Don’t Want a Divorce (16)
“Going crazy.”
Qi Yunshang had always been physically weaker than others since childhood. Her parents couldn’t bear to see her wield weapons like her brother, and they never let her touch those things. But the long spear that every Qi family member had already stood firmly in Qi Yunshang’s heart.
Now, she also wanted to protect the people she wished to protect.
Rong Qing wanted her to have a child, wanted them both to be safe and sound, so she would do it—
But she knew.
If she did not conceive, but instead had someone bring a child from outside the palace to deceive everyone, she would follow the Emperor’s wishes and not let this child enter the Eastern Palace.
Now…
Things are changing for the better.
Qi Yunshang is pregnant.
But, can this child fulfill Rong Qing’s wishes and become the Crown Prince?
She gently touched her lower abdomen with her right hand and murmured with a doubtful expression, “I don’t know why, but I always feel uneasy. This child arrived at such a perfect time. In the future, will everything go this smoothly?”
“Cut!”
Director Zhen let this emotionally coherent scene pass and gave Feng Qingyu an “ok” gesture. Feng Qingyu collected her emotions, walked towards Zhen Tiao, and smiled:
“Director Zhen,” she said, “I have finished my scenes for today and would like to ask for a leave——”
Feng Qingyu wanted to see the advertisement that Xu Jiao was shooting today. After all, in her impression, this was a rare significant endorsement that Xu Jiao had taken on. She was a bit worried about Xu Jiao, who only had that somewhat unreliable manager by her side.
Moreover, she remembered the screenshot the manager took at that time, where the brand said, “Xu Jiao’s image perfectly aligns with their product philosophy.” This statement made Feng Qingyu a little curious—what exactly is this kind of alignment?
This is just a company selling sanitary pads; wouldn’t any female Omega spokesperson have the same effect?
As a result, before Feng Qingyu could finish her thoughts, Lu Xun somehow came over, smiling as he twisted the emperor’s jade thumb ring on his hand, and said:
“Teacher Feng, do you have a moment?”
“I want to discuss the upcoming scenes with you. My part will be quick; can you wait for me for a bit?”
He knew that Feng Qingyu was most likely going to find Xu Jiao.
But he didn’t want to let Feng Qingyu have her way, because if he couldn’t go, then Feng Qingyu shouldn’t think about sneaking off either.
As the saying goes, progress sometimes can be achieved not only by one’s own efforts but also by the opponent’s withdrawal.
Zhen Tiao loved seeing interactions between actors about the plot. Sure enough, he originally wanted to approve Feng Qingyu’s leave, but upon hearing Lu Xun’s words, he immediately smiled and said, “Qingyu, do you have any important plans? If it’s not urgent, we can discuss the upcoming scenes later. The scriptwriter is thinking about making some changes, so we can discuss it together.”
Feng Qingyu: “…”
She held back and forced out a response, “It’s nothing much, Director Zhen. I might as well learn from Teacher Lu’s performance.”
Lu Xun laughed heartily.
……
Two hours later.
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Lu Xun NG’d for the third time.
Today’s scene was the Emperor visiting Liu Ruyi’s palace from the Imperial Study at midnight. Originally, he intended to make a surprise visit to tease her and see what she was doing, but he found she seemed to be asleep.
The Emperor, feeling uninterested, was about to leave but was stopped by her maidservant. He thought she looked pretty good, so he took care of her in a small nearby room.
But…
After the deed was done, the maid said she had something important to report to him.
The Emperor lounged lazily on the chaise longue and asked her what it was. After hearing what the maid had to say, the whole room fell into a dead silence.
After a long time, he finally said, “Do you know that in this palace, not everyone’s tongue can wag freely, especially not your masters’.”
“Cut!”
Director Zhen shook his head and called Lu Xun over, asking in confusion, “Is it my direction today that’s off? Sixth Master, this isn’t like your usual performance. The first take, your tone was too lazy, too composed, making people think you already knew about this matter; the second take, your tone was too shocked, which doesn’t match your usually deep and scheming character.”
“You must understand, although you are quite surprised, furious, and feel betrayed by this matter, you cannot let a mere maid see through you. Even though you learned this from a servant’s mouth, if you carefully ponder and recall, you will find many clues you hadn’t noticed. Even if you can’t immediately act against the Empress and the Noble Consort, the maid in front of you is at your disposal.”
“I need you to show that kind of extreme anger that you have to control, a calmness that will reflect in your subsequent language and judgment. You are utterly humiliated, but you can’t let this servant see the imperial family’s disgrace, so you must kill her, under the pretense of ‘spying on the Emperor’s movements.'”
Lu Xun straightened his expression and nodded to him.
Director Zhen didn’t start immediately but gave him a few more minutes to mull over his emotions. He reminded him that this TV drama was different from the movies he had made; there are many details and shots to be meticulously handled. TV dramas seek a kind of emotional continuity, focusing on the overall performance feel.
When Lu Xun was ready, the clapperboard was struck again.
This time, Lu Xun smoothly completed the scene without being stopped by Director Zhen. The next scene involved Liu Ruyi being awakened and startled from her sleep, hurriedly putting on clothes and hearing the news that her maid would be executed by the Emperor.
She walked out with disheveled hair, not caring about the chilly spring, without even wearing shoes, asking while walking:
“What happened?”
“Lu Yin has always been well-behaved; how could she suddenly anger His Majesty?”
The other palace maids mumbled, and finally, one couldn’t hold back, broke down, and said with a crying voice, “Sister Lu Yin… her intentions have long been improper. Every day, she dresses up beautifully while you sleep to guard the door. Who exactly is she guarding? Who among us doesn’t know?”
Liu Ruyi’s steps instantly stopped.
She tried her best to calm down and appease the situation, saying, “Alright, let’s pursue this matter later. Right now, I’m afraid… if I go too slowly, I won’t even have the chance to pursue it. Lead the way quickly.”
The palace servants led her towards the side hall.
As soon as they got close, without even seeing the Emperor’s figure, she first heard the heavy thuds of clubs hitting flesh in the courtyard. The person who used to laugh and joke with her were now gagged with cloth, unable to make any sound.
Liu Ruyi listened, her heart pounding with fear, and her legs inexplicably softened, almost causing her to twist her ankle. Fortunately, someone nearby supported her in time.
Before she could stand firmly, she quickly walked towards the small courtyard with closed doors. Just as she was about to enter, she was silently blocked by the chief eunuch beside the Emperor, who stepped forward and said in a drawn-out tone:
“His Majesty has already retired for the night after being disturbed by some blind fool. Miss Liu, you should return.”
Liu Ruyi glanced at him, then took half a step back and directly knelt down on both knees—
The chief eunuch quickly stepped aside to avoid her grand gesture.
Liu Ruyi knocked her forehead on the ground and said to the person inside, “This concubine Liu Ruyi begs His Majesty for mercy.”
The courtyard was silent, except for the muffled, continuous sound of the clubs hitting flesh, which never ceased.
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Liu Ruyi grew somewhat anxious and raised her voice, repeating the same words once again.
The chief eunuch gently brushed his duster, sighed, and, unwilling to watch the scene, said in a low voice after a while, “Miss Liu, you should return. Do not provoke His Majesty to become angry with you as well.”
Liu Ruyi insisted on not getting up and instead said, “Lu Yin offended His Majesty due to my poor management. I earnestly plead for His Majesty’s forgiveness and ask for a chance to correct my mistake. I promise His Majesty that she will not dare to offend again.”
There was still no response from inside.
Just as sweat began to bead on Liu Ruyi’s forehead and she racked her brain to think of something else to say, suddenly, the courtyard door swung open, and a pair of black boots with auspicious cloud patterns appeared in her line of sight—
The next moment.
Her chin was gently lifted by the Emperor’s hand, which wore a thumb ring.
Liu Ruyi met Emperor Yan’s sharp, eagle-like eyes and heard him calmly ask, “Poor management? It seems Consort Liu knows what mistake your maid made, doesn’t she?”
He slowly tightened his grip, causing pain in Liu Ruyi’s jaw, and a look of fear appeared in her eyes.
Emperor Yan looked down and asked, “Let Consort Liu explain, which palace rule did this lowly maid violate? Remember, if you say it wrong, she will still die.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyi’s temples were already damp with sweat.
She moved her lips but couldn’t utter a single word, not knowing how to plead for Lu Yin anymore.
The Emperor lowered his eyes, looking at her with contempt. After a while, he released his hand, turned the thumb ring on his finger, and stepped over the threshold, walking outside.
Before leaving, he paused his steps and suddenly said, “I remember, among the Six Palaces, the Empress has always been the most protective of you, and even the Noble Consort hardly troubles you nowadays.”
Liu Ruyi knelt there, her eyes slowly widening.
……
The filming officially entered the climax—
At the same time, in a photo studio somewhere in the city.
Although Xu Jiao was not on the set, she felt no less stimulated.
She looked at the almost non-existent garment in front of her, her expression momentarily blank.
Ni Hong let out a “Wow” and then, eyes gleaming, pushed her into the adjacent fitting room, not forgetting to say from outside, “I have a feeling, Jiaojiao, this commercial is definitely going to explode! And the airing time of this commercial coincides with the broadcast time of 《The Palace Wall Willows》! You are destined to become famous! Do you understand?”
“Oh my God, I really look forward to seeing the effect of this outfit! Don’t be shy! Professionalism is the most important!”
She muttered outside, afraid that Xu Jiao might refuse to shoot the commercial out of embarrassment and anger.
Until a few minutes later—
The fitting room door opened.
Xu Jiao had changed into the outfit and stood inside, looking at her.
Ni Hong’s eyes gradually widened, and then, even though she was completely uninterested in women, her cheeks slowly turned red.
In front of her, Xu Jiao was wearing a white lace bodysuit. To call it clothing was somewhat inappropriate, as it had very little fabric and looked more like a white mesh interwoven with feathers.
At the key points—the red cherry spots, underarms, and waist—the clustered feathers gathered just enough to barely cover those areas, reluctantly providing modesty. The rest of her skin was made to appear even whiter and more alluring by the mesh fabric.
Neck, collarbone, arms, slender waist, long legs…
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Everything was in plain view.
Ni Hong suddenly covered her nose and, without blinking, reached out to her, saying, “Turn around, turn around so I can see—”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She helplessly turned around and didn’t forget to check herself in the fitting room mirror, asking, “Nothing is showing, right?”
Ni Hong stared at the perky and round twin mounds, reluctantly shifting her gaze away, feeling her nose grow even warmer. Covering it more tightly, she muttered, “No, but it’s close. This almost-but-not-quite revealing edge, my goodness, this is the boldest advertisement shoot I’ve ever seen.”
After saying that, she looked up at the advertising slogan on the shooting set—
“Anxin Day and Night Ultra-thin, Unleash Your Beauty.”
Now Ni Hong somewhat understood the ‘ultra-thin’ concept of the advertisement.
It’s just…
She murmured, “It’s driving me crazy.”
Even as a Beta, she felt like going crazy. She couldn’t imagine how Feng Qingyu would react when she saw this advertisement…
