Chapter 1

The bleak sunlight of early spring shone through the square stained glass on the second floor, hitting the Turkish carpet obliquely. The living room was very quiet, with only the ticking sound of the clock.

From time to time, the sound of bicycle bells could be heard on the street outside the mansion, a long string of "ring...ring...", passing by, like a stone thrown into a lake, shaking up slight ripples. A young voice hummed pitifully with Su Bai, "Gardenia white orchid, sir and lady buy one..." Gradually walking away, the lingering sound, and finally leaving a pale outline without substantial content.

A person walked down the spiral staircase, high heels stepping on the walnut floor, slowly moving lotus steps, looking down as he walked.

The tall man on the sofa was still lying on his back, his military cap on his face covering his eyes and eyebrows, so it was hard to tell whether he was asleep or awake. She crossed her arms and went over to him, her eyes half smiling and half half laughing, her eyes moving. A slight glance at him showed her a bit of cuteness. She leaned down and called him, "Second Young Master, you slept for a long time, the sun is about to set. I dont think your wife cares about you, tut tut, what a sin! You should just stay with me..."

The man lying on his back finally took off his cap, his eyebrows were flying, his lips were cold, and his face was full of heroism. He looked at his watch, let out a long breath, and covered his eyes with his hands.

She sat down opposite him, her legs crossed and stretched out from the slit of her cheongsam, her posture was beautiful, but it was a pity that she couldnt attract his attention. She didnt care much, and smoothed her curly bangs and said, "Why dont you talk? You came here like a gunpowder, fell asleep as soon as you arrived, and you think my place is a hotel? Hey, whats wrong with you and your wife? Since you are not happy, why dont you get a divorce? Can you bear to drink sesame oil every day?"

Liang Yan ignored her Wu dialect. The maid brought his coat to him. He shook it, and the buttons with the national emblem and the wing-shaped logo collided with each other, making a crisp sound. It was unnecessary to talk about marriage with a woman who had no family burden. He turned around, slowly arranged his epaulettes, buckled his belt, and pinned his sword to the buckle.

She leaned on the armrest of the sofa and turned to look at him, bending herself into an S shape, "Im talking to you, whats the point of pretending to be deaf and dumb?"

"You talk too much." He put on his hat and said impatiently, "I remember we had an agreement beforehand that we shouldnt ask about things that we shouldnt ask about. You forgot the rules, my concubine."

Her eyes immediately turned upside down. This man was ruthless and ungrateful. Although she was used to it, she still felt a little disappointed. How should I put it? The relationship between them is difficult to explain but also very easy to understand. When he was single, they had had physical contact a few times. He gave her money and she provided him with entertainment, thats all. But a fleeting relationship is also a relationship. Although the number of times was not many, she didnt charge him hourly fees when he was hiding from the world at her place. Isnt it because she values ​​him as a person!

She reached out and opened the cigarette box on the coffee table. With a series of very beautiful and uninhibited movements, she held a thin "Hardeman" between her red lips. She lit the cigarette with a gilded lighter, took a puff, and slowly exhaled, "You treat her wholeheartedly, I have heard rumors about Nanqin..." Her voice gradually lowered, and finally she put the words into her mouth.

He stared at her with a gloomy look, "What did you say?"

Concubine Qing choked for a moment, then realized that she had violated his taboo again. He and his wife had a bad relationship, but it was strange that he always protected Nanqin very much outside, and even forbad her to call her by her name, as if calling her would insult her. Didnt he not care about that lady Fang? In fact, he knew best what was going on. He should love that woman fiercely! A hard-mouthed man is obviously not pleasing, but he still has that kind of magic that makes women infatuated. Its not because he is Feng Kekuans son, nor because of his military rank. Its hard to praise a famous young man, but if you think about it carefully, he is attractive all over. It was like a burning charcoal nestled in the dead ashes, the flames were red and could not be ignored.

After all, she knew how to read peoples expressions. If she wanted to get along in the circle, it would be bad to offend him. She was distracted for a moment and the ash fell on her cheongsam. She pursed her lips and blew it away. She stood up and shook her shoulder to hit him, teasing him half-seriously and half-jokingly: "Oh, you are the second son, you are so embarrassed to joke? Okay, okay, I havent heard anything, this is okay!" She picked up the white gloves on the coffee table and presented them with both hands, smiling, "Its getting dark, it seems not good to go back too late, okay?"

He ignored her again, took the gloves, put them on, and went to the door. The adjutant who was waiting in the corner of the garden immediately drove up to meet him, asked the driver to stop at the bottom of the steps, got out of the car, and opened the door for him respectfully with the heels of his boots "clicking" together.

He had a dashing figure, and he looked even more handsome in military uniform. Concubine Qing walked him to the front of the car, raised her arm, put one elbow on the back of the other hand, and played a few fingers at him like playing the piano, "Goodbye, Second Young Master, come again when you miss me!" She chuckled, "If its not convenient, we can meet at the old place."

Feng Liangyan glanced at her, "You have a performance tonight, Ill have someone send a flower basket to show your support."

"Arent you coming?" She seemed to be looking forward to it, but then she thought it was not right, and said after brushing her perm, "Two wont work, at least five, to help me save face."

He didnt say anything else, bent down and got into the car.

The car drove past the neon-lit streets, he opened the window and looked out, a tram was coming towards him in the twilight, and the carriage was full of people going home from work. Maybe they had been drained of their souls after a hard day, and they all had wooden faces, countless walking corpses.

Adjutant Yu in the front seat turned around and asked him, "Second Young Master, are you going to the official residence or back to the Garden?"

Yu Raoliang was assigned to be his adjutant at the age of fifteen, and was the closest to him among the four ground service officers. He was used to calling him "Second Young Master" when he was not on duty, and it has not changed over the years. The official residence that Adjutant Yu mentioned was the Marshals Mansion in the Taitai, and he had moved out of there since he got married. However, the Garden was not far from the Taitai, and his mother missed him, so he often stayed for dinner after reporting military affairs, and sometimes stayed overnight.

It was getting dark, and the temperature outside was very low. The cold wind poured in from the window, cutting my face like a knife. There were many people on the street, and the car was moving very slowly, and I could clearly see the newsboys and cigarette girls passing by. He leaned back, his gloves pressed down half of his face, and said in a hoarse voice, "Go back to the garden."

Yu Raoliang said, "I have ordered a flower basket for Miss Zhou, and someone will send it over before the big stage opens."

The flower baskets for the singers were made very beautifully, and of course they were expensive. Five of them cost ten dollars in cash, which was a bit like a rip-off. The second young master Feng never hesitated to spend money on women, but Adjutant Yu couldnt help but feel pain. The cost was too high, and he felt it was not worth it. If Miss Zhou was stunning, it would be fine, but in fact she was not half as beautiful as the young lady at home. It was all thanks to her charming body, which was indeed advantageous in pleasing men. If the second young master was not such a vulgar person, he could also see that he was half-hearted towards those women. The money spent was nothing more than the price of not being emotional. He only cared about the young lady in his heart!

The car rolled onto the tram track and bumped slightly. A sweet and sticky fragrance drifted in from the window, the smell of hot osmanthus. Liang Yan leaned out to look. Someone was selling sugar-roasted chestnuts on the street. A big pot was placed on a coal stove made of gasoline barrels. A man was waving a shovel to stir-fry chestnuts in quartz sand. The frying was in full swing.

"Stop the car." He suddenly shouted and quickly opened the car door.

Yu Raoliang was a little surprised and hurriedly followed him. He saw him retreat to a stall and bought a bag of chestnuts and held it to his chest.

Nanqin loved chestnuts. When he was studying abroad, he missed the taste of his hometown. He ran several streets to buy it in the Chinese area. Perhaps because of the different mood, Chinese snacks in the United States are not as good as imagined. She used a few of them and threw them away, and never mentioned it again.

The paper bag was boiling hot, and the puffs of hot steam rolled and steamed, hitting his chin in waves. The car drove back to the direction of Yangyuan. Today was the weekend, and he should have a happy holiday, but he came out of the house. As for the reason, he was not very clear. He drank some wine at noon and vaguely remembered that he had some quarrels with her. Anyway, it was not a big deal - compared with the knot between them, it was nothing important.

The car drove into the gate of the garden and stopped beside the fountain. The servants of the family came out to greet him. When he got out of the car, he was holding the chestnuts in his hand and asked, "Is the young lady asleep?"

Wu Ma said, "The young lady had dinner and went to bed early."

He paused slightly, smiled mockingly, and handed the paper bag to Wu Ma, "Go make a plate of chestnut roast chicken, I havent eaten yet."

The hall was brightly lit, and the military boots stepped silently on the carpet. He walked to the stairs and looked up, hesitated for a moment before going upstairs. Her room was at the end of the corridor. He walked over slowly. The mahogany carved door in front of him was closed, as if cutting off all feelings and connections. He hesitated a little and went down to turn the doorknob. He had tried it many times before, and it was always locked every time. But today, strangely, he was able to open it. He knew that she would never leave the door open for him on purpose. She probably forgot.

He slipped in. The bedside lamp was still on. The room was filled with a faint halo and fragrance. He put his hand on the bed frame and looked over from the end of the bed. She was lying on her side, with her heavy black hair covering the entire pillow. He turned to face her, silently, and just looked at her quietly. She closed her eyes, and her thick eyelashes covered her, reminding him of the celluloid doll that Miaoyin, his eldest brother, often held in her arms. The small nose, the bright red lips, and the almost transparent skin under the light... The shock of being shocked when I first saw her, I still remember it.

But I dont know when they went further and further away, and now they are so close yet so far away, which is really frustrating.