Mr. Guo: "Do you think you are suitable?"
The Grand Master raised his eyes, looked at his teacher and said, "I have never had such a thought."
"No is the best." Lord Guo's voice suddenly became sharp, and he glared at his beloved disciple in a reprimanding manner: "Before the late emperor died, he entrusted the emperor and the princess to you. It was a sign of his trust in you. The princess is young and ignorant, and it is easy for her to be deceived by your appearance, but as a teacher and a subject, you should abide by the rules and not cross the line even a step."
The Grand Tutor listened respectfully.
Lord Guo added, "In this dynasty, all consorts are selected from commoners or low-ranking officials. The late emperor treated the princess like a jewel and made an exception to allow the princess to freely choose a consort, regardless of official position. But don't forget that Taizu set that rule to prevent powerful officials from using the status of royal relatives to threaten the orthodoxy. Now the emperor is young, he trusts and respects you. Once you marry the princess, you will have both power and the title of royal relative. Even if the emperor does not doubt it for the time being, what will those court officials who are eyeing you and wishing to replace you say?"
The Master was silent, with no expression on his face.
Lord Guo looked at him deeply and finally reminded him: "Marry a wife as soon as possible and stop the princess's thoughts. It will be good for both you and her."
The Grand Tutor sat to the west of Lord Guo. The sunlight from outside shone through the window screen, illuminating his finely crafted brocade robe, but the Grand Tutor's face was hidden in the dimness, obscure and unclear. After a long while, Lord Guo spoke first, waving his hand and saying, "Go see Jin'er, your Master's Wife is over there too."
The Grand Tutor nodded, bowed and left.
After leaving the study, the tutor followed the maid and went along the corridor to the backyard.
The little granddaughter of Mr. Guo is named Jin'er. She is only fourteen years old. She has beautiful eyes and eyebrows. Unfortunately, she has been weak and sick since childhood. Now she is seriously ill. The Guo family has invited many famous doctors to help, but it is useless. The imperial physician even asserted that Jin'er may not survive this winter. It was a bright spring day, but Jin'er was cold and afraid of the cold. She lay on the bed with a pale face. Mrs. Guo was doing needlework beside her to accompany her granddaughter.
"Third Uncle." Seeing the Grand Tutor, Jin'er called out weakly, respecting the Grand Tutor as an elder.
The tutor nodded.
After chatting for a while, Madam Guo came out to see the tutor off, and said sadly as she walked: "I wanted to find a marriage for Jin'er to bring good luck, but Jin'er refused, saying that she didn't want to implicate others... The silly girl has been kind and considerate since she was young, why is God so blind..." She burst into tears.
The Grand Tutor stopped to comfort her, and looking at the aged Master's wife in front of him, his eyes gradually became blurred.
He thought of Princess Minghua in the palace. Whether he was moved or not was not important. There was only one outcome. In terms of age, he was old enough to be her father. When he was old, she would still be in her prime. In terms of status, she was an innocent princess. He was the chief minister of the cabinet. He had to stabilize the court for the young emperor, so he could not give up his power.
Lifting up his skirt, the master knelt down slowly and said, "Master's wife, if you don't mind, I want to marry Jin'er."
"good!"
After several stutters, this segment was successfully filmed, and the following scenes of Taifu's monologue were almost all shot in one go.
Ming Wei was in awe. Mu Tingzhou's personality was not likable, but he seemed to be born for acting. He had no exaggerated expressions, no unnecessary lines, but he stood there, with a small movement of turning the tea bowl, a back view leaning against the window, and a profile hidden behind the window, and he firmly grasped the audience.
Those who have read the original novel know that the Grand Tutor loves Princess Minghua and only loves one person in his life. He married Jin'er to break the princess's heart. After marriage, he continued to take care of Jin'er as a junior without any intimate behavior. Jin'er understood him and never had any romantic feelings for him. When the first snow of winter came, Jin'er died of illness. Since then, the Grand Tutor never married and only watched Princess Minghua from afar, while serving as his courtier and maintaining domestic stability and resisting foreign aggression.
In the afternoon, Ming Wei and Mu Tingzhou will perform against each other.
Before today, Ming Wei only had to play a playful and bold princess who was just beginning to fall in love, but as the plot changed, the character of Princess Minghua became more and more experienced, and the requirements for her acting skills suddenly increased. Ming Wei was already under pressure, and Cheng Yao threw an emotional bomb at her last night, so you can imagine how she was doing during the filming.
"Card!"
"Card!"
"Card!"
"Cut! Mingwei, what's wrong with you? The princess is usually spoiled and willful. She just learned that the tutor is going to marry someone else, and she is angry. Why do you look so heavy-hearted? The princess is only seventeen, seventeen, a high school girl. Take a ten-minute break and think about it carefully." After many NGs in a row, Director Zhang exploded.
In fact, Director Zhang took good care of Mingwei. Apart from Mu Tingzhou, Mingwei was the only one who received the least scolding in the crew. Chen Zhang was scolded several times.
Mingwei apologized repeatedly, then went to the shade of a tree to calm down, facing the tree trunk, looking so pitiful.
Mu Tingzhou sat comfortably in the chair. When he raised his head to drink water, his eyes moved around Mingwei and he was suspicious. Xiao Zhao said that Mingwei and Cheng Yao had a good chat last night, and he thought they had reunited, but Mingwei was lifeless today, and she didn't look like she was successful in love.
"Would you like to give some advice?"
Someone was talking too much, so Mu Tingzhou turned his gaze to the assistant beside him, while putting down the water bottle and screwing on the lid.
"You looked at her." Xiao Zhao said firmly, not allowing the actor to deny it.
Mu Tingzhou was not that bored. Instead, he glanced at Ming Wei openly: "She is not in a good state."
Xiao Zhao smiled but said nothing.
Ten minutes passed, and the filming continued. Mingwei still failed. She was confused, and she couldn't find the feeling of Princess Minghua. Forcing herself to continue would only waste the energy of the crew. Mingwei took the initiative to find Director Zhang, hoping to give her half a day to film other scenes in the afternoon.
Mingwei has been performing well since she joined the crew, and Director Zhang gave her face and encouraged her. In the final analysis, he believed that Mingwei could act well, and since her emotions were not in place, forcing her to shoot would only result in half the effort and twice the result.
Mingwei returned to the hotel dejectedly and continued to lie on the bed in a daze.
She was troubled a lot last night, and today Mingwei just wanted to pick a solution. After hesitating and making repeated choices, Mingwei finally had an answer as night fell. She would not quit the group, delaying the progress of the crew and a month of filming, which would be unacceptable to her conscience, and she could not afford the penalty for quitting the group.
But she would not owe Cheng Yao anything. After receiving the film remuneration, she would transfer it to Cheng Yao without missing a cent. Even if her fame increased, she would not set foot in the film and television industry again. She would just be her Italian translator. She did not seek to become rich, but she was satisfied with having enough food and clothing. Cheng Yao might have had good intentions, but he used the wrong method and underestimated her self-esteem.
It was as if a huge rock pressing on her chest had been pushed away. Mingwei felt relaxed both physically and mentally. She took a shower, combed her hair, changed her clothes and went out to look for food.
Tired of eating at the hotel, Mingwei decided to find a down-to-earth snack bar nearby and eat to her heart's content without caring about her image.
The elevator went down to the third floor. Mingwei walked in while checking Dianping. After entering, she turned around and clicked a hotpot restaurant.
"Eating hot pot in this weather, aren't you afraid of getting irritated, Miss Ming?"
Ming Wei was startled by a familiar voice coming from behind her. She turned around and saw Xiao Zhao with a smile on his left and the cold and arrogant actor on his right. Xiao Zhao was wearing a white shirt and Mu Tingzhou was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, making them a perfect pair of black and white villains.
Ming Wei smiled awkwardly: "Are you going to the set?"
Mu Tingzhou stared at the jumping floor numbers indifferently. Xiao Zhao answered for him: "No, Tingzhou wants to eat outside. I'm not familiar with this place. Does Miss Ming have any recommendations for a restaurant?"
"I'm not very familiar with it either." Mingwei shook her phone, "I'm still choosing."
"This one looks great." Xiao Zhao leaned closer and said to her phone screen.
It seemed like the matter was settled. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, Ming Wei was completely dazed. She took a few stiff steps before she reacted. She jokingly begged Xiao Zhao for mercy: "Why don't we split up? You two are too famous, and I'm afraid of being photographed." She didn't want to have a scandal with Mu Tingzhou, or be criticized for wanting to marry the movie emperor.
"She's having hotpot, let's go to another place." Mu Tingzhou walked right past Mingwei.
Mingwei laughed dryly.
Xiao Zhao didn't follow, but lowered his head to look at Ming Wei, his glasses reflecting the dim light: "Miss Ming seems to be in a good mood. Excuse me, have you and Mr. Cheng reconciled? Sorry, I overheard a few words at the bar last night."
Ming Wei is the only woman who has attracted Mu Tingzhou's special attention so far. As Mu Tingzhou's friend and assistant, Xiao Zhao is used to having everything under control, so Ming Wei's character is also one of his factors. He has been reluctant to clarify the truth just to see Ming Wei's reaction. If Ming Wei is moved by Cheng Yao, she will be completely out of the game.
Mingwei didn't expect Xiao Zhao to suddenly ask such a personal question.
Their relationship was not yet to the point of sharing private matters, but Ming Wei did not want to be misunderstood as having reunited with Cheng Yao, so she turned her head and said, "No, there is no possibility for him and me. Thank you Mr. Xiao for your concern."
Xiao Zhao's eyes slightly changed, and behind the lenses was genuine curiosity: "Although I shouldn't ask, I still want to know how you plan to repay his investment favor."
Ming Wei was a little unhappy, and raised her eyes and asked, "Does it have anything to do with you?"
Xiao Zhao remained calm, pushed up the frame of his glasses, and smiled at Ming Wei in a friendly manner: "Answer me, and in exchange, I will give you some news about Cheng Yao, enough to offset the favor you owe him."
He is like a fox, quietly throwing out an irresistible temptation.
Mingwei's heart beat faster. She looked at Mu Tingzhou who was standing in the distance and looking at her and Xiao Zhao impatiently. She swallowed and spinelessly handed out the plan. Then she saw Xiao Zhao smiling. Unlike his usual formulaic smile, the corners of Xiao Zhao's mouth were raised high, revealing a cute fang that was inconsistent with his foxy temperament.
"Ms. Ming, you've impressed me." Xiao Zhao stretched out his hand, not hiding his admiration.
Ming Wei felt a little embarrassed by him, so she simply shook his hand and lowered her head and said, "Um..."
"Let's go eat hotpot first. I'll ask Chen Zhang and Qin Lei to come down. It's a crew activity." Xiao Zhao kept it a secret and turned into a fox again. (8 Chinese Network.8z.)