Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 66: A Thousand Flowers Fall in the Music Hall

"Is it really safe for you to come here like this?" When Guan Yin mentioned that he was going to the Jiaofang, Cheng Heng's first reaction was worry. "I remember that you don't have the memory of your original body either. Those people have lived with your original body for so many years..."

"no need to worry."

The original body had already left the music academy openly, and had never lost contact with the good sisters there, who helped her a lot in secret - Guan Yin did not think that he would encounter any danger on this trip.

"If they talk to you about the past, what will you say?"

"I will only ask the girl about her lover... I will not go back to ask about the rest."

Guan Yin said this, but Cheng Heng didn't agree. Time can make the former take the initiative, and emotion will certainly make Guan Yin do something risky.

"After studying for so many years, you have to take the teacher qualification exam. This road you have taken is not easy at all."

Guan Yin, who was about to leave without caring about anything, stopped because of Cheng Heng's words. The two of them were silent for a long while, and Guan Yin turned around and said, "Yeah."

Guan Yin didn't know where the Music Academy was, but Liu Jiaoan knew. As the latter led Guan Yin there, Guan Yin kept thinking back to when he heard Cheng Heng's words. He felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

It did not extinguish Guan Yin's desire to get to the bottom of the matter and clear his original father's name, but it did make Guan Yin tremble all over and wake up.

No matter what you want to do, the first thing you have to do is to protect your own life.

There he had studied for more than ten years, his parents were looking forward to his return, and there was the identity he had been pursuing since he was a child... Guan Yin finally realized that he had been deeply moved by the people and things here!

"You two are here to..." It was not the first time that Liu Jiaoan dressed up as a man, and Guan Yin was even more familiar with it. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the music school, someone came to greet them.

"Looking for Miss Lingxiao from your place."

"You two are here to look for Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao's throat has been uncomfortable these days, so I'm afraid he can't sing well..."

"Does your throat hurt?" It is said that nowadays the teaching houses sell art instead of body, but what else can art be? It is nothing but singing and dancing.

I have a sore throat and can't make money. Ling Xiao's life will probably not be easy. Guan Yin is even more anxious now - let alone whether Ling Xiao's sweetheart can really pass the imperial examination, based on the relationship between the original body and Ling Xiao, he can't just sit there and watch.

"Yes, I believe you two have come here to listen to Miss Ling Xiao sing, right?"

"Ms. Ling Xiao has not been feeling well these past two days. You two should ask her to take a good rest and wait until another day..."

"Hey, hey, hey? What are you doing in there now?"

"Let them in." It was Ling Xiao who spoke. Although Guan Yin had never seen the former, he could tell that behind Ling Xiao's slightly hoarse voice, there should be another clear and melodious voice.

"it is good……"

Ling Xiao agreed himself, and the child at the door stopped trying to stop him. The pride on his face had mostly faded away, leaving only speculation about the identities of the two people in front of him. He looked them up and down for a long time, but couldn't figure out anything.

As soon as the two of them reached the door of Ling Xiao's house, the latter had already driven away the rather impolite child: "Go and do your own thing, don't look at the guests casually."

Guan Yin and Liu Jiaoan entered the house, and another girl stood at the door and closed it. Guan Yin had some impression of this girl, because she was the one who came to him that day wearing a rather shabby men's suit and holding the handwritten letter from Ling Xiao.

"Sister Yin, is this... the young man from that day?"

"Sister, you clearly know that she is also a girl."

Ling Xiao didn't care about the inattention in the words of the people in his room. On his slightly pale face, a smile washed away the original fatigue: "The child came after Sister Yin left, so he didn't recognize Sister."

"Nothing." Guan Yin certainly didn't care. The purpose of her trip was very clear. She came here for Ling Xiao and her lover. Other things had nothing to do with her. "Your throat is..."

"Sister Yin knows that I often lose my voice when I have my period." Ling Xiao did not doubt Guan Yin, and his soft sigh was only directed at his own fate. He was weak since childhood, but fortunately he had a good face. He was sold to the music school by his family. If it were not for the sisters here, he would probably not be alive until now.

"Have a good rest."

"Um……"

Another girl in the room had gone to make tea, and Ling Xiao took this opportunity to draw her eyebrows and eyes and dress herself up: "If I had known Sister Yin was coming, I should have dressed up properly."

"I wonder what's the matter with Sister Yin coming to see me?" Who said that women dress up to show off to men? Ling Xiao respected herself and her original body, so she would dress herself up for her sister Yin Yun.

The girl in front of him looked much more beautiful than the first time he saw her. Guan Yin wanted to know how free she would be if she didn't have to work in the academy.

But Guan Yin couldn't even save himself, let alone the girls in the music school? Guan Yin had no money to redeem the girls, let alone to support Ling Xiao.

So what Guan Yin could do was to let the truth bring him what he deserved. By then, even if he wanted to do something else, it would be very easy. So Guan Yin stopped wasting time and told Miss Ling Xiao about his situation: "I came here to ask for something."

"Is there anything I can do to help Sister Yin?" Ling Xiao was obviously a little surprised. In her eyes, Sister Yin Yun was like a god in the sky, able to live her own life, and like the stars in the sky, able to illuminate everything around her... Would such a person also have something to ask for? Was there anything she could help with?
"If there is anything I can do, please feel free to tell me, Sister Yin."

"Have you heard that there is a woman in this music house who sells herself to bury her father?"

"Of course I know..." Ling Xiao quickly reacted and looked at the person in front of him with a sharp gaze, "So that woman is Sister Yin?"

"Yes."

"My father was involved in an important case back then, and the housekeeper fell into poverty overnight. In order to bury my father, I had no choice but to sell myself to this teaching house. Later, I made a living by writing plays and became the Sister Yin you mentioned." Guan Yin pieced together these old stories from the words of Cheng Jianwei and Liu Jiaoan.

Liu Jiaoan said: It was an ordinary farewell, but she didn't expect that when they met again, he would be a woman dressed as a man. She didn't recognize the 'Mr. Yin Yunshan' in the music studio at first sight.

Cheng Jianwei said that he regretted not finding his adopted sister earlier...

There are too many "regrets" in life, and we can look back to the past and realize that people at that time had already made the most correct and reasonable choice.

"So what does Sister Yin want me to do?" Ling Xiao had blind confidence in his 'Sister Yin Yun'.

Sister Yin Yun is a good person, so her family must be good people as well. Father Guan was involved in an important case, and I’m afraid Sister Yin Yun must be extremely sad - it would be great if her injustice could be cleared!
But what can I do? Ling Xiao couldn't think of what a little singing girl like me could do. "I have an unreasonable request."

"Sister Yin, please feel free to speak." Sister Yin has helped him so much, so why would he refuse just one unreasonable request? Even if it was ten or a hundred, Ling Xiao felt that he should not refuse the person in front of him.

"If your lover will not betray you in the future, I hope he can look for the files from that year without involving you." Guan Yin certainly hoped that the scholar would not be an ungrateful person, but when he said this, Guan Yin himself was seven points of doubt in his heart.

"Uh……"

Listening to Guan Yin's words, Ling Xiao was stunned for a moment, not because this matter was difficult to handle, but because he felt it was natural: "Of course."

"My husband borrowed money from my sister to go to Beijing for the imperial examination. His writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone were all given to me by the sisters in the music school because they were afraid that I would suffer."

Ling Xiao saw it clearly. The girls in the music school kept reminding Ling Xiao: A man's mouth is the most untrustworthy thing.

On the other hand, because he was worried that Ling Xiao would suffer, he handed the rare extra money in his hand to Ling Xiao, but he also had to take the latter's feelings into consideration, so as not to make it look like a condescending charity.

"Okay, then I'll write about Sister Ling Xiao first."

The tea was ready, and Ling Xiao obviously had no intention of letting Guan Yin and Liu Jiaoan leave. The three of them sat down, and the girl in the room also sat down. Four cups of tea were half full, and Guan Yin began to chat.

"The matter between Sister Ling Xiao and that scholar..."

"Mom caught Sister Ling Xiao and sent the scholar away, and beat her severely with a few sticks. Sister Ling Xiao couldn't get out of bed for three days!" Ling Xiao hesitated and didn't say anything. The little girl added, "I think mom is really cruel. Sister Ling Xiao relies on her voice, but she beat her severely like that!"

In fact, Guan Yin could understand the thoughts of the mother in the music school.

In the music troupe where "art is sold but not body", their own singing girl got together with a scholar. In the eyes of people of that era, there was no difference between this and having an affair with a lady from an aristocratic family without a matchmaker.

Or even worse... it is possible that all the girls in the music school were secretly molested.

To put it in another context, the role of the Jiaofang mother is no different from that of a celebrity's agent. If a celebrity under their contract has a scandal, the company will have to bear the rest of the impact, and of course they need to make an example of one person to warn others.

"Neither is my mother..."

"What's good about it? It's just that you, Ling Xiao, are soft-hearted. If it were me..."

The girl's reckless words were finally choked back by the gazes of the three people. This time, she learned to shut up and sit aside to drink tea. The little girl hadn't opened her mouth yet, and her slightly chubby hands holding the cup were also very cute.

Everyone knew that the girl was doing this for Ling Xiao's own good. She seemed a little angry at this time, but it was better for her to talk it out.

"You will understand when you grow up. Sister's behavior is indeed... not appropriate."

Children don't want to hear the words "grow up", but this is the explanation given to me by my sister Ling Xiao. For a moment, I didn't know whether I should continue to sulk or just go with the flow.

"Okay, go over there and have a rest. Your sister Ling Xiao and I have something to talk about." The little girl in front of him was about the same age as his students. When he saw her that day, Guan Yin still remembered that this almost grown-up little girl was still childish in every way.

I should still be in school, reading books, and dreaming about my future. But that's impossible here...

It is not so easy to make the earth-shaking changes described in ancient Chinese novels. Guan Yin felt sad, but he also knew that he could not make any significant changes - letting the truth of some things come to light and making some people live better were the most he could do.

Not only for these kind people, but also for my own heart that has grown in the new century.

"and after?"

"later?"

"Did that young scholar send you any message later?" Ling Xiao was also someone that the original body had always been concerned about. Since Guan Yin had taken over the original body's identity, he naturally had to worry about Ling Xiao's affairs.

Most of the colorful talents in this music school are the result of wasted years. Guan Yin has the will but not the ability, so he can only start by changing his own situation.

"Yes, yes." Ling Xiao's eyes fell on the desk by the window, a little tenderness mixed with the lingering wind, "The box contains all the letters he sent back, I have kept them all... In the future, whether I go to the capital to find him or wait for him to come back, I will take them out and read them by lamplight at night."

"Do you really love him that much?"

"Love." Ling Xiao usually asked and answered himself, or when they sat opposite each other, he would say sweet words to that little scholar. This was the first time he heard someone he trusted ask him.

It was love, otherwise she wouldn't have knowingly gone out of her way to send him money for the exam, nor would she have tried every possible way to borrow all the money...

The man in front of him was not that old, at least he was still a young girl when he met the scholar. Guan Yin didn't think Ling Xiao could distinguish between love and dependence, so he simply avoided the question and let the real answer remain in Ling Xiao's heart.

"Now that spring has gone and summer has arrived, the years are great. If you have time, I will secretly take you out for a walk."

It is the best time of youth, and I should steal some good scenery for myself. This is what Guan Yin thought in his heart, but he did not say it directly to Ling Xiao.

"Sister Yin, Sister Ling Xiao, can I go with you..."

"Wait until you grow up." The little girl is in love for the first time, and it would not be a good thing if she met a 'scholar of her dreams'.

"Okay..." The little girl felt aggrieved again.

"Are you going to wait for him like this? Have you ever thought about what will happen when you get older?" When the spring is gone, what will happen to the love that the scholar is talking about now? Guan Yin understood that Ling Xiao was no longer the same age as when he first met the scholar.

"What can I do?"

"Hmm?" Ling Xiao's voice was so soft that it sounded like a whisper. Guan Yin couldn't hear clearly for a moment. "Ling Xiao, what did you say?"

"Sister, I don't have your abilities, Sister Yin, nor do I have the natural status of a man, nor do I have the immortality of a celestial being... So, I am old, so what?"

This doesn't mean Ling Xiao is giving up on himself, it's just like what she said - what can she do?