Liu Rushi: Chi Ling
1.
The procuress said, “You are the only loser in the courtyard.”
Isn’t this nonsense? As an ordinary worker who has nothing but the soul of a dry meal, how can I compare with that group of traversers who can play the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, as well as poetry and songs, all of whom are famous for being straight a students. It’s not bad if you
can keep yourself from starving to death in the small courtyard of this song house.
As for letting me make money, oh, the last procuress of the Rejuvenation Pavilion who thought so, the grass at the head of the grave grew almost one person high.
Of course, such unlucky words, I can’t say to the current procuress who is ambitious and vows to make Qinhuai Ge Lou bigger and stronger. I can only clap my chest to show her that I tried my best.
The procuress looked at my chest, which was as flat as a blanket, shook her head disappointedly, sighed and walked away.
I also shook my head, tidied up my front, and made sure again and again that the place that should have been towering like a mountain was really pressed down by me, and then I stepped out of the singing building.
Today is a big day for the meeting of the restoration society. If you go late, all the good seats will be occupied by the young scholars.
I didn’t dare to delay too much and hurried to the Sweeping Leaf Building.
Sure enough, because I said a few more words to the procuress in the small courtyard, there was no place to sit after I arrived at the Sweeping Leaf Building, and I could only stand behind the crowd. The man in
front of me was eight feet tall, enough to block me completely. I couldn’t help but reach out and pull him twice. “Brother, please lower your head so that I can take a look at the suzerain of today’s Fu She.”
The man lowered his head and looked around for a long time before he found me, who was nearly two heads shorter than he was. He quickly apologized and stepped out of the way, saying, “I’m sorry. I’m in the way of my younger brother. My brother is just in time. Today the suzerain of the Fu She is Mr. Yu Shan!”
Mr. Yushan?
“Is that Mr. Yu Shan, who is well versed in the knowledge of Heaven and Man, and who is known as the great literary genius of our time?” I was so ecstatic that I didn’t expect that a big man who had only heard of him in rumors would appear here. I
never thought I could see him with my own eyes one day.
As a result, I pushed forward hurriedly along the open space given by my brother in front of me, and finally squeezed close to the front.
But look at a long gown, very elegant middle-aged man sitting on the high position in the sweeping leaf building, lightly straightening his sleeves, leaning over to talk to the slightly handsome young scholar beside him.
The young man’s face was flushed, and his excitement was beyond words. He kept nodding his head. When Mr. Yu Shan had finished speaking, he straightened up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s rare that Mr. Yu Shan of the Donglin Academy has come to Jinling to attend a meeting today. Mr. Yu Shan said that he would not test stereotyped writing today, but would only ask about poetry. The young man gave me a sentence, and everyone wrote a poem based on it.” The master will choose the best of them, welcome them as guests of the curtain, and sit and talk to each other. When the
scholars at the bottom heard this, they cheered one after another and were eager to try.
I was also excited, for example, when it comes to stereotyped writing, I’m afraid I can’t compare with these young and promising scholars, but when it comes to poetry, I’m good at it.
Then he calmed down and listened to the young man. “Listen, everyone,” he said. “I have no intention of fighting for the spring, but I will be jealous.”. Scattered into mud and ground into dust, only the fragrance remains the same as before.
this.. What kind of question is this?
“Do you want us to write the lyrics?” As soon as the
young man’s voice fell, the scholars, who had been cheering a moment ago, looked at me and I looked at you, somewhat confused. The young man did not say much, but said, “Don’t dawdle. Hurry up and think about it. After a burning of incense, you will see what you will do.” A
stick of incense? Time is neither long nor short.
I left the crowd, found a quiet place, gathered up my robe and sat down.
2.
Mr. Yushan’s family name was Qian, his given name was Qianyi, his courtesy name was Shouzhi, and his nickname was Muzhai. In the 38th year of the reign of Emperor Wanli, he won the title of Tanhua. Because of his outstanding literary talent, he soon became the chief of Donglin, and was once the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites.
According to this trend, he could have been a higher official, but when he was in charge of Zhejiang, a great event happened that shocked the world.
An examinee by the name of Qian Qianqiu cheated in the examination room. He wrote the phrase “one step up to the top” at the end of each paragraph as a secret signal. He colluded with the officials of the Zhejiang examination room. After the incident, Mr. Yu Shan was implicated and had to take the blame and dismiss him.
He gave the line of the poem, “I have no intention of struggling for spring, and I am jealous of all the people.”. Scattered into mud and grinded into dust, only the fragrance remains the same as before, “originally from the Southern Song Dynasty literary master Lu Fangweng’s Ode to Plum Blossom.”. When
Lu Fangweng wrote the poem on plum blossoms, he was demoted because he strongly advocated fighting against the Jin Dynasty, so he used “flowers” as a metaphor for the despicable villains in the officialdom at that time, and used plum blossoms as a metaphor for his nobility, to show his determination not to be snobbish even if he was in the mud.
At this moment, Mr. Yu Shan uses Lu Fangweng’s chanting of plum blossoms to set the topic, combined with his current situation, it is not difficult to see his intention. After
I thought about it, I turned around and went to the high platform to get a pen and paper, dipped it in black ink, and wrote several lines of words. As soon as I threw the pen, I presented the poem I had written. The young man in
charge of setting the questions for Mr. Yu Shan was surprised to see that I had handed in the paper so early. He kindly advised me, “I think you’re still young, and I’m afraid you’re a little impatient. Why don’t you take it back and think about it again? If you really don’t have a good one, it’s not too late to hand it in again.”
“Don’t think about it any more. My dear brother, just present the poem to my husband for my younger brother.”
I thanked him for his kindness and insisted on writing this one.
The young man had no choice but to hold my poem with wet handwriting and send it to Mr. Yushan. I don’t know what he said to Mr. Yushan. I just saw Mr. Yushan’s bright eyes like stars looking at me. After shining, he smiled and nodded to me and accepted the poem. After burning
a stick of incense, scholars from all walks of life presented their masterpieces one after another. The young man was so busy that he almost flew up and down. He managed to collect all the poems of everyone. Then he said, “Sit down and wait for Mr. Yu Shan to comment on them, and then I’ll come back and talk to you.” As
he spoke, he accompanied Mr. Yushan into the wing of the Sweeping Leaf Building.
It was already spring dusk, and as the sun shone brightly, the courtyard was also getting hot. There were many impatient scholars who urged each other to go to the wing to find out what was going on and see if they had been selected.
I was also a little anxious to wait, but my anxiety was not to go to the wing to find out what was going on, but I had been out for a long time, and if I didn’t go back, I would be scolded by the procuress again.
Fortunately, while I was thinking about whether to go or not, the young man who followed Mr. Yushan into the room finally came out, holding a few sparse pieces of paper in his hand. Compared with the thick stack just handed in, it was really tragic.
He cleared his throat and made a few polite remarks before going on to say, “Everyone’s writing is not bad, but Mr. Yu Shan’s time is limited, so we can pick out a few outstanding ones for the time being. I’ll call out the brothers whose names are later, and please move to the waiter.”
He read one by one, and each time he read a name, there was a burst of cheers and a wail at the bottom, and by the time he had only the last piece of paper in his hand, the eyes of the crowd were already fixed on it, and he dared not move.
“Hidden among the clouds!”
Accompanied by his voice, I stood up, almost unable to believe that I would be the last guest to enter the curtain. Seeing how excited I was, the
young man laughed and said, “Congratulations, brother. Please welcome the waiter.” The people whose names were read in
front of me were all sitting upright in the tea room. When I arrived, there was only one seat left on the left side of Mr. Yushan in the tea room. I didn’t have the nerve to go to
such an honorable place. Instead, Mr. Yushan waved his hand and called to me, “Is this little brother Liu Yin in the clouds?”? This seat is reserved for you by Qian. Please take a seat.
I’m so.. Is it so powerful? Unexpectedly, it can be so favored by Mr. Yushan!
Carefully, I sat down beside Mr. Yushan and looked closely. Mr. Yushan was more gentle than when I looked at him from a distance.
He looked at me with soft eyes, and the poem in his hand was the one I handed.
It is said that Jinling is a land of outstanding people, but now it seems that what you have said is true. I can’t imagine that Liu Yin would be such a young and handsome man as you. To say something that offends everyone here, among today’s poems, only Shangsi, written by Brother Liu, is the most outstanding. Should pity the grass dream, still waiting for the curtain to know, very good! Very good!
He kept praising me, unaware that I had blushed to my ears.
Although I used to be proud of my ability to write poems in the singing hall, there are too many little sisters with outstanding literary talent in the singing hall, each of whom can speak eloquently, which makes me look ordinary.
Now Mr. Yushan says that my poems are well written, which gives me some confidence.
With such a little feeling of joy, I talked with Mr. Yushan for two hours, and when I came back, I realized that I could, could, would, would die!
I forgot the procuress said that I was not allowed to come out and run around again! Once
found, once hit!
My God, I have to go back quickly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Mr. Yushan talking with other scholars. I didn’t care to say more to him. I got up and ran to the singing building with my robe.
3.
I don’t know how many pedestrians I bumped into along the way. When I finally arrived at the song building, sure enough, the procuress had been standing outside the song building waiting for me for a long time.
She was holding a handkerchief, her eyes were red, and her face, which was over forty years old, was full of bitter hatred. I was so
frightened that I immediately stood where I was and did not dare to come forward. It’s just that it’s so
late. The procuress doesn’t hate me so much, does she?
“Mother, I can’t run away. How can you go out to greet me in person?” I said with a smile.
The procuress stared at me with red eyes. Suddenly she covered her veil and burst into tears. “You’re the only one who lost money and didn’t run away, but all the others who made money ran away!”! My God, how can my life be so bitter..
She wailed at the top of her voice, and I howled, “Mom, who are you talking about? Who ran away?”
“Qingyan, Yuxuan, Linglong, and Baohui, these pillars have all run away!”
Ah? Qingyan, they ran away. Why? It’s not easy to make money in this world
now. They make a lot of money in the song house. I didn’t run away when I lost money. Why did they run?
Qingyan said that he was a hero in troubled times, and he clamored to redeem himself and went to Liaodong to look for Wu Sangui. Yu Sui said that it was too boring to stay in the song building. He didn’t stay any longer. He packed up his things and went to his hometown. Linglong and Qingyan always do not deal with, listen to Qingyan said to find Wu Sangui, she must go to find a Li Zicheng, but also said that the future to see who succeeded first. Even more confused, Baohui ran off with a poor boy from Chang’s family who was selling red dates.
Tut-tut, the sisters are awesome. On weekdays, one is soft and weak, green and green. Unexpectedly, they are all warm-blooded behind their backs. They say they are chasing men!
Admire, admire!
I really wanted to give a few thumbs up, but looking at the pimp’s mournful appearance, I felt deeply that it would be better not to add fuel to the fire at this time, so I kindly comforted her: “Mom, if you look at the bright side, it’s better for Qingyan to run away than to go to our bitter enemy Yihong Courtyard!”
The procuress spat at me and said, “Bah, what kind of pickling place is the Yihong Courtyard? How can it compare with my Song House?”? The girls in my singing studio are all buskers, but they don’t sell their bodies. Can she do that at the Yihongyuan?
That’s true, otherwise I can’t stay in the song building safely until now.
However, they have run away, and it is useless to cry now.
The procuress wiped away her tears and said, “I don’t know that it’s useless to cry, but I can’t do it without crying. There are only a few people who can make money. If they run away, what can I eat and drink?”? And then there’s you. Usually when you don’t make any money, they give you a little to eat and drink. Now that they’re gone, I’ll see where you go to drink the northwest wind.
Yes, the procuress did not say, I almost forgot, Qingyan they left, I eat who drink who go ah? With my handwriting and two or three lines of poetry, can I compare with Qingyan?
Besides, I’m at the moment.. I’m still a man at the moment. Perhaps
the procuress also thought of this, and suddenly burst into tears again: “Oh, my fate is bitter. All the girls I brought up are gone. What can I do?”? The bank outside is pressing for payment. If I can’t come up with the money at the end of the month, I’ll have to pay all the money to someone else!
“Mama, Mama..” Her howling tears soon followed me down, thinking that although the procuress had been scolding me for losing money for so many years, she had not driven me out, nor had she treated me harshly, so that I could somehow have a place to live in troubled times.
Although she used to be as beautiful as a flower when she was young, and used to be full of guests, she has long passed the age of youth, and most of the savings she saved in her youth were spent on building this singing building. Later, in order to make the singing building bigger and stronger, she did not hesitate to mortgage the singing building to borrow ten thousand taels of silver from a bank, so that she could make a living without the “pillars” of Qingyan Baohui. The day of the closure of the song building is just around the corner. I
have already brought down a Rejuvenation Pavilion, and I can’t bring down the Song House any more.
So I frowned and pondered a few times, then pulled the procuress into the singing building, closed the door and said to her, “Mom, maybe I can try to bring the singing building back to life.” The procuress stopped
crying, but when she heard this, her tears fell down again: “My son, it’s hard for you to think about your mother at this time, but my mother’s lifelong wish is to open a singing hall, not a small singing hall!”
Ah, Bah, what small restaurant?
I pursed my lips, and the sisters who knew me well were gone. It didn’t matter if I became a monkey now, so I raised my hand and took off the square flat scarf on my head, and my long hair fell all over my shoulders like a waterfall. I was so
surprised that the procuress could hardly speak. “You … …” You. Male or not.. Women are not women..
Well, I sighed. If I had known she was so frightened, I would have said a few more words to pave the way.
“Mom, I’m actually a daughter.”
4.
After a wick of incense, the candles in the room were lit, but the procuress still maintained the appearance before a wick of incense, holding the teacup motionless.
I put on my skirt and stood in front of her. I bent my knees slightly and said, “Look, mom, how do you dress up like this?”
The procuress turned her eyes on me and looked at my face several times. For a long time, she threw the teacup and touched my forehead. She said angrily, “You dead girl, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were a daughter?”? If I had known what you looked like, why should I have tried my best to hold the red smoke? I’ve had to spend years of my own money on you. Rubbing my forehead,
I sniggered: “Thanks to my mother’s kindness, I have lived to this day without worry.”
The procuress spat at me and looked at me again and again. “When I saw you down and out,” she said, “I picked you up and asked you what your name was. You said your name was Liu Yin. Now I think that must be your name. So now you should say what your real name is, right?”
To tell my mother the truth, my surname is indeed Liu, but my name is not Liu Yin, but.. Liu Ru-shih.
I laughed and said, as for whether the procuress is serious or not, it depends on what she thinks.
The procuress, who was once very popular, had something on her. After listening to me, she nodded unconsciously: “I see how charming the Castle Peak is, and I expect the Castle Peak to see me like this.”. Liu Ru-shi is really a good name!
Just as I was about to admire her for guessing the origin of my name, she suddenly clenched my hand and burst into tears: “If so, mother, I can count on you to carry forward the Qinhuai Opera House in the future.”
“Mom, you’re really not polite!” I sighed, but I didn’t refuse her. The reason for
not refusing is that I have the meaning of preserving the song building, but I have another purpose.
Now in the court, some eunuchs, princes, relatives and powerful ministers, in order to fight for fame and wealth, have formed a wide range of henchmen, manipulated the government, and made a mess of the good rivers and mountains, and the people were in dire Straits.
At this time of life and death, the rise of the Donglin School and the assembly of the Fu Society undoubtedly played a positive role in reversing the scholar’s style.
Many Donglin students and Fushe scholars, regardless of the dangers and obstacles on the way, came in droves, strongly demanding to change the situation of eunuch autocracy and chaos, advocating that the government affairs should be attributed to the six ministries, and that the public opinion should be given to the supervisors, so as to make the world happy and prosperous, and strongly opposing the emperor’s sending mine supervisors and tax envoys to various places to plunder and levy excessive taxes; He opposed the common practice of cheating in the imperial examination, and advocated that scholars should be selected regardless of rank and according to their personal intelligence. Although
these ideas of criticizing the current politics could be supported by the people, they were also fiercely opposed by the eunuchs and dignitaries who manipulated the government. The political differences between the
two have gradually formed a fierce party struggle situation, and now the situation is getting bigger and bigger, and there are signs of human life.
For example, at this meeting of the Restoration Society, it was originally agreed that it would be in the Green Willow Residence, but temporarily it was changed to the Sweeping Leaf Building.
The next time there is a meeting, I’m afraid it won’t be safe to sweep the leaf building. In that case, I’ll find a safe place for Fu She.
It is said that the most dangerous place is the safest. It is better to have a reputation of lingering in the wind and moon than to be caught in an illegal assembly.
The former lost life, the latter lost fame, the two contrast, or life is the most important.
Since I had made plans to return to my daughter’s body, I had to pick up the ideas I had learned from my sister Xu Fo in the old year and start learning again. Play
the harp, paint, dance, and sing.
Of course, I can’t do so much on my own. If you want to become bigger and stronger, the first step is to recruit new people. After
I told the procuress, the procuress patted her chest and told me to rest assured that everything was on her.
Later, she did what she said, and within a month, she bought seven girls with outstanding appearance and unique skills, and added me to make up a lucky number.
Since then, the name of Qinhuai Bayan has been established in Jinling under my leadership.
5.
At the beginning, in the name of Qinhuai Bayan, I invited the suzerain of Fushe to sit in the song hall, but the suzerain of Fushe, Zhangpu, refused because it was not proper.
I thought about it, now under the support of Xiao Wan and Xiang Jun, the song building has been getting better and better, even more gratifying than when they were there, so there is no need for me to be busy in person.
I changed the man’s costume, still using the name of Liu Yin in the clouds, once again launched an invitation to Zhang Zongzhu, but claimed that the venue of the gathering was chosen in Qinhuai Song House.
This time, he said yes.
Not only that, Zhang Zongzhu wrote back to me, saying that an old friend wanted to see me.
An old friend? Which old friend? Although
I often go to Fushe to attend meetings, I don’t have much contact with the scholars of Fushe, let alone make friends, because I am a daughter’s family and live in Gelou. Who would want to see me?
I frowned and thought hard. The
answer was soon revealed on the day of the meeting. I wanted to break my head, but I didn’t expect that the old friend was Mr. Yushan, Qian Qianyi, who had been the suzerain of Fushe for one day. Mr.
Yu Shan was not surprised to see me, but sighed, “Brother Liu, it’s easy to find Qian.”
I was flattered and asked, “Why is Mr. Unknown in such a hurry to find a disciple?” With a wave of his hand, Mr.
Yu Shan said with a smile, “Don’t panic, Brother Liu. It’s not important that Qian is looking for you. It’s just that when I saw your excellent poems that day, I wanted to talk to you more, but I didn’t want to turn around and I didn’t see you.”. Later, Qian asked Wu Weiye and they all said that they did not know where your family lived, which made Qian feel sorry. It’s also a coincidence that this time Qian went to Jinling again and heard that Brother Liu had sent an invitation to Tianru, so he took the liberty to come with Tianru. You won’t mind, will you? Only a
fool would mind! It is not only my honor, but also the honor of the song building to
invite Mr. Yushan and Mr. Ximing to the song building at the same time.
I was so pleased that I asked the two gentlemen to go to the private room for a short rest, and then called my cousin to come over and serve tea.
Who would have thought that the elder brother did not come, but the girls of Xiao Wan and Xiang Jun came over in person, pouring tea and snacks, and everyone quietly winked at me when they came over.
From what I know of them, these girls must have misunderstood something.
Fortunately, Mr. Yushan didn’t pay attention to their eyes. He just took advantage of Mr. Ximing’s lecture to the scholars to look at the song building and chat with me. He added, “Although this place is good, I can’t stay here for a long time. But now the court is not what it used to be. It’s getting more and more corrupt and down-and-out day by day. The Manchurian fighters are almost at the door of their house.” All the nobles in Jinling are still singing and dancing to promote peace. The corruption of
officials in the Ming Dynasty is not overnight, and if you want to change it, you can’t change it overnight. I understand
this truth, and Mr. Yu Shan understands it even better. It is precisely because I understand it that I am worried and afraid. I am afraid that there is not much time left for Daming.
Thinking of this, Mr. Yu Shan could not help but sigh deeply. When he left, he put aside the official administration, but teased me with a smile: “If the Liu brothers are women, I think they are not far behind the eight beauties here.”
“Huh?” As soon as I was stunned, I subconsciously wanted to look down to see if I had given the game away. Fortunately, at the critical moment, my mind reacted, and I tried to hold back my shyness. I also replied with a smile, “Then Liu thanked Mr. Yu Shan for his praise.” Mr.
Yu Shan laughed and walked out of the room with his hands on his back, saying, “If Brother Liu is really a daughter, then Qian, with his old face, will be your guest on the stage.”
6.
“Sister Liu, Sister Liu, tell me the truth. Did the old man who came to see you today take a fancy to you?” Not long after
Mr. Yushan left, Xiaowan, Xiangjun, yuanyuan and others, who had pretended to be boys, changed their daughter’s clothes and came to my room to ask what was going on. Laughing,
I looked at the gossipy faces in front of me and said, “What old man? Speak politely. That’s the famous Mr. Yu Shan.”
“Ah, is he Mr. Yu Shan?” Xiao Wan and others were surprised and blamed me for not introducing it earlier. “My sisters,”
I sighed, holding my forehead, “the relationship between me and Mr. Yu Shan is really not what you think. We are like-minded allies.”
“The husband and wife are also allies.” Xiang Jun had a flexible mind and said with a smile.
I quickly stopped her with a wave of my hand. “You can’t say that about Mr. Yu Shan. It’s too disrespectful.”. You have great talent and ambition, and you are a man who serves the country and the people. How can you marry a woman like me?
Xiangjun shook his head in disapproval. “Don’t talk too much, sister,” he said. “In my opinion, I don’t think Mr. Yu Shan treats you in an unusual way. I can’t say that you have a predestined relationship with him.” She dares to say
that, but I can’t believe it.
Under the cover of Ge Lou, the scholars of Fu She gathered several times.
Mr. Yushan still had to return to Donglin Academy to take charge of the overall situation, so he did not attend the recent meetings.
In late autumn, seeing that the singing business was getting more and more prosperous under my leadership, the procuress, who was both happy and worried, came and took me by the hand and said with all her heart, “If that’s the case, otherwise we won’t have that party. Last time the people from the court came over and made a lot of noise, saying that the party was not chaotic, and almost scared the guests to death.” Why don’t we just sing and play the piano and make money?
I patted her on the back of her hand, knowing that she was afraid that I would turn the singing hall yellow again, so I comforted her and said, “Don’t worry, Mom. I know in my heart.”. It’s just that my mother has seen that the world is very chaotic these days. Even if we don’t get together, there are plenty of people out there. It’s better to open the door and do business in a big way, and there’s no rule that says no one is allowed to listen to music.
But this.. Will that work? The procuress is still a little worried.
However, born in troubled times, like me and other women, it is like drifting duckweed, if there is no place to pacify the four directions, even if you can win a moment of peace, but how can you win a lifetime of peace?
It is better to follow the warm-blooded scholars to fight, maybe you can fight a way out.
Of course, I don’t understand this with the procuress. She is full of thoughts about her song building. I just need to guarantee that the song building will not be destroyed in a moment.
It was time for the assembly again, but the weather was not good. It was late autumn, and the ground was covered with withered and yellow leaves, which made people feel sad and cold. The
scholars were rather eye-catching, so they came in batches to listen to Mr. Ximing’s lecture. When I came out of the room in a man’s costume and wanted to enter the private room, I happened to meet a man.
I was just about to open my mouth when I heard a deep laugh overhead: “What a coincidence! Qian was going to look for the Liu brothers, but he didn’t want to meet them here.” Surprised,
I looked up hurriedly. “Is that Mr. Yu Shan?” I asked. Mr.
Yu Shan smiled at me and said, “Long time no see. How are the Liu brothers?”
“No harm, no harm at all.” Surprised, I hurriedly opened the door of the private room on the other side and asked Mr. Yushan to sit down. After serving him tea, I asked, “Why are you free today, sir?”? The disciple also thought about going to Donglin Academy to pay a visit to the master in a few days. Mr.
Yu Shan’s face quieted for a moment. “To tell you the truth, Brother Liu,” he said, “the eunuchs in the court have already begun to attack the students of Donglin Academy. They are assassinating them everywhere. I came to Jinling not only to avoid disaster, but also to uphold justice. The more they are afraid of something, the more I will say something. One day I will say that they will retreat and be routed!” In order to make the procuress feel relieved,
I had not gone out for many days, but I did not expect such a big thing to happen outside.
“Hooray! Will he let the eunuchs run amuck?” I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t help asking aloud, “Why doesn’t anyone tell Banzai that the world is in a mess?”
“This has been a long history of abuses, not a single one. Even if you know it now, you still have the intention to kill the thief, and there is no way to save the day.”
Then let the world go on?
I bit my lip and was about to say something when suddenly I heard the sound of shouting and cursing outside the window, mixed with the small smile of the procuress, which came into my ears. With
a jump in my heart, I quietly opened the window and looked down along a gap, but I saw a group of people dressed in flying fish clothes around the door of the song building.
“It’s someone from the East Factory!” I turned pale with fright and suddenly stood up, and even Mr. Yushan was surprised to stand up by me.
“I think they’ve got the news that I’m here. Don’t be afraid, Brother Liu. If the old man risks his life, he won’t involve you, Brother Liu.” What did you
say, sir? Now that you have arrived in Jinling, we must take good care of you. As I
said this, I quickly opened the door and called the waiter, who told him to call Xiangjun, Xiaowan and the others over. “Go to my room again and let Xiangjun get my clothes,” he told him.
The boy answered one after another, and Mr. Yu Shan looked at me with a sense of puzzlement: “What are you doing, Brother Liu?” I didn’t
bother to explain to him. I looked around, pulled him by his sleeve, and pulled him to a large cabinet. I opened the door and said, “Please, sir, I’m sorry. I’ll go in and hide for a while.”
“What about you, Brother Liu?” Mr. Yushan asked suspiciously.
I pursed my lips and tried to tell the truth, but for a moment I didn’t know where to start. I had to stammer, “It doesn’t matter to me. Sir, I’ll hide first. When the eunuchs have gone, I’ll explain to you.” Hearing the sound of footsteps downstairs, I stuffed him into the cabinet and hung a big lock tightly.
At the same time, Xiao Wan, Xiang Jun, and yuan yuan all got the news and arrived. As I changed my clothes, I told them, “If anyone asks Mr. Ximing what they’re doing here, just say they’re here to recite poems. Don’t mention the word assembly.” The
eight beauties of Qinhuai are not only beautiful, but also the ability to recite poems is much better than that of ordinary students.
Xiaowan they are very intelligent girls, listen to me so, immediately understand to come over, busy go to Mr. Ximing there, pretend to be arty.
I also took off my pearl hairpin, wore black hair, and sat in front of the mirror pretending to make up.
No one knows how I spent half a day, but I remember that when the eunuchs left, my legs were almost weak when I held the threshold.
However, at least let Mr. Yushan escape the disaster.
I braced myself, turned around and opened the cabinet door. Perhaps I had been hiding in the cabinet for a long time. Mr. Yushan’s face was a little dark red, but his eyes were still bright like stars. When
he saw me, his lips moved. It took him a long time to calm down. “I didn’t expect Brother Liu to be my daughter,” he said.
“Let the gentleman laugh.” I am ashamed, although my identity will be exposed sooner or later, but I did not think it would be exposed so early, exposed so strangely.
But. Things had come to this point, and there was no need to explain too much. In order to ease the embarrassment at the moment, I raised my head and looked at his gentle eyebrows and eyes and said with a smile, “Didn’t you say, sir, that if Liu was a daughter, he would be Liu’s guest on the stage?”? This time, sir, I can say that I have got my wish.
“Ha ha, what a sharp-tongued girl!” Mr. Yu Shan was amused by me and swept away the gloom. “Qian was so lucky to be the guest of the girl, but I don’t know if the girl’s name is Liu Yin. Is it her real name or a pseudonym?” With a smile,
I bent my knees slightly and said, “I had no choice but to deceive you before.”. My daughter’s surname is Liu, and her given name is Liu Yin, which is actually Liu Rushi.
Liu Rushi? If so.. Mr. Yu Shan read a sentence in his mouth and began to smile. “Liu Rushi, what a good Confucian scholar Liu!”! The girl is more manly than all the men in the world, and Qian is willing to be the girl’s guest on the stage!
7.
“Sister, do you really want to go with him?” In the small courtyard of
the Qinhuai Singing House, Xiangjun and Xiaowan took me by the hand and said, “Although our Singing House is not a place to stay for a long time, how many of those men are reliable?”? Besides, Mr. Yushan has a good reputation. Is he really willing to marry you regardless of everything? Even if he is willing, there will be a big difference in age between you. If one day he goes first, what will you do, sister? The
two of them said one after another, asking almost everything they could think of. Haven’t
I ever thought about that? I don’t know how many times the procuress has told us the story of
Du Shiniang sinking the treasure chest in anger, but similar plots will still be staged in various brothels and courtyards every once in a while.
Xiangjun they worry that I will follow in Du Shiniang’s footsteps, the original is also reasonable.
Moreover, they are also right, no matter how famous I am, in the final analysis, I was born in a brothel, and he is famous all over the world, and I will be married to public opinion.
As for age, I don’t mind.
What people are looking for in this life is not a bosom friend who can chat with each other? Since he identified me, I naturally identified him.
“You two sisters don’t have to say much. I’ve already made up my mind.” I said firmly.
Xiangjun was stunned. He squeezed my hand and said, “Does my sister like him that much?”
“Not just like, Xiangjun. Someday, I hope you can understand me.” As
I spoke, I clenched her hand and said, “The Central Plains is in a state of uproar, and we need a great hero to come out and put down the rebellion and resist aggression. We should be like Hsieh Tung-shan in planning to defeat the enemy, but not like Tao Ching-chieh.”. If I am a man, I must save the nation from subjugation and serve the country! It’s a pity that I can’t save the country now that I’m a daughter, so I’ll find someone with the same interests to help him serve the country! But
.. But if he doesn’t want to take the road of serving his country..
“If one day he doesn’t want to, then I’ll go on by myself!” With a smile,
I packed my bags and finally boarded the carriage in the tearful eyes of the procuress and Xiangjun. In
the car, Mr. Yushan.. No, he had been waiting for me for a long time. When he saw me coming, his face suddenly relaxed. He held out his hand to me and said with a slight smile, “I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“Now that I’ve agreed to marry you, I won’t go back on my word.” As I spoke, I put my hand in his warm palm, and my eyes slowly passed over the singing tower outside the window.
This singing building has carried my youth, my growth, and my ambition. It is a lie to say that I am not sad to leave her, but if I leave her in order to move forward better, I think I have nothing to regret.
Take it, you know? It was foretold that you and I would become husband and wife.
I withdrew my eyes, turned my head and smiled niftily at the elegant man sitting at my side. “Oh,”
he exclaimed in surprise, “who is so capable?”
“It’s Xiangjun.” Holding my cheek in my hand, I couldn’t help thinking of the past. The first time you came to the singing house to look for me, Xiangjun said that you treated me differently. I even laughed at her nonsense, saying that you and I were not what they thought, and that you and I were just like-minded allies. Xiangjun said that husband and wife were also allies. I never thought that what I didn’t take seriously at the time would actually come true today.
She looked at me and smiled. “Well, did she predict anything else later?”
Predict something else? I remembered the words Xiangjun had asked me before I left. It seemed that none of them were good words, and I thought they could not be predicted. I shook my head and said, “There is nothing else, but she wants me to have a long relationship with you.”
“That’s natural.” He shook my hand and said, “You are too homesick. I built you a Jiangyun Tower in the style of a song tower in the south of the Yangtze River.”. Don’t worry, there will be a long time between you and me, and there will be a long time for our Daming, too.
If that’s the case, that’s great.
I raised my lips, heard the horse’s hooves flying, and straightened my spine and ran with it to the future.
