Finally, he added a compliment: "But if you anger me, Second Master, and I accuse Liu De of being a spy, I'll bring you her head."

"What would I do with her head?" Li Changzhou laughed. "Go on."

"Alright." Liu De poured him a glass of wine and set out the bowls. "After Sun Xiaoyun stopped performing, her reputation not only didn't weaken, but it became even more illustrious, all because she taught many famous actors, and Chunhuang was one of the most outstanding among them."

Li Changzhou ate two bites of shrimp, listening with one ear.

Liu De then said, "This Sun family troupe has another unique feature, Second Master, can you guess what it is?"

"What?"

"The troupe is full of female performers," Liu De said with a smile. "The male roles, such as Sheng and Jing, are also played by female performers. The Spring Emperor is most famous for his Xu Sheng role."

He couldn't help but exclaim, "I don't know where Sun Xiaoyun got her eye; she can pick out so many talented and beautiful women."

“He is quite capable.” Li Changzhou nodded.

Yang Qinglan worked as a handyman under her (this word is very important and should never be replaced with 'learning to sing opera'), how could he not be capable?

"Second Master, you don't know, many tycoons and wealthy men take pleasure in marrying her female entertainers."

"I'm getting married today too," Li Changzhou said with a smile.

"Given your looks and status, Second Master, I'll pack them all up!" Liu De gave a thumbs up. "Take them all to the Marshal's Mansion!"

The master and servant laughed heartily.

"I'm so happy."

The sound startled Liu De, and anger and wariness surged up at the same time.

The anger stemmed from the fact that his twelve subordinates had allowed people to enter without permission, and the vigilance was due to the fear of assassination.

But upon seeing who it was, he immediately wore an ambiguous smile and withdrew without saying a word.

"Sit down." Li Changzhou pointed to the soft couch opposite the small table filled with snacks and wine.

Zhong Yingru put down the scarf draped over her wrist and asked calmly, "What's making Second Uncle so happy?"

"It's nothing, Liu De was just joking." Li Changzhou poured her a glass of wine, thinking about how to deal with her.

Is it the Cannon Fist (a serious punch), or the Hunyuan Thunder Palm (a thunderclap in silence), or the Mighty Bull Demon Fist?

During this time, Zhong Yingru kept looking him over.

"What are you looking at, sister-in-law?" Li Changzhou asked.

Zhong Yingru pursed her lips: "It's nothing."

She could tell that Li Changzhou had taken a bath.

She took a sip of wine, and her body warmed up; she gently rubbed her legs together.

But not yet, the show hasn't started yet, and maybe someone will come.

The best time will be when the Spring Emperor appears and everyone is focused on watching the show.

Li Changzhou had the same idea: wait until everyone was focused on watching the show, then knock her unconscious with a single blow, and after dealing with the assassins when they came, go find his Miss Yang.

Thinking about it this way, he couldn't sit still anymore. He hadn't seen Miss Yang for two whole days!

He was picking artemisia; a day without seeing him felt like three years. It had been six whole years since they last met, and if this continued, he would fall ill.

Seeing his impatient look, Zhong Yingru pursed her lips even tighter.

She lay on the soft chair, her apricot-yellow cheongsam particularly flattering, highlighting the curves of her chest, her slender waist, and her long legs, like a dish presented in a feast for the eyes and the palate.

Her buttocks were pressed into the soft chair, and her graceful curves exuded the charm of a young married woman.

No wonder Li Changzhou gets along so well with his sister-in-law. Li Changzhou can understand it to some extent. If it weren't for Yang Qinglan, he would have been a little tempted too. But what about Li Biwei?

Even without Li Qianxia, ​​he would not have done such a thing with his sister.

It was because Li Changzhou had been studying abroad for many years and only met Li Biwei after they had grown up that their romantic feelings for each other surpassed those for their siblings.

Just then, thunderous applause and cheers erupted, almost lifting the entire opera house off the ground.

As soon as the instruments started playing, a group of people walked out onto the stage with a resounding clang. With a flourish and a raised voice, their operatic singing, whether soft or loud, was clearly heard by everyone, even without a microphone.

Li Changzhou watched for a while and then gave up. If he knew what the song was about, it might be somewhat interesting, but the problem was that he couldn't even understand the lyrics.

But he still pretended to listen attentively, otherwise... would he lay a hand on his sister-in-law?

At this moment, Liu De walked in, crouched down beside him, and whispered, "Second Master, someone is looking for you."

They arrived much earlier than expected.

"Let him in." Li Changzhou's gaze remained fixed on the stage.

After Liu De left, Zhong Yingru frowned: "You also made plans with someone else?"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll be performing on stage today too," Li Changzhou said with a smile.

Liu De led a man in; he was a thin, middle-aged man wearing a long gown and a Western-style hat.

"You two go out first," the thin, middle-aged man said to Liu De and Zhong Yingru.

Liu De raised an eyebrow, about to explode in anger.

"Liu De, you can go out first," Li Changzhou said.

Liu De hesitated for a moment, then accepted the order: "Sir, I'm outside. Call me if anything happens."

"Go."

After Liu De left, Li Changzhou said again, "This is my... sister-in-law. I can't hide anything from her. If there's something, just say it directly."

He wanted to use these events to make Zhong Yingru distance herself from him, but Zhong Yingru gave him a tender look.

The thin, middle-aged man took off his hat, revealing a handsome face.

“Li Changzhou,” he said, “we’re not here to cause you trouble, we’re here to offer you benefits.”

"What are the benefits?" Li Changzhou asked, eating his food quickly.

"To become the great commander."

Zhong Yingru's eyelids twitched, and she looked away from Li Changzhou's face to carefully examine the person in front of her.

From her perspective, she naturally hoped that Li Changzhou would inherit the Li family's military power. Her husband now knows about her affair, but he is keeping quiet because he doesn't want to lose face and he is also wary of Commander Li.

Once Li Bichang becomes the warlord, neither she nor Li Changzhou will have an easy time.

Li Changzhou picked up the glass bottle, poured himself some wine, took a small sip, and leaned back in his chair.

"Who sent you? The Song family? The Zhao family? Or a foreigner?" he asked.

“You have no choice,” the tall, thin middle-aged man said casually and condescendingly. “If you don’t want to be the commander-in-chief, you die.”

Li Changzhou stared at him, and after two seconds, he put down his wine glass and smiled.

"I have a principle in life—I shouldn't ask people for help when they can't do something they don't want to do. What do you think?"