Gongyang Nong asked, "Have you been here before?"
"He used to set up a stage elsewhere, and I used to support him. The people under him sang well."
While he was talking, a woman wearing white clothes with red flowers on her eyebrows walked by.
Gong Yangnong seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move. He didn't even dare to breathe. Seeing him like this, Chu Cheng joked, "What, you are also attracted to her?"
"Is it possible that you also..."
"Of course not. No matter how beautiful she is, she is just an actress. She can relieve boredom, but if she is tempted, she will be really stupid." Chu Cheng said nonchalantly.
"What's her name?"
"Twelve mothers."
"Twelve Mothers? Don't you have a surname?"
"I heard that her father's surname was Jiang, and he was kicked out of the family. The family did not allow her to use her father's surname anymore."
Gong Yangnong watched her walking by intently, but suddenly the woman seemed to notice his gaze. Gongyang Nong was worried that his gaze would intrude on her, so he quickly looked away.
A few days later, he came to Liluoyuan again.
I heard that Twelve Niangs are going to sing "Qing Qiu Jie" today.
The clapper struck for the third time, and the horn came out.
She put on her costume, and her delicate face was smeared with grease. She sang the first line, "Now I sit alone behind the curtain."
Gong Yangnong immediately forgot about the woman he had been having fun with a few days ago. At this moment, all he could think about was the woman on the stage, Twelve Niangs.
He had already fallen deeply in love with her without even saying a word to her. The heavy makeup covered up her original beauty, but he still loved her. When he saw her for the first time that day, he didn't see her face clearly. , just felt her presence, like a flower, quietly blooming in a corner, waiting for him to look back.
He knew that this was the woman he had been waiting for in his life.
He left the family because of a woman, because he made a promise to that woman. It was a promise made when he was young. He felt that the promise was more important than reputation, so he left the Gongyang family for her.
But at this moment, he suddenly regretted it. Without the support of his family, what could he rely on to impress a beautiful woman
He only had three taels of silver with him, and it was the hundred taels he took with him when he finally left home. After giving it to the woman, this was all he had left.
If his friends help, they will be punished by the family, and he doesn't want them to be implicated.
Father is waiting for him to bow his head, waiting for him to go back. He wants him to admit his mistake in front of him and admit that giving up the entire family for a woman and a promise is the most willful sin.
But he always believed that he was not wrong.
The father said that the woman could be put into the home, but except for the wife, the rest were just decorations. He did not want such decorations, he only wanted a wife, a wife who would accompany him throughout his life.
After leaving Gongyang's home, he got lost in brothels, casinos, and wine shops. After living under the protection of his father for many years, Gongyang Nong was extremely tired. Even if it was his own father, he felt that he was like a puppet in his hands, just a human being. dead.
Now, he knew he had seen the end.
is her.
He was suffering from the lack of money to reward this wonderful show. When he saw the man next to him throwing a jade ring, he thought so too, but there was nothing in his hand. Then he remembered that the woman asked him to take away everything.
That's fine, so we don't owe each other anything.
Chu Cheng stuffed a piece of gold into his sleeve and said, "Go ahead, this is enough to buy her preserves."
"What's the meaning?"
"She always has a bag of candied fruits in her hand, and she won't be happy if the candied fruit bottoms out."
After that, push him forward.
Unexpectedly, Twelve Niang smiled and said, "I have met the young master."
The makeup and film on her face have been removed, and there are no flowers on her forehead today. She has a plain face and bright eyes.
The girl next to Twelve Niang said deliberately, "Oh, our girl has finished eating her preserves."
Gongyang Nong said quickly, "I'll buy some."
After leaving the theater, he ran into a pickled fruit shop. After watching it for a long time, he patted his head helplessly. He forgot to ask Twelve Niang what kind of preserves she liked to eat.
Chu Cheng soon followed and said, "She likes candied dates, only candied dates."
"Thank you." He was grateful.
Gongyang smiled thickly and said, "I really want to buy all the candied dates here and give them to her."
Chu Cheng shook his head and said, "She is not a princess or a lady, she is just an actress, a slave in a humble status. You don't have to go out of your way to please her."
"Chu Cheng!" He was a little annoyed.
"That's all, it's up to you. Just have fun anyway. When you've had enough fun, go back to your house and admit your mistake to your father."
"Mind my own business."
"I don't want to care, but the sweat towel on your body belongs to me. You are so poor now that you can't even buy a small piece of pastry."
Gongyang Nong was not angered by him, "I know, so I always thank you."
"You want good-looking women, let me find some for you. Twelve Mother's complexion is not good. I heard people say she won't live for a few more years."
Gongyang Nong was startled, "What are these words?"
"She indulges in sensuality and is almost exhausted."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Gongyang Nong didn't want to pay attention to him anymore, and hurried back, worried that she would have left long ago.
"Did you really buy it for me?"
Twelve Niang asked him, the black pupils on her pale face were as bright as polished obsidian.
"Give... to Miss Jiang." He bent down, raised the candied fruit above his head, and lowered his head to give it to him.
This funny action completely made Twelve Mother laugh, "Hahahahahahaha..."
She and the woman accompanying her laughed.
It was he who became the butt of their jokes.
Chu Cheng didn't know how long he had been watching for a while before he interrupted and said, "Twelve Niangs, if he respects you, why make fun of him?"
"I just think it's funny..." She kept laughing and coughed.
The male sheep blushed deeply and was laughed at by a group of women. He ran away in a hurry, not daring to look back.
When Chu Cheng spoke to him, he asked unconvincingly, "What did Twelve Mothers say after I left?"
"Don't worry, she just laughed at you for a moment. A woman like her has no etiquette, justice or shame. Why should you care about her jokes?"
"I never want to meet a woman like this again." He said.
After walking a few steps, Gongyang Nong regretted, "I can't forget Twelve Mothers. I want to get her. Even if I die, I still want to get her."
Chu Cheng hated that iron could not become steel, "You just left, and you fell into another trap?"
"The Twelve Mothers are not a trap." He argued.
"The more beautiful a woman is, the greater the trap is. They will use their beauty to seduce you, sacrifice everything, and finally make you sacrifice yourself."
He was fascinated, "I am willing to give everything for her."
"I was totally wrong. I shouldn't have taken you to Liluoyuan, and I shouldn't have let you see her. I thought she would relieve your boredom, that's all."
Gong Yangnong said absolutely not, "This is the greatest help you have given me over the years I have known you, and it is also the thing for which I am most grateful to you."
He caught a glimpse of Twelve Niangs coming out of the theater and getting into a carriage.
Chu Cheng wanted to stop him, but he didn't. He was like a madman.
He drove a horse and followed Twelve Niang's car.
Twelve Niang's carriage stopped in front of a house, and a man who was more than ten years older than her came out, held her hand and walked into the house.
He stopped his horse at the corner of the street, still reluctant to take his eyes away from where she left.
(End of chapter)