Chapter 4: The Young Master of the Kong Family

  "Zi Shi, you've never asked me why I wanted you to find the remaining volume." Yang Yanqing stretched out his hand and opened the invitation on the table, which was sent by an old friend. The letter was sincere and requested Yang Yanqing to go to his mansion to sing a song to fulfill his heart's desire, as he is now over eighty years old.

  "I'm naturally curious." Qí Shí raised his leg and sat on the chair: "However, I'm a man of my word. I said it before - you saved my life, I'll be your servant, whatever you say goes, no need to ask twice. What's there for a cow or horse to turn back and ask its master?"

  This metaphor is not suitable, Yang Yanqing smiled slightly: "A gentleman's word, a team of horses can't catch up, Qi Laoxiong, then I'll entrust you with this. I heard that Wei Shijie has a concubine who loves to watch plays the most, and I'm thinking, it's been too long since I last performed, should I occasionally take the stage once?"

  Zi Shi heard this and was stunned: "Big brother, you want to go on stage?"

  Yang Yanqing replied off topic: "Do you believe in Feng Shui and destiny?"

  "Big brother, you once said that you've been studying Feng Shui and destiny since you were young, and you believe that Feng Shui can change one's fate. I'm your brother, if you believe it, then I'll believe it too. The 'Record of Qi' will be useful to you, I'll definitely help you get it." Qishi said: "Now, the 'Record of Qi' in Wei Shijie's hands is our first target."

  Breath, is the birth of breath, momentum, is the operation of momentum, creating a situation. Yang Zhenqing finished reading his grandfather's letter and opened "The Record of Breath and Momentum" for a moment, knowing that he would be inseparable from it for the rest of his life. In recent years, apart from being cautious and accumulating fame and wealth, his thoughts were all focused on studying Feng Shui numerology, and he had achieved some success. Others wondered why they were all actors, but only Yang Zhenqing could own his own theater?

  Yang Yanqing examines the hole and chooses a grave, Qi Shi Xiang steals the tomb equipment. The two cooperate closely, Qi Shi Xiang has another task, to see if other volumes of "Qiyun Record" exist in the ancient tomb. Unfortunately, over the years, many artifacts have been salvaged, but not one volume of "Qiyun Record". It turns out that it is no longer in the hands of the dead, but has fallen into the arms of the living.

  Yang Yanqing's hand clenched into a fist and pressed heavily on the table: "Now, the news of my debut can be spread out."

  The bait has been laid, just waiting for the fish to take the hook.

  "Newspaper for sale, newspaper for sale! Tonight at Rongfeng Theater, the famous dan actress Yang Zhenqing will personally take the stage!" A seven-year-old newsboy happily ran along the stone road in Haicheng, waving today's newspaper in his hand. The date on the newspaper was May 13th, 1932, a lucky day.

  What a chaotic world outside, the people of Haicheng know it well. Various warlords occupy different regions and rule with an iron fist. And now, there's an even more polarized trend emerging - what's to be done? This is the most popular teahouse in Haicheng, where a large crowd of young masters has gathered, amidst a cacophony of dialects from all over, creating quite a lively atmosphere. The storyteller on stage is speaking with great passion, while outside, newsboys are passing by, some people stopping to watch, and others rushing out to buy a newspaper, which they immediately unfold: "Wow, Yang Laoban himself has taken the stage today - what a rare occurrence! Let's go, let's buy tickets!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, more than half of the customers in the teahouse got up and left with a rustling sound. The shopkeeper was stunned, slapping his thigh: "Oh no! This Yang Zhenqing is really asking for trouble!"

  In the Rongfeng Theater, it was already a full house, with all the celebrities in the city sitting in the front row. There were also people from afar, such as Wei Shijie, the warlord of Yun City, and his wives, as well as Mr. Kong and his family. Among them, one face stood out particularly.

  At the moment, he was wearing a Western-style suit, which made him look particularly dashing. His posture was also exceptionally straight, causing a group of women to giggle and say: "Ling Zhong, we're watching a play, not fighting a war, relax a bit!"

  "Wu Niang, I've gotten used to it."

  With a glance from Old Master Kong, the noisy ladies immediately quieted down. This man's mouth curved upwards, and amidst his heroic air, he revealed a calm demeanor. He was none other than Kong Lianzhen, the eldest young master of the Kong family. Born with a strong and handsome appearance, coupled with his tall and straight posture, he had already caught the attention of many ladies, who couldn't help but let their imagination run wild upon learning that he was the eldest son of the Kong family - one of the four great families of the Republic!

  Kong Lingzheng looked at the newly renovated theater and thought it was probably another indulgent project of some wealthy young master, which made him feel a sense of disgust. He had originally been studying in Germany when his father forced him to return home, saying that the army couldn't do without someone from their family, and then pushed him into the military, where he ended up with a minor official position. This move also sparked criticism from many elderly people, some of whom said that the Kong family was arrogant and domineering, while others said that Kong Lingzheng wasn't even worthy of being considered a proper member of society. Some people even went so far as to say that he wouldn't be able to last more than three months in his new role.

  He's not in the mood to watch plays, but his father and a group of concubines are very enthusiastic, saying that today's performance is by everyone, everyone. Kong Lingzheng has just returned home and doesn't know anyone, only knowing about family gatherings. If he doesn't participate, someone will definitely gossip behind his back, saying he's pretending to be noble. His mother would not be pleased if she knew, so even for her sake, he'll just go along with it.

  The gongs and drums on the stage opened, and suddenly there was a burst of applause from under the stage, with some people even cheering out loud. Such momentum made Kong Lingzheng somewhat curious - who exactly was this person taking the stage?