Chapter 39
Xu Ying stood between Tang Ningshuang and Du Jing in the group photo.
She didn't want to go, but Tang Ningshuang and Du Jing were too enthusiastic towards her. When it came time to take photos, the two of them pulled her to the middle. In addition, Zhou Xingyun and Luo Ying were cheering her on from outside, so she just stood there.
The photos were taken quickly, and everyone dispersed to start working again afterward.
Unexpectedly, after the post was published online, many people left comments in the comment section of the official Weibo account of "Empress Wu Zetian", asking who the actress standing in the middle was, and everyone subconsciously thought that she was the female lead of the drama.
When the staff member in charge of the official Weibo account saw the inquiry, they casually replied: "He's not an actor, he's our screenwriter, Eryuetian."
!
What? !
Netizens who saw this message were shocked, confused, and incredulous. They immediately took a screenshot of the message and uploaded it, along with the group photo, back to the Taxue Forum.
Before long, all sorts of sensationalist headlines appeared on the Ta Xue forum, and countless netizens who enjoyed chatting on the forum also chimed in immediately.
-You're telling me this is February?!
- February, you have such beauty, entering the entertainment industry...
-Dear Daddy, my beautiful Daddy, are you really my Daddy?
At first, I really thought she was the female lead in this drama, but it turns out she's not an actress but a screenwriter!
-This woman is much better looking than some female writer who gained fame through marketing her beauty.
Who are you talking about?
Praise someone when you want, but bringing up other people's topics will be considered inflammatory, thank you.
These days, you can't even speak the truth? So what if your sister is ugly? If you love your sister, please love all of her, instead of just standing here and silencing her like a stranger. Thank you.
-Holy crap, did you guys notice who's next to Er Yuetian? Isn't that Tang Ningshuang?
-It can't be Tang Ningshuang, can it? Didn't she retire from the entertainment industry a long time ago?
-They've just faded into obscurity, they haven't left the industry.
I checked the official Weibo account and confirmed that it is indeed Tang Ningshuang; the production team has even tagged her in the post.
- Based on this positioning, Tang Ningshuang should be the female lead, right? She's standing next to the screenwriter. And the male actor on the other side of February Sky, could he be the male lead?
- Seriously, where did they find these nobodies? I don't recognize a single one of them.
Whether she's a flop or not isn't important; what's important is that Tang Ningshuang has a ton of scandals, she's both unpopular and wicked. The production team should at least find someone with decent character to play the lead role.
-I don't understand, there are so many good actors in the entertainment industry, why do they have to use her?
......
When Tang Ningshuang was mentioned, netizens on the forum immediately got excited, not only sharing her scandals with passersby, but also sending angry comments to the drama's comment section.
- Replace the female lead, otherwise this show will be blacklisted.
-resist.
- Terrible production team, terrible casting.
Why look for actors in a garbage dump? There are so many film schools; you could just grab a couple of newcomers and they'd be better than this.
-Or let the screenwriter do it, she's quite good-looking too.
Hahahaha!
Am I the only one who thinks Tang Ningshuang is beautiful? Regardless of her character, her face is absolutely flawless!
- I vomited.
-I'm a fan of Shuangfen (a popular Chinese actress), and I want to say that all the negative rumors online are fake. My sister is just too kind-hearted, which is why the company is targeting her. Those rumors were actually released by the company to slander my sister!
Did the person upstairs graduate from elementary school?
- So you blame the management company when something goes wrong? That's hilarious.
- We're tired of the same old tricks of fans trying to whitewash their idols; let's try something fresh.
This show is hopeless.
It's fine to watch it for fun, but I won't watch the show.
- Add one.
......
The comment section for the TV series "Empress Wu Zetian" is in complete chaos.
Netizens have gone from criticizing the female lead for being bad, to complaining about the male lead's lack of talent, and then to accusing the screenwriter of sensationalism and deliberately using a pig's head for entertainment purposes... The entire cast and crew have been criticized one after another, and it's fair to say that "Wu Zetian" is now completely worthless in their eyes.
The staff were numb.
He was just out busy for a while, so why did the official Weibo comment section look so unfamiliar when he came back?!
He hurriedly grabbed his phone and went to find the producer.
Producer Zhou Xingyun was still on set. When the staff came to find her, she was standing next to Xu Ying talking. Upon hearing the staff's report, she turned her head and made eye contact with Xu Ying.
Xu Ying raised her eyebrows slightly.
She had anticipated this situation when she decided to use Tang Ningshuang, so neither of them panicked.
Zhou Xingyun even said directly, "It's okay, just continue to release the production team's promotional materials as usual, and pretend you don't see these comments."
As long as the quality of the TV series is good enough, these rumors will fall apart on their own, and she is more confident than anyone else about the quality of the TV series.
"Okay," the staff member said, and left.
Zhou Xingyun then returned to the previous topic.
"Now I understand why you wanted to talk to the costume designer alone. Putting everything else aside, just look at the actress's clothes and styling. When the drama airs, it's sure to be a hit. It's so beautiful!"
Xu Ying communicated with the stylist based on the styling of the ladies in her previous life's paintings.
Although the stylist had a tough time with her in the early stages, the result was gratifying. The costumes that the stylist painstakingly recreated looked stunning on the actress.
Especially Tang Ningshuang.
Her hair was styled in a high bun, her face adorned with floral decorations, and she wore a crimson top and a green skirt with floral patterns, with a purple shawl draped over her shoulders. When she appeared in her Tang Dynasty palace attire, everyone in the crew was immediately stunned.
Stunningly beautiful and magnificent.
Perhaps only such a person, such an era, could create an empress.
Zhou Xingyun has a lot of confidence in the production team now.
Xu Ying smiled but didn't say anything.
She and Zhou Xingyun stood next to the director and watched the actors perform for a while. She found that the actors were quite good at acting, so she felt relieved.
"You stay here, I need to go back to the hotel first."
Although she is the screenwriter of this drama, now that the production team has a director and a producer, there is no need for her, as a screenwriter, to stay here all the time.
Most importantly, she had been busy revising the script and auditioning actors recently, and had already used up all the drafts of "The Great Tang Female Painter".
The daily updates she maintains are all written by her on the same day.
She should focus on her novel.
Zhou Xingyun didn't think much of it, and hummed in agreement, asking, "Sure, when are you coming?"
Xu Ying thought for a moment: "The day after tomorrow."
She'll take a break these next couple of days and work on her drafts. If possible, she'll also invite Fuyou and Qingfeng out for a meal.
"Um?"
Zhou Xingyun was shocked.
She thought Xu Ying was just tired and needed to rest when she said she was going back, and that she would come over in the afternoon after she was rested. Who knew that she would actually postpone the trip until the day after tomorrow.
"Is there a problem? I'm the screenwriter. The script has been handed over to you. What impact will it have if I don't come here every day?"
That's the logic.
"Alright, then come visit more often when you have time!"
After spending a short time together, Zhou Xingyun had already realized that Xu Ying was a very intelligent and opinionated person. She was the one who chose the actors in the crew and made the final decision on the costumes for the roles. Although she was no longer needed to do anything, she felt very at ease when she was on set.
"They're gone."
Xu Ying waved and went back.
*
Back at the hotel, Xu Ying took out her laptop and started typing.
The main storyline of "The Great Tang Female Painter" is almost over. It has been serialized up to the point where the female protagonist paints for the last meritorious official of Lingyan Pavilion, Qin Shubao, who was mentioned earlier as being as famous as Yuchi Jingde.
Qin Shubao had already passed away at that time.
Yan Huaijin could only refer to the descriptions of his family and the portraits left behind when she painted his portrait. Just as she was racking her brains over the portrait of Qin Shubao, a major event occurred in the capital.
Crown Prince Li Chengqian was deposed.
Upon hearing the news, Yan Huaijin paused in his grip on the pen.
What was bound to happen has finally happened.
The Crown Prince plotted a rebellion, which enraged Emperor Taizong. He issued an edict to depose Crown Prince Li Chengqian and reduce him to a commoner. He also executed Hou Junji and other people who had failed to assist him. Various rumors spread outside the palace, and for a time, the people lived in fear.
Hou Junji is dead...
He was also one of the twenty-four meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion personally conferred by Emperor Taizong. Yan Huaijin had just finished painting his portrait not long ago, and yet he died so suddenly.
Yan Huaijin stood there, stunned.
She couldn't remember everything. Before being commissioned to paint, she hadn't paid much attention to Hou Junji, and she even had a bad impression of him due to stereotypes.
But after all, he was a living, breathing person who was joking with himself just last month, but now he's been sentenced to death.
Life is unpredictable.
Yan Huaijin suddenly thought of the King of Wu. Recently, the King of Wu had been frequently inviting her out, either to watch Cuju (ancient Chinese football) or to play Pitch-pot. He was interested in her, and she actually liked him a little too.
However, she didn't know how to break the King of Wu's deadly trap.
Yan Huaijin was melancholy.
When Yan Liben returned home, he saw his daughter looking dejected. He asked with concern, "What's wrong? Were you frightened by what happened outside?"
The current situation in the court is tense, and the people are also becoming increasingly anxious.
"No, I was thinking about how to marry the King of Wu into our family, and how our children could take your surname."
Upon hearing this, Yan Liben smacked his daughter on the head: "Outrageous talk, utterly outrageous talk!"
"Wouldn't it be better if the child took your surname?"
Yan Huaijin's unreasonable and argumentative behavior successfully angered his father to the point of jumping up and down.
"Is this some kind of matter about whose surname the child should take? That's a prince! How dare you so audaciously try to... to take him away..."
Yan Liben simply couldn't bring himself to say the word "marry."
Yan Huaijin had amused others, but it had improved her own mood. She grinned and made a face: "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to find my mother."
......
Xu Ying sat in front of the computer until dark, writing four chapters in one go. One of them was published today, and the remaining three are her drafts.
Having three chapters saved up meant she would have time to go out and meet up with someone tomorrow. Without hesitation, she sent a message directly to the three-person group chat.
February Sky: Do you have time tomorrow? Let's meet up.
Qingfeng: I have time.
Mayfly: That's plenty of time.
Mayfly: I know you're busy, I've been waiting for you to say this.
Qingfeng: We saw your photos online. Are you the one holding the flowers in the middle of that group photo?
February Sky: That's me.
Mayfly: You're not bad looking, are you?
February Sky: I originally wanted to surprise you guys by meeting you in person, but who knew it would be exposed ahead of time, what a pity.
Mayfly: Hahahahahaha.
Mayfly: Do you know what Qingfeng and I look like?
There are actually photos of mayflies and gentle breezes online, but Xu Ying has never actively searched for them, so she really doesn't know.
February Sky: I don't know...
Mayfly: It's good that you don't know. Just wait and see how amazing Qingfeng and I are to you.
February Sky: Let's wait and see.
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