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Chapter 135 – Born to Live for the Camera (44.1)
Xiang Xi looked at Qiu Jin who was talking to the director. Then he looked away unwillingly.
He didn’t expect Qiu Jin to perform so well. He was able to act opposite a senior actor so smoothly, to the point that he almost overwhelmed the other actor’s brilliance.
“The Rise and Fall of the World” was originally a drama with a large cast. Ji Tongguang was considered the male lead because he had the most scenes in the drama, so his role was able to connect all the threads in the drama. In a way, he was not even as impressive as some of the main supporting characters.
Moreover, the archetype of a vengeful prince was too hackneyed and could not evoke the audience’s fondness. There were many characters in the drama that were better than him.
For example, there was the character of Ji He who cross-dressed for the sake of a peace marriage. In the end, he turned into an anti-hero, got his image whitewashed, and he even had a male-on-male sex scene in the drama! He took all the buzzwords like cross-dressing, big villain, and gay love.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Then there was the role played by Zhang Qiongzi – Empress Mi Luo. Mi Luo was a swift and decisive character. Her tactics were ruthless and unruly. Members of the harem were not allowed to be involved in politics, but she took care of government affairs for her muddleheaded husband. Later on, she schemed to have her husband die in his beloved imperial concubine’s bed. Then she straightforwardly took the title of monarch and assumed control of the kingdom.
There was also the character played by Jiang Ming – the formidable Jiang Zhe, who had a fierce, ruthless, and arrogant personality.
……
All of these characters were cruel and vicious, slapping the faces of their enemies soundly. Their character settings were simply way too cool.
Only his role was so boring. Ji Tongguang’s character was full of compassion, duty, propriety, and integrity*. The audience was tired of characters like him, okay?
[*T/N: 仁义道德 “compassion, duty, propriety, and integrity” – an idiom mainly used in a sarcastic sense to mean someone or something is hypocritical]
No, there was also the female lead, Feng Ling, who was as miserable as him. Her character setting was a wet nurse, and she was a medical master with a white lotus personality. Her main role was in the later stages of the drama, where she worked with Ji He to developed a medicine against the jiangshi*. Otherwise, she was plain to the extreme and had an existence value of nearly zero.
[*T/N: 僵尸 jiang shi – Chinese vampire]
Feng Ling was also very depressed. She was clearly the female lead, so why was her sense of existence in the drama so weak?
Ji Yao was the most beautiful woman in the world. She died in the first episode, but that did not prevent the audience from remembering her.
Zhang Qiongzi was a vicious empress with a strong and majestic aura.
Even that Qiu Jin was really beautiful in disguise.
But she, the female lead, was simply a plot device, and throughout the entire drama she never got to dress up nicely even once.
The director even told the makeup artist that Feng Ling was too pretty, so they shouldn’t go too heavy on her makeup. If the makeup look didn’t match her character setting, it would cover up her acting skills.
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Of the top four beautiful flowers in the entertainment circle, Feng Ling was number one. So she could only smile and accept this.
Due to the arrival of the big producer, all the staff members on set were tense, and they ended earlier than expected. In a spurt of energy, Yi Congqing told the executive director to prepare for the next scene.
Ji Shenxiao and the group of executives were about to leave, but when they saw the contents of the next scene, they stopped again.
It was a scene between Qiu Jin ang Jiang Ming.
Because Ji He was aware ahead of time and had his guard up, Ji Mingwu’s assassination attempt failed. Due to that, his cross-dressing ploy was also exposed and Jiang Zhe ended up discovering them both. In this scene, Qiu Jin was dealing with the aftermath of all that.
Ji He’s cross-dressing ploy was exposed…
So how was he exposed?
On the day when the groom’s family returned to their country with the bridal sedan, Jiang Zhe made Ji He remove his upper garment in front of all the civil and military officials. This action was not simply removing Ji He’s clothes, but it also removed the entire An Kingdom’s dignity.
This was a slightly insulting scene.
A public condemnation was probably like this.
Ji Shenxiao suddenly felt a little irritable. Rationality told him that he should leave, that there was still a lot of work waiting for him to complete, but looking at the scene in front of him, there was a powerful force that kept him where he was.
The group of executives was waiting for him to make a decision. Lu Pingyin gently reminded him, “President Ji?”
Ji Shenxiao withdrew his gaze from the scene and said, “There are no other arrangements today, let’s have dinner together after the filming is over.”
The staff members were all happy to hear this.
Since the big boss has spoken, the other executives could not leave without careful consideration. What else could they do except continue watching?
While the staff was setting up the scene, Yi Congqing was talking to the two main actors of the scene.
“You are all trustworthy actors, so I won’t say much. Let me just remind you of one point. Jiang Ming, remember, although Jiang Zhe made Ji He undress in public, his purpose was not to insult Ji He, but to insult the country behind him through Ji He.”
Jiang Ming nodded, “Understood.”
Yi Congqing continued, “Qiu Jin, you should also pay attention. Although this scene is somewhat explicit, don’t make it pornographic. The key to this scene is the royal power contest behind the physical body.”
Translations by Vanilla Muse. Read on vmnovels [dot] com
Qiu Jin nodded his understanding.
Different from the An Kingdom’s architectural style, the Dongwu Kingdom’s main hall was rough and vast, carrying the pride of the coastal plain.
Jiang Zhe sat on the throne, looking down at Ji Mingwu and “Ji Yao” who were in the audience.
Ji Mingwu was arrested for attempting to assassinate Ji He, and was forced to kneel on the ground, while “Ji Yao” stood beside him with his hands at his sides.
The surroundings were so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard.
“Why the assassination?” Jiang Zhe’s deep voice echoed in the hall. “Ji Mingwu, as Ji Yao’s older brother why would you assassinate your own younger sister?”
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Click here for the full Advance Chapters T.O.C. of TAPAE
The Big Landlord
Chapter 156.1
Chapter 155.2
Chapter 155.1
Chapter 154.2
Chapter 154.1
Chapter 153.3
Chapter 153.2
Chapter 153.1
Chapter 152.2
Didn’t Love You Enough
Chapter 119
Chapter 118
Chapter 117
Chapter 116
Chapter 115
Chapter 114
Chapter 113
Chapter 112
This Alpha’s Pheromones Are Exploding
Chapter 144
Chapter 143
Chapter 142
Chapter 141
Chapter 140
Chapter 139
Chapter 138
Chapter 137
Chapter 136
Male Lead 2 and Male Lead 3 Happy Ending!
Chapter 118
Chapter 117
Chapter 116
Chapter 115
Chapter 114
Chapter 113
Chapter 112
Chapter 111
Chapter 110
Chapter 109
Let Me Shoulder this Blame!
Chapter 177
Chapter 176
Chapter 175
Chapter 174
Chapter 173
Chapter 172
Chapter 171
Chapter 170
Chapter 169
I really hope JM won’t do unnecessary drama.
I really like JSX possessiveness, but I don’t want QJ to get harm…
Anyway THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR THE HARD WORKS IN TRANSLATING THIS NOVEL!!! 🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇 xENDLESSEVERLASTINGGRATEFULNESS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️