Dreaming With My Dragon Lover

"Strangely enough, ever since this stuff got into the safe in this house, I've been having more and more weird dreams about Rong Qing and the Jinyu Troupe. After that I've got more inspiration on the story of Qingqing."

Recalling what Way De the Dollmaker has said during the day, and his dreams of being with Rong Qing night after night, Yuan Ge is overcome with emotion.

"Gege, this jade-covered book is not just some 'stuff', but a sacred book that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Peking Opera art world." Rong Qiuchen appears very solemn, "For thousands of years, the artists have suffered a great deal and shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears in order to have their names recorded in this book."

Seeing that Yuan Ge is listening attentively, Rong Qiuchen continues, "Empress Dowager Cixi loved opera and had ordered the Minister of Rites to have this book transcribed again during the Guangxu years. This is why the famous artists from the Qin dynasty to the Qing dynasty were all recorded in this jade book!"

"Wow, you know a lot about the origins of this book."

Rong Qiuchen sighs, "Gege, you might as well turn to the last page, which records the extraordinary glory of our Jinyu Troupe …"

At this point, his eyes are filled with tears again.

"There you go again!" Yuan Ge glances at him, "I didn't bring the book out so that you could use it to get into your fantasy land and tell me over and over again that you were Rong Qing who had transmigrated from the Qing Dynasty. Because that dollmaker also knew about this book, I wanted to have another look at it."

Rong Qiuchen silently takes the gloves from Yuan Ge and puts them on, gently stroking the precious jade covered book, as if he has just met the most familiar stranger. As his fingers sweep over the two pieces of flawlessly beautiful white jade, he feels as if his chest has been torn open by time, the fire in his soul is burning incessantly, and for a moment the pain is so unbearable that he can't help but place his hand on his chest and press tightly.

Thinking that Rong Qiuchen is cosplaying Rong Qing again, Yuan Ge laughs, "Legend has it that these two pieces of beautiful jade are in fact two dragon scales of the Silver Dragon of the Great Roxy Heaven, which is why they are so thin, so slick, so hard, and able to protect the spirits of the artists of the various dynasties recorded in the book."

Rong Qiuchen flicks the thin piece of jade with his finger and it makes a pleasant melodious sound different from that of gold or jade.

The move scares Yuan Ge into hastily retrieving the book, "Careful! Be gentle! The story of the dragon scales is just a myth. In case this delicate piece of jade is damaged by you..." He examines it carefully and suddenly cries in horror, "What's going on here!"

When Rong Qiuchen sees that Yuan Ge's hands are shaking and sweat has appeared on his forehead, he is also alarmed and hurries over to take a close look. Yuan Ge turns the book to the last page, trying to find the list of the "Seven Golden Flowers" of the Jinyu Troupe, but all there is left is a blank piece of yellow paper, with not a single word on it.

"Impossible! I clearly remember that all the famous actors of the Guangxu period were recorded on this page!" Yuan Ge is completely flustered, "Look at the previous page, it's still from the Jiaqing period, there are no new records from the Daoguang or Xianfeng years, and the following page is the one from the Guangxu period[1], which records the achievements of the Jinyu Troupe. I remember it very well, but but … , how could it have disappeared!"

Rong Qiuchen is also dumbfounded at the sight, "What Gege said is correct. I know by heart the pages of all the famous Qing dynasty artists, and the last page indeed contains the names of the seven artists of Jinyu Troupe in Guangxu period! Could it be that this book in Gege's hands is a forgery?"

"No way! It can't be! The curator handed this treasure over to my mother personally, and it had been authenticated as genuine by all the experts. My mother told me again and again to keep it safe and lock it carefully in the safe, so how could it be a forgery!"

Yuan Ge's forehead is covered in cold sweat. Could it be that someone has torn out this page? However, when he turns the book in his hands back and forth several times, it doesn't seem like any pages are missing or damaged. Then Yuan Ge remembers the invisible ink trick. Could this trick have been used in transcribing the names of artists during the Guangxu period? So he digs out a hairdryer and blows hot air at it from afar, but no writing has emerged.

"It's an absolute disaster! It arrived at my house in perfect condition, but now it's damaged. How am I going to explain this to my mum? How are we going to return it to my mum's friend Uncle Curator now? No one can afford to pay for such a priceless piece of historical artefact!"

Yuan Ge clutches his head and mutters with a chagrined look on his face, "If I had known this, I would never have asked to use such a rare artefact as a reference for my character's authenticity. I went to great lengths to write a script that was as close to historical truth as possible yet no one really cared. I should have just made up some nonsense main characters and saved myself a lot of trouble!"

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[1] Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng and Guangxu - these were the year names of the Qing emperors.. When a new emperor succeeded to the throne, a new name was created for the years of his reign to be used when referring to corresponding historical period.