Winter Begonia

Later that day, when the audience was all gone, Cheng Fengtai was still sitting there unable to recover, thinking that those classic tragedies like Romeo and Juliet that he had seen in the past, compared with Shang Xirui's, they were like the little widow going to the grave.It is neither painful nor itchy, but also artificial.Sobbing, little boys and girls.Although the Palace of Eternal Life itself is about the love between the emperor and concubines, once the script is changed and Shang Xirui plays it, it will be so different.He shifted the focus of the Palace of Eternal Life from the lingering to the ups and downs of life and the impermanence of the world. The style is magnificent and can touch the hearts of men.

So many people in the audience applauded Shang Xirui, they came for the people, for the fame, for the excitement.But there are a few who really understand it.If you understand, you should just sit in a trance like Cheng Fengtai, and wait for that ray of soul to return from wandering in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty to return to its original position. Before that, it won't be able to move.

Cheng Fengtai turned his handkerchief over, wiped away his tears, blew his nose, got up and left the theater.He is crying like a bastard, he can no longer show his eyes backstage, what a shame.

It is already snowing outside, the first snowfall in Beiping this year, the sky is pitch black, the ground is pure, a world divided by yin and yang.Cheng Fengtai put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly in the direction of Luogu Lane. Lao Ge honked his horn twice to ask him to get in the car, but he ignored it.Lao Ge didn't know what happened to him and what happened to him, so he didn't dare to provoke him, so he turned the car to the slowest speed and crawled slowly behind him.

Shang Xirui was taking off his make-up in the background while listening to Sheng Ziyun praise him, every time the play ended, Sheng Ziyun would have a load of compliments to tell him, beaming with joy, more excited than him as the main character.

But Shang Xirui kept looking at the door, couldn't wait for Cheng Fengtai to come, couldn't help but interrupt him: "Where is Second Master?"

Sheng Ziyun said: "He seems to have been drinking before. When the lights on the stage came on, it made him burst into tears. Just stay in your seat and take it easy."

When Shang Xirui thought of the curtain call, he saw Cheng Fengtai's face full of tears, his expression seemed not quite right, as if he was enduring deep pain, Shang Xirui was horrified.It must not be drunk.Shang Xirui wiped off the cleansing oil on his face, ran to the stage to look at the seats, there was no one there.It is not Cheng Fengtai's style to leave without saying goodbye.Shang Xirui was puzzled, regardless of Sheng Ziyun still calling out behind him, he immediately lit a lantern and chased him out of the dark alley to find him.After chasing to the entrance of the alley, he saw Cheng Fengtai's back walking in the snow, that back seemed to be haunted by thousands of emotions, which made it impossible to disturb.

Shang Xirui didn't catch up any more, turned on the lamp and looked at him quietly for a while, trying to call him back, had a lot to ask him, how was tonight's play, did he understand it, did he like it.But Shang Xirui vaguely felt that there was no need to ask any more questions.The snow fell harder and harder, and when Cheng Fengtai's figure disappeared into the snow mist, Shang Xirui also went back.

Cheng Fengtai walked in the snow in the middle of the night, Lao Ge drove the slow car, Bai followed him all the way.When I got home, my coat was soaked, and there was still a layer of fresh snow on my shoulders and hair. After entering the door, I went straight to the inner courtyard without saying a word to the servants along the way.Second Grandma's daily life is all the legacy of the Manchu nobles. When she sleeps, several servants and maidservants brought over as dowry guard the courtyard in layers, so that she can be dispatched at any time.Seeing Cheng Fengtai's return, Mama Lin, who was keeping watch at night in the inner room, lifted up her spirits and greeted him with a smile, brushed the snow off her shoulders, and said softly: "What day is it today? Second Master braved the snow and wanted to go home. Two Grandma went to bed early. The fourth lady ate yogurt for afternoon snacks, and she had a stomachache. She was annoyed in the middle of the night, and she took medicine before lying down."

Cheng Fengtai turned his head, frowned slightly, and fixed his eyes on her face.Lin Ma was flustered by his gaze, and called him second master again in doubt, Cheng Fengtai just stared at her, as if he had been haunted by a dream.Mama Lin grabbed his arm and shook him a few times, but there was no response, so she kept yelling in fear, "Second Master! What's wrong with you, Second Master? Sakura! Sakura, please call Second Mistress!"

Second Mistress is used to her husband often staying out all night, especially today when the chamber of commerce treats guests, it is inevitable that she will have some sensual entertainment after the banquet, and she has already fallen asleep with her young son in her arms.In the middle of the night, maids and mothers rushed in after a distraught Cheng Fengtai, which frightened her, and together with the servants, they changed his clothes, wiped his body and boiled milk for him.Cheng Fengtai calmly followed them around, eating as soon as they were offered to him, and taking off his clothes as soon as they were offered to him, but he didn't respond at all, as if he was out of his body.

Second Mistress and Mama Lin looked at each other in horror, Mama Lin lowered her voice and said, "East is approaching, I'm afraid there will be something unclean bumped into on the road."

Second Mistress said anxiously: "You are old and you have seen a lot, so hurry up and collect it for him!"

Lin Ma nodded and said: "This is easy." After finishing speaking, she took a jar of rouge from the dressing table, picked a little red with her fingertips, muttered a curse, and was about to wipe it on Cheng Fengtai's seal.

At this time Cheng Fengtai woke up, grabbed her wrist and took it away: "What are you doing?"

Second Mistress and Mother Lin both heaved a sigh of relief, slapped their knees and legs and laughed, "That's okay! Second Master, you just went for it."

Cheng Fengtai frowned impatiently, waved his hands and said: "What nonsense. Go out and go to bed." Shangkang found that his youngest son had been woken up by the women, neither crying nor making trouble, wide open in the quilt The eyes looked at him obediently.

Cheng Fengtai raised his chin to the child even more impatiently: "Take him away too."

Second Mistress hurriedly said: "Take me away, take me away."

The servants carried the third young master and left the room.Cheng Fengtai lay down on the bed, heaved a long sigh, very melancholy.

Second Mistress only saw Cheng Fengtai's decadent and sluggish appearance when his family was ruined at the age of 16, and she couldn't help but be very alarmed, she leaned into his ear and asked softly: "The people from the chamber of commerce, what did they tell you? They made things difficult for you? "

Cheng Fengtai shook his head.

"Then what happened to you?"

Cheng Fengtai closed his eyes: "It's okay. It's just a little uncomfortable."

The Second Mistress usually pretended not to take him seriously, but she loved him like a child in her heart. When she heard this, she was so sad that she didn't know what to do. She stroked Cheng Fengtai's face with the tip of her ten fingers, and asked softly, "I'm sorry." what?"

Cheng Fengtai said: "Concubine Yang Gui hanged to death. Tang Minghuang died of pain."

Second Mistress froze, and scratched his chin with her fingernails: "Are you crazy?"

Cheng Fengtai exclaimed: "I'm crazy."

Second Mistress turned off the lights and went to sleep, not bothering to talk to him anymore.If Cheng Fengtai goes crazy, it's best to ignore him.

Cheng Fengtai was so drunk because of Shang Xirui's "The Palace of Eternal Life", that he remained silent for several days.I don't go out to find friends, I don't go out to play cards to discuss business, and I lack interest in everything.Smoking cigarettes at home to settle accounts, sighing, dazed.Or just sit and hold the third sister, Chacha'er, for a whole day.Chacha'er wrapped his arms around his neck and read a book, and he was in a daze, and there was only the slight sound of flipping books in the room.Second Mistress saw this scene and wanted to reprimand him: "Sanmei is such a big girl, how can you always hold her in her arms? Even if they are brothers and sisters, there are differences between men and women! What do you say when you see her!"

Cheng Fengtai hugged Chacha'er for more than seven years, and he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it.Especially when you have something on your mind, Chacha'er is indispensable in your arms.When there was an accident in the family, Chacha'er was still such a small child, like a little doll that could walk, Cheng Fengtai hugged her in his arms all day long to get through the difficulties.Chacha'er has been hugged by Cheng Fengtai for more than seven years, and she has long been used to it, eating and reading in her brother's arms, reading origami and dozing off, so as not to delay her own affairs.

Today, when Second Mistress taught, Cheng Fengtai seemed to have listened a little bit, patted Chacha'er's butt: "Young lady?"

Chacha Er said yes.

Cheng Fengtai said: "Then second brother can't hug you. Go down."

Chachaer twisted her body, but did not move.Cheng Fengtai was so happy that she didn't move, he raised his eyebrows helplessly at Second Grandma, and continued to hug her.

Second Mistress gave them a blank look and they had nothing to say, but when she turned her head and thought about it, Cheng Fengtai has been in a trance for the past few days, he seems to be going crazy, so let's hug my sister, it's not like I've been hugging her for a day or two, it's better than him doing something Other strange things are strong.Turning around, he recruited Lao Ge, the driver who followed Cheng Fengtai, and questioned him carefully.Cheng Fengtai has a different temper from other rich lords, he doesn't have a follower by his side, only Lao Ge is the closest.Old Ge Su heard about Second Grandma's prestige, her calves trembled, she told half of the story about the small mansion, confessed to Second Master Fan, and concealed the truth from Miss Dancing Girl.In fact, he didn't know the truth about Cheng Fengtai's obsession, Qingfeng Theater and Shang Xirui were just mentioned.After hearing this, Second Mistress called her younger brother into the house and complained, "Tell me, why did you offend your brother-in-law? Look at him now, he doesn't think about food and drink, and you are so angry."

Fan Lian was even betting with Cheng Fengtai on the matter of robbing women in the small mansion. It was so difficult to argue and suffer. He bowed his head and endured the training, choked to death on his chest, and sighed: "Hey, then I'll go and see Look at him—make amends to his old man!"

Cheng Fengtai didn't put his arms around Chacha'er right now, because it's time for Chacha'er to practice the piano.Cheng Fengtai was playing with a phonograph brought from Shanghai.The phonograph has not been used for a long time. I don't know whether it has been damp in the Chinese-style house, or some parts are broken, so it can't make any sound.Fan Lian entered the room, and he waved at him: "It's just in time, don't you study engineering? Help me see, why are you dumb?"

Fan Lianxin said that I had been trained for a long time because of you, but you were like a normal person, walked over angrily, looked at it, and said angrily: "Brother! You didn't plug in the electricity! It's strange if it can play." After the electricity was turned on, the gramophone Squeaked and sang.The female voice is soft and charming, it is a popular ditty in the past two years in Shanghai.Fan Lian felt his bones itch when he heard the tenderness of the little girl in the south. He sat on the chair and took a sip of tea, and while it was rippling, Cheng Fengtai suddenly changed the record.That stack of records has not been opened for a long time, and the cover paper is all damp and yellow.Before he heard two or three words on the new one, he changed it again, and he just skipped three or four.A girl ran in and said, "Second Master, Third Miss said that the music here is too loud, which disturbed her from practicing the piano..."

Cheng Fengtai waved his hand: "Understood." The girl left, he threw a stack of records on the kang, and climbed up to lean against the window to smoke: "Disgusting, none of them sound good."

Fan Lian sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the record and flipped through it. The tallest popular singer said, "This is not good, what else is good?"

Cheng Fengtai was silent for a long time, slowed down his tone, and said: "Shang Xirui."

Fan Lian suddenly understood most of it, secretly said that I have already seen that you two are tricky, and you still deny it!Deliberately asked: "Second Master Cheng is also starting to play tricks?"

Cheng Fengtai looked at him sideways and smiled.

Fan Lian understood more when he saw it, patted his knee, and shook him: "If it's a fan, it's easy to handle. I have his records here, and I'll give it to you to get addicted slowly. If it's not just a fan What about the play..."

Fan Lian shook his head straight, and there were only a few words of advice, so he didn't say much.Outsiders don't know Shang Xirui's details, so it's forgivable to bump in.It's not that Cheng Fengtai doesn't know what kind of person Shang Xirui is, he's heard the rumors, he's seen the real person, he's also seen the insane and tricky man on the day of the full moon wine.If he throws himself into the trap again, he will be obsessed with ghosts and follow a dead end, and no one can persuade him.

Cheng Fengtai pinched his cigarette, and said: "I'm really not just a fan of the show, but don't think about it."

Fan Lian listened attentively.Cheng Fengtai pursed his lips and searched for adjectives for a long time, and finally came up with a sentence: "I think, Shang Xirui, he has something in his heart, it's not as simple as it seems. He is a person who has really come out of books and plays."

Fan Lian smiled and said: "When I first met him in Pingyang, I gave him a word: In the world of mortals, the soul is in the play. Of course he is not simple, I knew it earlier. Otherwise, he would be so unreasonable to run away from ordinary people. Zhixin, I will never pay attention to him again." Fan Lian sighed: "It's really Mu Cai!"

Cheng Fengtai said: "No. I'm not saying how well he sings, then I don't understand. What I mean is...his soul is very quality, thoughtful, and full of emotions. It's not an actor with only one voice. And Compared with him, I even think that we are all living dead, walking dead."

Fan Lian smiled and said, "Hey! Just talk about yourself, don't take me by the way, without us."

Cheng Fengtai also smiled and didn't reply.Fan Lian felt that he suddenly became very quiet, with the shy temperament of his youth.In fact, Cheng Fengtai was like this in the past, later on he started doing business, dealt with all kinds of people, and after going through the world for three thousand years, he gradually became a rogue and glib.When encountering something that touches the soul, he returns to this part of his personality.

Cheng Fengtai said: "In the past, I didn't understand why literati didn't study well and loved to get close to opera actors. After Shang Xirui, I understand. Brother-in-law, to tell you the truth, I..."

At this time, Chacha'er finished practicing the piano, opened the door and rushed into the house, threw himself into Cheng Fengtai's arms, saying that he was sleepy, and turned a blind eye to Fan Lian.Fan Lian stood up quickly, and there were still some warning words below, so it was inconvenient to say them.Cheng Fengtai pinched his cigarette, took off Chacha'er's coat, moved a quilt to cover her, and held her in his arms.Fan Lian saw all kinds of women being hugged tightly by Cheng Fengtai to flirt and have fun, now that he saw him hugging his sister like this, his heart felt numb for no reason, and he left after saying hello.

After talking with Fan Lian for a few words, Cheng Fengtai settled his mind, he was completely awake and knew what he wanted.At night, I wrung out a hot towel and wiped my face, put on cream, and prepared myself so that my hair was oily and my face was fragrant, and I was ready to go out.Second Mistress used to hate him the most for not staying at home and going out to wander around at night when he had nothing to do, but these days he suddenly stayed at home, which made people worry.Seeing him back to normal today, I feel very relieved, and told him to have fun, to have fun, everything at home is peaceful, so there is no need to rush back.

That night, Cheng Fengtai went to find Shang Xirui.

Cheng Fengtai didn't go backstage, there was a vast amount of light snow falling in the sky, he asked Lao Ge to park the car beside the entrance of Xiaohei alley, he sat quietly in the back seat and smoked a cigarette, the car window was half opened, fine snowflakes flew outside Come in and pounce on his face, he doesn't care.On the contrary, Lao Ge was a little cold, shrunk his neck and rubbed his hands, and looked back at Cheng Fengtai, feeling that he was really different recently.Waiting here for a long time, isn't it just to meet that Beijing opera singer Shang Xirui, wouldn't it be nice to go backstage and wait warmly?I don't know what this merchant Lixue means.

When the show was over, fans still gathered at the entrance of the theater for a long time, trying to see Boss Shang's real face and say hello to him face to face.But there were too many people and the emotions were very agitated, Shang Xirui didn't dare to come forward and cause a commotion.After waiting for another half an hour, the fanciers had lost their enthusiasm and gradually dispersed, and just now a few actors who had finished playing came out of the small black alley in twos and threes.The actresses would probably be going to some evening party soon, and they were all dressed up, and there were already rickshaw drivers waiting for them at the entrance of the alley.Shang Xirui and Xiao Lai came last, master and servant shared an umbrella, Shang Xirui was a head taller than Xiao Lai, so he held the handle of the umbrella, and Xiao Lai carried an umbrella on his arm The rattan cage, which must have contained Shang Xirui's tea sets and snacks.The two cuddled together in the wind and snow, looking very warm and intimate.

When Cheng Fengtai saw him, he jumped on the steering wheel and honked the car horn twice, which startled Lao Ge.Shang Xirui and Xiao Lai looked up at the same time when they heard it, Shang Xirui knew this car, there was a shiny woman with wings on the front, he smiled happily.Seeing Shang Xirui's expression, Xiao Lai guessed whose car it was, she hadn't seen anyone who could make Shang Xirui smile so happily for a long time, she immediately lost face, stopped and refused to leave .

When Xiao Lai sees Cheng Fengtai, he thinks of Pingyang back then.Chang Zhixin dealt with Shuiyun Tower as a famous ticket.Mr. Chang San is handsome and decent, willing to spend money, and has fun, so that Jiang Shang and his siblings even gave him a "Legend of the White Snake".But only Xiao Lai knew that Shang Xirui disliked Chang Zhixin from the very beginning.After the incident, he told Xiao in private: From the first time I saw this man, I hated him and thought he would take away a lot of my things, and I couldn't beat him.You see, as expected, it should be approved.

Now Xiao Lai has the same feeling towards Cheng Fengtai.

Shang Xirui stuffed the oiled paper umbrella into Xiao Lai's hand, said hurriedly: "Wait for me when you go home." Then he ran towards the car through the snow.Cheng Fengtai opened the car door earlier, grabbed Shang Xirui by the arm and dragged him in, the car drove away.Xiao Lai held up his umbrella and chased in the snow for two steps in a daze, feeling empty and a little scared.

Shang Xirui shook his hair in the car, patted the snowflakes off his clothes, and asked with a smile: "How long have you been waiting? Why didn't you go backstage?"

Cheng Fengtai didn't answer, but looked at him with a slight smile, his expression was a little different from before.There was no anger in the smile, he was gentle and gentle, and seemed to have a thousand words, he looked like a serious person.It's just that the faintly seductive meaning in the eyes can't be changed, and he is still a little boy.

Shang Xirui asked again: "Where are we going?"

Cheng Fengtai said slowly: "Please Boss Shang for supper. What would Boss Shang want to eat?"

Shang Xirui said without hesitation: "I want something sweet."