Finale
My name is Yang Ye.
Born in the 27th year of the Guangxu reign, my father was a member of the Niuhulu clan and inherited the title of Duoruo Junwang. Although the Junwang title of a family could be hereditary according to the system, it was not a hereditary iron-hat prince, so it would be downgraded by one level every generation. By the time my father came to power, the court was in a worse state than before. Apart from the annual salary and rice allowance, he had no other real ability. My mother was a member of the Guarjia clan. Although she was the second daughter, she was the legitimate daughter and had an older brother, my uncle.
On my father's side, I also have an aunt who is the legitimate wife of Prince Gong. When I was a child, I always followed my father and mother to the Prince Gong's Mansion for banquets. Through the wooden carved windows of the flower hall, I always saw my aunt wearing a Manchu dress embroidered with flowers, sitting in the main seat. She was very gentle when speaking to me. I met her so many times, but I never saw my aunt blush or be unhappy.
My mother told me that this was the glory of being a legitimate mother. She asked me to learn my aunt's posture and manners, saying that this way I would not be looked down upon when I married into another family as a concubine.
I don't understand what's the point of being the wife of a hard-working man. I have to follow rules all day long, visit my father every morning and evening, take care of household chores, and even the tone of my voice and the size of my steps have to follow the rules. I still prefer my two brothers. They are free and easy. They can go to teahouses to listen to operas, and go horseback riding in the suburbs. They never have to worry about or be restricted by anything.
But before I could figure out what a Fujin was, the Qing Dynasty was gone.
I remember that day, the noises and commotions in the Forbidden City lasted a whole day and night. My father stood at the gate, motionless, listening all day and night. Later, he summoned my brothers and me to his side and told us that with the Emperor gone, the good days we had enjoyed were probably over. From now on, we had to live our lives with caution, especially...
Ama didn't finish his words, he just looked at me quietly. Even though I was still young at that time, I could vaguely see the helplessness in Ama's eyes and his guilt towards me.
For a long time afterwards, we lived through a period of intense and difficult times, just as my father had predicted. Gradually, the situation stabilized somewhat. That day, two groups of people arrived at the mansion. One group was Algyatai and his father. My mother had previously mentioned that I had a fiancé, engaged since childhood, and that he would come home to discuss marriage when I reached the age of marriage. The other group, whom I had never met before, wasn't wearing a casual robe, but a crisp, neat, short jacket. Later, I learned that what he was wearing was called a Western suit.
He didn't have a long braid like Algyatai and my father. His hair was neatly cut, his eyebrows were sharp, his eyes were bright, and his features were remarkably well-proportioned. His nose was high but not sharp, his lips were well-defined, and even his jawline had a clean, defined edge. That day, I was sneaking around the wall, watching that person. For some reason, I felt that this stranger had a certain unexplainable beauty.
I believe that I am not the kind of person who would be tempted by beauty. Admittedly, I haven't met many people like that, but I know that a person with only a good-looking appearance but no real ability cannot be trusted for long. But for some reason, this person's appearance remained in my mind for many years, until the day he came to propose to me.
Even now, when I think of my father telling me that Xue Shangyang wanted to marry me, I still feel a wave of panic and bewilderment. I forgot how I got back to my own courtyard from the living room that day. I only remember that I sat on the stone bench in the courtyard for a long time. The sun slowly set, and the shadows on the ground turned to a pitch black. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't understand it. My father had no real power, and my so-called brother was just a relic of the past dynasty. Besides, I was not young anymore. Xue Shangyang was a newly rich man who had studied abroad, and his father had good connections with the government. How could a man like him marry me?
When Taohong called me into the house for the third time, she told me that maybe God had mercy on me and found me such a good son-in-law. Looking back now, Xue Shangyang is really a good man.
He has a bold and carefree spirit that I adore. He's not like Aljiatai, who's frail and pedantic, full of pretentious old-fashioned rules. He's also not like my two brothers, who, though straightforward, have been bound by rules and etiquette their entire lives and are somewhat timid. Xue Shangyang doesn't care about that. He goes to foreign companies, theaters, and anything he wants to go to. When it comes to his views on current affairs, he never hides them. Even if they're sharp, even if they're unpopular, he dares to speak them out. He laughs heartily and unrestrainedly, as if there are no rules in the world that can hold him back.
Xue Shangyang's kindness to me is real and sincere.
I still remember the good ones.
In the years since I married him, I've felt a significant change. I used to be sociable, even the distant relatives I'd never bothered to meet. I spent all day either in my study or kneeling in the Buddhist temple. It was he who dragged me out of the house, taking me shopping, to teahouses, to theaters, and showing me things I'd never seen before.
From the first time he forced me to go out, to later when I liked to stroll around by myself, I also followed his friends' wives and went to many occasions that I never dared to imagine before. Can you believe it, I also participated in many women's reading clubs at that time.
Taohong is right, Xue Shangyang is really my benefactor. Meeting him and being taken by him to see those different worlds is probably the luckiest thing in my life.
I really couldn't have met anyone better than him.
Outsiders called him cruel, treacherous, and heartless. He could be drinking with you one moment, sharing a heartless conversation, and then mercilessly escort you to jail the next, shooting you before you could even offer an explanation. They all slammed the government for being devoid of good people, saying they were sucking human blood and stepping on the bones of those around them to rise to power. But I think, in an era when cannibalism wasn't illegal, if you didn't act like this, you'd probably be next. If you didn't put a knife to someone's neck, they would tear your head off.
Right or wrong? There was no right or wrong at that time. The only right thing was to survive.
Later, the war became more and more intense. On the day I packed up to leave Peking, they told me that something very serious had happened in Jinan, which would probably affect the whole of China.
I didn't get on the ship bound for America. Minutes before it left, I ran off. I don't remember what I was thinking at the time, but I probably felt like there was someone I cared about here, even if I didn't know if they were still alive. I followed Xue Shangyang's instructions, hiding in alleys and granaries. When I was hungry, I ate dry, hard bread. When I was cold, I hid behind people's back doors. Several times, bullets whizzed by me. I lay in the mud, not daring to breathe, just wanting to hold on a little longer, until they were gone.
Now thinking about it, it was truly a blessing from God that I was able to survive those days when life was as fragile as paper.
After the war, I returned to Beijing. The old locust tree in the alley was still there, but the gate was no longer lit. I lived in the old house for nearly a decade, but then I couldn't stand it any longer and moved to Hangzhou, where I heard the winters were less cold. There, I first met Changming, and through him, I met his student Li Cheng. Li Cheng was a chatterbox, ready to chat with you about anything. After meeting Li Cheng, I also met two of his roommates: Liu Guoxing and Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng was handsome, arguably the best-looking of the group, but he was unlucky. He died of cancer the year after graduation. Later, Changming went to the northwest. While on an excavation site, the earth collapsed, and by the time I got to the hospital, he was gone.
The only ones who stayed with me were Liu Guoxing and Li Cheng.
If I think about it carefully, I have really seen off a lot of people over the years.
Later, much time passed. Li Cheng and Liu Guoxing married and had children. They went from being young when I first met them to gradually getting gray hair and becoming older than me. Perhaps they thought my life was truly boring at the time and urged me to find an assistant, if for no other reason than to keep me company. So I hired my first assistant, Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao was a lively young woman, fresh out of college, full of youthful enthusiasm. She truly made my boring life much more interesting. From the time she graduated to her marriage, and before she was ready to get married, I hired a second assistant, Zhou Yiheng.
In fact, before recruiting Zhou Yiheng, I had a premonition about my body. I dreamed about people from my past more and more frequently. According to my previous experience, this was not a good sign.
The only thing I didn’t expect was that Zhou Yiheng looked so similar to Xue Shangyang, so similar that I thought he was Xue Shangyang’s reincarnation.
There were many times when I couldn't tell whether the person in front of me was Xue Shangyang or Zhou Yiheng. To be honest, I never dreamed of him from the time Xue Shangyang left until Zhou Yiheng appeared. The master in the temple told me that not dreaming about him is actually a good thing, at least I won't be thinking about him all the time.
A master is a master after all. He hasn't seen much of the mundane world, spending his days chanting Buddhist scriptures in the monastery. He doesn't understand, and if he doesn't dream about it, he'll miss it even more. During Zhou Yiheng's first month on the job, as I always do, I stayed at the mountain temple for a few days. Master Cheng Nian and I had built the temple until now, but Master Cheng Nian passed away seven years ago. Now, Master Luogui, the man Master Cheng Nian had picked up, is failing. Even though he told me he was fine, I could sense it. Over the years, I've always been particularly sensitive to those who are about to leave me.
That day on the mountain, he and I watched the sunset together, and he asked me, what have you understood after all these years.
"Even if I don't understand, I've lived long enough to understand a little bit. I'm almost dying."
"Master said that Boss Yang's thoughts were too serious, but I think Boss Yang's thoughts were just right."
"Maybe you haven't known me long enough."
"Thirty-three years, Boss Yang," Master Gui smiled.
"It's been so long."
"Master said that the most precious thing in life is being alive."
"I'm leaving, little master. Perhaps we won't meet again. Remember to ask the novice monk to burn two more incense sticks for me after I leave."
I really didn't expect Zhou Yiheng to tell me that he liked me. To be honest, when I heard it, my only thought was ridiculous. Can you believe it? It's such an outrageous experience to be confessed to by someone who is almost 70 or 80 years younger than you.
Later, I confessed my identity to Zhou Yiheng and told him about my previous experiences. His reaction was similar to what I had guessed, but what I didn't expect was that he accepted this matter in just one night. This is more impressive than Li Cheng and Liu Guoxing.
Xiao Xiao said I spent seven days in the ICU, and the doctors repeatedly told them to prepare for the worst, even preparing for follow-up events. But somehow, I woke up, was released from the ICU, and transferred to a regular ward. One morning, after waking from a sudden sleep, I noticed my body had become incredibly stiff. It wasn't the kind of stiffness that comes from sleeping too long or not exercising for a long time, but rather a natural reaction to aging, with bones and joints becoming less flexible and unable to keep up.
I know, my countdown has come.
After being discharged from the hospital, I returned to Beijing with them. In my private messages, I still had the consciousness of returning to my roots. I thought that when I died, I would let them take my ashes to the south and put me next to the tombstone I bought for Xue Shangyang.
After coming to Beijing, my body became increasingly stiff, and I began to age day by day. In just one night, my hair turned gray, and I spoke weakly.
I moved back into the house I'd once shared with Xue Shangyang. It was less than seven miles from my old home, and I could walk there leisurely, taking about a morning. It was now a bookshop and coffee shop. I had a card and would often sit there when I had nothing to do. The girl who ran it was very kind, and every time she saw me, she'd make me a cup of tea, even though she only sold coffee.
Although the girl is a nice person, Xiao Xiao and Zhou Yiheng are not happy about what I do. They always think that walking too much will wear out my knees. Oh, by the way, Xiao Xiao found out she was pregnant last month. She still lives in the south, but she will come to Beijing to see me in half a month. And Zhou Yiheng, the exam is coming soon, but he insists on staying with me in Beijing. I heard that he wants to change his major. The original education major is so good, he can become a teacher after graduation. I don’t know what he is thinking, he has to do archaeology with Li Cheng. He is now preparing for graduation and Li Cheng’s graduate school exam. Occasionally, he will work for him for free to accumulate practical experience.
A few days ago, I accidentally fell. My right leg, which used to be quite agile, is now completely useless. It hurts to walk for even a little while. Zhou Yiheng bought me a cane, but I don't like it. Even if it only allows me to move slowly, I don't want to use it. I don't know why, but these past few nights I've been dreaming about Xue Shangyang. He's still like when he was young, always dragging me around the alleys of Beijing.
I can feel that I only have two days left to live, but I didn't tell them about this because I was afraid they would worry, and I'm not the kind of person who likes to say goodbye. In fact, I'm really happy to have lived so many extra years. I don't know why in the beginning, but later on, I did a lot of things that I didn't dare to do before. Can you believe it? I also bungee jumping last year. I'm afraid I will never forget the feeling of weightlessness falling from a high altitude. And shooting, I hit three nine-ring shots. When I see Xue Shangyang, I'm going to brag to him that my shooting skills are no worse than his.
The nurse is about to call me to eat again. That guy is so tactless. He knows I haven't been able to eat much lately, but he still insists on making me eat, saying it's for my health. Don't you know how your body is doing? Never mind, never mind. Since he said that, I'll eat a little and tell you when I get back.
Yang Ye pressed the record button on his phone.
Two hours, thirty-one minutes, and twenty-five seconds of voice.
She slept on the rattan lounge chair, watching the setting sun, and slowly closed her eyes.
"Boss Yang, good news, the buyer is back from abroad," the agent Xiao Zhao ran in from outside the door.
"Boss Yang?"
"Boss Yang!"
Seven hours before New Year's Eve, when everyone was happily celebrating the coming new year, Yang Ye stayed in the old year, in the past she had been looking forward to.
…
According to Yang Ye's wishes, the funeral was kept simple, but several close relatives around him were present.
At the memorial service, the middle-aged man who came from abroad and planned to buy Yang Ye’s old house was also present. He had heard about Yang Ye’s situation and wanted to see her off for the last time.
Yang Ye had already prepared all the information about the property and was just waiting for the agent to complete the formalities.
Zhou Yiheng paused, "She asked me to say sorry to you. She is very sorry for leaving such a bad impression on your house."
The buyer didn't care. He looked at Zhou Yiheng strangely. When the ceremony was over and Zhou Yiheng was called by the staff to sign, he suddenly said, "You look a lot like my uncle when he was young."
"Thank you," Zhou Yiheng responded hurriedly.
He brought Yang Ye's jar back to Hangzhou, intending to bury her with Xue Shangyang according to her wishes. When workers lifted the marble cover beneath the tombstone and Zhou Yiheng prepared to place the jar inside, he saw that there was no other jar in the tomb, only a wooden box engraved with Xue Shangyang's name and age. It turned out that all Xue Shangyang had left her was a cenotaph.
He stood in front of the tomb and watched the workers close the lid.
Yang Ye left her grocery store to Xiao Xiao and Zhou Yiheng, and gave her things to Li Cheng and Liu Guoxing. When they went to clean the grocery store that day, Zhou Yiheng opened Yang Ye's study. The furnishings in the study were exactly the same as when she left. Zhou Yiheng wiped the table carefully, and accidentally found the diary left by Xue Shangyang at the bottom of a cabinet.
He wiped off the thick dust on it with his hand and slowly opened the notebook.
The study window was open and the wind blew the curtains.
After Zhou Yiheng finished reading the diary, he couldn't say how he felt. He just closed the diary and put it back to its previous place.
It was completely dark outside.
Before closing the door, Zhou Yiheng took another careful look at the study. The window reflected his intention to leave. The black sweatshirt reflected in the window slowly turned into a dark blue suit.
The person in the window slowly disappeared, and Zhou Yiheng closed the study door.
*
The so-called coincidences are actually not coincidences.
Our story has a beginning, a happy and regretful process, as long as I don't expect the so-called ending
Our story will never end.
Let's meet again in the next life.
Shangyang, one horizontal line.
---End of the article
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