Chapter 50 Dog-like Eyes: "Oh, Teacher Qin, you're so cute!"
The person who answered was an unfamiliar staff member: "Teacher Qin, Director Yu wants you to come over after you finish your meal."
"knew."
Qin Lan sent the person away, and as soon as she turned her head, Jiang Yan pressed down on her again, her tongue quickly entering her mouth and frantically entwining with hers.
The time allotted for a meal is gone.
Qin Lan sat up again, annoyed: "You eat all the carrots for me."
Jiang Yan became unusually agreeable: "Okay, after kissing Teacher Qin who tastes like carrots, carrots seem to taste better too."
Qin Lan looked doubtful: "Do I have this magic?"
Jiang Yan ate a piece of carrot in front of her.
"hold head high."
Qin Lan's face flushed, and she wanted to say something, but her mind went blank. She quietly sat down and ate.
It took her a while to realize what she had wanted to say when she first got on the bus: "Did you notice? The two of them haven't spoken at all this morning."
Jiang Yan chewed on a piece of vegetable leaf: "Obviously."
Qin Lan was shocked for a long time: "Have you caught the tulip?"
Jiang Yan: "Haven't you noticed that you're a little bit like that too?"
Qin Lan sighed, "There used to be only Yu Jintang, but now Xiahou Cheng has come along. The two of them are like a virus, spreading together."
Jiang Yan: "I think it has a chance."
Qin Lan subconsciously began to imitate Yu Jintang's neurotic tone: "How do you know?"
They looked at each other and then burst into laughter, making everyone in the surrounding villages want to gossip, but they held back because they remembered Yu Jintang's anger.
“Exactly,” Jiang Yan said, trying to suppress a laugh, but she couldn’t help but burst out, “Oh, Teacher Qin, you’re so cute.”
Qin Lan blushed, and Jiang Yan leaned in and buried her face in her neck, forcefully pulling down her collar.
"Dead Jiang Yan, what are you doing!" Qin Lan was shocked. She had only kissed him deeply once, and if he kissed her somewhere else, who knows what might happen! Just as she was frantically trying to push him away, two warm lips suddenly pressed against her shoulder, and he slowly sucked on her skin.
"......"
Qin Lan gave her a light shove on the back: "Don't go too far."
Jiang Yan inhaled slowly for a while, then stepped back a little, admiring her work with satisfaction: "Hmm, very beautiful."
"What...what did you do to me?" Qin Lan involuntarily tilted her head and rolled her eyes downwards.
“Hmm…” Jiang Yan pondered: “It’s probably a declaration of sovereignty, meaning that this person can only be kissed by me now.”
Qin Lan's face flushed slightly, but Jiang Yan had already turned away, saying, "Teacher Qin, you should eat quickly, or there won't be any time left."
Qin Lan was furious: "Who is it that's made me go hungry until now? How dare you say that!"
"But I didn't see Teacher Qin resist," Jiang Yan blinked. "Teacher Qin is so powerful; last time in the hospital room, she easily subdued me, although I still made love to her while she was lying down..."
"Shut up!" Qin Lan angrily covered her mouth. "Shut up!"
"Alright, I won't tease Teacher Qin anymore." Jiang Yan readily agreed and kissed her palm. "Let's eat."
For the third time, Qin Lan thought of the topic she originally wanted to gossip about with Jiang Yan.
She sighed. Why couldn't they just have a proper conversation...?
She asked, utterly dejected, "Do you remember what we were talking about?"
Jiang Yan suddenly realized: "You mean the affair between Teacher Yu and Teacher Xiahou?"
Qin Lan: "......"
She was speechless: "These days, even directors have to be wary of being slandered."
Jiang Yan: "It's not a rumor, it's probably true..."
She blinked: "You forgot, I sometimes have insomnia. Teacher Xiahou lives next door to me. Around 2 a.m., I heard her and Teacher Yu come back from outside. They must have been drunk, because they went into the room together."
Qin Lan's eyes widened: "She actually kept such a huge affair from me!"
She then frowned again: "That shouldn't be the case. She and Xiahou Cheng aren't mortal enemies. If there were anything going on, she wouldn't be hiding it from me."
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow: "Oh... so that's why you didn't tell your friends about sleeping with me? Because..."
She leaned closer: "We don't get along?"
"You know that much." Qin Lan glanced at her sideways: "So there's something going on between them, but it probably hasn't developed into an affair yet."
Jiang Yan: "I think Teacher Xiahou is quite serious."
Qin Lan's eyes widened: "Where did you get that idea? How can she be associated with being serious?"
Jiang Yan glanced at her sideways: "Ah, based on my years of experience with unrequited love, the more she smiles, the more..."
The mere mention of this matter drained Qin Lan of all her strength and energy, and she reluctantly sat back down to eat.
＊
When Qin Lan went to take her position, someone nearby saw the hickey on her neck.
Everyone remained silent, only taking out their phones to type.
Qin Lan had completely forgotten about it until her makeup artist gasped and stammered, "Teacher Qin... Teacher Qin..." when she went to get her makeup touched up.
"What's wrong?" Qin Lan turned her head in confusion.
The makeup artist's trembling gaze fell on her neck.
This time Qin Lan remembered, and thought to herself, "Oh no!" After a two-second silence, she started making up an excuse: "I was bitten by a mosquito while I was eating."
She spoke with such conviction that the makeup artist dared not deny it and could only silently scream while covering her up.
After Qin Lan came out, she noticed that everyone was looking at her neck, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
She looked right back and walked past confidently, saying, "Do I have money on my face?"
Yu Jintang's expression was ambiguous: "I don't have money, but I might have a flower..."
"That just proves I'm beautiful, and flowers just fall on my body." Qin Lan looked at herself in the mirror with a proud expression.
Her candor left everyone speechless, and they could only silently type on their phones.
Everyone's not blind. That's clearly a strawberry.
The afternoon scenes began to be filmed.
Despite her earnest pleas, resignation, and attempts to become a nun, Shangguan Wan'er had no choice but to decide to die in her remonstrance—she drank poison in court and fainted before the palace.
Emperor Li Xian was greatly alarmed and immediately summoned the imperial physicians to treat her. The officials had long ago made an agreement with Wan'er, and once the news spread, they immediately responded in unison. All the officials submitted memorials to support the Consort and demanded that the emperor reconsider his decision.
Li Xian had no choice but to agree. Shangguan Wan'er did not truly seek death, and after several months of recuperation, she gradually recovered.
But Li Chongjun became even more terrified.
Princess Anle, having failed to ascend the throne and unable to harass the heavily guarded Shangguan, vented her anger on him, humiliating him even more severely. Li Chongjun still remembered her ordering a eunuch to stomp on his face: "If I can get my father to change the emperor's succession once, I can do it again! Li Chongjun, you are nothing but the son of a lowly palace maid! You are a slave beneath my feet!"
"Li Guo'er!" Li Chongjun returned to the East Palace in a disheveled state, filled with helpless rage within his residence. Fear and indignation drove him to decide to take a desperate gamble and launch a coup.
In 707 AD, Crown Prince Li Chongjun, together with the leaders of the Imperial Guards and members of the Li Tang imperial family, launched the Jinglong Coup.
The army first stormed into Wu Sansi's home, killing him and his son Wu Chongxun, who was also Princess Anle's husband, on the spot. They searched the mansion but couldn't find Anle; it turned out the princess had just entered the palace that day.
Driven to a bloodthirst, Li Chongjun turned his horse around and charged into the palace, targeting Shangguan Wan'er first.
Hearing the deafening sounds of battle outside, Shangguan Wan'er immediately went to find the Emperor. Fortunately, Li Xian was temporarily unharmed, but Empress Wei and Princess Anle turned pale upon hearing the news.
Shangguan Wan'er whispered, "The rebels have arrived! There is no time to lose. Your Majesty, Your Highness, and Your Highness, please come with me to Xuanwu Gate to avoid disaster!"
"Cut!" Yu Jintang shouted.
Qin Lan smoothed her disheveled hair; her clothes were also in disarray from running. She lifted her skirt and strode towards Jiang Yan, who was sitting on a small stool.
"How's your foot?" She gestured with her chin towards Jiang Yan and stopped in front of her.
Jiang Yan looked up at her, tapping her neck with her finger: "Teacher Qin, you should uphold female virtues. Your clothes are all messed up."
"I'm not naked." Qin Lan snorted, but still pulled her collar up.
"My foot is much better. I just need to go to the hospital for a check-up when I have time."
Jiang Yan handed her a glass of lemonade, still looking up at her.
The lemonade had a straw inserted and was half full, clearly indicating that Jiang Yan had drunk from it.
Qin Lan took it and took two big, deep breaths, then fanned herself with satisfaction: "Refreshing."
Jiang Yan's throat moved, her eyes fixed on her moist lips.
"Stop giving me that dog-like look," Qin Lan warned her. "Don't think about such things in broad daylight."
"How did I become a dog again?" Jiang Yan laughed in exasperation. "One minute you're a horse, the next you're a dog. Does Teacher Qin like furries?"
"You're pretty trendy." Qin Lan gasped. "You've been following me?"
"Ah." Jiang Yan lazily stretched out her legs, intentionally or unintentionally brushing against her skirt: "I've seen novels like this by chance."
Speaking of this, Qin Lan suddenly remembered: "Why haven't you asked me about Xiao Ma lately?"
Jiang Yan coughed violently while holding the lemonade.
She changed the subject, saying, "Teacher Qin, you should go practice your positioning."
Qin Lan narrowed her eyes: "Something's not right with you."
Xiaoqing called her over: "Sister Qin and Sister Jiang, haven't you noticed that the whole crew is looking at you two more strangely?"
Qin Lan: "Okay."
Jiang Yan: "Mmm."
Xiaoqing: "......"
"At least show some concern..."
Qin Lan said nonchalantly, "When have I ever cared about what other people think?"
Jiang Yan: "Teacher Qin didn't say that when she was hiding it before..."
Qin Lan glanced at her: "Back then, I wasn't planning on building a long-term bond with you."
After saying that, she walked away aloofly, leaving Xiaoqing looking terrified: "Did Sister Qin just say something sweet?"
Jiang Yan seemed to be trying to hide her smile, but she couldn't quite conceal it: "I think so."
Xiaoqing: "Can Sister Qin still say sweet nothings?"
Jiang Yan covered her face, but her laughter escaped: "Yes, yes, she was talking to me."
There was no one in the director's studio except for Yu Jintang.
The thing across from me holding roses, raising an eyebrow with a wicked grin, and uttering the words "Teacher Tangtang, please fall for me" from the corner of its mouth, is not a person.
Qin Lan had just lifted the curtain when she saw this scene, and she was so frightened that she quickly put the curtain down and locked herself in the shed: "Oh my, what are you doing in broad daylight?"
Xiahou Cheng turned around and tossed her hair: "Don't turn on the lights. Let my love be hidden in the darkness, like the sea in the dead of night."
Qin Lan: "Uh... the new persona is a bit too cheesy."
Xiahou Cheng: "Swim? You want to swim in my waters too? Sorry, my heart can only hold one person."
Qin Lan looked past her to see Yu Jintang, who had a blank expression: "Yu, are you alright?"
Yu Jintang opened her mouth and said, "12341234 sounds like a song."
Qin Lan: "Oh no, this person needs to go to the psychiatric ward."
Yu Jintang slumped onto the stool, hastily pulling a clump of hair from her hat to cover her slightly reddened ears: "Teacher Chengcheng, you probably don't know, I have already dedicated this crippled body entirely to a great and noble cause..."
Qin Lan found a place to sit down and then started looking for sunflower seeds.
She set up her phone, intending to give Jiang Yan a live stream.
The two people completely ignored her: "I know."
Yu Jintang looked up in shock: "You know? How do you know? How did you find out? Where did you find out? We haven't talked about this before, have we?"
“Ah, actually we did talk about it.” Xiahou Cheng smiled smugly: “I also know that Teacher Tangtang said she is a white dwarf star, which would normally cool down, but there is an extremely small probability that she will meet a suitable companion star and thus experience a carbon explosion and become a supernova.”
Yu Jintang opened her mouth wide, and Qin Lan also stopped eating sunflower seeds.
Jiang Yan, who had just logged on, was completely bewildered: "What is this...?"
Qin Lan whispered to her, "There's a mole among us!"
Jiang Yan: "?"
Qin Lan lowered her voice: "Do you remember the night we broke up? We were playing Truth or Dare, and Feng Yinghou asked Yu Guaiguai a lot of strange questions, which Xiahou Cheng has now revealed!"
Jiang Yan reacted quickly: "It's probably Teacher Feng."
Qin Lan clicked his tongue and helped Jiang Yan get the best angle.
Yu Jintang's face paled: "You...you...you...how did you know? Could it be...could it be..."
Xiahou Cheng looked at her encouragingly.
Yu Jintang: "Did you kidnap Teacher Feng and torture him to extract a confession?!"
Xiahou Cheng clapped his hands: "Perfect answer."
Jiang Yan: "Beautiful."
Qin Lan: "Yu, you're doing a solid job."
Xiahou Cheng: "Is it possible that the questions that Teacher Tangtang found strange were ones that I asked her to ask?"
Yu Jintang glared at her: "Did you pressure her?"
"The perfect answer."
"pretty."
"Yu Guaiguai is performing steadily."
Yu Jintang: "What price did you offer? Her career? Her reputation? What else?"
Xiahou Cheng took out his phone and called Feng Manhong in person.
A middle-aged woman's elegant and mellow voice came through the receiver: "Hello? Chengcheng, what's wrong?"
Xiahou Cheng took a deep breath and regained his usual tone: "Godmother, repeat after me a sentence: 'Say it again and I'll give you my life.'"
There was a two-second silence on the other end before Feng Manhong's helpless voice came through: "Say it again, and I'll give you my life."
Xiahou Cheng's voice suddenly turned sinister: "Were you threatened? If you were, blink twice!"
Feng Manhong: "...If Chengcheng says that, then I once managed to keep my eyes open for two minutes without blinking in front of the camera."
Yu Jintang: "What did you just call Actress Feng?"
Xiahou Cheng: "Godmother."
Yu Jintang's voice rose eight octaves: "I've never heard that Actress Feng has a penchant for taking crazy people as her goddaughters!"
Xiahou Cheng stared intently at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle: "That year, my little mother was a lonely old woman, living alone abroad. My godmother, who was filming a movie overseas, gave me motherly care..."
"Sigh! So that's what happened." Yu Jintang looked distressed. "I'm grateful that someone still likes me, but Teacher Chengcheng, I really have no plans to date..."
Xiahou Cheng: "I understand, you want to go straight into married life, right?"
Yu Jintang: "I'm being serious. Teacher Chengcheng, you're very nice, and it's been a pleasure being friends with you. I'm not planning to consider anything else for the time being."
"Oh, I'll consider it later." Xiahou Cheng nodded. "Message me when you've decided."
Yu Jintang struggled in desperation: "I don't want to hold you back..."
Xiahou Cheng: "Teacher Tangtang, don't worry, I have a unique eye and I won't look at anyone else for the next eight hundred years."
Yu Jintang silently gazed at the sky.
＊
The afternoon filming was about to begin. Qin Lan found her spot, and the other actors took their places as well.
Reminded by Shangguan Wan'er, the group suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly rushed to Xuanwu Gate with Li Xian, climbing up the city wall.
They breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the stationed troops.
Li Xian felt a little relieved, but then Li Chongjun, covered in blood, arrived. Looking at the devilish Crown Prince, he couldn't help but feel afraid again, and his legs even trembled.
Seeing Li Xian's cowardice, Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, these people have hastily followed the Crown Prince in rebellion and must be filled with fear. If Your Majesty were to offer them fame and fortune now, some would surely defect, and the morale of the army would waver!"
Li Xian hurriedly shouted down from the city wall, "You are all my trusted generals and soldiers, why follow the Crown Prince in rebellion! If you pull back from the brink now and atone for your crimes, I will surely forgive your past mistakes and guarantee you wealth and honor!"
The Jinglong Coup failed just like that. Still shaken, Li Xian ordered severe punishment for the rebels. He first offered Li Chongjun's head as a sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and then launched a massive crackdown on the Crown Prince's supporters, vowing to avenge his father.
Upon hearing the news of the Crown Prince's failed coup, Princess Taiping immediately went to see her fourth brother, Li Dan.
Li Dan was calmly reading poetry and books in the mansion when he saw Taiping walk in with a gloomy expression, and he was quite puzzled: "Why is my sister like this?"
Taiping sat down opposite him and said in a deep voice, "Li Chongjun has lost. We'll be the next ones to suffer."
"You mean His Majesty will use this opportunity to turn his anger towards us?"
“Just wait and see,” Taiping said coldly. “If it were me, I would definitely instruct certain people to come forward and accuse you and me of being accomplices of the Crown Prince.”
Li Dan looked worried: "My sister, do you have any ideas on how to deal with this? What can I, your brother, do?"
Princess Taiping smiled slightly and said, "There's no need to do anything. The more indifferent you are to fame and fortune, the easier it will be for you to get through this."
Li Dan breathed a sigh of relief: "It's all thanks to my sister's planning."
Li Dan was quite nervous, but Taiping appeared calm and composed, not worried about the immediate crisis, but instead focusing on planning for the long term.
Empress Wei's faction is now more powerful than ever, holding the power of regent and controlling half of the country. Empress Wei could easily instruct her subordinates to sabotage Princess Taiping. Li Xian is also wary of him and his fourth brother and will not help them. Princess Taiping must find a way to counterbalance Empress Wei.
She already had a good idea of what was going on, and now all she needed was a suitable informant to report on Empress Wei's various activities, or even to turn against her at a crucial moment.
This person needed to be able to enter and leave the palace, be sharp-witted and observant, be loyal enough to her, and also hold a certain amount of power in order to attract Empress Wei's attention.
“I’m perfect for this,” Shangguan Wan’er smiled. “It sounds like this task was assigned to me.”
“This is not a mission,” Taiping corrected her. “We are comrades-in-arms, not superiors and subordinates.”
"Thank you for your kind attention, Princess."
Shangguan Wan'er rose to perform a grand salute, but Taiping stopped her, saying, "Why be so polite with me? You know my feelings best."
"Hmm..." Shangguan responded softly, "The princess has so many male favorites, which one isn't..."
"I have no male favorites," Princess Taiping frowned. "You are the only one I care about."
Shangguan Wan'er looked directly at her and spoke in a frivolous and unrestrained manner for the first time: "But I am helping the princess not because of any romantic relationship."
Princess Taiping felt a surge of emotion, but Shangguan Wan'er had already returned to the main topic: "The princess and I are old friends. Now that I want to join Empress Wei's faction, I have to put on a show of breaking ties."
Taiping said, "I've heard that there's a man named Cui Shi in the court who is very handsome and has been getting quite close to you lately."
Shangguan Wan'er said indifferently, "It's just a matter of mutual benefit. I've heard that he has met the princess and is her lover."
Princess Taiping coldly replied, "A lover can't climb into my bed."
After a moment of tension, Taiping softened her tone: "You and I will pretend to be jealous of Cui Shi. Empress Wei has always wanted to win you over, and she will surely be tempted now."
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