Don’t Want a Divorce (28)
Her charm has become even deadlier. (Multiple layers of drama)
The recording of 《The Palace Wall Willows》 is nearing its end.
The audience is still weeping and wailing over the mistreatment of the concubines, but the production team has already filmed the scene where the Emperor, after the downfall of the Qi family, personally leads the army to the Northern Desert, leaving the Empress Dowager in charge with the Crown Prince.
Because Liu Ruyi has no children, but she is the most favored one in the palace, the son that was previously adopted from the Empress has now, after various twists and turns, been officially named the Crown Prince by the Emperor.
This child was raised by her own hands, and according to the storyline, he is now ten years old, growing into a graceful young lad.
The part to be filmed today is that news arrives from the Northern Desert that the Yan Kingdom’s army has suffered defeat. The Emperor’s guards were inadequate, leading to him being struck by a poisoned arrow, and it seems he is about to perish. This news is secretly transmitted to the court, and the Empress Dowager insists on going to the Northern Desert, commanding the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector to assist the Crown Prince in handling state affairs.
These three individuals are surnamed Liu, Zhou, and Yan, respectively, belonging to Liu Ruyi’s camp, the Emperor’s trusted aides, and a member of the imperial family.
There are no members of the Rong family among them.
When the news reached the Cold Palace, Rong Qing sat quietly there for a long time.
The first scene to be filmed is the part where Liu Ruyi and the Emperor meet in the Northern Desert. This is not being filmed in the palace section of the film studio but in another arid area. Here, one must praise this ABO world’s film studio; perhaps because the entertainment industry is the core content of Xu Jiao’s writing, it is able to provide many surprises in filming.
The sound of the stage manager is heard: “Take 6, Scene 53 of 《The Palace Wall Willows》, first time! Aion!”
…….
In the sound of the howling wind, someone gently pulled open the curtain of the tent, took two steps inside, and whispered something to the chief eunuch standing by the bed. The eunuch’s expression instantly changed as he glanced at the person behind the curtain, bending down to gently ask:
“Your Majesty… the Empress Dowager has arrived.”
The person in the bed’s chest rose and fell once, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, they moved their fingers and uttered hoarsely, “Summon.”
The eunuch received the order and personally went outside the tent to greet Liu Ruyi with a smile, inviting her in. Liu Ruyi then sat by the bed, not even having time to remove her cloak, and said, “Your Majesty, this humble servant has arrived late.”
Originally, the Emperor was in the prime of his life, but now, lying on the bed, he appeared somewhat worn and defeated.
“No, it’s not late.”
The Emperor wanted the eunuch to help him sit up, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a continuous bout of coughing erupted. Although the poison from the arrow had been eventually neutralized, it was too late; it had already infiltrated his internal organs. Now, he lived each day as if it were a gift from heaven, uncertain of when he would no longer see the sun rise again.
Once the coughing fit subsided, he smiled at Liu Ruyi and said, “My beloved consort never arrives too late. In the past, I was constrained by the Qi family in the previous court and was overshadowed by the Empress in the harem. It was only after I dealt with the previous court that you appeared before me, as if by divine decree—”
“Now, I do not know when my end will come, thinking of all the things I have yet to convey, and then you arrived.”
Liu Ruyi lowered her eyes, appearing somewhat shy from his praise. In truth, she was hiding the emotions in her gaze, only a faint smile lingering on her lips. In the Emperor’s eyes, she seemed as gentle as ever since that year, her nature unchanged, as beautiful as when he first met her.
Liu Ruyi did not expose the fact that he had once degraded her position because of the Empress and the Noble Consort. Instead, she played along with the Emperor’s words, presenting herself as harmonious and in tune with him.
The Emperor patted the back of Liu Ruyi’s hand, followed by another bout of coughing, but he said to the eunuch beside him:
“Paper and brush… cough cough… present them…”
“I want to draft an edict.”
Liu Ruyi quickly responded, “Your Majesty, what are you saying? You are the Son of Heaven, eternal and everlasting. It’s merely an arrow wound; as long as you take good care of yourself, you will surely recover in a few days—”
The Emperor waved his hand and said gently to her, “Enough. I know my own injuries. Now that you are here… I can be at ease.”
After speaking so much in one breath, he began to cough incessantly, as if the air in his chest were being drawn out like a bellows. After a long while, he said, “Empress Dowager Liu, Pi Zhao Shu Hui, respectful and prudent… harmonious in the palace, cultivating virtue… self-restraint is appropriate, and it is fitting to educate the six Palaces in femininity, gentleness becomes her nature… cough cough, it is proper to be a model of motherhood for the myriad nations. Now, in accordance with the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree, I bestow upon you the title of Empress.”
Liu Ruyi’s eyes gradually widened.
It seemed she had not expected to become the Empress so suddenly.
After the Emperor finished speaking in one breath, the eunuch came forward with the yellow silk1 for him to review. The Emperor glanced at it briefly and waved his hand, then grasped Liu Ruyi’s wrist with considerable strength.
He stared intently at Liu Ruyi and said, “After I’m gone, the Crown Prince… will be entrusted to you. I only regret… that there are still too many traitors in the court… I have not been able to personally clear the path for the Crown Prince, and only you, Ruyi, must watch over him for me.”
Seeing that he did not seem well, Liu Ruyi quickly called for the imperial physician. The old eunuch received the order and soon brought in the attending imperial physician. The doctor took the Emperor’s pulse carefully, his expression somewhat grim.
Liu Ruyi continued to soothe him, saying, “Your Majesty, discussing these matters with me now is still too early. The Crown Prince is young, and I am merely a woman of the harem, completely ignorant of court affairs…”
The Emperor waved his hand and smiled as he replied, “You have always been clever; I am well aware.”
After a pause, his expression grew much more serious, and he continued speaking to Liu Ruyi, “In the court now, the Rong family has been lying in wait for a long time, and my imperial brother is not a quiet one either. The Crown Prince… being so young, is afraid he cannot hold this position—”
“If you have a way, slowly uproot the Rong family’s old tree from the court. If you find it difficult, let the Rong family and my imperial brother fight each other. Once the Crown Prince has grown his wings… consider this his first test.”
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
“If my son cannot even handle this, he will not be able to secure the throne in the future.”
Liu Ruyi lowered her eyes, not daring to engage with these words. It was not yet her turn to speak, so she quietly listened until the Emperor finished discussing court matters and turned to talk about the harem.
“I know that you have always hoped for a child, to have a foundation in this palace. The Crown Prince… after all, is the son of the late Empress. Although you are kind and treat this child as your own, I know what women like you are concerned about—”
“Earlier, the imperial physician reported to me that your body has a lingering illness that makes it difficult for you to conceive. For many years, I have been unwilling to bring this up, instead instructing you daily about medicine and hoping that one day you could restore your health.”
“Now…”
The Emperor held her hand, as if wanting to say more, but in the end, he could only smile helplessly. To speak these words, he even restrained the urge to cough, and now his complexion was a mix of red and white, which looked somewhat frightening.
The imperial physician, who had been checking his pulse earlier, had now withdrawn his hand, his expression sorrowful as he shook his head at the chief eunuch beside him and Liu Ruyi. He then knelt down.
This signified that there was nothing more that could be done.
The Emperor waved his hand to dismiss him, then turned to look at Liu Ruyi. While his previous words were filled with helplessness, Liu Ruyi was deeply shaken.
Those medicinal concoctions…
It had always been people from the Qianqing Palace who delivered the news. She had thought the Emperor was afraid that she would have a child, so he only allowed her to raise the Empress’s son. But those were actually…
Nourishing medicines?
Was it that she could never conceive?
In an instant, Liu Ruyi recalled how, due to her inability to have children, she had relied on the Rong family’s influence while wholeheartedly raising the late Empress’s orphan, treating him as her own and nurturing their relationship day and night—
Ultimately, her lips trembled as she uttered two words: “Your Majesty…”
The words were filled with unspeakable heartache.
At this moment, she finally reflected that she seemed to have gained the love of the Emperor, the most noble and revered love of all, the love of the one who held the Nine-Five status.2
The Emperor waved his hand, as if wanting to comfort her about something, but when he moved his lips, he instead coughed up a mouthful of blood. The imperial physician was immediately frightened into inaction, and soon the chief eunuch called for more imperial physicians. Without caring about hiding the news anymore, a line of bearded old men carrying square boxes filed in through the curtain.
Liu Ruyi helped the eunuchs readjust the Emperor, but he seemed to know that his time was short. Even with blood in his mouth, he refused to let go of Liu Ruyi’s hand, staring straight at her, his grip unconsciously tightening:
“In my life…”
“Betrayed by brothers, betrayed by my first wife, betrayed by my favored concubine… I thought I would be a solitary person…”
“Only you, Ruyi, only you have been loyal to me and kept me company.”
He stared intensely at her, and for a moment, Liu Ruyi almost believed he was going to take her with him to the grave. But in the end, he contentedly closed his eyes. Just as the scene was about to continue—
Zhen Tiao suddenly shouted, “Cut!”
It turned out that while Lu Xun was delivering his lines just now, blood had flowed down to his face, and he had muddled many of his sentences, so this scene needed to be retaken.
Lu Xun helplessly got up, allowing the people around him to come and clean his face. Stretching like a sickly person in makeup, he lazily sighed and half-smiled as he complained to Zhen Tiao, “I thought we could wrap it up in one go today!”
Zhen Tiao laughed, crossing his arms as he looked in Lu Xun’s direction, with the script tucked under his arm. He advised, “Good things take time. Would I miss out on your red envelope? Once this scene is finished, you can go wherever you want.”
Lu Xun shook his head. “I can’t just go off. My manager has my schedule packed. This afternoon is our Yantian anniversary celebration; I still have to go back to the company to keep things in order for President Yan.”
Zhen Tiao clapped his hands. “Then hurry up and try to get it right this time—”
Afterward, he casually said to Qiu Yongli, “Li Zi, your emotions were too exaggerated just now; you need to slow down a bit. Make your confusion more authentic; that way, you can convince the Emperor.”
“Listening to the Emperor’s last words, ‘In my life, I have been betrayed by my brothers, betrayed by my first wife, and betrayed by my favored concubine,’ although you might be mocking him in your heart, you must maintain a facade of sorrow on your face, as if you truly feel sad for him.”
“Clearly, it was the Emperor who abandoned his feelings for Qi Younian and Qi Yunchang; only you are the true betrayer. Yet, you will feel a sense of sorrow akin to a rabbit mourning a fox. At this moment, you realize that you and he are actually of the same kind. Originally, you were kind-hearted and sincere, knowing how to be grateful and repaying kindness. However, it was during the time the Emperor degraded you to a mere commoner that you learned that in this deep palace, only those who can lie and disguise themselves can survive.”
“You have long since changed. From the moment you sought refuge with Rong Qing for status, you had already transformed completely. Now you realize the Emperor’s love for you; you feel as if you are two lonely souls colliding together, yet this love is too fleeting… As people approach death, their words become gentle. Only now does the Emperor dare to reveal his love for you, and you too, in this moment, will hide all your disdain and hatred for this man. You will feel that you love him as well, and thus, you share in his pain.”
“You believe that the love you have never received actually existed long ago, but after this night, it will die.”
Qiu Yongli, who had been adorned with the arrogant makeup of a favored concubine, suddenly looked up at the sky upon hearing Zhen Tiao’s words and said, “Director Zhen, hearing you say that makes me want to cry…”
“I feel like such a scumbag, like… I only loved him for a brief moment…”
Zhen Tiao smiled and replied, “You can cry.”
He said, “But you can’t let the tears fall; just cry in your heart. Alright, have you found the feeling? Let’s do it again.”
……
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Xu Jiao had been watching the whole time.
Currently, she and Feng Qingyu were both under the same manager. However, Lina was too busy and couldn’t come to the set often, so the company assigned her a little assistant to handle her daily needs.
This assistant was new and not very experienced; she didn’t dare to get too close to Xu Jiao. Now, she was just cautiously observing from the side, trying to gauge if Xu Jiao needed anything, as if afraid of making a mistake by asking too much. She merely sat there quietly and restrained.
Until Lu Xun finished this scene, Zhen Tiao called out “Cut” again, enthusiastically adding, “Congratulations to Lu Xun for wrapping up 《The Palace Wall Willows》!”
Applause erupted around them.
Because the Emperor’s character had died in the scene, Lu Xun was given a large red envelope.
Some staff members gathered around to shoot short video clips and behind-the-scenes moments with Lu Xun, who readily obliged. After he removed his makeup and changed out of his costume, transforming back into the charming, charismatic film Emperor, he casually stuffed one hand into his pocket and noticed Xu Jiao sitting in the corner, reading her lines. He walked over to her unexpectedly.
“Teacher Xu, you’re quite diligent today! Wasn’t it Sister Yu’s birthday yesterday? Why didn’t you two linger a bit longer? You’re back at the set so early?”
Xu Jiao sensed that he was indirectly asking whether Feng Qingyu was doing well, and she felt a bit helpless. She looked up at him and realized that Lu Xun was not gazing at her with the predatory eyes he used to; instead, he was casually teasing her with a playful demeanor.
So, Xu Jiao pressed her lips together and replied, “Because I’m a slow learner who believes in the saying ‘the slow bird flies first.’3 I have a lot of scenes today, so I can’t afford to be lazy at home.”
“Teacher Xu, you’re too humble—”
“Who doesn’t know that your acting skills have skyrocketed like a rocket? You shot straight to the sky! If you call yourself slow, I might as well jump off a building!”
Xu Jiao ignored the Cannes Best Actor’s teasing, merely chuckling before lowering her head to read the script.
Lu Xun looked at her as if she were a thorny rose—beautiful and highly attractive, making him unable to help but steal glances, yet he didn’t dare to get too close for fear of getting pricked by her thorns and ending up worse off.
Thus, he hesitated to ask Xu Jiao if she wanted to practice lines, eventually steering the conversation to another topic: “I heard that a small director from an indie film recently sent you a script?”
Xu Jiao raised her eyebrows and glared at him, “How do you know?”
Lu Xun scratched his nose. While he maintained a suave and gentle facade in front of others, he revealed a roguish smile when facing Xu Jiao: “I know that director; he passed me a script before. I was actually considering it, but in the end, the company decided on another project, the one I won an award for—”
“I think his artistic creations have quite a bit of spirit. I wonder what his work is this time.”
Hearing his words, Xu Jiao chuckled but didn’t elaborate, simply saying, “I think it’s good; it’s a… very touching story.”
Lu Xun wanted to say something else, but he noticed his agent in the distance signaling him to hurry up. He then told Xu Jiao, “I hope you can film a project you like. If it gets released in theaters, I’ll book a hundred screenings.”
After saying that, he brought his fingers together and waved at Xu Jiao with a gesture at his forehead, leaving without saying goodbye and turning to walk away.
Xu Jiao watched his retreating figure and suddenly found him quite interesting, but unfortunately, she just wasn’t into men.
Not long after Lu Xun left, it was Xu Jiao’s turn to act. The remaining half of the day was almost entirely her scenes. The crew had to move to the palace set at the film and television city. Today’s content was—
The news of the Emperor’s death had leaked, coming from the border. While Liu Ruyi had not yet returned, the Emperor’s uncle, surnamed Yan, initiated a palace coup but was intercepted at the palace gate by the Rong family and their surrounding troops, who came to uphold the Emperor’s authority.
Just as the various officials in the court thought that the Rong family was also trying to seize power, Rong Qing walked out of the Cold Palace, adorned in a stunning, bright red imperial concubine outfit, captivating everyone present.
Those who had seen her displayed an expression of disbelief:
It was said that women who entered the Cold Palace lost their favor, their beauty gradually fading, aging quickly or even dying. Yet this Rong Qing was still as enchanting as she had been ten years ago.
Concubine Ping, having temporarily taken over the phoenix seal to manage the harem in place of Liu Ruyi—oh no, she should now be called the Noble Consort Ping now—stood behind the Crown Prince and watched as that woman confidently walked out of the palace. She felt her legs weaken, and if it hadn’t been for the palace maid supporting her, she would have fallen to the ground.
This couldn’t be blamed on the Noble Consort.
After all, in the harem ten years ago—
Everyone turned pale at the mention of the title “Noble Consort Rong.”
Noble Consort Ping couldn’t help but recall the terror of being tormented by this woman’s thunderous methods. She instinctively tightened her grip on the palace maid’s hand, wanting to say something, but as soon as Rong Qing cast a glance in her direction, she found herself unable to utter a word. She didn’t even dare to question how this woman, who had clearly been stripped of her title, managed to emerge from the Cold Palace.
How had she come out?
Rong Qing seemed oblivious to her fear. She smiled at her and said, “Concubine Ping, oh no, I should say, Noble Consort Ping, it’s been ten years—how have you been?”
……
This scene had many extras; it was a big shot. Zhen Tiao filmed it over ten times, and when it was finally wrapped, everyone let out a sigh of relief. However, the most crucial part remained: the editing team had to scrutinize every bit of footage, striving for perfection.
Fortunately, the plot was nearing its climax, so everyone wouldn’t have to work much longer. Next, the story would revolve around Liu Ruyi facing numerous challenges, safely returning to the palace, and engaging in a battle of wits and courage with Rong Qing.
Before wrapping up, Director Zhen announced to everyone, “We’ll start work again tomorrow, and I have a surprise for you all~”
Everyone: “?”
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Zhen Tiao left a cliffhanger and winked at Xu Jiao as he passed by her.
Xu Jiao: “…?”
The next day.
Like the previous day, she arrived at the film set early, only to hear the astonished gasps of the crew, with excited expressions all around. When someone noticed her arrival, they exclaimed enthusiastically:
“Teacher Xu, you’re here!”
“Wow, our Noble Consort Rong has arrived!”
“Great, great! I can see them together again, and it makes me so happy! I can do it again!”
Upon hearing the word “them,” Xu Jiao suddenly had a bad premonition. Just then, the crowd parted slightly, allowing her to catch sight of the newcomer.
The person wore a fitted burgundy dress with a thin outer jacket draped over her shoulders. Her long hair cascaded in waves, and compared to her usual solid black, it had clearly changed in the light, taking on a subtle chestnut hue that added a touch of mature elegance.
The unique design of the dress’s neckline exposed her beautiful collarbones, making one unconsciously think of the alluring fragrance of bitter orange blossoms that emanated from her.
Her exquisitely calm face bore eyes that were deep and inscrutable, like a perilous sea that seemed ready to engulf anyone who dared to approach.
It was precisely this slight difference from her usual self that made her charm feel even deadlier—one could tell just by listening to the surrounding people’s gasps of admiration.
Xu Jiao met those eyes, and after a long while, she gently smiled at her and said:
“Good morning, Teacher Feng.”
Footnotes
- The use of yellow silk (黃綢) in formal documents signifies imperial authority, as yellow is traditionally associated with the Emperor and symbolizes power and prestige.
- The phrase “Nine-Five status” (九五之尊) refers to the Emperor’s supreme position in the traditional Chinese hierarchy, emphasizing his ultimate authority and nobility.
- The slow bird flies first (笨鸟先飞) is a Chinese proverb meaning that those who are less skilled must work harder to achieve their goals
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