Dwelling of Memories Chapter 8

In the cold and dim street, a plaque hangs in the middle: Qingfeng Tea Garden.

I knocked on the door with my hands tied, and an old man stood in the shadows and looked me up and down for several rounds before leading me in. The hall was dark. The old man lit a kerosene lamp and led me up to the second floor and to the door of a private room.

"Miss Chen, we're here." The old man said softly.

Lila Chen was wearing a plain cheongsam, leaning slantedly in the shadow of the lamp, holding a cigarette between her fingertips, lightly opening her red lips, and the smoke curled gently, like fairy mist rising.

"sit down."

This is a tea room. In front of you is a walnut desk with the Four Treasures of the Study on it, and the plum blossom fan in the middle.

"Why did Miss Chen invite me here?"

Lila Chen put out the cigarette, showed the blank side of the fan, and looked at me with a smile: "I want to ask you for a gift, are you willing?"

The thick ink spread out and turned into a red plum petal falling on the paper. The fragrance of Lila Chen's hair went straight to my head. I gently covered her thin hand, intertwined my fingers, and hesitated to put down the pen.

"What's wrong with you?" Lila Chen looked at my trembling right hand and asked.

After three years in prison, he suffered nothing but injuries. The most important thing in painting is the charm, which is closely related to people's circumstances. Although my skills have not deteriorated, my mood is not as good as before, and I will feel lonely after putting it on paper.

"nothing."

I stared at the spread of ink stains, and memories came flooding back.

In the fifteenth year of the Republic of China, the Spring Equinox.

Late at night, I had fallen asleep soundly. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a black figure broke in and rushed to my bed. I was completely unprepared, so I jumped up in fright, touched the stool by the window, and almost split the person's head.

"It's me!" the shadow said, crying.

I calmed down, and under the moonlight, I saw Ivy kneeling in front of me, with two lines of clear tears hanging on her face.

I sighed. After listening to her words, I ran out of ideas for a moment and asked her, when you ran out, no one saw you, right?

"Yuzhi, what should I do?" Ivy shook her head and held the tea cup helplessly.

"Don't be afraid, father must have drunk too much," I comforted Ivy, but actually I was comforting myself, "He gets confused when he drinks too much, he must have recognized the wrong person!"

"But he called my name!"

"You must have heard wrong, he was calling Liu Yiniang," I denied, shaking my head repeatedly, "No one can say anything about today's matter except me!"

I hugged Ivy's shoulders tightly, ignoring that she was still shaking, and was anxious to make her promise not to tell anyone about this matter.

"Xiao Lian! This matter is related to my father's reputation," I said seriously, "He drank too much, you won't blame him, right?" All I could think about was saving my father's face.

She opened her mouth, but said nothing. Tears fell one by one, and she looked straight at me. There were many complicated things in her eyes that I couldn't understand.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She wiped her face, stood up and walked out.

Early the next morning, I heard that Ivy had run away, so I hurried out and saw her being kidnapped by two servants, looking haggard.

She was tied up in the woodshed and taught a lesson for three days. During the period, I secretly went to find her, stuffed the folding fan into her arms, and only said: "Hide it, it will protect you."

"This fan has spirituality, can ward off disasters, and boost your fortune. Once you lose it, you will have no protection in your life, and it will be difficult to turn around in the future!" On the way to leave, the fortune teller's words hit my head with a "clang". Buzzing.

A bronze birthday celebration plaque tied with a red ribbon was carried through the gate by two servants, with four characters written on it: Yide Prolongs the Year. When my father saw him, he greeted him with a smile on his face. The person who came was about forty years old, wearing a tailored suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with a gentle appearance.

I heard people say that that is Miles Wuye, the boss of Shanghai Jade Dragon Society. He has all the skills to get out of the quagmire. He is especially good at speculation. Whether he is a former Qing Dynasty veteran, a warlord politician, a socialite, or a financial tycoon, he is all right. He is very respectful in his etiquette and makes every effort to make friends.

Today is my father's fiftieth birthday. The weather is pleasant and the eight-table banquet is set up in the front yard. As the commander-in-chief, my father's birthday banquets were always full of guests and friends, and very lively.

I kept looking for Ivy secretly, and it took me a while to see her walking over with a large basin of soup. As soon as she reached Mr. Miles Wu's side, her foot slipped and the soup basin instantly fell to the ground. My father slammed the table in anger and called his servants to take Mr. Miles Wu to change clothes.

I quickly stood up, wanting to intercede for Ivy, but before I could speak, I saw Master Wu shaking off the soup stains on his body and raising his hand to signal everyone to sit down.

"What's your name?" Fifth Master leaned over and looked at Ivy's appearance.

"Go back to Fifth Master, Ivy." She didn't dare to look up.

"Where are you from?"

"Qingzhou, a small place."

The fifth master nodded thoughtfully, and his father saw it.

A few days later, I couldn't find Ivy at home. In desperation, Sixth Yiniang secretly told me that my father noticed that Mr. Miles Wu was interested in Ivy and sent Ivy to Mr. Miles.

I knelt outside my father's room all night. Early in the morning, the little maid served her father to rinse her mouth. He said calmly: "Master Miles Wu is going to take her back to Shanghai. He will set off overnight. I'm afraid he will have arrived in Xuzhou by now."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" I almost lost my mind and wanted to fight my father.

"What can I do if I tell you?" My father was wiping his hands with a white towel and said calmly, "That girl will follow Mr. Miles Wu and she will be rich and prosperous in the future. It's not your turn to worry about her!"

"But she, she and I..." I said, half of my confidence was gone. She and I had nothing but the fan of red plums. She never even said whether she really wanted to marry me. To be honest, I also feel that she is of low status. How could she not be happy to marry me?

I was unwilling to give in. I went on a hunger strike for three weeks and was sent to the hospital, where I almost failed to be rescued. Let me just say this to my father: I, Mr. Cao’s son, can have any woman in Zhuozhou, but I can’t accept the one Miles Wuye likes!

Ivy went to Shanghai. After this farewell, there was no news.

Later, my father made the decision for me and got married. The woman comes from a wealthy local family and her family is engaged in timber business. Huishan is well-educated, sensible, gentle and pleasant, but it is really unfair to marry a young master who spends all his time in debauchery.

Until two years later, when my father was seriously ill, I went out to get medicine for him. When I passed by a bookstore, there was a copy of the most popular movie magazine at the moment - "Lianhua Pictorial" at the door. On the cover is rising movie star Lila Chen. Her exaggerated makeup cannot hide her familiar features, especially her eyes, which are full of hope and brilliance.

"Sir, buy a copy. This issue is about movie star Lila Chen, the future successor of Ruan Lingyu!" the bookstore owner shouted enthusiastically.

I laughed and shook my head.

When I rushed home with my medicine bag, before I stepped through the door, a cry stopped me in my tracks and echoed throughout the Cao family house.