Chapter 59: The Drunken Scene p1
Jiang Lingling naturally remembered Director Pan waiting for them to film. Whether Ji Junxin remembered was another matter.
Now, with Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou’s makeup almost done, Jiang Lingling made a decision.
After Jiang Lingling went out for a walk with her tissues, Director Pan returned, following behind her.
“Xiaomi, Zhang Zijing said he’s unwell and asked for time off. You don’t have to film your scenes with him today.” Director Pan said, glancing at Jiang Lingling, then turning back to Mi Hongdou. “And Jiang Lingling has such a bad cold, she can’t film either. So, your scenes this morning are finished. Come back at 3 PM.”
Jiang Lingling really was… she arrived so late this morning, could it be that she beat up Zhang Zijing as soon as she woke up, so he couldn’t get out of bed? Mi Hongdou thought about it and felt it was entirely possible.
“Will we film some of the later scenes to make up for the lost time?” Ji Junxin asked, her face full of concern.
So, did she want to film more or not? Director Pan hesitated, then said firmly, “No, we won’t make up for the lost time. Xiaomi, you’re free to…” He paused, his expression softening. “Heh…” He trailed off and walked away, looking rather happy.
Did Jiang Lingling drug Director Pan? With such a tight schedule recently, Director Pan wanted everyone working 24/7, and now he was letting them have several hours off without making up for it?
“Great…”
Just as Mi Hongdou couldn’t understand the logic of Jiang Lingling and Director Pan, Ji Junxin’s soft, joyful voice came from beside her.
Mi Hongdou looked at the expectant Ji Junxin, then at Jiang Lingling, who was buried in tissues, only half her face visible, but her smiling eyes and curved lips betraying her happiness. Okay, perhaps she was the one who needed medication.
But did they even realize that they had arrived at 5 AM, spent almost two hours on makeup and costumes, would film for less than three hours, then spend another hour removing everything, only to return at 3 PM for another two hours of makeup? Oh, returning at 3 PM… was it for makeup or filming? If it was for filming, then they had to be back by 1 PM, which meant only a two-hour break! So, for the sake of food, were they trying to kill her? Mi Hongdou glared at the two, amused and exasperated. She really couldn’t do anything with them.
Jiang Lingling ignored Mi Hongdou’s glare and went to sit in a corner, giggling. But Ji Junxin immediately felt embarrassed. Hearing that list of dishes earlier, and thinking about Mi Hongdou’s cooking, she had gotten carried away. But now, considering the time spent on makeup and costumes, it was really a lot of trouble. She felt a little bad for her newly acquired fan.
Ji Junxin’s conflicted and embarrassed expression made Mi Hongdou feel a little better. Sigh, what could she do with this little foodie? At least she cared. Mi Hongdou comforted herself.
“How about you don’t remove your makeup later, just change your clothes? We’ll be getting in the car right away anyway.” Ji Junxin said considerately.
Mi Hongdou touched the heavy phoenix crown on her head and silently looked away. Just be a quiet little foodie, okay…
“Where are we cooking?” Mi Hongdou looked at Jiang Lingling. “We can have your assistant pick us up later. You should go back and rest, it’s rare for Director Pan to give you time off.”
Jiang Lingling, who was typing on her phone, looked up and shook her head with a smile. “No, I’m not going back. I’ll stay here and watch you.”
Mi Hongdou was speechless. Jiang Lingling meant “watch” as in “observe,” not “look after.” What was there to watch? Did she think she would run away?
So, the day’s filming began under Jiang Lingling’s watchful eye.
When Mi Hongdou was backstage, Jiang Lingling sat in a corner, watching. When Mi Hongdou went on set to film, Jiang Lingling followed, found another corner, and continued watching. Jiang Lingling was skilled at finding the perfect spot: sheltered from the wind, away from people, yet with a clear view of Mi Hongdou. Having a burning gaze constantly following her wasn’t comfortable. Mi Hongdou tried to talk to Jiang Lingling, explaining that since she had promised to cook, she wouldn’t break her promise. But as soon as she approached, Jiang Lingling jumped up like she had been electrocuted, ran away from Mi Hongdou, and even told her to stay away, to avoid catching her cold.
Mi Hongdou had seen many people being considerate and trying not to infect others when they were sick, but she had never seen anyone as… cautious as Jiang Lingling. She found it a little amusing, and also felt a pang of sympathy. She was probably so cautious for Dong Yuannan’s sake, just like her earlier persistence about the egg fried rice. Mi Hongdou recalled the inspiring stories of Dong Yuannan and Jiang Lingling from her previous life and decided to let it go, let Jiang Lingling watch, as long as she was happy.
So, Mi Hongdou resigned herself to her fate. Jiang Lingling, satisfied, continued her blatant surveillance. And then, someone became unhappy.
Most of the morning scenes were between Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou. So, Jiang Lingling’s actions naturally caught Ji Junxin’s attention. That expectant, burning gaze… that unwavering, affectionate stare… Ji Junxin was a little unhappy. But she felt that this emotion was inexplicable and she had no reason to complain or even ask, so she just buried it deep inside, not showing it on her face. The result was… she NGed…
In the early palace scenes, the character Miao Qianye was supposed to be lucky, somewhat naive, gentle, and unambitious. This was quite similar to Ji Junxin’s own personality, so she had been portraying the character well.
The scene they were currently filming was about Miao Qianye gradually gaining the emperor’s favor, and the empress, initially dismissive of her, started paying attention. So, after a routine greeting, she kept Miao Qianye behind for a probing conversation. According to the script, in this conversation, Miao Qianye should be gentle, obedient, and harmless, like a budding flower, making the empress wary yet also harboring a hint of fondness. And the empress, born into a military family, although trying to maintain her authority, still had a hint of naiveté. In the conversation, Miao Qianye noticed the empress’s unintentional display of innocence. She was the mother of the nation, yet just a young empress, her authority a necessary facade, a necessary defense. Miao Qianye, without even realizing it, felt a strange sense of sympathy for the young empress, who was rumored to be strict and difficult to get along with.
This scene, although just a conversation between two women, was their first real interaction, perhaps revealing a side of themselves unknown to others. Although there weren’t many opportunities to showcase this understanding in the early palace scenes, and the script didn’t have any explicit alliance-forming moments, Director Pan felt that the audience should be able to sense the unspoken connection between these two women from this conversation.
No alliance, no promises, no shared interests. The young empress and Miao Qianye, at this moment, without even realizing it, developed a mutual fondness, which laid the foundation for their later relationship: facing the rebels together, raising the heir together in the estate, even their final separation, all stemmed from this initial conversation and the impression they formed of each other.
This was a simple yet crucial scene. It not only required good acting skills but also a specific emotional state.
After two months of working together, Director Pan had full confidence in Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou, especially since this was a scene between just the two of them, and they had such a good relationship. So, before filming, he just gave them a few routine instructions and called “action.”
Not only Director Pan, but the rest of the crew also thought the same. They had been tormented by Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo for days. They were overjoyed to hear that Zhang Zijing had called in sick. Without him, they could have fewer NGs, and perhaps Director Pan would even let them finish early, so they could have a late-night snack.
So, when Director Pan called “cut” after just a few lines, the entire crew was disheartened. Without one of the NG kings, Ji Junxin, who usually nailed her scenes, was actually stopped… was the crew cursed?
Director Pan hadn’t expected to call “cut” on Ji Junxin’s first scene either.
Her lines were correct, her movements were correct, even her expression wasn’t wrong. But as soon as filming started, Director Pan felt that something was off. He frowned, watched them exchange a few lines, and then couldn’t help but call cut. It was indeed off. Ji Junxin’s emotions weren’t right, her demeanor wasn’t right.
At this time, Miao Qianye should be innocent, gentle, like a soft and chewy glutinous rice ball, harmless and comforting. But Ji Junxin seemed a little unhappy, a little distracted. Although she tried to appear obedient and gentle, Director Pan felt that this wasn’t the Miao Qianye he wanted, not the Miao Qianye that Ji Junxin, with her skills, should be portraying.
Director Pan called cut and took Ji Junxin aside for a private talk. Although they had to reshoot, both Director Pan and the crew members thought it was just a minor issue and Ji Junxin would quickly fix it.
However, reality was often cruel.
The second take, the third, the fourth… Director Pan called cut again and again.
He had talked to Ji Junxin several times, but her performance seemed to be getting worse, not better. Forget about portraying the unspoken connection between the two characters, even Miao Qianye’s basic characteristics, which Ji Junxin usually nailed, seemed unattainable today. Director Pan couldn’t believe it, was Ji Junxin now under Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s NG curse?
Whispers started spreading through the crew. Director Pan didn’t need to listen closely to know that they were talking about Ji Junxin, perhaps even complaining. NGs were common on any set. Ji Junxin usually had a very high completion rate, and she had only messed up a few takes. Normally, people would just gossip, it wouldn’t escalate to complaints. But the situation now was different. The crew had been tormented by Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s NGs for days, working long hours, with little usable footage. NGs had become a sensitive topic. Director Pan understood their frustration… but it didn’t seem like Ji Junxin would recover her state and nail the scene anytime soon.
If it were Zhang Zijing or Jiang Duo, not making any mistakes with their movements or lines, their expressions basically matching the script, even if their emotions and feelings were lacking, Director Pan wouldn’t call cut. He might even applaud and praise them. After all, for those who couldn’t even deliver a passable performance, just getting through the scene without major mistakes was already an achievement.
But Ji Junxin was different. Because Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s performance was so bad, the only requirement for their scenes was to avoid mistakes, emotions and feelings were no longer expected. So, Director Pan placed more importance on Ji Junxin, or rather, not just Ji Junxin, but also Mi Hongdou and Jiang Lingling.
“Imperial Secrets” had only a few main actors. Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s poor performance was seriously affecting the quality of the film. Director Pan had discussed this with Qiao Rubai, but Qiao Rubai’s decision was to leave it be. Changing actors was impossible now, they could only hope that the other actors’ excellent performances could salvage the film. At first, Director Pan hadn’t understood. As a palace intrigue and war drama, with Jiang Duo’s minor role, it was one thing, but with Zhang Zijing’s important role and his current performance, how could the film be salvaged?
Until the scene before Jiang Lingling and Zhang Zijing’s rain scene the night before.
It was a scene of Mi Hongdou, the young empress, alone in the palace.
She had fallen in love at first sight, they were a young couple, she thought their love was deep and true, he visited her every night. But tonight, the fifteenth of the month, when he was supposed to be with her, he didn’t come. And on the first of the month, he had also stayed elsewhere.
There were no arguments, no animosity, he wasn’t even deliberately slighting her, the empress.
He had simply fallen deeply in love with someone else, and forgotten everything else.
The young empress wanted to seek him out, but she remembered her mother’s advice when she married into the royal family: the empress was the head of the harem, the mother of the nation. She had to be dignified and composed…
Was seeking out her husband an undignified act? The young empress didn’t understand, and her sadness deepened.
Director Pan knew that Mi Hongdou truly disliked Zhang Zijing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have NGed so many times in the simple opening scene of their wedding night, almost making him miss such a talented actress. Later, after that scene, Mi Hongdou’s performance in the following scenes with Zhang Zijing had been quite smooth, her expressions and emotions on point. Director Pan had thought she had figured it out. Until one time, after a scene with Zhang Zijing, Director Pan saw Mi Hongdou’s expression instantly turn cold. She didn’t even say goodbye to Zhang Zijing, just walked away as if he was a pebble on the side of the road. Well, no, not just a pebble, judging by her disgusted expression, it should be a smelly pebble. Director Pan almost chuckled. So, Mi Hongdou’s dislike for Zhang Zijing hadn’t changed. It was just that her talent and acting skills, and perhaps that “substitution” principle someone mentioned, had perfectly masked it.
Sometimes, Director Pan wondered who Mi Hongdou was looking at, through Zhang Zijing, with that gentle and loving gaze.
Mi Hongdou’s performance had been excellent. But her emotions when facing Zhang Zijing were mostly just sweetness or resentment. She nailed the former, but often overdid the latter. However, after a few adjustments, she had learned to portray resentment born from love, not from a murderous grudge.
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