Duan Shuchun was already in her forties, but she was a talented dancer when she was young.
The reason why Yi Xue was able to have such a close relationship with the boss of Tiantang was that the boss was her aunt's best friend. Just like Duan Shuchun, her aunt also liked to dance, and when the two women practiced together, little Yi Xue would watch them silently, and she secretly would praise the talented women.
When she was still very young, Yi Xue already wanted to be like her aunt and Duan Shuchun, and that was why she started practicing with the two women. And even after her aunt passed away, she continued to train with Duan Shuchun until she became the main star in Tiantang.
In the past, she and Duan Shuchun had always trained together in the spacious area behind the Tiantang building, but after the older woman decided to start training in the hall, that area had long since been forgotten.
That was what happened in the past, but Xia Qiao only found out today, and she was speechless as she continued to stare at the gloomy area that held many memories of Yi Xue and Duan Shuchun.
"So, what do you think of this place? Or, would you rather train in the hall with the other girls?"
Xia Qiao's thoughts were broken by the question that came from the older girl. Yi Xue immediately asked her opinion without giving any further explanation about the place, so Xia Qiao assumed that the girl didn't want to talk about the past anymore.
For a moment, the veiled girl glanced at the girl wearing the green hanfu, but then she turned to stare at the area that was still covered in thick moss. "Is it okay if I use this place to train, master? Even if this place is like this now, I'm sure this place holds a lot of memories for our boss, so what if she doesn't like the idea of me using this place to train?" She asked carefully.
She still remembered how Duan Shuchun was against the idea of her learning to dance, and Xia Qiao was worried that she would only offend the boss further today.
She was usually calm, but once she found out that she barely had the chance to go to the Imperial Palace, the fire in her heart burned her sanity, and she even dared to challenge the Tiantang boss.
She dared to lecture the older woman, and even if the woman wasn't mad at her for it, Xia Qiao assumed that she had crossed the line today.
"You don't have to worry about that," Yi Xue replied calmly. "Duan Shuchun has allowed me to teach you, and she didn't say anything when I said that I would use this place, so I'm sure it won't be a problem if you use this place."
Xia Qiao thought that Yi Xue was the most carefree person she had ever met. The girl was much younger than Duan Shuchun, but she boldly called the older woman by her name even if the woman was the same age as her late aunt, and Xia Qiao assumed that only Yi Xue could treat Duan Shuchun like that.
And perhaps Duan Shuchun also treated Yi Xue as her nephew because the two of them had known each other for a long time, even when Yi Xue's aunt was still alive.
And even if Duan Shuchun didn't say anything when Yi Xue said that she would use the backyard to train, the latter recklessly took the silence as approval, and she immediately took Xia Qiao to the backyard even if she didn't accept a verbal answer from the boss of Tiantang.
"And that Duan Shuchun didn't even remember to clean this place, so I guess this place means nothing to her anymore," Yi Xue spoke again. "As I said before, Duan Shuchun gets bored easily, and she won't care about this place once she leaves it."
Yi Xue didn't blindly take Duan Shuchun's silence as approval, but she could boldly say that it was fine to use the place because she knew her boss very well.
Xia Qiao sighed as she assumed that it indeed wouldn't be bad if she used the backyard to train. The hall was too noisy because the other girls were practicing together there, and when she admitted that she didn't even know about the basics of dancing, she knew that practicing in a quiet place would be best for her.
Turning her head to face the older girl, Xia Qiao replied, "I will use this place to train, master." She had decided. "I don't have much time left to practice, so I have to clean this place before I can use it. I'll get some tools so I can get rid of the moss."
The young girl wearing black hanfu was about to leave the area, but suddenly she heard the older girl snort, and she stopped her movements as she looked at the girl in confusion.
Yi Xue laughed, but Xia Qiao didn't know the reason behind the sudden laughter.
Finally, the woman wearing light green hanfu stopped laughing as she said to Xia Qiao, "How can I ask Her Highness the Princess to clean up this messy place? Just stay here, and I'll get some people to clean up this place."
And Xia Qiao was dumbfounded. When was the last time she heard someone call her that?