Mu Lin: "It was General Shangguan. I've known him since childhood. When we were kids, he said he would marry me when we grew up, but unfortunately—"
Jiang Wan: "Your Majesty said it was in your childhood. How can words spoken in childhood be taken seriously? Besides, Your Majesty is now the mother of the nation. Your Majesty should be careful with your words."
Perhaps Jiang Wan's words provoked Mu Lin, for she would not allow the man who admired her to one day fall in love with another girl.
"Jiang Wan, are you so proud of yourself? You've won Shangguan Tuo's favor, but so what? I'm destined to marry him once I'm in the palace. But what about you? You can only marry him because you look like me. The man you love will never love you. You're just a substitute." Mu Lin's face was somewhat ferocious, and she had long lost her previous virtuous and gentle demeanor.
Jiang Wan suddenly realized that this was why the Empress had summoned her. All her previous goodwill towards the Empress vanished. She snorted coldly, "So what? No matter how sweet the stories from our childhood may sound, I am the one who will marry him in the end, and I will be the one who will share his grave a hundred years from now."
Jiang Wan never expected that the Empress's gentle and generous demeanor was just a mask, and that her true nature was selfishness, meanness, and arrogance.
"Jiang Wan, ask yourself honestly, would you be a good wife? You're out in public all day, constantly in contact with men, showing no regard for your husband's family's reputation." Mu Lin pressed on relentlessly, relentlessly attacking Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan didn't say anything, she just stood there stunned.
An angry voice came from the side: "Mu Lin, don't think I won't touch you just because you're the Empress. The woman I like has never been a parasitic plant. My Jiang Wan is like a winter plum blossom, blooming alone in the cold. She has her own fortitude and courage, and that's the kind of girl I truly like."
As Shangguan Tuo watched Jiang Wan's departing figure, the waiting made him impatient, so he chased after the two of them, following behind them and eavesdropping on their conversation.
At first, he could accept it, but he wasn't stupid. The more he listened, the more he felt disgusted. He wanted to refute her, but when he heard Jiang Wan say that they would sleep in the same grave, he stopped in his tracks. Sure enough, his girl still loved him.
He didn't expect the Empress to still be so persistent after hearing this, and her words remained sharp and cold. How could he possibly offend her? He had no choice but to refute Mu Lin.
"Your Majesty, please have some self-respect. We shall take our leave now." Without waiting for the Empress's consent, he took Jiang Wan's hand and left.
Seeing the two leave, the Empress angrily flung her sleeves and stormed off.
"Card."
Out of courtesy, the director did not call "cut" when the problem arose, but waited for the actors to finish their lines before speaking.
The director was in low spirits. Although he had a good temper, he was the opposite when it came to his work.
Lu Wanzheng made a very basic mistake, the last thing he wanted to see on set, so he shouted to everyone on set, "Take a break, we'll do another take later."
"What a waste of everyone's time. It could have been done in one take, but it has delayed our Goddess Xi's progress."
"Who says otherwise? He's good for nothing but throwing his weight around."
"To be honest, although Lu Wanzheng's acting skills are not good, her appearance is quite good."
"What's the use of good looks? There's no shortage of good-looking people in the entertainment industry. If you have good looks but no talent, you're just a pretty face."
When the staff and extras saw Lu Wanzheng and the director not far away, many people gathered together and criticized Lu Wanzheng.
Xiao Hua happened to be passing by and, upon hearing this, a surge of resentment arose within her.
"So what if you didn't get it right the first time? Didn't Wang Xiyou ever have any NGs? Don't you understand the concept of putting yourself in his shoes? Are you all fish that slipped through the net of nine years of compulsory education? Gossiping behind his back is really giving yourself a good face."
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