The internal strife within Xingchen Film Industry entered a new stage.
However, this news was not yet known to the outside world.
The next day, "Imperial Decree" and "The Legend of Zhaohua" premiered simultaneously.
As the platform's main promoted replacement drama, "The Legend of Zhaohua" immediately generated constant Hot Search buzz upon airing, with an impressive display of prestige.
Several trending topics quickly climbed to the top spots on the Hot Search list not long after the broadcast began.
"The Legend of Zhaohua" was broadcast simultaneously on both online platforms and television, giving it a wider reach and a larger audience. Many fans had prepared early, vowing to generate good data for their favorite star.
The female lead of "The Legend of Zhaohua" was played by Yu Xuezheng, the top actress of Xingchen Entertainment.
Compared to the full support given to Qin Yuezhang, who held the "Crown Prince" status, Yu Xuezheng's resources were relatively less abundant. The company had indeed provided considerable support for her to reach her current position, but she herself had also invested a great deal of effort.
Yu Xuezheng was currently still primarily positioned in the television drama field, having filmed many idol dramas and becoming a familiar face to the public. She had experienced massively popular TV dramas and had several popular on-screen CP pairings from idol romance dramas. In "The Legend of Zhaohua," her co-star was another male actor with solid acting skills and a similar talent for forming popular CPs.
This project, "The Legend of Zhaohua," was Yu Xuezheng's transformation piece, moving away from simple, naive idol romance dramas toward a more serious, grand female-led palace intrigue drama. For this production, Yu Xuezheng had started dieting and practicing her posture long ago, striving to elevate her career to new heights with this work.
The premiere went very smoothly.
Exquisite costumes, magnificent palace sets, a female lead with solid acting skills... Although the plot hadn't fully unfolded yet, the beautiful scenery and stunning visuals, like an unfolding scroll, attracted countless casual viewers to stop and admire.
On its first day of broadcast, "The Legend of Zhaohua" received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the audience. Fans of various stars began joyfully showcasing the drama's viewership data, comparing it with other platform's works airing in the same summer season.
It was already the latter half of the summer season. The major domestic intrigue dramas promoted by several platforms earlier had already aired. Although each had its own level of heat, comparatively, none had performed exceptionally well.
Various bloggers and marketing accounts had already begun speculating that this year's summer season TV dramas might see an unexpected outcome.
Currently, only "The Legend of Zhaohua" still had the potential to be a breakout hit.
Everyone's attention was already focused on "The Legend of Zhaohua."
Yet, at the same time, "Imperial Decree" also began its own low-key broadcast.
...
"Mom, what are you watching?"
Xiao He, passing by the living room, thought he was seeing things at first. Taking a closer look, he realized a very familiar face was on the TV screen.
Pan Yuerou truly had that classic Lin Daiyu appearance. Even dressed in a simple moon-white robe, holding a posture as delicate as a willow swaying in the wind, with an inescapable ancient elegance in her brows and eyes, her own gaze lacked the sickly fragility of ancient beauties. Instead, it held a more modern, lively, and spirited quality. This prevented her from having that coy, restrained demeanor of a sheltered young lady, making her more like a winter plum in the snow, possessing inherent strength and noble dignity.
An actress with this kind of appearance seemed born for this line of work.
No background setup was needed, no cause-and-effect explanation required. Just by looking at her face and her eyes, one could already imagine her identity and story.
To have casually discovered such an actress at the Beijing Drama Academy—he himself was a genius!
"Watching a drama."
Mother Xiao replied while cracking sunflower seeds, gesturing with her chin toward the TV. "This show is good. I've been catching up on it every day recently."
Thinking of the data reports Sister Liu had sent him recently, Xiao He sat down with interest and asked, "Weren't you watching 'The Legend of Zhaohua' not long ago?"
Since returning from abroad, Xiao He had been busy with schedules and events. It was only in the last couple of days that he finally managed to take some time off to go home and spend time with his parents.
However, if Xiao He remembered correctly, on the day he returned, his mother was watching "The Legend of Zhaohua." He hadn't expected it to be "Imperial Decree" today.
"Oh, I can't watch that drama anymore."
Mother Xiao waved her hand dismissively, then patted her chest. "Your mom here is planning to retire soon. I'm already constantly infuriated by those little rascals in my class. If I keep watching that 'The Legend of Zhaohua,' my heart condition and high blood pressure will all be triggered."
Xiao He: ?
"What nonsense about illnesses, your health is perfectly fine."
He comforted her somewhat helplessly, then asked curiously, "Is 'The Legend of Zhaohua' that infuriating?"
Xiao He hadn't even watched his own studio's "Imperial Decree," let alone the plot of the rival's "The Legend of Zhaohua." However, Xiao He had paid attention to the rival's reputation. The recent online sentiment should have been quite positive, with audiences giving good reviews. The screenshots were indeed beautiful, appearing many levels more sophisticated than their own production featuring fresh graduates.
But Xiao He truly hadn't expected to get this kind of evaluation from his mother.
Mother Xiao was a Chinese teacher. Although she didn't fully understand directorial filming logic, her observational skills regarding script and plot were quite sharp. She directly gave her opinion: "The plot of this drama is oppressive from beginning to end, making it hard to breathe while watching. I roughly understand they want to start with suppression before the rise, using the female lead's early hardships and suffering as a whetstone to sharpen her will, make her more resolute and mature, allowing her to gradually awaken her consciousness and climb step by step..."
"But the early setup is too cumbersome, and there are many unnecessary plot points. The visuals are beautiful, yes, but they mostly describe and embellish the female lead's suffering. I feel it's somewhat overly deliberate."
It was like how whenever the protagonist suffers, it must rain; whenever they are wronged, it must snow. Mother Xiao acknowledged this was one way to drive the plot and indirectly describe the protagonist's psychological state. But having to pair it like this every single time, and filming each instance with such exquisite, tragic beauty, repeatedly emphasizing and heightening this beauty and misery—she found it quite odd.
After several repetitions, Mother Xiao started seeing visions of her own students who just couldn't be taught, her blood pressure constantly rising. In the end, she simply chose to give up on treatment and switched to another drama to calm her nerves.
Remembering that her son's studio had recently released a palace intrigue drama called "Imperial Decree," Mother Xiao decisively started watching that production.
The female lead of "Imperial Decree" was named An Lanyue, played by a newcomer actress. Her performance was still somewhat raw, far from matching the seasoned Yu Xuezheng. However, the actress herself closely matched the character's persona, so the role didn't feel out of place. Instead, her beauty elevated the quality of this web drama.
The overall story progression of this work belonged to the wish-fulfillment counterattack type. The main appeal lay in the story of the female lead, An Lanyue, entering the palace as the daughter of an ordinary official family and using her looks and intelligence to climb the ranks step by step.
But An Lanyue's performance completely defied Mother Xiao's expectations.
Although she appeared delicate on the outside, her inner self was resolute. She entered the palace with her own firm goals. Her fragile, delicate physique didn't become her weakness; instead, it became her weapon. The "frail and sickly" tactics she employed several times successfully secured her significant gains.
Those who harmed her, she would certainly repay. Those who hated her, she would certainly confront. Those who showed her kindness, she would certainly repay with gratitude. Those who treated her well, she would certainly treat with goodness in return.
Whenever An Lanyue appeared on screen, no matter how many schemes and intrigues lay ahead, the audience felt a sense of security.
—As long as An Lanyue was there, it seemed no difficulty was insurmountable.