"Sister Xiaohong, please help plead for me."
I saw the young Yvonne Yang being led away by Old Wang, about to be taken backstage to be punished. Meanwhile, the girl named Feng Liyun was desperately pleading with a woman who had already removed her stage makeup, slipped into a pink cheongsam, and was striking seductive poses in front of the mirror as she did her makeup.
"Alright, fine, I'll help plead for you a little. Anyway, I'm leaving this place in a few days, hehe..."
The woman spoke as she spent quite some time perfecting a beautifully seductive makeup look, then glanced over at Old Wang.
"I say, Old Wang, show some mercy, will you? These two girls are beauties in the making. If they go hungry and end up stunted, unable to marry well, they'll suffer for it. Master Jin is really something, getting so worked up over this."
Old Wang grunted in reply, nodded, and released Yvonne Yang. Feng Liyun immediately grabbed Yvonne Yang and left the backstage area. At this moment, the troupe was packing up. They used ropes to cordon off a large open space, secured it with wooden stakes, and laid out some cloth. Inside were many tents. I saw Feng Liyun pull Yvonne Yang into a small tent.
The memories resumed inside the tent. Only then did I learn that Feng Liyun, two years older than Yvonne Yang, had also been chosen by Master Jin and redeemed from a brothel. Both girls had only joined the troupe a few months ago.
Every day they trained, and Master Jin was extremely strict. He had just taken over the troupe from his father three years ago. As the troupe's leader, his skills were exceptional, and he had his own teaching methods.
In this troupe, every beautiful woman was nothing more than Master Jin's means of making money. The company roamed the country all year, and an unwritten rule gave the leader free rein to use and sell the girls as property, exploiting them for his own gain.
When a girl reached the right age, Master Jin would broker deals with wealthy families. Once the arrangement was set and the bride price paid, he would sell off the girls he had carefully groomed—trading away their futures for his own profit, indifferent to their suffering.
This practice began with his grandfather's generation, so by the time it reached him, the business was already thriving.
Basically, whenever the troupe passed through a place, Master Jin would visit the brothels to scout for girls who hadn't yet started serving clients, usually around ten to thirteen years old. If he liked one, he'd pay to buy her, bring her back to the troupe for training, and after two or three years, marry her off for a profit. The amount of bride money he demanded depended on how talented the girl was—the more talented, the higher the price Master Jin would ask.
"Hmph, Sister, Master Jin never had good intentions. He wants to raise us and then marry us off. You're already thirteen—two more years and you'll have to get married."
At this moment, Feng Liyun was helping Yvonne Yang massage her already swollen feet, gently applying cold water and smiling tenderly.
"Sigh, Yvonne, you really need to work on your temper. Honestly, it's not so bad. At least it's better than being in a brothel—if we hadn't joined the troupe, we might've been forced to sell ourselves. At least when we grow up, we'll definitely marry into a wealthy family. That's not so bad, right? Gold and jewels and all that."
"Sister, how can you have so little ambition? Hmph, if I get married, it has to be to a prince or a nobleman."
"But you, Yvonne, if you want to marry a prince or nobleman, you have to train hard and become the leading lady. Otherwise, with your clumsy ways, it's impossible."
"Sorry, Sister. Let's sleep. I don't want to eat either. If Master Jin comes back and sees I wasn't punished, I won't be able to sleep again."
"Oh, Master Jin is busy right now, having a wild time with Madam Su, the orphan of the Su family. He won't be back for hours."
"A few hours? Him? Really? Hahaha..."
I broke out in a cold sweat—how could these two little girls be talking about this?
"Oh come on, didn't you see? Old Wang gave Master Jin a box of Tiger-Deer Whip. Maybe he won't come back tonight."
Then the two of them cuddled up and fell asleep. At that moment, Feng Liyun seemed uncomfortable, looking at Yvonne Yang.
"Yvonne, what's with you, always like this? It's not like you don't have any—what are you touching for?"
"Sister, I can't sleep unless I hold onto you every night. Let me hold you for a bit, please?"
I turned my head away, unable to watch. What on earth was going on here?
Late at night, Master Jin returned, his face pale, reeking of alcohol, his posture slumped as if drained, shuffling with splayed feet and humming a tune.
Most of the troupe was asleep by then, with only a few guards still on watch. Old Wang waited for Master Jin, holding a lantern.
"You don't look well, Master Jin. I've prepared some ginseng tea and chicken soup for you. Have some and rest."
"That woman is really strong, you know. After all, she's been a widow for so many years. Once the deal's done, we'll have those two martial opera brothers come over. The price is set—hehe, do you know how much I've made?"
Old Wang looked helplessly at Master Jin, and Master Jin held up two crossed fingers.
"But Master Jin, you're not planning to sell those two brothers, are you?"
Master Jin shook his fingers.
"Right now, we're short on martial opera performers in the troupe. If we sell them, how will we put on any shows? Alright, Old Wang, get some rest."
After happily finishing the ginseng tea and chicken soup, Master Jin headed straight to the women's sleeping area in the troupe. I saw him go to the tent next to where Yvonne Yang and the others slept. After he entered, there were soft cries of surprise from inside.
"Hmph, dirty old man, still not satisfied."
Yvonne Yang, woken up by the noise, muttered, and Feng Liyun quickly covered her mouth.
"Master Jin, what are you doing? I'm getting married in a few days—to that old rich man."
"That's right. You're getting married soon, so you should thank me, shouldn't you? Since you're leaving, I'll come keep you company every night for these few days."
"Wow, haven't you been playing with that old woman all night? Still got energy left?"
I looked at the tent next door in disgust and sighed.
The next morning, Master Jin couldn't get up, so the troupe's second-in-command had the young members train instead.
When the morning ended, I saw two boys around sixteen or seventeen approach Yvonne Yang and the others and greet them warmly. The older one, about eighteen, seemed especially friendly to Feng Liyun.
"Hmph, Big Liu, you better not get any funny ideas about my sister!"
Yvonne Yang said bluntly, and only then did I realize these two brothers were the martial opera performers in the troupe—the Liu Brothers. They were both quite handsome and strong. I swallowed hard; weren't they supposed to go to Madam Su's house tonight?
At that moment, I saw Feng Liyun and Big Liu exchange glances for a long while before parting. Something felt off, but Yvonne Yang didn't notice a thing.
During the lunch break, Yvonne Yang hugged Feng Liyun tightly, her gaze soft and dreamy, caressing her body.
"Yvonne, let me ask you something. If one day I'm gone, will you be sad? Will you miss me?"
"Of course I will. I'll come looking for you, Sister."
I sensed something strange in Feng Liyun's eyes, as if she were about to leave for a distant place.
The two of them grew up in the brothel from a young age, sold there before they understood anything. They bonded deeply, always calling each other sisters, sharing everything and living together.
Feng Liyun didn't speak, only smiled quietly, as if waiting for something to happen.
By evening, the opera stage was set, surrounded by crowds as the temple fair remained lively. After the performance, Master Jin summoned the Liu Brothers.
"You two, tonight you must serve Madam Su well. Here, this is your payment for the trouble."
With that, Master Jin handed over a banknote worth a hundred taels of silver. Big Liu took it, looked at it, then started laughing.
"Master Jin, a hundred taels? Heh, you must be joking."
With a smack, Big Liu slapped the banknote down on the table.
"Oh, getting bold, huh? You trying to scam me now?"
At this moment, the Liu brothers, both elder and younger, scoffed and prepared to leave.
"Fine, we'll leave. We won't stay in this troupe anymore."
That single sentence made Master Jin squirm in his seat.
"Alright, wait. I'll give you three hundred taels."
As Master Jin spoke, the Liu brothers stopped. Then, Big Liu leaned in close to Master Jin, grinning.
"Master Jin, you can't treat people like this, can you? Think about it, my brother and I have played your catamites for years, right? Since we were fourteen, we've made you plenty of money."
Master Jin sighed, then forced a smile.
"I know, I know you two have worked hard. So from now on, I'll give you three hundred taels, alright?"
Big Liu grinned, his tone suddenly turning vicious.
"This time, we want two thousand taels."
"What?" Instantly, Master Jin shot up like an angry rooster, glaring fiercely at Big Liu.
"You two brothers have lost your minds?"
Master Jin stared in disbelief, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
"Whether you pay or not is up to you. But that Madam Su is your biggest patron here, right? Heh. You managed to squeeze tens of thousands of taels out of her. So, is our demand really that outrageous?"