On the mahjong table, Cheng Fengtai sat opposite his brother-in-law Fan Lian, and the other two were wives from wealthy families. There were six tables in two brightly lit halls. People of their class became lively at night, celebrating birthdays one by one, taking concubines and giving birth to children one by one.
Cheng Fengtai was playing cards, and Chachaer was wearing a red dress and skirt, sitting beside him peeling grapes, peeling and eating himself, and was strangely quiet amidst the noise. Cheng Fengtai turned his head from time to time and asked Cha Cha'er to ask for grapes to tease her, but Cha Cha'er ignored her, and occasionally stuffed one into his mouth out of trouble.
Fan Lian laughed while talking, forgetting the rules, and lit a cigarette. Before he could take a sip in his mouth, Cheng Fengtai glared at him: "Pinch it. My sister is here, she's going to cough."
Fan Lian pinched his cigarette reluctantly, and complained: "Brother-in-law—I didn't mean you, let's play cards, why did you bring the third sister out? It's so late, the children have to go to bed."
When Cha Cha'er heard someone talking about her, she stopped eating grapes. Under the bright light, a pair of brown transparent big eyes looked straight at Fan Lian, two cold lights, and the red dress on her body also showed a kind of dazzling of horror. Fan Lian was very uncomfortable being looked at by her. He had long thought that this child was a bit evil, gloomy, and never spoke. Although the facial features are beautiful, there is a murderous look and sharpness in the beauty. I don't know how it was brought up. It is said that her mother is a woman of a foreign race in southern Xinjiang. Could it be Miao people? That's poisonous...
The women next to them complained immediately after accumulating resentment: "Yes, Second Master, we are here with a child, and we are not allowed to smoke, we are suffocating."
"It's not just about playing cards with my younger sister. The second master takes her with him everywhere. He also brought her with me when I was talking about business with my master last time."
"I said, Second Master, is Miss San really your own sister? The two brothers and sisters look nothing alike. Besides, there is no brother who loves his sister like this. Don't lie to us."
Having said that, everyone smiled meaningfully. Cheng Fengtai was caught by their jokes, smiled and glanced at them: "Don't talk nonsense! This joke is too wicked." He put his arm around Chacha'er's shoulder: "Little sister, come and draw a card for brother."
Chacha'er squeezed a card, and the grape juice in his hand smeared on the card, it was sticky, Cheng Fengtai wiped it on his clothes, opened it to take a look, and found it was stupid. He bowed his head and held Chacha'er's face and kissed it.
"Aha! You know why I brought her, she is my Lucky Star!"
Fan Lian lost his bet and said angrily, "Don't be complacent! I also have a younger sister, next time I will bring my Jin Ling'er too."
Cheng Fengtai said: "Speaking of my sister-in-law, Brother Lian, let me ask you, why is my wife's name Fan You and your name Fan Lian, but there is a gold letter in my sister-in-law's name? Isn't that a mess of characters?"
Fan Lian said: "When the third sister was born, there were locusts in my grassland. The harvest was not good, and I lost a lot of silver. The fortune teller said it was because there was too much water in our sister's name, and the water was too golden. My father was in a hurry. Add gold to the third sister's name."
Everyone suddenly realized and let out a long cry. Small and trivial matters among famous families are very interesting when they are spread out.
The lady on the right asked: "Fan Erye still has a grassland at home in the north?"
The lady on the opposite side looked at Fan Lian, and said with a smile to the lady: "It's not just the grassland, there are several mountains and our own guards. Fan Jiabao, the king of the frontier! Whoever marries him will be the princess!"
The young lady blushed when she was told that she was moved. She couldn't see Fan Lian's appearance as a modern gentleman. His family was actually doing such a primitive business.
Fan Lian said with a smile: "What kind of frontier king? It's been a year and a month. It's gone now! When the Japanese came, they robbed my family of a big village, and the family's soldiers fought with them every day. I'm a scholar. , Those who are most afraid of these knives and guns, no, I took my younger brother and sister to Peiping, and asked my sister to seek refuge with relatives."
Cheng Fengtai took a puff of cigarette, squinted his eyes and spewed out the smoke, cursing: "You still have the face to mention this, you are useless! You don't guard your own house, you only know to hand it over to the people below! If it were me, the Japanese would dare to touch one Try it? Don't poke their intestines out!"
Fan Lian nodded and smiled, "Of course. Who doesn't know your Second Master Cheng's temper, you're a bandit."
Ladies and gentlemen are not interested in family-country wars, and those who know the details joked: "Brother Lian has never won tonight, no wonder he is crying poor. Don't believe him. Those soldiers of the Fan family can fight against the Japanese, can they be worse? He, he studied outside for a few years and got used to the colorful world, and it would be fatal to return to the wilderness of Fanjiabao, so he came to Peiping to enjoy his life."
Fan Lian smiled and did not refute, probably on point.
The wife at the other table turned around and asked Fan Lian, "Second Master Fan, how is the marriage between Miss Jin Ling and Young Master Sheng Liu? Is it right or wrong? When will we have the wedding wine?"
Cheng Fengtai said: "That's right, what happened to Jin Ling? Your sister asked me a while ago—she actually asked me about your family. Heh..."
Fan Lian shook his head and waved his hands impatiently: "Don't mention it, don't mention it, this matter is not allowed to be mentioned again. I solemnly declare: my sister Fan Jinling has nothing to do with Sheng Ziyun, the sixth son of Sheng. Relationship. What about the marriage! Where did the marriage come from?! Which good-natured person is spreading gossip? My sister’s reputation is ruined!”
Cheng Fengtai raised his eyebrows and refused to admit it.
Fan Lian's words aroused a lot of speculation and curiosity. Everyone in the room listened to him and waited for him to tell the truth. Even the sound of shuffling cards became quieter. But Fan Lian fell silent and stopped talking, which showed that there were some inside stories that were inconvenient to tell.
Cheng Fengtai couldn't bear it at first, the sixth son of Sheng, Sheng Ziyun, is the younger brother of his old classmate, he came to Beijing to study, he has the responsibility of guardianship for him: "What's the matter with the kid from the Sheng family?"
Fan Lian said: "The sixth boy of the Sheng family... Hey, my sister doesn't like him, even if she does, my family can't have such a young man."
"Oh, you're going to kill me! What's wrong with Master Yun?"
Fan Lian played a card, looked around, and said in surprise, "Why, you all don't know? Sheng Ziyun has become an actor."
Everyone sighed for a while, lamenting that Reader Lang didn't learn well.
Cheng Fengtai said: "Hold an actor? Such a half-sized boy, hold an actor?"
Fan Lian lamented: "Ah! I just won it! Do you know who it is? It's Shang Xirui! He runs to the theater every day, and writes drama reviews and biographies for Shang Xirui in the newspaper. I'm crazy." It's all over!"
Everyone sighed again. In the hands of the famous Shang Xirui, the child is ruined.
Cheng Fengtai said: "Shang Xirui? It's him again!"
Fan Lian said: "Brother-in-law knows him even if he doesn't listen to the show?"
Cheng Fengtai said: "The number one Dan in Peking, who doesn't know? I know a lot."
Others laughed and said, "Then second master, tell us?" "Second master Cheng is just a gossip."
Cheng Fengtai shook his head: "Some people call him Su Daji, others call him Ma Wencai. It's hard to say. Chachaer, give me another one."
Mrs. Liu next to him slapped Cheng Fengtai's hand: "Don't let the third lady touch it again, she will win if she touches the second master."
Cheng Fengtai glanced at her and smiled slightly: "Then, Mrs. Liu touch one for me?"
What he said was very ambiguous on purpose, which made everyone around laugh, they all knew that Cheng Fengtai's mouth was not on the spectrum, and no one took him seriously. Mrs. Liu blushed and spat at him. Mr. Liu laughed with hatred when he heard it in the distance, walked over and gave Cheng Fengtai a hard push: "Second Master Cheng! I don't know the seriousness of this, be careful, I'll tell Second Mistress."
Fan Lian laughed and said, "It's no use telling me, my sister can't control him!"
Playing around for a while, and then bringing the conversation back to the scandal between Sheng Ziyun and Shang Xirui, but no one paid attention to Miss Fan Jinling anymore.
Cheng Fengtai said: "Sheng Ziyun came to Peiping to study, he is good, to hold an opera show! That stuff costs more than going to a kiln. His brother must have found out that I took him away. He wrote to me last time to ask me about the prices in Peking. To what extent, it must be the younger brother always asking for money from the family, he became suspicious - Brother Lian, tell me, is this Shang Xirui a Su Daji or a Ma Wencai? Such a disaster."
When others talk about Shang Xirui, they always carry a lot of legend, and most of them are hearsay, the truth is open to question. Fan Lian said that Shang Xirui is highly credible. Because when these anecdotes happened, he was in Pingyang. Moreover, he is the second grandmother's half-brother, and he is also related to Chang Zhixin, not a blood relative.
Fan Lian said: "Let me tell you, Shang Xirui is both Su Daji and Ma Wencai. Back then, in Pingyang, ho! It was so lively! Shang Xirui and my cousin parted ways, and the trouble in Pingyang's Liyuan Tour stopped." .Pingyang is different from your Shanghai, where there are a lot of operas! The common people may not know who the president has changed now; which actors have sung which operas, they can count them more clearly than the family tree. Not singing, made the common people in Pingyang feel like they were addicted to opium - there were fights every day on the street at that time - there was no show to listen to, and they were impetuous, relying on fighting to get angry."
What happened in Pingyang back then has been discussed countless times by them, but every time it is mentioned, everyone is still very excited.
Someone asked: "They separated, why did the Liyuan perform collectively strike?"
Fan Lian said: "If you think about it, the two leading horns each have a supporter. When they fight, each of their troops will support one side, and it will turn over, and there will be a lot of trouble! Especially in the Shuiyun Tower At that time, there were two factions, and there was a lot of internal strife. The day my cousin and my cousin left Pingyang, Shang Xirui couldn't think about it, so he ran to the bell tower and sang for a day and a night. His bright voice is considered After a long drought and rain, the lives of Pingyang people were saved. All the people in the city stood under the bell tower to listen to the opera and applauded him. Yes. Shang Xirui sang he was coughing up blood and he was still stubborn. When he was told to come down, he walked up the edge, as if he was going to jump off the building, but he was bluffing. In the end, Zhang Dashuai went up to the clock tower himself to coax him down like a cat—Zhang Dashuai was about It was at that time that he fell in love with him."
Cheng Fengtai said in his heart, first it was Marshal Zhang, then Commander Cao. Every time this Shang Xirui climbs the mountain and sings, he can hook up one of the princes, but he doesn't know whose turn it will be next.
"It is said that Shang Xirui was crazy at that time, really?"
Fan Lian said: "It's hard to say whether he's crazy or not. Anyway, I looked pretty disgusted. Marshal Zhang carried him down from the bell tower and brought him into the Marshal's mansion. Later, I also left Pingyang and never saw him again."
Although the protagonists in this section are two men, they are very romantic and moving, and the faces of the female guests present all have a little fascinated expression. But there are also unkind ones, jealous of Shang Xirui's extraordinary charm, and said bitterly: "Dashuai Zhang met Bai Huxing! Ask for trouble. Otherwise, why do you think Dashuai Zhang lost to Commander Cao? "
Cheng Fengtai was very interested: "Tell me, Mrs. Han, how did Marshal Zhang lose to my brother-in-law?"
Only then did Mrs. Han remember that Commander Cao's brother-in-law was present here, and she immediately softened her voice and laughed, "I also heard what others said, Second Lord, don't tell the Commander, what do we women know? - I heard that At that time, the troops on both sides were about the same. But Zhang Dashuai was fascinated by Shang Xirui, and Shang Xirui concocted some kind of fake medicine for Zhang Dashuai, who became confused and couldn't get up in bed. That's why there was no leader among the dragons, and the soldiers The defeat is like a mountain. Didn’t you see that Commander Cao handed over 30,000 troops to Marshal Zhang? If the Marshal is sober, can he not surrender after finishing fighting the soldiers?”
Cheng Fengtai said in surprise: "There's another thing! Shang Xirui's kung fu won't let Daji not be inferior to Baosi!"
Mrs. Han's eyes slanted: "What kind of kung fu, what a disaster! You men, you like to try something new. Shang Xirui can play, Wang Baochuan and Concubine Yang, ever-changing, so fresh."
Cheng Fengtai looked sideways at Mrs. Han with a smile, listening very seriously. Mrs. Han was so looked at by him that she forgot the following text, and her eyes couldn't help but entangled with it. Cheng Fengtai is like this, he often flirts with young ladies and wives regardless of time and place, making others sweat for him.
Fan Lian stared at Cheng Fengtai, coughed twice, and said brother-in-law, please take care of yourself, as there are so many people, you will be beaten to death by your husband sooner or later.
Fan Lian and Cheng Fengtai hit it off and hit it off, closer than their sister. Cheng Fengtai helped hide the affair from his sister outside, and the trouble made the second mistress not believe this younger brother anymore, and regarded him as an accomplice.
Someone took the opportunity to ask Fan Lian: "So now, Jiang Mengping won't sing anymore?"
Fan Lian said: "She really doesn't sing. Whenever Chang Zhixin has something to eat, she won't let her cousin show her face. Besides, she doesn't dare to come out, for fear that Shang Xirui will find bad luck."
Cheng Fengtai laughed: "Things have passed for several years, Shang Xirui is so energetic, still thinking about it? Let's talk about a little actor, who is going to bring bad luck to your relatives of the Fan family? Does he have the ability?"
Fan Lian said: "I don't know? The little opera singer may be impatient. Something happened back then, the two sisters turned against each other, and my cousin sister-in-law was also discouraged and cold. I gave up the Shuiyun Tower to him because of my old love, so I was afraid of him." To make it up to him. Then one day, Chang Zhixin and I escorted my cousin backstage to get some things. The kid who was learning opera saw her and yelled with joy, which happened to be heard by Shang Xirui. Shang Xirui Angrily, he picked up the curtain from the outside and came in. When they met each other, they tore their faces on the spot, rushed forward and pulled and dragged the couple to the street. Chang Zhixin was a young master, how could he bear this, his dignity was ruined! At that time, It is true that there are no tiles to cover the body, and there is no place to stand on the bottom... "
Cheng Fengtai's favorite thing to listen to is nosy in his life, and he regretted immediately: "I missed that time, otherwise I would have to teach this little actor a lesson. It's just a splash..." He wanted to say a shrew, but Shang Xirui was not a woman, Changed his words: "It's a shame!"
Fan Lian said with a smile: "You still teach him a lesson, he's really good at splashing, you haven't seen how Shang Xirui scolds people."
Cheng Fengtai smiled viciously: "He dares!" He added: "When you were in Pingyang, did you just watch Shang Xirui bully others?"
Fan Lian pushed his glasses and smiled: "This matter, once it comes, it's not easy for outsiders to get involved in emotional disputes. Chang Zhixin would rather leave Pingyang than my help. Besides, Shang Xirui - this is a hateful person , is also a poor person, I can't do it!"
Fan Lian's code of conduct is to stand alone and watch right and wrong, not even an actor is willing to offend easily, Cheng Fengtai and Cheng Fengtai are two completely different personalities.
Cheng Fengtai snorted, doubting Shang Xirui's pitifulness, from beginning to end, he could hear Shang Xirui furious, there was no trace of pitifulness. If he is pitiful for his senior sister's falling flowers, being intentional and ruthless, then there are too many pitiful people in the world-everyone has a pitiful place of frustration. At that time Cheng Fengtai didn't have a good impression of Shang Xirui, although he wasn't exactly jealous.
Shang Xirui is a rumored person, everything he does is legendary, as if he is far away from Cheng Fengtai.