Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Public Relations (Two)
This Is Love
Ten reporters from five different media outlets had just finished setting up their equipment when Lu Shanshan, along with another staff member, brought a table over and placed it between the two actresses. On it, they stacked a few bottles of drinks.
“Hello, both of you,” Lu Shanshan said with a smile. “These are from our sponsor, Doudou Lemon Tea. You don’t have to say any ad lines; just drink a little when you’re thirsty. We have several flavors, so take whatever you want.”
The table was right by their legs, easy to reach.
Shi Qing hummed in acknowledgment. “Okay, so we can drink whenever?”
Lu Shanshan quickly nodded. “Exactly. But they are a bit sweet, and since you actors might have sugar intake requirements, just taking a small sip is fine. No pressure.”
Wei Jiuzhen paused for two seconds, seemingly deep in thought, then turned to Shi Qing. “Shi-laoshi, which flavor do you like?”
Shi Qing scanned the bottles—lemon, lychee, tangerine, and a few others. After a moment, she said, “Lemon, I guess.”
Wei Jiuzhen replied, “Then I’ll have lemon too. Shanshan, could you maybe get another bottle of lemon?”
Lu Shanshan took away the lychee bottle. “Of course. I’ll get two more bottles of lemon for you. Please wait a moment.”
Once the lighting, makeup, teleprompter, script, and camera angles were all perfect, Lu Shanshan stood in the middle.
“Hello, everyone from the media, and welcome to the set of Empress. It’s raining outside, so thank you for your hard work. We’ll follow the script: first, the actors will introduce themselves, then each media outlet will have five exclusive questions. After the first two interviews, we’ll have two short games to break things up. Then we’ll do the last three interviews. This whole process should take about an hour. Does that sound good?”
Everyone agreed. Lu Shanshan then picked up a clapperboard from the crew.
“Alright, I’ll do a quick slate, and then our actors will introduce themselves to the camera. Ready, 3, 2, 1—Action!”
As the clapperboard fell, Wei Jiuzhen held the microphone to her chest and faced the camera.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Wei Jiuzhen, and I play Princess Ji Lan in Empress.”
Then it was Shi Qing’s turn.
There was only one microphone, and just as Shi Qing reached for it, Wei Jiuzhen held it up to her chest for her. She did so with a natural and open demeanor, showing no sign of awkwardness. It was Shi Qing who seemed a little flustered, lowering the hand she had raised and finally placing both hands neatly on her lap. She looked at the camera, using the microphone Wei Jiuzhen was holding for her.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Shi Qing, and I play the Empress Jiang Ke in Empress.”
After she finished, Lu Shanshan held up a teleprompter board with large characters written in marker:
[Wei-laoshi, please introduce the plot summary.]
Wei Jiuzhen took back the microphone and began to explain.
“Our show is a rare female power struggle drama in the history of film and television. It tells the story of two women who, in a patriarchal society, seek to control the world in two different ways. The method used by Jiang Ke, played by Shi-laoshi, is what most female politicians in history have done: ruling from behind a screen. As the Empress Dowager, she holds the emperor—her young son—hostage to rule the land. Ji Lan, my character, is a bit more rebellious. Later in the story, she starts an uprising, overthrows Jiang Ke’s rule, ascends the throne, and establishes a dynasty ruled by a female emperor.”
Lu Shanshan had given this part of the introduction to Wei Jiuzhen alone. But Wei Jiuzhen, wanting to give Shi Qing more screen time, turned to her after speaking.
“Shi-laoshi, do you have anything to add?”
With the microphone now back in front of her, Shi Qing had gotten used to it. Wei Jiuzhen was doing the right thing; as the two main leads of Empress, it was important for them to appear harmonious and friendly on camera.
As for how to be harmonious, Shi Qing had the most say in the matter. She would just revert to the way they used to be.
“Wei-laoshi explained it very well,” she began with a compliment. She then went on to elaborate on why it was “good.”
“The core conflict of this drama is really the clash of two hegemonic ideologies. In that era, a woman who wanted power would first have to imitate Empress Lü of the Han dynasty, becoming an Empress Dowager, supporting a young son as emperor, and controlling the world. But this form of power is ultimately dependent, with the imperial authority attached to a male, even if it’s just a child. Ji Lan, however, offers a new model: power through real combat. So, Ji Lan’s growth in awareness and ideological breakthrough in the later stages are very compelling. Everyone can look forward to it.”
She not only expanded on Wei Jiuzhen’s words but also highlighted Ji Lan’s charisma, without mentioning her own character. This was Shi Qing’s consistent approach with Wei Jiuzhen: staying in the background and dedicating herself to praise. Even after only a year of being together, Wei Jiuzhen had seen all her own shining qualities reflected in Shi Qing’s eyes.
Lu Shanshan, watching from the back, nodded repeatedly. Look at our actors. They’re so eloquent and full of substance. They could easily outshine those popular idols who know nothing!
She wiped the board clean and wrote the next step:
[Introduce your respective characters.]
Wei Jiuzhen took the microphone back. “Let’s talk about our characters. You go first this time.” She held the microphone out to Shi Qing, her eyes fixed on her.
Logically, as the undisputed female lead of the show and a recent winner of Best Actress, Wei Jiuzhen’s position and star power were above Shi Qing’s. In any other crew, the order would be female lead, second female lead, and so on. Why would the second female lead go first?
Shi Qing looked at her calmly. “How about you go first?”
Wei Jiuzhen didn’t lower her hand, instead moving it forward slightly. “I went first last time. This time, it’s your turn.” She didn’t care about their hierarchy or billing; she only cared about Shi Qing shining in this interview.
“Okay, then I’ll introduce Jiang Ke.” Shi Qing saw no reason to be stubborn and went along with Wei Jiuzhen’s request.
“Jiang Ke is a woman deeply poisoned by feudal society. Her maternal family, the Jiang clan, placed all their hopes for revitalization on her. They sent her to the palace, where she became a concubine through an audition. The women of the imperial harem live a miserable life. They guard a small palace all day, fighting each other for a man, just to give birth to a prince and gain status through their son.
Later, she found that even as the Empress, she couldn’t escape the fate of being controlled and commanded. So, she began to fight for power in the court…”
A few words could not summarize Jiang Ke, just as a few words could not summarize Shi Qing.
After she spoke, Lu Shanshan held up a small sign to remind her that it was “a bit long.” Shi Qing gave a small, apologetic smile.
“It might be a bit long, but… that is Jiang Ke.”
She then looked at Wei Jiuzhen, only to realize that the other woman had been watching her the entire time she was speaking. More accurately, it wasn’t just “watching”—it was “gazing.”
Her eyelids twitched, and she quickly composed herself.
“Wei-laoshi, it’s your turn.”
“Okay.” Wei Jiuzhen took the microphone, held it to her chest, and turned to face the camera.
“Shi-laoshi’s description was incredibly detailed. I can tell she’s already simplified it. You probably haven’t seen her character biography; it’s a full 50,000 words. Even our director, Fan-dao, said her biography was the best written among all the actors in the crew. Now that you know about Jiang Ke, I’ll talk about my character, Ji Lan.”
The kitten was no longer the one who only passively accepted compliments. Now that she had grown into a leopard, she would seize control at the right time to showcase her partner’s most beautiful fur.
Lu Shanshan was stunned in the background. How come actors from other crews fight tooth and nail for screen time, while these two are just praising each other? What’s going on?
With the basic introductions done, it was time for the exclusive interviews. The first media outlet adjusted their camera, and the other four cooperated by turning off their equipment.
Each outlet had two reporters: one for filming and one for asking questions.
“Hello, both of you. We are from Stardust Entertainment, and I’ll start with our questions. First: We want to ask Wei Jiuzhen-laoshi, your debut work was a film, and it was a huge success. Many actors would continue to make films at that point to further expand their fame, but why did you suddenly switch to TV dramas?”
This was a normal question and something the public found most curious. After all, there’s a barrier between film and TV. Many actors who shine in the film world don’t do well when they switch to TV. Besides, Wei Jiuzhen only had one film under her belt and hadn’t fully established herself yet.
Wei Jiuzhen thought for a moment and answered.
“I don’t usually choose scripts based on genre, but on quality. What attracted me to Empress was its core theme of female power. It’s not like past dramas that simply show women’s selfless dedication in the long river of history. Even if we’re not talking about history, but the present, when we praise women’s virtues, we often say ‘virtuous,’ ‘gentle,’ ‘selfless,’ and ‘forbearing.’ We rarely praise a woman for being ‘ambitious.’ I think ‘ambition’ is a wonderful quality. A woman who dares to charge forward, fight, expose her ambitions, and work for them is the kind of woman our era should celebrate. Ten years ago, our dramas were all about ‘stealing men.’ Now it’s time for some shows about ‘stealing men’s jobs.’
So, when I read the script for Empress, I was deeply drawn to it. I think any actress who saw this script would want to fight for it.”
As she spoke, Shi Qing listened, and her mind unconsciously flashed back to when they were discussing scripts together at home. At the time, Wei Jiuzhen was wearing a blue form-fitting sports tank top and black shorts, her long legs crossed into a beautiful line on the straw mat. With one hand she held the script and with the other, she slapped her porcelain-white thigh.
“Why is this kind of brainless character the female lead?! Giving up her master’s studies for the male lead and giving him all her scholarships for his startup? And then, after he breaks up with her, she runs out to confess in the snow and gets frostbite! If you love being in a relationship so much, why are you studying? You should just learn how to cook and raise children!”
At the time, she didn’t understand why Shi Qing, with her excellent appearance and professional skills, would accept such scripts.
Shi Qing would comfort her. “Most plots are like this now. There are even some where the female lead gets an offer from an overseas university but gives up her studies because she gets pregnant. But these kinds of plots are usually for the main character. The roles I get don’t have that many scenes.”
Wei Jiuzhen would angrily close the script and say to her righteously, “It’s not that you can’t get those roles, it’s that you don’t want to. These crappy scripts are not worth it. When I become successful, I’ll choose scripts about ambitious women. Even if there’s a male lead, he won’t get in the way of my career and dreams. A historical drama would be even better; I’ll fight my way up, step by step, and become the emperor!”
At that time, she was full of bold declarations. Shi Qing just looked at her fondly and said, “Mm, you can do it.”
Just two years later, Wei Jiuzhen had done it. She was openly talking about the “ambition” of female characters without shying away, feeling ashamed, or backing down.
Shi Qing knew then that some birds could not be caged.
In that short interview segment, everyone was impressed by Wei Jiuzhen’s words. She was an actress who rarely appeared on camera and openly displayed her ambition.
No one noticed that on the side, the usually quiet Shi Qing’s eyes were glistening, full of boundless tenderness.
Even after the on-set video was released, the CP fans with their magnifying glasses immediately found the pink bubbles floating in the air within the first minute.
“@97Time_Tutor: The way the older sister looks at our puppy, AHHHHH! This is f***ing LOVE!”