The empress was a woman with beauty, poise, and intellect. Of course, she was also a tough woman. People were torn between loving and hating her. Yan Huan did not know how others felt, but she felt that the empress had more depth in her character than the female lead, Qing Jun. Even though the emperor and Qing Jun had true feelings for each other, ultimately Qing Jun was still a mistress and a homewrecker.
“Ready, set, action!” Yan Hua shouted after everything was in place.
In front of the camera, she stretched out a delicate hand. Her pale fingers, her fair skin, as well as her golden nails and the bracelets on her wrists spoke of her high status. However, no one could mistaken her for an upstart, for the graceful way that she carried herself screamed of old money and a sophisticated upbringing.
Her hand pinched a grape off its stalk and raised it to her lips. Her face was absolutely stunning, her expression as serene as the moon. She placed the grape on her lips, her fingers curling slightly. She was not frail, but there was a softness and elegance to her that only women could have. Every movement of hers exuded an aura of wealth and glory.
That was the empress of the Qing Dynasty, under the Emperor and above all else. She was born into royalty, as her father was a prince and her elder brother was a general. She was powerful enough to control the whole country.
Of course, as the empress, she was the most precious existence in the palace. Men compete for the world in their politics while women compete for attention in the harem.
“Empress, she is the one,” Granny Liu roughly pushed a woman with a frazzled hair in front of the empress and made her kneel on the ground. However, the woman stiffened her knees, unwilling to kneel.
“How dare you refuse to kneel in front of the empress?” Several servant grannies went up to pinch and beat her. Granny Liu raised a foot and kicked the woman. Then, she kicked the back of her knees which made her collapse to the ground in a kneeling position.
The empress did not even bat her eyelids. Her aloof and noble aura was almost like a shining pearl, so brilliant that everyone else dimmed in her presence.
She stood up and stepped forward, guided by one of her servant grannies. She gently lifted a lock of hair from the woman’s head with her nail guard.
“She doesn’t look attractive at all. I thought she would be a rare beauty but she can’t even compare to my ugliest palace maid.”
“That’s right,” the Granny beside raised her chin and replied, “Our Empress’ beauty is incomparable. Who else in the palace can be compared with her?”
The woman on the ground scoffed when she heard it. The scoff reached the empress’ ears, who then lifted the woman’s face and patted it gently. It was a very humiliating gesture. At this moment, her red lips were curved in a mocking smile, but her eyes were ice cold. Her nail guard slightly scratched across the woman’s face, leaving a light red streak on her porcelain face.
“Yan Huan, have you had enough?”
Su Muran suddenly stood up and shoved Yan Huan away aggressively.
“Who allowed you to touch my face, is it written in the script? Get your dirty hands away from me. It’s disgusting.”
Yan Huan shook her hand and then looked at Yan Hua helplessly. Director Yan, can we still film? I had only followed the script exactly. As for touching Su Muran’s face, she herself also felt disgusted because the powder caked on that woman’s face had smeared onto her hand.
Yan Hua felt a headache coming. “Miss Su, this is what the plot needed and I do not feel that Yan Huan did anything wrong. She is the empress so she should be like that.” Yan Hua was absolutely right. The beauty, grace, and nobility of the empress were all displayed through Yan Huan’s own actions and expressions. Her calm temperament and unyielding boldness were obvious. It was known at a glance that Yan Huan had immersed herself into her role and her performance was perfect.
Su Muran could not even begin to compare with Yan Huan. To begin with, she had such a childish temper. It seemed like she could not suppress Yan Huan’s acting from the very beginning, and her performance was also very lacking. This was not the first or second time that Su Muran had acted out of character.
Su Muran reluctantly knelt down again. When her eyes locked onto Yan Huan, they were filled with an intense anger and hatred. Yan Hua’s furrowed eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot.
Su Muran’s expression was still not right. It was completely off. He had talked to Su Muran for a long time in private but Su Muran had not listened to it at all. This was still Su Muran’s eyes, not Qing Jun’s eyes while she faced the empress.
One had immersed into the scene deeply and one could not immerse into it at all. If the filming went on like this, Su Mu’s limelight would be snatched away completely by Yan Huan.
In another scene, the emperor came in and stood in front of the empress. He crossed his hands behind him with a reproachful look of disdain.
Does the empress have nothing to say to me?
What does the emperor want me to say? The empress lifted her chin slightly, without a shred of guilt. Emperor, do you still care about your ancestors’ honor and pride? Do you not care about your people anymore? Emperor, do you really want to ignore your citizens for the sake of a woman and make a joke of the Manchu Dynasty’s government?
The emperor raised his hand and gave his empress a sharp smack.
“Cut, stop for a sec,” Yan Hua shouted.
Then he waved at Yan Huan and Xu Nuo, gesturing for both of them to check the footage.
Yan Huan stood up straight. Then she went to watch the scene that was just shot while Xu Nuo stood beside her. His expression seemed a little strange, and Yan Huan also had the same feeling.
Looking at the playback, it was very good in the beginning. Everything was perfect, whether it was the expression of Yan Huan or Xu Nuo, the conflict between the emperor and the empress, and the hidden animosity. Their performances were very successful, natural and in-character.
Yan Huan lifted her chin and then carefully looked at her expression, movements, and tone, which is indeed at her highest level. However, in the end, when Xu Nuo slapped her, the atmosphere changed.
“One more time,” Yan Hua said to them.
He gestured for the rest to get ready for the cameras, but Yan Huan thought of something. “Director, please wait a moment.”
Yan Hua nodded, and he put down his hand.
Yan Huan pointed to her face and then said to Xu Nuo, “Slap me for real.”
“For real?” Xu Nuo almost dropped his jaw, “Do you really want me to hit you for real?”
“Yes,” Yan Huan nodded. “If you play with viewing angles, it won’t feel right. It’s not realistic enough. Just hit me for real. I am ready to sacrifice my face for the sake of art.”
Xu Nuo still hesitated, “How can I hit you for real?”
