Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 332 Concubine Liu Yi: The tomb of my late mother Zeng Wenxiu?

At the end of July, the crew of "Curse of the Golden Flower" filmed the last scene at the Dam Prairie outside Peking.

More than 2000 armored warriors were the protagonists. Boss Lu watched the whole process and was amazed at Zhang Yimou's dispatching ability.

If the young director's weakness is like the hexagonal warrior of the empire defined by his exaggerated and childish daily life, it is obvious that he is weak in the field of coordination.

The ensemble cast of a hundred people in "Tangshan" was a preliminary attempt.

The extras in "The Sky of History" number over 10,000, and the actors in the Olympic Games number nearly 20,000.

On New Year's Eve, Liu Yifei and Lu Kuan made a ten-year agreement.

If this Holocaust film was a great opportunity for Liu Yifei to transform her acting career;
Similarly, for Boss Lu, this is also a key link in making up for his shortcomings.

Jiang Zhiqiang and Lu Kuan, who had just finished the creative group discussion, stood together smoking and watched the "silence" in the venue.

"Finishing filming so early, they should be preparing for preview screenings and the Olympic bid, right?"

This is the Oscar.

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded: "It has been arranged, in Beiping and Pengcheng."

"I think the quality of 'The Banquet' is not as good as 'Curse of the Golden Flower', which you helped revise. I'm very confident."

"The Banquet" will be submitted to the Venice Film Festival in September and will be released simultaneously in China on September 9. It is Zhang Yimou's biggest competitor this year.

At the same time, the 2006 Oscar selection rules were greatly changed. The shortlist was originally determined from about 60 films selected from more than 60 countries and regions around the world. After the reform, the list of shortlisted films was sharply reduced to 9.

The number of nominees for Best Foreign Language Film will be aligned with that for technical awards, both at around 10.

Boss Lu smiled and said, "Don't worry. With Huayi's strength, The Banquet should be the co-production that represents Hong Kong, and Curse of the Golden Flower will represent mainland China."

"Indeed, Huayi has made significant moves this year. Does Mr. Lu feel a sense of urgency?" Jiang Zhiqiang made a joke.

News Corporation, represented by Wendy Deng, acquired shares in the name of a mainland joint venture company;

Two screen masterpieces: The Banquet and Red Cliff, a collaboration with Cheng Tian;
We are currently negotiating with the radio and television authorities to relax the travel restrictions, aiming to release "Xian San" on Hunan TV.
The most eye-catching news is the rumor in the industry that Ma Yun, president of e-commerce giant Ali, intends to acquire shares in Huayi and emulate the close cooperation between Internet companies Blog.com and Wenjie.

Boss Lu laughed heartily, but he didn't make any bold statements like "Big Wang Shao Wuwu" or "Ma Yun Shaozhi". He spoke modestly, "We need everyone to work together to make the cake bigger. We welcome competitors to enter the market."

"Mr. Lu has such courage!" Jiang Zhiqiang gave him a thumbs up. The two of them flattered each other for a while, and then Lao Mouzi came over.

"Xiaolu, I've discussed this with Zhang Heping. Let's give the Olympic creative team a few days off."

"I'll rush to Jinling after I arrange the post-production editing of 'Curse of the Golden Flower'. You can use these few days to arrange the preliminary work."

The director understands the director best. There are many more trivial matters before filming than after it is completed.

Especially for a historical biographical film like this, the acceptance of the set and the restored buildings, the basic training of the extras, and the preparation of equipment and props all require a lot of effort.

However, most of the members of Boss Lu’s direct crew came from "The Drummer", and their strong professionalism can be seen from the filming process of "Tangshan".

This is also the business guarantee for the smooth filming process of each of his films.

Boss Lu looked at his watch and said, "I have to go back."

"Ah? Are you in such a hurry? If you don't want to have lunch, you should come to the wrap-up party tonight to join in the fun!" Jiang Zhiqiang and Zhang Yimou tried to persuade him to stay.

"No, I'll go back to Peking and prepare. We'll see you in Nanjing."

Zhang Yimou said bluntly: "Okay, we are one family so I won't be polite to you. Just drive slowly."

Boss Lu smiled and crushed his cigarette butt: "Okay! Let's go."

Beijing Capital International Airport.

The electronic clock in Terminal 3 jumped to 23:17. In the last international arrival channel, a girl in a dark gray hoodie lifted her canvas bag onto her shoulder, and the brim of her baseball cap cast a small shadow under the fluorescent light.

The crowd that had come to greet them at the airport had already dispersed. The wind that blew in when the automatic door opened and closed brushed against the back of her neck, startling her so much that she pulled her mask up another half inch.

The return of China's top young actress after a year was rather bleak, because she emphasized to Yang Siwei not to make a big fuss about it.

After all, Zhang Chunru was also accompanying them, and the Holocaust film is a serious subject, so such entertainment hype should be avoided as much as possible.

What can Yang Siwei do? Of course he chooses to support.

What if my aunt is unhappy with the various announcements that have been arranged and decides to quit?
Liu Yifei asked her mother to leave with Zhang Chunru and Mia, and she left alone to avoid her itinerary being leaked and being surrounded by fans, which would cause inconvenience to Zhang Chunru.

The conveyor belt made a dull hum, and when the silver suitcase turned the corner, the Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet hidden in Xiao Liu's sleeve accidentally brushed against the metal guardrail.

The moment she bent down, a round-faced girl who had been "following" her for a long time caught a glimpse of the small mole on the right side of her neck.

"Sissi! It's Sissi!"

The screams outside the glass curtain wall pierced the silence of the early morning. The round-faced girl holding a pager accidentally knocked over the luggage cart.

The security guard on duty twenty meters away had just reached for the intercom when more young faces, who were watching the fun, poured out of the convenience store, and the sound of flip phone keystrokes exploded one after another.

The airport arrival hall instantly turned into a boiling fish tank.

The boy in school uniform had his glasses pushed off, but he still rushed forward holding his Sony Cybershot camera high;

The girl in the baseball cap was waving a pen, and the cover of her notebook was covered with clippings of "Alien Land" and "Bad Genius".

The flight reminder on the radio was drowned out by the waves of shouts of "Little Dragon Girl", "Lu Xueqi" and "Blue Moon", and two ground staff members linked hands to form a human wall.

The little girl looked helpless, as her itinerary was still leaked.

She took off her mask and said, "Hello everyone, please don't crowd and be safe. It's almost twelve o'clock, let's go home quickly!"

The fans were not willing to disperse like that, what a great encounter.

"Xixi, you won't be leaving the country this time, right? How come you've lost so much weight? We miss you so much!"

"Sister Fairy, when are you going to Jinling to experience life? I want to run into you by chance!"

Not far away, Yang Siwei was turning into an excavator, pushing through the crowd with two assistants and walking towards her.

Liu Yifei answered their questions as she walked, her face showing the fatigue and tiredness after the long flight. She forced a smile and walked towards the exit to meet Yang Siwei.

Until a fan with low emotional intelligence suddenly said, "The washing machine said it was pursuing you, why didn't it come to pick you up!"

Immediately afterwards, he was caught in a vast ocean of public criticism and was subjected to all kinds of denunciations.

However, the name mentioned in these words was like a shot of adrenaline to the exhausted Liu Yifei, and the little girl couldn't help but look around.

This bastard said he came back from the set of "Curse of the Golden Flower" to pick me up, where is he?

She wanted to take out her cell phone to make a call, but then she thought she should go pick up Zhang Chunru who was acting separately.

Forget it, don't eat this vinegar.

Suddenly, a man wearing sunglasses pushed his way through the crowd, nodded and smiled at Xiao Liu, took her suitcase and left.

"Hey! Who are you? Robbery?"

"Xixi, be careful! Who is this?"

Liu Yifei's face suddenly turned into a smile. Following Ah Fei's gesture, she saw a little orange light behind the security door - a washing machine was standing in the shadow smoking.

The little girl suddenly felt at ease and felt a sense of unexpected joy.

"It's okay, it's okay. We know each other. Goodbye everyone!"

Liu Yifei waved to her fans, nodded to Yang Siwei and three other studio staff members who were helping to cover the rear, and went straight to the emergency exit.

The Bentley drove through the accumulated water on the airport highway. When its headlights swept across the three red words "Dongzhimen" on the road sign, a rustling sound suddenly came from the back seat.

Boss Lu turned his head to watch Xiao Liu pull his hoodie down to his waist, leaving red marks from the suitcase straps on his fair shoulders.

"Wow! It's so hot!" Liu Yifei finally took off her mask and baseball cap, took off her shoes and blew hard into the air conditioner vent.

Boss Lu looked at her bright red pubic hair and said, "Wow! You're really not polite. You'll stink up the car later!"

Concubine Liu Yi has now learned to answer quickly and took the initiative to speak back to tease: "Virtue! You got the advantage and still act like a good kid!"

The young director gave her a speechless thumbs-up and said, "If you feel too hot, take off two more pieces."

"roll!"

The little girl was a little shy, and after hearing his teasing, she felt embarrassed and stretched her legs out to let the wind blow, so she tried to change the subject.

"Are we going to Jinling tomorrow?"

"Yes." Lu Kuan looked her up and down. "You have lost a lot of weight. Are you afraid that I will say your legs are thick?"

"You've lost weight, right? Then take me to eat. I'm hungry."

Boss Lu smiled and said, "There will be food to eat when we get back to the courtyard. I asked Master Qiao to make some midnight snacks before we got on the bus. It will be enough to fill our stomachs."

Seeing that she was still emotionally stable, the young director temporarily refrained from mentioning the sufferings Liu Xiaoli had complained to him, so as not to bring her emotions back to those sad circumstances.

It's just that he deliberately didn't mention it, but Concubine Liu Yi never forgot her current main task.

This half-day of mental rest is just a half-day of leisure for the brain.

Now the washing machine is her spiritual opium. When she is under too much pressure, she takes a puff of it to wake herself up and relieve her mind.

"I sent you a video, but why didn't you reply to the last few messages? I asked you to point out the problems?"

Seeing that she was talking about something irrelevant, Boss Lu also said directly: "Not bad, but many problems need to be created in the specific lens and lighting environment."

"What you designed is just a one-man show. Its suitability within the specific plot of the film remains to be seen."

He hesitated again and said, "Also, I heard from Aunt Liu that your recent mood and mental state..."

"No!" The little girl raised her eyebrows, but the lingering gloom on her smooth brows was clearly visible.

"Lu Kuan, I just want to portray this character well. I want you to treat my performance with unprecedented rigor, otherwise all my efforts during this period will be in vain."

"You're going to help me, right?"

Liu Yifei looked at him solemnly, like a female knight who had gone astray and drawn her sword.

If the old demon made even the slightest mistake in his answer, he would pierce his forehead with the "Fragmenting Flowers and Brushing Willows" move.

Boss Lu looked at her at this moment, as if he saw Andrew in "Whiplash" who beat his knuckles until they bled, but still insisted on playing 400 extreme drum beats.

It’s just that the situation has reversed, and now the students are forcing the teacher.

The young director was caught in a dilemma.

Her spirit is already under high tension all the time. If she continues to push for the perfect film effect on the set, can the girl bear it?
Boss Lu remembered Liu Xiaoli sobbing on the phone, saying that his daughter was suffering from insomnia, hair loss, and weight loss, and asked him to help persuade her.

But after seeing this today, it seems that my words may not work?

Lu Kuan looked around and said, "I will be responsible for the film. You should pay attention to the balance between tension and relaxation, which will also be beneficial to the performance."

The girl stared at him intently for a few seconds, her long legs stretched to the left and rested on the seat, her kneecaps protruding slightly from under the fabric of her jeans, like two stubborn shells inlaid.

She suddenly moved her tight little hips, tilted her head and rested it lightly on the man's shoulder.

As his center of gravity tilted to the right, the citrus scent of the little girl's hair passed over the young director's nose, and the man felt her cool and tender arm passing through him.

"Don't move. Lend me your shoulder."

Concubine Liu Yi spoke softly, then murmured softly, "I know you're afraid I'll collapse under the pressure."

"But since I started acting, I've waited four years for a role like this that could make me... so obsessed."

"But when I was really immersed in it, I realized the concentration and passion you had when editing the film until your eyes were sore and tears came out."

“When I was dancing as a kid, my teacher told me that pain is your body clapping.”

“And that line from Whitman’s Dead Poets Society: I surrender myself to the earth.”

The girl crunched the mint candy in her mouth. "It takes four years to hone a sword. I've practiced the basic skills for four years. Now I want to devote myself to this role."

"I know this is what you expect of me. You won't deprive me of this right, right?"

Concubine Liu Yi looked up with sparkling eyes. She wanted support from the bottom of her heart, which made her hold the man's arm tighter.

Lu Kuan's profile met her gaze, his eyes complicated and difficult to understand.

He suddenly pulled out his arm and put it around her waist, and with a little force, Xiao Liu fell completely, just like on New Year's Eve at the bottom of Fox Radio Station, facing the media around the world.

The man's broad chest completely enveloped this warm, fragrant, and soft body, as well as the temporarily paranoid soul inside.

A charming feeling suddenly arose in the girl's heart, and the muscles around her waist tensed up involuntarily, becoming so tight that they were invulnerable to swords and guns.

“What are you…doing…”

The warmth from Boss Lu's palm penetrated her silk shirt, which was a little thin in summer. The sudden intimacy made her feel a little shy and embarrassed.

The young director smiled and said, "I said, I will be responsible for the film, but I will also be responsible for you."

“Art is not a one-way ticket; completing an odyssey requires a complete soul.”

"You have no experience and can't judge what stage you are in. You must have me as the director to supervise you."

"Don't think too much, just listen to me."

Concubine Liu Yi struggled to speak, but when she looked up and saw his firm profile, she didn't know what to say.

But thinking of his seriousness and enthusiasm for the movie, the girl felt relieved.

Their goals are always the same, right?
She clung to the man's arms for a few seconds, and in her heart she deliberately ignored this intimacy that was not justified, and was reluctant to leave such warmth and tenderness.

I had to come up with a lame excuse: "I know, I... I'm sleepy, I'll take a nap. Call me when you get there."

"Ah."

Xiao Liu dozed off, and the neon lights outside the car window illuminated her slightly thin profile. The young director finally smelled a dangerous fragrance from Liu Yifei's hair.

It's not the elegant citrus base notes of her perfume, nor is it the mint scent that she usually holds in her mouth in imitation of Iris Chang.

She was performing the incense burning in the temple, mingled with the bloody scent of the sacrificed. The fiery fire burning in Liu Yifei's eyes was both the spotlight illuminating the screen and the karmic fire that consumed her.

Boss Lu sighed in his heart.

He was the one who started the fire, and it seems that he will have to put it out in the end.

At the end of July, Jinling Hotel in Jiangsu Province.

"Xixi, can mommy come with you?"

"No need! Mia, don't follow me. What dangers could there be in the country?"

Zhang Chunru was also worried: "You are much more famous in China than abroad. How can Mia not follow you?"

Xiao Liu, who was standing in front of the dressing table, had no time to look back. She let the professional makeup artist of the crew work on her. "I'll make myself look like you, Chunru Sister, and put on some 90s clothes, a hat, and a mask. It'll be fine."

Liu Xiaoli persisted: "If Mommy doesn't want to go with you, can't I just follow you from a distance?"

"No, you're so beautiful, you'll attract too many people's attention on the street! The risk of being exposed is too great!"

"Go, kid!"

Zhang Chunru and Liu Xiaoli looked at each other and saw that she could still joke with a relaxed expression. Their worries were relieved a little, thinking that it was the result of the young director's hard work in guiding her.

Little did they know that the female hero's intermittent "illness" was serious, and Boss Lu was also worried about how to relieve it.

After all, as Xiao Liu herself said, no one has the right to arbitrarily deprive her of this excellent opportunity for advancement.

"Dong dong!"

Liu Xiaoli opened the door: "A Fei, why are you here?"

The cold-faced bodyguard stood at the door and refused to go in: "The boss asked me to accompany Miss Liu today."

Xiao Liu finished her makeup and stood up helplessly: "Why are you all so worried? It's like I'm still a child."

Everyone can see that she really looks like she has completely changed her clothes. From her hairstyle to her clothing style, she has nothing to do with Concubine Liu Yi.

Liu Yifei was about to go out with her bag, and the papers falling from her hands still recorded her target destinations for the next few days.

"I'm leaving!"

"Xixi! Xixi!" Liu Xiaoli went out and called out twice, then returned to her room helplessly.

After pacing for a long time, the old mother was still worried and called the young director.

Boss Lu was at the restoration site of Jinling Women's University: "Aunt Liu?"

"Xiaolu, Xixi went out alone, she..."

"Don't worry, it's okay. The scenes in Jinling are all very warm and touching in the movie. I believe it will be a kind of healing for her."

"I had a brief chat with her yesterday. I will try to find a way to help her."

Liu Xiaoli sighed: "Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Xiaolu."

"You're welcome."

. . .

The last hurrah before filming begins, Xiao Liu’s Jinling experience blog series is about to be updated again.

But this time it was in the more down-to-earth country, and in the same city, Boss Lu was inspecting the crew's early preparations.

The little girl felt more secure psychologically, and her stubbornness subsided a little.

Liu Yifei was sitting in a taxi, and the places she experienced life were all the routes that Zhang Chunru had taken in the script.

There were also a few survivors and descendants she interviewed who were contacted in advance by the crew as consultants and provided financial assistance in the name of consulting fees.

In the old house on Pingshi Street, the morning light had just climbed up the gray tiles in the south of the old city, and Concubine Liu Yi stepped on the bluestone slabs and pushed open the courtyard door.

Mrs. Zhang had just returned from breakfast and was laughing as she spoke: "Ms. Liu, are you imitating Miss Zhang by wearing a blue shirt?"

"Can't you tell who I am?"

Xiao Liu responded with a smile, looking down at the cotton and linen shirt he was wearing, which had just been cut by the crew.

This is the material selected based on the inspection photo of Zhang Chunru in 1995. The same dragonfly brooch is also pinned on the collar.

Mrs. Zhang beamed as she watched the celebrity sign her autograph: "I can't recognize you, I can't recognize you. You look so much like Miss Zhang."

She led Concubine Liu Yi into the old house, gesturing excitedly, "It was here more than ten years ago that Miss Zhang interviewed my great-aunt, and when she left, she left her over a hundred yuan."

"I was sitting next to Miss Zhang at the time and thought her eyes were really bright!"

"Someone from the crew came by yesterday and told me you were coming. Oh, I was so happy!"

Xiao Liu smiled and nodded, took off his disguise in the house and looked around.

On the eight-immortals table in the old house are piled enamel pots and bamboo thermoses bought from the flea market, and on the windowsill are hung the floral pillowcases washed last night.

Mrs. Zhang took out sweet osmanthus wine and rice dumplings and placed them on the dining table. "At that time, Miss Zhang also lived in this room. The clacking of the typewriter in the middle of the night was so noisy that I even played the wrong cards in mahjong!"

"Miss Liu, would you like to eat something together?"

"No, no, thank you! I came here after having breakfast."

Mrs. Zhang was very enthusiastic. She immediately asked her to sit down and, without rushing to eat, she chattered about the interview Zhang Chunru had conducted with the comfort women survivors here.

Liu Yifei adjusted her black-framed glasses and began to narrate stroke by stroke.

From this hot summer morning when she could smell the aroma of fermented rice dumplings, she officially stepped into this windy and rainy city.

In front of the Jinling Library, where the morning mist had not yet dissipated, spots of light filtered by the sycamore leaves danced on the stone steps.

Xiao Liu stepped into the special collection room on the dew, and his plain shirt was cut into zebra stripes by the window lattice.

The administrator, Lao Zhou, pushed a mobile ladder over. The sound of the metal rollers rolling over the teak floor woke up the sleeping dust.

"Hello, Miss Liu. The crew has said hello. You can stay until noon. No one is coming for the time being."

He pointed to the elm wood table by the window and said, "This is probably where Ms. Zhang sat back then. She spent a week researching here."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Old Zhou smiled and brought a cup of Yuhua tea: "You're welcome, I'm from Jinling, I'll support whatever you say."

Liu Yifei sat down quietly, and the microfilm machine hummed and spit out the 1937 New York Times.

She took off half of her mask, and when the headlines of December 1937, 12 appeared, her fingertips hovered three inches above the photos of the victims, as if saluting the old times.

At noon, the Memorial Hall of the Victims.

Liu Yifei squatted in front of the mass grave site, copying the survivors' testimonies. The cobblestone path had worn light blue marks on her denim knees.

She was experiencing Zhang Chunru's mood back then, and her tears unknowingly stained the small characters on the notebook into ink marks.

The white walls of the memorial reflected the sunlight into pearly colors, which fell on the notebook where she copied her testimony.

Suddenly, an old man in a Zhongshan suit stood up with a cane and said, "Girl, the character '卅' should be written like this—"

His dry, branch-like hands gestured in the air with the old-fashioned strokes.

The little girl looked up and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, uncle."

As I was writing, tears suddenly spread out in the paragraph "Mother looking for her son", and the ink was blurred into the outline of the island in the middle of the river.

I don’t know if it was because she had completely put herself into Zhang Chunru’s shoes, or because the scorching heat was too intense, but Concubine Liu Yi felt that everything in Jinling was so heartwarming, even in such a solemn memorial hall.

Afternoon, Pukou Railway Station.

The heat wave gradually dissipated, and the steam wove a gauze on the platform rails.

Liu Yifei stood in front of the faded slogan "The World for All", and the phoenix eyes exposed above the mask made the cake-selling lady look stunned.

The moment the bamboo steamer is opened, the sweet fragrance of plum blossom cake wrapped in osmanthus honey flows out.

"Grandma, please sprinkle more pine nuts."

Concubine Liu Yi remembered from Zhang Chunru's notes that when she first arrived in Nanjing and got off the train, she had this snack to fill her stomach.

She wanted to taste it and take some back.

The old woman trembled as she added another spoonful of candied kumquats. She looked at the porcelain-white neck and cascading raven-colored hair before her and asked, "Are you from Huaiyin, little girl?"

"Yes, can you hear it?"

“Yes.”

Concubine Liu Yi said goodbye to her with a smile.

Looking at Xiao Liu's graceful back as she walked away, the old lady, whose eyes were still not too dim, suddenly remembered that this was the picture of Little Dragon Girl that was posted on her granddaughter's bedside table.

But I saw the cake buyer walking towards the green train in the twilight.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Yifei arrived at the last stop of the day, Niu Shou Mountain.

This was also Zhang Chunru's last stop in Jinling.

After interviewing survivors, collecting materials from the Jinling Library, and making a tearful visit to the Memorial Hall of the Victims, she visited Niu Shou Mountain before leaving Jinling.

Autumn is Qixia, spring is Niu Shou.

In August, Niu Shou Mountain has not yet been dyed with autumn colors, and the lush green mountain is immersed in the amber setting sun.

Concubine Liu Yi walked slowly up the bluestone steps. The mountain breeze blew a gentle arc on her plain shirt, and her trouser legs were stained with dust from old books brought from the Jinling Library.

She took off her mask, revealing her porcelain-white face soaked with sweat. Her playful ponytail swayed slightly with her steps, and the ends of her hair sparkled as they brushed across her neck.

The little girl felt a little regretful. She wished he could be there and see such a beautiful scenery.

With the mountain scenery in her arms, she walked around the wild lake.

The reeds by the lake rippled into emerald waves, and a few dragonflies flew across the water, creating layers of golden ripples.

Concubine Liu Yi squatted by the pier, her fingertips lightly touching the water droplets on the water lily leaves, and the coolness climbed up her wrist bones to the tip of her heart.

The sound of bronze bells ringing from the eaves of an ancient temple in the distance startled egrets that flew over her upward-looking eyes - this moment was imprinted into poetry by the mountain breeze.

She remembered the few words in Zhang Chunru's notes and walked deeper into the garden, wanting to pick some flowers and plants to bring back to her to comfort her.

When she stood up, her trouser legs brushed against the wild daisies. Liu Yifei leaned over to hold the swaying white umbrellas, and suddenly saw a stone tablet half-hidden behind the flowers.

The seven words "Tomb of my late mother Zeng Wenxiu" suddenly caught my eye.

Zeng Wenxiu?

Memories flickered like broken light on the surface of a lake. These three words instantly startled her so much that her fingertips hovered just an inch in front of the monument!

Liu Yifei will never forget the three names Lu Kuan called out while lying unconscious and mumbling on the hospital bed when he was sent to West China Hospital after the car accident in Shuimo Town.

Zeng Wenxiu, Liu Yifei, Huang Yimei.

At that time, because he had just recovered from a serious illness, Xiao Liu had no intention of asking too many questions, but he was also puzzled as to why he called out the name of his own movie character in his dream.

But in the deep mountains of Jinling, this name once again comes into view so abruptly!
Is it a coincidence?

The little girl stared blankly at the gentle woman in the photo on the tombstone tile, who was from another world away.

She had old-fashioned short wavy hair and was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. The wind blew the hair on her forehead into a gentle arc, and there were pearl buttons on the collar of her moon-white slanted-collar shirt.

There is warmth in her eyes, and the slightly drooping curve at the corners of her eyes reminds people of a mother who always holds the door open for naughty children.

Always have three parts of love and seven parts of tolerance.

Concubine Liu Yi was silent for a long while before she uttered a self-deprecating "tsk". Aren't there too many Chinese people with the same name?
Not surprisingly.

Besides, he was an orphan who grew up in Maoshan. How could he be related to a tombstone by a lake in the deep mountains a hundred kilometers away?

She glanced around and saw that there were very few weeds around. It must be the place where relatives of nearby families were buried.

No matter how wildly imaginative she was, Concubine Liu Yi could not establish a logical connection between the two.

I can go back and talk to him about this interesting incident. There are so many coincidences in this world.

They come, the security.

As dusk fell, the mountain breeze, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus, blew through her hair, and the cries of returning birds could be heard in the distance.

Concubine Liu Yi sorted out some of the wild roses and daisies she had just picked, placed them quietly in front of the tombstone, and then prepared to leave.

For several days, this young actress, who had been preparing for the role for almost a year, measured the entire city of Jinling with her own feet.

The slippery moss at the base of the Yijiangmen wall, the whistling river breeze at Zhongshan Wharf, and the last safe zone at the foot of Qingliang Mountain.

In the twilight, the last ferry blew its whistle and set sail. Seagulls flew over the incomplete "天下为公" slogan on Zhongshan Wharf, like dots of ink that had not yet dried in the long scroll of history.

At the foot of the Ming city wall, when her slender figure was stretched by the street lights and projected onto the wall riddled with bullet holes, she suddenly stopped and imitated Zhang Chunru, raising her right hand and lightly pressing the wall, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Without the soft light filter of "Sister Fairy", the heaviness of Jinling City is reflected in Liu Yifei's eyes.

She knew that when the camera turned on tomorrow and focused on a new white hair on her forehead, that would be the most touching makeup look.

I finally became one with Zhang Chunru in 1995.

On the evening of July 2006, 7, the literary young woman Liu Yifei concluded her Jinling experience trip on her blog, writing the final post before filming began:
I originally thought that the play was about historical suffering, but I understood Zhang Chunru's obsession through the fireworks at the wonton stall.

Behind those tragic figures are the old ladies who give umbrellas to their neighbors on rainy nights, the migrant workers who force themselves to eat tea eggs, and the tens of millions of specific people living in the folds of the city.

The performance is no longer about imitating certain movements and expressions, but about putting the moonlight of the Qinhuai River into the camera, speaking for those unspeakable years.

(End of this chapter)