Don’t Want a Divorce (11)
She didn’t seem so annoying anymore.
“Ahhhh, Jiaojiao, come quickly and look!”
In the hotel, room 1808.
Xu Jiao was taking a bath in the bathroom, while Ni Hong was outside helping her pack. She took the clothes to be washed to the laundry room on the floor, retrieved the clothes that were drying by the air conditioning vent, folded them neatly, and either put them in the closet or back in the suitcase.
In the meantime, Ni Hong was also using her phone, checking the feedback from drama fans on Weibo. She originally intended to pick some good comments to read to Xu Jiao, but unfortunately, except for the overwhelming praise from Feng Jiao Ri Nuan fans for Xu Jiao’s costume photos, the rest were various criticisms from haters, and even passersby seemed indifferent.
But Ni Hong didn’t expect that while scrolling, she would come across a still from the drama, and it was of Qi Yunshang and Rong Qing!
Ni Hong was still savoring the thrilling plot from that picture when she suddenly saw a new Weibo post from her special follow “Feng Qingyu.” She clicked in casually, and then—
That led to her previous exclamation!
Xu Jiao didn’t hear much of what came after, only the scream from outside. She thought something had happened, instinctively raised her hand to turn off the water, and the dripping sound stopped instantly. Her voice, coming through the frosted glass, had a distorted echo:
“Sister Hong, what’s wrong?”
Ni Hong came over and leaned against the frosted glass door, unable to suppress her excitement through the door crack: “Do you know what just happened? Feng Qingyu reposted a still from the drama! A still of Noble Consort Rong and the Empress! And she added a caption! Guess what she said!”
The glass door was pulled open from the inside. Xu Jiao, wrapped in a towel, was drying her hair. Water droplets clung to her wrist, and her eyes were clear and bright, like they’d been washed clean. She came out with the steamy warmth of the bathroom.
As if she hadn’t heard Ni Hong’s earlier excitement, Xu Jiao calmly focused on the main point: “What still?”
Ni Hong: “?”
Ni Hong: “Is this the time to ask about the still? Shouldn’t you be curious about what Feng Qingyu added when she reposted it?”
Xu Jiao paused for a second. Seeing the eagerness written all over Ni Hong’s otherwise unremarkable face, she slowly exhaled and asked, “Oh, what did she say?”
Ni Hong: “…” Suddenly, she didn’t feel like talking anymore.
Like a balloon pricked by a needle, Ni Hong’s earlier excitement vanished. She returned to her normal tone and pushed Feng Qingyu’s Weibo page in front of Xu Jiao, weakly continuing:
“Here, just this.”
Xu Jiao saw the phrase “My Noble Consort,” and her eyebrows raised slightly. Ni Hong noticed her reaction and felt a little excited herself, thinking she would see Xu Jiao’s delighted expression the next second.
But then…
Xu Jiao’s raised eyebrows slowly lowered again.
She nodded and confirmed with Ni Hong, “Just this?”
Ni Hong: “…”
Seeing that Ni Hong didn’t seem to have any other news to share, Xu Jiao bypassed her, walked into the room, picked up her phone from the bedside, and logged into Weibo to perform a polite engagement.
Actress Xu Jiao: “My Empress @ Film Crew 《The Palace Wall Willows》 [Picture]”
After the prompt indicating the successful repost appeared, Ni Hong, who was still standing in a daze by the bathroom door, suddenly snapped out of it, as if someone had pressed her reboot button, and rushed towards Xu Jiao—
“Are you serious? You’re actually suppressing your happiness on purpose, aren’t you? If I remember correctly, this is the first time Feng Qingyu has cooperated in interacting with you! The first time! What does this mean?”
“It means that the first step is always the hardest, but we’ve finally taken that first step in this long march. Maybe she’s already changed her opinion of you, been attracted by your charm, or perhaps mesmerized by your acting skills. Regardless, our long-term strategy has made a breakthrough. You should be excited!”
Caught off guard, Xu Jiao was grabbed by the shoulders by Ni Hong, who pushed her face close, trying to make Xu Jiao see her determined eyes. Xu Jiao leaned her neck back, raised her hand, and pressed down on Ni Hong’s wrist.
“Sister Hong.”
She said, “Calm down. Feng Qingyu is just cooperating with the film crew to create buzz. Don’t overthink it.”
Ni Hong’s head, which had been heated by excitement, cooled down slightly. She looked at Xu Jiao with half-belief, “Really?”
……
Facing Luo Bo’s cautious gaze, Feng Qingyu smiled and gave a confirmation.
Luo Bo breathed a sigh of relief and put her heart back into her stomach. She thought so; although Xu Sajiao’s acting skills have indeed been impressive lately, Sister Yu had always treated her like a venomous snake before. It’s impossible for her to change her attitude so quickly.
Although Luo Bo hadn’t spent much time with Feng Qingyu, she always knew that, despite Feng Qingyu’s gentle appearance, she had a strong set of principles at her core. Her personality was typically “soft on the outside, firm on the inside.” It was very difficult for someone to make her like them, and equally difficult to make her dislike them.
But once someone made her dislike them, that person was basically on Feng Qingyu’s “blacklist” of friends, and Feng Qingyu would never want to have any unnecessary interactions with them in this lifetime.
Conversely…
Once she liked someone,
It would also be deeply ingrained.
After Luo Bo left the room, Feng Qingyu lowered her eyes and looked at herself on the dark phone screen, meeting her own gaze that appeared deep and affectionate but actually had very little emotional fluctuation behind it.
She repeated Luo Bo’s question in her heart:
Is it really just to cooperate with the crew for promotion?
Before, you clearly hated being tied together with Xu Jiao for hype, so why now, before she has even clung to you, have you suddenly taken the initiative to get close?
Feng Qingyu did not hear a voice answering in her heart. After a moment of blank silence, she moved the fingertips of her right hand, using her fingerprint to unlock the phone again. After the sound of water droplets, the Weibo page returned to the screen.
That gorgeous and beautiful still from the drama once again came into her view.
In the still, Xu Jiao’s gaze towards her was full of affection and infatuation. In the drama, she could always handle emotions so appropriately—too much would be explicit, too little would be superficial—leading Zhen Tiao to constantly praise her for her thorough understanding of the character.
Feng Qingyu seriously looked at Xu Jiao’s eyes when she was in character, and suddenly recalled her recent demeanor towards her off-screen. Those eyes were clear and clean, like a mountain stream flowing over rounded stones.
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Polite, courteous, but devoid of affection and infatuation.
Undoubtedly, Xu Jiao clearly distinguished between on-screen and off-screen. Before Feng Qingyu even noticed, her nominal wife had gradually become like the person she used to respect the most.
Professional, able to endure hardships.
On the first day of shooting, Xu Jiao soaked with her in that cold water pool for several hours without uttering a word of complaint about the hardship or fatigue. During several retakes or additional takes, Feng Qingyu could feel that when she was pressed against the cold pool wall, Xu Jiao’s body had a momentary slight tremble.
But Xu Jiao forcefully used her rationality to control that kind of trembling.
Because when a person is cold, they use continuous small tremors to get their muscles moving, thereby generating a large amount of heat to maintain this energy consumption. Once they start shaking and warm up, it’s hard to stop later, as the body will become dependent on this warmth.
Feng Qingyu, who looked slender but surpassed an Omega in terms of both body structure and muscle content, soaked in that cold water for several hours and later felt she could hardly bear it. Now thinking back, she simply didn’t know how Xu Jiao managed to endure it at that time.
As she was recalling these things, she suddenly heard a “beep” sound in the quiet bedroom.
She raised her head in the direction of the sound and saw that on the wall-mounted central air conditioner instrument, an exclamation mark had appeared in the pheromone concentration detection column at some point, indicating that the current value had exceeded the standard.
Now, homes and hotels are equipped with such detection instruments that automatically connect to ventilation devices to avoid the intense pheromone smells during an Alpha’s susceptible period or an Omega’s heat period from causing any terrible chain reactions.
After all—
It’s well known that an unmarked Omega in heat emits a pheromone concentration that can drive all Alphas who smell it crazy, even leading to some serious violent incidents.
Feng Qingyu stared at the exclamation mark on the device for a while, then turned off her phone again and placed it to the side. She then pulled back the quilt, lay down, and closed her eyes, thinking:
It’s just that the susceptible period hasn’t passed yet.
It’s not because she has any special thoughts about Xu Jiao.
However, the current Xu Jiao indeed made her see her in a new light, at least… she didn’t seem so annoying anymore.
……
Shangguan Yan came to the set.
The next morning, the lead actors had just arrived at the set and were still having breakfast when they heard the news from Director Zhen. Fortunately, Shangguan Yan was not a pretentious person and did not require everyone to halt the progress and collectively welcome him. After a brief moment of tension, everyone continued with their respective duties.
Among the important actors, Xu Jiao had the lowest status but did not feel particularly nervous. Firstly, she was not an actress under Yantian Entertainment, and secondly, the most appropriate attitude towards the boss from the investor side was to act sincerely and make him feel that casting her in this role was not a loss.
She was contemplating today’s scenes.
This scene involved Rong Qing seizing the opportunity of a courtesy visit to go to the Empress’s Chang Le Palace to question her on why she opposed her in the selection.
“Prepare for the next scene!” The assistant director clapped his hands, notifying Xu Jiao and Feng Qingyu to get ready for filming.
Xu Jiao put down the script, having formed some ideas in her mind, and habitually nodded and smiled at Feng Qingyu before walking towards the camera position.
Shangguan Yan arrived at the set at this moment.
An assistant followed behind him. Lu Xun and others, who had just finished shooting, smiled at him and were about to greet him when they saw him gesture for silence. He then walked behind Zhen Tiao to watch the monitor screen.
Zhen Tiao, when working, paid no attention to others. He did not lift his head or care who came as long as they did not disturb him, he would not look.
The assistant quietly moved a chair over and placed it behind Shangguan Yan, allowing him to sit comfortably and watch.
Not long after—
“Scene 5, shot 1, take 1 of 《The Palace Wall Willows》! Action!” The sound of the clapperboard was crisp.
……
Chang Le Palace, by the brightly lit carved window lattice.
Qi Yunshang was pounding something in a large stone bowl with a heavy stone pestle. She wore a plain stone-blue everyday dress, which not only did not make her look dull but rather gave her a unique aura like that of mountain orchids, calming the hearts of anyone who laid their eyes on her.
The light outside the window was blocked by the high eaves, softening as it filtered in, falling on her side and rendering the outermost layer of her stone-blue gauze dress very exquisite, faintly revealing the subtle patterns sewn with silver thread.
The color of her dress, under this light, gradually shifted from a bright light blue to a jade green.
Rong Qing had just entered when her gaze was immediately drawn to the person by the window. Qi Yunshang, standing sideways by the window, looked like a painting—serene and gentle, as if all the worldly clamor should stay far away, with only the wisps of light smoke from the incense burner on the table tracing her figure.
“Noble Consort! The Empress is still resting, this is the Empress’s bedchamber, you cannot barge in…”
A palace maid, who had been blocked by Rong Qing’s maid, hurried over, her voice anxious but quickly subdued when she saw the Empress by the window. She lowered her head respectfully.
Hearing the commotion, Qi Yunshang looked to her side. Shui Lan, the head palace maid who had been with her since she entered the palace, understood her intention, bowed slightly, and said aloud, “All of you, follow me out.”
The serving palace maids obeyed her instructions and filed out of the hall. As they passed Rong Qing, they silently bowed to her. Rong Qing also turned to her close aide and said, “You go out too.”
Shui Lan and Rong Qing’s close aide were among the few in the palace who knew about her relationship with the Empress. After stepping out, they closed the door behind them and kept watch outside.
Qi Yunshang put down the stone pestle in her hand and gave Rong Qing a faint smile: “Today I have exempted all the palaces from paying respects. What brings you here, Noble Consort?”
Rong Qing wanted to say something, but her throat moved as her gaze fixed on the edge of the stone bowl, where she saw freshly picked, beautiful large balsam flowers, red and blue, with extremely vivid colors.
There was no doubt that Qi Yunshang was pounding balsam flower juice.
The words from Rong Qing, who had come in a huff, instantly turned into: “Such a trivial task could be left to the servants. Unless these flowers are made of gold, is it really necessary for the Empress to handle it personally?”
Qi Yunshang, knowing Rong Qing’s temper, understood that she was sulking about the selection of new concubines. She beckoned her over, but Rong Qing stood still.
Qi Yunshang smiled, her tone so gentle it seemed it could drip water: “Although the flowers are not precious, the juice has to be used on someone precious. Naturally, it requires careful handling, and I am unwilling to entrust it to others.”
Rong Qing let out a sarcastic laugh, “I would like to know, which unparalleled beauty is the Empress planning to win over? Going to such great lengths, aren’t you afraid of wearing yourself out?”
Qi Yunshang quietly met her gaze from a distance.
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One stood by the window, the other at the hall entrance.
After a long standoff, Qi Yunshang sighed first and took the initiative to walk toward Rong Qing, reaching out to pull her wrist hanging by her side. At first, she didn’t budge, until Qi Yunshang softly said:
“Let me take a look. I noticed earlier that the color on the edge of your nail had chipped, and I’ve been thinking of touching it up for you.”
Rong Qing’s fingertips moved, and the strength she had insisted on earlier suddenly seemed to be drawn away. She involuntarily raised her hand following the Empress’s movement, but her mouth still did not relent: “Really? Aren’t your eyes glued to those young ladies, praising their good looks one moment and their graceful figures the next? Yet you still had the time to notice this small Noble Consort of yours?”
Qi Yunshang pulled her toward the window. Hearing these words, she felt a faint pain in her heart, but her face still smiled: “Alright, you know I can’t outtalk you. Noble Consort, with your magnanimity, please spare me.”
“Besides, in this palace, who else but my Noble Consort Rong could match this bright red color?”
Rong Qing heard the phrase ‘my Noble Consort Rong,’ and the corners of her lips lifted slightly but she tried hard to suppress it, “Magnanimity? Everyone in the palace knows that I hold grudges and am petty. Magnanimity is not a word that…”
At this moment, Qi Yunshang suddenly leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
In an instant, she kissed away the rest of Rong Qing’s words.
Seeing this, Qi Yunshang’s eyes filled with a smile. She picked up a flower and tucked it into Rong Qing’s hair, pursed her lips, and praised: “Our Noble Consort looks even more beautiful than the flower when she is quiet.”
Rong Qing: “…”
Knowing that Qi Yunshang’s words were not a genuine compliment, she angrily raised her hand to pluck the flower but was reluctant to throw it away. She gently squeezed it in her hand, glared at Qi Yunshang for a while, and softened her voice:
“Sister.”
A rare hint of pleading appeared in Rong Qing’s eyes, and her posture lowered as well, like she was acting spoiled, yet also like she was pleading: “Please don’t let those women into the palace anymore, alright?”
“Nowadays, your health is not good, and the Emperor is fickle. If there are more of those women, inevitably someone will conceive before you. If your child is not the Emperor’s eldest son, how many bastards in the future will threaten your position?”
“Just listen to me for once, Sister, keep your kindness for yourself, alright?”
Qi Yunshang looked at the pleading in her eyes, and her gaze met Rong Qing’s with a complex expression.
After a long while, she sighed softly: “Nannan, I am the Empress, and I am also a member of the Qi family, do you understand?”
Rong Qing shook her head: “I don’t want to hear those stories of virtue and kindness. I only know that from ancient times till now, women in this palace without offspring always have a hard time—Sister, I want you to always be the most noble woman in Da Yan, now as the Empress, and later as the Empress Dowager. Even a hundred years later… I want you to be worshipped in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for ten thousand generations.”
A trace of bitterness appeared at the corner of Qi Yunshang’s lips. She raised her hand and gently touched Rong Qing’s hair bun, her movements tender, protecting the girl she loved the most.
She spoke words that Rong Qing couldn’t understand for the moment: “…I bear the surname Qi.”
Then, she smiled and said, let’s not talk about this anymore.
Qi Yunshang pulled Rong Qing closer, gently took off her nail guards, carefully painted her nails, and dared not wrap them up, just blew on them to make sure the color dried completely.
Rong Qing watched her movements and suggested: “Sister, later, let me paint yours too.”
Qi Yunshang steadied her fingertips and smiled gently and softly: “I don’t use red, no rush.”
……
“Cut!”
Director Zhen shouted to stop, giving them both an “OK” hand gesture, indicating that the previous scene was done in one take.
Next were the individual parts for Xu Jiao and Feng Qingyu.
Feng Qingyu had to perform the part where, after Rong Qing leaves, she mixes the red flower juice into the blue, turning it into purple, including her conversation with the head palace maid, Shui Lan.
Shui Lan asked her, “Your Majesty never liked painting your nails, why the sudden interest?”
Qi Yunshang smiled faintly and said, “I originally didn’t like it, but when the person you like likes it, you start to like it too.”
Shui Lan then asked, “Then does Your Majesty like the color purple?”
Qi Yunshang shook her head and did not say more.
As for Xu Jiao’s part as Rong Qing…
It was about Rong Qing returning to Jinxiu Palace afterward.
In the evening, she gently blew on her nails and gazed at them under the candlelight for a long time. In her other hand, she held a balsam flower picked from the Imperial Garden, simply because today the Empress had praised her, saying she was more beautiful than the flower.
She sweetly reminisced in her heart about the words exchanged with the Empress. Suddenly, her thoughts paused, and she summoned her confidant: “What is the significance of the surname Qi?”
The confidant answered her blankly: “The Qi family is a prominent surname in our dynasty. Their ancestors followed Emperor Yan to conquer the world, and now, they are the first non-royal family to be granted the title of King in our Yan dynasty.”
Rong Qing murmured, repeating: “A non-royal granted the title of King, holding military power… if they achieve military merit, there will be no further titles to grant…”
As she muttered, her eyes slowly widened.
“Your Majesty?” the confidant called her, confused.
The hand holding the flower unknowingly clenched it tightly at some point, and the juice from the bright red petals was squeezed out, seeping into her palm, making it sticky.
But Rong Qing did not notice at all.
She muttered to herself, as if possessed: “So that’s how it is…”
In the black pupils reflected by the candlelight, tears suddenly welled up. Rong Qing crushed the flower in her hand, and the bright red flower juice oozed from between her fingers, like blood, staining her pale white fingertips red.
The blood-red color spread at her fingertips.
Rong Qing closed her eyes and said through gritted teeth: “I was wrong, I was mistaken, I actually said those things to my sister…”
“Your Majesty!” Her confidant maid, seeing her overwhelmed with rage and about to faint, hurriedly supported her.
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Rong Qing forced her eyes open, tears falling from the corners of her eyes into her hair. She smiled a smile uglier than crying, holding her confidant’s hand, the red also staining the other’s palm. However, neither of them cared about this. Rong Qing called softly: “Ah Ya.”
She tightly gripped the other’s hand, her nails seemingly about to dig into the palm: “The Emperor has no intention of letting my sister become pregnant. He doesn’t want my sister to conceive at all. What should I do…”
……
The filming went on until after ten o’clock at night.
Shangguan Yan watched the entire scene through the monitor with Zhen Tiao and was somewhat surprised to find that Xu Jiao’s performance was even better than during the audition.
This was something he had not expected.
He moved his gaze away from the monitor and looked at Feng Qingyu, noticing that her eyes were fixed on Xu Jiao. Suddenly, he had a bad premonition, like the prey he had set his sights on was trying to escape before falling into the trap.
“Everyone worked hard filming today. Let me treat everyone to a late-night snack to relax a bit. Director Zhen, what do you think?”
Everyone who was preparing to wrap up heard Shangguan Yan’s words.
Zhen Tiao checked the last shot one more time and then relaxed back into his chair. Seeing the eager anticipation in the eyes of those around him, he did not have the heart to dampen their spirits and said with a smile: “Great, thanks to the big boss for the invite. Let’s quickly wrap up and head to the dinner!”
“Alright!”
“Yay!”
“Thank you, boss!”
The voices in the crew rose and fell, sweeping away the fatigue from work.
……
Half an hour later—
Shangguan Yan raised his wine glass, pretending to look at the wine, but through the transparent wall of the glass, he was actually watching Feng Qingyu across from him. Feng Qingyu was tilting her head, her gaze fixed on Lu Xun next to Xu Jiao, because at this moment, Lu Xun was pouring red wine for Xu Jiao and chatting with her about the film with a smile.
Just as Lu Xun was about to raise his glass and clink it with Xu Jiao’s, Feng Qingyu made a move, and Shangguan Yan also took action.