Liang Wan is a person whose grandfather was a former provincial governor during the Qing Dynasty. After the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, their whole family migrated to Shanghai. Due to their strong military force, they became one of the warlords in Shanghai. With the development led by their father, the Liang family can be said to have a dominating presence in Shanghai.

And Liang Wan is the current head of the Liang family.

During the invasion of China by the Japanese army, Liang Wan was only fifteen years old. However, she accurately predicted the events that would unfold in the future. She dispersed her troops and hid them, while transitioning into the business world. This allowed her to successfully retain a large part of her influence. As for Liang Wan herself, she became the most renowned and formidable female figure in Shanghai.

Standing backstage, Qin Xuan looked at the audience below with some emotion.

She had never seen such a luxurious and extravagant place before. The place she came from, her hometown in Hunan, is very poor.

Turning her head to look at Zou Ling, who was preparing to go on stage, she spoke up, "I've never seen such a magnificent stage before in my life. What exactly is the Xiolou that everyone keeps talking about?"

Zou Ling saw that she took the initiative to strike up a conversation with him and, thinking about Left Uncle's advice, he responded as well.

Although the tone was still cold and stiff.

Tingxiaolou is the most expensive place to listen to opera in all of Shanghai. Those who come here are all Shanghai's elite.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan's eyes lit up, completely resembling someone who had never seen the world before.

Finishing the final stroke on his face, Zou Ling let out a sigh, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

"The person who arrived tonight is even more distinguished among the distinguished."

With that, he waved towards Qin Xuan, gesturing for her to come over.

"Who is coming tonight?"

Qin Xuan looked up at him, even more curious.

"Liang Wan."

Night falls, and the lights of Shanghai's Bund illuminate the surroundings, as if the night has never arrived. Tonight, in front of the door of Tingxiao Building, there are four or five black sedans, each with a black-suited man armed with a loaded gun standing by the car door. Cao Hai, the owner of Tingxiao Building, had been waiting at the door for a long time, constantly scanning the area, wiping the sweat that trickled down his forehead due to nervousness with a handkerchief. Not far from Tingxiao Building, there are also two plainclothes Japanese spies standing beside a tea stall.

Just at this moment, a fleet of black cars came driving towards this direction. Cao Hai, being observant, immediately recognized one of the cars as Liang Wan's.

"Ah, Miss Liang, your presence truly illuminates my humble establishment like the radiant moonlight gracing a night pavilion."

As soon as the car parked, Cao Hai eagerly approached like an excited dog.

Liang Wan is known throughout Shanghai for her love of listening to operas.

So, naturally, he would go all out to please Liang Wan.

Liáng Wǎn stepped down from the car. At this moment, she had already changed into a different outfit. No longer wearing the luxurious cheongsam, she was now dressed in an exquisite black suit. Her hair, once styled up, was now tied into a low ponytail. Coupled with Liang Wan's exceptionally handsome appearance, this attire made her look heroic and exuded a touch of the demeanor of a female warlord.

"Just need a military uniform."

And this was also the shared thought of everyone present.

"Cao Boss is really too polite."

Liang Wan glanced at Cao Hai and smiled, raising her eyebrows.

One of Liang Wan's other distinctive traits, which is well-known to everyone in Shanghai, is...

That is because she is extremely capricious.

If you offend her in any way, no matter how influential your backing is, your only fate is a dead end.

So when she laughed, Cao Hai started sweating even more heavily.

Looking up at the three words "Tingxiao Building" shimmering with neon lights, Liang Wan nodded and said, "Although Nanjing is good, it still can't compare to Shanghai. For example, they don't have the Tingxiao Building, hehe~"

Cao Hai had no idea what her intention was in saying this, and he didn't dare to guess randomly, so he just listened.

"What a wonderful tune from the Xiaolou tower."

After saying these words, Liang Wan directly lifted her leg and stepped on the stairs, walking into the Ting Xiao Tower amidst the crowd's embrace.

Cao Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead, then he looked at the two plainclothes police officers and nodded.

The two plainclothes officers exchanged a signal with each other when they saw him. They then turned around and disappeared into the nearest alley. Cao Hai turned to the person next to him and said, "Tonight, everyone better be ten thousand times more attentive. If you offend the person inside, you won't even know how you died the next day. Got it!"

"Defending oneself with the support of others, looking down upon others with arrogant eyes - these words were largely speaking of conniving individuals like Cao Hai, who manipulate the situation to their advantage."

Qin Xuan: "Someone has come in!"

Qin Xuan is very curious about this Liang Wan now.

This legendary woman, who is only four years older than her, she really wants to meet.

Zou Ling: "Don't say I didn't remind you, Liang Wan has a volatile temper. It's best if you don't make it so obvious."

Although he said so with his mouth, in fact, he also wanted to meet this woman who was almost mythical.

Liang Wan, what kind of person is she, after all?

Cao Hai followed beside Liang Wan and introduced, "I know Miss Liang likes to listen to 'The Palace of Eternal Life', so tonight we have the famous actors Yan Guanyin and Mr. Xun from Liang Lou performing for us." However, before he could finish speaking, Liang Wan raised her hand and interrupted him.

"I won't listen to 'The Palace of Eternal Life' today."

Saying that, Liang Wan sat down on the main seat.

"Change it to 'The Peony Pavilion'."

Afterwards, Liang Wan simply picked up her teacup and fell silent.

But this was extremely difficult for Cao Hai.

He never expected that the 20,000 would actually change their minds, and the two people he had prepared also had no clue.

Qin Xuan: "The Peony Pavilion? I know it~"

As soon as Liang Wan expressed her desire to listen to "The Peony Pavilion," Qin Xuan turned around and walked to the side of Zou Ling, smiling as she said, "But she looks really beautiful. I have never seen anyone with such charm before, like a fairy stepping out of a painting..."

As soon as she said these words, Cao Hai, who walked in through the door, heard them. He sized up this newly arrived apprentice from head to toe for a while before speaking, asking, "What did you just say? Can you sing 'The Peony Pavilion'?"

Qin Xuan nodded, responding with an obvious "Mmm."

He looked at her with suspicion again, then turned his gaze towards Zou Ling.

"Xiaoling, can you do it?"

Zou Ling has always disliked this Mr. Cao, so he merely nodded without saying a word.

"En..."

Caressing his chin, Cao Hai seemed to be pondering something.

"Alright then, the two of you quickly change your clothes. If you both perform well, you'll be the main characters from now on."

After Liang Wan finished drinking her second cup of tea, the music finally started on the stage. The surrounding lights suddenly dimmed, and Liang Wan put down her teacup. She knew that the performance was about to begin. After a few drumbeats, a graceful girl in pastel-colored opera costume walked onto the stage. After spinning around in place, she partially covered her face with the sleeve of her water-like gown.

Her water sleeves glided slowly down as she made eye contact with Liang Wan for the first time in her life.

Qin Xuan was momentarily stunned, and she immediately averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing slightly. Observing her reaction, Liang Wan leaned back against the chair with a triumphant smile playing at the corner of her mouth.