Translator: Ink Hub
Editor: Yoog

In truth, the people curious about the cooperation between Lin Ji and Qinglan TV were not just those in the same trade. After the partnership was made public, Qinglan TV received inquiries from more than half of the talent agencies in the industry.

Naturally, these agencies were asking whether their own artists could secure a role in the drama.

Lin Ji might have a greater say in the selection of the lead actors, but the actors themselves were not picky. Even if it was not a lead role, having any part at all would be good.

To this, Hua Tai expressed that he was also very curious.

However, Lin Ji was currently in seclusion. His phone could not be reached at all times. Hua Tai might harass a screenwriter a hundred times for the sake of cooperation, but during the creative process, he usually would not interfere.

Lin Ji would occasionally reveal some progress, such as when the character concepts were finished or when the script was being written. Occasionally, he would also ask Qinglan TV to find some reference materials for him.

Aside from that, Lin Ji was as sparing with his words as if they were gold, revealing no other information.

All Hua Tai could do was send Lin Ji food and drinks. He even arranged a dedicated operator within the station to specifically handle affairs related to Lin Ji.

“Is it really necessary for President Hua to suck up like that? What if this drama flops?”

“That’s just how President Hua is.”

Hua Tai turned a deaf ear to these discussions.

Building a relationship with a screenwriter naturally had to start from the details. Only if this cooperation went smoothly would there be a chance for the next one.

For Qinglan TV, the cost invested in Lin Ji was nothing compared to the potential returns.

* * *

Before anyone noticed, another two months had passed.

Hua Tai was currently debating whether to arrange a trip for Lin Ji. It was a good thing for a screenwriter to be obsessed with creation, but Lin Ji seemed a bit too addicted now. Should he arrange a seven-day tour of northern Europe or perhaps a tropical island diving package? Or maybe a presidential suite with a spa package…

“None of that is necessary,” Lin Ji pushed back bluntly.

Hua Tai wanted to say more, but the WeChat screen showed that Lin Ji was typing… Out of respect for the screenwriter, he decided to wait for Lin Ji to finish before tactfully expressing his own thoughts.

Then, he saw a line of text: “The scripts for the first ten episodes and the character profiles are finished. You can start casting actors.”

Hua Tai: “!!!”

The script! The character profiles!

The treasures he had been dreaming of!

Hua Tai asked one more question, “How many episodes do you plan to write for this drama?”

“It will be quite long,” Lin Ji replied. “I haven’t determined the exact number of episodes yet because there are many characters.”

Lin Ji sent over a file package. A few minutes later, what appeared in Hua Tai’s hands was the fresh, piping-hot script.

During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Great Yong Dynasty, the bandits that had plagued the court for years were finally executed. External threats were eliminated, internal worries were gone, and a peaceful atmosphere reigned throughout the empire.

Emperor Jing had been on the throne for ten years but had only fathered two princes. In the harem, although Empress Zheng was the head of the six palaces, the emperor favored Noble Consort Liu more. As Empress Zheng’s youth faded, she intended to select new candidates to enter the palace to divert the emperor’s affection from Consort Liu.

The candidate Wen Yiwan was the daughter of the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue. On the day she entered the palace, she was favored by Emperor Jing due to her stunning beauty and proper conduct…

Hua Tai’s fingers gripped the script. His thoughts were unconsciously swept away by the words on the page. By the time he snapped out of it, he realized that his palm sweat had already soaked through the back of the paper.

In the first two episodes alone, the poisonous schemes directed at the candidates were like hidden needles, stabbing straight at him.

By the third episode, there was another reversal. The seemingly innocent and foolish candidate actually had her own calculations. The empress and Noble Consort Liu had each prepared “generous gifts” for the girls, waiting for them to fall into the traps one by one.

If the plot of Code 11 was thrilling, then this palace intrigue drama belonged to another level of excitement. Hua Tai couldn’t even fathom how Lin Ji had come up with those murderous methods.

After finishing the ten episodes, Hua Tai had only one thought: if he were in this drama, he probably wouldn’t survive past ten episodes.

The characters appearing in the script were numerous and varied: the empress dowager, the emperor, harem concubines, candidates, palace maids, eunuchs… Even a character who seemed insignificant at first would play a vital role in a certain plotline.

And as for the dialogue, even when Lin Ji used it sparingly, Hua Tai could taste the deep meaning within.

Hua Tai: “…”

So, this was the legendary palace intrigue drama.

What he cared about even more was that Lin Ji was supposed to be good at writing soul-stirring scripts like Code 11 and Records of the Bai’s Return. How could he write this kind of “killing without drawing blood” plot so well, too?

Hua Tai could fully imagine what a massive reaction this drama would cause in the industry once it was broadcast!

A brand new script, a brand new theme. For a television station, this was a fresh blue ocean!

After finishing the script, Hua Tai looked at the character profiles.

With his years of experience at Qinglan TV, he could be certain that he had never seen a script with so many female characters.

Lin Ji’s character profiles were also incredibly fleshed out. If nothing went wrong, this drama would likely scour the entire market for young actresses.

After receiving Lin Ji’s script, Hua Tai did not leave his office all day. He paced back and forth, thinking.

He read those ten episodes about ten times, pondering the plot and the dialogue. The script, which had been printed less than a day ago, was nearly worn out from his handling.

The assistant glanced toward the office several times. Since the boss hadn’t shown his face, the assistant was considering whether to call him.

“What’s wrong with President Hua?”

“Supposedly… Lin Ji’s new script has reached his hands.”

A television station was naturally one of the places with the most gossip. The fact that Hua Tai had received the script was no secret. After it fermented throughout Qinglan TV, the heat was extraordinary.

Early the next morning, the station’s phones were blown up by major talent agencies.

Qinglan TV gave a response with only one requirement: send over the resumes of the female actors under the agency within a certain age range.

It was common for a station to ask for resumes. The problem was that after the agencies went back and investigated, they realized that not only their own company, but their competitors had also received the same request.

The major agencies wanted to ask Qinglan TV for more details, but the station’s reply was exceptionally concise: “Role requirements.”

Lin Ji hadn’t thought of a title for the drama yet. He planned to wait until the script was finished to discuss it with the crew. Qinglan TV, however, had already set up the framework for the production team. After all, the station had plenty of resources and could easily pull people from crews they had worked with before.

The producer, director, and casting director had already been determined. Because the new script had so many characters, the crew arranged for three casting directors at once.

The group sat down and researched for several days, finally screening the actors corresponding to the roles. Each role had at least three to four alternative actresses.

Qinglan TV not only wanted to pick any young actresses but also the young and beautiful ones. Some roles were so hard to fill that they couldn’t even find three people, so the station was also considering going to film academies to select newcomers.

* * *

The list of audition candidates was initially set, and the scripts for the first few episodes of the new drama subsequently flew toward the major talent agencies.

In fact, after the explosive success of Code 11 and Records of the Bai’s Return, the name Lin Ji was equivalent to a gold-lettered signboard. No matter what genre his next drama was, actors were more than willing to play a role. Therefore, the major agencies gave the highest level of importance to Qinglan TV’s audition invitations.

This was true even though the agencies didn’t quite know what kind of genre “palace intrigue” actually was.

Objectively speaking, agencies were sometimes unwilling to let their actors try so-called “new genres.” Being the first person to eat the crab carried too much risk.

But Lin Ji’s scripts were different. A small risk was acceptable.

Back then, Cheng Cheng had also taken a risk by accepting Code 11.

That was what the major agencies thought before they saw the script.

But after seeing the script—

“When is the audition?”

“Within three days, you must fully master this character.”

“A pure woman-centric show, and the most thrilling kind at that. This will definitely be a blockbuster!”

A few agencies initially thought the drama wouldn’t need that many actors and only sent over resumes for one or two heavily promoted stars. But after seeing the script, these agencies could no longer sit still and requested that Qinglan TV accept a few more resumes.

Lin Ji’s script gave the actors too much room to perform. Combined with the treacherous and ever-changing atmosphere of the plot and the thrill of the confrontations between different characters, one could imagine what a fresh experience the audience would have!

Even if the female characters weren’t the currently popular “silly, sweet, and innocent” types, they were still worth fighting for!

* * *

Auditions for various crews were usually kept low-profile unless they were public auditions where anyone could participate.

The audition Qinglan TV arranged for Lin Ji’s new drama was also low-profile. The problem was that a large group of actresses swarming to the same location at the same time, when it wasn’t a publicly held gala, was very noteworthy.

“…Mo Xiaoyu just terminated her contract with Future Entertainment, and she actually came.”

“Liu Meng, Lü Xiang, Shen Qingwei… So, all these actresses are here to audition for Lin Ji’s new drama?”

“So many people! [Image]”

“So, what exactly is a palace intrigue drama? What kind of interesting drama did Lin Ji write? I’m really curious!!!!”

Inside the audition room, the actresses all had serious expressions.

Whether they were actors who had debuted for years or pure newcomers, they all had an understanding of the roles they wanted to audition for. Therefore, even if they didn’t meet in the audition room, when the figures of other actors appeared downstairs, they could guess who their competitors would be.

For an actress, a great role was simply too rare.

They didn’t have Cheng Cheng’s good luck to encounter two roles like Shen Yin and Bai Mei in a row. Even if there were similar roles available, they had to consider their own suitability for the character.

But Lin Ji’s new script was different. There were many roles to choose from. Even if they didn’t understand the specific settings of other characters, they could catch a glimpse through the script. Moreover, the plot itself was attractive enough. When they saw those characters who were either snake-hearted, slippery and treacherous, or an expert at calculation, the strong traits of the characters actually overshadowed their disgust for the characters’ “evil.”

When entering the audition, the producer and director sat in the middle. Besides the casting director, the one who received the most attention was a certain young man who looked like his mind was wandering in the clouds.

The sharp-eyed actors had already recognized him.

Lin Ji looked at Hua Tai with a piercing gaze. He had already said they could choose the cast themselves, but Hua Tai had actually used the excuse of bringing him cake to “kidnap” him and drag him out of his house.

Hua Tai grinned at him. “I’ll pay you more!”

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