Chapter 567: Sing a Piece

Watching Li Hanxiang's confident back as he took the stage, Kong Baosheng was so angry his face turned red.

"This old thing, is he really relying on his age to bully others?"

"Sir, he just sees that you stole his limelight, so he came to use his seniority to suppress you!"

"He wasn't good at singing when he was young, he relied on those means to turn things around. Now that he's old and ugly and no one wants to create scandals with him, he's started looking for attention everywhere!"

Kong Baosheng respected Chen Ling from the bottom of his heart. Although he hadn't heard Chen Ling sing opera and didn't know how well he sang, just the fact that Chen Ling was willing to spend 200,000 to buy the opera building and continue to insist on promoting opera culture made him ten thousand times better than this old thing, Li Hanxiang, who took crooked paths and forgot his ancestors.

It wasn't just Kong Baosheng; in the crowd not far away, Huang Suyu, who had been observing here the whole time, also frowned tightly.

She looked coldly at Li Hanxiang, who was taking the stage, and whispered in a low voice:

"This Li Hanxiang really doesn't know what's good for him..."

Uncle Quan sensed Huang Suyu's anger and asked tentatively, "Miss, what are your plans?"

"The Special Envoy has a grand vision and surely won't take this old thing to heart, but since we've seen it, we can't sit idly by." Huang Suyu said lightly, "Dig deep into this Li Hanxiang's dark history, contact all the media we cooperate with, and expose it all as soon as the birthday banquet ends...

He's already at this age; if he had just lived his old age honestly, that would be one thing... Since he dares to provoke the Special Envoy, I will make him lose his reputation."

"Yes, Miss."

At this time, Li Hanxiang didn't realize how much trouble he had caused himself.

After standing still on the stage, the melodious opera accompaniment rang out from the side. He looked down at the many guests at the venue and the audience still listening outside the manor in the distance, and sang loudly:

"I urge the thousand-year-old not to let the word 'kill' escape his lips; the old minister will tell the master from the beginning;

Liu Bei is originally the descendant of the Jing King, a lineage flowing from the Han Emperor's great-grandson..."

As soon as Li Hanxiang opened his mouth, Chen Ling knew he was singing "Ganlu Temple," which was also a classic segment for old male roles in Peking Opera. Chen Ling had often heard this segment when he was in the theater in his previous life.

But Li Hanxiang's singing skills were clearly insufficient. Not to mention comparing him to the four senior brothers and sisters of the Opera Divine Path, even the senior artists who performed in the theater in his previous life could almost crush him with every opening. Only at this moment did Chen Ling realize that Kong Baosheng's description of "lukewarm at the time" was already quite polite.

This old-generation famous actor, Li Hanxiang, was truly full of hot air.

Of course, the guests present didn't know much about opera. They didn't listen to it on a daily basis, and coupled with the lack of other capable famous actors to compare with, they didn't feel that Li Hanxiang sang poorly, just thinking that maybe opera was supposed to be sung like this. In this day and age when opera was already declining, the fraud Li Hanxiang had already become one of the industry benchmarks.

The guests listened symbolically for a few sentences and then completely lost interest. Some started chatting and talking under the stage, some took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, and the originally lively cheering crowd outside the manor also sat down in low spirits and started a halftime break.

"If you raise an army to fight, who in East Wu dares to stand out?

I will turn back and report to the Empress Dowager, using a plan to form a marriage alliance..."

Seeing this scene on stage, Li Hanxiang seemed to have been used to it long ago. Occasionally, a few drops of rain fell from the sky, and he frowned. An assistant who had been waiting on the side immediately opened an umbrella and walked quickly onto the stage to shield him from the gradually falling light rain.

Seeing this scene, the disdain in Chen Ling's eyes grew stronger.

After Li Hanxiang finished singing the last segment on his own, he flicked his sleeves and walked off the stage. Scattered applause rang out from under the stage.

As he walked, he put on the posture of someone whose talent was unrecognized, sighing pretentiously:

"The path of opera is truly declining."

Kong Baosheng under the stage couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Li Hanxiang walked off the stage and came straight to Chen Ling, stroking his beard and speaking leisurely:

"Young man, if you really want to take this path, you must have a master. I see you are pitiful, why not switch to my school... I will pass on my skills to you, and in the future, it will be enough for you to gain a foothold in the main city."

Hearing this, many people around looked over, surprise appearing in their eyes.

Chen Ling was too lazy to even look at him and replied lightly,

"No need, I have a master."

Li Hanxiang's smile instantly froze on his face. In terms of seniority and status, he was in the first tier in the main city. There were countless juniors who wanted to enter his school but had no chance. A nameless little opera singer who had just entered the city actually rejected his invitation in public?

Li Hanxiang heard the faint mockery coming from around him, his face instantly turning incredibly ugly. He glared fiercely at Chen Ling,

"Ungrateful... humph."

After Li Hanxiang, the last female star performing the finale also took the stage. The enthusiasm that had been extinguished on the scene was reignited. As the melodious singing rang out, it was as if the pot had exploded outside the manor, and cheers and support rose one after another!

Chen Ling didn't know that female star. To be honest, in his opinion, her appearance and singing and dancing were not as good as Liu Qingyan's, but looking at the reaction on the scene, she should be the undisputed top-tier star in the entire Red Dust Realm.

Half a year had passed, and he didn't know where that girl Liu Qingyan had gone or what she was doing.

After three consecutive songs were sung, the warm-up performance for the birthday banquet had come to an end. As the enthusiastic atmosphere of the crowd gradually faded, light rain began to fall in the sky again, and the dim clouds pressed down at low altitude, giving people an inexplicable sense of oppression.

The guests looked at the empty and quiet stage, feeling a bit lost for a moment.

"The performance is over, why hasn't the Chairman come yet?"

"Yeah... it's his birthday, he should have arrived long ago."

"What now? Is it just going to be a cold show?"

"We should probably wait for Chairman Mu to arrive... I don't know what the situation is."

“……”

Amidst the whispers of the crowd, the host's forehead began to sweat nervously. According to the original plan, Mu Chunsheng should have come on stage to greet everyone before the performance. Now that the performance was over, there was still no sign of him.

Mu Chunsheng was the protagonist today. If he didn't arrive, the remaining segments couldn't be pushed forward at all... Should the guests just be left waiting awkwardly below?

Amidst the questioning gazes of the crowd, the host's brain spun rapidly, and he said with a smile,

"Today is Chairman Mu's birthday banquet. If anyone here would like to come on stage to wish the Chairman a happy birthday, say a few congratulatory words, or perform a program, you are also welcome to come on stage at any time~~"

The guests looked at each other.

The people present hadn't expected this segment at all. After a brief silence, a few directors of second-tier consortia with close business ties to the Beidou Consortium still took the stage one after another to deliver congratulatory words, hoping to get close to Chairman Mu.

But soon, the venue cooled down again, leaving only the host standing alone on the stage, at a loss.

Drip—drop—

Ink-like clouds gathered over the manor. While extremely oppressive, it also carried a trace of inexplicable unease, as if a storm was about to sweep through.

Dense raindrops began to fall from the sky. Many transparent umbrellas in the venue were opened again. The raindrops hitting the umbrella rims made dull sounds. The guests stood in this silent rain, feeling as if something was about to happen.

Just then, Li Hanxiang's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:

"Lin Yan, right? Since you're here to wish Chairman Mu a happy birthday today... why don't you go up and sing a piece for everyone?"