When Shen Shiqing returned, he brought food for Lin Man, who was now enjoying it in front of the television.

Their relationship is even better than before; they don't need to worry too much about each other when they're together, they can just be themselves.

While eating and looking at his phone, Lin Man saw something incredible.

"What...?!" Well, that's her most common way of expressing shock.

Although she doesn't outwardly appear to say these things, she actually does.

Shen Shiqing had just come out of the shower, still damp, when Lin Man ran up to her in a flash.

"Sister Shi, look! It's trending on Weibo, and this time it's about you!!!" Lin Man looked excited, but there was no sign of anxiety.

Shen Shiqing guessed that this shouldn't be a bad thing for her, but what kind of trending topics could she possibly get on now?

Shen Shiqing took out his phone and looked at it.

The top trending topics were all about Xia Chun; this might be the most popular day of her life.

Her name is now prominently featured on the trending topic.

#Xia Chun's recording of intentionally harming Shen Shiqing#

Shen Shiqing met Lin Man's eyes, and Lin Man gestured for her to click to take a look.

The food was a bit spicy, so she needed to drink some water first.

Shen Shiqing clicked on it, and there really was a recording inside. Shen Shiqing was not surprised after listening to the recording.

She had a premonition that Xia Chun had done it, but she couldn't find any evidence at the time. She never expected that the evidence would come out on its own now.

That's good, it saves her the trouble of doing it herself.

Looking through everyone's comments, almost all of them were cursing Xia Chun. If Xia Chun's account hadn't been banned, they probably would have sent her private messages to curse her directly.

After the intense spiciness subsided, watch Shen Shiqing's reaction.

"Sister Shi, aren't you surprised?" Manman asked, puzzled. "I never imagined that Xia Chun was the one who ordered someone else to do it. If Brother Lu hadn't been there, you probably would have been injured."

“It was expected.” Shen Shiqing recalled the scene at the time, “She was the one who felt guilty.”

"Huh? What happened to you back then, sister...?"

"Now everything's fine, isn't it? Someone will teach her a lesson." There's no need to lift a finger.

"But who released this recording?" Shen Shiqing didn't seem to notice.

"It seems to be that little assistant. I didn't expect her to be such a nice person." Manman was very happy that Xia Chun's identity had been exposed, and that the person who tried to harm her sister had finally gotten their comeuppance.

"Yes, we should thank her properly." Shen Shiqing checked the time. "Alright, eat your fill and get some rest. We have to get up early tomorrow."

...

The next morning, Shen Shiqing and Lin Man arrived at the filming location.

They came to the Northwest to film some of the later scenes in the script. The filming wasn't done in chronological order; it depended on the actual situation.

The scene we're filming today is about Princess Zhaohua, Jiang Yunli, played by Shen Shiqing, who, after divorcing General Shen Yu, marries far away to the northern desert for the sake of her family and country.

Upon reaching the northern border, the wedding procession was ambushed. Qin Shiyue, playing the emperor's younger brother Jiang Yuyao, disguised himself and infiltrated the procession to secretly protect Jiang Yunli.

Princess Zhaohua never intended to return alive when she went there. Although her brother said he would protect her, her death could conveniently serve as an excuse to send troops and boost morale.

Since General Shen's death, the invasions from the northern deserts have become increasingly fierce, and the people on the border have been massacred. The Celestial Empire has been biding its time and waiting for this opportunity.

Although the wedding procession was protected by a guard, a traitor was discovered at some point, leading to an ambush that left the Celestial Empire bloodied and dead.

With filming approaching, Shen Shiqing was already prepared. The daytime temperature in the desert was extremely high, and they had to speed up the filming process while wearing costumes, otherwise they would probably end up in the hospital from the heat.

In the past two months, Qin Shiyue has become much more obsequious to Shen Shiqing. When Shen Shiqing has time, he will also give him some pointers. His acting skills are obviously much better than before. At least they are not so awkward anymore and they are passable. Director Jiang did not have much of an opinion and even praised him for his rapid progress.

He is currently fanning Shen Shiqing and asking him some questions. This scene has high requirements. Putting aside the action scenes for now, although they are somewhat difficult, they are generally manageable.

The emotional outburst is very important, and even Qin Shiyue herself wasn't confident she could act it well.

"Study the script carefully and find the emotional anchor. Of course, you must control your facial expressions. You are an idol, so managing your expressions shouldn't be difficult for you. Relax and try to build up your emotions first. If you can't cry, think about the saddest thing in your life, and maybe the tears will come out."

Fearing that Qin Shiyue might not understand, Shen Shiqing made sure to explain things in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

With costumes, props, and sets ready, staff members have already come to call them to start filming.

As soon as filming began, Shen Shiqing quickly got into character, and Qin Shiyue also quickly got into character, blending into the wedding procession.

Shen Shiqing wore a fiery red wedding dress, her expression calm, as if she had already accepted the outcome.

This scene was acted very well; it was done in just one take.

Because of the hot weather, we had to stop to rest and touch up our makeup after a short time, so the progress was a bit slow.

The next scene is a battle in the desert.

Qin Shiyue's martial arts training during this period was not in vain; she was quite proficient and handled the wire work with ease.

Jiang Yunli sat in the sedan chair, listening to the fighting outside. She had known this day would come. When the knives slashed towards the sedan chair, she heard a familiar voice.

"Elder sister, stay inside and don't come out." The voice was weaker than usual, but she could tell it was her younger brother, Jiang Yuyao's, voice.

How could he be here? Shouldn't he be living a peaceful and carefree life in the capital?

Jiang Yunli dared not think about it, but she already had the answer in her heart.

She didn't speak. The fighting outside continued, but she hoped her brother would leave and ignore her.

But how could that be? If he were truly capable of leaving, she wouldn't have followed him in the first place.

As the sounds of fighting outside the sedan chair gradually faded away, Jiang Yunli lifted the curtain and saw a pile of corpses lying on the ground, while her imperial brother was fighting not far from the sedan chair.

Jiang Yunli picked up a knife with trembling hands and walked over there.

Jiang Yuyao was caught off guard by the multiple enemies and couldn't even defend himself from the danger behind him. By the time he realized what was happening and turned around, the person who was trying to attack him had already fallen, and that person's blood was splattered all over his sister's face.

Jiang Yunli stood there, stunned, the knife in her hand still dripping blood.

"Royal sister." Jiang Yuyao rushed towards her, hugged her tightly, and then pulled her into the sedan chair.

Jiang Yunli was clearly still recovering from what had just happened. Her lips were pale, her hands were trembling, her eyes were unfocused, and there were drops of someone else's blood on her face.

Jiang Yuyao gently wiped the blood off her face.

"Ah...Ah Yao, I...I just...I think I killed someone..." Jiang Yunli's mouth trembled, the hairpin on her head fell off, her hair was disheveled, and she was panting heavily. Suddenly, she anxiously looked Jiang Yuyao up and down, "You...I'm glad you're alright."

Jiang Yunli breathed a sigh of relief, staring directly at her own hands. She had killed someone… she had killed someone…

Qin Shiyue was clearly stunned at this moment, captivated by Shen Shiqing's acting skills. For a moment, she forgot to control her facial expressions and her lines, and the director called "cut" at that moment.

"Cut." Director Jiang was also immersed in Shen Shiqing's performance. "Shiqing acted very well, but Xiao Qin didn't quite catch up. Everyone take a break, and we'll continue filming in twenty minutes."

The extras lying on the ground got up one by one, all of them parched. The weather in Northwest China was truly unbearable.

Manman had already bought a lot of cold drinks as requested by Shen Shiqing and distributed them to the extras and other staff members. Everyone got one.

Lu Jingchu arrived at some point, bringing food with him. He made the meal for Shen Shiqing himself, and Shen Shiqing knew it after just one bite.

It was already noon, so the director told everyone to take a break and continue filming in the afternoon.

They ate and drank in the makeshift shed. The cold drinks chased away the summer heat, and they felt much better.

Many people came to thank Shen Shiqing. They had drunk quite a bit of afternoon tea that Shen Shiqing bought for them on set, so expressing their gratitude was a must.

Director Jiang is very dedicated. Even during his lunch break, he still carefully reviewed the footage shot in the morning, becoming more and more satisfied with it. Lu Jingchu was also watching with him.

Director Jiang watched the whole thing carefully before turning around and noticing Lu Jingchu behind him.

"Why are you here?" Director Jiang turned around and was startled by Lu Jingchu. "Didn't you say you didn't have any scenes today? Don't be so dedicated."

"I wouldn't call it dedication; who can compare to you in terms of dedication?" Lu Jingchu, who always said the right thing to the right person, handed Jiang Yi a drink.

"Thanks." They've been friends for a long time.

"Shen Shiqing's acting skills are indeed excellent. I dare say that no one will question it if this scene is released today. You have a really sharp eye; you gave me such a pleasant surprise." Before the casting, Lu Jingchu recommended Shen Shiqing to him, but he still doubted it. Now it seems that he was proven wrong.

"Of course." Lu Jingchu suddenly became proud, as if Jiang Yi was praising him.

"I was wondering why you seemed so happy." Jiang Yi followed Lu Jingchu's gaze and noticed something amiss. "So, you didn't come to see me, did you?"

Lu Jingchu remained silent.

"I was wondering why you suddenly came here," Jiang Yi laughed. "Oh, I see."

Jiang Yi had known him for so many years and had never seen him like this before. This Shen Shiqing was truly a remarkable person.

"I felt something was off when I saw you guys filming before. It looked like you were dating. You two didn't actually date, did you?" Jiang Yi had a feeling something was off, but he still wanted to ask.

Previously, Lu Jingchu was always polite and distant towards all actresses, but he was different towards Shen Shiqing. He showed concern for her in every way, and his gaze was always fixed on her. Everything about her was traceable.

"What do you think?" Lu Jingchu raised an eyebrow, slightly curving her lips as she glanced at Jiang Yi.

It was only for a moment, because the next second his gaze fell on Shen Shiqing again.

It seems the food I made today suited her taste quite well, not bad at all.

He was thinking about what he could do for Shen Shiqing next time, and he didn't listen to a word Jiang Yi said.

Jiang Yi understood.

"That's it. Look at your worthless face. You're the fool if you can't tell."