Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 245 The Ming Dynasty and its Splendor (5k)
……

……

at the same time,

Yunxian and her servant, who were celebrating Old Madam Xu's birthday, discovered that the Xu family was using the birthday celebration as a pretext to actually find a suitable daughter-in-law.

The young ladies from each family vied to show off their talents, with music and laughter filling the air.

Yunxian showed little interest in this, her brows furrowing with a subtle, almost imperceptible aloofness.

Using the excuse of being sent away, she quietly left the table with her maid Zisu and went to the somewhat deserted backyard to relax.

Her gaze inadvertently swept over the artificial hill, and an unusual emerald green caught her attention.

"Zisu, come quick!"

A look of surprise flashed in Liu Shishi's eyes, the instinct of a doctor discovering a rare medicinal herb.

She lifted the hem of her elegant skirt and jogged lightly toward the artificial cave, completely disregarding the demeanor of a well-bred lady.

"Miss, please slow down." Zisu hurriedly followed, her voice filled with concern.

The cave was dimly lit.

Liu Shishi crouched down and carefully touched the strangely shaped plant, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: 'Dendrobium officinale! This is a life-saving herb!'

"A magical herb?" Zisu leaned closer, examining it with a face full of curiosity.

Just as the master and servant were engrossed in picking herbs, a sudden change occurred!
"what--!"

Zisu's exclamation had barely escaped her throat when it was tightly gripped by a long, blood-stained hand that emerged from the shadows!
The cold, jewel-encrusted blade of the dagger pressed against the skin of her neck, its chill penetrating to the bone.

"Quiet!"

A low, hoarse warning sounded, accompanied by heavy breathing and the smell of blood.

Zisu instantly fell silent, her eyes widening in terror.

Gu Qing staggered out of the shadows.

His face was ashen, his lips were pale, and only his bloodshot eyes were fixed on the Dendrobium officinale that Yunxian had just picked.

Large patches of dark red seeped into his pale silk robes, making him appear even more emaciated, fragile, and dangerous.

"Give me the medicine!" His voice was hoarse and broken, with an undeniable determination. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. The hand holding the dagger trembled slightly due to the poison and blood loss, and his knuckles turned white.

When Liu Shishi saw Gu Qing's blood-stained, moon-white theatrical costume, her heart skipped a beat.

His handsome features, accentuated by paleness and bloodstains, possessed a breathtakingly broken quality, causing her to momentarily forget her fear.

Her almond-shaped eyes opened slightly, and she paused for a moment, her breath catching in her throat.

This… brat… how come he looks so good in everything?

But the maid's urgent sobs instantly pulled her back to reality. She snapped back to her senses, her eyes quickly filled with panic and pleading: "Please! Let go of Zisu, the medicine... the medicine is yours!"

Without hesitation, she handed the Dendrobium officinale in her hand to Gu Qing, her fingertips trembling slightly with nervousness.

Gu Qing's gaze was fixed on the "life-saving herb," ​​and her chapped lower lips unconsciously pursed slightly, revealing an extreme longing.

He tried to reach out and catch it, but the poison and injuries finally erupted completely at that moment!
His gaze suddenly became unfocused and unfocused, and the veins on the back of his outstretched hand bulged, yet he trembled like a leaf falling in the wind.

His body swayed violently, and he could no longer hold on, falling straight to the ground!
"Eh--"

Liu Shishi exclaimed in surprise. Without thinking, she instinctively took a step forward and stretched out her slender, fair arms to try to catch the falling body!
In pursuit of authenticity, Gu Qing fell solidly to the ground.

"Oh……"

Liu Shishi felt a tremendous force slam into her arms, let out a muffled groan, lost her footing, and stumbled backward, falling awkwardly to the ground with a thud.
Her delicate face contorted in pain, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

Even so,

Her arms were still tightly wrapped around Gu Qing's upper body, protecting him in her embrace and preventing him from falling directly onto the cold, hard ground.

"Miss, are you okay?"

Zisu, still shaken, quickly broke free from her restraints and rushed over to help her young mistress.

She glanced fearfully at Gu Qing, who was unconscious and covered in cold sweat, her voice trembling: "Let's go! This person... this person is too dangerous!"

With Zisu's help, Liu Shishi managed to stand up, rubbing her sore tailbone, but her gaze involuntarily fell back to the unconscious man on the ground.

His furrowed brows, pale lips, and the glaring bloodstains on his fine clothes...

“Zisu, but he…”

Liu Shishi took two steps, but ultimately her innate medical instincts and inexplicable compassion prevailed. She stopped, bit her lower lip, and resolutely took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, pouring out a brown antidote pill.

She knelt down again and carefully lifted Gu Qing's neck, touching her burning hot skin and icy cold sweat.

Her fingertips accidentally brushed against his chapped lips, and the subtle touch made her recoil, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Calm down your mind,

Liu Shishi gently pried open his lips and teeth, inserted the pill, and then gently placed the precious Dendrobium officinale into his blood-stained clothes.

After doing all this, she took a deep breath and hurriedly left the cave with Zisu.

"Cut."

Behind the monitor, director Li Guoli stroked his chin, his expression somewhat conflicted. Liu Shishi's instinctive hug, from a traditional moral standpoint, was indeed abrupt.

But... Hang Yunxian's character is set up as a doctor with a kind heart and unconventional ways.

The selflessness in saving lives, the urgency that disregards the boundaries between men and women, perfectly captures the character's inherent qualities.

"Makes sense...perfectly makes sense!" Director Li finally decided, his eyes shining. 'Keep that realism! That take is good! Keep one as a backup!'

Liu Shishi, who had just left the cave, returned and was about to help Gu Qing, who had fallen to the ground, up.

"Senior Sister, where did you buy these hawthorn pills? They taste pretty good."

Gu Qing had already sat up on his own, chewing on the 'antidote pill' that had been stuffed into his mouth, looking at her with an expression of 'discovering a new continent'.

"Is it so delicious?"

Liu Shishi was taken aback by his sudden turn of events. Subconsciously, she took out another identical hawthorn pill from her bosom and, with a hint of curiosity, put it into her mouth.

In an instant!
Liu Shishi's gentle and beautiful face instantly contorted into a grimace. Her eyebrows furrowed, her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she nearly jumped up from the intense sour smell. Her voice trembled as she cried out, "Gu Qing! Do you want to die?! You lied to me again!!"

"Hahaha--"

Gu Qing let his assistant brush the dust off his costume. Seeing Liu Shishi's contorted expression, he finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, a mixture of sarcasm and mockery.

really,

People have a really strong ability to endure when they do "bad things".

At this moment,

"Hey, what are you two doing?"

Jin Cheng, having removed her makeup and changed back into her everyday clothes, strolled over leisurely.

Gu Qing and Liu Shishi exchanged a knowing glance and instantly composed themselves.

"Little brother, how does it taste?"

Liu Shishi spoke first, shaking the small medicine bottle in her hand, "Isn't it sweet and delicious?"

"That's really special. Let my assistant buy some more tonight."

Gu Qing nodded in agreement.

"Alright! You two!"

Jin Cheng took the bait as expected, her eyes lighting up as she leaned closer, complaining, "You're eating alone behind my back, aren't you? Come on, let me have a taste too!"

"No, I'm afraid you won't be used to it."

Gu Qing 'snatched' the medicine bottle from Liu Shishi's hand, poured out five or six pills into her palm, showed them to Jin Cheng, and then was about to put them in her mouth, saying, "And there aren't many left, just this little bit."

"Isn't that a lot?"

Jin Cheng, quick as a flash, wasn't about to let them go. She snatched all the hawthorn pills from Gu Qing's palm and grinned triumphantly.
Without even looking, he stuffed it all into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out instantly, and he even chewed it a couple of times defiantly.

Next second,
Jin Cheng's smug smile froze, then twisted and contorted into a ferocious grin, his expression completely out of control: "Holy crap! Ptooey! What... what is this thing?!"

"Hahaha--"

Seeing Jin Cheng's wonderfully varied and pained expression, Gu Qing and Liu Shishi could no longer contain their laughter.

The two even reached out their hands in perfect unison and gave each other a crisp high five in the air.

"Ugh……"

Yu Shasha, who plays the maid Zisu, stood aside, watching the two laughing and joking in the sunlight, their perfect chemistry evident. A hint of envy and emotion involuntarily appeared in her eyes as she murmured to herself, "They're such a perfect match."

She had initially assumed that Gu Qing and Liu Shishi, who both appeared aloof and cold, would have rather eccentric personalities in private.

Unexpectedly, it was so lively and vibrant.

Perhaps it's because the two of them are together that they seem so lively?

Yu Shasha thought to herself.

After filming the scenes of the birthday celebration at the Xu family mansion, the crew needed to move to a new location to build a new set, which would take at least a few hours.

Gu Qing doesn't need to change out of his moon-white silk costume. He will still be wearing the same outfit for the next scene, where he will "accidentally" encounter Liu Shishi, whose horse has been startled, in the suburbs.

He simply went back to his RV to rest.

Leaning back in the comfortable seat, Gu Qing rubbed his temples.

In this drama, he plays Zhu Qiyu, the Prince of Cheng, who is gentle and refined in the early stages, but later transforms into a cold, deep, and unpredictable emperor.

How to project an imperial aura?

How to grasp the complex mindset ingrained by the deep palace?
For Gu Qing, the most direct nourishment is, of course, studying the classics!
He placed his phone steadily on the stand and opened the TV series he considered a masterpiece, but which had been overlooked for various reasons back then—"Da Ming Dynasty 1566".

When Chen Baoguo, who played the Jiajing Emperor, first appeared on screen, his aloof and powerful imperial demeanor, as well as his profound and enigmatic scheming, immediately came to life.

"Having cultivated a form like a crane, I sit beneath a thousand-gold pine tree, carrying two volumes of scriptures. I come to inquire about the Dao, but there is nothing more to say; the clouds are in the blue sky, the water is in the bottle..."

The opening recitation, imbued with a Taoist and otherworldly elegance, and its evocative imagery captivated Gu Qing. He couldn't help but silently recite along, savoring the nuances and rhythm of each word.

"The delivery of the lines...the spirit and rhythm..."

Gu Qing's eyes were filled with amazement and longing, "When will I be able to reach that level of skill..."

He calmed down and watched attentively, learning from the experience.

I watched two or three episodes in a row.

Gu Qing understood perfectly why the show had such low ratings in his previous life.

Previous analyses generally suggested that the failure of "Da Ming Dynasty 1566" was due to a platform selection error.

If it hadn't been broadcast on Huangguo TV, it would probably have achieved impressive ratings.

That's actually nonsense.

The Ming Dynasty airs at 10 p.m., when elementary and middle school students are already asleep, making it the prime time for 30-year-old male viewers to watch TV.

The biggest problem with this show is actually its high viewing threshold.

Without some historical knowledge, you simply cannot understand the so-called conflicts of interest and the obscure metaphors.

This was in 07.
Those middle-aged people who love watching dramas, if we go back a decade or two, not to mention graduating from university, even graduating from high school would be a handful.

in addition,

If you only have a high school diploma and you have to specialize in history, specifically the history of the Ming Dynasty, then a large portion of the audience will be eliminated.

Furthermore,
The plot is detached from people's lives and lacks the satisfying atmosphere of revenge and vengeance, making it far less captivating than the more engaging Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It's not surprising that the viewership rating was 0.5.

It's important to know that after the Ming Dynasty,
Huangguotai has imported another Ming Dynasty drama:

The Ming Dynasty!
When this drama aired at the end of 19, it achieved the highest ratings in a single season, becoming the top-rated show of the year.

What's most appealing about this drama isn't the Mary Sue romance between the male and female leads, but rather the humorous, loving, and subtly turbulent interactions between the father and sons of the imperial family (such as Zhu Di's relationship with his sons).
And those well-known historical events that are cleverly woven into the plot and talked about by the audience (such as Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean and the Tumu Crisis).

Even young viewers like Gu Qing were deeply attracted at the time, and after the show finished airing, it spawned countless "Ming fans".

Many viewers lamented that if the overly "idol drama" female lead storyline had been cut or optimized, "Ming Dynasty" could definitely have become a well-made and excellent historical drama.

A thought flashed through Gu Qing's mind, causing him to catch his breath slightly and his eyes to suddenly light up!

"If there were a drama that could combine the historical elements of 'Ming Dynasty,' the humorous and loving father-son relationship in 'Ming Dynasty,' and the makeup and costumes of 'The Imperial Doctress'..."

With the three cities combined, will this drama be very popular?

Gu Qing murmured, her eyes brightening slightly.

……

He was immersed in the excitement of the "Three Mings in One" concept.
Suddenly, someone lightly tapped my shoulder!
Thoughts, like a flock of startled birds, vanished in an instant.

Gu Qing was jolted awake, almost jumping off her chair, her heart pounding.

He looked up, still shaken, and what came into view was Liu Shishi's pretty face with a mischievous smile.

How many times a day do you scare me?!

Gu Qing rolled her eyes dramatically, clutching her chest, and said in an exaggeratedly accusatory tone, "If you do it again, you'll really have to pay my medical bills."

“I called you so many times from outside the car, but you didn’t respond. Of course I was worried, so I came to check on you.”

Liu Shishi was self-righteous and did not feel guilty at all.

"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Gu Qing rubbed his temples.

"Then you just..."

Liu Shishi's gaze darted slyly between him and the phone screen, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "So mysterious, what are you peeking at from inside the car? It can't be..."

"Oh, little boy, I understand."

"Stop! Put away those unhealthy thoughts of yours!"

Gu Qing immediately cut her off, defending her innocence righteously, "I'm watching a drama."

As he spoke, he tapped the phone screen with his finger, and the screen lit up, clearly displaying the title of the show on the pause screen—"Da Ming Dynasty 1566".

"The Ming Dynasty 1566?" Liu Shishi leaned closer, carefully examining the title. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "I don't remember it... Is it good?"

"I think it looks pretty good,"

Gu Qing clicked to play the next episode, and the low, soothing opening theme song filled the quiet carriage. "Besides, it's a drama set in the Ming Dynasty, so it'll be good to get a feel for it."

He tilted his phone screen to the side so she could see it more easily.

"Really? Let me see." Liu Shishi was clearly intrigued. She leaned forward to look at the phone in Gu Qing's hand, but the armrest of the seat between them made it difficult to see.
This posture made her feel a little awkward, and her neck was getting tired from stretching it out.

Her gaze swept over the obstructive handrail, and she immediately reached out to feel it: "This handrail... can it be removed?"

"Yes, there's a small wrench under the chair."

Gu Qing subconsciously pointed to the area below the armrest.

Liu Shishi bent down and felt around for a moment. With a soft "click," the middle handrail was neatly retracted by her.

Without any obstruction, she naturally moved closer to Gu Qing, and the distance between them instantly closed until their arms were almost touching.

A faint, elegant scent, a blend of the sweetness of shampoo and her own soft, warm body fragrance, quietly lingered around Gu Qing's nose.

The space inside the carriage seemed to shrink slightly due to the sudden closeness, and a subtle, almost imperceptible temperature filled the air.

Gu Qing's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, her fingers gripping the phone tightened slightly, and her gaze, though fixed on the screen, seemed somewhat unfocused.

Liu Shishi didn't seem to find anything wrong with it. She adjusted to a comfortable position, gently resting her shoulder against Gu Qing's shoulder, and focused her gaze on the phone screen.

The warmth of her body emanated through the thin fabric of her costume, making her presence exceptionally vivid.

ten minutes later……

Gu Qing was captivated by the intellectual battles in the drama when suddenly his shoulder felt heavy.

He turned his head to the side.

A few strands of soft hair fell onto Gu Qing's shoulders, causing a slight tickle.

Liu Shishi's eyes were closed, her breathing was even and long, and her long eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows under her eyes. Her beautiful face looked especially serene in her sleep.

Perhaps feeling that Gu Qing's shoulder wasn't flexible enough, Liu Shishi unconsciously rubbed her cheek against it, as if searching for a more comfortable support.

Gu Qing was both amused and exasperated.

It seems that the "hypnotic" effect of "Ming Dynasty" is truly immediate for some people.

He resigned himself to becoming a limited-edition top-tier celebrity human pillow once again, turning down the volume and focusing on watching the drama, waiting for the next scene to start filming.

……

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(End of this chapter)