At this moment, Jiang Mengxin finally had a bit of the demeanor expected of a family head, exuding an undeniable aura.
After purchasing two front-row tickets at an exorbitant price, Jiang Mengxin swaggered into the venue and found her seat before the play officially began.
Due to Xiao Koulan's performance, the theater had arranged a grand play—"Bai Mian Hu Xiao Fang".
A three-day consecutive run!
This was a major local opera from Chuan Yu, telling the story of how the petty thief Wang Shibai gradually transformed into the deeply wicked and evil Bai Mian Hu Xiao Fang, with the story originating from "Liaozhai Zhiyi: Geng Niang."
The play was grand, with many actors, and full of spectacle.
Among them, "Wudang Jia" Xiao Koulan played Wang Shibai, who later became Xiao Fang.
Despite his stage name, Xiao Koulan, sounding soft and effeminate like a girl's name, was in reality a robust man from Chuan Yu.
He was strong and tall.
Most importantly, he possessed an excellent voice and extremely handsome features, earning him the unofficial title of "Jing Luo Cheng" in the martial world.
Whenever Xiao Koulan performed, tickets sold exceptionally well.
In the past, when Jiang Mengxin was in Jinling, she had only watched relatively "soft" plays. She hadn't seen many "hard" plays like "Bai Mian Hu Xiao Fang," which made her even more curious.
Before long, the play began!
Scene after scene, act after act, the climax after climax, the audience erupted in cheers; especially when Xiao Koulan appeared, the applause and screams made the entire theater "explode."
Jiang Mengxin was thoroughly enjoying it and turned to Lu Ming, saying, "This Chuan Yu local opera is truly remarkable, much more robust than those from Jinling. Watching it is incredibly satisfying."
Lu Ming chuckled.
Indeed.
Previously, Jiang Mengxin had mostly watched Suzhou Pingtan, with its gentle and melodious singing, depicting small bridges, flowing water, shy glances, and Southern scholars and beauties, emphasizing sentiment.
In contrast, this Chuan Yu opera, with its strong scenes and robust performances, was like two different worlds.
Each had its own beauty.
"Bravo!!!" Jiang Mengxin shouted, then took off her jade ring and tossed it directly onto the stage.
This was called showing appreciation, which in today's terms would be a tip.
In the past, when the performance on stage was good, the audience below would throw money onto the stage. By the end of a play, the money thrown would be enough to cover their expenses.
It was quite similar to tipping in live streaming today.
After a while more, the play reached its climax for the day—Wang Shibai changed his name to Xiao Fang, fled back to Yongshang County, and forcibly took Zhang Cuiniang as his wife!
One had to admit, Xiao Koulan's performance was truly outstanding.
As Xiao Fang, he was both insidious and ruthless, vividly portraying that villainous persona.
And Xue Hong, who played Zhang Cuiniang, was also not to be underestimated, conveying the helplessness and sorrow of a young woman, making the audience below clench their fists, wishing they could beat Xiao Koulan to vent their anger.
But this was, after all, a play. Normal people could distinguish between reality and opera.
However, today, an abnormal person had arrived.
Fan Xiang!
The youngest son of the Fan family patriarch, he was arrogant and dissolute, a typical playboy.
And the Fan family was one of the three major families in Fog City, on par with the Su and Wu families.
As the son of the Fan family patriarch, most people dared not offend this little devil. Most importantly, Fan Xiang was currently dating Xue Hong, the actress playing Zhang Cuiniang!
This situation became somewhat awkward.
As a boyfriend, Fan Xiang watched his woman being taken as a wife by another man on stage. The anger in his heart ignited like wildfire, and he fiercely smashed the teacup beside him to the ground.
"Bastard!"
Fan Xiang cursed and stood up.
The lively atmosphere of the venue instantly quieted down, and everyone looked at Fan Xiang with puzzled eyes.
Fan Xiang pointed at Xiao Koulan on stage and yelled, "Who do you think you are, daring to snatch my girl?"
Only then did everyone realize that Xue Hong was Fan Xiang's girlfriend, and Xiao Koulan was snatching Zhang Cuiniang, which meant he was essentially snatching Xue Hong. He had confused reality with the play.
Xiao Koulan, as an experienced actor, was unfazed by such situations. He laughed and calmly said, "Young Master Fan, you are mistaken. Xue Hong and I are merely acting. Please do not confuse the play with reality."
Xiao Koulan's public explanation was already giving Fan Xiang a lot of face.
Normally, an audience member like that would have been escorted out by security.
But the more face you gave him, the more he overstepped!
After being publicly corrected by Xiao Koulan, Fan Xiang not only did not restrain himself but felt that Xiao Koulan had embarrassed him and was highly displeased.
He directly climbed onto the stage.
"You little punk, you dare to lecture me?" Fan Xiang yelled, pointing at Xiao Koulan's nose.
Xiao Koulan suppressed his anger and said, "Young Master Fan, this is a stage. Please conduct yourself with decorum."
Xue Hong, standing beside him, also said, "Xiang, we are just acting. Don't take it to heart. Weren't you here to support me today? By causing this scene, aren't you ruining me?"
The audience below was also displeased, and many began scolding Fan Xiang, pointing fingers at him.
In an instant, Fan Xiang became the target of universal criticism.
Below the stage, Jiang Mengxin shook her head, "What a spoil-sport. A wonderful play, ruined by an idiot."
Lu Ming, however, chuckled, "I actually find it quite interesting. Fan Xiang's performance today is even more exciting than Xiao Koulan's, haha."
Jiang Mengxin rolled her eyes, "You just love watching the show without caring about the consequences."
To prevent the situation from escalating further.
Xiao Koulan shouted loudly, "Young Master Fan, please conduct yourself with decorum and step down."
This was the greatest respect Xiao Koulan could show Fan Xiang.
If not for the sake of the Fan family and Xue Hong, Xiao Koulan would not have been so polite.
However.
Fan Xiang was a classic example of refusing to be reasonable.
He roared, "You little punk, you dare tell me what to do? Heh, I'm not going down. What are you going to do about it?"
Xiao Koulan was also getting agitated.
The stage was a sacred and inviolable place for opera actors, especially when a play was in progress!
If one can bear it, they cannot bear it any longer.
Xiao Koulan shouted, "Security, escort this troublemaker out!"
The security guards exchanged glances, hesitating.
Xiao Koulan cursed, "Are you all deaf? Escort Fan Xiang out!"
Reluctantly, the security guards stepped onto the stage. Just as they were about to act, a large group of thugs in suits, armed with iron rods, rushed in, instantly surrounding the stage.
These were all the henchmen hired by Fan Xiang.
He had brought them today to support Xue Hong, but he hadn't expected things to escalate to this point.
The security guards exchanged glances and no longer dared to advance, retreating one after another.
Fan Xiang turned back to Xiao Koulan and provocatively said, "Little punk, call for me again? You want to escort me out? Heh, today I'll let you know what power means!"