Chapter 440: The Filming
Mo Li arrived at the set and to her surprise, the director was a bearded man she had not met. Nie Li introduced, “This is Director Peng.”
Mo Li greeted the man. However, Mo Li was shocked because she was scolded. She was late for an hour. There was nothing more Director Peng hated than tardiness. For his projects, everyone knew to come early.
“You’re Mo Li? Mo Xiao is your brother? I know you have a strong background but you can’t do this! Don’t be late again!” Mo Li was lectured for ten minutes. She was obedient and took his scolding to heart. This was the first time Mo Li was openly scolded by a director. Thankfully, Director Peng was not that sharp with his words. After all, he still needed to give Mo Xiao and Nie Li face.
“Fine, go and change. We’re going to shoot a few scenes today. Yin Zheng, Qin Hang, get over here. We’ll shoot the 4th scene first.” Director Peng was a swift-minded person. He rolled up the script and waved it around like a baton as if directing the army. The two male leads quickly stood up and entered the set.
“Ready…” Mo Li didn’t know anyone from this crew other than An Wan. An Wan didn’t know too many people from the crew either.
The supporting female actors, Zhuo Ran and Jiang Yan were talking with a few veteran actors. They were talking about An Wan’s ban. When An Wan heard this, her expression s.h.i.+fted slightly but she didn’t say anything. However, noticing this, the veteran actors told the girls to change the subject.
…
The female supporting actor, Zhuo Ran asked the veteran actors for acting pointers. The veteran was glad to share. Everyone thought Zhuo Ran’s acting skill was not as good as An Wan but she was more popular. Ever since An Wan was banned, she rarely appeared in public. She had remained relevant because the gossip mags would dig up her stained history every few months. The other female supporting actor, Jiang Yan looked down on An Wan.
The entertainment industry was a field where the turnover rate was very high. If one didn’t have any work or exposure, one would eventually fade away. An Wan had made a comeback but she didn’t have any signature work. She only had a few side roles here and there. An Wan didn’t have a manager so she had no resources either. The reason she could be part of Like a Willow and Witch of Sun and Moon was all thanks to Mo Li.
“Do you think the girl will keep you around forever? Keep dreaming!” Jiang Yan said loudly, afraid that An Wan would not hear her.
The stylist who was helping An Wan glared back with an unfriendly gaze. She was about to rush over to argue with Jiang Yan when An Wan patted her shoulder and said, “It’s okay, don’t bother. We need to hurry up and change. The next scene is about to start.”
Nie Li quietly observed An Wan. She had heard about An Wan’s scandal. An Wan was close to become an A-list celebrity, but because she refused to bow to a male sponsor, she was schemed against. Many horrible rumors appeared. She was exposed to be someone’s kept mistress. He Sen didn’t care about this and left the issue with the vice president. The vice president at the time was a newbie. Since many movies and companies canceled their contracts with An Wan, the vice president’s solution was to ban An Wan. An Wan had a complicated background so no one was willing to wade into the water to help her.
After the rumors blew over, An Wan actually had a chance to restart but An Wan suddenly disappeared. The company couldn’t find her. The truth was because An Wan had gone into hiding because her stomach was getting larger with Diu Diu.
Nie Li looked at An Wan. She is just like Mo Li when she was young. However, Mo Li is luckier because she has the background to support her. An Wan is a good seed. I should keep her in mind. If she can help me, then I might help her. Using each other, that is the entertainment world.
Mo Li was called over by the director when she was done with her make-up. They were going to shoot an important scene.
The empress dowager threatened the imperial witch with demolition of the divination hall. She demanded that the witch plant a curse on Huai Yan. The witch had no choice but to submit. However, the curse wouldn’t kill immediately. Huai Yan would be severely ill for days before she died.
The empress dowager agreed. Huai Yan’s sudden death would rouse too much suspicion either way. When the witch performed the ritual, the empress dowager purposely called someone to send the young Princess Ling Xi into the divination hall. The witchery and voodoo traumatized the young princess. She was scared witless, and she kept having nightmares.
As for Huai Yan, the curse worked. She fell ill and no medicine could cure her. Her condition worsened day by day. She knew she was going to die so she wrote down a letter to Di Xuan, detailing the love that she had for him and the many ideas she had about running a fair country.
Suddenly, the empress dowager launched another attack. She pinned all the crimes on Huai Yan’s family. She said it was the chancellor who tried to frighten Princess Ling Xi to have a firmer standing in imperial court. The empress dowager demanded that Huai Yan’s status as the crown prince’s consort be removed.