You…you're really not a monster?"
"Don't, don't listen to her nonsense! Monsters always say they're not monsters!" The tall one was pressed against the wall, trembling.
Yan Dan lay on the ground, her heart filled with unspeakable bitterness. Suddenly, she felt a gentle touch of cloth brushing against her face. Looking up, she saw the burly man pulling on the long sleeve of the taller man and wiping her face. He laughed heartily and said, "You must be a little girl who ran away from home. You've gotten yourself all dirty."
Yan Dan nodded gratefully.
She was truly pleased to be called "little girl." When she was young, she always thought that she would grow up so that she wouldn't be looked down upon. But now that she's older, she wants to act younger.
"If I get these clothes dirty, the troupe leader will scold me to death..." the tall man said with a mournful face.
"Don't worry, once the troupe leader sees this little girl, he'll forget he was going to scold you." The burly man chuckled.
"However, it's a bit late for her to start learning kung fu now, so she's not as good as us who started from a young age."
"What does it matter? These days, men like this kind of look—fair-skinned, delicate, and fresh-faced..."
Yan Dan couldn't help but wonder, what exactly did these people do? Were they human traffickers, or managers of brothels?
As it turned out, she had no connection with the human traffickers and brothel madams she had been so obsessed with.
She emerged from the gates of hell, landing right outside the door of a theatrical troupe in Tongcheng. Tongcheng is in the north; further north lies a desolate desert, sparsely populated with only vast mountains. Those mountains are called Yelan, their main peak extremely high, perpetually covered in snow. Had she been unlucky enough to fall there, she would truly have frozen and starved to death.
At this time, the world was divided into three kingdoms, and Tongcheng was located within the territory of Southern Chu. The capital of Southern Chu was Nandu, and judging from the longing Min Liu expressed when talking about Nandu, it must have been a beautiful and prosperous place.
Min Liu was the short girl who had jumped away in fright when she saw her that day. When she washed off the face paint, Yan Danzai looked at her carefully for a while. This girl was very beautiful, especially her eyes, which were like glass and shone brightly.
Yan Dan couldn't quite appreciate the makeup of the mortal world's Langtai Pear Garden, feeling it was a waste of Min Liu's beautiful appearance.
As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Yan Dan spent two or three months recuperating at the opera troupe before she could even walk a few steps. While she was recovering, the troupe leader made room for her to stay. She slept on a hard wooden plank bed with a cloth on top, which extended her recovery time from two months to three. Besides that, she was never short of three meals a day. Sometimes, when the troupe performed and received rewards from the wealthy master, she would also receive some fresh fruit and candied snacks. Yan Dan was very grateful.
When she was able to walk again, the troupe leader took out an abacus and calculated with her how much money she owed, and how much money would be generated if that money were put in a money exchange. He asked her whether she wanted to write to her family to come and pick her up, or stay in the troupe to do odd jobs to pay off her debts.
Yan Dan was penniless, had nothing of value, and had no family, so she had no choice but to choose the latter.
The troupe leader was very satisfied. He clapped his hands and called out, "Hanjing, come here." A graceful figure walked in and said softly, "Troupe leader, what brings you here?"
Yan Dan was greatly disappointed. When she first heard the name and saw the figure and the way he walked, she thought he was some kind of stunning beauty. But when she got closer, she realized that he was actually a man. She couldn't help but think that the mortal world was truly a strange place. Back in the Heavenly Court, she often complained that Bai Lian Ling Jun was too flashy and not manly enough. Now she realized that compared to this man, Bai Lian Ling Jun was definitely the man among men.
Lost in thought, she was suddenly pinched on the cheek several times by the man named Han Jing. Before she could even get angry, he said expressionlessly, "Your skin is alright, it's not difficult to put on makeup."
Yan Dan breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out he wasn't flirting with her.
The troupe leader was even more satisfied and nodded, saying, "Sing her a simple line first, let's hear the tone of your voice."
Han Jing turned to Yan Dan expressionlessly: "I'll sing a line from 'Linjiang Xian,' and you sing it after me." Without waiting for Yan Dan's reply, he gently flicked his sleeve, his watery eyes lowered slightly, his waist swayed gently, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, like a touch of crimson in a garden full of spring colors: "The most alluring thing is a touch of spring colors that lasts through the years, a pool of jade in the misty river, peonies on the broken painted beams, willow leaves drooping gently, my heart seems to be pulled..." He danced with his sleeves, slowly bent down, and gently rolled up his long sleeves. Although the song had ended, the lingering sound was still faint.
Yan Dan stared in disbelief. She really... really couldn't appreciate a man's delicate and frail demeanor. These few lines of the song, sung with such a melancholy and sorrow, made her shiver involuntarily. The troupe leader coughed and said, "What, didn't you listen carefully just now? Han Jing, sing it again."
Yan Dan hurriedly stopped her, "No, no, no, I heard it. This, cough, brother sang so well that I was completely absorbed." Before she could finish her sentence, Han Jing glared at her, and she immediately got goosebumps again. "I sang, cough cough... that, 'The peony on the painted beam is pale, the willow leaves droop lightly, my heart seems to be pulled...'"
The troupe leader sighed, "Forget it, it's good enough if you can recite a few lines with this aptitude." Yan Dan felt that apart from her voice trembling a little, she was doing quite well, but she didn't expect the troupe leader to think she lacked aptitude, so she couldn't help but ask, "Then what should I do in the future?"
"You seem to come from a good family. Can you read?"
Yan Dan said with great pride, "Of course I can read." Although she dared not boast that she knew every single word in the world, there was absolutely no word she didn't recognize in everyday use.
The troupe leader nodded: "Then help write some couplets, and while you're at it, sort out the accounts. You'll also need to run errands for serving water and tea under the stage."
Watching the troupe leader and Han Jing leave, Yan Dan touched her cheek, puzzled: "Was my singing really that bad?"
“It’s not that it’s unpleasant to listen to, but,” Min Liu poked her head in from the doorway, her eyes sparkling, and said with a grin, “it’s extremely, extremely unpleasant to listen to.”
"..." Yan Dan was greatly shocked.
“Hey, I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s a shame you sing so badly. Hua Hanjing is such a cunning guy. If you were better than him, he would definitely bully you.” Min Liu walked over, tugged at her sleeve, and circled around her. “If you were a little taller and fuller, you would be a beauty.”
Yan Dan was very frustrated. She was already this age, and all the features she was supposed to have were there; she probably couldn't improve herself any further.
So Yan Dan learned to be an ordinary person, busy doing odd jobs in the opera troupe.
The burly man carrying the Green Dragon Crescent Blade that she had seen that day was Zhao Qi, a martial arts performer in the opera troupe. At that time, romantic and poetic plays featuring talented scholars and beautiful women were popular, and martial arts plays were performed only a few times a year. Zhao Qi was strong and robust, so he did heavy work such as moving things. Yan Dan thought that if a senior like him could only do odd jobs, she really had nothing to complain about.
When she fell at the entrance of the opera troupe, it was late winter in the mortal world. In the blink of an eye, the chill of spring would pass, and it would be the beautiful season of warm weather and blooming flowers. She shed her heavy winter clothes and began to wear lighter ones, bustling about with her feet barely touching the ground.
With the arrival of spring, the opera troupe's business was particularly good. She took some time to sort out the accounts and noted down several entries.
"Ten thousand catkins drift, causing willow catkins to dot the scene; the jade-like beauty is exquisite, as the sun rises and sets to watch the fine rain..." Hua Hanjing's flowing sleeves danced gracefully on the stage, his makeup rather heavy, which only accentuated his stunning beauty. Yan Dan squatted by the stage, propping her chin on her hand, watching his figure in the dim light of the lanterns, slightly lost in thought.
Once you calm down and listen, you'll find that he's singing a very poignant story, although most stories like that don't have a happy ending. Hua Hanjing was the most famous female impersonator in Tongcheng, and now it seems that's truly true.
"Hey, stop looking and go pour some tea, or the troupe leader will skin you alive!" Min Liu shoved one of the two pots of hot tea into her hands. "Don't say I didn't warn you, the table on the far left is occupied by a notorious bully here. Don't mess with him. When you walk over there, lower your head so he can't see your face."
Yan Dan took the teapot and first poured tea for the table on the far left. She then lowered her head as instructed, but the wealthy man, who was surrounded by women and whose eyes were fixed on the stage, didn't even glance at her. Yan Dan poured tea for the other tables in turn. After going around the table and emptying all the teapots, she circled back to the backstage area to refill the pot.
As she hurried backstage, brushing past someone's sleeve, she suddenly caught a faint scent of lotus blossoms. Yan Dan quickly turned around and saw a figure in dark robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze. The person's hair was as black as ink, a very pleasing sight.
Yan Dan stared blankly at the man's retreating figure, as if she had seen him somewhere before. She found the sudden thought absurd, shook her head, and quickly walked backstage. Min Liu, seeing her approach, rushed over, grabbed her sleeve, and shook it: "Did you see that young man in black robes just now? The tall, slender one! I was completely stunned when I poured him tea. Such handsome features, such a refined air! I've never seen anyone so good-looking. Compared to him, Hua Hanjing is like a pile of rotten straw."
Yan Dan shook her head: "I only saw a back view."
Min Liu pulled her along, crouching low, and slipped out, pointing to an empty table in the far corner: "He was sitting there alone just now." A moment later, the young man in black returned, this time with a young woman beside him. Min Liu, carrying the teapot, took two steps forward: "I'll go check again, do you want to come with me?"
Yan Dan chuckled: "Alright, go see for yourself. I'll boil water in the back so the troupe leader won't scold me later."
Min Liu was greatly disappointed: "You really aren't going? It won't hurt to take a look."
"But he's too young, so I really have no interest in him..." No matter what the young master looked like, the thought of her age made her lose all interest.
"Young? He's definitely older than you. You're such a weirdo!" Min Liu muttered to herself, then picked up the teapot and walked over again. Yan Dan waited for the water to boil, then slowly scooped the tea into the teapot with a spoon. Looking back, she saw Min Liu's small figure standing in front of the table in the corner, but it was too far away and the night was dark, so she couldn't see anything except a few blurry shadows.
Yan Dan carried the teapot to refill the tea, but when she reached the leftmost table, she completely forgot Min Liu's previous instructions. Suddenly, the wealthy master pushed aside his concubine and pointed at her, saying, "You stand down."
Yan Dan was taken aback, then stopped and turned her head to look at him.
"What's your name? You'll come with me tonight," the man said, then looked at the servants standing to the side. "Tell their troupe leader that I'm taking this girl with me, and she'll come back tomorrow morning."
"Master Wang, this...this is not good. Yan Dan is still young and doesn't understand..." Zhao Qi rushed over, wiped his hands on his clothes, and spoke cautiously.
Master Wang slammed his hand on the table: "Get out of the way! Do you think I need to teach me how to do things?"
"But--"
Yan Dan stepped forward and slowly bowed, "I wonder when you wish to let me come with you, Master Wang?" She smiled slightly and said in a gentle tone, "I can come with you anytime."
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