After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 219: The Flesh-and-Blood Emperor Yuan Zhao

Chapter 219: Chapter 219: The Flesh-and-Blood Emperor Yuan Zhao

On the broad and straight palace path of Yinhe Palace, a young girl in light palace attire, with elegant makeup, led four identically dressed palace maids, walking lightly and steadily into the rear of Zhaoming Hall.

Emperor Yuan Zhao, who was sitting behind the desk pretending to nap, woke at the sound of the announcement. He looked up to see his young sister lifting her skirt as she crossed the threshold, walking towards him with a smile.

"Princess Jin’an greets her Imperial Sister. Did Imperial Sister stay up again last night dealing with state affairs? If you keep exhausting yourself like this, how can your body take it?"

Facing that small face filled with both concern and discontent, Jiang Lingxi felt a sense of being in a different era.

In fact, before the filming of the script for "Empress Yuan Zhao," she had extensively revised it. Not to mention the lines of others, but the lines of familiar and important people around her were privately altered to things she had personally heard.

Furthermore, with Xu Ling’an replacing Lin Xuefei as Jin’an, in front of her were eyes that bore an uncanny resemblance to those of her younger sister. This time, she was transported into her memories.

She naturally began to comfort, saying, "It’s nothing serious. If I feel unwell, I certainly won’t push myself." Then, her tone shifted, "But you, I hear you’re compiling a collection of essays, you mustn’t lose sleep and forget to eat over it, or I won’t allow it."

"Jin’an remembers Imperial Sister’s reminder. When the collection is completed, could Imperial Sister write a preface for me?"

"Of course."

In the solemn and austere hall, it was just the two sisters, and naturally, no one knew how intimate these most noble sisters in the world were in private.

Wei Xiao sat in front of the monitor, watching the scenes displayed on it.

In the original script, there were supposed to be several palace maids standing by, and the dialogue between Emperor Yuan Zhao and Princess Jin’an was meant to be more formal.

After all, the Imperial Sister was already the Emperor, and besides the Empress Dowager to whom she owed filial piety, everyone else could be considered subjects, including siblings and descendants, who should respect the Emperor more than love her.

But with the scene altered by Jiang Lingxi, watching the monitor display Jiang Lingxi as Emperor Yuan Zhao, her relaxed expression when dealing with her sister Princess Jin’an, Wei Xiao felt a bit more enlightened.

An Emperor is also human, with flesh and blood, and needs the care of family, and wishes to relax with dear ones.

He admitted to having a filter for Emperor Yuan Zhao; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent such a long time preparing this script. But in the previous script, Emperor Yuan Zhao was implicitly deified. The current adaptation, however, felt more real.

The presented effect was pleasantly surprising, and he was equally surprised by Xu Ling’an’s performance.

Originally, Wei Xiao thought Xu Ling’an, having taken up acting halfway and with no experience, couldn’t have good script skills. The later lines for Princess Jin’an would certainly need a professional voice actor.

He didn’t have high expectations for this girl, just that her acting could pass under his guidance.

Today was Xu Ling’an’s first scene. Afraid of her nervousness, he specifically selected a relatively simple scene with Jiang Lingxi, who Xu Ling’an was the most familiar with.

He was prepared for several NG takes, but now watching the natural performance on the monitor and hearing the unexpectedly fluent and emotionally rich lines from the sound equipment, Wei Xiao suddenly felt he had spotted a natural talent.

"Good, this one is done, take a break, prepare for the next take."

With the director’s cue, the entire crew also breathed a sigh of relief.

They all knew Xu Ling’an was the director’s discovery from a home visit, and she had just graduated from high school and had never acted before.

If there were frequent NGs, not only the actor would suffer, but the staff would too.

With the temperature at thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees, no one wanted constant NGs, and many had even prepared heatstroke medication in advance.

After the director called "cut," Jiang Lingxi detached herself from the plot.

Though she was almost replaying what she had experienced in her past life, she was well aware that now is now, and she is not someone who indulges in the past.

However, she noticed Xu Ling’an, still holding a teacup, hadn’t quite yet come back to reality.

Jiang Lingxi waited patiently until the girl’s eyes cleared, then praised, "Well done!"

Xu Ling’an put down the cup and pursed her lips, wanting to say she wasn’t entirely acting; she genuinely felt a sense of déjà vu but didn’t know how to express it, appearing a bit dazed.

Until Wei Xiao called her over with a loudspeaker.

Jiang Lingxi led Xu Ling’an over, reviewing their just-played scene in front of the monitor.

After watching, they were asked, "Did you two rehearse in advance?"

Though phrased as a question, Wei Xiao’s tone was confident.

Jiang Lingxi: "..."

They actually hadn’t!

In fact, even she didn’t expect Xu Ling’an’s first scene to go this smoothly without any NGs.

Thus, both were asked and shook their heads simultaneously.

Wei Xiao: "..."

A rare guess, but wrong!

"It seems An’an is naturally talented in acting," he sighed, unable to resist suggesting, "An’an hasn’t applied to a school yet, why not apply to the Imperial City Film Academy? I’m an honorary professor there."

Wei Xiao found Xu Ling’an talented in acting, with a good memory for lines, and good conditions, but didn’t expect the girl to seriously shake her head at him and politely decline: "Thank you Director Wei for your acknowledgment, but I don’t plan to apply to a film-related major."

Wei Xiao: "... Then what major are you planning to apply for?"

"Computer science."

Wei Xiao: "..."

Jiang Lingxi, listening on the side: "..."

Returning to their resting area, the two drank some water before Jiang Lingxi continued reviewing a math book she was about a third through.

The earlier content was still quite simple, but it got harder towards the end.

Fortunately, she had a self-presented little tutor near her.

Whenever she was unsure or didn’t understand, asking Xu Ling’an guaranteed a solution.

Since she also planned on taking the college entrance exam and had researched many majors, Jiang Lingxi thought of Xu Ling’an’s answer to Director Wei’s question during her detailed tutoring.

The girl’s academic performance was excellent, and majoring in something like acting seemed a bit underrating her talent. She had heard that particularly complex subjects suited for smart people, like computer science, were quite good.

Of course, no matter what Xu Ling’an wanted to study, she would support it.

If Director Wei felt regret, then let him feel regret; she wouldn’t persuade otherwise.