"Greetings, Your Highness. We are deeply grateful for your boundless kindness."
The opera troupe members knelt on the ground, bowing to Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Qingcheng took two steps back, seeing a large group of people suddenly kneeling before her.
"Please rise. There's no need for such formality. Continue your practice. Ziyan, come with me for a moment."
Ziyan followed Ye Qingcheng to a stone table in a secluded corner of the courtyard. "Sit down. There's no need to be so reserved. Ziyan, I offered my help because I believe this world is not always kind to women. In this era, there's an invisible net that forces women to crawl, to walk with difficulty, making even breathing a struggle."
Ye Qingcheng looked at a person sitting in a daze in the distance, TaO Zi, whose development was slow due to malnutrition. At twelve or thirteen years old, she looked like a seven or eight-year-old. She spoke calmly, "Ziyan, you are a very capable person. I believe this opera troupe can achieve greater development under your guidance. Women can also have their own careers. If you have any ideas, pursue them boldly, without hesitation."
Ziyan looked at Ye Qingcheng before her. Her ears buzzed, her mind unable to process. A completely new idea, a thought never before conceived, even a rebellious notion, took root and began to sprout in her heart within this dilapidated small courtyard. Looking at Ye Qingcheng's beauty, it suddenly felt real.
"Tell me, what's going on with TaO Zi?" Ziyan followed Ye Qingcheng's gaze towards TaO Zi, who remained in the same posture.
"Reporting to Your Highness, TaO Zi previously killed someone."
Ziyan looked at TaO Zi nearby.
"We bought TaO Zi from human traffickers when we were performing."
Previously, Ziyan had been performing with the opera troupe. TaO Zi's hands were bound, and she knelt on the stage. The small, seven or eight-year-old TaO Zi curled up, her eyes vacant, awaiting her fate.
Ziyan felt a pang of compassion as she watched TaO Zi on the stage. Just as Ziyan hesitated, the human trafficker suddenly kicked TaO Zi. The frail child rolled several times on the stage and began to cough violently.
"You useless waste of food! I've been waiting here for two to three hours. You worthless thing, I'm going to beat you to death today!" he said, raising his hand to strike TaO Zi's face.
"Stop! I want her." Ziyan, witnessing the scene on the stage, lost all reason. "No matter what, you can't hit someone. If you injure her, I won't want her."
The human trafficker stopped his movement and looked at Ziyan with a fawning smile. "No, no. This little girl is tough. As a businessman, I wouldn't want to sell you a defective product, right?"
Ziyan didn't reply, her expression changing as quickly as the human trafficker's. "I want this young girl. How much?"
"Straightforward. I won't haggle with you. The price is the same all over this street, four taels of silver."
Ziyan knew the human trafficker wasn't lying; this was indeed the price here. Although she had four taels of silver, she only had five taels in total. This was money she had secretly saved over her years of hard work in the opera troupe, intended as travel expenses for her escape.
At this moment, Ziyan's heart was filled with complex emotions. She had always wanted to escape, but by saving TaO Zi, all her previous efforts would be in vain.
The human trafficker sized up Ziyan. "Scram! If you don't have money, don't act like a patron, wasting my time. Bad luck."
He then raised his hand to strike TaO Zi. TaO Zi remained dazed, looking at the incoming palm without dodging. She simply closed her eyes quietly, waiting. Just as the palm was about to hit TaO Zi's face, "Wait, I'll buy her."
The human trafficker stopped his hand near TaO Zi's face, then stroked her cheek. "Little mute, whether your luck is good or bad depends on your own fate."
Ziyan took TaO Zi back to the opera troupe. Manager Zhang's eyes flared with anger upon seeing TaO Zi. "Ziyan, you went out and brought back a burden? Our opera troupe doesn't support idlers. Either her food and clothing will be deducted from your performance earnings." Manager Zhang pushed Ziyan and TaO Zi. "Or you two can both get out. My opera troupe never needs useless people."
Seeing Manager Zhang's face turn red, Ziyan knew there was no room for negotiation. She could only keep TaO Zi by her side. As for what would happen next, she would take it one step at a time. As long as they were alive, there was hope.
In the following days, Ziyan performed, and TaO Zi sat by her side. Gradually, TaO Zi also began to learn to sing and perform. TaO Zi had a naturally good voice but was usually quiet. Apart from performing, she would simply sit in silence.
"She doesn't not like to speak; she's been poisoned. This poison causes her reactions to slow down, hinders her brain development, and reduces her perception of the outside world. That's why TaO Zi didn't dodge when the human trafficker hit her," Ye Qingcheng explained. "This poison is not something ordinary people can come into contact with. TaO Zi's background must be extraordinary."
"Your Highness, please save TaO Zi," Ziyan knelt before Ye Qingcheng. "Ever since Ziyan bought TaO Zi from the human traffickers, I've considered her family. Your Highness, please, save TaO Zi. Ziyan is willing to obey Your Highness's every command." Ziyan repeatedly kowtowed on the ground.
Ye Qingcheng quickly stood up and supported Ziyan. "Get up quickly. Since I know, I will naturally save her. You are my people now, and I wouldn't abandon you. Besides, this poison is curable, though it takes time."
Hearing Ye Qingcheng's words, Ziyan's heavily burdened heart finally began to ease. Although TaO Zi was a bit slow, when Ziyan was busy and didn't have time to eat, the profit-driven Manager Zhang wouldn't leave food for her. Before TaO Zi came, Ziyan often endured long nights by drinking well water. Only the foolish TaO Zi secretly saved her own portion of food, not eating it, and placed it on Ziyan's table. Looking at the cold rice on the table, Ziyan ate it mouthful by mouthful. Although the cold rice wasn't delicious, Ziyan desperately stuffed it into her mouth until she couldn't eat any more, and tears welled up. In the opera troupe, Ziyan had always been the senior disciple, looking after everyone. For the first time, she was being cared for by the slow-witted TaO Zi.
Ziyan didn't know at first that TaO Zi was saving her food. One morning, as Ziyan was teaching TaO Zi to sing, TaO Zi refused to speak. Just as Ziyan was about to talk to TaO Zi properly, TaO Zi fainted.
"This young girl is malnourished and fainted from not eating properly. There's nothing serious. After she wakes up, she just needs to eat well. It's a minor issue," the old doctor's words echoed in Ziyan's ears. Ziyan decided to return early that evening to see why TaO Zi wasn't eating properly. Ziyan went to her room door and saw TaO Zi placing her food outside her door. TaO Zi's fainting today was explained.
In Ziyan's heart, TaO Zi was like family. As long as she had food to eat, TaO Zi would never go without.
Although TaO Zi was slow, she had always been a warm person.
Ye Qingcheng handed the written prescription to Ziyan. "Go and gather the herbs according to this prescription. They are not rare medicinal ingredients, but brewing the medicine will take some time. This poison has accumulated over time, and this medicine must not be interrupted. You must drink it for at least three months."