Chapter 392: The Qilin Talent

On the day *Nirvana in Fire* began airing, celebrities from all walks of life began spontaneously promoting it.

Some did so purely to curry favor with Luo Mo, while others did so because they had a deep, long-standing friendship with him.

Almost every Singer and Actor at New Yu promoted the new drama for their Director.

To this group of people, in the period before Luo Mo joined, New Yu was just a decent company in the industry.

But with Luo Mo, New Yu became, in the eyes of many, the company with the most promising future.

As for people like Ding Xiaoyu and the Aurora Girls, they had already been Shouting for *Nirvana in Fire* a week ago.

At this moment, in Beijing, at Ding Xiaoyu's home.

The young girl was sitting on the sofa, her small feet clad in white cotton socks curled slightly, her face showing undisguised anticipation.

During the filming of *Nirvana in Fire*, she had specifically visited the set several times.

She could tell that her master valued this drama, valued it very, very much.

At the same time, she could also see that her master was working very hard; he had lost a whole circle of weight.

The young girl did not know that this was because Luo Mo wanted to better fit the frail state of the character Mei Zhangsu.

Ding Xiaoyu's mother, Chen Ru, walked out of the kitchen with a cup of hot milk and placed it on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Mom," Ding Xiaoyu said obediently.

Chen Ru nodded and said with a smile, "It's still very hot, drink it in a while."

"Mm," Ding Xiaoyu nodded, her eyes fixed on the television the entire time.

Ever since her contract was signed under Luo Mo Studio, her mother, Chen Ru, had lost all say in her work.

And her career and commercial value had seen rapid progress this year, experiencing a direct explosion.

With no intersection in their work, Chen Ru was left with only the role of mother.

At times like this, Ding Xiaoyu actually felt more at ease with her mother than before.

These days, many young people do not want to return home to work after graduation precisely because their parents are also their bosses, which sometimes creates a lot of friction that makes people anxious.

Chen Ru looked at the television and said, "With such a big production, why didn't your master arrange a role for you?"

"Master said he wanted me to take a break and focus on my studies during this time to prepare for the film academy," Ding Xiaoyu said. "He told me that after every drama I film, I should rest for at least a few months to completely detach from the previous character."

This young girl was a genuine member of the Experience School, and Luo Mo felt she had the potential to win Best Actress, but he felt even more that she would become a drama fanatic.

Looking at the circle of actors, many actors of the Experience School have won countless awards and received rave reviews, yet their own lives, or even their entire existence, are a complete mess.

Chen Ru was actually a bit puzzled and said, "You are at the peak of your popularity right now; it's a bit of a pity."

"But focusing on your studies is also good; after all, countless people will be watching to see what rank you achieve when you get into a professional school."

"It's also a good time to rest. Did you grow a little taller?" Chen Ru patted her daughter's head.

After losing control over her daughter's work, she felt as if she had changed a little too. Although she still had a somewhat assertive personality in life, at least the areas she could control had decreased.

"I don't think so," Ding Xiaoyu replied absent-mindedly, and then she seemed to spring up from the sofa, her small feet in pure white cotton socks fluttering as she said, "It's starting!"

She immediately picked up her phone, took a photo, and posted it on Weibo, indicating that she was watching it the moment it aired, giving her master another wave of advertising.

The opening sequence of the drama *Nirvana in Fire* had no song.

Nor did it have various clips edited from the main feature.

Most film and television dramas have opening theme songs that are made like trailers with background music.

*Nirvana in Fire*, however, had an ink-wash painting style, giving people a sense of full texture, with the names of every staff member of the crew appearing in the opening.

This high-texture opening, combined with the background music, gave a sense of weight.

"He's so good at writing songs, why didn't he make an opening theme?" Chen Ru wondered.

"But this music and the ink-colored Butterfly are quite atmospheric," she said.

As soon as the main feature of the first episode began, one saw scenes of war.

Countless soldiers began to be slaughtered.

Amidst the extremely tragic background music, blood splattered across the earth.

The camera gave several close-ups of a bracelet.

The flag with the character "Lin" on it also began to burn with raging flames after being splattered with blood.

A young man fell off a cliff.

Someone was shouting the name "Lin Shu."

At this very moment, the scene shifted to inside a pavilion.

A man with disheveled hair woke up suddenly from his sleep.

The camera gave a long close-up of his Back Shadow.

His figure was hunched and sickly.

This pavilion seemed to be at the peak of a cliff; the windows of the pavilion were half-open, and outside was full of swirling clouds and mist, with the mountain peaks appearing somewhat hazy after being obscured by the mist.

This man with disheveled hair gasped for air, his body trembling slightly, his body covered in cold sweat, and his complexion was deathly pale.

In his palm, he was tightly clutching the bracelet that had appeared in several close-ups in the battlefield scene earlier, with the character "Lin" carved on it.

The man stared out the window, his pupils trembling slightly, and there were bloodshot eyes.

This person was the Lin Shu who had fallen off the cliff.

No, he was no longer called Lin Shu now.

He was the Mei Lang of Jiangzuo, the Qilin Talent...

—Mei Zhangsu!

The beginning of the first episode actually explained the transformation of the character's identity.

It just didn't tell everyone the character's identity in a more simple and intuitive way like many dramas do.

For example, when the character appears, a subtitle pops up: Former Young Marshal of the Red Flame Army, Lin Shu, now named Mei Zhangsu.

Chen Ru watched the opening scene and couldn't help but say, "Yu, was your master's acting always this good in the past?"

She was the mother of a young child actor, so she instinctively paid attention to acting skills when watching dramas.

The opening scene wasn't exactly a display of intense acting; everything was valued for its naturalness and authenticity, making it smooth to watch, and the close-up shots were full of detail.

"Master's acting has always been very good," Ding Xiaoyu said immediately.

"Forget it, there's no point in discussing it with you while watching a drama; in your eyes, your master is perfect in every way," Chen Ru said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

But then again, this kind of frail, sickly, yet extremely handsome ancient costume look, with a calm and scholarly temperament—even she, a middle-aged auntie, felt a bit touched by it.

Chen Ru was just one of the thousands of aunties.

Aunties, after all, have a mindset that is certainly different from young girls.

—Oh my, come here, come here, let auntie dote on you properly.

………

………

The opening part of *Nirvana in Fire* actually introduces the hatred arc, telling everyone the main thread of grievances between the characters.

As a pigeon flew across the high sky, the young master of Langya Pavilion, Lin Chen, made his entrance.

His subordinate told him, "Northern Yan has recently named the Sixth Prince as the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen paused slightly with the brush in his hand and couldn't help but look up and ask, "He has already become the Crown Prince?"

"Yes," the subordinate replied, then asked, "Should we... send word to Jinling?"

"No need," Lin Chen said directly, "The Great Liang envoy to Northern Yan is already On the Road; the princes in Beijing will know soon enough. Go file the records."

"Yes," the subordinate said.

The camera gave a close-up of the young master of Langya Pavilion, Lin Chen, at this moment, and he muttered to himself, "He actually succeeded."

Many viewers watching the first episode couldn't help but wonder: "Who is he? And what did he succeed in doing?"

Just then, the camera shifted to the envoy who had returned from Northern Yan to Great Liang to report his mission.

The envoy arrived at the post house and was surprised to find that the Fifth Prince of Great Liang, the Adoring Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan, was actually waiting for him there.

He immediately stepped forward quickly to pay his respects, his face full of panic.

The audience thought this was where the thing they were curious about would be revealed, but unexpectedly, the camera switched again to the imperial palace of Great Liang.

A eunuch said loudly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, a fast horse has just delivered the latest report from Prince Yu regarding his inspection of Jiangzuo."

Empress Yan, the foster mother of Prince Yu Xiao Jinghuan, immediately said to the Liang Emperor from the side, "This time, Jinghuan has served Your Majesty by inspecting Jiangzuo with all his heart and strength; I fear that among the princes, only Prince Yu is this capable."

The Crown Prince's biological mother, Noble Consort Yue, immediately said, "That cannot be said; although the Crown Prince is in Beijing, he has also done much to share Your Majesty's burdens."

Upon hearing this, the Empress lowered her eyelids and glanced at the Noble Consort.

The conversation between the two was actually telling the audience that the power struggle within the Great Liang imperial family is currently concentrated on Prince Yu and the Crown Prince.

The Liang Emperor even stated directly that he felt Xiao Jinghuan had done a good job this time and would reward him with two additional pearls, to show his commendation.

The Empress immediately showed a smile, while the Noble Consort's expression turned ugly.

The scene naturally switched to the Crown Prince at this moment; he also learned the news that the Emperor was going to reward Prince Yu with additional pearls, and he couldn't help but say, "I have served as Crown Prince for 6 years, and now there is actually a Seven-Pearl Prince; this slap in the face from Father Emperor is truly loud."

"Is there still no news from the people sent to Prince Yu's side?" the Crown Prince asked again.

"No reply has been received yet; I do not know the result," the subordinate replied.

For a moment, the audience became even more curious.

It was clear that the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, who were in the vortex of power, were both clearly concerned about something.

And the matter they were concerned about was very likely related to the words Lin Chen of Langya Pavilion had muttered earlier.

Fortunately, after filling the audience's curiosity to the brim, the camera returned to the conversation between Prince Yu and the Great Liang envoy who had returned from Northern Yan.

The envoy informed Prince Yu that the matter the Prince wanted him to investigate had been investigated clearly.

Among the many princes of the Northern Yan Emperor, only the Sixth Prince had the least background and the weakest strength, but no one expected that he would eventually seize the position of the Eastern Palace and be named Crown Prince.

Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan, narrowed his eyes, but he had to pretend to be calm and relaxed in front of his subordinate; while asking "How exactly did the Northern Yan Sixth Prince succeed," he gently picked up his teacup and began to drink tea.

Just as he drank the tea, the envoy said, "The Sixth Prince went to Langya Pavilion in person and obtained a brocade pouch."

Prince Yu, who was lowering his head to drink tea, suddenly looked up in an instant, put down his teacup, and said in a deep voice, "That Langya Pavilion which claims to know everything and understand everything?"

"Exactly," the envoy replied.

"What exactly was written in the brocade pouch?" Prince Yu asked as he stood up.

If the Sixth Prince, who had the weakest foundation in Northern Yan, could enter the Eastern Palace, and he was the prince most Adoringly favored by the Liang Emperor, wouldn't he be secure if he could obtain the secret and know his methods?

Upon hearing this, the envoy immediately replied with a sentence that raised the level of prestige to the max:

"The Qilin Talent, if obtained, can obtain the world!"

(PS: First update, asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month.)

(End of this chapter)