Chapter 56

With more than half of the episodes of "Empress Wu Zetian" aired, the number of brand sponsors has increased to fifty-four.

Brands are the most pragmatic group of people. While viewership statistics for the general public may be fabricated, the number of brand sponsorships is a real and visible fact.

This summer, "Empress Wu Zetian" became a huge hit, making Xilaiduo the biggest winner of the summer season.

This is something many people didn't expect.

Especially the two major video platforms, Coolcat and Brown Bear, spent a lot of effort promoting their own dramas in the early stages, but it all came to nothing. The entire film and television market was drained by Xilaiduo, the king of bargain hunting.

These two companies were naturally unwilling to accept this.

So in early August, the cast of "Empress Wu Zetian" took turns being targeted by negative online searches. Of course, Tang Ningshuang was the one who was most frequently targeted. She was the lead actress in the series, and she also had the most negative press and was the one most likely to be targeted by others.

However, these arrogant capitalists probably didn't expect that netizens have evolved over the years. They are no longer the naive viewers who believed whatever marketing accounts said.

- They're bringing out those old, outdated fake stories again to make us a laughing stock.

-As soon as my sister shows any sign of a major fire, her rivals can't wait to cause trouble.

-This was clarified eight hundred years ago [eye roll].

- It seems my Frost has really become popular; I'm being attacked by people one after another.

- LOL, let alone Tang Ningshuang, even the director and screenwriter of this drama couldn't escape it. I just saw a marketing account saying that the director of "Wu Zetian" stole someone else's pants to wear, hahaha!

Do these marketing accounts think we're idiots?

-What's that compared to what I saw? I saw someone say that screenwriters are recruiting male models.

-Holy crap.

-Isn't the screenwriter just like Er Yue Tian? It's chilling to think about...

-What's there to be afraid of? So what if a rich woman finds him? Besides, it might not even be true.

......

Xu Ying also saw her own dirty secrets.

Even if she wanted to avoid seeing it, some unscrupulous fans would still repost these screenshots to the comments section of her homepage, and even tag her and leave comments asking if the model she chose was handsome.

Xu Ying was speechless.

She desperately wanted to know when and what she had done to make the capitalist mistakenly believe that she had hired a male model.

The term "male model" is hard to define. A man standing next to her can be her friend or her boyfriend, so why does he have to be a male model?

“They’re already badmouthing you, so who cares who’s standing next to you? Of course they’ll make up the worst things they can say,” Lin Zhongxu shrugged, feeling there was no need to worry about it.

"I seriously suspect that the person depicted in the gossip is you."

Lin Zhongxu pointed to himself: "Me?"

Xu Ying shrugged: "That's right. Think about it, when we were filming on set, apart from occasionally going out to eat with you, there weren't any other young men around me, right?"

Lin Zhongxu stroked his chin, and it seemed to be true.

"I'm quite honored to be trending on social media with you."

Haha, it's funny, the hashtag #FebruarySkySelectsMaleModels# actually took up a trending spot, even though it was quite far down the list. But it was still a genuine trending topic on the entertainment charts, wasn't it?

Xu Ying shook her head. This was her first time trending on social media, and it had ruined her reputation. The world was going to the dogs!

Xu Ying and Lin Zhongxu exchanged a few jokes, and the matter was over; neither of them took it to heart.

Xu Ying continued writing as usual and watching TV series as usual.

The only impact of the frequent trending topics about the cast and crew is probably that it has given those who don't usually watch dramas a more direct sense of just how popular "Empress Wu Zetian" is.

After all, if it weren't incredibly popular, it wouldn't get the treatment of trending on social media every day.

I haven't watched a single episode, but I haven't missed a single episode of the show's entertainment value.

Me too, I've even developed a rebellious mentality and am preparing to go to Xilaiduo to see what this show is all about.

- Hahaha, that's just how unruly I am! [doge]

The popularity of "Empress Wu Zetian" is unstoppable.

The Empress's charm swept through the entire summer vacation and the streets and alleys of the Yu Kingdom. Even the release of "The Handsome Prince Consort" in August could not stop its spread.

"The Handsome Prince Consort" is a transformative work for idol Chu Qingchen.

This work, on which he had placed high hopes, flopped quietly, which made him feel a little sad. Seeing the sarcasm and ridicule from the trolls online made him feel even worse.

To be honest, Chu Qingchen's acting in this drama is quite good; normally, his stats wouldn't be this bad.

It was just bad luck that his TV series was scheduled for the highly competitive summer season, and it just so happened that it ran into a formidable rival, "Empress Wu Zetian." Even the drama starring award-winning actor Zhou Xun lost to "Empress Wu Zetian," let alone his melodramatic and formulaic historical romance drama, which had no chance of winning at all.

"It's understandable that you flopped," the agent comforted Chu Qingchen.

However, haters and rivals don't care about these realities.

A defeat is a defeat.

In their view, this was a golden opportunity to smear and slander Chu Qingchen, and it would be best if they could crush him in the mud in one fell swoop.

*

While "Empress Wu Zetian" is still airing, Xu Ying's "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" is nearing its end. She started writing this book after the New Year and has been writing it for almost seven months now.

That's about enough for the plot; writing any further would be too lengthy.

Xu Ying intentionally lingered the story at the point when the princes were vying for power, before the crown prince was deposed, and Ma Lu held a high position with a child and the emperor's favor—everything seemed so perfect.

As for the princes' brutal struggle for the throne, she planned to write about it in a side story, so that those who didn't like reading about cruel struggles could skip it.

Xu Ying muttered to herself, "Looks like there won't be a short side story..."

Even if she wrote the struggle for the throne in a very brief manner, the complex relationships between the characters and the events that followed would be enough for her to write dozens of chapters.

Having made up her mind, Xu Ying began to devise an ending.

As a result, a group of readers gradually sensed that the novel was about to end.

-No, author! You can write another hundred chapters, I don't mind!

-I don't want to say goodbye to Malu.

- I feel like there's still so much to write about. I'm also curious to know who will ultimately inherit the throne.

The throne undoubtedly belongs to the crown prince; there's no question about it. The text consistently portrays the emperor as treating the crown prince well and trusting him implicitly.

-Upstairs, you're still too naive.

-The female lead is Malu, how could the throne fall to someone else? It should at least be one of her sons.

-Yeah, author, did you forget to help the female lead's child get the crown prince position?

......

The novel's conclusion is not subject to the readers' will.

After uploading the last chapter, Xu Ying cruelly marked it as the end of the main story. However, she mentioned in the author's note that there would be many more side stories to come, which somewhat soothed the hearts of the book fans.

Almost simultaneously, the Taxue Forum became lively.

Many readers started posts lamenting the impending end of "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," which drew a group of fellow female readers to join in the tears and reluctance. Internet enthusiast Li Qinqin naturally didn't miss out on this lively discussion.

She browsed the forum for a while, and the posts that interested her the most were the betting posts.

A so-called betting thread is where the poster lists all the princes from the TV series "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" and asks netizens to guess who will become the next emperor.

The key point is that the poster also said there would be a reward for guessing correctly.

interesting.

Li Qinqin clicked on it.

[The stage for vying for the throne is here! Sisters, don't miss out! Quickly vote for your favorite prince; who knows, he might be the next emperor!]

Voters:

1. Crown Prince 2. First Prince Yinzhi 3. Third Prince Yinzhi 4. Fourth Prince Yinzhen 5. Sixth Prince Yinzuo 6. Eighth Prince Yinsi 7. Ninth Prince Yintang 8. Tenth Prince Yin 9. Thirteenth Prince Yinxiang 10. Fourteenth Prince Yinti

(P.S.: There's a prize for answering correctly. The deadline is midnight tonight.)

-111111

First, eliminate 5 and 10.

- What do you mean by this, upstairs? Are you looking down on us foodies Lao Liu? [doge]

-You said he's a foodie.

-'Heaven has blessed him and granted him the throne.' The name Yinzhuo is clearly a name that signifies high hopes. However, the sixth prince wasted such a good name. He had no ambition at all and did nothing but follow his older brothers around eating or play pranks on his younger brother, the fourteenth prince, making him cry.

- Hahahaha, but he's my favorite kid in the whole book, he's so cute, Mommy wants to give him a big hug!

-6, I feel that the Eighth Prince is smart and knows how to be patient. He also has the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince around him. Even the Fourteenth Prince likes to play with them. He has a lot of personal charm. I feel that he can achieve great things.

-Speaking of Xiao Sisi, I'm so afraid that he'll turn on his two older brothers when he grows up.

-No, with Malu by their side, the brothers will definitely be united.

-222 It's possible that he's the eldest prince. It feels like he and the crown prince are the only ones who can compete with each other in the main story. All the other princes are like younger brothers in front of them.

-Of course! The Crown Prince and the First Prince are the legitimate heirs and the eldest son, respectively, so the other princes will definitely have to be respectful to them.

-NONONO, I don't think the eldest prince is good enough. He's too reckless and can't see the situation clearly at all. He's only so arrogant because he's older. When the other younger brothers grow up and mature, he won't be a match for them at all.

That makes sense.

-Is no one betting on 4444? I think the Fourth Prince is pretty good too. He's diligent and reserved, and he has the support of his maternal family. If Malu is willing to whisper sweet nothings in the Emperor's ear, his chances of seizing the throne are quite high, right?

"Impossible. The fourth prince is a rigid old man. He'd be suitable as a minister, but it would be strange if he were emperor."

- Hahaha, little old man, how aptly he portrays the character!!!

-The fourth brother should be a member of the princeling faction now. It seems like he's quite close to the prince in the main story. If you're going to choose the fourth brother, you might as well just choose the prince.

- I haven't seen a single person mention my little fourteenth child yet, so sad.

Fourteen is too young, sisters, let him go.

Hahahaha!

-I seriously suspect that the poster put Xiao Shisi here just to attract more viewers.

- I don't think so. Although the fourth brother is young now, you can tell his personality from a young age. Don't you guys think the fourteenth brother is particularly domineering? I feel he has a bit of an emperor's air about him.

......

】

Li Qinqin watched with great interest.

She wanted to vote, but she wasn't quite sure what to do. To be honest, she found many of the comments from netizens to be quite reasonable, so she was a bit confused and didn't know who she should support.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

She cast her vote directly for number 4, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen, simply because he was the female lead's child, and the female lead's child always had some privileges.