Chapter 109: Wrap Up (2)

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

In this important scene’s script, Deng Sui was strategizing carefully. She set up a trap to lure out the final traitor, deliberately guiding the rebel army into causing chaos, and then planned to wipe them out in one move.

And this traitor was the one who had arranged Ding'e to go undercover in the Deng residence from the very beginning. He was also Ding'e’s biological father. In order to achieve his goal, he had not hesitated to send his young daughter away back then and had never acknowledged her true identity.

At this time, Ding'e had already been put under house arrest by Deng Sui for the crime of disrespect. She was not allowed to step out of her room and was guarded by assigned people. This was because Deng Sui was determined to execute Ding'e’s father this time. She did not want to do it in front of Ding'e, so she found an excuse to confine her.

Ding'e did not know Deng Sui’s plan, but she knew her father’s intentions. When she learned that her father was leading the rebel army straight to the palace where Deng Sui was, she went through great difficulty to leave her room, only to go protect Deng Sui.

Lin Qitang brought in many extras for this scene. Each one wore armor, and under the curtain of rain, they fought fiercely. The scene was chaotic.

Xi Mo wore black clothes, killing her way through. By the time she reached the back, her hair was disheveled, and her whole body was covered in blood and filth.

This was her most disheveled appearance in the drama, and also the most insane and most fierce one.

Ding’e did not know what Deng Sui was doing at the moment. She only thought Deng Sui was trapped in danger, so she fought with everything she had to reach her. With each swing of her sword, she took the lives of one rebel after another.

And Deng Sui thought Ding’e was still safely staying inside her room.

Although the filming inside and outside the hall could be done separately and edited later, for better effect, this time Director Lin Qitang had Ruan Yesheng shoot a scene inside the hall at the same time, so the emotional collision between the two characters would be more intense.

The scene itself was quite simple. Ruan Yesheng sat at the table, calmly drinking her tea.

Though the sounds of battle roared outside, Deng Sui already held the situation in her grasp, believing that everything was firmly under her control, with no miscalculations.

Except she had miscalculated Ding’e’s heart toward her.

Ruan Yesheng held the tea cup in her hand as the light steam gently rose. She narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head, listening to the noise outside slowly fade away. Then she smiled and asked the guard beside her, “What time is it?”

“Reporting to the Empress Dowager, it is already the hour of You*. The Left General just reported that all the rebels have been captured.”

*hour/time of the Rooster – 5 PM to 7 PM, ancient China time system. 

“It is getting dark. Let us go take a look at the prey.”

“Yes.”

Ruan Yesheng gracefully stood up and walked toward the tightly shut hall door. She walked very slowly, and the camera followed her steps, advancing at the same pace.

This was a long tracking shot that needed to be done in one take, while also carrying a complex visual sense. A long take allowed no mistakes, so every part of the acting had to be in place. It was a very demanding way to test the actor’s skill and emotional layering.

With the victor’s smile on her face, Ruan Yesheng stepped toward the hall door one step at a time.

Time flowed along with her changing steps. The guard beside her slowly opened the grand doors.

A sliver of light leaked through the gap. The smile on Ruan Yesheng's face remained undiminished.

As the door opened wider and wider, her gaze landed on the distant rain. The composed smile at the corners of her lips slowly froze, then stiffened upon her face.

The long take still did not stop, continuing to follow her.

The view before her eyes became clearer and clearer. Blood pooled across the ground. Xi Mo stood in the center of that blood, supporting herself with a sword, standing at the very focus of the lens. Dressed in black, even though soaked in bloodstains, it was still hard to see clearly. Only her face and the hands exposed bore traces of blood.

The actor portraying Ding'e's father was also a skilled veteran within the industry, the type of senior whom the audience found familiar yet could not easily name.

Ding'e's father had already been subdued. Ding'e had not struck him down.

Ruan Yesheng stood atop the highest step outside the hall, gazing at the devastation outside.

Xi Mo held her sword and looked up at her from below. The rain blurred the sight.

The two stared at each other through the hazy curtain of rain.

At this moment, the senior actor portraying Ding'e's father took advantage of the opening and flung a poisoned hidden weapon prop toward Xi Mo, while shouting madly in a shrill voice, "I have no such unfilial daughter as you!"

Xi Mo's body leaned forward and swayed for a moment, but in the end, she barely managed to stand firm. The bloodstains on her face covered her numb expression, as though she were a dead person.

Ruan Yesheng's eyes slightly widened, her pupils seemingly losing focus in that instant.

Then she ran down the steps as if she had gone mad. The imperial grace of the Empress Dowager, the composure in controlling hearts — she cast them all aside. At this moment, she was nothing but that flustered young girl Deng Sui who had panicked upon seeing Ding'e wounded.

Ruan Yesheng stumbled as she ran, with the camera following her all the while.

By the time she reached Xi Mo, one of her exquisitely embroidered jade shoes was already lost. Her whole body trembled as she tried to reach out to support Xi Mo, yet her hand seemed frozen.

For that entire long segment, neither of them had any lines. They relied solely on expressions, body language, and other subtle details to portray the scene.

Xi Mo looked at Ruan Yesheng. Her barely supported posture finally bent slowly, and she knelt before her.

Only then did Ruan Yesheng hastily embrace Xi Mo. The veins on her pale neck bulged, and with a choked voice, she trembled and said, "Why did you come out?! I told you not to come out! Why did you come out?! Why did you disobey me*?!

*Deng Sui is using 朕 (Zhèn) the royal ‘I’ usually used by Emperors.

"I... I feared that the Empress Dowager would..." Xi Mo's voice was very light, "It is fortunate... It is fortunate."

There had been foreshadowing in the previous plot. This kind of poison was used specifically for assassination and could not be cured.

Even someone as rational as Deng Sui now seemed to have completely lost her composure, gnashing her teeth in anger: "Where is Liu Wei? Heal her for me! Heal her!"

Liu Wei was an important imperial physician in the story. The actor portraying him was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, trembling: "May the Empress Dowager quell your anger. This poison... This poison, You had previously been informed... there is no antidote."

Ruan Yesheng's eyes were bloodshot, tears poured from her eyes as she clutched Xi Mo’s collar and said: "Your life belongs to me. It belongs to me... If I do not permit, how dare you die?!"

At this moment Deng Sui still addressed herself as "Me", barely maintaining that layer of crumbling dignity before Ding'e.

Yet Ding'e had long seen through her fragility.

Xi Mo tremblingly raised her bloodstained hand and wiped Ruan Yesheng's tear-streaked cheek with the back of her hand. She smiled slightly: "Miss, do not cry."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Yesheng froze for a moment.

Then she wept even harder. She naturally changed her address, finally trembling as she said: "Ding'e, I... no longer resent you, I no longer resent you!"

Xi Mo curled up in her arms, already gasping for breath. Her chest rose and fell violently, and her words became broken and hard to piece together. "I... I hope... Miss would hate... hate me... This way... you will not forget me... But I also hope Miss... will not hate... not hate me... This way... Miss may live well... live a bit better."

Ruan Yesheng's tears kept falling. "If you live, I shall forgive you."

Deng Sui had once told Ding'e that she would never forgive her, but in Ding'e's final moments, she finally changed her words.

Her voice even became more fragile. "I have already... already forgiven you... Ding'e, live, I beg you to live..."

Xi Mo's hand fell and slowly reached for something hanging from her waist, grasping it tightly. Leaning in Ruan Yesheng's arms, she closed her eyes. "No... do not forgive me."

"Miss, I do not deserve it."

This was Ding'e's final line.

When this character was alive, her lines were not many. Most of the time, she silently followed behind Deng Sui with her head lowered. And before death, there were only these few words.

Everything was over.

Ruan Yesheng held Xi Mo and cried for a long time. Only when she felt that Xi Mo's hand was still tightly clenched did she gently pry open her already stiff fingers bit by bit and saw that she was holding a scented sachet.

The sachet was heavy. She untied it, and from inside rolled out a jade hairpin.

The jade hairpin rolled all the way to the camera, and under the camera's close-up, the patched and mottled cracks on it were clearly visible.

"Cut!" Lin Qitang finally pulled himself out of the emotions he had been immersed in and shouted loudly, "Passed! Very good!"

At this word, all the staff who had been holding their breath erupted with excitement and burst into applause.

Feng Tangtang was already like fragile candy. Usually, when she watched sad scenes on TV, she would cry into her pillow in the middle of the night. Now that she witnessed it live, she had long since cried into a tear-streaked mess, her swollen eyes looking like two walnuts.

Gu Qisong, standing beside her, glanced at her walnut eyes for a moment, then silently handed over a tissue.

Xi Mo opened her eyes in Ruan Yesheng's arms. The two looked at each other. One had a face full of tears, and the other had a face full of blood. After looking at each other for a long time, Ruan Yesheng both cried and laughed as she said, "Congratulations, you have finished shooting."

Xi Mo also returned a smile, though it was not very visible due to the bloodstains covering her face.

Feng Tangtang came forward holding a bouquet of flowers, gave Xi Mo the flowers, hugged her, and said with a crying voice, "Ruanruan, you have finished shooting, you have finally finished shooting!"

"Thank you." Xi Mo patted her on the shoulder.

The three of them stood up from the filming area and returned to the nearby resting area. At this moment, Lin Qitang also specially brought the assistant with the bouquet prepared early in the morning. He came over to talk with Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo, his words filled with uncontrollable praise.

After all, this was Ding'e's final scene. Lin Qitang had always liked this character very much, so he took this wrap-up very seriously. Many staff members from the Sui Ting crew also came over one after another to congratulate them. Most of the people in the crew were very good, and after spending so much time together, their bond had grown deep.

Although finishing shooting was worth celebrating, it also meant parting.

Parting always came with a farewell meal.

After all, since this valued actor was about to leave the crew, Lin Qitang said to Xi Mo, "You have worked hard during this period. Go get some rest first. Tonight, let’s all have a meal together."

"Director Lin, it’s you who have worked hard. Thank you." Xi Mo held the bouquet and smiled.

She knew that Lin Qitang thought highly of Ruan Yesheng. Lin Qitang had a good character, a gentle temper, decent resources, and connections. This cooperation had been pleasant. Perhaps, in the future, Ruan Yesheng might get new opportunities through him. In front of others, she now always helped Ruan Yesheng manage relationships subconsciously and was very courteous.

If it had been when she had first joined the crew, this would have been absolutely impossible.

Now, however, she did it so naturally that she didn't even notice how she was always thinking for Ruan Yesheng.

Lin Qitang still had to be busy with the later filming, so he left with a few staff members. After everyone dispersed, Ruan Yesheng's makeup was already ruined from crying. She still had scenes to shoot, so the makeup artist came to touch up her makeup.

Xi Mo sat beside her, quietly wiping the bloodstains from her face and hands. Feng Tangtang helped while asking, "Ruanruan, now that the work is done, when will you leave?"

Ruan Yesheng could not turn her face while getting her makeup fixed, so she perked up her ears to listen carefully.

"I will leave tomorrow." Xi Mo glanced at Ruan Yesheng.

"So soon?" Feng Tangtang felt reluctant, "You will not stay one or two more days? Anyway, there is a holiday afterward."

Xi Mo answered vaguely, "There is nothing much to do even if I stay."

Feng Tangtang thought for a moment and said, "Mm… that’s true. Sister Xi still has some time before finishing. We all have to stay at the set for now and have no time to hang out. It wouldn't be good to leave you sitting alone on the side of the set. Then go back and rest well. I will visit you later."

Xi Mo nodded and looked at Ruan Yesheng again.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

Ruan Yesheng, following the makeup artist's instructions, tilted her head back slightly and said nothing.

After a while, the coordinator came over again, delivering flowers to congratulate Xi Mo on finishing shooting.

Feng Tangtang had seen her talking to someone from afar. They talked for quite a while. That person did not look like anyone from the crew, but there was something vaguely familiar about them. Yet, because her memory was poor and the distance was far, she could not recall who it was for a while. So she casually asked the coordinator, "Who were you talking to over there for so long?"

The coordinator instantly lowered her voice. "I hid that far away, and you still saw me?"

Xi Mo frowned.

Seeing her expression, Feng Tangtang felt something was wrong too. "What is it? Brother Gu saw you first. He’s the bodyguard, he’s always looking around. I didn’t notice at first, but when I saw him staring your way the whole time, I realized. I was wondering who you were talking to, hiding like that."

"I was afraid someone in the crew would catch it on camera." Every crew had people leaking things, the coordinator knew this well and said, "It was that Officer Cui again. She came to question me. The police raided our hotel before, quite a few people saw her. The police showing up again and again doesn’t look good for the crew’s image. How could I not hide away?"

Xi Mo remembered Cui Jiayu well. The strange disappearance of Ding Qihong remained a thorn in her heart.

She asked, "What did Cui Jiayu ask you?"

The coordinator sighed. "Remember that prop master I told you about? The one who left without a word, didn’t even take his wages."

"I remember, you told us." Feng Tangtang nodded quickly.

"He’s missing." The coordinator said, "His family reported it to the police."

Author's Note:

Ding’e’s part has wrapped up. Although Sui Ting isn’t mainly about the entanglement between Deng Sui and Ding’e, in the earlier crew arrangements, I mainly focused on showing their scenes together. This was to present the confrontation between Xi Mo and Ruanruan, but it doesn’t mean the main plot of Sui Ting is about this. The story of Sui Ting is very grand and mainly tells Deng Sui’s story. Ding’e is simply a ray of light in her life that she can never forget. This light shone for her since childhood and, in the end, went out for her.

Historically, Deng Sui was a real person, an outstanding politician. She was beautiful, knowledgeable, talented, and skillful. She was a very kind and tolerant Empress Dowager. However, Ding’e is a fictional character I created. In my script, Deng Sui’s personality and other traits are also completely different from the historical record. After all, I am writing a novel, so please make sure to distinguish between the two.

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