Notes on Longevity

Chapter 8: Curses echoed throughout the Pear Garden; the crowd was speechless and unable to defend themselves.

"The name 'shopkeeper' sounds so nice."

Yumi gently pushed away the class leader's hand and looked at him with a sly grin.

"Corn, stop fooling around."

Xiuyi, who was standing to the side, took two steps forward and stared at the corn with a somewhat helpless expression.

Xiuyi was dressed in a rather plain gray outfit today, with her hair in a bun. Her face was slightly pale, and she looked somewhat haggard.

"Master, I am Xiuyi from Zuihualou. I have no choice but to visit you today. Please forgive me."

Xiuyi lowered her head, bent her waist slightly, and knelt down to pay her respects to the troupe leader.

"Drunken Flower Pavilion, Miss Xiuyi?" The troupe leader was taken aback when he heard Xiuyi say her name. He then immediately opened the garden gate and said respectfully, "So you are General Zhou's daughter. Please come in quickly."

Everyone was stunned by what they saw, and they were somewhat confused.

Even Xiuyi was at a loss, bewildered by the troupe leader's behavior.

However, after a moment of hesitation, they all stepped into the gate of the pear garden.

Despite its name, Wuli Liyuan is really just a small opera troupe. As the group entered the park, a long passageway came into view.

The passage is divided into three sections, each separated by an open space, without eaves or courtyards. Stepping into the first open section, scattered snowflakes fall from the sky, mingling with the bright sunlight and settling on them.

The group walked briskly through three empty spaces and arrived at a high platform covered in snow.

The group glanced at each other, then followed the troupe leader to the right.

"After passing through another courtyard, we will reach our usual residence."

The troupe leader walked along, glancing back every now and then to make sure no one had fallen behind before continuing on his way.

The troupe leader led the way with a smile on his face. This puzzled Yumi, so she asked, "Boss, who did you say she was? Whose daughter did you say she was?"

"You child, you're so dishonest behind people's backs, talking so much. Don't pay him any mind, teacher."

Grandpa Medicine grinned and slapped Corn on the head.

"Grandpa, are you hiding something from me?"

Corn, carrying Ping An on his back, pouted and sulked because no one answered him.

“Master, I’ve heard of your opera troupe before. Everyone says it’s just a small opera troupe, but as I’ve come this far, I see that you have everything you need, and the place is huge. This is no small opera troupe; it’s a true opera troupe in name and in reality.”

Zhou Zhou looked around. From the moment he entered, he felt that this small opera troupe that others talked about was not simple.

"May I ask your honorable name, young master?" Ever since the troupe leader learned about Xiuyi, he had begun to show a certain respect for this group of unadorned people.

"My surname is Zhou, and Xiuyi is my older sister."

Zhou Zhou continued to survey the courtyard they were passing through. Although the flowers and plants on both sides were covered with snow, they would shake off the snow whenever the wind blew, showing the passersby that although they were small in winter and no longer as eye-catching as they were in summer, they still stood in the cold wind.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, the troupe leader immediately stopped and turned around, his body clad in theatrical costume, his face painted with graffiti. The horrified expression on his face was even more pronounced by the graffiti. "Are you really General Zhou's son?" The troupe leader clearly didn't believe him, so he looked at Xiuyi with suspicion. When Xiuyi nodded, he nodded back, his mouth trembling involuntarily.

After receiving Xiuyi's answer, the troupe leader did not ask any further questions, but continued to lead the group through the courtyard to their residence.

"We have a guest. Serve some tea!"

As they passed through the courtyard, rows of houses came into view. The troupe leader called out to one of them, and the group followed his gaze. They saw a man in theatrical costume walk out of a room, bow to the troupe leader, and then quickly run back inside.

The group followed the troupe leader straight into a room. The room was large, with screens around the perimeter, a tea table, and several pots of seeds that looked like they were just sprouting grass or flowers near the door.

Upon entering the room, they were immediately enveloped in warmth, accompanied by a soothing fragrance. Looking around, they noticed a brazier of charcoal placed on one side of each screen. In addition, several small incense burners, about the size of a palm, sat on the tea tables; presumably, the fragrance came from these burners.

"Please have a seat, everyone. I'll go change my clothes."

After finishing speaking, the troupe leader was about to walk towards the door when he saw Yumi carrying someone on her back. He stopped and asked Yumi, "Yumi, what's going on here...?"

“Master, it’s like this,” Xiuyi walked up to the two of them before the master could finish speaking, gesturing for Yumi to put Ping’an down, “This child is the reason we’ve disturbed you today.”

"What's wrong with this child?"

The troupe leader, with his painted face and puzzled expression, now looked rather amusing.

"This child's master is a good friend of the Taoist priest Qing Shui of Zoumaguan."

"Grandpa Medicine, standing to the side, said with a worried look on his face."

"Then wouldn't he also be..."

The troupe leader looked nervous and even stammered as he asked.

"Yes." Grandpa Medicine nodded.

"If that's the case, why not send him to the Taoist temple? Why send him here instead? Are you perhaps sent by that official's lackeys to cause trouble?"

The troupe leader's roar startled the woman who had brought the tea, causing the teacup to fall to the ground. A shout rang out from outside the door: "Shuang'er!"

As the voice faded, a young man dressed as a scholar walked to the door, staring at Xiuyi and the others with a serious expression. "You dare to cause trouble? Today, even if I have to give up my title as the top scholar, I will go to the imperial court and file a complaint with the emperor."

Before everyone could react, they saw a dozen or so strong young men standing at the door, holding wooden sticks and glaring at them.

"I never imagined you would resort to such despicable means, impersonating someone else and framing me."

Before Xiuyi and the others could react, the troupe leader glared at them, pointed at the corn, and continued to curse: "And you, I thought you were homeless, and I only allowed you to beg in my theater because I felt sorry for you. But I never thought that you were also that man's lackey."

Corn looked distressed, wondering what was going on. One moment everything was fine, and the next it was like this? And whose lackey was he?

Before Yumi could react, the troupe leader launched into a tirade against Zhou Zhou and Xiuyi: "What kind of person was General Zhou? If he hadn't been framed and killed, his daughter Zhou Ruoru, though reduced to a lowly brothel, would still have been known as a talented woman. Look at your appearance and your manner of speaking, do you have the bearing of a talented woman?"

"And you, General Zhou's entire male family has died unjustly, how could there possibly be any surviving sons?"

"And him, His Majesty values ​​Taoism, which is known throughout the country. Since he is a Taoist priest, why did you send him here instead of to a Taoist temple? What is the logic behind this?"

The crowd was so berated that they couldn't even get a word in edgewise; all they could do was glare at Yumi, as if to say: "Is this the great philanthropist you were talking about?"

(End of this chapter)