During the afternoon, the Eighth Prince’s actor swung his braid, “Hand me my lunchbox.”
And everyone laughed.
He touched his bald head sheepishly, realized that he was too into his acting and let out an awkward laugh. He then took his food and had a chat with the rest. The entire crew, other than the women, had their heads shaved clean.
It was an honor to sacrifice oneself for art, thus they were willing to shave their heads.
“Your Majesty, can you talk about your experience in Serene City?” Xu Nuo said jokingly as soon as the class was over. The few of them sat together and had a chat. Perhaps it was like what Yan Hua said–to improve their relationship.
“Yeah, your Majesty, tell us, I wish to know as well,” said an older woman. She was the empress’ wet nurse. Wet Nurse Liu was a powerful figure around the royalty.
Yan Huan smiled, feeling a little tired.
“Since his Majesty wants me to talk about it, how can I reject?” Everyone laughed.
Yan Huan reminisced about her time back in Serene City, the fear, the worry of not knowing what tomorrow would bring, and that hellish 70 hours. One wouldn’t be able to imagine it without having experienced it first-hand.
She spoke slowly and without emotion, just repeating the facts of what happened back then.
Those who could move were all in the rescue effort. No one was idle because those who were still buried under could be their brothers, sisters, children or parents.
Nothing was more important than a life in the face of disaster.
Everyone listened silently. Maybe because this was what Yan Huan experienced first-hand, despite her simple narration, a few girls began to tear up.
“How fake,” a voice suddenly interjected, its tone filled with sarcasm.
Everyone else turned toward the woman, they were immersed in Yan Huan’s story but this voice just completely ruined the atmosphere.
“Yeah, I’m quite fake,” Yan Huan stretched her legs, she wore a pair of simple and comfortable sneakers, “I wonder how much did the truthful Miss Su donate back then?”
“Miss Su must have donated quite a sum, correct? Sister Lin, how much did I donate again?” Yan Huan asked Luo Lin, in a manner similar to a sleepy cat who had just eaten its fill. Its graceful poise made others want to pet her.
Luo Lin raised her head and spoke in a serious tone, “Miss Yan donated 50 million yuan.”
That number was something even top celebrities wouldn’t take out of their own pocket, yet Yan Huan donated that sum back then. Luo Lin knew about it clearly as she was the one who did the transaction. Clearing her throat, she continued, “That was all the money in Miss Yan’s account back then, she was forced to eat bread and pickles for quite a while after that.”
“Pfft…” Someone let out a giggle and the others soon followed. Su Muran was the only one who turned and left with a poker face.
Yan Huan stood up and bowed to Xu Nuo, her movements accurate and graceful. “Your Majesty, if there’s nothing else, I’d like to excuse myself.”
Everyone else was rolling on the floor laughing.
“Little Lin,” Yan Huan held out her hand, and Luo Lin grabbed it, assuming she’s calling her.
“Prepare some water to wash my feet.”
“As you command,” Luo Lin replied seriously, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
Yan Huan, could you be any dumber?
Su Muran was fuming when she reached her home. Nothing good ever happens whenever she meets Yan Huan. Why did people always compare the two of them? What was there to be compared?
She was a daughter of the Su family, graduated from a prestigious school, had high education and high intelligence. But what was Yan Huan? Nothing but an extra, an orphan without parents, how could Yan Huan even be compared to her?
A donation, why did she need to give away her hard-earned cash? She would donate it if she liked, only pretentious people cared about useless fame.
And now she was the female lead.
If you asked Yan Hua if he was happy with Su Muran leading this movie, he wouldn’t be able to answer. Yan Hua had relations with the Su Family and all of his movies were funded by them as well. Who else can he cast as the female lead if not Su Muran? While she’s not as good as he had hoped, she’s still above average. Although her acting was mediocre, she’s at least improving and will give the films some traction. But sadly, the reception was not too good’ it was nothing compared to Yan Huan’s.
Yan Huan was called the queen of box office and ratings, and with proof to back it up. All of the movies she starred in sold out, and her TV series had high ratings.
He just hoped to use her fame and luck to improve the ratings of his series, as he had prepared for two years for this series, and now they were just moving into production. He cannot, and will not, fail. Or else, his efforts for the past two years would have been for nothing.
Yan Huan tidied her clothes and the gorgeous crown on her head. The clothes she wore were all hand sewn. The crew had certainly put a lot of money in this, as each costume was beautifully crafted. Even ignoring the script, the authentic looking Qing Dynasty costumes were something unforgettable.
Yan Huan like the costumes a lot. Of course, she had limited experience with periodic dramas like these. She appeared in her first one years ago as the emperor’s mother but this would be the first time she would be acting as an empress. She liked the character a lot: someone who was ruthless, yet had her soft spots, her innocence slowly worn away by the harsh environment in the palace until she became a true empress.
