Turning point
The situation is very tense. Qingxiao's words have successfully aroused the troupe leader's suspicion. Although Jiang Yingyue's kung fu is enough to fight the two of them, she must come up with a reason that will not arouse suspicion in order to avoid trouble.
“Because I am indeed not a member of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, nor did I come here to find you,” Jiang Yingyue replied. “This jade token should belong to someone in your opera troupe.”
Qingxiao drew his short sword half an inch from its sheath again: "Make your story more believable. We at Jinghuatai never get involved in the affairs of the martial world, and we certainly don't have any members of the Heavenly Dao Alliance."
Just as things seemed to have reached a stalemate again, cheers erupted from outside, indicating that the performance was over.
"Master Yantang! Today's performance was very well received!" A girl who looked to be about ten years old skipped in, and upon seeing the three of them, she asked with a puzzled look, "And who is this?"
Yan Tang's expression was inscrutable. He only thought for a moment before replying, "Guest."
Qingxiao was clearly taken aback by what he heard and was about to speak up to stop her, but Yantang cut him off: "I need to talk to her alone. You take them and count the reward money, and buy some candied hawthorns for Xiao Que'er while you're at it."
Seeing the troupe leader's request, Qingxiao didn't dare say anything more in front of the child. He just whispered a threat in Jiang Yingyue's ear: "If you dare to hurt him, your head will be on the stage tomorrow."
Afterwards, Jiang Yingyue followed Yan Tang to his room. All the way, she kept wondering: what exactly did this troupe leader want to say to her? The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. After all, she didn't want to be misunderstood. If she offended this opera troupe as soon as she arrived in Hangzhou, it would probably be difficult to find out anything later.
As soon as Yan Tang entered, he shakily sat down, holding onto a chair. He seemed to be very ill. Jiang Yingyue carefully examined his face; if he hadn't been tormented by illness, his face would have been worthy of the title "beauty."
He coughed for a while before asking Jiang Yingyue, "May I ask, young lady, what do you think about this jade pendant that belongs to someone from the Mirror Flower Terrace?"
Jiang Yingyue was taken aback at first: "You...don't you suspect that I'm a member of the Heavenly Dao Alliance?"
"Heh." Yan Tang chuckled, his expression gentle, showing no sign of aggression. "The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Alliance are all arrogant and domineering, wishing they could trample on everyone else. You don't have that kind of spirit."
Jiang Yingyue breathed a sigh of relief, took out the jade pendant from her sleeve, and gently stroked the edge with her fingertips: "Just now backstage, there was half a footprint with cinnabar on it next to this jade pendant." She looked up at Yantang, "Who else in the opera troupe could have stepped in cinnabar besides the performers?"
“There are quite a few people who chase after us backstage wanting to give us gifts, and the troupe members are constantly moving around, so it’s not impossible that coincidences could happen.” Yan Tang answered cautiously, clearly not wanting to cause a major upheaval in the troupe based on Jiang Yingyue’s one-sided account.
"To be honest, I only saw the person playing Sun Ruquan on stage by chance, but he fled in a panic. You can ask him later, Master. He probably didn't come on stage for the final curtain call. I found this jade pendant when I chased him backstage." Jiang Yingyue told Yantang what she had seen and heard, hoping that the other party could at least tell her the identity of that person.
Yan Tang coughed violently, her pale face flushing an unnatural red, and it took her a long time to calm down: "His identity is very important to you?"
"Yes." Jiang Yingyue answered without hesitation. After all, that might be the breakthrough point in her investigation. She had the entire Mingyue Sect on her shoulders, so how could she let it go? "Since the troupe leader is willing to talk to me, it proves that you are not an unreasonable person."
“I am willing to believe you are right.” Yan Tang looked into Jiang Yingyue’s eyes, her emotions becoming very complicated. “But you should know after listening for so long that Jinghuatai is now like me, its fate is nearing its end. And the person you mentioned is someone who can play the lead role. I can’t risk the fate of the entire team to help you investigate.”
Jiang Yingyue could sense Yan Tang's helplessness. He was a kind person, but he had no choice but to bow to reality. Thinking of this, Jiang Yingyue looked at Yan Tang in front of her for some reason, and then recalled the conversation between the old man and the person behind the scenes: "The Ye family."
"What did you say?" Yan Tang was clearly stunned.
"If we invite you to perform at the Ye family's opera, will things change?"
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