《戏装》林裴之

2、costume

　　The cannons of the Japanese invaders had already bombarded the city gates of Lin'an. However, this Japanese general was a man who had a fascination for the beauties of Qianming. It was said that the owner of the Wangjiang Tower in Lin'an was the head of the Sanxi Troupe, and this person was extremely good-looking, with an androgynous appearance.
　　Male yet possessing feminine traits, he was overly enchanting in appearance, yet without seeming to lack masculinity at all. So this Japanese general was eager to see what he looked like.
　　"Takeuchi Seiichi, go and tell the people in the Wangjiang Tower that I want to listen to their opera," said Kyono Ryushiro.
　　"Certainly, Lord Kyono," replied Takeuchi Seiichi.
　　"Go quickly, right now," urged Kyono Ryushiro.
　　---
　　"Master, the Japanese have specifically asked our opera troupe to perform," said Shen Yuanxi.
　　"When?" asked Du Zhijiang.
　　Shen Yuanxi: "At the third quarter of the You hour tonight."
　　Du Zhijiang: "What opera will we perform?"
　　Shen Yuanxi: "Kong Shangren's 'The Peach Blossom Fan'."
　　Du Zhijiang: "Alright. Tonight, we'll make sure they never see the old colors again. Let's proceed as planned before."
　　Shen Yuanxi: "No, you can't die. You should leave first, and we'll take care of this."
　　Du Zhijiang: "Why should I leave first? And why can't I die?"
　　Shen Yuanxi: "Don't you remember? General Jiang asked you to wait for him to come back."
　　Du Zhijiang: "He Ning has been away from Lin'an for over a year and hasn't returned. The war is already over. I'm afraid he's gone. Tonight, I'll perish in the sea of fire together with these Japanese invaders who have committed all kinds of atrocities. Let these invaders be buried with He Ning, and then I'll go down there to find him."
　　Shen Yuanxi: "Alright then. I'll arrange for it to be carried out tonight."
　　Du Zhijiang nodded, and then Shen Yuanxi left.
　　After Shen Yuanxi left, Du Zhijiang walked out from behind the screen. By then, his eyes were already filled with tears.
　　He walked slowly, step by step, to the dressing table, then sat down and pulled open the drawer, taking out the letters Jiang He Ning had written to him before.
　　He took out the letter paper and read the contents sentence by sentence:
　　"When I first met you, it felt as if we were old acquaintances reunited."
　　"On the mountain, there are trees, and the trees have branches."
　　"Thousands of begonias can't compare to your beauty."
　　"Meeting you was the luckiest thing in my life."
　　...
　　"Tomorrow I'll set off for the expedition. I don't know when we'll meet again."
　　---
　　At the third quarter of the You hour, the Japanese invaders arrived at the entrance. They took a look at the three big characters on the plaque - "Wangjiang Tower". The calligraphy was flowing and forceful, as if engraved deep into the wood.
　　Kyono Ryushiro: "This plaque is really well-written."
　　Once they walked inside, they saw tables filled with delicious food and smelled a refreshing fragrance that instantly dissipated the fatigue of the day for the Japanese invaders.
　　They couldn't wait to rush to their seats. As soon as the Japanese invaders sat down, they began to eat and drink heartily. However, they didn't seem to notice that the doors and windows were quietly being closed by the waiters downstairs.
　　Backstage, just before the opera was about to start, Du Zhijiang asked, "Are you all afraid of death?"
　　Everyone replied, "No."
　　Du Zhijiang: "Are you all ready?"
　　Everyone: "We're ready."
　　After saying this, they went on stage.
　　Du Zhijiang (narrator): "The imperial aura of Jinling is gradually fading, and where are the drums and banners busy? I'm afraid to cross the Spring River with the plum and willow branches..."
　　...
　　Shen Yuanxi (the painted face role): "Brother has indeed come."
　　...
　　Du Zhijiang (narrator): "Having witnessed several events, during the Shunzhi reign, in the year of Wuzi, in the autumn of September, on the seventh day of October, a fine day for a grand gathering..."
　　Then he shouted, "Set it on fire!"
　　The Japanese invaders hadn't realized what was happening yet. By the time they did, the fire had already spread to their feet. The wooden tables and stools also caught fire.
　　Some of the Japanese invaders were sitting near the windows and doors and tried to open them to escape, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't open them.
　　The Japanese invaders wanted to escape, but they couldn't get out no matter what. However, the people on stage remembered the vows they had made before going on stage and the old rules of the opera troupe. No matter what happened, they couldn't stop singing the opera. So, no matter how fierce the fire was, they continued singing, and none of them thought of running away.
　　---
　　It was a moonlit night with few stars.
　　When passersby crossed the bridge and turned their heads, they saw the Wangjiang Tower being engulfed in flames.
　　However, they could still hear the loud and clear sound of the opera. Those who loved listening to operas could tell at once that it was "The Peach Blossom Fan".
　　Before long, some people came to put out the fire, but it was too late. The Wangjiang Tower had already collapsed, and all the people inside were dead. Although the fire was finally put out, everything had changed.
　　In one night, in one big fire, many opera performers were burned to death, and so were many Japanese invaders who had committed all kinds of atrocities.
　　...
　　A month later, Jiang He Ning returned to Lin'an and saw that the place where the Wangjiang Tower used to be was empty. He was extremely angry.
　　He stopped a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, what happened to the Wangjiang Tower?"
　　The passerby was surprised: "Don't you know?"
　　Jiang He Ning: "I don't know."
　　The passerby replied: "A month ago, it was burned down by a big fire. Everyone inside died."
　　Jiang He Ning: "Who set the fire?"
　　The passerby answered: "I don't know, and nobody knows. All we know is that a month ago, the Japanese invaders chose that place to listen to the opera, and that night, it was burned down."
　　Jiang He Ning then knew that it was his Ah Jiang who set the fire himself.
　　Jiang He Ning looked at the place where the Wangjiang Tower used to be and shed tears...
　　These tears were for him. These tears were also a remembrance of their past moments together. These tears were also for himself because he shouldn't have come back so late. Otherwise, his Ah Jiang wouldn't have chosen such a path.
　　[The End]

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