Chapter 41: The Internet Goes Crazy: The Stunning Princess, High-Energy Throughout
Three guests on "Love Detective Journey" had a major mishap.
That afternoon, even director Bai Yang was investigated for having questionable accounts, and he once again became a trending topic.
[I knew this show was weird. The director is crazy, and even the guests are crazy. Who would have thought that the model couple Jiang Chenlian could have a bad ending, and even more shocking news would break out?]
[I never expected Jiang Yueyao to steal gold coins. It's outrageous. Before, someone exposed her sky-high salary, saying she asked for 20 million yuan to appear in "Detective Love." I didn't believe it, after all, even the Grand Slam Best Actor Gu Junting only got 7 million yuan for "Princess's Romance." But seeing the contract in black and white today, I'm really stunned. Money in the Chinese entertainment industry is so damn easy to make, it's like it's blown in by the wind.]
Although Jiang Yueyao is hateful, seeing her turn around and bite Shen Linzhou and Zhou Ruoyu, exposing and tearing apart the scumbag man and woman, I actually want to cheer for her, hoping that she bites as fiercely as possible.
[Speaking of Shen Linzhou, this guy is really out of his mind. His girlfriend is so beautiful, why does he have to cheat on her? Does takeout really taste better than homemade? Isn't he afraid of getting diseases? I don't understand, I really don't understand.]
[None of them are good people. Zhou Ruoyu reaped what she sowed, but she never expected that Jiang Yueyao would still be attacking Song Ying even now. Song Ying and Qin Shu are so loving, who would want her octopus?]
[What if Song Ying is blind? Shen Linzhou is a prime example. He ignored the beautiful Jiang Yueyao and insisted on ordering takeout. If you ask me, the entire entertainment industry should be thoroughly investigated, including Song Ying and others, especially the guests of "Detective Love." Their accounts should all be checked; I doubt any of them are clean.]
With state media getting involved and the program's director also being implicated, the severity of the incident has drawn significant attention.
With countless eyes watching online and netizens constantly calling for action, the guest salaries for "Love Detective Journey" were indeed announced not long after.
Jiang Yueyao has 20 million, Shen Linzhou has 20 million, Zhou Ruoyu has 2.4 million, and even the combined power of Tiandou and Da Meng only has 500,000. Qiao Yu alone has 300,000, and Song Ying and Qin Shu are the most outrageous, with the two of them only having 70,000 combined.
Having grown accustomed to the exorbitant salaries in the entertainment industry, the sudden appearance of a two-person team earning a combined 70,000 yuan for seven days of filming is a stark contrast that cannot be more obvious.
[Sweet Bean and Mighty's collaboration only cost 500,000? Even a single video ad would cost more than that!]
[And then there's Song Ying. To be honest, all the trending topics for the show these past two days were generated by her. She even teamed up with Qin Shu, and only got 70,000 views. "Detective Love" really knows how to play favorites.]
Am I, the God of the Underworld, unworthy? I feel humiliated.
I initially thought these two were troublemakers, but after seeing them, I was surprised to find they were actually the easiest to talk to and the most genuine.
Don't forget, Brother Shu specifically put aside his work to cooperate with the filming! Besides accompanying Sister Ying and supporting her, I really can't think of any other reason why he was willing to come!
The show's reputation plummeted, but the stark contrast actually made the winning and losing couples gain a lot of fans.
After the list of actor salaries climbed to the top of the trending charts, the salaries of many people in the industry were exposed, and everyone was on edge, fearing that they would be the next to be implicated.
Weibo is even more lively than during the Chinese New Year.
Not long after, the salaries of the cast and crew of the large-scale historical drama "Que Ge," in which Shen Linzhou, Jiang Yueyao, and Song Ying participated, were also revealed.
[Shen Linzhou has 40 million, Jiang Yueyao has 38 million, and Song Ying only has 100,000, which is less than a fraction of theirs—Holy crap, does Jiang Yueyao even deserve it?!]
Speaking of which, "Que Ge" is probably the most tragic case so far. At least all of Jiang Chen's other dramas have recouped their costs after airing. "Que Ge," originally scheduled to premiere next week, is now likely to never see the light of day again. It was supposedly a big-budget production with 150 million yuan! Now it's all gone down the drain.
The production team of "Que Ge" is now so angry they want to strangle Jiang Yueyao and Shen Linzhou.
The male and female leads both had their careers ruined; the cost of AI face-swapping for a 40-episode drama was about the same as remaking the entire series.
If it were to be remade, where would anyone still invest in this unfortunate show?
"But should we just shelve this show altogether? That would be such a waste."
"What else can we do besides 'hijack' the show? Go against the authorities? Which platform would dare to broadcast it?"
"Or how about cutting out their scenes and piecing them together to make a short drama of ten or twenty episodes?"
"That would be no different from a bad movie. It might recoup some of the costs, but I'm afraid no investors would be willing to invest again, and the audience isn't stupid. It would definitely get criticized, which would be too damaging to its reputation."
The production team of "Que Ge" held an emergency meeting, but due to differing concerns, no conclusion was reached for a long time.
After a moment of silence, someone offered a suggestion.
"Didn't we make countdown videos for each of the cast members before? Now many netizens are complaining on our behalf, and with the hype surrounding this scandal today, why don't we just release all the materials except for Jiang Chen and the other two all at once?"
On one hand, it serves as publicity; on the other hand, it can attract viewers' attention. If there's high demand, it might even bring in new investment. This would give it an advantage whether it's for reshoots or a complete overhaul, and it could also build a fan base, ensuring its popularity when it airs.
The proposal was quickly approved by the producers and investors.
Taking advantage of the high level of popularity, the official Weibo account of the TV series "Que Ge" released ten promotional videos in a row.
It was accompanied by a short essay.
Hello everyone, we are the official Weibo account for the TV series "Que Ge". From preparation to filming and post-production editing, the entire series took one year and three months to complete. Now, due to certain reasons, this large-scale historical drama, which was originally scheduled to premiere next week, will not be able to meet its fans. We deeply regret this, but are willing to cooperate with the arrangements.
Because nothing is more important than respect for the law and the bottom line.
"Que Ge" tells of patriotism, and we should also have such patriotism, putting the greater good before personal interests when faced with major issues of right and wrong.
Over the past year and three months, the entire crew of more than two thousand people worked together to create this meticulously crafted production. To ensure that the hard work of the actors and staff is not in vain, we are sharing many wonderful clips with everyone for free.
Finally, I hope that dramas will be produced with conscience and presented with passion, and that the industry environment and atmosphere will continue to improve in the future.
See you in our next drama!
The Weibo post immediately attracted a great deal of attention.
These videos were originally promotional materials, showcasing the actors' highlights. They were well-produced and no less impressive than promotional videos for many blockbuster films.
In particular, Song Ying's portrayal of the third female lead, Chu Tanyue, has amazed the entire internet.
In "Que Ge", Chu Tan Yue was originally the youngest princess of the Chu Kingdom. She was intelligent, innocent, beautiful and romantic. When she accompanied her father on a diplomatic mission to the Qin Kingdom, she became famous throughout the five states with her palm dance "Phoenix Dance". She also became the white moonlight of the male protagonist Qin Wu Lan.
At a time of chaos in the five states, the State of Chu was not as powerful as the foreign states. With such a woman, she quickly attracted the covetous eyes of various states, and countless people sought her hand in marriage.
The King of Chu loved his daughter and did not want her to marry outside the capital. So he specially offered to find a husband for her and built a nine-story tower in the Chu palace, named the "Star-Picking and Moon-Embracing Terrace".
At that time, the state of Chu was burdened with heavy corvée labor, and the construction of tall pavilions further fueled the resentment among the people.
When Chu Tanyue was eighteen, the Qin cavalry trampled across the land of Chu and besieged the city. The elderly King of Chu was murdered by palace servants, and all the princes and princesses died tragically. Only Chu Tanyue was spared to surrender to Qin.
It was then that the pampered little princess learned that the peaceful and prosperous life in the palace was an illusion, and that the people of the five states were already suffering.
Her previous eighteen years of wealth and glory were bought with the suffering of countless people.
The Qin people, who captured barbarians, enjoyed killing prisoners. After breaching a city, they wanted to slaughter all the inhabitants to eliminate any future threat.
Seeing the city filled with wailing and despair, Chu Tanyue, who had originally intended to jump off the high platform, abandoned her thoughts of death, endured the hatred of the fall of her country, and was willing to bear the infamy of being a traitor who brought disaster to the country and betrayed her homeland. She sacrificed herself to Qin Wulan, the crown prince of the Qin Kingdom who was breaking through the city, in order to save the lives of 100,000 people in the city.
In the long years that followed, she, as a weak woman in the deep palace, did her best to silently protect the people who had once supported her, atoning for the sins of the entire Chu royal family.
"Que Ge" mainly tells the story of Qin Wulan, played by Shen Linzhou, who rises from an unfavored prince to become the crown prince, and joins hands with Su Xueyi, played by Jiang Yueyao, the most beautiful woman in the five states who is skilled in both literature and martial arts and has a good business sense, to quell the war and unify the five states.
The characters in "Que Ge" are extremely well-developed; each fallen kingdom has its own independent story and outstanding characters.
Chu Tanyue's storyline is just a side story in Qin Wulan's conquest of the four kingdoms. Unlike the female lead Su Xueyi, who is both literate and martial and has exceptional wisdom and strategy, as a weak woman, she can only do her best to protect her people in her own way.
The innocent and carefree spirit before the fall of her kingdom, the fragility and despair during its fall, the resilience, forbearance, and growth after its fall, and even the pride and dignity of a princess in her old age, are all perfectly portrayed by Song Ying's superb acting skills.
The short three-minute promotional video is packed with energy.
Despite having the same face, she can portray four completely different feelings, allowing the audience to empathize with Chu Tanyue's turbulent life.
[Damn, I got a brick in my eye! This acting is so moving, it's almost unbelievable! Song Ying's acting is absolutely amazing!]
When Song Ying cried, I couldn't help but want to cry too; when she smiled, my heart ached even more and I wanted to cry. She is practically the real-life embodiment of Tan Yue! My little princess...
[The crying scenes were amazing, and the dancing was even more amazing! That palm dance, "Phoenix's Song," was done in one continuous take, without a stunt double; Song Ying danced it herself. I'm tired of saying "awesome"! And the innocent and carefree dance Tan Yue performed at the beginning of the film is completely different from the poignant and proud dance she performed in her twilight years before her death at the end! It gave me goosebumps!]
I haven't watched it that many times, maybe a dozen or twenty times!
[Anyone who says Song Ying's acting is bad from now on, I'll fight them! Just a casual observer, please, guys, what other dramas or variety shows starring Song Ying are worth watching?!]
[…Bro, I'm late, they're all banned.]
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