After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 238: Quick Hands

Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Quick Hands

"Yo, another lady disguised as a man!"

"Could she be imitating our Emperor Yuan Zhao?"

"Ha, a woman becoming emperor, such a colossal disgrace to the world, truly absurd!"

At the beginning of Emperor Yuan Zhao’s reign, despite ascending to the Dragon Throne with an iron grip, there were still voices of dissatisfaction in the court, all citing ancient and modern etiquette.

Among them, the long-standing aristocratic families were the most prominent, showing only superficial respect to the newly enthroned Emperor Yuan Zhao, while secretly plotting to seize the throne and support a favored member of the Jiang clan.

Having been influenced by this, some idle aristocratic offspring who had yet to enter the court naturally also had little respect for Emperor Yuan Zhao, often making disrespectful remarks in private gatherings.

They didn’t even realize they were performing right in front of the person concerned.

Shen Yunqing had read the script which was written that way, and the actors in front of him were acting accordingly. He had even heard worse things in his previous life, but still found it difficult to control his emotions.

The warmth in his gaze vanished abruptly.

The actors playing the young masters were extras with special contracts. Although they had previously acted opposite some famous actors, as soon as they met Shen Yunqing’s gaze, they all, without exception, turned pale and couldn’t suppress their panic.

Wei Xiao, sitting behind the monitor, noticed their performance and nodded in satisfaction, "These extras are reacting very well."

His requirements for extras’ acting skills were not high, just good enough to pass. But if they performed well, he was naturally more satisfied.

"Camera crew, give them an extra shot!"

The few extras genuinely panicking: "..."

Jiang Lingxi stood behind Shen Yunqing, and even though she couldn’t see his expression at that moment, judging by the distinctly unfriendly aura emanating from him, it could be guessed that the reactions of the extras across from them were likely out of real fear induced by Shen Yunqing, rather than deliberate acting.

"How dare you speak recklessly about Your Majesty, you have such courage!"

One of the extras with lines retorted with difficulty, "Did we say anything? Don’t, don’t put words in our mouths." He then turned to the guests in the tea house, "I’m from the Qi family of Chuzhou, did any of you hear us say anything just now?"

A mention of the Qi family from Chuzhou made everyone shake their heads quickly, indicating they had heard nothing.

Seeing this blatant threat, Shen Yunqing’s gaze towards the young masters was already like looking at dead men.

He knew that Your Majesty had long planned to suppress or even eradicate these aristocrats, but since there were many family members holding official positions in the court, to avoid causing chaos in the capital and the court, it had to proceed slowly.

But that didn’t mean he could stay indifferent to the arrogance of this aristocratic child.

He was about to draw his sword when a hand reached out to stop him.

"Don’t act impulsively."

Jiang Lingxi leaned close to Shen Yunqing’s ear and whispered, noticing his slightly reddened ears.

After a pause, she continued with her revised line, "Remember these people, before this time tomorrow, I want a report on their past illegal deeds relying on their family background on the imperial desk."

Shen Yunqing was already this angry, so how could she, the one being insulted, not be furious?

But simply getting rid of them would only vent her anger. The arrogance of these people suggested they often indulged in misconduct relying on their family background, making it virtually certain that any investigation would yield results.

Killing them would be too easy a fate. She aimed to remove the roots and maximize the benefits by humbling the arrogance of the aristocrats.

Shen Yunqing’s shoulders stiffened slightly, his gaze sweeping over those intimidating faces, as he lowly replied, "Yes."

"Good, cut. That was a take. Actors, take a break. Props team, prepare for the next scene."

Only after Shen Yunqing retracted his gaze did the extras playing the aristocratic young masters feel relieved. They exchanged glances and saw that their companions were also breathing a sigh of relief, their sentiments echoing each other’s.

Thankfully, that was a take. If they had to do it again, they couldn’t be sure they could stand there calmly under that gaze, and now they could finally relax a bit.

The tea house had many scenes, so after a short break, Jiang Lingxi changed into another costume, accompanied by Xu Ling’an and Pei Xinyuan, both also disguised as men, and Wei Minmin dressed as a personal guard, for a scene of them having tea in the tea house’s refined seating area.

The tea house was a place favored by elegant individuals or those who pretended to be elegant, and coincidentally, today was the monthly calligraphy and painting gathering there. Every literary person who came to taste the tea could also write or paint something, and the finished works had to be displayed for everyone to view while enjoying tea.

The four upstairs were also viewing the displayed works, which were of course prepared in advance by the props team.

"Jin’an, would you like to give it a try?"

Xu Ling’an hesitated for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, "Sister, I can’t. The teacher said my calligraphy and painting are still not good enough, so never mind."

"Your eyes are clearly sparkling, it’s just for fun, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, your teacher is Master Gu. Even I wouldn’t be considered proficient in front of him."

Having her sentiments exposed, the girl disguised as a young man blushed slightly, "Then will you accompany me, sister?"

Jiang Lingxi waved a hand at the tea house servant standing by, and soon, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone were all set up on the table.

"Jin’an, will you paint or write?"

"We’ve been out for a while, painting takes time, so I’ll write instead."

"Then let’s write."

The next scene originally just required them to assume the posture of writing with brushes, after which someone skilled in calligraphy would substitute to film the writing process.

However, Wei Xiao knew that Jiang Lingxi could write brush calligraphy quite well and hadn’t prepared a hand double for her.

When he saw Xu Ling’an also personally writing with a brush on the monitor, he was momentarily stunned before quickly instructing the camera crew, "Add another shot for Xu Ling’an!"

After Xu Ling’an finished writing, she looked across, both as her character’s reaction and her own, as she hadn’t seen her sister write calligraphy in person before, just heard about it.

After looking, she was taken aback, then looked at her own not yet dried handwriting and suddenly felt like hiding it.

She thought her writing was pretty good—after all, her work had been used as examples by the teacher in the school’s calligraphy class—but everything paled in comparison.

Pei Xinyuan, playing Qing Yuan, took the brush, looked at the words on the paper, and couldn’t help but read aloud, "Peace and safety."

Such simple words, yet they fully demonstrated elegance.

The writings of both were taken to the stage, and according to the script, they received much appreciation and praise. However, since neither piece had a signature, they ultimately were not hung on the tea house display wall.

The two scenes took a whole morning to shoot.

Another two groups were working simultaneously, and once all three groups finished, they finally got to eat the crew’s meal.

"Hey, by the way." Wei Xiao took a bite of rice under the awning and suddenly remembered something, "Where’s Jiang Lingxi’s writing?"

He hadn’t seen it since the filming ended.

"It seems Mr. Shen took it."

Wei Xiao, who originally wanted to keep it for himself: "..."

How could his hand be so quick!