There is a difference between the winter in Shanghai and the winter in Beijing. One is a magical attack and the other is a physical attack.
The damp and cold winter environment in Shanghai really made Le Jing and the other three northerners very uncomfortable. It seemed that their bones were soaked with cold water vapor, and the damp quilts could never keep them warm. Not to mention that Le Jing was not in good health.
But since they have come all the way to the most prosperous city in the Far East, there is no reason for them to stay at home to avoid the cold. They should go out for a walk.
So when Le Jing received Wu Yi's reply telegram saying "it's just a small matter", he put the exposure aside.
Anyway, it has already happened, so there is no point in thinking too much. It is just a few barkings of dogs in Peking, which cannot disturb Shanghai thousands of miles away.
So Le Jing and Yang Jinglun took Li Shuran and started to tour Shanghai seriously under the guidance of Ji Qi, a local.
Le Jing wanders through the streets and alleys, and every corner of Shanghai, big or small, looking at this flashy city, the pearl of the Far East, with the eyes of a hundred years later.
At that time in Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl Tower had not yet been built, skyscrapers were not common, the foreign buildings in the foreign concessions were still very new, and the old cars in the old photos made shrill horn sounds.
Only the Huangpu River at the Bund is clear and has not changed for a thousand years. It is like the scenery of the old times, but also like a dream of a hundred years.
Le Jing thought, he really still liked Shanghai a hundred years later.
Although housing prices in Shanghai are very expensive a hundred years later, commodity prices are also high, the pressure of survival is great, and the air quality is not good.
But at least at that time, Shanghai was not a lawless country ruled by foreigners, there were few pedestrians on the road who could not afford cotton clothes, and there were no frozen bodies on both sides of the street.
Even many beggars in later generations were dressed more decently than the poor people at that time.
Le Jing took Li Shuran on a three-day trip in Shanghai.
Then at noon on the fourth day, a telegram came from Peking. The telegram was also sent to Ji Qi's home. At that time, Ji Qi was out playing with them and was not at home. It was only when Ji Qi returned home in the evening that he received the telegram and then sent it to them overnight.
This time the telegram was still very brief: "Someone published an article in yesterday's morning newspaper, revealing Mr. Daoming's true identity, and also said that Mr. Daoming had a lot of shameful past. It's dangerous! What do you think?"
Although the telegram is short, the message is very important.
Le Jing lowered his eyes in thought, his fingers tapping the table absentmindedly, making a muffled hum.
Yang Jinglun asked in confusion, "How shameful is it?" He seemed to be amused. He comforted Le Jing, "Sir, don't worry about this matter. That person must have made it up to become famous. Everyone knows what kind of person you are. You will definitely not be deceived by someone's frame-up!"
Although Yang Jinglun didn't know Li Jingran's true identity, he didn't believe the words "very unbearable" in the telegram.
He has been in contact with Mr. Li for more than half a year. If he still can't see what kind of person he is, he is blind. In addition, judging from his literary works, Mr. Li is indifferent to fame and fortune, cares about the country and the people, has a sense of justice, and sympathizes with the weak. He will never have a "disgraceful" past.
Ji Qi also said, "In my opinion, we don't need to pay attention to such people. Some tabloids love to publish groundless rumors. Even for me, since "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan" became popular, those newspapers have said that I am a lecherous man who lingers in the flowers." He smiled and shook his head, and said with emotion, "I have finally experienced the so-called fame brings troubles."
When the knocking stopped, Le Jing looked up at his two disapproving friends and chuckled, "If you really knew my past, you wouldn't say that." Something icy and piercing emerged from those amber eyes, and the boy answered frankly, "I was not a good person in the past, and I did a lot of wrong things."
Yang Jinglun was stunned, and subconsciously began to explain: "Who hasn't done some ridiculous things when he was young and frivolous? Who can guarantee that he will never do wrong things in his life? Sir, don't take it too seriously." Until now, he naively thought that the wrong things Li Jingran mentioned were just the ridiculous things that young people did when they were young and vigorous and loved women and wine.
Ji Qi read something from Le Jing's expression. He looked at Le Jing inquiringly and asked, "What did you do wrong in the past?"
Under the candlelight, the boy's fair face flickered with the swaying flames, and his clear amber eyes seemed to be stained with deep shadows, like white jade stained with ink, with a hint of ghostly danger.
He narrowed his eyes, but the corners of his mouth were smiling leisurely, and he answered the question irrelevantly: "I was originally wondering when this matter would be exposed - as I became more and more famous, I didn't expect my past to be hidden forever. Now that it has been exposed at this time, it can only be him who did it."
Ji Qi was confused and stood up anxiously, "So what did you do wrong in the past? Tell us quickly so we can help you find a solution!"
Le Jing's eyes curved and he showed a beautiful smile: "I don't know what I did wrong under that person's pen. Although I can roughly guess, I still have to read the article before I can understand it."
Looking at the two people's confused and anxious expressions, he was still in the mood to comfort them: "No one can completely get rid of their past. Now is the time for me to pay the price for it. If I can solve it this time, then I don't have to worry about my past next time."
Although that was not his past, it belonged to Li Jingran.
But since he is now walking in the world as Li Jingran, he naturally has to bear the responsibility of that past as well.
According to worldly standards, Li Jingran was not a good person. He had all the five vices of eating, drinking, whoring, gambling and drugs, and his body was hollowed out by alcohol, sex and gambling, so he died of a high fever caused by abstinence reaction, and Le Jing was able to walk the world with his body.
The four words "very unbearable" used in the telegram were really polite.
As early as when Le Jing started writing, he had anticipated that there would be a storm caused by his past. When his prison photos were exposed, he thought the storm was coming. However, Li Jingliang only went to the "Literary Newspaper" to inquire about the news and then there was no movement.
This incident could be big or small, depending on how he handles it.
He knew without thinking that the people behind the scenes were definitely from the Li family, and Li Jingliang was the most likely suspect.
Because he had just given Li Jingliang a good beating, under the threat of his classmates, given Li Jingliang's character, he would not retaliate openly, but would just do something secretly.
Li Jingliang had already become suspicious because of the photo, and now because of the humiliation he and his classmates had inflicted on him, he might rekindle his suspicions from that day and go to the Literary Newspaper to verify something.
Le Jing had no idea that he had already guessed everything almost exactly at this point.
…
…
Li Jingliang put down the newspaper in his hand, which he had read countless times, and felt extremely happy.
He never expected that his beloved brother would become a great writer after leaving home. If he hadn't used money to pry open the mouth of the editor of the Literary Newspaper, he would not have believed anything he said.
Thinking of Li Jingran's past life of drinking and partying, he felt a chill in his heart. Could it be that he had been hiding his true abilities since then? Could Li Jingran have such deep intentions?
Li Jingliang was unwilling to believe this, but he was even more unwilling to believe in Li Jingran's talent!
He must have hired someone to write for him!
There is no way that piece of shit could write an article like that!
Therefore, he would definitely expose his true face and let everyone see what kind of thief and fraud the night watchman is!
Thinking of the article published in the newspaper, he felt proud. He had prepared the article for a week, and he could almost recite every word in it. Later, he found other people to publish the article, which would definitely bring down Li Jingran's reputation.
Li Jingliang put away his fantasy, opened the drawer and began to open the reply letters from his parents.
In the letter, his father scolded him for acting on his own and exposing the family's dirty laundry.
Li Jingliang's mouth curled up into a sarcastic smile. He knew his father very well.
He scolded him at this time only because Li Jingran was now famous and could bring him more benefits, and his article not only pushed Li Jingran to the opposite side, but most importantly, it would most likely make Li Jingran lose his own value.
But he believed his father would compromise.
Because he wrote a proposal in his letter home that his father could not refuse.
Once this report came out, many people would naturally go to Fengtian to verify it. Li Jingran's previous actions were not a secret and could be easily found out.
Of course, even if no one verified it, the newspaper would still publish a "verification report" to let readers know what a despicable person Li Jingran is.
If Li Jingran wants to resolve this dispute and get rid of the label of being unfilial, then his father and mother must step in and publish an article in the newspaper to clarify the matter and endorse Li Jingran's character.
His father also used this as a threat to completely control Li Jingran. By then, no matter whether Li Jingran had talent or not, he would be nothing more than a dog of their Li family. Wouldn't the money he earned still belong to him? Thinking of this, Li Jingliang even began to hope that Li Jingran didn't find someone to write for him.
Anyway, by that time, Li Jingran would have been ruined and condemned by thousands of people. He could lend his name to Li Jingran to publish novels so that his talent would not be wasted, and he could also wash away the stigma that the Li family had stained because of his unfilial son and revive the Li family.
He collected his wandering thoughts and continued to read his father's letter. As expected, his father changed the subject at the end of the letter and said that he would write to Li Jingran to discuss the next steps.
Li Jingliang curled the corners of his mouth, and he could almost see the glory after he revived the Li family.
Of course, Li Jingran was just the beginning. He could not forget the faces of those who humiliated and beat him that day! Is it great to be rich and powerful? It is better to bully an old man than a poor young man! One day he will climb to the top and trample those who humiliated him under his feet!
…
…
Le Jing has always been very patient.
While waiting, he sent telegrams to several people and wrote a third of the article he had been planning to write.
He believed that now that the movie Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan was a big hit, Shanghai newspapers would certainly be happy to reprint the original author's gossip reports.
Le Jing didn't wait too long.
Three days later, the Huangpu River News published the article in full.
When Yang Jinglun and Ji Qi rushed into the room, Le Jing had just finished reading the article titled "Hypocrite Night Watchman" word for word.
"Sir, this article is all fake, right?!"
"Jingran, you didn't do these things, right?"
Meeting the two people's doubtful gazes, the young man propped up his chin, tilted his head to look at them, and smiled nonchalantly: "Most of it is true, some of it was done by me, some of it was wrong, and some of it I have a clear conscience." He thought for a moment, and added: "Of course, I wrote all the articles myself, and Editor Yang can testify to this."
Meeting the young man's gaze, Yang Jinglun nodded silently with his eyes wide open. Ji Qi, who was always eloquent, was speechless and didn't know what to say.
The young man glanced at them, with a hint of mischief in his eyes: "Why, you still won't allow me, the prodigal son, to turn back?"
Ji Qi wiped his face and smiled helplessly: "You are a prodigal son, you have returned too thoroughly, haven't you?"
So the boy smiled happily: "This is what makes it dramatic, and it's worthy of being a role model for educators, isn't it?"
Yang Jinglun finally regained his sanity, and the look he gave Le Jing was very complicated. He could not connect the elegant and noble young man in front of him with the person described in the article who was a person of the five vices of eating, drinking, gambling, whoring, and taking drugs, who was disobedient to his elders and unfilial and unfraternal.
"Sir, there must be something hidden, right? You have your own reasons, right?"
Le Jing thought about it, then said with a smug smile: "You think that sleeping on straw and eating bitter food, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens for the sake of filial piety can only tarnish one's own innocence, what do you think of this kind of character setting?"
Yang Jinglun's eyes lit up. Although he didn't understand what Le Jing meant by "personality", it didn't stop him from understanding the other words. He said excitedly, "So those are really fake? Sir, you have no choice but to pretend to be... like that?!"
Le Jing responded with a meaningful smile.
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