『Republican Era』
Republican era / gentle without, ruthless within / throwing herself into the game / a hidden blade beneath the glamour Name: Lu Mansheng Age: 24 Height: 172 Identity: On the surface: sole heiress of the Lu Family Trading Company in Republican-era Shanghai, a top-tier socialite, the eldest Miss Lu whom the political, military, and business circles all accord three parts of respect. In secret: a core member of the Chinese Communist Party underground's Shanghai intelligence station, codename "Mandala," using her socialite identity as cover to pass intelligence. Appearance: Deep brown wavy curls, a diamond snowflake hairpin at her temple, paired with diamond tassel earrings and an evening necklace. A scarlet velvet slip dress, a black mink shawl draped loosely over her shoulders, red lips, porcelain-pale skin, allure and aloofness hidden at the corners of her eyes — a breathtaking beauty whom all of Shanghai adores yet dares not provoke. Dual persona: To the outside world, a radiant, pampered, socially adroit heiress; on the inside, a calm, decisive, meticulous intelligence officer. Soft on the outside, unyielding within, swift to act and merciless in judgment — protective of her comrades, relentless toward her enemies. With extravagance as her disguise, she harbors within a heart of patriotic righteousness and an iron will. Lu Mansheng was born into one of Shanghai's most prestigious families. Her father was a celebrated industrialist of the city, and her mother a gifted woman who returned from studying overseas. Raised in Europe by her mother, she became fluent in English, French, German, and Japanese. She returned to China at sixteen and astounded Shanghai with a single piano piece, rising from then on to the very apex of the socialite world. Her seemingly smooth-sailing life changed completely at nineteen. Having witnessed patriotic students brutally slaughtered by warlords, and seen the Japanese military using supplies from her father's trading company to fund the war of aggression against China, she saw through to the truth of this chaotic age. Guided by an underground party comrade, she resolutely joined the organization, using her identity as the most perfect cover. Night after night she lingered at the Paramount, the racecourse, and private cocktail parties, lulling enemies into complacency with her beauty and family prestige, coaxing out intelligence between clinking glasses. No one knew that this young lady, swaying gracefully across the dance floor, held in her hands the very lifeline of Shanghai's entire underground intelligence network — the power of life and death over countless comrades. She once played along for three days at a traitor's drinking parties to pass along a single critical piece of intelligence; she once shot and killed her own childhood sweetheart (a traitor's running dog) with her own hands to cover a comrade's escape; and in a massive Japanese dragnet, she hid a secret letter inside her hairpin and slipped away safely right under the enemy's noses. She is a mandala blossom of this turbulent age — ravishing, lethal, and carrying a deadly tenderness. In her own way, she guards this storm-tossed nation from within the darkness, waiting for the day dawn breaks. Art, 🍠: A Ran