Shang Yechu arrived at the audition venue.
The audition was held in the audition room at Hengshi Film and Television Base. When Shang Yechu walked outside the audition room, she only saw a dozen or so actors waiting there. Some were standing, some were sitting, and none of them had a number tag in their hands.
A dozen or so actors may seem like a lot, but considering Zheng Bohan's fame, it's actually not that many.
Without exception, everyone present was a female celebrity. This is normal, because the drama they were auditioning for was a palace intrigue drama.
Upon seeing "The Legend of Qingyun," Shang Yechu's long-forgotten memories were finally awakened.
The year she entered the entertainment industry, there was indeed a very popular palace drama called "The Legend of Qingyun". When this drama was airing, Shang Yechu was busy making a living and didn't have time to watch it, so naturally she didn't remember it.
At the time, another drama was airing at the same time as "The Legend of Qingyun". Coincidentally, this drama had the same theme as "The Legend of Qingyun"—both were palace intrigue dramas. Crowded in the summer season, they aired episode after episode, essentially competing head-to-head.
Even more coincidentally, the drama was titled "Yun Qing Ji"!
Judging from the similarity in their names, it's hard to say that the producers of "Yun Qing Ji" didn't do it intentionally. After all, "Qing Yun Zhuan" had a high budget and a star-studded cast. From the start of filming, they built up hype, whetting the audience's appetite. Not only did they have A-list stars, but even the minor roles, like the eunuchs, were at least third-tier actors. Its popularity far surpassed all other dramas airing at the same time.
As for "Yun Qing Ji"... to be honest, apart from the female lead and Zheng Bohan being somewhat famous, even the male lead is practically unknown in the entertainment industry. Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he would have to say that ten versions of "Yun Qing Ji" wouldn't be as popular as one version of "Qing Yun Zhuan".
This blatant attempt to piggyback on someone else's popularity was met with unanimous contempt from netizens, and even fans of the drama "Yun Qing Ji" were considered inferior at the time. The two fan groups fought fiercely on various platforms, almost obliterating the main thoroughfare.
The spectacle was comparable to the American Civil War. Many passersby joked that if two fans of the drama "Cloud" met on a narrow road, they would probably point revolvers at each other and demand, "Which 'Cloud' are you referring to? The 'Cloud' of 'Qingyun' or the 'Cloud' of 'Yunqing'?"
Shang Yechu hadn't watched "The Legend of Qingyun," but after having some spare money and time, she did watch a few episodes of "The Tale of Yunqing." Because the latter had fewer episodes and a shorter runtime, it was suitable for Shang Yechu to fill her limited free time.
But what truly impressed Shang Yechu about this drama was not the plot, but the controversies surrounding it.
Not long after "Yun Qing Ji" aired, the official Weibo account of "Qing Yun Zhuan" personally stepped in to accuse "Yun Qing Ji" of plagiarism and infringement!
Plagiarism accusations are not baseless. The official Weibo account of "Qingyun Biography" extracted lines and plots from both dramas and created numerous comparison images and color palettes.
Netizens quickly jumped in, and after seeing what the official Weibo account of "Qingyun Biography" posted—wow, it actually looks quite convincing! Many plot points, lines, and details of the two dramas are remarkably similar!
Netizens dug deeper and discovered that "Qingyun Biography" and "Yunqing Chronicle" actually started filming on the same day!
Who plagiarized whom? This is a pointed question. So many similarities cannot be a coincidence. Since the official team of "Qingyun Biography" is so confident in personally accusing others, then it is most likely that "Yunqing Ji" plagiarized.
The production team of "Yun Qing Ji" has also adopted an ambiguous stance, neither clarifying nor admitting anything. They've simply dragged things out, giving off a sense of laissez-faire. This passive approach has naturally been interpreted by netizens as a sign of guilt.
Just as accusations of plagiarism against "Yun Qing Ji" were raging, the official team behind "Qing Yun Zhuan" stepped in again, releasing part of the script and the creation date of the script.
Three years ago!
"The Legend of Qingyun" is an S-level masterpiece meticulously crafted by Rongding Entertainment over three years, with dozens of screenwriters involved in the scriptwriting alone. Every word and sentence has been carefully considered. There's absolutely no need to worry about it being a low-quality, poorly made production!
This move was like a thunderbolt, instantly convincing the wavering audience and netizens.
Netizens flocked to the official Weibo account of "Yun Qing Ji," demanding that the production team also provide the original script's creation date. Unsurprisingly, "Yun Qing Ji" couldn't produce a script older than three years, not even a single page of draft. Furthermore, rumors circulated that "Yun Qing Ji" only took three months from creation to filming.
Now it's clear which work copied which.
From then on, "Yun Qing Ji" was completely nailed to the pillar of shame for plagiarism, and its fans were so oppressed that they couldn't lift their heads. For a period of time, if someone was found to have plagiarized, netizens would greet them with this phrase: "Qingqing, your stuff is good, I'm leaving."
Unaware of the situation, Shang Yechu casually remarked online that "The Tale of Clouds is quite good," only to be relentlessly attacked and insulted by netizens.
This incident left a deep impression on Shang Yechu. Therefore, as soon as she saw "Qingyun Biography", Shang Yechu immediately recalled the terror of being besieged by netizens in her previous life.
Based on what Jiang Lei said on the phone that day... it seems that the drama Zheng Bohan is going to film is "Yun Qing Ji".
Shang Yechu had a bit of a headache.
No artist wants to be associated with the word "plagiarism." Without knowing the full story, "Yun Qing Ji" is at best a poorly made pie; considering the troubles it might cause in the future, it's just a hot potato.
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