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Yingbao handed him two pastries and said, “That will be twenty coins.”

“Twenty coins?” The man slammed the table and blew his mustache, his eyes wide open, “In the past, they were no more than three coins each. How are you charging ten per piece?”

Yingbao took back her pastries, turned around and walked away, paying no heed to the man’s curses and grumbles, not even looking back.

Standing by the side of the street, Yingbao considered the situation for a moment and decided to visit the County Government.

As she passed by her shop, she saw that the two storefronts facing the street were burned to the ground, but the back building was still standing.

Even the big two-story house she had recently built was still intact.

However, it seemed there were people living in the new house.

After inquiring with the nearby vendors, she learnt that the house had been occupied by Cao Can’s close confidants who had moved their entire family in.

Yingbao let out a cold laugh and headed briskly towards the County Government.

She hadn’t even approached the government’s quarters when she saw a group of soldiers on the path. They had swords hanging from their waists and guarded every three to five steps. Whenever they spotted any of the townsfolk, they would loudly harangue them, preventing anyone from getting too close.

Yingbao retreated and made her way to the brothel.

She bought a good amount of sweets and candied fruits from a vendor and put it all in her basket.

The dancers at Wuchun Yard loved these snacks, and she planned to attract some business there.

“Selling candied fruits! The delicious and tangy apricot and peach. Eat a lot and you won’t gain weight!”

The dance masters at Wuchun Yard forbade the dancers from eating too much rice to prevent them from getting fat, so the dancers loved to buy snacks and fruit paste to eat when they were hungry.

Soon enough, a few heads peeked out from the pavilions of the Wuchun Yard. They waved at Yingbao and called, “Hey! What’s in your basket?”

Yingbao smilingly looked up at them “I have apricot and peach paste, as well as candied sweets and milk cakes.”

When the dancers heard about milk cakes, their faces bloomed into peony-like smiles: “Then come upstairs, let us take a look.”

“Alright, tell the doorman so I can enter.” Yingbao replied.

She had spent several years in Wuchun Yard in her past life, and seeing these familiar faces today made her feel nostalgic.

Entering through the back door of Wuchun Yard, there was a large courtyard with several little girls around the age of ten practicing a whirlwind dance.

If a mistake was made, the dance teacher would whip the little girl’s legs with a bamboo stick, causing the girl to burst into tears.

Yingbao felt like she was reliving her past life—she certainly hadn’t escaped these beatings.

A girl about ten years old came down from the building and beckoned Yingbao from the stair’s entrance.

Yingbao quickly walked over and followed her upstairs.

Three young dancers were sitting upstairs, all about thirteen or fourteen years old. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old dancer was doing makeup for one girl.

Two of the dancers took Yingbao’s basket and started picking out the candied fruits and milk cakes, chucking them in their mouths as they selected.

Yingbao watched them quietly, a smile bemused on her face.

The cheap behavior of dancers Tao Tao and Ying Ying was exactly like in her past life.

Once they were done picking the candied fruits and milk cakes and had paid, they noticed Yingbao hadn’t left, they laughed and said, “If you want to keep watching, you will need to pay us.”

Yingbao grinned at Tao Tao: “Actually, I can do the whirlwind dance too.”

Tao Tao scrutinized the vendor in front of her and giggled: “Really? Show us a bit.”

“All right, play the drums for me.” Yingbao put down her basket, straightened her clothes, and stood on a circular dance mat.

Seeing that the vendor was serious, Tao Tao’s curiosity was piqued. She picked up a drum and began to play.

The drum beats accelerated faster and faster.

Yingbao’s spinning also got faster and faster, like a spinning butterfly.

Dancing the Hu Xuan Dance not only requires speed but also lightness and rhythm. Moreover, the feet should not step off the two-foot-wide dance mat.

The little dancer apprentices watching were completely dumbfounded, even the courtesans who were doing their makeup were shocked.

Frustrated to realize that their years of painstaking practice still fell short to a mere merchant, they didn’t know how to bear it.

The drum sound gradually ceased, and Yingbao also finished her dance.

“Good!” The class leader, who had somehow climbed the loft, applauded.

He scrutinized Yingbao with a beaming smile and asked, “What’s your name, miss? Who have you studied under?”

Yingbao looked at him, responded seriously, “My name is Huanxi. I learned the Hu Xuan Dance from my late aunt, it is not suitable to mention her name now.”

The class leader still grinned, “Huanxi? A good name. You seem fresh. Are you new here?”

Yingbao nodded, “I am not a local. I came into town a few days ago to sell preserved fruit, ended up trapped inside the city, and now, I have no money for accommodation.”

The class leader feigned sympathy, “Oh dear, an innocent victim of unforeseeable misfortune. Huanxi, how about you stay in Wuchun Yard? Once the city gate opens, you could then go home.”

Yingbao immediately bowed in gratitude, “Thank you for taking me in, sir.”

The class leader replied, “Don’t thank me. Frankly speaking, I saw your Hu Xuan Dance and found it excellent. I am short of people here, so I would like you to join our troupe.”

Seeing that Yingbao was hesitant, the class leader added, “Don’t worry, you will be paid for each performance.”

Yingbao lowered her head to think for a while, then asked, “How much will you pay me, sir? If it’s too little, I… I better not dance. If my fellow villagers see me and tell my family, they will surely scold me.”

The class leader twisted his mouth, “Two hundred coins per performance. How about it?”

Yingbao shook her head, “I’d better not.”

“Three hundred, three hundred coins per performance. If you don’t want to, then forget it,” the class leader sat down, his eyes full of calculations.

After a long hesitation, Yingbao nodded, “Well, then… then, I’ll stay here. You won’t charge me for accommodation, will you, sir?”

The class leader smilled, “No charge, but you have to perform every day.”

“Okay,” Yingbao obediently agreed.

The class leader flicked off the dust from his robe, turned to the seventeen or eighteen-year-old dancer and said, “Ailian, take Huanxi to freshen up and change her clothes. Then, have her perform with you.”

“Yes.” Ailian led Yingbao to the bathroom. Someone brought water in, and helped her to take a bath and change her clothes.

When Yingbao appeared before everyone in a red dancing dress, all was silent.

The class leader sized up Yingbao, marveling in his heart.

Unexpectedly, this girl turned out to be a stunning beauty. He really hit the jackpot.

The class leader had an even more amicable smile on his face and hastily ordered someone to serve a bowl of bird’s nest soup.

“Huanxi, are you really a rural girl?” the class leader asked.

Yingbao: “Yes, I grew up in the countryside.”

“Are your parents still around?”

“Yes, they are. We are from Simen Town. My younger brother is too small to be left alone, somy mother didn’t come to the city with me to sell preserved fruit.”

“I see,” the class leader pondered for a moment, and said, “When the city gate opens, I will visit your home and see your parents and little brother.”

“Okay,” Yingbao brightened, “I will invite you to taste my best dishes.”

Hmph! A good beating would barely be enough for you!

A maid came in with a tray and placed a bowl of bird’s nest soup on the low table.

The class leader smiled at Yingbao, “Eat, it’s been specially prepared for you.”

Yingbao, without ceremony, sat cross-legged on the round carpet, and began to spoon the bird’s nest soup into her mouth.

The bird’s nest soup tasted exactly the same as in her past life, with a vaguely fishy taste, not delicious at all.

But she had to eat it, because only by eating the bird’s nest soup would the class leader lower his guard.