Chapter 34: Love Equals Riddle

All in all, Mikhail's first gathering at the Panayevs' went smoothly enough.

Although the two short stories that made him somewhat famous and the one he read at the party seemed to some gentlemen rather unconventional and shocking, they could certainly sense the genius in certain parts of them.

Furthermore, after getting to know Mikhail, these gentlemen found his character not particularly volatile; though he often spoke startling words, they mostly stayed within the red lines in their minds, so he didn't truly frighten them.

Finally, and relatively speaking most importantly, Mikhail possessed a fine appearance.

Ahem...

In fact, in any era, a fine appearance is a scarce commodity; moreover, in this age without technology and harsh additives, a good look is even more rare. Throughout European history, many men have used their looks to break into high society, then gotten involved with other men's wives or had unclear relations with widows from various families.

Such matters are also recorded in "The Red and the Black"; Julien climbed his way up not only through his own efforts but mostly by successfully seducing other men's wives, making them his mistresses, and thus soaring to great heights.

From this, it seems I, Mikhail, could also follow Julien's old path!

But thinking it over, I'd better not; I, Mikhail, am a person with principles!

Hmm, I have principles, but...... Pfft!

In any case, the gentlemen at this party quite approved of Mikhail's joining. Among them, Turgenev had already started boasting to Mikhail, initially talking about what salons he had recently attended and what figures he had met.

As he spoke, the person mentioned most often was Polina Viardot, the lead actress he had seen in an Italian opera troupe.

"Oh Mikhail, you simply cannot imagine how wonderful her performance was! I believe once you see it, you will never forget it!"

"Oh? When I have money, I will definitely go see it."

Hmm, Mikhail mainly wanted to gossip a bit.

After all, Turgenev never married in his life, mainly because he was always infatuated with this married woman.

In my Brother Turgenev's own description, this married woman was like an angel, talented and possessing unparalleled beauty; but in the description by Panayeva, the wife of Panayev, this female singer was not beautiful, especially her large mouth which was particularly uncomfortable, and she felt her face had Jewish elements.

For this reason, Turgenev once swore and vowed that she was Spanish, but later something like this apparently happened: a poor female singer in the choir where this female singer belonged died, leaving behind an old mother and several young children.

Almost every male and female singer in the choir contributed money from their meager salaries to the best of their ability, but this noble-born, famous female singer gave not a penny and refused to sing for free at the concert held to support the choir.

At the same time, according to Panayeva's recollection, this singer had completely different attitudes before and after my Brother Turgenev inherited his fortune.

Before inheriting the fortune, she treated him quite casually; only after he got the inheritance did she give my Brother Turgenev the same normal treatment as other guests.

If what she said is true, then this singer truly deserves to be called a high-level gold digger, stringing my Brother Turgenev along for a lifetime; it was one thing that my Brother Turgenev followed her everywhere and lived near her house, but even when her daughters got married, my Brother Turgenev contributed to their dowries.

But then again, although Brother Turgenev was a fanatic fan, he was not necessarily a fool; and in the latter part of his life when he was scolded daily, did he not gain some comfort from this special love of his?

In any case, this matter is perhaps like a man drinking water, knowing for himself whether it is cold or warm.

However, out of a gossipy mindset, Mikhail naturally still wanted to meet this female singer if he had the chance, to see how exactly she had bewitched Turgenev into losing his bearings.

But then again, why do you all like other men's wives...

Can't you be normal...

Yes! It's you! Nekrasov, Turgenev, and Dostoevsky!

While Mikhail was inwardly condemning these guys, Turgenev, upon hearing Mikhail's remark about going only after getting money, immediately laughed heartily and said:

"Oh dear Mikhail! Don't worry; in a few days when I am a bit more well-off, I will treat you to see it!"

Don't think about it, buddy; if you keep chasing stars for a while longer, your mother will cut off your funding, and then you will truly have to live in debt.

"Thank you, Turgenev." Mikhail did not refuse Brother Turgenev's face; after nodding his head, he still couldn't help sighing and saying, "But I still hope you eat less of the bitterness of love."

"The bitterness of love?" Although he thought Mikhail's wording was slightly strange, Turgenev naturally understood what Mikhail meant, so he immediately laughed heartily and said:

"Don't worry, Mikhail; I have been mixing in the love field of St. Petersburg for so long that only those beautiful Young Ladies have ever been heartbroken for me; how could I ever be heartbroken for them? Oh, oh, of course, there is sadness, but I will never suffer bitterness."

Mikhail: "......"

You are just boasting...

If you don't listen to advice, you will suffer later...

"Oh, by the way, Mikhail, what about you? Why haven't I heard you speak of such matters?" After the laughter, Turgenev suddenly asked with some surprise, as if thinking of something, "Could it be that there is none?"

Mikhail: "......"

You seem to know a bit too much...

"So it is true?" After waiting a while, although Mikhail said nothing, Turgenev still saw the truth in Mikhail's expression, so he immediately laughed heartily again and said:

"Oh poor Mikhail! I rarely see a young man like you! Alas! Alas!"

Oh, that Mikhail, you know him? Yes, yes, it's him; I know him! Just a kid! To this day, he has not won the favor of any Young Lady!

Turgenev thus drafted this in his mind.

Although Mikhail felt a bit helpless about this, he ultimately shook his head and didn't take it much to heart.

To be honest, after getting along for a while, judging solely by character, my Brother Turgenev is actually quite nice; after all, how bad can someone who is willing to treat people to meals every day be?

Ahem...

And perhaps because he loved treating people to meals, my Brother Turgenev later came to know almost all the cultural celebrities of his era; perhaps for this very reason, my Brother Turgenev later became the generally recognized leader of the Russian literary world.

However, regrettably, as the political situation later changed more and more violently, some people who were originally willing to eat with my Brother Turgenev gradually became unwilling, and there were some people my Brother Turgenev really wanted to invite, even visiting them repeatedly to try to make friends, but they still ignored him completely.

My Brother Turgenev, who cared so much about face, how could he endure this grievance? He immediately cut off relations with that person.

And later, the somewhat absurd conflicts that arose between Brother Turgenev and Old Tolya, that is, Tolstoy, were roughly due to the characters of the two.

Of course, these matters can wait until Old Tolya Tolstoy appears.

By the way, although Tolstoy always left the impression of an elder, he was actually ten years younger than Turgenev and was currently just a young man in his teens.

Mikhail's current age is about the same as Old Tolya's, only slightly one or two years older than Tolstoy; the conclusion drawn from this is that Mikhail is now twenty-one years old.

The time is now 1844; Mikhail is now twenty-one. To be honest, Mikhail really doesn't know which year he will live to, or which year he should live to.

(End of this chapter)