Chapter 40 second quarter

"In order not to implicate her due to changes in the current situation in the future, I did not hold a ceremony, but only wrote a marriage letter. The text said: Hu Lancheng Zhang Ailing signed a lifelong marriage and married. I hope that the years will be quiet and the world will be stable. The last two sentences are Ailing I wrote it, and I wrote the last two sentences, with Yanying as the matchmaker. Although we are married, it still seems like we have never been married. I refuse to make her life change a little because of me. How are the two of you? They don't look like a husband and wife, but one is still a golden boy and the other is a jade girl." (Hu Lancheng "This Life and This Life - Women of the Republic of China")

Because of Hu's unclear description, and because of Zhang Ailing's secretiveness, this low-key marriage has caused countless suspicions and arguments in later generations. Some people don't take the paper marriage contract as a matter of course, thinking that the two are just living together; There is an argument that Zhang Ailing's "concubine identity is unknown" and she is regarded as Hu Lancheng "one of the concubines".In this way, the interview of Hu Qingyun by Li Li and his cousin Zhang Weiqun is very precious. It let us know clearly that the marriage between Hu Lancheng and Zhang Ailing is not a "one-sided speech", let alone "a concubine whose identity is unknown", but a formal marriage by a medium. Clearly official couple!

Yanying is the matchmaker, and Qingyun is the witness! The worship, signature, matchmaking, guests, bridal chamber festive candles, even niece Qingyun's bridal chamber, and dinner after the salute, although simple, there are many procedures in the same procedure. Completely go through the entire wedding ceremony, Meticulous.It was a real wedding! These, Hu Lancheng did not write into it. He only mentioned Yan Ying.It is not only afraid that "future changes in the current situation" will implicate Eileen Chang, but also fear that it will implicate my niece Hu Qingyun.He was ruthless all his life, but he treated Qingyun with the utmost benevolence and righteousness, which was better than his own children. Even when he went to Japan, he would send money and things back from time to time; and Qingyun was also dedicated to this sixth uncle, without complaint or regret .

Qing Yun said again: "Gu Gu is next door, I won't come out." "Gu Gu doesn't say anything, but I haven't met Gu Gu." Zhang Maoyuan Qingzhen's resolute attitude is clear at a glance. She loves Ai Ling so much, but she is very disapproving of her and Hu Lancheng's affairs, but she does not interfere based on the principle of independence, so she doesn't even give a "blessing". As Zhang Ailing's guardian and the most trusted elder around her, if she doesn't show face like this, Ailing will inevitably feel sad in her heart, right?However, she has already made up her mind that since she chose him, she is willing to face the whole world's scorn and indifference.

There are two kinds of the happiest marriages in the world: one is to meet a person whom you really want to treat well, and the other is to meet a person who is sincerely willing to treat you well. Sadly, the two can never be the same person. The one Zhang Ailing chose was obviously the one she wanted to treat him well.It's so good that it doesn't care about your status, doesn't ask about the future, doesn't ask for anything in return, doesn't expect everyone to understand, and doesn't even expect the blessings of relatives. She also specially went to take a photo as a souvenir, accompanied by Yan Ying, who also served as the director, while discussing with the photographer about taking the shot, she gave orders to Zhang Ailing: "Now I want a picture with a Victorian atmosphere, the hair is picked in the middle, and the hair is fluffy. Drape it down, show your shoulders, don't smile, smile in your eyes."

——This reminds me that Victorian style has become popular again since last year, leading the fashion stage again. Yan Ying and Zhang Ailing are ahead of the times, which is half a century earlier. Yanying also took the photo. She rode a bicycle for a long distance in the hot weather, took it out, went straight to Eddington and showed it to Aileen, and said, "Kiss me, hurry! Don't thank me yet!" Seeing the photo, Zhang Ailing was overjoyed, ignored Yanying, and kissed her own photo first.Yanying was so angry that she yelled: "Oh, now you can kiss yourself all day and all night! I have never seen such a selfish person!"

One of the photos was enlarged, which was the most satisfying for the photographer. The light was soft, the face was hazy, and the heavy velvet folds gave it the feeling of a classical portrait.Yan Ying looked at it, feeling itchy again, and said: "Let me paint some color on it, although the photographer will get angry if he finds out, and he doesn't care about it anymore." So I dipped a large brush thickly into the true yellow, and first filled the background. The photo did not absorb the ink, and the paint fell down like a layer of golden sand; then the hair and clothes were all painted with dark blue; only one piece remained The face, glowing, floats on the paper.

Yanying herself was very satisfied with the look, she looked around, and found a recessed niche on the wall, so she embedded the photo in it, with a piece of yellow silk wrapped around the lower corner, and two wall lamps on both sides, because of air defense, in the pistil shape Dense black stripes were smeared on the glass cover, and the light shone down like a funeral. Ailing laughed loudly: "This is too much like a portrait, do you want to kneel down and kowtow?" Yanying looked at it, and also felt that it was wrong, so she removed the yellow silk, and found out the ivory broken fan that Aileen played with when she was a child, and hung it upside down on the top of the photo, and two twigs of pink flowers appeared on the lake-colored feathers. The flowers, the few green leaves, are like the morning shade of the ancient East, gentle and peaceful.

Aileen watched, nodded slowly, and said softly: "Isn't this the morning in ancient times? Red apricot branches with a caged moon, lake green sky, pale white half moon, pink flowers, small round petals, all of them distinct……" Her voice dropped to tears.She remembered the words she wrote on the big red wedding invitation when she was newly married-the years are quiet and the world is stable. There was a "choking choking" gong sound outside. It was an air defense signal. It came all the way from afar, and then went far away.On the roof terrace, the air defense personnel yelled loudly to their colleagues on the street seven floors down, and they also sent messages from below—how can the years be quiet?In this world, when will it be safe?

Later, Zhang Ailing bought two strings of bright blue beads from a small stall selling candy hairpins. The glass shell was extremely brittle and thin, very thick, with big holes in both ends.She twisted the two strings together, made it into a grape shape, and put it in front of the photo. She looked at herself and prayed if she had nothing to do: it would be nice to have such beautiful thoughts. Kiss and pray to your own picture—because in this troubled world, there is no religion but yourself. Such narcissism, such lofty self-promise, but fell into the world for an unfaithful man-like her own favorite saying: "Wash your nails and step in the mud".

——It is the great tragedy of life.