Chapter 73 (073): Everything that follows related to "The Powerful Minister"...
Chapter Seventy-Two
It can be said that it wasn't until "Lin Lang" flopped that the production team suddenly realized that Zheng Mian was the lead actress in "Lin Lang," so Zheng Mian naturally had to bear some responsibility for the show's current ratings.
But Zheng Mian's fans are not to be trifled with.
Zheng Mian herself is one of them.
In "Linlang," the roles of who leads whom are clearly defined, and the primary and secondary roles are not something that Ye Liuchuan's side can easily shirk responsibility for.
"Zheng Mian has made so many male leads popular, so why can't she make Ye Liuchuan popular? Shouldn't Ye Liuchuan reflect on his actions?"
"We demand an explanation from the production team of 'Lin Lang' for Zheng Mian. Why did Zheng Mian only have one minute of screen time in episode 24 of 'Lin Lang'?"
"What else could it be? Your family members are all cold-natured, so they won't be able to become popular."
So in the end, the screenwriter took the blame. Of course, Ye Liuchuan's agency didn't forget to make fun of Zheng Mian—during the broadcast of "Lin Lang," Zheng Mian was not enthusiastic about the CP marketing with Ye Liuchuan.
The failure of "Lin Lang" has had a huge impact on Ye Liuchuan. Of his three unreleased dramas, "Lin Lang" has the strongest cast and is the most anticipated. If "Lin Lang" becomes a hit, his other two dramas will enjoy better treatment on the platform.
However, "Linlang" did not become a hit.
Qi Yejue left absolutely no impression on the audience.
The "Seven Weeks" couple only gained some presence in the early stages of the drama "Lin Lang". After that, no matter how many new marketing terms Ye Liuchuan used, the audience could not muster any interest.
The viewership ratings for "Linlang" have been hovering around 5%.
"There's nothing we can do. There are too many similar themes, and the audience may not be buying into this anymore."
The agent's words of comfort did not ease Ye Liuchuan's brows; his eyes were filled with gloom: "Because Zheng Mian didn't take this drama seriously."
If Zheng Mian had been willing to properly market the on-screen couple, "Lin Lang" wouldn't have ended up like this.
broker:"……"
Even though Ye Liuchuan harbored resentment towards actresses of Zheng Mian's caliber, he couldn't do anything about it.
The ratings for "Linlang" are clearly beyond saving.
Actually... it's understandable that Zheng Mian is unwilling to put in too much effort. In the drama "Lin Lang", Qi Yejue's presence is more prominent in the later part of the series.
Zheng Mian did indeed bring good fortune to the male lead, but Zheng Mian is not stupid.
Ye Liuchuan stared at the screen with a gloomy look in his eyes—a certain marketing account had actually posted a big-character poster saying that "The Powerful Minister" was the most successful historical drama in recent years.
Everyone knows that Xiaguang TV made a profit this time.
The counterexample to Xiaguang TV is undoubtedly Tianfeng TV.
Some dramas have a long run. Although the average viewership is average, the data is stable. They don't make much money, but they also don't flop. This is the same even without big stars.
"Linlang" is clearly not a drama that can have a long run.
In other words, "Linlang" could not possibly have a smooth launch; it would either be a huge hit or a complete flop—the 5% viewership rating had already fallen below Tianfeng TV's basic viewership base.
"Is 'Linlang' really that bad?" Ye Liuchuan asked his agent.
The agent shook his head.
Among dramas of the same genre, there are many with lower ratings than "Lin Lang," yet "Lin Lang" has flopped repeatedly. The only difference is that "Lin Lang" had "The Powerful Minister" as a competitor at the same time.
Now, the reputation of "The Powerful Minister" is getting better and better.
The agent even suspects that viewers have developed a backlash against historical romance dramas, and that dramas like "The Powerful Minister," which take an unconventional approach, are more popular.
After the ratings for "The Powerful Minister" broke 8, the agent secretly took a peek. In terms of cost, "The Powerful Minister" was obviously not as high as "Lin Lang". In terms of visuals, "Lin Lang" also looked more exquisite.
The strength of "The Powerful Minister" lies in its solid plot.
And the actors' mastery of their roles.
Court intrigues, selfish schemes, factionalism... all sorts of details are laid bare before the audience without reservation, which actually increases the story's appeal.
Because Shao Jing's life was so eventful, "The Powerful Minister" faithfully captured it, making the whole story anything but dull.
The drama "The Powerful Minister" has recently filmed the part where Shao Jing becomes the Grand Secretary. Based on the agent's past experience, at this point, the trending search term for "The Powerful Minister" should be Lin Yuan's middle-aged makeup, but that's not the case at all.
The audience was discussing the plot and the beginning of Shao Jing's break with the emperor.
"The Powerful Minister" has become a popular science conference about the character Shao Jing.
Even... as the plot of "The Powerful Minister" progressed, there was much less discussion among viewers about Lin Yuan.
The focus has shifted away from the actors and is now purely on the plot.
However, it must be said that it is precisely because Lin Yuan and He Xun both demonstrated mature acting skills that the audience was able to focus their attention on the characters.
At this stage, if the acting skills of the two actors become a weakness, the audience will inevitably be pulled out of the story.
Lin Yuan and He Xun both performed exceptionally well.
"The Powerful Minister" has indeed gained popularity.
Putting aside other things, He Xun has gained several more commercial endorsements, which means that his career has taken a step forward for an actor like him who has long played supporting roles.
...
The drama "The Powerful Minister" has finally reached the point where the emperor distrusts Shao Jing.
Everything seemed inexplicable, but the foreshadowing had already been laid in the previous plot—when being verbally abused, Shao Jing's gaze also turned towards the palace gate.
At that moment, he suddenly understood Song Kuan.
In the grand hall, he was surrounded by officials, but on the road ahead of Shao Jing, there was only his own shadow.
"I feel so sad."
"Sigh, it's hard to say who's right or wrong. All I can say is that this scene really made me feel melancholy."
"People's hearts are fickle."
Viewers who witnessed this scene couldn't help but recall the episode where Shao Jing confronted Song Kuan.
The same grand hall, the same chief minister surrounded by officials, the same young and ambitious officials, even the emperor in the hall is the same.
That's why this scene is so melancholic.
When the morning light shone on Shao Jing's face, he didn't utter the word "loneliness," yet his entire being was radiating loneliness.
Especially since just a moment ago he was a shrewd and unpredictable prime minister, but now his vulnerability is fully exposed.
"Lin Yuan's acting is simply... divine, absolutely divine."
"After the court session, the way the emperor looked ahead was quite something to savor, wasn't it?"
"There's a sense of destiny; at this point, it feels like it's the inevitable ending."
This clip went viral on Weibo.
Shao Jing walked a long road, which also widened the distance between him and the emperor.
"So subtlety can also showcase acting skills. Shao Jing didn't shout or show any madness. All he needed was a beam of light, a glance, and a long enough road to portray the image of an official whose career was coming to an end."
"It is precisely because this is a path that Shao Jingchang often took that his youthful ambition and his focus when contemplating power and strategy stand in stark contrast to this moment."
"I can't bear to watch."
Despite viewers saying they couldn't bear to watch, the ratings for "The Powerful Minister" continued to soar.
Even knowing that what lies ahead is Shao Jing's end, and not a good one at that, the audience is still willing to wait, willing to wait for Shao Jing's final moment.
On Weibo, long posts about Shao Jing and Tianzi as a couple are being published one after another.
The audience's desire to write articles is even stronger than when "The Powerful Minister" premiered.
To paraphrase some authors of long articles, the initial support was very appealing, but the current feeling of love mixed with hate, and hate mixed with trust, where "my heart leans towards you, but my reason won't allow it..." is even more appealing.
In particular, both the emperor and Shao Jing were already middle-aged.
For His Majesty, any force that threatens his rule must be eliminated.
Shao Jing was equally shrewd and calculating. During his years as Grand Secretary, he had dealt with countless political enemies.
But these two people, in a strange way, showed each other mercy.
At least Shao Jing returned to his hometown safely.
Even though the emperor was wary of Shao Jing, wanted to curb Shao Jing's influence, and even stripped him of his position as chief minister, he still trusted Shao Jing in his heart and believed that Shao Jing would not do anything to harm him.
"Write!! My creative urge has exploded!"
"It's all about the atmosphere, who understands that?"
"My goodness, I feel like Lin Yuan has really mastered the character of Shao Jing. He's such a great actor. I like both the spirited Shao Jing and the melancholy Shao Jing."
"+1+1".
In fact, not only readers of the article, but also viewers of the fan-made videos, prefer to edit together the content after Shao Jing's relationship with the emperor soured.
"These two are playing old men (by ancient standards), but their acting skills are so good they can make you look like a plastic surgeon. I can actually better understand them now than when they were young."
The ratings for "The Powerful Minister" surged again as a result—when the episode featuring Shao Jing being seen off by his friend reached its peak, the ratings actually exceeded 15%!
From any perspective, this already meets the criteria for a hit drama.
Moreover, the broadcasting platform for "The Powerful Minister" is not a first-tier satellite TV channel, but only a second-tier channel, Xia Guang TV.
"The Powerful Minister" is even considered a "niche" historical drama.
"Lin Yuan's drama is definitely a valid broadcast."
"I won the Golden Wing Award for Best Supporting Actor for my first film, and my first TV series was a huge hit. I just want to ride on Lin Yuan's career success."
Even with a 15% viewership rating, "The Powerful Minister" is still not the end.
As the finale approaches, the viewership ratings for "The Powerful Minister" continue to rise.
At this point, Lin Yuan's Weibo followers officially surpassed 7 million.
Although "The Powerful Minister" is not a drama that attracts fans, Lin Yuan's performance clips have been trending on Weibo for the past few days.
Friends bid farewell to Shao Jing, and Shao Jing visits Song Kuan's grave—viewers watching "The Powerful Minister" feel as if they have followed Shao Jing's entire life, witnessing his rise to prominence, his brilliance, and his eventual demise.
"It's hard not to cry. During this farewell scene, I felt that Shao Jing was still the same Shao Jing as before. He had not forgotten his original intention to come to the capital."
"Waaah, Shao Jing has already done very well. If he hadn't become a powerful minister, he was destined not to achieve anything. But even if he had, it would have been difficult for him to have a good end. Who says Shao Jing didn't think things through? He didn't understand Song Kuan when he was young, so doesn't he understand him now?"
The closer it gets to the end, the greater the response to "The Powerful Minister".
It's worth mentioning that during this time slot, Xiaguang TV changed its prime-time advertising.
Second-tier satellite TV channels have never been favored by advertisers. Even during prime time, they mostly receive advertisements for alcoholic beverages and health products for the elderly. Of course, these advertisements are relatively generous in terms of payment, but compared with the advertisements received by first-tier satellite TV channels, they seem meager.
During the period when "The Powerful Minister" was airing, various brands took notice and approached Xiaguang TV to discuss cooperation.
Besides leveraging the popularity of the drama for promotion, everything related to "The Powerful Minister" is attracting a lot of attention during this time. Brands buy prime-time advertising slots, and marketing accounts can help promote the show for free, which is more effective than betting on prime-time slots on top-tier satellite TV channels.
Many brands bet on "Linlang" this year, but "Linlang" still failed to gain traction.
Industry insiders are also quietly speculating about the profits of "The Powerful Minister" - so far, three platforms have extended olive branches to "The Powerful Minister", including the deep-pocketed Xingyao Video.
It is said that Xingyao Video offered a price that no one could refuse.
Lin Yuan learned the specific numbers from the director.
His current catchphrase in the crew group is "Lend me some money to spend," which has drawn strong contempt from He Xun.
"Then lend me some." Lin Yuan also politely extended his hand to He Xun.
He Xun has recently taken on a lot of business deals and made a fortune.
In addition, He Xun finally received several satisfactory scripts, including several male lead scripts, and even the supporting male scripts were all roles that had a strong presence.
This is unprecedented treatment.
Then, the news broke that the travel reality show that was airing had temporarily removed He Xun from the cast—
This news wasn't originally a secret, but at that time He Xun was practically invisible, so even if he was wronged, no one cared.
Only when you become famous do you have the right to seek justice.
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Author's Note: Update! [shrug][shrug][shrug]
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