The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 231: Part Three (Eleven)
This chapter's subtitle: Master Yuan's cause of death was...
"Ladies and gentlemen. As Mr. Yuan's personal lawyer and executor, I will publish his will immediately after his death in accordance with his wishes..."
Mr. John McCall, with a look of grief on his face, took out a document, opened it, and read aloud: "I made this will on April 28, 1921, to deal with all my property as follows...
"First, I will donate the copyright of A Song of Ice and Fire to my fiancée, Ms. Wei Mingzhu, and I wish her happiness in the future."
Do you always have to flatter your wife? Otherwise, how can you treat each other with respect in the future?
"Secondly, I give the copyright of Chocolat to my friend, Ms. Enoch Rochelle, because the novel is based on her and her mother. I also give the film rights of the novel to my friend, Ms. Lillian Gish, because only she can play the heroine in my mind."
You have to flatter your lovers, otherwise how can you unlock new moves in the future?
"Third, I will give the copyright of Detective Dee to my friend Mr. Louis Baker as a token of my gratitude for his help."
This was certainly not to flatter Mr. Baker, but to appear loyal.
In this way, future generations will know that it was not Yuan Yanshu who deliberately got to know the grandson of the "Wall Street Miracle", but it was this detective novel enthusiast who took the initiative to get to know him. Wouldn't that become a good story?
"Fourth, I give the copyright of my novel The Village Teacher to my friend Mr. Albert Einstein, and the copyright of the novel The Golden Fleece to my friend Mr. Nikola Tesla. Apart from these two, I can't think of anyone else who is qualified to own the copyright of these two novels."
This isn't flattery or loyalty, it's just pretense. Imagine someone reading this will and knowing that our Master Yuan had two amazing scientist friends, so of course he's also amazing.
“Fifth, I am donating the copyright of my book ‘Socialism’ to the Stern School of Business at New York University.”
This is what should happen, to let everyone know that he does not forget his roots.
"Sixth, I gave my car to my driver and $1,000 in cash to my cook."
This is only natural, and it makes him very humane.
"Sixth, apart from the aforementioned, and after deducting any debts I still owe, all my property in the United States will be donated to the SCP Foundation..."
"How much wealth does Mr. Yuan have?"
"It shouldn't be much. I know he did win $500,000, but he donated it all to NYU. He's just a novelist now."
"Just a novelist? Look at Theodore Edison over here. Mr. Yuan once won a full $100,000 from his father, Mr. Edison!"
"Yes, I heard that too. He also transferred to Mr. Nikola Tesla over there, saying it was compensation from Edison. This really made Edison very angry..."
"And what about the other fifty thousand dollars?"
"The other $50,000 was naturally invested in the stock market. Furthermore, Mr. Yuan is also a major shareholder in New York Public Radio. The combined net worth is at least $300,000!"
"Not only that, he seems to have several other companies, including Baisuishan, which sells Wu Jia Pi. It's worth at least $400,000..."
Everyone present couldn't help but cause a small commotion, because although they didn't know how much property Neo Yuan had, he must have at least a few hundred thousand dollars.
Do you remember that the grandfather of our Emperor Trump ran a tavern and a brothel all his life? When he died in 1981, he left behind a legacy of only 40,000 US dollars, most of which was real estate.
So our Master Yuan is equivalent to 10 grandfathers of our Emperor Trump.
"His Majesty the Emperor" coughed heavily, and then everyone quieted down again.
He continued: "That concludes my legacy. So, in closing, I write a farewell poem for you, my friends:
"I Died for...Handsome..."
Now even the lawyer who was reading the will couldn't help laughing, not to mention those who were listening to the will.
“Hohoho, ‘I Died for Handsome’…did I hear that right?”
"Haha, I heard it right. He really said he died because of his handsomeness."
"Hahaha, Mr. Yuan is indeed a person who listens to rumors!"
"Ahem... I die for being handsome." Mr. McCall didn't laugh this time and continued reading in one breath.
"I Died for Handsome, but was scarce adjusted in the tomb."
(I died because of my handsomeness, but I could not rest because of my loneliness.)
“…”
After hearing this, the scene suddenly became quiet.
"When one who died for truth was lain in an adjoining room."
(Until a man who died for the truth lives next door to me.)
"He questioned softly, why I failed?"
(He whispers, "Why are you here?")
"For Handsome." I replied.
(I'll be honest: "Because he's so handsome!")
"Hahaha……"
Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
"And I for truth. The two are one; We brethren are." he said.
(He said, "Oh, then I am for the truth. Truth and beauty are one, we are brothers!")
“Hehehe…”
The laughter died down, and everyone unconsciously listened attentively.
"And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms."
("Just like that, like family members meeting at night, we have been able to talk to each other across the wall ever since.)
“Roar, roar, roar…”
Except for a few who were too slow to react, almost everyone kept their mouths shut.
"Until the moss had reached our lips, And covered up our names."
("Till the moss creeps over my lips and wipes our names from the face of the earth.")
“…”
The whole place was silent, and you could hear a pin drop!
Well, the situation with this poem is rather complicated and requires some explanation.
The original version is called "I Died for Beauty", which literally means "I Died for Beauty". Mr. Yu Guangzhong translated it into "Martyrdom for Beauty".》.
The original author was Emily Dickinson, a prolific female poet who was born in 1830 and died in 1886.
She was born into a lawyer's family, never married, and after the age of 25, she locked herself up at home and lived the life of a stay-at-home...the life of a nun.
Emily Dickinson might be a bit of an unfamiliar name to some people in China. However, she is widely recognized in American literary circles as the second greatest poet in American history, after Walt Whitman, author of Leaves of Grass. Like Whitman, she is considered a pioneer of 20th-century modernist poetry.
Ms. Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems in her lifetime, but only published seven during her lifetime. The remaining manuscripts were donated to the Harvard University Archives by her cousin, and these poems did not attract the attention of the world until after her death , and gradually appeared in front of the public.
So the poem had indeed been written, but it had not been published publicly in 1921.
It is obvious that our Master Yuan thinks this poem is perfect for him.
He didn't care about anything else and took it, changed "Beauty" to "Handsome" and wrote it in his "will".
So it became the last of his "Three Old Pieces" - "I Died for Being Handsome".
