dragon pen

eight months ago.

It was the early winter of this year, and the sky in the capital has been gray since yesterday, with thick clouds, no sunlight all day long, and humid water vapor in the air.

The old man who knows the weather kept saying that it was going to snow when he got up in the morning. Sure enough, just after noon, people had not served the hot lunch on the table, but the first snowfall of the year was falling outside in a lively manner. A field of fresh snow.

The snow fell very densely, and after a while, the mud and dust on the street were covered with a fine layer of white. Occasionally, a passerby passed by in a hurry would leave a footprint that was not deep or shallow, rolling up light snow and dust for a while.The street outside the No. [-] Theater Building in the capital, which was originally lively, became depressed after a while. Instead, the building became lively. It seemed that people couldn't stand the cold, and they came in one after another to ask for a pot of warm wine to go with it. Fennel, by the way, listen to a little song to pass this boring day.

At this moment, the new singer at the front desk just opened her voice, and the singing and dancing in the building was very lively.

Behind the main building, where the divas lived, the servants also came out one after another, chirping and lamenting the sudden first snowfall. In such joyous bustle, Dongque Pavilion was made even quieter.

"Miss Zihu, it's snowing outside."

Pushing open the door of Dongque Pavilion with his shoulders, Chuntao, who brought in lunch, was also very happy. After all, she is eleven or twelve years old and loves to play. Although the little girl in front of her is standing in the room, her heart may have been flying went out the window.At this time, she carefully put down the food box in her hand, and looked at the inner room expectantly, as if wishing that the people inside would come out to have a good meal soon, and let her go out to play after finishing her errands.

Under her expectant gaze, the room was quiet for a while. After a long time, there was a lazily "hmm" voice, and a slender woman with long hair reaching her waist lifted the curtain and walked out of the back room—in her teens and 20s. At a very good age, she doesn't like glamorous colors like other young women. She only wears a very plain blouse, her hair is pulled up perfunctorily, and light makeup is put on her face. It's just that in this winter, such The light makeup was almost deserted, and it seemed that the man was about to get sick at any time.

Chuntao let out a "ah", and hurriedly stopped what she was doing, and hurried to the back room to get a thick smock to put on her thin shoulders, and said worriedly: "Why is the girl so careless today?" Clean up and get up? Which rough-handed servant painted this makeup? The painting is so uninspiring, our Xuewu girl sent someone to run this morning because of the cold weather. If you don't hit the red shadows, it seems that people are always sick..."

Zihu pulled the heavy warm cover on his shoulders, and smiled: "I don't need to go on stage today, so who can show such a beautiful painting?"

The little girl who was still babbling stopped, and said in a strange voice for a long time: "So the girl tied up this hair herself?"

Zihu took a mouthful of the side dish, chewed it for a while, and took it in, and asked naturally, "Is the dish well?"

It's not just "bad", just use a wooden hairpin to curl up and fix the hair, and there are seven or eight unruly strands scattered at the back. This can't be called "twisted hair" at all, can it?Chuntao silently skipped Zihu's rhetorical question, and pushed the neglected porridge to Zihu: "Miss, do you know that the head of the class is going to beg for some little girls after the New Year?"

"Ok?"

Without raising his eyes, Zihu snorted softly.She has been in this troupe for so many years, but she also knows that despite the fact that the leader of the No. [-] troupe in the capital is now famous and rich, and knows all the dignitaries and dignitaries in the world, in fact, he had a hard life in the early years. s help.So after getting rich, he kept a good heart, and every year, he went to pick up some little girls or little boys who were born at home but couldn't afford to support them.Among these children, those with good roots were taught music theory and martial arts and stayed in the opera troupe as a reserve army, while those who were not so good were arranged to be next to other opera actors as helpers, able to eat and clothe themselves warmly. It's also better than what they can't eat at home.

Zihu was also picked up in this way.

"Chuntao, what do you want to say?" Zihu put down the spoon, which made a crisp sound when it hit the edge of the porridge bowl.

"Girl, you really should..."

"Are you tired of serving me?"

"No, no!" Chuntao's small head immediately turned into a rattle, "I don't know how many lifetimes Chuntao has been able to serve the girl. It's just that the girl really needs someone who can do it by her side, and Chuntao will take care of her in the morning. Miss Xuewu, she didn't have time to take care of this side, so she turned around and took care of herself like this, she is a famous singer in the capital..."

This is the first time Chuntao has murmured about this to Zihu. Zihu is not a fool. How could he not understand what she meant? If the class leader picks up people again, I will watch them carefully, and bring them back if there are any good ones, so that you don't want to run to me..."

Chuntao said "Aiya" with a very aggrieved voice, "How can there be no reluctance?" Seeing that Zihu was relieved, she felt relieved, and after waiting for a while for Zihu to finish eating, she hurriedly packed up her things and left.

It's not that the Lakers are bad.

It's just that he always has a fickle and reticent appearance, as if he is polite to everyone, except when singing, he speaks flat and without ups and downs on weekdays, making people not annoying, but also not getting close.

Who in the world can make that face that is as calm as a mask shatter and fall off?

Chuntao didn't know, not only she didn't know, everyone didn't know, everyone said that Zihu was like a person who walked out of a painting, without sadness or joy, without desire or desire, able to be popular to this day, in the capital She is almost as famous as Xue Wu and Fang Fei, but it's just a few high-ranking nobles who are buying her.And these people seem to just appreciate her singing, and leave after listening to the play, without nostalgia at all.

That's right, in this sensual troupe, who would like such a cold person?

……

Chuntao walked back with the basket on her arm, still thinking about Zihu's temperament and feeling sorry for her, as soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she heard the sound of a glass being broken from the room.She was taken aback for a moment, then raised her head to see several partners being chased out of the room in panic.

"Chuntao, you are back," a little girl quickly walked up to Chuntao and held her back, "I was afraid that I would miss you and not tell you in time, but you went in ignorantly and got into trouble. The person inside seems to have not slept last night. Well, I'm having a temper tantrum right now..."

"Why did you come back? Didn't you go to buy rouge and powder for Miss Xuewu?" Chuntao asked.

"I ran there, I'm afraid I'm in a hurry, and who knows that the color is wrong when I buy it."

"Ah, you are careless, you deserve to be scolded!" Chuntao said in surprise.

"Where is it? I took the leftovers and asked the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper personally brought out exactly the same ones. When I brought them back, he said that the color was heavy and very cheap. Isn't it from the same store? Can it be fake?" Seems to be very aggrieved and complained, "You are fine, you were arranged to deliver breakfast to Miss Zihu early on, but that girl is cold and will not swear no matter what, I really want to just talk to the class leader and transfer me In the past, I was able to serve..."

"Tsk tsk, you talk fast, and no one will scold you after following that one, but it's enough to suffocate you to death." Chuntao was not surprised, so she could only press her finger on her lips to signal her partner to silence, and rolled her eyes Then he stretched his neck and looked inside as if remembering something, "What kind of temper is that guy inside today?"

"Do you still remember that in the early winter, a nest of kingfishers came up from the plum tree in the yard? At that time, Miss Xuewu was very happy, saying that the kingfishers had bloomed in spring. When the kingfishers grew up, they might find someone to catch them and make them into a hairpin... these days The chicks came out, but in this winter, the adult birds didn't know where they were frozen to death, leaving a nest of chicks there, cold and hungry, crying early in the morning, which was unlucky. "

"Yo, it's the bird's fault."

"Isn't that right, but that little bird can't speak and refute. In short, it's because the little bird made trouble because the snow dancing girl didn't sleep well all night. She lost her temper just now. Let us quickly take that nest of little birds away..."

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere," the little girl shrugged, "in such a cold weather, and it snowed again, the chicks probably won't survive today, and the singing is not louder than before, and maybe a few of them have frozen to death gone?"

"If you freeze to death, it will be clean, why are you still making a fuss about taking it away?"

"A nest of bird carcasses is placed in the yard. I feel uncomfortable thinking about it. Of course I have to take it away."

"Too."

The two little girls talked in a low voice, and there was not much emotion in the tone of the conversation.That's right, everyone lives by looking at the faces of the people above, if extra love will make their own life difficult, then this so-called love is naturally worse than no love at all.

Chuntao's partner smiled: "Ah Huang in the backyard will have meat again today."

"Come on, let's throw it out of the door. Life and death are up to God. Sending that dog under the mouth is no different from killing a life. It's a crime." Chuntao said.

"What's the difference? You can't live anyway."

"You sound nice. I'll be the one carrying the bird's nest later." Chuntao glanced at her partner, then stretched out her hand to pinch her face, "Go get me a ladder."

The little girl responded with a smile, and turned to get the ladder. The two of them worked together to take the bird's nest from the plum tree in a short while. "Yeah" and handed it to the partner beside him. The latter frowned slightly and stretched it out, then shook his head in pity. It was obvious that there was a nest of chicks that were still alive and kicking yesterday. One was gone, and that one was also dying, perhaps before it even got to the door.

Chuntao originally wanted to give it to the little brother who usually took care of the garden for the class leader to see if he could save his life, but now he has no interest.Now the snow was falling more and more urgently, and she didn't wear thick clothes when she came out, and it was not worthwhile to carry the bird all the way over without saving herself, and she ended up with a cold.

Having made up her mind, she simply carried the bird's nest and wanted to go outside, and was about to put the bird's nest away when she came to a corner, when she suddenly heard a peaceful voice behind her.

"Chuntao, what are you doing here if you're not going to play in the snow?"

Chuntao was startled, for some reason she always felt as if she was being caught as a thief, she turned her head in shock and saw that it was Zihu, she was relieved before she forced a smile and said, "So it's Miss Zihu."

Zihu stepped forward.

Chuntao's smile remained unchanged, and she said politely: "What the girl said is that Chuntao wants to play with those dead girls. Who knows that she just brought the girl breakfast and went back. Before entering the door, she heard Xue Wu's room. There was an uproar in the courtyard, saying that there was a nest of kingfishers in the yard that laid eggs at an inappropriate season, and they probably froze to death, leaving the chicks calling, and Miss Xue Wu didn't close her eyes all night. Take it and find a place to dispose of it properly."

Zihu didn't reply after hearing this, but her normally steady eyebrows gradually frowned, she walked around Chuntao who was still talking, and looked at the bird's nest that was left randomly under the eaves - the chicks inside had just shed their lanugo and saw some The beautiful colors are scattered in the bird's nest, motionless, the cold wind blows, and the ungrown feathers flutter with the wind, looking a little messy.

It looked dead.

Zihu lowered her eyes, and was about to ask Chuntao to find a place to bury the birds, and put them here carefully so that the wild cats and watchdogs could take advantage of them. Huddled in a group of already stiff bird carcasses, one suddenly opened its closed eyes, glanced at her quickly, and closed them weakly again after a while.

It was as fast as if the lake looked away for a moment.

But looking at the fragile little body, the weak rise and fall of the abdomen, this little kingfisher is indeed still alive.