Chapter 7, "Caught in the Act." (A flirtatious glance given to a blind man.)

"All departments, take your positions." Yu Jintang, holding a walkie-talkie, asked, "Teachers, are you ready?"

Qin Lan glanced at Feng Manhong, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm all better now."

Feng Manhong nodded as well.

Yu Jintang smiled and began the first shoot with great confidence.

After Empress Wu Zetian ascended the throne, she increasingly favored Shangguan Wan'er, ordering her to handle memorials from various departments and participate in decision-making on state affairs. Shangguan Wan'er became essentially the Empress's secretary, and her power grew daily. This ever-expanding power also fueled Shangguan Wan'er's ambition, and many hidden thoughts began to flourish. Before this, Yu Jintang had mostly conveyed this emotion through her eyes, until this scene where it all came to a head.

During her reign, Wu Zetian had many historically famous male favorites, such as Xue Huaiyi and the Zhang brothers, who were sometimes caught by Shangguan Wan'er. Whenever Shangguan Wan'er saw the Empress flirting with her male favorites, she would immediately lower her head, but her gaze remained obscure.

Qin Lan filmed all morning and successfully completed the preceding scenes. She took a short break at noon and continued filming in the afternoon.

After the preparations were complete, the two teachers climbed onto the dragon bed.

This scene depicts Shangguan Wan'er witnessing Wu Zetian having sex with the Zhang brothers. Shangguan Wan'er, believing she was doomed, lies on the ground trembling.

Qin Lan was completely focused at this moment; when she was in work mode, she could concentrate without distraction. Feng Manhong also became an ordinary person. Her breathing became rapid, her voice trembled, and she cried out in fear, "Your Majesty."

Wu Zetian sat on the dragon bed, her clothes half-open, but her majesty remained undiminished: "Shangguan, raise your head."

Shangguan Wan'er slowly raised her head, her eyelashes trembling, not daring to look at her, for fear of disobeying the Empress.

"You dare not look at me?" Wu Zetian smiled. "Didn't you just see it?"

"This servant deserves to die!" Shangguan Wan'er kowtowed fiercely, blood covering the red plum blossom ornament on her forehead.

"Death penalty? What crime have you committed, Shangguan?" the Empress laughed, her eyes crinkling slightly, her charm undiminished.

"This servant...this servant has offended the Emperor's majesty..." Qin Lan's forehead was covered in sweat, and her whole body trembled. Feng Manhong, as expected of a veteran actress, felt that she was really going to be dragged out and executed by the Emperor at any moment.

Feng Manhong sat on the dragon bed and burst into laughter, her laughter echoing behind the curtains. Qin Lan got goosebumps and lay on the ground trembling uncontrollably.

“Heavenly might? The emperor is human too.” Feng Manhong said meaningfully, “Come closer.”

Qin Lan crawled over on her knees and stopped in front of the steps.

Feng Manhong stood up, wearing a nightgown, and walked closer.

Qin Lan's face flushed red, and she seemed to have difficulty breathing, her eyelashes trembling violently.

“Look up,” Feng Manhong said.

"This servant...this servant dares not..." Qin Lan said in a trembling voice, trying her best to avoid it.

Wu Zetian reached out, pinched her chin, took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood, and looked at her beautiful face.

Qin Lan abruptly closed her eyes. At this moment, Shangguan Wan'er was terrified. She was willing to gouge out her own eyes if it meant saving her life.

But Wu Zetian commanded, "Open your eyes, I will not punish you."

A moment later, Qin Lan opened her eyes shakily, her narrow eyes brimming with tears.

"Do you know how to serve someone in bed?" Wu Zetian asked with a smile, showing absolutely no anger.

Shangguan Wan'er shuddered, her eyes gleaming with disbelief. Her fear slowly dissipated, replaced by a strange mix of shock and ecstasy. Qin Lan's chest tightened, simulating the extreme impact of the shock.

“This servant… knows,” she replied in a trembling voice.

Wu Zetian remained silent.

Shangguan Wan'er closed her eyes, and two lines of tears finally fell. She crawled up the steps on her knees, still looking up at Wu Zetian, at the empress she admired, respected, and secretly loved.

Red curtains billowed, candlelight flickered. Wu Zetian held Shangguan Wan'er in her arms, making no attempt to conceal her loud and clear voice.

Shangguan Wan'er barely managed to raise her head, her face flushed crimson, the red plum blossoms on her forehead traced by the Empress's fingertips, vibrant and alluring.

Feng Manhong suddenly raised her head, and the sounds of Sichuan dialect filled the air.

Qin Lan shuddered involuntarily, muttering a few words of apology to herself, but still dutifully kissed the Empress's lap. She raised her head, and then the curtains would fall, the camera naturally zooming out, showing her simply rolling around a couple of times with Feng Manhong in her arms on the messy bed.

The curtain trembled and fell down as expected. Qin Lan felt relieved and began to create the sensation of being stimulated.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard Yu Jintang call out "Cut!" Qin Lan breathed a sigh of relief and tried to straighten up, but she had gotten so into character that she had actually entangled the two of them.

Yu Jintang stared at the screen for a while before confirming, "Perfect. Send a few people to release the two teachers."

Staff members rushed over and quickly pulled back the tangled curtains, letting her out. Qin Lan beamed as she got up and said to the staff who had rescued her, "Thank you..."

Jiang Yan, a staff member, held the red curtain in her hand and stared at her expressionlessly.

His gaze swept over her disheveled shoulders and thighs.

Qin Lan stood there, stunned, her heart pounding wildly.

It's like catching someone in the act...

Feng Manhong sat up from beside her, and smiled first: "Xiao Jiang? I heard you had a schedule today, are you done with your work?"

Jiang Yan, usually so gentle and polite, remained silent for a good ten seconds, her gaze towards Qin Lan chillingly calm. Qin Lan shivered, her sweat turning cold. The staff were still busy, only Xiao Qing and Feng Manhong's assistant stood helplessly to one side, holding fans and water cups.

"Yes," Jiang Yan finally answered, her gaze shifting down to Feng Manhong.

Qin Lan's heart skipped a beat as she realized that her leg was still resting on Feng Manhong's thigh...

She quickly turned her head to look, and fortunately Feng Manhong was still relatively neat. Yu Jintang, considering the Empress's majesty and the later review, filmed the scene in a very blurry way.

But her shoulders and arms were definitely exposed, and there were her lipstick marks on them.

"I just got back and came to the set to check on things. I didn't expect to see the two of you trapped. I was worried you'd get bored, so I came to help you out."

As she spoke, she finally put down the thin veil she had been holding for so long, and raised a polite and delicate smile: "Thank you both for your hard work."

Qin Lan involuntarily watched her retreating figure, muttering, "Xiao Qing."

"Sister Qin, Sister Qin, do you want water or a fan?" Xiao Qing came over excitedly, shaking her head like a flower, clearly having a lot to say.

"Help me up," Qin Lan said expressionlessly.

"Huh?" Xiaoqing was taken aback and quickly checked her body: "Sister Qin, are you injured?"

Qin Lan is a powerful person; her looks, family background, inner strength, and even her martial arts skills are all top-notch. Although she has bodyguards, those bodyguards have actually been freeloaders for seven or eight years. She also never gets sick; her good health makes Xiao Qing feel like a failure. Rich people are not only rich and beautiful, but also so healthy. Aside from being a bit outspoken and having a bad temper, God hasn't closed any doors for her.

"Just help me up, stop talking so much." Qin Lan glared at her, but the glare was much less offensive than usual. All she could think about was Jiang Yan's look from earlier. She must have rushed over from the brand again, with several small clips on her clothes. Unless she was truly pressed for time, this impeccable dresser would rather sacrifice time for drinking water, eating, and using the restroom to make herself look impeccably dressed, creating a peacock-like entrance.

I don't know why they rushed over here twice in a row.

Feng Manhong had already stood up and reached out to help her. Qin Lan instinctively wanted to dodge, but she held back: "Thank you, Teacher Feng."

"It's nothing," Feng Manhong said thoughtfully with a smile, then turned and followed her assistant downstairs to rest.

Qin Lan had no more scenes to film and listlessly went to remove her makeup. Xiao Qing, seeing this, couldn't help but ask, "Sister Qin, didn't you film a scene with Actress Feng? Aren't you happy?"

Did Sister Qin see Feng Manhong up close and then find her too old?

Her thoughts were racing, and she didn't hear what Qin Lan said. Annoyed, Qin Lan flicked her forehead and scolded, "Can't you put something useful in your head all day long?!"

Xiaoqing was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "I'm sorry, Sister Qin, I was wrong. Please tell me."

"I said go get my phone," Qin Lan repeated irritably.

Xiaoqing quickly handed her her phone. Qin Lan couldn't look at it while removing her makeup, so she held it in her hand for a while before finally giving in and randomly clicking through WeChat in the crew's work group.

Jiang Yan last spoke the day before yesterday, when Yu Jintang asked if everyone had arrived at the hotel.

She didn't have Jiang Yan's contact information, and she didn't know what to say.

"Why are you thinking about these things?" She suddenly realized, and angrily threw her phone away: "What does it have to do with me?"

She opened the game and started a match.

The marksman and jungler locked in their picks first, choosing Galo and Kai respectively. Qin Lan stared at her phone for a moment, then locked in Yao. She could actually play all roles, but the afternoon's filming had been too physically demanding, so this was a good opportunity to relax.

The mid laner also locked in Daji, and the last person hesitated for a moment before choosing Mozi.

Kai: [Why are there two supports?]

Daji was not happy: 【We don't have a top laner】

Qin Lan lazily typed using voice input: "I chose first."

Mozi remained silent, thus locking in the decision.

Qin Lan was a little annoyed. Just as she was about to change her outfit, she saw that Mozi had switched Flash to Execute.

Qin Lan narrowed her eyes and began to suspect that this was Yu Jintang's alternate account.

Among her friends, Yun Chui, nicknamed "Thermos Cup Comrade," doesn't play any games. Song Man is a dance fanatic but rarely has time for gaming. Yu Jintang, on the other hand, has a decent win rate, but unfortunately, she likes to use Guan Yu to push away her own blue buff, use Zhong Kui to hook away her own red buff, and use her teleport to announce to the world when her teammates are fighting the dragon. In crucial team fights, she suddenly jumps off her teammates' heads, transforms into a deer, and stands aside watching her teammates get brutally beaten to death. She especially likes playing heroes like Ma Chao and Shouyue, heroes that can infuriate her teammates and make her opponents laugh. She also frequently encourages Qin Lan to play Da Qiao, so that she can use her rooster-haired Marco Polo to devour other people's minion waves. In short, she's a carry but not a winner.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Qin Lan questioned her about whether she still wanted to push the tower. Yu Jintang asked in surprise, "What's the point of pushing the tower? Having fun is the real goal."

Qin Lan suppressed her anger: "Then go and torment the other side! Don't cause us any trouble!"

Yu Jintang: "I can torment the opposing team and they will take it for granted. Only by tormenting my teammates can I truly feel the impotent rage of humanity."

Qin Lan was so angry that he deleted her from his game friends list on the spot.

Playing games with someone who's only thinking about messing with teammates means constantly being on guard against betrayal; she might as well choose to play matchmaking with mid-laner Yang Xingji, who has a 0-29 score.

Soon, the last person finished loading, and an exciting game notification sound appeared. After defeating Mozi, he followed Daji away. Qin Lan had originally followed Jialuo, but seeing that there was no one in the top lane, and driven by her competitive spirit, she reluctantly turned and went to the top lane instead.

Qin Lan pressed the voice input button: 【Mozi, come help.】

Mozi didn't move, staying in the middle and bullying the weak.

Qin Lan controlled Yao to go online, while the opposing Mi Yue was attacking the Red Armor.

Qin Lan cleared the minion wave methodically, when the marksman spoke up: "[They picked first, Mozi should go help in the top lane.]"

Mozi finally arrived, and he brought the mid laner with him. Qin Lan, who was almost bullied to death by Mi Yue, took advantage of the chaos to throw out his first skill and actually got the first blood.

Qin Lan was pleased with himself and decided to stay on the opposing lane. Mo Zi also stayed, and the two of them reached level four together. Qin Lan then attached himself to Mo Zi and sent Mi Yue, who had just been resurrected, back to her original position.

Qin Lan glanced at the minimap and exclaimed in surprise: "Why is that enemy 'Egghead' in my jungle?"

The Lu Ban she mentioned was happily attacking the red buff.

Jiang Yan hissed softly, intending to retreat.

"As expected, you can't just practice jungling. Now you want to go into the jungle every time you see it..." Jiang Yan awkwardly threw out her first skill to try and steal the red buff. Kai was busy throwing knives at the red buff and didn't have time to pay attention to her for the time being.

Jiang Yan sensed something was wrong and started preparing to run away. But she was still a little reluctant to give up the red buff, so she used her second skill, and a red glow instantly appeared around her feet. Just as she turned to run, a pink heart floated out of the bushes, freezing her in place. Kai charged over aggressively and took her away, sending Jiang Yan back to the fountain.

Jiang Yan sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Feeling relaxed, Qin Lan reached out to wipe the dust off the screen and accidentally tapped "Not in the right frame of mind".

Kai activated all his abilities: 【Yao, come get the blue buff】

Qin Lan switched to the armor headgear and casually praised it: "[So amazing! So awesome!]"

Jiang Yan's eyes hardened as she glared at Yao's ID on the other side: "I am Qin Lan?"

No one would mistake a name like that for the celebrity in real life, except for Jiang Yan.

Qin Lan is indeed someone who would choose such a name.

And that's also her WeChat name.

It is highly likely.

Her mood improved considerably, and she even thought that the person who resembled Qin Lan was praising her for successfully grabbing the red (indicating a viral attack), so she replied to all comments: 【Thank you for the compliment.】

Qin Lan glanced at it, puzzled, and after thinking for a moment remembered that Lu Ban had apparently stolen his own Red before he died. But then he died, and Red returned to Kai.

Old Lady Qin Lan (Yao): [Who said anything about you?]

My mother, Qin Lan (Yao): [I'm talking about our handsome jungler.]

Jiang Yan was so angry that she typed two words, which were then censored.

She went to support the mid lane and took down the enemy Daji. Perhaps out of gratitude, Angela followed her. Jiang Yan couldn't swallow her anger from earlier, so she went to the enemy's blue buff area again.

Then Kai got a double kill.

Jiang Yan threw her phone away.

After her rebirth, Jiang Yan, having learned her lesson, decided never to enter the enemy jungle again. So she entered her own jungle, but this time... she didn't provoke the enemy jungler, but the enemy jungler came on his own, with Yao under the buff of Holy Light.

Jiang Yan turned and ran, beginning to question why she had acted so stupidly as to pick up an egg to fight in the wild.

Kai used a slowing spell, but only followed behind Lu Ban, chasing after the half-crippled Lu Ban. Qin Lan waited a moment and understood, then used her skill to take down Lu Ban.

Qin Lan was even more delighted: "It's so easy!"

After her rebirth, Jiang Yan reflected deeply and stopped even venturing into the jungle. Instead, she helped Mi Yue kill Mozi, who was still sitting in prison on the top lane.

Kai spent a long time attacking the red buff, and when he was down to a sliver of health, he stopped moving. Qin Lan waited for two seconds, then took the red buff with some skepticism.

In a good mood, Qin Lan began to compliment people.

My mother, Qin Lan (Yao): [Kai is truly gentle.]

Not eating cilantro (Galo): [Should we only praise him?]

Qin Lan glanced at her stats; she hadn't died much, and her economy was second best. Galo is a late-game hero, reliant on both economy and mentality, so Qin Lan didn't hesitate to praise her: "You're cool too."

Galo fell silent.

Galo killed Lu Ban No. 7.

Galo killed Mi Yue.

Galo killed Angela.

Jiang Yan stared at the small, sprawled corpse on the ground, her heart filled with despair: [Why did Galo suddenly go mad?]

Galo said smugly, "Our support praised me, and he also praised the jungler."

Jiang Yan, clinging to her last shred of hope, asked: "What about me?"

At the same time, she glanced at her own record.

2—6—2.

Older Mother Qin Lan (Yao): [You're a hard-boiled egg too.]

Lan (Luban No. 7): [I**]

In the mid-to-late game, team fights began. Kai led his team to invade the enemy's blue buff area, and Jiang Yan, who was used to diving in and reaping kills, died again.

After being revived, she abandoned the jungle and started clearing minion waves with her teammates, but was forced back to the tower by the enemy's Galahad.

Jiang Yan dragged her view and noticed something was wrong in the dragon pit, so she held down her second skill and aimed at the dragon pit.

Galo solo-killed Mi Yue, double-killed Angela, and was about to get a triple kill when Jiang Yan escaped with a flash. Her second skill was launched, and the words "Key Steal" popped up on the screen.

Jiang Yan wasn't used to Lu Ban being a stationary hero, but she thought her last-ditch escape and crucial dragon steal was really cool. She typed in the public chat: "Lu Ban isn't playing well, I'll carry you next game and show you my true strength."

Who doesn't eat cilantro (Galo): [Who should I bring?]

Lan (Braised Egg): [With my mother Qin Lan]

I don't eat cilantro (Garuda): [Chop]

Galo (who doesn't eat cilantro): [What kind of performance can you possibly deliver? Our Yao can easily solo kill you.]

After saying this, Galo single-handedly killed the Child of Origin.

Galo defeats Lu Ban No. 7 twice.

Galo kills Angela three times.

Jiang Yan's face was completely blackened.

The crystal shattered, and the word "Failure" popped up in large letters.

Jiang Yan pressed the button expressionlessly and checked everyone's battle records.

Not eating cilantro (Garuda): 18-1-6

Third Cloud (Armor): 5-0-5

Since Kai's economy is at the bottom, he hasn't properly benefited from any buffs; he's given them all to Qin Lan.

My mother, Qin Lan (Yao): 2-1-17

Lan (Luban No. 7): 2-10-2

Jiang Yan slammed her phone down, laughing in exasperation. Half a minute later, when she picked it up again, she found Yao's profile picture was still lit up.

Qin Lan took a sip of water and was just about to start another game when a friend request appeared on her screen. She accidentally clicked "accept," paused for a moment, and tried to exit to delete it, but another request popped up on the screen. She accidentally clicked it again, and the team-up interface appeared.

Qin Lan wasn't sure who the other person was; she never checked other players' IDs when playing games. After thinking for two seconds, she asked, "[The Kai from the last game?]"

Lan: [Guess again.]

Qin Lan pondered for a moment: 【Galo?】

Lan: [Guess again.]

Qin Lan, the old lady: [Mozi.]

Jiang Yan gritted her teeth: [Guess again!]

Qin Lan (Old Lady): [Angela on the other side?]

Jiang Yan typed coldly: 【I am Lu Ban.】

Qin Lan was shocked: "Are you that egg?"

Lan: [Yes.]

Lan: [I'll tell you now, I'll take you.]

She was still typing when [Old Lady Qin Lan] left the room.

Just kidding, playing ranked with a level 2-10 jungler like Lu Ban is no different from being matched with Yu Jintang and Yang Xingji as teammates in the peak match.

There are still some differences; the latter two, at least, won't boast about carrying you to victory.

Jiang Yan stared at the screen, silent.

Powerless.

She tried her best to display her beauty like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, but all her charms were only for the blind.