Once upon a time, Lu Xiaoman was a courtesan in the capital, and her grace was unique, and her smile was enough to make thousands of romantic guests bend their waists and become fragrant. However, as fate would have it, what kind of field did this delicate moth hen end up in? Xu Zhimo and her companion in the last few years of life, what embarrassing story happened? She once said, "I am this fate", where does this thorn of fate lead her?
The talented women of the capital are swaying
Lu Xiaoman was born in a famous family in Shanghai, and his ancestral home is Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Her family background can be described as extraordinary, and the land of the boudoir has been surrounded by grace. Great-grandfather Lu Guifang, who was the champion of the late Qing Dynasty, was awarded the title of director of the Prince and Taishi Pavilion. His grandfather was a court painter in front of the court during the Guangxu period, and he was well-known in the painting world. Lu Xiaoman's father, Lu Ding, was also a good man when he was young, and he passed the college entrance examination, and then went to Waseda University to study, and worked in the Ministry of Finance after graduation. It can be seen that the Lu family has been bathed in a hotbed of intellectuals for generations.
Lu Xiaoman has been immersed in such a privileged environment since he was a child. When she was six years old, she moved to Beijing with her parents and enrolled in the Beijing Normal Girls' School, where she learned all kinds of basic knowledge. After the age of thirteen, she transferred to the Sacred Heart School, an aristocratic school founded by the French, to learn Western language, music, painting, dance, etiquette and other ways of self-cultivation in the upper class. Lu Xiaoman is full of unique skills, and he is good at poetry, songs, calligraphy, painting, piano and chess. In particular, the dancing skills are superb and the manners are myriad, which has made countless suitors swoon.
In the city of Beiping, there was such a rumor: "If you want to see the scenery of Beiping, Lu Xiaoman must see it." Indeed, she not only wore a brocade dress, but also set off this slim figure like a fairy. At the dance held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when Lu Xiaoman danced, he could always become the focus of the audience, and even Hu Shi, who was well-known in the literary world at that time, was full of praise. She has an outstanding temperament, elegant manners, and natural dancing posture make her unique among the new upstart women in the capital and become a courtesan sought after by everyone.
Romantic love leads to a turning point in life
When Lu Xiaoman was 19 years old, her parents chose a husband Wang Geng for her. Wang Geng was born in a family of eunuchs and has been excellent in character and learning since he was a child. The Beiyang government made an exception to send him to the United States for further study at full public expense, and he studied at the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and Princeton University, and was also admitted to the famous West Point Military Academy. After completing his studies, Wang Geng was entrusted with important positions in the War Department of the Beiyang Government. Under the shadow of the Wang family, this family business is logical.
After marriage, Lu Xiaoman lived a carefree life as a noblewoman. But Wang Geng is busy with work and is not around all the year round, which makes her feel lonely and empty. At first, the two were able to communicate with each other, but as time went on, the conflict became more and more acute, affecting their marriage. At the same time, Xu Zhimo, a key figure in the ghostly messenger, intervened in their lives.
In 1924, Wang Geng was stationed in Harbin and had no time to take care of Lu Xiaoman, so he asked his friend Xu Zhimo to accompany his wife. Xu Zhimo is not only a poet, but also the top courtesan butterfly of this era. He and Lu Xiaoman get along day and night, and are invisibly attracted by her beauty and intelligence. The two have a lot of intersections in poetry and songs, calligraphy, painting and painting, etc., and quickly shortened the distance between each other.
Xu's sexual encounters are numerous, he has had extramarital affairs with talented women such as Zhang Youyi and Lin Huiyin, and he is still a frequent visitor to prostitution. Facing the sexy and charming Lu Xiaoman, Xu was really greedy, and the two soon intrigued, fell in love, and indulged in lust. Wang Geng was furious when he heard the news and reprimanded his wife for her misdeeds, prompting the Lu family to make the decision to divorce.
In order to completely break away from their old marriage, the Lu family found Xu Zhimo's friend Liu Haisu to do ideological work for Lu's mother. After some twists and turns, Wang Geng was finally forced to let go, paving the way for a new marriage between the two. On the occasion of parting, he also specially instructed Xu Zhimo to treat Xiao Man well, hoping that they would grow old together.
Shackles bind the freedom of the mind
Although the marriage between Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman has gone through twists and turns, it has finally come to fruition under the insistence of the two. However, married life is far from what they imagined. Both of them had indulged in the debauchery of dogs and horses, and over-pursued physical relationships, and finally paid a very painful price.
Xu Zhimo is well-known in the literary world, but his family is poor all year round. Not only does he lack regular income, but he is also an extravagant and profligate loser. Whenever they had a night of poetry and wine, the money passed as quickly as if it were bursting a levee. This kind of extravagant lifestyle has caused them to fall into financial difficulties, with a large number of people in their families and sky-high living costs.
In order to understand the urgent need, Lu Xiaoman had to sell his inheritance to make ends meet. Among her ancestral properties is a precious piece of porcelain inlaid with numerous pearls and gemstones. It's a pity that she was obsessed and confused for a while, and actually sold this priceless porcelain to a merchant at a low price.
In addition to the lack of funds, what is even more terrifying is that the two are mired in drugs. They are addicted to morphine and need to be injected once a day to survive. Under the ravages of drugs, both developed serious health problems. In order to satisfy their drug addiction, they often sneakily go to the Qinglou to look for it, and spend their days in that filthy environment.
When Lu Xiaoman was in high society, he was heroic and peerless. But now she is like a down-and-out beggar, with a broken shape and bones, and her face is unrecognizable. Xu Zhimo's situation was not much better, and he was sneered at as a "mad poet" by his peers. The two are in love with each other, struggling together in the sea of suffering, but they are powerless to extricate themselves.
The catastrophe of destiny is difficult to untie the knot
Just when the lives of the two fell to the bottom, a sudden catastrophe crushed them. In the early morning of November 19, 1931, Xu Zhimo drove alone to the West Lake in Hangzhou to attend a poetry meeting. Unexpectedly, this ride became the last ride of his life.
When he arrived in Tonglu County, Xu Zhimo's car collided with a large truck and died on the spot at the age of 39. This sudden bad news was like a heavy blow, which knocked Lu Xiaoman to the ground. She never imagined that the love of her life, who was closely tied to her life, would die so suddenly. Grief-stricken, she was like a flat boat, drifting helplessly in the monstrous waves.
Soon after Xu's death, Lu Xiaoman met a foreign doctor, who once became her spiritual pillar to regain the courage to live. This doctor has no resemblance to Xu Zhimo, his style is upright, he is honest and kind, and he often admonishes Lu Xiaoman to quit drug addiction. He took care of Lu Xiaoman considerately, which gradually improved her physical condition and made her regain hope in life.
The two grew close and eventually lived under the same roof. However, this relationship was also strongly opposed by friends, and Lu Xiaoman's friend Zhao Qingge once severely reprimanded her for being uninhibited. In Zhao Qingge's view, Lu Xiaoman is a woman with deep love, constantly depraved and indulgent, which is simply blaspheming the majesty of her ancestors and the honor of her family.
In the face of Zhao Qingge's reprimand, Lu Xiaoman also felt embarrassed. She understands that her past debauchery is indeed despicable, and now she can start over with the doctor, which is also a chance for her to be reborn. So she sincerely confessed to Zhao Qingge: "I am this fate, and a desolate life must be destined by fate."
Lonely and finally home
Although Lu Xiaoman's stay with the doctor injected her with the power of rebirth, fate did not stop there. A few years later, when she turned 60 years old, her health deteriorated, and she was riddled with various diseases, and her life became extremely difficult.
In those years, although Lu Xiaoman's drug addiction was quit, the excessive abuse of drugs had already made her body pay a heavy price. Asthma, emphysema and other chronic ailments came to her door, and she was wheezing like a fish out of water. The family was poor and indebted, and could not afford to live in a decent house, so they could only live in dilapidated shacks.
As a close friend, Zhao Qingge often went to the hospital to visit Lu Xiaoman. Every time he saw her skeletal body, Zhao Qingge would burst into tears. This once upon a time was a peerless woman, but now she has fallen into such a situation, which is really suffocating. Once, Lu Xiaoman sighed to Zhao Qingge: "I have no worries, I just hope to be with Shima's spirit in the sky as soon as possible."
In the spring of 1965, the 66-year-old Lu Xiaoman was terminally ill and finally reached the end of his life. This once graceful and squandered her wealth at all costs ended up with no decent mourning dress - her belongings were only a few worn clothes and trousers. Seeing that his friend suffered such a miserable encounter, Zhao Qingge couldn't bear it, so he simply took out his own brand new costume and surrounded it around Lu Xiaoman's body, so that she could have a decent final dress.
In this way, Lu Xiaoman, a displaced, ill-fated woman, passed away, and she was dressed in a satin gown in the coffin, solemn and elegant, but she was no longer blessed with any worldly disturbances. On her deathbed, she only begged to scatter her ashes to the sea, hoping that nature would give her one last bit of comfort. In this way, she was completely freed from the cage of the world's wasted years and dissipated into the ocean.