Rong Guang thought about it very carefully, but she couldn’t come up with anything.
After all, when Chacha was three, Rong Guang herself wasn’t much older.
Rong Guang was stumped by the question. After thinking for a long time without any results, she sighed and said, “Big Sis can’t really remember either… I just remember that you didn’t like to talk much when you were little, not like now.”
In fact, the young Chacha didn’t just dislike talking.
Except for a few children her own age, she looked at everyone with a guarded gaze, like a cat ready to lash out and bite at any moment.
Chacha had only asked casually, not expecting a serious answer.
After all, before she was eight, Rong Guang had lived with her biological parents and hadn’t grown up with her. Not many people could clearly remember what an unremarkable child next door was like when they were seven or eight.
Perhaps because the three of them kept glancing over at Duan Nong while they chatted, Duan Nong watched them for a moment before she finally couldn’t hold back anymore. Bristling with anger, she stormed over.
“If you’re going to chat, then chat. Why do you keep looking at me?!” Duan Nong said fiercely.
Chu Feiliang was leaning back in her chair in a rather leisurely posture and said nothing.
Since she didn’t speak, Duan Nong didn’t dare to ask her. And right now, she didn’t quite dare to provoke Chacha, afraid that Rong Guang would get truly angry with her. So, she could only direct her words at Rong Guang, “I’m asking you!”
“We weren’t saying anything,” Rong Guang shrugged. After a thought, she added, “Teacher Chu was just talking about what you were like as a child. I got curious and listened for a bit.”
“Things from when I was a child?” Duan Nong’s face was filled with suspicion, but seeing that the expressions of the three didn’t seem fake, she didn’t overthink it. Soon, her eyes lit up. “If you want to know about my childhood, you can just ask me directly. I’ll tell you everything. If I tell you myself, won’t it be much more real than hearing it from an outsider!”
Rong Guang expressed deep skepticism about the latter half of Duan Nong’s statement.
If Duan Nong were to recount that shocking experience, it would probably become— “When I was three, my room caught fire. I remained calm in the face of danger, turned on the fire hydrant to extinguish the flames, and at the same time, twisted my bedsheets into a safety rope, climbing out the window to save my entire family!”
It might even be more exaggerated.
So Rong Guang gave a perfunctory smile and said, “Some other time, some other time.”
Zhang Nanchuan had finished setting up the scene over there. When he came looking for them, he saw Duan Nong, looked her up and down a few times, and said, “Rong Guang’s teammate?”
Duan Nong nodded. This time, the usual arrogance on her face was finally gone, replaced by a humble and polite demeanor. “Hello, Director Zhang. I’m Duan Nong. Please give me your guidance.”
Zhang Nanchuan waved his hand. He was used to being casual and couldn’t stand the unique greeting style among trainees. “Alright, cut that out—Chu Siyue personally brought you in, so you must be at least qualified. I heard you brought two acting coaches with you this time?”
“Yes.” Duan Nong was a little nervous. She glanced around and said, “The acting coaches will help me practice in private. If there’s anything I don’t understand in the script, I’ll ask Rong Guang and… and Teacher Chu.”
“That’ll work.” Zhang Nanchuan nodded. He seemed to know those two professional coaches. “Xiao Rong and Xiao Chu often discuss these things together. You’re in the same group as Rong Guang, so ask for her advice when you have time. Alright, the snow scene is pretty much ready. You two, get prepared. We’re starting the shoot. We have to change locations this afternoon, so let’s hurry.”
Rong Guang nodded and followed him into the dressing room to change.
Coincidentally, the scene they were shooting today was the very one she and Chu Feiliang had discussed not long ago.
It was the dead of winter, and outside the window, everything was desolate and still.
Inside the room, the heavy, bright yellow hues mingled with the ambergris rising from the incense burner, further suppressing the already somber atmosphere. Everyone wished they could hold their breath, terrified of disturbing the person lying on the dragon bed.
Rong Guang had thick frost and snow on her shoulders, the top of her head, and even the tips of her eyebrows. Snowflakes on her eyelashes melted in the heat, turning into beads of moisture that clung to her lashes.
She appeared from behind a screen and brazenly sat down on a chair not far from the dragon bed.
The head eunuch’s head was bowed low, but he didn’t say a word.
From his face, the imperious expression he had when he first met Wen Mou was completely gone.
“Jiang… Beloved Minister, you’ve come?” A hoarse, aged voice sounded from the bed. Then, a hand covered in age spots and terribly withered lifted slightly, only to fall heavily back onto the bed.
The eunuch’s whole body trembled, and his head bowed even lower.
Jiang Wenmou took a sip of the steaming tea, set the cup down unhurriedly, lowered her gaze, and walked to the window with her hands tucked in her sleeves.
“Your Majesty, there is only a humble commoner from the mountains here, not your beloved minister.” Her voice was hoarse, with lingering snow on the ends of her hair and her shoulders, carrying with it the biting chill of frost and snow.
This coldness seemed to reach the bed. A moment of clarity appeared in the withered old man’s cloudy eyes, and his voice briefly became firm and powerful. “Are you resentful of Us?”
“This commoner wouldn’t dare.” Jiang Wenmou coughed lightly, finally pulling her gaze away from the thick snow outside the window. She walked back into the room and then slowly knelt on one knee, an unconcealable exhaustion in her eyes.
“What wouldn’t you dare?” The emperor on the dragon bed turned his head slightly. His face, hidden behind the gauze curtain, had a deathly pallor. His eyes returned to their cloudy state, but the struggle and unwillingness within them were very clear. “The little Zhuge of this age, who inherited the lifetime of knowledge from the founding prime minister, and even surpassed him—We ask you, will you, or will you not, help Us?!”
“This commoner is incapable.” Jiang Wenmou’s head was bowed low, a bitter smile on her lips. She slowly shook her head and said, “This commoner’s heart does not lie with the world. Dragging this frail and sickly body, I am merely lingering on, wasting away the days. I cannot bear the heavy responsibility Your Majesty bestows.”
“You—!” The old man on the dragon bed was overcome with anger and suddenly began to cough violently. His voice was like a broken old bellows, and several times it seemed he wouldn’t be able to catch his breath.
A crowd of people immediately rushed in from inside and outside the room—imperial physicians, guards, palace maids, eunuchs… In an instant, they surrounded the dragon bed, blocking it from view.
Shadows overlapped, and even in the bright light of noon, the room appeared dim and oppressive, a mass of darkness.
After a long while, the man on the sickbed finally regained his composure. His hands trembled, and he was completely unable to sit up.
His pupils were cloudy, their edges long since blurred and tinged with a greenish hue, clearly the look of a dying man. His appearance was vastly different from the majestic Son of Heaven in Jiang Wenmou’s memory.
Jiang Wenmou sighed inwardly, her expression becoming even more reserved.
“Do you know… how the Eldest Princess is faring now?” the emperor finally managed to say, his words broken.
The moment the words “Eldest Princess” entered her ears, Jiang Wenmou’s entire body jolted.
She let out a silent, bitter laugh and sighed, “It was a sinful debt to begin with. Why must Your Majesty bring up the past?”
The old man on the dragon bed ignored her words and continued on his own. “The Princess’s power is too great. Throughout the court and beyond, voices cry out for the Princess to ascend the throne. But it is impossible for Us to hand the position of a nation’s sovereign to a woman, even if she is Our own daughter, a princess of the dynasty. It cannot be.”
Jiang Wenmou only twitched the corner of her lips and said nothing.
“Between the Princess and the Crown Prince, We could only choose to keep the Crown Prince.” The emperor gasped for breath. “The royal family has no affection to speak of. Power and kinship can hardly coexist. We were also… helpless.”
Jiang Wenmou’s face was cold as she said, “Your Majesty naturally has his own reasons.”
“You are still blaming Us for forcing the Princess to a dead end? Is that why you are unwilling to step forward and assist the Crown Prince in his ascension?” The emperor sneered, his withered hands gripping the tassels by the bed. He strained to prop himself up a little and asked heavily, “You blame Us for forcing Our own children to their deaths, one by one? But do you think We had a choice! We were forced—! Cough—”
Another round of heavy coughing ensued, and the hall was once again crowded with people.
Jiang Wenmou remained kneeling on the ground. Only during the lulls in the crowd’s clamor would she raise her head to look at their trembling bodies and their eyes filled with different thoughts.
Finally, the tide of people receded once more.
The emperor was left with only enough strength to gasp for air. Lying on the bed, his voice was hoarse, and he could only produce broken, ‘heh heh’ sounds from his throat.
Only then did Jiang Wenmou speak. “Since Your Majesty cannot speak, then allow this commoner to speak for you.”
“If the one to ascend the throne were the Princess, she would surely win the sincere admiration of the entire court. The Crown Prince is not without talent or virtue, but he is too young. By the time the Princess entrusts the throne to him, it will surely be an era of peace and prosperity, and the Crown Prince will certainly be an enlightened ruler.”
“Your Majesty has weak familial bonds, and there were signs of your children fighting for the throne. So you believed the words of a wandering Daoist and used various excuses to kill your children one by one, leaving only the son and daughter born to the late Empress.”
“Your Majesty.” Jiang Wenmou finally met the emperor’s failing eyes. “No one has ever truly been forced against their will, and no one could truly force you to be that executioner. To this day, everything you have done has been your own choice.”
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