Margaret's Secret

Chapter 16 From Shanghai to Paris (8)
The bedroom in the old house was filled with ambiguous morning light, pouring down on Margaret like a waterfall. She buried her head between her knees, her long black hair covered her face, and only a pair of white feet were exposed under her nightdress. Ya.Lin Hai rubbed his eyes, as if Margaret had changed from an oil painting to a black and white photo.

Lin Hai walked down the loft carefully, came to Margaret's side, stroked her hair and said, "What's wrong with you?"

She obediently let Lin Hai touch her, until she slowly raised her head, opened her translucent emerald eyes, and said pitifully, "Because I don't know, I don't know..."

"Do not know what is this?"

Margaret stared into his eyes, and her lips moved for a long time: "I don't know which day, which hour, which minute, we will not be together-I will be locked in the oil painting again, and you will lose life."

These words were so bitter that Lin Hai immediately trembled, he shook his head quickly and said, "No, Nostradamus will not come, and I will not leave you either."

"I had a dream just now. I dreamed that...you died."

Lin Hai's heart sank again, but he still tried his best to control himself and murmured: "Margaret, as long as you are still here, I will not die."

Rather than saying this sentence was for Margaret, it is better to say that he was emboldening himself.

Margaret finally got out of bed, looked out the window and said, "Are you really alive?"

"Of course, am I living a good life?"

Lin Hai checked the doors and windows again, then ran out to buy breakfast and lunch.

After they came back, they ate breakfast in silence, because Lin Hai didn't know what would happen in the next minute.After eating, he didn't say a word, and he was about to go to school with his bag on his back.

Margaret suddenly grabbed him from behind, Lin Hai stood motionless for a long time, and said softly: "Let me go, I will definitely be back this afternoon, please believe me."

After half a minute of silence, Margaret finally let go, and Lin Hai hurried out of the old house.

On the way to school, Lin Hai was always uneasy—he didn't know how this matter would end, when Nostradamus would appear, and whether he would die because of it.

Even if that terrible ghost no longer appeared, even if she managed to escape, what should Margaret do?It is impossible for her to be "hidden in the old house" forever, Lin Hai felt like a helpless drowning person, who could only sink slowly with the whirlpool.

If there is any hope now, it is the parchment—assuming that the parchment hidden under the dormer window is somehow related to the portrait in the attic ten years ago, then once the contents of the parchment are deciphered, we can know more clues, such as questions about Margaret, and mysterious old houses and attics.

Yes, right now, the greatest hope is not on Lin Hai's side, but in Paris on the other side of the Eurasian continent. It is the writer he has placed high hopes on. I don't know how he is doing there.Lin Hai already sent an e-mail yesterday, I hope he has seen it, if not, he can call Paris on his cell phone, don't worry about the international long-distance call fee.

Just thinking about it so wildly, Lin Hai has already arrived on the university campus.Oops, he was already late for the first class in the morning, so he hurried to the teaching building.When passing by the entrance of the small auditorium of the school, he stopped suddenly.

The small auditorium is a former Soviet-style house built in the 50s. Lin Hai guessed that it was designed by the same person as the library.It used to be a place where the university held major events, but with the expansion of the university and the completion of new auditoriums and school theaters, it became deserted and gradually forgotten by many people.

There was no one around at the moment, and the side door of the small auditorium was open, revealing dim light from inside.Since it's already late, let's go inside and have a look.Lin Hai quietly walked into the side door, and saw that the small auditorium was empty, and there was still a lot of dust on the floor.

He was looking for the painting... God forbid, the painting is still there, still hanging on the wall.

This is why Lin Hai walked into the small auditorium, because this painting was his grandfather's work.

The oil painting hung high on the wall, more than two meters wide and one meter high.In the painting is a golden wheat field, and a middle-aged peasant woman is sitting on the ridge, holding a two or three-year-old child in her arms.

The title of this painting is "Mother".

Lin Hai remembered that when he was very young, he was once brought to school by his grandfather. His grandfather specially took him to the small auditorium and asked him to look at this painting. His grandfather also said meaningfully: "Look more, don't forget she."

Probably the reason why grandpa wanted Xiao Linhai to remember his dead mother.

Grandpa has been a teacher of the art department of this university since the 50s. He said that he was an unsuccessful painter and could only be an unknown teacher for the rest of his life.Grandpa painted this painting in 1955, and it took half a year at that time, of which three months were sent to work in the countryside.He was obviously inspired by the peasant woman, so he came up with this large oil painting called "Mother".Due to ideological reasons, the principal at that time liked this painting very much, so when the small auditorium was completed, he hung this painting here as a decoration. This hanging lasted for 50 long years until it was gradually forgotten. But the person who painted the picture back then has long since passed away.

Although this painting is full of the ideology of that era, the golden wheat fields in the painting still give people a visual impact, and the thick ink and colors are a bit like Van Gogh's painting style.The heroine in the painting is simple and fit. Does such a mother symbolize the infinite vitality of rural China?

Everyone can make their own interpretation of a painting.

Lin Hai sighed softly, bid farewell to the painting left by his grandfather, and left the small silent auditorium.

The morning class was taught by Mr. Wenger, and this was the first time Lin Hai was late for Mr. Wenger's class.Wenger wanted to ask him after class, but Lin Hai avoided him because he was in a mess and didn't know what to say. He was very afraid that he would slip up and leak Margaret out. .

After lunch, he immediately returned to the dormitory, ready to take some daily necessities back to the old house.When he stuffed those things into his backpack, he suddenly felt a hard object in the bag, which turned out to be a disc with no words on it.

It was only then that Lin Hai remembered that on the night he went to the Western Art Museum for the first time, he met a man in black outside the library, and got this DVD by accident.

It contains the movie "Queen Margot" and the last words of Margaret.

Yes, Lin Hai ignored this detail a few days ago and kept this DVD lying in his bag.What the hell is going on with this DVD?Is the man in black real or an illusion?
Play it again and see!Lin Hai immediately brought this mysterious DVD to the student union, where there is an activity room where DVDs can be played.Taking advantage of no one here at noon, he quickly put the DVD into the machine.

Sure enough, the movie "Queen Margot" appeared on the TV screen. In order to hurry up, Lin Hai pressed the fast-forward button on the remote control, and quickly ended the two-hour movie.

When the credits at the end of the movie "Queen Margot" ended, the DVD was put on the top, and Margaret did not appear on the screen.

How is this going?Lin Hai rewound the movie again and played it for a while, but Margaret still didn't appear. The movie ended and the movie ended. The total capacity of this DVD is only so small.He watched the extras of the movie again, but the real Margaret still didn't appear, it was just an ordinary movie disc.

Where is the Margaret who asked him for help in the DVD?
Lin Hai was confused for a while, and the words still seemed to be buzzing in his ears: "Aider moi!"

He lowered his head and spread out the palm of his left hand, "Aider moi" was still engraved on his palm like a shameful scar.

Does all this not exist?
Maybe the teacher on duty who was called out by him that night was right, and this was simply his own fabrication, a delusion in his mind?Perhaps, the so-called man in black did not exist at all, and the "Aider moi" written on the palm of his hand was actually written by Lin Hai himself with special paint.

As for the DVD of "Queen Margot", why did it appear in Lin Hai's pocket?The reason may also be very simple: on the way back to school that day, he happened to find this film at the disc stand, so he bought it and put it in his pocket.

But what about Margaret's cry for help on the DVD?

There are only two possibilities: the first is that "SOS" did not exist in the first place, but Lin Hai's own hallucination, or a memory error; the second is that Margaret did call for help, and she found it in the mirror in the secret room. Lin Hai then used the mirror as a medium (for Lin Hai, it was an oil painting) to input some kind of distress information into Lin Hai's mind, which caused him to have various illusions and fantasies that night, and thus discovered the truth of Margaret's message. SOS message to him.

So why can't I see it now?

According to the above logic, since Margaret has escaped from the oil painting, the call for help at the end of the disc is meaningless, so Lin Hai can no longer see it.

Lin Hai can't judge from normal reasoning, but this matter has already deviated from logic and cannot be faced with normal people's thinking.

It was past one o'clock in the afternoon, and someone would come to the student union soon, Lin Hai hurriedly ejected the DVD from the machine, and left here quietly.

Because it was an elective course in the afternoon, he left school early and rushed back.

Lin Hai did not break his promise, and returned to the old house within the agreed time.Margaret was waiting for him anxiously: "I thought you weren't coming back."

She changed into white clothes again, which she bought at a small street shop yesterday, and she looked very clean, just matching her Katsuki skin and ebony hair. Women's aesthetics are all the same.

Lin Hai felt an inexplicable exhaustion. Although he had a lot to say in his heart, he couldn't say a word at the moment, so he could only sit down obediently.

"I found something under the bed this morning..."

Margaret picked up a few old books and put them on the table, a thin layer of dust rose up.Only then did Lin Hai regain his energy, and saw that those few old books were all in French, which seemed to be a long time ago.

He opened the thickest one first, and unexpectedly it was Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past", which was published by Pascal Press in Paris in 1930.This is the first time Lin Hai saw a French version of a book in the 30s, and it was Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past".More importantly, there is a line of Chinese written on the inside page of the book—

"Lin Danqing, purchased in Paris in the 24th year of the Republic of China"

This line of words was engraved into Lin Hai's eyes like a brand, and he was stunned for a moment, and he spit out two words: "Grandpa! Paris!"

He said these two words in Chinese, so Margaret didn't understand and asked, "What did you say?"

Lin Hai turned his head slowly, pointed to the Chinese characters on the page, and answered her in French: "'Lin Danqing' is my grandfather's name, '24 Years of the Republic of China' is 1935, and this book is written by him in 1935. Bought it in Paris in [-]."

"Your grandfather has been to Paris?"

"I don't know. Grandpa used to live in this old house until he passed away ten years ago. I remember that when grandpa was alive, he never talked about his youth. I only know that he studied art. Yes, and later worked as an art teacher in college."

He looked through several other old books, all of which were published in France in the 30s, including Stendhal's "Red and Black", Alexandre Dumas's "Queen Margot" and "Madame Monsolo", Maupassant's "Life" , in addition to two books on art, Lin Hai could not name the author.

On the inside pages of these books, there are all Lin Danqing's signatures, as well as the time and place where the books were purchased.The purchase time was between 1933 and 1936, and the book purchase location was basically Paris (Paris), only "Life" was bought in Lyon (Lyon).

"All these books were bought by your grandfather in France?"

Lin Hai could only nod his head and say, "That's right, it seems that in the 30s, Grandpa really went to France."

Dumas and Proust did not exist in France 400 years ago, so Margaret had never heard of these writers and works. She asked blankly, "What are these books about?"

"History—Love—Childhood—Fate—"

Lin Hai's lips moved, and he uttered a few important French words.

"It seems that there are books about painting, right?"

"Yes, my grandpa studied art when he was young, it seems that he studied in France." But Lin Hai lowered his head in doubt, "But such an important matter, why didn't grandpa ever mention it? "

Moreover, if grandpa had ever studied in France, he would definitely be able to speak fluent French, but in Lin Hai's childhood memory, grandpa never spoke a word of foreign language, and there was no trace of French culture on his body, so he couldn't see it at all. He has been abroad.As for Lin Hai's choice to learn French, he was not influenced by his grandfather at all. When he took French in middle school, his grandfather had passed away for several years.

When she was puzzled, Margaret also expressed her question: "But I don't understand, since China is so good, why should I go to France to study?"

Lin Hai could only smile wryly: "You don't know the history after 1574. Although our ancient China was very glorious, since the [-]th century, China has become very backward and has been bullied by many countries, including you, France. In order to change China’s backwardness, we must learn from you advanced countries, so after the end of the nineteenth century, many Chinese students went to your country, and this is still the case today.”

"It's hard to imagine how weak France was in my time. The country was divided and the people killed each other, while the far east was full of charm. How much God loves you Chinese. I didn't expect that after more than 400 years, the world turned upside down Come here."

"Don't talk about it, this matter is too complicated." He packed up those books and put them in a small cardboard box next to the bed and said, "If you feel too boring, you can take out a book and read it."

"Actually, I've already flipped through one of them just now." She lowered her head suddenly, biting her lips and said, "That book is called "Queen Margot."

Lin Hai's heart trembled suddenly. Isn't the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas' "Queen Margot" the historical Marguerite?When a person sees his or her name appearing in a classic historical novel and becoming the protagonist of the novel, how does he or she feel?

He looked into Margaret's eyes and said, "How much of this book have you read?"

"After reading the first few dozen pages, the person in the book seems to be me, right? My queen mother, my brothers, and..."

At this point, she stopped suddenly, as if some painful memories were brought back.Lin Hai knew who she was going to talk about, and he didn't want to hear that name again.

"Enough, this is just a novel. The content of the novel is all fabricated by the novelist. Even historical novels are by no means the same as history. It can only be said to be Dumas' personal creation. You must not take those things in the book. It's true."

Margaret's tone became more and more sad, but she tried her best to control her emotions: "Although, for the time I was born, this is a book written by people more than 200 years later. But it is precisely this book, Awakened some of my memories and made me unable to extricate myself..."

"Stop talking about that, let's watch TV for a while."

Lin Hai deliberately wanted to change the subject, picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.Although it was an old color TV bought ten years ago, the picture was quite clear, and it finally caught Margaret's attention.

Everything on TV was in Chinese, and Margaret couldn't understand a single word, but she still concentrated on it, as if we were watching the original film without subtitles.

At dusk, Lin Hai went out to buy dinner. This time he didn't buy foreign fast food, but bought two sets of Chinese food. He thought it was time for Margaret to try Chinese food.In addition, he went to the supermarket to buy tools such as tape, nails, and hammers, all of which will be useful tonight.

He didn't keep Margaret waiting for a long time, and returned to the old house as quickly as possible. The food was still hot.

To Lin Hai's relief, Margaret fell in love with Chinese food after only a few bites.No wonder there are Chinese restaurants wherever there are Chinese people. Even the French princess 400 years ago was conquered. It turns out that Chinese food is the "universal truth".

With Lin Hai's help, Margaret tried to use the chopsticks, but after a few pinches, she picked up the spoon again, which made her smile rarely.Lin Hai also wanted to laugh, but he couldn't, because he felt that the happiness was too short, like an unreal dream.

Seeing Margaret eating, he suddenly thought of a painting - "The Last Supper". Maybe Nostradamus will appear tonight. Will this be the last supper for the two of them?
After eating, Margaret forgot about the honor of the princess, licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and said, "This is probably the best dinner I have had in more than 400 years."

Lin Hai had already finished eating. He walked to the window and looked at the night outside, without speaking for a long time.

Margaret's happiness passed quickly, she didn't turn on the TV, she just sat by the bed alone, wondering what was on her mind.

The old house was silent for more than two hours. Lin Hai kept looking at Marguerite quietly, and finally couldn't help but speak: "Marguerite, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking of someone." She slowly raised her head with a very complicated expression, "You know who that person is, and you can tell his name."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Lin Hai said the name—De La Mole.

The name ran through Margaret's body like electricity, and she bit her lip and said, "Yes, I have thought of him."

(End of this chapter)