I rely on talking to brush the copy

Le Jing already had an idea of ​​what to write for his first work: he planned to write a mystery novel. This was inspired by the serialized "Cheating and Dismembering a Corpse"① in "Fengtian Miscellaneous News".

When he first saw the word "dismembering a corpse", he thought it was a mystery crime novel, which really made him curious. So although the serialized part of the novel in his hand looked more like pornographic novels, he still asked the servant to help him collect the previous issues of "Fengtian Miscellaneous News", intending to find the plot in pornographic novels and study the level of mystery novels in the Republic of China.

It was also a coincidence that the servant's roommate was a loyal reader of "Fengtian Miscellaneous News", so the servant quickly brought him a large stack of newspapers.

Then Le Jing calmly began to read the newspaper despite the servant's strange look.

Although the number of newspapers was incomplete, he still pieced together the main content of "Cheating and Dismembering a Corpse", and then he was stunned by the ancients' "playfulness".

Although the title of "The Case of the Dismemberment of a Corpse" contains the thrilling word "dismemberment", it has nothing to do with criminal investigation and reasoning. It is an out-and-out erotic novel.

Yes, this kind of pornographic writing that would only be harmonious in later generations was not hidden in the conservative Republic of China period, but was published openly in newspapers, and the sales volume was quite good. This is really a great black humor.

The article mainly tells the story of a young man named Chen Wanpeng, who is romantic by nature, gifted, and handsome. Because he is so handsome, all the young girls and wives throw themselves on him, so he sleeps with every one he sees.

Let's not talk about the various erotic descriptions for the time being, just say that once he hooked up with a pair of sisters-in-law, and the three of them were so happy.

However, the good times did not last long. The affair of the three was exposed. For the sake of the reputation of the women in the family, the man of the family strangled Chen Wanpeng to death. In order to destroy the evidence, he also dismembered the body and threw it into the wild to bury it. Then the author used Chen Wanpeng's tragic experience to warn readers: Those who rape other people's wives and daughters will not have a good end!

Le Jing felt both amused and sad after reading this story, and from then on he had a deep understanding of the lack of bottom line of the tabloids in the Republic of China.

Sure enough, scholars are also extraordinary when they act like hooligans. No wonder the boy looked at him so strangely. That's right, he is a big smoker, and his body has not recovered after quitting drugs, but he is eager to read pornographic novels. Such lust is not contemptible.

Although the content of this book is difficult to describe, it also inspired him.

Detective novels developed in Europe and the United States in the 1920s and 1930s, and became popular in Japan since the 1960s and 1970s. The name of detective novels was also given by the Japanese. China's detective novels developed very late, and in terms of scale, they are not as large as Europe, the United States and Japan.

Le Jing came from the modern society of information explosion. Since Edgar Allan Poe published the world's first detective novel, the criminal methods in detective novels have been constantly innovated in the past 100 years. In the era of Le Jing, a wide variety of mature schools have been formed.

Any of these schools is the result of absorbing the wisdom of countless predecessors, and it is a new thing that Chinese people have never heard of in this era.

Tabloids like "Fengtian Miscellaneous News" are like many new media public accounts in modern times. They have always relied on curiosity to attract people's attention. The treacherous twists and turns of detective novels themselves are just in line with the path of such tabloids, making them more likely to be selected and published.

After thinking for a while, Le Jing held a fountain pen and wrote eight big characters on the white letter paper: Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case.

Because of his weak body, these eight characters are weak and powerless, like a child's handwriting. If such a manuscript is sent over, it may be regarded as a prank and knocked down.

Le Jing sighed and could only take his time.

※

As night fell, Li Tingfang came back from school. He took off his coat with the help of the maid and asked the butler who was standing respectfully beside him: "How is Jingran today?"

The butler replied: "I heard that he can walk a few steps."

Li Tingfang smiled: "Oh? After all, he is a young man, and his body recovers quickly."

The butler glanced at his master's gloating look, hesitated for a moment, and answered carefully: "Master Jingran, someone helped him collect old newspapers to read in the morning."

The servant serving Li Jingran is his son, so of course he can't hide Li Jingran's every move from him.

Although he doesn't know how this famous dandy won the favor of his master, he knows how much pressure the master has to take in the two brothers and sisters.

Now there are rumors on the street. It is very likely that the master's reputation will be ruined because of this incident. How can he not be anxious. But how can he, as a servant, interfere in the affairs of his master?

Now that Li Jingran is still not well, he has started to think about those obscene things, and he also asked people to collect those indecent newspapers for him. It's really a waste of his master's painstaking efforts for him!

"Newspaper?" Li Tingfang raised his eyebrows and smiled, "This kid is diligent and studious. He is thinking about reading newspapers before he is well." He asked curiously, "If you want to read newspapers, why don't you read the new newspaper?"

The housekeeper lowered his head, not daring to look at his master's expression, and answered angrily, "Because the new newspaper is not to his taste, he specially asked the servant to help him collect the previous issues of "Fengtian Miscellaneous News" to read."

As soon as the four words "Fengtian Miscellaneous News" came out, Li Tingfang's expression was quite subtle. As a serious scholar, he certainly looked down on such obscene and vulgar tabloids.

Li Jingran actually reads this kind of newspaper?

Thinking of the young hero who was neither humble nor arrogant in front of him that day, Li Tingfang's first reaction was to disbelieve it.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course it's true." The housekeeper paused and broke another explosive news: "Defu said that he also specifically stared at erotic novels!" Defu is his son, and now he is a servant serving Le Jing.

As soon as the housekeeper said this, Li Tingfang believed it. He frowned slowly. Could it be that he really made a mistake?

"Let's go and take a look at Li Jingran."

...

When Li Tingfang came, Li Shuran was persuading Le Jing to take a rest.

Except for the meal time today, Le Jing has been writing "The Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case" all the time.

Despite such hard work, he only wrote more than 2,000 words. Because his body is still too weak, but after working at the desk for a long time, he felt dizzy and his hands trembled so much that he could hardly hold the pen.

His body would not be able to recover without resting for ten days or half a month, but time waits for no one, and there is no time for him to rest properly. So even though his body can't take it, he still tries his best to hold on.

This made Li Shuran feel distressed. She advised: "Brother, you are not well yet, you should rest first. It will be the same if you write these tomorrow."

Le Jing shook his head and explained to Li Shuran seriously: "The full text of my novel is about 15,000 words. According to my speed today, it will take me at least a week to finish it. Then I submit it for submission. I don't know how long it will take for the editor to review it. Although I know the possibility is very small, there is always a chance of everything - if it is rejected, I will have to make new plans." He sighed and said: "I agreed with my uncle that I would leave in a month, so you see, time is very tight."

Li Shuran also understood the reason. She didn't think that her eldest brother would fail to submit his manuscript - for some reason, she had special confidence in her eldest brother. She felt that as long as her eldest brother submitted it, he would definitely be accepted. However, she also understood that her eldest brother's worries were justified. After all, they couldn't stay in their uncle's house forever.

But in the end, her heartache for her brother prevailed, and she said, "Brother, you are in such a bad health now, and my uncle is the most reasonable. As long as I go and ask him, he will definitely give us a few more days..." The little girl's voice became lower and lower, and finally it could not be heard, probably because she saw the face of her brother now.

The elder brother was looking at her with a serious and solemn expression that she had never seen before. The slight disapproval in his eyes was like the most severe reprimand, which made Li Shuran at a loss.

Le Jing was silent for a few seconds, and then spoke in a deep voice: "Shuran, your brother has never disciplined you since you were a child. This is your brother's dereliction of duty. Now I will teach you a lesson."

Looking at the pale face of the little girl, Le Jing softened his tone: "That is to help in emergencies but not in poverty. Uncle can help us for a while, but he can't help us for a lifetime. We must solve the problem by ourselves. Li Shuran, you must remember that your uncle has no obligation to help us, but he helped us out of kindness. We must remember this kindness. We should never rely on him for convenience because of his kindness. This is not what a gentleman does."

Li Shuran lowered her head in shame and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "I'm sorry, I know I was wrong, Shuran will never do this again."

Li Tingfang stood outside the window and heard the conversation between the brother and sister clearly. Every word of the boy's words entered his heart and triggered waves in his heart. After a while, he chuckled. In addition to being relieved, he was more proud of his wisdom and the fact that his Li family could have such a great talent.

He was right.

The housekeeper saw the master standing quietly under the window for a long time, and then left quietly just like he came.

But this time he understood the master's behavior. He also heard what Li Jingran said just now, which dispelled some of his prejudices against him. He is a good child who knows how to repay kindness and is sensible.

Le Jing didn't know what was happening outside the window. He touched Li Shuran's head, deliberately eased the atmosphere, and asked softly: "Shuran, brother will teach you to read, okay?"

With a stepmother like Wang, Li Shuran naturally received the education of "women without talent are virtuous" since childhood. She is a real blind person who can't read a single word. It's a pity that such a smart and transparent girl can't read.

Li Shuran's face finally had some color. She was a little excited, and at the same time, she looked at Le Jing hesitantly: "But, I, I am a woman..."

"So what if she is a woman?" Le Jing's eyes flashed with sarcasm: "Can't women read and write? Shuran, remember, women can do what men can do. Now is a new era. Women can go to college, find a job, become officials, and choose to get married or divorce. Women and men are equal."

The boy's amber eyes were brewing deep encouragement and expectations: "Brother doesn't ask you to be successful, but only ask you to read and understand, and live soberly in this life."

Li Shuran nodded as if she understood. Le Jing's words were a bit too advanced for this little girl who had been locked up in a deep house since childhood, and it was no wonder that she couldn't understand. So Le Jing just smiled and touched her head, saying: "One day you will understand."

After you have enjoyed the beauty of the right to freedom, you will definitely understand.

Freedom is a poison, an addiction, the most powerful opium in the world. Once you get addicted, you can never quit.

The author has something to say:

Readers who left a message about murder in a closed room in the previous chapter, come out, I suspect you have peeped into my brain_(:з”∠)_

①There really was a book called "The Case of Affair and Dismemberment" in the Republic of China. I found it on a used book website and found it very interesting, so I made some adaptations and used it in the text to enrich the details.

Although it is a quick travel, I think I will probably write it as a slow travel... After all, there are too many plots to write in the Republic of China chapter, and if the protagonist wants to become a great writer (dare not call him a literary giant), he has a long way to go.