Consort Liang quickly said, "It was my slip of the tongue. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. But I was really scared. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty."
The Empress also disliked the female lead. As the Emperor's bedmate, she had no children and no favor, so she naturally disliked the Emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Su. However, as the Empress, she had to maintain a facade of impartiality.
"We still need to be careful."
"Your Majesty is right," said Consort Liang, sounding rather obsequious.
Next, under the aggressive influence of Consort Qiu, the female lead, Su Meiren, is about to be publicly humiliated, just like a naive and innocent flower.
Just as the nanny was about to slap him, the emperor entered.
The actor playing the emperor is quite young; it's a period drama, so naturally the male and female leads have to be beautiful.
When the male protagonist entered, he saw an old woman about to hit the person he loved most, and he was displeased and his face turned somewhat ugly.
Everyone rose and bowed, and only after the emperor sat down did they say, "Please sit down!"
The Empress took the lead and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor frowned as he looked at Consort Su kneeling below and asked the empress, "What's going on here?"
The Empress spoke up: "Your Majesty, I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Consort Wan was just found to be more than a month pregnant. She miscarried when she came to pay her respects today. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Consort Su was carrying a sachet. The imperial physician said that it would affect the fetus. Consort Wan's pregnancy didn't go well, so we asked Consort Su to tell the truth so that Consort Wan's unborn child could rest in peace."
Upon hearing this, the emperor frowned even more deeply. He did not believe that Consort Su would harm Consort Wan.
The reason is simple: Consort Su wouldn't let him touch her. Consort Su's family background wasn't high, but the emperor liked her. The emperor used tricks to get her into the palace, something that others were unaware of.
The emperor did not believe that a woman who did not care about him could impregnate one of his concubines; that was absolutely impossible.
So the emperor's first question was: "How did the empress verify this?"
The Empress recounted the events, and after listening, the Emperor angrily exclaimed, "This is utterly absurd! Investigate it again! Eunuch Li, you personally send someone to investigate!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eunuch Li was the emperor's chief eunuch, wielding considerable influence in the harem. His personal investigation naturally yielded the information the emperor desired.
At this moment, the expressions of the people in the hall varied.
A hint of disappointment flashed in the Empress's eyes. The Emperor was her husband, but this man had humiliated her in public and made her feel ashamed for the sake of a mere concubine. The Empress felt aggrieved!
Some of Consort Qiu and her entourage showed a hint of panic in their eyes, while others remained calm and composed.
A hint of understanding and interest flashed in the eyes of Consort Shu, played by You Qing.
Then comes the scene where Eunuch Li investigates, and Consort Qiu is exposed, begging for mercy from the Emperor.
"--Card"
"Okay, one more time."
Long takes can't be filmed all at once; you have to shoot several takes.
This small scene took almost an hour to film.
Youqing felt that filming was much more tiring than filming in ancient times, as she had to be constantly aware of the camera.
Next up is the scene with the male and female leads. The reason why Consort Qiu was investigated so easily by the emperor this time is partly due to the female lead, and partly due to the downfall of Consort Qiu's family.
Next comes the scene where the female lead is supposedly moved by what the male lead does, and it's said that she's starting to develop feelings for him.
The next scene for Youqing is at night, where Consort Shu talks to herself in front of the mirror, which is quite challenging.
After Youqing finished filming, the director shouted, "—Cut, we did some handcrafting today."
It was already 10:30 p.m., and by the time I removed my makeup and got home, it would be midnight.
On the way back, the director couldn't help but say to the assistant director, "How come Shu Youqing's whole demeanor has become so classical after she came back from her illness? She was already quite beautiful, and now her temperament has improved even more. When the final cut comes out, will people think that the emperor has something wrong with his eyes when he falls for the female lead?"
Meng Lin, who plays the female lead Su Meiren, is not easy to get along with. The reason why You Qing fell into the water last time was because she amazed many people during the makeup test, which made the female lead unhappy.
The assistant director sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. Meng Lin herself is not good enough. Can she blame others for being too outstanding? It's just a pity for the actress."
Don't be fooled by the fact that the director is usually the most powerful person on set. In reality, both the male and female leads have connections behind the scenes, and the director can't afford to offend any of them. He does want to direct high-quality dramas, but good scripts just don't come his way. He's good at directing historical romance dramas, and they've always had a market, but after directing them for so long, he himself feels they're too formulaic and he's gotten tired of them.
The director sighed and didn't say anything more.
Actually, Youqing's acting skills weren't that great; it was just that her years of experience allowed her to hold her own. Plus, this was a period drama, which she had personally experienced, and she had actually seen people like Consort Shu, so it was easier for her to portray the character.
That's why the director has the illusion that he has made great progress.
Youqing's situation on set wasn't particularly good. The female lead kept making things difficult for her, but they were all minor squabbles. She found it annoying, but now wasn't the time to break up. Instead, she collected a lot of juicy gossip about Meng Lin.
This kind of information can't be released casually. In the entertainment industry, you have to understand the rules. As for when it can be released, it will naturally be at an appropriate time.
Youqing stayed on set for nearly two months, but as an important supporting actress, she only received a bouquet of flowers. Naturally, she didn't get the treatment of a wrap party, as the crew still had to catch up on the schedule!
After leaving the film set, Youqing met her agent Anna at the company at noon. Anna was a very capable woman who looked to be in her early thirties, but was actually over forty.
Not only do female celebrities in the entertainment industry look young, but female agents also look young.
"You're here. Sit down. Here's a variety show and two scripts. Take a look."
She's a third- or fourth-tier actress, upright, young, and beautiful. She's nothing special under Anna, but she's still somewhat well-known in the entertainment industry. She's not short of acting opportunities, but the best ones never seem to come her way.
There were variety shows, of course, but Youqing glanced at them and immediately put them down. She didn't know much about the entertainment industry, and going on variety shows was too risky.
She then began to look through the two scripts.
Both are supporting roles. One is an ancient drama, and the other is a fantasy drama. The production is similar to the one that was just filmed. Popular young actors and actresses play the male and female leads, along with beautiful and eye-catching supporting actors, staging a love and hate drama.
To be honest, the script was completely unoriginal.
"Sister Anna, is there anything else?"
Anna raised an eyebrow: "What, not satisfied?"
"The second female lead in the fantasy drama is vicious and mindless, her intelligence is ridiculously low, just like in that ancient drama." It's not as good as the drama that just finished filming!
Anna said coldly, "You have no right to be picky. These are the few that are suitable for you for now, but if you want to audition, I have another opportunity."
Youqing asked, "What opportunity?"
"Director Zheng Qing is going to make a biography of An Ning, which requires a lot of female roles."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
