The Twelve Years: Song of the Unsung Friends

The woman said a birthday message to Master Fu, and laughed out herself first: "My father forced me to recite it, for fear that if I say too much, he will be ashamed." She took off her coat to a maid who followed. The style of the long skirt is similar to Shen Xi.

They all came back from overseas, which is far from the aesthetics of the ladies and aunts here.

Because of this, she looked at Shen Xi more.

The Fu family knew her very well. Although people arrived late, she didn't see her being restrained and didn't regard herself as a guest. Instead, she seemed casually like a lady in the house. The old lady called her to sit next to her, but she refused.

"I'll just be by the fence, with Six Sisters." She leaned against the fence and sat behind Fu Tong Wenzheng.

People sat down and seemed to notice Shen Xi: "This is?"

Miss Six whispered: "Miss Shen, the third brother...people."

Gu Youwei was silent for a while and said with a smile: "Hello. My name is Gu, Gu Youwei."

Shen Xi nodded and said kindly: "Hello. My name is Shen, Shen Xi."

"Shen Xi?" Gu Youwei said her name twice without seriousness. After a long while, she smiled and said, "Happy meeting."

This is very meaningful.

Shen Xi puzzled.

Gu Youwei put one hand on the back of Fu Dongwen's chair: "When you see me, have you gone all the gossip?"

Fu Tongwen looked at the stage and said, "How long will I stay after this trip?"

"Long long time," Gu Youwei asked softly, "can it?"

Fu Tongwen evaded the emphasis and said lightly: "It's not serious to say a few words, it's still the same."

"Do you want me to be serious?" In order to avoid others, Gu Youwei said softly in English, "You have to speak well, I tell the truth, you can't lie to me," she put her chin on the back of her hand gently, and said It’s a bit lower, “You’re so fake, who have you really thought about it? You’re like this in your teens, it’s all in your twenties and thirties.”

Fu Dongwen seemed to be used to it, and smiled back: "Yes, I'm very fake to everyone. Listening to me is better than listening to the drama."

His words are dazzling, flying across the water, leaving no room for entanglement.

"But I like you like this, this is you." She changed back to the Chinese language, as if she wanted to tell the people present.

Fu Dongwen shook his head and smiled, and stopped talking.

It's fun to sing and make peace. Only she sings, but she doesn't respond. Gu Youwei also feels bored and quiets down.

Seeing that Gu Youwei had fallen in love, Miss Six smiled, and persuaded Gu Youwei, "Sister Youwei, don't you know? No one can say about my third brother. If you have someone to support you, just ignore him. ."

Gu Youwei stroked her short hair with her hand, and said in a low voice, "I never wanted to identify him."

The words are full of loss.

Their conversation just now was a mixture of Chinese and English, and Gu Youwei meant to avoid her elders.

But for Shen Xi, English is not an obstacle. She is the only one here to listen.

This woman should be the fiancée who had had a lot of weight in Fu Dongwen's first half of his life in the long time.

The fragments I heard from Gu Yiren and Tan Qingxiang in the past are all in one place, full of affection, and the bundle of letters hidden in a small building in Shanghai is also afflicted.

Although she did not open the letters, she felt the thickness and could guess that there were at least ten pieces of letter paper in each.

She also sent a letter to Fu Dongwen in New York. At that time, she regarded him as a benefactor, her words were correct and she didn't have much thoughts.

But they are not the same. They grew up together. Zeng Lang was in love with concubines and had a marriage contract. Naturally, the letter said the words add food and the next words are long memories.

...

The maid added water to the people present, and the teacups of Fu Dongwen, Shen Xi and Gu Youwei were all placed on the same coffee table.

In a few strands of tea smoke, Shen Xi and Fu Tongwen wanted to take tea cups almost at the same time.

Such a coincidence.

The two looked at each other, Fu Dongwen poked her hand away and exchanged tea cups. He drank her tea, but even turned the direction of the mouth of the cup to drink to the spot where her lips were covered...

Qiang Qiang's drums and gongs--

Fu Tongwen glanced over her and smiled faintly.

Shen Xi danced heart by heart, don't go too far. Fu Tong text wanted to make her happy. Seeing this situation, he had to laugh at himself and sip the hot tea in small sips.

From the appearance of Gu Youwei, he had already figured out the causes and consequences.

The easing of the father-son relationship is inseparable from her. The engagement to Gu Youwei was the elders of the two families trying their best to match. He did not object, but wanted to use the Gu family's relationship with the government to open up his own way to save the country.

He can understand how ordinary women are true to him, not to mention this former fiancee.

Because the purpose of the engagement was not pure, Fu Dongwen always felt guilty for the fiancee he had known since childhood. He didn't want to repay Gu Youwei's love, but if she hadn't forced him to abandon the country, Fu Dongwen could at least give her a clean marriage.

On the eve before she went to France, he was listening to the music in the Shihua Hall, and he was late to clean up the West Wing.

Gu Youwei broke in before she fell asleep. She cried and hugged him, and ignored her own reputation, wishing to give herself to him that night, in such a place. Fu Tongwen tried his best to comfort her and called Tan Qingxiang to send her away.

She also gradually calmed down, with red and swollen eyes, and asked Tan Qingxiang for a cigarette.

On the big bed in the wing, the girl pinched a cigarette with two fingers, and said a few words to Fu Dongwen in front of Tan Qingxiang:

She said that Fu Dongwen's fooling around in the Fengyue field is fine. Anyway, all the people in Beijing, from writers to princes, and even the young masters of the Gu family and the Fu family, all have good women in brothels. She loves more than Fu Dongwen, so what about regulation and requirements? Unexpectedly, Fu Dongwen raised a little girl in private. How dirty, how toothless.

Fu Tongwen didn't expect that this matter would let her know. Afterwards, he learned that his eldest brother wanted to ruin the marriage, so that Fu Dongwen had no Gu's family as a backer, pretending to be a failure, and told her about the Huayan Museum.

Gu Youwei didn't expect that she would find Shihua Pavilion as her fiancee and recommend herself a pillow seat, but she could not exchange for Fu Dongwen to put down everything in the country, including the little girl raised in Huayan Pavilion.

Fu Dongwen that night completely crushed her self-esteem.

The two broke up unhappily and never saw each other again.

Until tonight.

That year was the 31st year of Guangxu, and Shen Xi's second year in Beijing.

The incident that Shen Xi was rescued by Fu Dongwen was the last fire to burn the marriage contract.

Why is Gu Youwei coming back again?

Fu Dongwen knew it was for himself, but he was afraid that it was for himself.

The audience burst into applause.

Fu Dongwen put aside the tea cup.

"Do you like to watch these? I didn't like it since I was a child." Gu Youwei held the back of the chair with her elbows, and in an intimate posture, next to Fu Dongwen's shoulder, chatting with Shen Xi.

On the stage, the man fell ill with lovesickness, and it was difficult to get up for a long time. The woman wet her face with tears of rouge and married as another woman.

Here in the audience, it's a different world.

From the New York subway, Shen Xi and Gu Youwei talked about European and American architecture, and then to the laws that blacks and whites cannot marry in several states. At first they were talking about it, and then the juniors on the second floor were attracted. The younger ones who are more active come over to listen directly, and the elders are also unwilling to listen to the drama, and focus their attention on them.

At first, it was a normal discussion.

Later, something was getting more and more wrong. When Shen Xi said that the Metropolitan Museum in New York, she would say the Louvre. Shen Xi said that she studied medicine. She had to say that Europe was the birthplace of cardiology, as if she had to compare with Shen Xi. Come up and down. Shen Xi was not a person who likes to argue, and always died down and let her win.

Today it was Fu Dongwen who was granted a pardon before leaving the yard.

I have been isolated from the world for more than 100 days, and the situation of the Fu family and the current situation outside have not yet been figured out. The best thing to do is to stop talking and not argue with this "dignified guest". Shen Xi still understands this truth.

It's useless to win or lose for a while, and it's useless to win. It can make Fu Dongwen get rid of the imprisonment, so that he can open his hands and do things.

She lowered her eyebrows to drink tea, so relieved herself.

Yu Guangli, she saw Fu Dongwen glancing at herself.

When the play ended, the people downstairs were cheering and making the people on the second floor throw money down.

After losing the nickel and copper coins, Miss Six pestered Fu Dongwen and begged him for money. Fu Tongwen smiled and did not respond, and winked at Wan An who was standing by. Wan An ran down, and soon brought up a mahogany pallet, uncovered the red cloth, and Yuan's head was piled up into a small hill. The young ladies breathed in surprise.

"It's really nonsense," the old lady grinned with a smile, "throwing such a reward of silver, it would be a big hit."

"Father is over his birthday, always asking for a prize. Wan'an, go and call someone to avoid it."

"Yes."

Wan An leaned forward and yelled that he was about to lose Yuan's head, and don't hurt anyone.

The relatives and actors in the audience were all pleasantly surprised, pushing each other, letting out the scene, and looking up to the second floor.

Fu Dongwen grabbed a handful of Yuan's head and spilled all of it downstairs. A large number of silver coins, dazzling in the moonlight and lights, hit the stage like hail.

It crackled for a while, like someone lighting a string of firecrackers, it was as lively as the New Year.

The people underneath laughed and shouted for reward.

This time Miss Six also let go, leading a group of sisters, learning Fu Dong's text, and throwing down the silver dollars. The first floor kept cheering, and the young ladies and young masters on the second floor laughed endlessly.

The aunts and madams were naturally happy when they saw their children having fun.

"It's still the third younger brother who will show his style, and it will be passed on tomorrow, and my father will be more polished." Fu Erye smiled and said to the old lady.

"Yes," the second youngest grandmother also helped. "Seeing that the new year is about to be closed, the troupe is going to various houses, and the words come out very quickly."

"Dong Wen, I have never lost anyone to you." The old lady also said from the side.

Several aunts like the Third Young Master, and they all agree.

The lights are bright, the sky is joyous, and the family is happy.

In this atmosphere, even Uncle Fu had to follow his family and say good things to Fu Dongwen.

Although Master Fu did not express his position, he was in a good mood. He took a look at Fu Dongwen: "Tonight is a serious look. If you can understand the painstaking effort of being a father and marry You Wei, you will truly be filial to me."

Fu Dongwen was far away, with both hands in his trouser pockets, leaning on the pillar, watching the excitement downstairs.

Due to four months of imprisonment and chronic illness, his face looks thinner than before.

Several big red lanterns hung on the second floor, which were blown around by the wind, and the characters of blessing appeared from time to time. His eyes were bright and dark in the flames of the lantern, and when it was bright, it was the surface of the lake under the moon, the water was shining, and when it was dark, it was the mountains and the rain, and the mountains were cloudy.

***

When returning, Master Fu ordered Fu Dongwen to send Gu Youwei.

Wan An escorted Shen Xi back to the yard, worried that she felt uncomfortable, and didn’t know how to persuade her. He stubbornly talked about the current situation from the moon all the way, wanting to learn from Fu Dongwen’s way of worrying about the country and the people. It is even more embarrassing to say a few words without words.

"I'm going to the study, you go to bed." She reached the door of the upper room and didn't want to go in.

I was panicked.

"What is Miss Shen doing in the study so late?"

She smiled bitterly: "You have changed your way all the way to make me happy, what are you doing?"

"I know you're upset... I just don't know, what good is going to the study."

Shen Xi opened the cotton curtain and said with a smile: "Go find two books, and you will be relieved by reading them."

"That's right," Wan'an took it seriously, "then you go and read a few more books to calm down."

Shen Xi entered the study, but couldn't laugh.

Tonight, she could see that Gu Youwei came back to rekindle her old relationship with Fu Dongwen. The girl behaved very positively, and Fu's parents also deliberately contributed to... She took a few books from the shelf and snuggled them onto the couch by the window.

The room was no better than the fire in the bedroom. Only two charcoal stoves were burning. Shen Xi was afraid of the cold and pressed everything that could cover his body on his legs. There is a western-style grandfather clock at the top of the wall, magnifying the passage of minutes and seconds infinitely for her.

She looked down at the book for a while, and couldn't calm down, so she put the book under her head, thinking with anger that she would sleep here tonight. It took half an hour to take a car. Is it going to be sent out of Beijing?

The wind smashed the window paper, adding to the upset.

There was a cold wind blowing on the face, and the movement of cotton curtains falling.

came back?

Shen Xi resisted, not opening his eyes, wanting to hear him speak first.

But no one spoke to her. People pretended to close their eyes for a long time, and their eyelids would tremble because of a guilty conscience. After a while, she couldn't get through Fu Dongwen, so she opened her eyes to find him.

He just saw him smiling and leaning against the bookshelf, looking back at himself, as if waiting for a long time.

Shen Xi propped his arms, sat upright, and straightened his hair: "I fell asleep accidentally."

"Next time I'm going to sleep here, first tell me to go down and let people burn a few more charcoal pots." He laughed, carrying a book to the edge of the couch without taking off his shoes, and leaning on her shoulder.

Still angry...

Shen Xi glanced at him complainingly, moved his body to avoid him.

But sometimes when he gets up rascal, he will forget his age and identity, like a teenage boy, such as him in front of him, no matter how she hides, he depends on her shoulders. Leaning on and leaning alive until she forced her to a corner, finally leaning on her as she wished: "I was so wronged, and the car broke when someone was sent out. When her family picked it up, it blew a lot of wind. , My head hurts." After a long pause, there was no more.

Fell asleep? headache? Would you like to drink something to keep away the cold?

When I started to worry, I heard him ask with a smile: "Yang Yang, you said, your head hurts like this, but you don't see a good face. Am I very pitiful?"