After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 37

Lin Shuyan’s face turned even redder. Wasn’t she playing exactly that—a princess—in The Princess of Qin?

“I’m heading out now.” Lin Shuyan waved goodbye to Ren Xuan reluctantly. She had to meet her assistant at the airport, and it wasn’t appropriate for Ren Xuan to see her off there.

After seeing her into the car, Ren Xuan turned and headed toward her company.

The Princess of Qin, Director Wu Wenshan’s new project, was a period political drama. Invested in by President Yu of Changfu, the role Lin Shuyan played was one of the two female leads: the Eldest Princess of Great Qin.

To this day, Lin Shuyan didn’t know who the other female lead was. On the day of the makeup test, the other party had been busy, so their schedules hadn’t overlapped. They hadn’t met, and Director Wu hadn’t told her either, saying it would be a surprise.

Lin Shuyan never expected the surprise to come so suddenly. As soon as she arrived on set, she encountered a familiar, elegant figure. “Teacher Rong?”

Could Rong Yu be the other female lead?

“Yes. From now on, you can call me Ning An,” Rong Yu said, clearly well-prepared and aware of who her co-star was.

“I liked this character, and since Director Wu asked me, I came to try out. I didn’t expect it to be such a good fit.”

“Teacher Rong wanted to play a woman general?” Lin Shuyan thought of the character Ning An in the script and suddenly understood.

Some stars might turn down a role they like due to the director or investment, but some are different; they are willing to set aside their status to take a script they love, not even caring how much profit the role brings them. Either choice is understandable.

“Mhm, I’ve always wanted to try this type of character, but I never had the chance,” Rong Yu said with a smile, explaining her reasoning. By the time Director Wu walked over, the two were already discussing their roles.

“Rong Yu, Lin Shuyan,” Director Wu said, strolling over. “You’re both acquaintances, so I don’t need to do much introducing.” Director Wu called over a staff member to lead the two to the dressing room. They shared the same one.

The Princess of Qin was planned for two seasons, with twelve episodes each, forty-five minutes per episode. The director and producer planned to film the drama with the smallest possible budget—to be blunt, there were few investors. They would film one season and air it immediately, deciding the filming progress of the next season based on the audience’s reaction. In other words, the investors were worried about losing too much capital by putting in too much money upfront.

The story begins with the death of the Emperor of Qin. The Eldest Prince, Qin Yuanzhao, aged eighteen, ascends the throne. While other border nations take advantage of the new emperor’s ascension and the unstable government to launch a war, Ning An, the eldest child of the Ning family, proactively volunteers. At only eighteen, she leads the Ning family army into battle. Five years later, the war is settled. Ning An leads her troops back to court. The Emperor holds a welcome banquet for Ning An in the Taiji Palace and personally bestows a marriage contract.

Playing the new Emperor was a man surnamed Chi, named Chi Run. The first scene Lin Shuyan filmed was sitting in the Taiji Palace, suddenly hearing her younger brother, the Emperor, bestow a marriage upon her.

The Eldest Princess of Great Qin, Qin Yuantang, the Emperor’s biological older sister. Such a status was naturally more than enough for General Ning An.

To the shock of the entire hall, General Ning An’s first reaction upon hearing the news was to kneel.

“Minister Ning, please rise,” the new Emperor said, showing no displeasure on his face, only asking with concern, “Is there some hidden difficulty?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty,” Ning An said, wearing a long swallow-tailed crown and her battle robes. “This subject has already married a wife at the border.”

“Oh?” Not only was the Emperor shocked, but the ministers were also buzzing with discussion. “Minister Ning, I wonder whose daughter you married to be so lucky.”

“It seems the fate between my sister and you is insufficient. But why didn’t you bring her to the palace today for us to see?”

“Seeing you married would allow me to give an account to the old General Ning.” The old General Ning had passed away five years ago and had saved the new Emperor’s life. Naturally, the Emperor was very concerned.

Ning An’s body stiffened, and she slowly said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, my wife was the daughter of the County Magistrate of Changqing at the border. I knew her for only a year. Because of the war, she… unfortunately passed away.”

The crowd sighed in sympathy. Seeing that he had mentioned a painful subject, the Emperor quickly changed the topic, and the ministers followed suit. Suddenly, the Empress beside him spoke: “Your Majesty, General Ning’s wife sacrificed herself for our Great Qin. As a fellow woman, I would like to ask Your Majesty for a favor.”

“Please, Your Majesty, bestow the title of Lady of Command upon the late Mrs. Ning.”

The ministers all agreed with this suggestion, praising the Empress for her thoughtfulness. The Emperor gladly agreed, and Ning An hurriedly rose to give thanks.

“General Ning,” the Empress continued, “the dead are gone; you must take care of your health. I suddenly thought of His Majesty’s suggestion just now—how can the General’s estate function without a woman in charge?”

The Emperor listened and felt this was a viable plan. That day, he bestowed the marriage between the Eldest Princess of Qin and General Ning An, with the wedding set for the sixth day of the month after next.

The set was busy, and with a shout of “Cut,” the crowd relaxed for a short moment. Director Wu watched the footage before the monitor with satisfaction. The actors’ assistants hurried to hand them water.

“The first scene was done well.” Director Wu nodded, satisfied. She also set aside her concerns about Chi Run, who played the young Emperor. This young sovereign had quite a few scenes, and the actors she had originally sought out couldn’t make it due to scheduling conflicts. Chi Run had been recommended by another director. After seeing him perform today, Wu Wenshan finally felt at ease.

“The first scene is a relatively grand one,” Director Wu told the leads during the break. “You all have good chemistry. Especially Shuyan—even though you only said one line, your expressions throughout were spot on. Next up, the most important part is your wedding,” Director Wu gestured with her hands, “and the tug-of-war scenes between you siblings need to be in place, understand?”

Lin Shuyan nodded.

The next two scenes were crucial for her. First, between Princess Qin Yuantang and Emperor Qin Yuanzhao. They were fraternal twins. Whether before or after the ascension, the sister trusted her brother most, and the person the brother relied on most was his sister.

“Your relationship is excellent, but your brother suddenly bestowing a marriage on you in the hall caught you off guard. After agreeing in the hall, you immediately go to him to ask for the reason.”

“Imperial Sister,” Qin Yuanzhao said with a smile, pressing her into a seat. “Yuanzhao knew you would come to ask right away. I specifically waited in the Imperial Study.”

Qin Yuantang’s heart full of doubt began to calm.

“Imperial Sister,” Qin Yuanzhao said. “Though you are my sister, you are only older than me by fifteen minutes. I already have several children, yet you still have no home of your own. If I don’t arrange things for you, Mother would blame me from the afterlife.”

“I just met General Ning.”

“I know,” Qin Yuanzhao said, slowly giving his reasons. “I searched among the civil and military officials, but there were always shortcomings. The Ning family is different; the old General Ning and his wife loved each other for a lifetime without even a concubine.”

“I heard Ning An had this intention when winning the war, but since I hadn’t seen the person, I couldn’t make the decision. Seeing Ning An today, his looks and demeanor are beyond reproach. That’s why I wanted to bestow the marriage on you, Imperial Sister, lest someone else get there first.”

Qin Yuantang was helpless. She was the same age as the Emperor, and the ministers had long made comments about her being an Eldest Princess who refused to marry. If the Emperor hadn’t supported her, she would have been married off long ago.

Qin Yuantang returned to her palace to wait for the wedding, her heart full of questions. She was not a princess who acted arrogantly based on her royal status; on the contrary, she was gentle. Her younger brother, the Emperor, often worried she would be neglected by her husband’s family after marriage.

“Shuyan,” Director Wu coached her on the background again, “you must remember at all times that although you are a princess with the Emperor’s protection, the status of Qin princesses is not high. Consorts usually hold real power, and besides, the status of women in ancient times was never high.”

“You are of noble birth, but your heart is no different from any other ordinary woman—you want to find a husband with whom you can be in perfect harmony, understand?”

“I understand.” Director Wu didn’t waste more time. Once everything was ready, she signaled the actors to take their places and began filming.

The wedding night—one of the four great joys of life. But Ning An, the person involved, was not happy. She had entered the capital and accepted the Emperor’s marriage as a woman. On her wedding night, she encountered her first major problem: how was she to spend the night?

Especially when she appeared before the bridal chamber full of the scent of wine. The Princess did not show any distaste, even personally helping her to a chair.

The staff had splashed Rong Yu with water mixed with some wine. Although the audience wouldn’t be able to tell, for the sake of realism, the crew used some after obtaining Rong Yu’s consent.

The strong scent of wine could not be ignored, but the Princess was only slightly shocked at the beginning. She immediately stepped forward to support her husband, not caring if the wine would wet her beautiful, grand wedding dress.

“Qingli, Qingli…” The Princess suddenly heard her husband muttering. She leaned in to listen for a long while before making out a name.

Shen Qingli.

Ning An’s late wife.

Qin Yuantang suddenly remembered this person standing in the garden as a child, saying in a crisp voice that he wanted to marry her. She hadn’t agreed at the time.

Thinking further, Qin Yuantang shook her head. After many years, she had finally agreed due to various reasons, but Ning An… Forget it, there were some things she should have stopped caring about long ago.

“Someone, come,” Qin Yuantang called out, having people take Ning An to wash up.

Returning to the bridal chamber, Ning An pretended to be mostly sobered up, tentatively looking up to see Qin Yuantang’s reaction. The Princess had personally heard her call out her “wife’s” name; she should be halfway to giving up on this new husband.

Qin Yuantang was a proud person; she would never allow her husband’s primary concern to be anyone but herself. Ning An had met Qin Yuantang as a child and understood her. Although ten years had passed, her basic character likely hadn’t changed.

Things went exactly as Ning An imagined. She offered the ceremonial wine, but Qin Yuantang quickly changed the topic, not accepting the cup.

She simply pulled the pearl flowers from her hair and asked Ning An if he was adapting to life in the capital.

Ning An looked dazed and helpless.

“Matters in the capital are complicated. The General probably isn’t as comfortable as he was at the border?”

It really was different after all. Ning An acted as if she were slow to process things due to the wine. After a while, she said, “Everywhere is fine.”

“Being able to marry the Eldest Princess is this subject’s blessing.” Ning An bowed politely.

“General Ning has had a long day; get some rest early.” Qin Yuantang stopped talking. The newlyweds lay on the bed fully clothed, each taking half, neither offending the other. The night passed in silence.

As soon as the director stopped, the staff hurried over to help Rong Yu change out of the wine-scented clothes.

“It doesn’t smell bad,” Rong Yu said, not minding it herself. She turned to ask Lin Shuyan, “Did you hurt your hand when you were pulling out your hairpins just now?”

Lin Shuyan belatedly looked down. She actually had.