Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Tang Mo’er looked at Director Haining, she greeted her with composure. “Hello, Director Haining.”
Haining had worked with Tang Mo’er once and she was very fond of Tang Mo’er, since she was the top one in terms of acting and looks out of the many female stars in the entertainment industry.
But it was such a shame, Tang Mo’er disappeared when she was at the peak of her popularity, and for three whole years.
Haining was surprised that Tang Mo’er had even appeared to take part in the auditions.
“Hello, Miss Tang, which character are you trying for?” Haining asked.
“Shangguan Man’er.”
Hearing her choice, Haining was even more surprised, she hadn’t expected Tang Mo’er to want to try for the role of a ‘pretty face’.
‘The Concubine’ was a period drama with the Emperor’s women entangled in conventional palace rivalries. Shangguan Man’er was a princess of the previous dynasty and the greatest beauty at that time. When the Emperor ended the previous dynasty, she was conferred with the title of Imperial Consort. The Emperor even built her a special palace so that she could dance inside. Within those six years, Shangguan Man’er rose through the ranks and became the favorite of the Emperor, even the Empress had to behave carefully around her.
But Shangguan Man’er was an unsociable ice beauty, she hadn’t involved herself in the palace rivalries but instead, she had depended on her beauty and dancing capabilities to secure her place. Compared to the other concubines, the tolerant and astute Empress, the overly haughty concubines, or even the female lead, Wang Junyao, who had to start from the lowest ranks to eventually become the Empress, she was a complete ‘pretty face’.
Haining was surprised, if Tang Mo’er hadn’t disappeared for the past three years, it wouldn’t have been a problem for her to land the role as the female lead. But now, she was auditioning for a role of a ‘pretty face’.
“Miss Tang, have you thought it through? Are you really going to audition for Shangguan Man’er?” Haining asked.
Tang Mo’er nodded her head definitively. “Yes, I’ve thought it through.”
“Alright, you’ll need some dance background to play the role of Shangguan Man’er. If I’m not wrong, I remember that Miss Tang has some background in dancing. Let’s have Miss Tang perform traditional Chinese dance.”
“Okay.”
Qi Xi draped a red shawl over Tang Mo’er’s body and Tang Mo’er stood on her toes and started to dance.
Wow!
The entire crowd gaped at Tang Mo’er’s elegant dance, they couldn’t take their eyes off of her.
…
At that same time, upstairs, an imposing figure stood at the railings, watching the entire scene unfold.
Gu Mohan had appeared, he was followed by Yan Dong. Yan Dong was holding onto a bag of clothes.
A few rich heirs had passed by the venue and they all crowded together, watching Tang Mo’er dance—-
“Wow, hurry up and look at this, isn’t that Beauty Tang?”
“Oh god, Beauty Tang is having a comeback!”
“I’ve seen Beauty Tang perform pole dance once and all the men had a hard on after watching her performance. I didn’t expect Beauty Tang to even know about traditional Chinese dance.”
“You must not know about this, Beauty Tang actually learned dance since young and she’s well versed in many different types of dance. There was once, a few wealthy men attempted to invite Beauty Tang to perform for them at a private gathering by paying her a hundred million dollars, but Beauty Tang didn’t even bother with them. This incident ended up being circulated around in the industry at the time.”
“Tsk tsk, Beauty Tang, the one who all men want to sleep with is finally back. Their desires are probably rekindled now.”
The few heirs talked among themselves while laughing.
Yan Dong was wiping his sweat by the side while secretly observing President’s mood.
Gu Mohan stood there, with one hand in his pocket. He didn’t have much of an expression on his face, his eyes were just fixated on the red figure dancing downstairs.
…
Han Xiaowan also stood in one corner as she watched Tang Mo’er dance. She had actually planned to audition for the role of Shangguan Man’er too, but Tang Mo’er had beaten her to it.
After performing her exquisite dance Tang Mo’er had successfully impressed everyone, captivating the attention and approval of all the people in the room.
It seemed like the role of Shangguan Man’er belonged to Tang Mo’er for sure.
Han Xiaowan humphed, she looked at her manager who was beside her. “You drugged Tang Mo’er’s water bottle, right?”
Sister Wu nodded her head. “The job’s done, the drug was given to me by Producer Chen, it’s said that it’s a potent aphrodisiac. Xiaowan, just sit back and watch, Tang Mo’er’s going to be burning with desire and be stripping for everyone in just a bit.”
Han Xiaowan let out an evil smile, she was waiting to watch the drama.
Two minutes later, Tang Mo’er stopped dancing and she had broken out into a fine dew of perspiration, just like the petals of a rose with speckles of water on it, she was stunning. “Director Haining, what do you think of my dance?”
Clapping, Haining started to applaud her. “Miss Tang, this role belongs to you. Congratulations, you’ve passed the audition.”
Tang Mo’er removed her red shawl and handed it over to Qi Xi. “Director Haining, thank you.”
Tang Mo’er then moved aside once she was done thanking the director.
Haining looked at the scriptwriter Fangfang, who was standing behind her. As the original author of the novel ‘The Concubine’ was adapted from, Fangfang’s opinion was integral. “Fangfang, does Tang Mo’er fit the role of Shangguan Man’er?”
Series like ‘The Concubine’, that were adapted from novels would oftentimes be controversial as fans of the original novel tend to think that celebrities would ruin the character if they were not a good fit for the role. Therefore, the fit of the actor was crucial.
Fangfang stared at Tang Mo’er open-mouthed, she took a few moments to get a grip over herself. “Wow, this is awesome, the role of Shangguan Man’er seems to be a perfect fit for Tang Mo’er. It’s as though the role was custom-made for her.”
Haining nodded her head in approval. “Shangguan Man’er was named the greatest beauty because of her ‘Plumage Dance’ and became the favorite of the Emperor. It’s actually easier for us to cast the female stars for the female lead and first supporting female character. The second supporting female character, Shangguan Man’er is the most tricky.”
“That’s right,” Scriptwriter Fangfang was flurrying about in excitement. “Shangguan Man’er appears to be a ‘pretty face’ but she’s actually the most pure, innocent and untainted character in ‘The Concubine’. Comparing Shangguan Man’er with the female lead, Wang Junyao, I actually have higher hopes for Shangguan Man’er.”
Han Xiaowan was shocked when she saw nothing happen to Tang Mo’er yet. What exactly went wrong, why weren’t the drugs working?
“Sister Wu, didn’t you do your job right? Are you sure that you’ve drugged her water?” Han Xiaowan was livid.
Why wasn’t the aphrodisiac working yet? Tang Mo’er was meant to be stripping off her clothes and making a fool of herself!
Her manager, Sister Wu was also caught off-guard by the slip-up. “Xiaowan, I really did drug her water. I even made sure that the crew member delivered that correct bottle of water to her, she drank out of that bottle. I’m also not sure about what went wrong.”
“You!”
Han Xiaowan was about to start scolding her manager when a crew member announced, “Next, Han Xiaowan!”
It was her turn.
Han Xiaowan panicked, she quickly went in front and greeted Haining with a sweet smile. “Hello, Director Haining.”
Haining wasn’t very fond of Han Xiaowan and she in a less-than-welcoming tone. “Miss Han, which role are you auditioning for?”
Han Xiaowan sneaked a furtive glance at Chen Tao, who stood behind Haining. Chen Tao signaled an ‘OK’ with his hand.
She was reassured by him and said, “Director Haining, I would like to audition for the role of Shangguan Man’er as well.”
Haining and Fangfang exchanged glances. “That’s fine, Miss Han, please perform for us a crying scene.”
Crying scene?
Piece of cake. Han Xiaowan was an expert at crying scenes, she calmed herself down and was about to showcase her skills when she suddenly felt her body getting warm.
