Shen Wangshu thought Meng Fangfei was a good person. After all, not all women these days are malicious. They were just a small group of bad apples; there were actually far more women with kind hearts. She didn't want to be involved in backstabbing and intrigue with everyone on her path to stardom, and there was no trust between them. Therefore, she got along well with Meng Fangfei and naturally became closer to her.
They shared a dressing room, thanks to Meng Fangfei's care.
Meng Fangfei's dressing room is very large. Today is the first day of filming for the script. The first scene shows two girls entering the palace with a mix of anticipation and fear, becoming the lowest-ranking concubines in the harem.
Shen Wangshu wore a simple, thin dress without any patterns. Due to her rank, she could only wear a small gold hairpin in her hair, making her look somewhat shabby and pitiful. However, her face could not be hidden by her poor clothes. Under a bright red palace flower in her temple, she exuded the most beautiful and enchanting charm.
She huddled trembling behind her best friend, her eyes reddening with fear. Those eyes, brimming with clear tears, only made her own shimmering gaze appear even more radiant. She trusted her friend who was protecting her.
She looked at her with admiration.
"Yuan Yuan," she called softly, a serene smile on her face.
Her eyes were clear and innocent, a stark contrast to her alluring beauty.
She gently rested her head against her friend's back, her soft, white hands gripping the hem of her dress tightly.
As she closed her eyes in peace, the seemingly frail yet strong, equally poor and thin girl in front of her seemed to sense her complete trust, slightly turning her head and revealing a gentle smile on her face.
She looked again at the concubines who were bullying them, and her gentle gaze slowly turned firm.
"Cut!" Song Yihe shouted, then watched the scene several times and smacked his lips.
He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Meng Fangfei was one thing, but Shen Wangshu gave him a huge surprise.
He had thought this nepotism hire had absolutely no acting skills, but he actually acted quite well, perfectly capturing the innocent and naive look in the eyes of the newly arrived imperial concubine.
He even stayed up late yesterday to watch a few episodes of "The Rich Mother-in-Law and the Rich Mom," thinking that this nepotism case would only portray him as a scheming vixen.
Innocent yet alluring, pure yet possessing boundless charm, this was the original Consort in Song Yihe's heart. Only with this initial scene could the later falling out between the sisters and the Consort's death at the hands of her friend be all the more tragic and desolate.
Director Song twisted his chubby body, hesitated for a moment, and muttered, "Something's weird." Of course it was weird, Shen Xuan looked at the two beautiful women leaning on each other in the camera with a livid face, his face so gloomy it could drip ink.
"It's not good-looking!" he commented.
"Is he an amateur?" In Director Song's mind, this was just a sucker who didn't understand art. He pretended not to hear it and waved it off.
The following scenes depict the power struggles among the concubines in the harem. Shen Wangshu, dressed in shabby clothes, hides behind Meng Fangfei. She is completely bewildered by the power struggles spoken by the high-ranking, luxurious concubines, because she cannot understand them and is not moved by their veiled words.
She mistook those hypocritical concubines for good people, naively believing that the harem wasn't as bad as people imagined. She was praised for her beauty, but only knew how to shyly hide behind her friends.
She wouldn't even humbly say, "Your Majesties are truly the most beautiful women in the world."
She couldn't see the displeasure and jealousy in the eyes of these concubines.
I envy her youthful beauty and her radiant charm.
Her friend half-hid her behind her, then turned around with a worried expression.
"Cut!" Director Song called for a halt again, silently replaying the scene from before.
The scene just now was an ensemble piece, and the infighting and backstabbing among the concubines in the harem were portrayed vividly. Their eyes and expressions were very well done. Even amidst this fierce competition, the concubine with connections still managed to shine, and she played the young concubine who was still full of naive fantasies about the harem when she first entered the palace very well.
Director Song stroked his chubby chin and watched for a while, then whispered, "Something seems off." The scene was perfect and went very smoothly, but he just felt that something was off.
"It doesn't look good!" Shen Xuan said coldly, still standing beside him with a stern face.
"..." Song Yihe firmly did not hear it and shouted, "It's over!" He looked up at the high-hanging sun and saw that it was noon, so he called for lunch.
There wasn't going to be a full-course banquet on set, so the crew ordered a bunch of boxed lunches and delivered them to everyone one by one. Shen Wangshu had a pretty good morning; she performed very well, and Meng Fangfei looked at her differently, realizing that she wasn't someone without talent who got in by paying money.
Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, Meng Fangfei knew why Shen Wangshu was previously unknown when she saw her stunning face. However, she had a high opinion of Shen Wangshu's acting skills, so she didn't care about the significant difference in their status and joined her to discuss the upcoming plot.
No one dislikes a person who works hard and diligently.
She was not stingy and pointed out Shen Wangshu's shortcomings one by one, without any intention of being self-righteous.
Because of this, Shen Wangshu and she became even closer.
Shen Xuan silently sat down next to Shen Wangshu, his gaze falling on the close proximity between Shen Wangshu and Meng Fangfei.
"By the way," Meng Fangfei said to Shen Wangshu, explaining the upcoming scenes. She seemed to have been enlightened by some of Shen Wangshu's brilliant insights, and her eyes shone even brighter.
She smiled at Shen Wangshu, then suddenly put her arm around Shen Wangshu's shoulder, pressing her face against hers. With her other hand, she magically pulled a cell phone out of her costume.
Shen Wangshu greeted the sudden flash of light with a professional smile and a peace sign.
"Well done!" On the narrow screen, two women dressed in the same simple palace attire, yet breathtakingly beautiful, leaned close together, revealing radiant smiles.
Although one is gentle and elegant, and the other is radiant and beautiful—completely different types—anyone who sees this photo can tell that the two share a very close friendship. Meng Fangfei clearly felt the same way, admiring the photo with satisfaction before quickly starting to edit it. A short while later, Shen Wangshu saw that she had uploaded the photo to Weibo.
“My family’s imperial concubine,” Meng Fangfei wrote proudly below.
Shen Wangshu chuckled, and then...
She heard a crisp sound suddenly come from Shen Xuan's hand beside her.
Two chopsticks fell to the ground, their heads separated from their bodies!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
