CHAPTER 105

It was an exceptionally long and wide rectangular table.

Zhu Ehua sat at the head of the table.

To her left sat Xu Shumin.

On the right side of the table sat Zou Yirui, Xiang Xiaoyuan, Lu Jingnian, and Guo Zhilu in that order.

The left side was occupied by Zheng Wan, He Chenying, Zhou Yu, and Xu Muyi.

Once Zhu Ehua and Xu Shumin took their seats, Zou Yirui's chair began inching subtly toward Xiaoyuan, forcing Xiaoyuan to push her chair further down. Lu Jingnian also pushed towards Guo Zhilu, resulting in a conspicuously large gap between Zou Yirui and Xu Shumin.

When producer Chen Yunxiu, the assistant director, and the executive producer entered, everyone who needed to stand did so, exchanging greetings before the newcomers took their seats at the rear of the table.

Zeng Li, who played Emperor Qingyuan, was the last to arrive. He entered, apologizing profusely amidst the greetings from the younger actors.

"Ah, my apologies, my apologies, I was delayed on the way..."

"Teacher Zeng..."

"Hello, Teacher Zeng..."

Amid the flurry of welcomes, Zeng Li spotted Zhu Ehua. As he started to bow slightly in greeting, she tilted her head and smiled faintly. "Alright, alright, Xiao Zeng, take your seat."

With a quiet smile, Zeng Li glanced around the table before settling into the chair to her right.

Xiaoyuan harbored mixed feelings toward Zhu Ehua. On one hand, she revered this legendary figure; on the other, she couldn't shake a certain discomfort.

It started that night in the quadrangle courtyard, when Zhu Ehua spoke to her brother with a hint of ambiguity. Although her brother said she was overthinking it, which was later proven true. Just now, Zhu Ehua's tone with Zeng Li was the same. This must be her usual way of speaking, regardless of whether she's talking to a man or a woman.

A faint, ethereal tone, like gently rippling water—truth be told, it was undeniably captivating.

In society's eyes, a woman over sixty—likely someone's grandmother, mother-in-law, or elder—is stripped of any gendered allure. Yet Zhu Ehua shattered those age constraints entirely. In her presence, one marveled that beauty could indeed be lifelong. Even with wrinkles, even past youth, her charm radiated from some intrinsic, bone-deep essence.

Earlier, everyone rushed to curry favor with her, their eyes sparkling with excited admiration. Xiaoyuan thought that perhaps she had the same expression when her brother took her to meet Zhu Ehua at the Beicheng quadrangle courtyard years ago.

Now, she simply waited respectfully behind others, approaching politely to say hello when there was a chance.

Xiaoyuan wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt Zhu Ehua was giving her strange looks—as if there was some hidden meaning behind them.

Xiaoyuan had made up her mind. As a junior, she would simply be polite to Zhu Ehua. There was no need to deliberately curry favor, nor to reveal to others that they knew each other. Admiration and respect didn't necessarily mean she had to like her.

Her gaze drifted toward He Chenying instead. Sister Chenying was so much better—beautiful, gentle, and a wonderful mother. Now that was the kind of idol she adored.

As if sensing her stare, He Chenying looked up and met Xiaoyuan's eyes with a slight smile. Caught red-handed, Xiaoyuan could only grin sheepishly in return.

After introductions were done, the table read officially began, led by Xu Shumin.

Following the script, the first episode revolved around the princesses' marriages.

The Marquis of Wuding had requested Emperor Qingyuan to arrange a marriage for his second son. Both princesses—Chong'an and Chongping—had reached marriageable age. Chong'an, the elder, was the Empress's daughter, while Chongping, a year younger, was born to Consort Zheng.

The Marquis's grandfather had been a founding general of the Great Chong Dynasty, and the title "Marquis of Wuding" was hereditary. Now in its third generation, the family still wielded significant military power, currently stationed at the northern border.

Logically, a family of such stature wouldn't lack marriage proposals, but there was a catch. The Marquis had two sons—the elder had married a noblewoman and had a son and daughter, while the younger remained unwed due to his congenital intellectual disability.

The Marquis hadn't specified which princess he wanted, but his stance made it clear—one of them had to marry into his family.

The Great Chong Dynasty was politically stable, but not without threats, particularly from the three Mongol tribes at the northern border. So Emperor Qingyuan granted the request.

The question now was—which princess would be wed?

Emperor Qingyuan was a man who disliked trouble, preferring stability and disliking upheaval. His intention was for Princess Chong'an, born to the Empress, to marry into the family.

The Empress, eager to secure the Marquis's support for the Crown Prince's succession, agreed. But Chong'an refused, arguing bitterly with her mother to no avail. She then tearfully pleaded with the Crown Prince before escalating the matter to the Empress Dowager, whose displeasure only made things worse.

Meanwhile, Consort Zheng quietly persuaded Chongping, who then volunteered to take Chong'an's place, humiliating both the Empress and the Crown Prince in front of the Emperor and Empress Dowager.

The Empress was reprimanded, Chong'an was confined to her palace for reflection, and even the Crown Prince faced reproach.

Though neither Lu Jingnian nor Xiaoyuan had scenes in this part of the reading, they still participated. The real pressure fell on Zou Yirui, who played Chong'an, and Guo Zhilu, who played Chongping.

Zhu Ehua as the Empress Dowager, Zeng Li as the Emperor, and He Chenying as the Empress were like immortals sparring—effortlessly capturing the subtle power struggles between their characters with just a few light touches.

Zhou Yu, playing the Crown Prince, stumbled a bit from nerves but still demonstrated solid acting fundamentals.

Guo Zhilu, perhaps emboldened by having someone perform worse than her or simply quick on her feet, managed to get through her lines smoothly.

Poor Zou Yirui, though, had it the worst.

It was like a student who barely scraped by in math suddenly finding herself in an Olympiad training class—surrounded by gold medalists, experts, and even the experts' mentors.

The pressure was so intense it felt like she was being roasted alive over a fire.

This entire segment was filled with her lines.

Zou Yirui kept stumbling over her words, apologizing, until she nearly broke down on the spot by the end.

Xiaoyuan couldn't bear to watch from the side, but she couldn't help her either—her own part in this scene only had a line or two. It was He Chenying who finally stepped in to defuse the situation, and Director Xu quickly chimed in to move the scene along.

Zou Yirui kept her head down for the rest of the session, too embarrassed to lift her face.

The senior actors all wore expressions of practiced indifference, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary, but the younger cast members exchanged uneasy glances, their movements subdued.

Zhou Yu couldn't help but take a deep breath to steady himself. In his seven or eight years in the industry, today had been the hardest to endure.

Back at the hotel that evening, Xiaoyuan had just finished dinner and was heading to her room when Zou Yirui cornered her. Her eyes were red and swollen, her whole demeanor pitiful as she clutched her script desperately. "Emergency! No—save me!"

"Huh?"

"Please, practice lines with me, I'm begging you!" Zou Yirui pleaded, her eyes brimming with tears.

"But we barely have any scenes together?" Xiaoyuan scratched her head.

"That's fine! Just act out the other roles with me, please! You're the only friend I have in this story!" Zou Yirui's brows drooped, her lips pouted, tears welling up—she was pouring every ounce of her acting skills into this performance.

Xiaoyuan shuddered. "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I have my own scenes to rehearse. I've got a lot to prepare..."

"Please, Sister Yuan, for old times' sake! Wuwuwu! Sister Yuan!" Tears actually spilled down Zou Yirui's cheeks as she grabbed Xiaoyuan's hand, smearing them onto her sleeve. Xiaoyuan recoiled in disgust. "Alright, alright, good grief—wipe your nose first!"

"Thank you, you're the best!" Zou Yirui wailed. "Wuwuwu, I'm so miserable! I never should've come! Today I almost died on set!"

Xiaoyuan couldn't help but laugh at her dramatics, though she also felt a pang of sympathy—and a bit of shared dread. "Alright, alright, come on. Let's go to my room."

Zou Yirui clung to her sleeve, sniffling pathetically as they walked. "I'm so miserable, so miserable..."

Xiaoyuan's own stress spiked from her wailing. "Okay, okay, I'm under pressure too, you know? I'm scared as well..."

"Oh right—oh god, you have to kiss Zhou Yu, seduce Sister Chenying, and even massage Teacher Zhu's feet? Wow, you've got it way worse than me!"

Having studied the script thoroughly, Zou Yirui only cried harder upon comparing their roles. Xiaoyuan's mood plummeted in response. "..."

"I refuse to believe we're the only ones struggling this much!" Zou Yirui pulled up their group chat—the one the younger cast members had made.

Some people were already chatting. Lu Jingnian had tagged everyone with words of encouragement.

Zhou Yu had written: [I'm planning to consult Teacher Zeng Li later...]

Guo Zhilu added: [Same, I'm working up the courage to ask Teacher Zheng Wan...]

Zou Yirui blinked, her tear tracks still fresh. "Huh?"

Xiaoyuan scanned the messages, then suggested, "How about you go find Sister Chenying? You're both from Tonghua, and she's really nice. Maybe she'd..."

"That's right!" Zou Yirui pulled out a tissue to wipe her face, blew her nose, tossed it aside, and perked up. "Why didn't I think of that!"

Xiaoyuan nodded and was about to leave when Zou Yirui grabbed her again, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Come with me. I feel more at ease with you around."

Xiaoyuan was about to refuse.

Zou Yirui quickly added, "You can practice those flirtatious scenes with Sister Chenying while we're at it!"

Xiaoyuan: "..."

Though there were indeed some borderline scenes like that, why did it sound so awkward when put into words?

Unable to resist Zou Yirui's persistence, the two headed to He Chenying's room. After ringing the doorbell, He Chenying opened the door, glancing from Zou Yirui's tear-streaked face to Xiaoyuan's resigned expression. With a knowing smile, she said, "Come in."

Truth be told, the three of them had quite a connection—this was their second collaboration together. For He Chenying, it was even her second time playing Zou Yirui's mother.

Overcome with emotion, Zou Yirui threw herself into He Chenying's arms. "Sister, you're practically my real mom!"

Caught in the embrace, He Chenying felt slightly awkward upon hearing this. Her eyes met Xiaoyuan's, who covered her face with a "can't bear to watch" expression. This reaction actually amused He Chenying.

Meanwhile, Guo Zhilu mustered up her courage to knock on Zheng Wan's door, only to be told by the assistant that "Teacher Zheng is taking her beauty sleep."

Guo Zhilu was dumbfounded: "Huh? It's not even nine yet?"

Zhou Yu also struck out—Teacher Zeng's assistant politely informed him, "Teacher Zeng went out for a walk with his birds."

Zhou Yu: "..."

Emperor Qingyuan cared little for beauties, showed no interest in politics, and had no passion for literature—his sole delight was raising birds and tending flowers. The industry often said that once Teacher Zeng joined a production, he would fully embody his character, and it seemed to be true.

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