I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 34 Love is a riddle
All in all, Mikhail's first party at the Panaevs' went quite smoothly.

Although the two short stories that made him famous and the one he read at the party seemed a bit unconventional and shocking to some gentlemen, they could certainly still feel the genius in some of them.

Then, after getting along with Mikhail, these gentlemen discovered that Mikhail's personality was not that fierce. Although he often said shocking things, he was still hovering around the red line in these gentlemen's hearts, so he didn't really scare them.

Finally, and relatively speaking, the most important point is that Mikhail has a good appearance.

Ahem…

In fact, no matter what era, a good-looking appearance is a scarce commodity, not to mention that there was no technology and hard work in those days, so good looks were even rarer. In European history, many men relied on their looks to enter the upper class, and then had affairs with other people's wives or had unclear relationships with other people's widows.

This kind of thing is also recorded in "The Red and the Black". In addition to relying on his own efforts, Julien climbed up the ladder mostly by successfully seducing other people's wives and making them his lovers, and then used this to soar to the top.

From this it seems that I, Mikhail, may also be able to do what Julien did!
But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it. I, Mikhail, am a man of principles!
Well, I have principles, but... ugh!

In short, the gentlemen at the party were quite supportive of Mikhail's joining, and among them, Turgenev had already started bragging to Mikhail, starting by talking about what salon he had recently attended and what people he had met.

As he talked, the person he mentioned most was Paulina Viardo, a leading actress and actor he met in an Italian opera troupe.

"Oh Mikhail, you can't believe how great her performance is! I'm sure you'll never forget it once you see it!"

"Oh? I'll definitely go check it out when I have money."

Well, Mikhail mainly wanted to gossip.

After all, Turgenev never married in his life, mainly because he was always infatuated with this married woman.

In my own description, this married woman was like an angel, talented and with unparalleled beauty. However, in the description of Panaev's wife Panaeva, this female singer was not beautiful, especially her big mouth which was particularly uncomfortable, and her face shape seemed to have Jewish elements.

For this reason, Turgenev once swore that she was Spanish, but later something seemed to have happened. Basically, a poor female singer died in the chorus where this female singer was, leaving behind an old mother and several young children.

Almost all the male and female singers in the chorus contributed as much as they could from their meager salaries, but this aristocratic and famous singer did not contribute a penny and even refused to sing for free at the concert held to support the chorus.

At the same time, according to Panayeva's recollections, the singer had completely different attitudes before and after my brother Tu received the inheritance.

Before I received the inheritance, I was treated quite casually. After I received the inheritance, I was given the same normal treatment as other guests.

If what she said is true, then this singer can really be called a high-level gold digger who has kept my brother Tu hooked for his entire life. Not only has my brother Tu followed her all the way and lived near her home, but even when her daughters got married, my brother Tu also contributed to their dowries.

But then again, although Brother Tu is an avid fan, he is not necessarily a fool. In the second half of his life when he was scolded every day, didn't he get some comfort from his special love?
In short, this matter may be like drinking water, only you know whether it is hot or cold.

However, out of curiosity, Mikhail naturally wanted to meet this female singer if he had the chance, to see how she had bewitched Turgenev so much.

So, what do you all like about other people's wives?

Can't you be normal?

Yes! You! Nekrasov, Turgenev and Dostoevsky!

While Mikhail was cursing these guys in his heart, Turgenev heard Mikhail say that he would go when he had more money. He immediately laughed and said, "Oh, my dear Mikhail! Don't worry, when I have more money in the future, I will invite you to see it!"

Don't think about it, buddy. If you continue to chase stars for a while, your mother will stop paying your mortgage. Then you will really have to live in debt.
"Thank you, Turgenev." Mikhail did not refuse Tu Ge's face. After nodding, Mikhail could not help but sigh and said, "But I still hope that you can suffer less from love."

"The pain of love?" Although Turgenev thought Mikhail's choice of words was a little strange, he still understood what Mikhail meant, so he laughed and said:

"Don't worry, Mikhail. I've been in the love world of St. Petersburg for so long, and it's always been those beautiful ladies who have been sad for me. How could I be sad for them? Oh, of course, there are sadness, but I will never suffer."

Mikhail: “…”

You are bragging...

If you don't listen to my advice, you will suffer later...

"Oh, by the way, Mikhail, what about you? Why haven't I heard you talk about this?" After laughing, Turgenev suddenly thought of something and asked in surprise, "Is there nothing?"

Mikhail: “…”

You seem to know too much...

"So it's true?" Turgenev waited for a while. Although Mikhail didn't say anything, Turgenev still saw the truth from Mikhail's expression, so he laughed heartily again:

"Oh, poor Mikhail! I seldom see young men like you! Alas! Alas!"

Oh, do you know that Mikhail? Yes, yes, that's him, I know him! Just a kid! He's never won the favor of any lady!

Turgenev thus prepared a draft in his mind.

Although Mikhail felt a little helpless about this, he finally shook his head and didn't take it to heart.

To be honest, after getting along with each other for a while, judging from his personality alone, my brother Tu is a pretty good person. After all, how bad can someone be if he is willing to treat others to a meal every day?

Ahem…

Perhaps it was because he loved to treat people to dinner that our Brother Tu later knew almost all the cultural celebrities of his time. Perhaps it was also because of this that our Brother Tu later became a relatively recognized leader in the Russian literary world.

Unfortunately, as the situation became more and more intense, some people who were originally willing to have dinner with our Brother Tu gradually became unwilling to do so. There were also some people that our Brother Tu really wanted to invite, and he even went to their homes again and again to make friends with them, but they still ignored him.

Our brother Tu was so proud that he could not stand this injustice and immediately severed ties with that person.
Later, some seemingly absurd conflicts between Tu Ge and Lao Tolstoy were almost entirely due to their personalities.

Of course, let's wait until old Tolstoy appears to talk about these things.

By the way, although Tolstoy always gives people the impression of an elder, he is actually ten years younger than Turgenev and is still a young man in his teens.

Mikhail is about the same age as Tolstoy now, just one or two years older. From this, we can conclude that Mikhail is only twenty-one years old now.

It is now 1844, and Mikhail is now 21 years old. To be honest, Mikhail really doesn't know how long he can live or how long he should live.
(End of this chapter)