Love Contract with the Queen Actress - Chapter 17

“Scene 96, Take 1, first shot of Chronicles of the Dynasty, action!”

The clapper snapped in front of the camera, and filming began.

Su Yuchen had already changed into Princess Minglu’s pale blue gown. The dress was breathtakingly beautiful, with shimmering hems adorned with beaded tassels. The edges of the sleeves and collar were meticulously finished with delicate embroidery, elevating the refined fabric to an exquisite level.

Her hair was styled in an updo, with the lower half cascading down to her waist.

Pale blue crystal ornaments adorned her hair, along with a small cluster of fine diamonds beneath her right eyelid, following the curve of her almond-shaped eye and subtly lifting upward.

Su Yuchen’s transformation was so stunning that everyone on set, those behind the monitors and those watching from the sidelines, couldn’t take their eyes off her.

But she wasn’t just beautiful; she embodied the princess’s innate grace, the noble certainty radiating from her dignified bearing.

Behind the monitor, Director Gao gave a slight nod of approval.

Shifting his gaze from the framing on the screen, he saw the poised and composed princess walking steadily under the watchful eyes of all, her expression calm and collected.

Her long skirt trailed behind her as Princess Minglu arrived beneath the palace’s grand dome. She turned to glance at the rows of officials below the towering steps, then flicked her wide sleeves dismissively, leaving them all behind.

A voice announced off-screen: “Princess Minglu has arrived.”

Su Yuchen placed her hands together in front of her abdomen, palms inward, left hand over right, shoulders perfectly level. Even as she moved, her chin remained slightly raised.

The icy hues of her hair ornaments and gown made her seem as cool and untouchable as water itself.

In just a short walk, she perfectly captured the princess’s innate pride and nobility.

The set watched in silence. No one saw her as Su Yuchen anymore.

To everyone’s eyes, she was the elegant and dignified Princess Minglu.

Her slender, tall figure passed through layers of draped curtains until she stood before the golden dragon throne.

The throne, perched atop jade steps, seemed like an insurmountable peak, its view obscured by cascading veils.

After a brief pause, she curtsied slightly. “Minglu pays her respects to Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager.”

“It has been many years. I hope you have been well, Mother.”

Atop the steps stood a woman in resplendent robes, her back turned. Her long skirt and broad cape flowed like a waterfall of luxurious brocade, spilling down the grand platform.

Ruan Mengqing slowly turned around. The Empress Dowager’s forehead bore a striking flame-shaped ornament, her long brows extending toward her temples. Her fair skin and red lips contrasted with the gentle wisdom in her almond-shaped eyes, gifts of time and experience.

“My child, it has been too long.”

As she spoke, she seated herself gracefully on the wide golden throne. Despite its grandeur, her regal presence filled it effortlessly, as though she had always belonged there, overlooking the world below.

“Mother, this time, I have returned to stay.”

Su Yuchen spoke softly, lowering her lashes slightly as if concealing some emotion.

“I know what you seek. But the path is fraught with hardship. Are you resolved to this, without regret?”

The Empress Dowager rose to her feet. Immediately, two attendants behind her lifted the trailing edges of her cape, bowing their heads as they followed her forward.

A moment later, her jeweled shoes stepped onto the carpet, stopping right in front of Su Yuchen.

The two stood face to face, close enough to touch.

Yet between them lay a veil of brocade silk, a semi-translucent fabric that separated two strikingly similar faces.

“Your daughter does not regret.”

Su Yuchen uttered these words with resolute clarity, then with a sweeping motion of her wide sleeves, she clasped her hands in salute and bowed deeply once more.

This time, it was the formal bow of a subject to their sovereign.

The jade ornaments at her waist chimed softly, and the azure beaded tassels of her hairpiece swayed gently.

A flicker of emotion passed through the Empress Dowager’s eyes, quickly subdued as her expression remained regal and composed.

“Very well. Since my daughter has no regrets, then this sovereign shall watch what you do from here on.”

She raised her hand, lifting two fingers slightly.

Immediately, two palace attendants moved in unison to draw aside the gauzy curtain.

The red silk parted, revealing the Empress Dowager and Princess Minglu standing face to face.

The camera rolled silently, capturing the scene, one figure clad in a trailing crimson gown like a blazing flame, the other draped in azure gauze with flowing tassels, the two locked in silent confrontation.

“The thirteen prefectures of Qingchuan, will you send troops?”

“Not just Qingchuan. The twenty-four cities of Yingzhou as well. Your daughter will reclaim them all with her own hands.”

Ruan Mengqing gazed into Su Yuchen’s eyes, the Empress Dowager’s calm masking a hidden reluctance.

Su Yuchen met Ruan Mengqing’s gaze in return, the flames in Princess Minglu’s eyes dancing unrestrained.

Two pairs of strikingly similar almond-shaped eyes, two faces so alike, though their auras differed, the magic lay in how perfectly they complemented one another.

And so, they stood, locked in each other’s gaze, captured by the camera’s lens, as if separated by endless clouds and snow-capped mountains, two solitary figures facing one another.

Longing to draw closer, yet fearing the wounds they might inflict.

“Cut!” Director Gao raised his megaphone. “Perfect!”

For reasons no one could quite explain, the set erupted into thunderous applause that lingered in the air.

Su Yuchen only then snapped out of her immersion, taking a moment to regain her bearings. She pressed a hand lightly to her chest and nodded in acknowledgment to the crew.

This must be the indescribable feeling of acting alongside a master, so exhilarating, so unrestrained.

It was as if she had traversed millennia, truly conversing with the Empress Dowager, as if… she really was Princess Minglu, and the Empress Dowager was her mother!

The thought was so bold that Su Yuchen mentally scolded herself. It’s just acting, snap out of it!

Director Gao and the assistant director approached, their smiles deepening the creases on their faces.

“That was incredible. This scene was brilliant. I was worried I might have been too impulsive, but I never expected Xiao Su to hold her own against Mengqing. Watching the two of you act together was mesmerizing.”

“Absolutely, what a treasure we’ve found!” The assistant director chimed in, and soon others joined in the praise. Then someone remarked, “The award-winning actress and Xiao Su, you two really do resemble each other.”

Once pointed out, everyone agreed.

“Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were mother and daughter in real life.”

“Xiao Su is utterly convincing. You two are the Empress Dowager and Princess Minglu!”

“With this ‘mother-daughter’ duo on screen, the ratings are guaranteed.”

Su Yuchen quickly deflected the compliments with humble professionalism, insisting she still had much to improve and was open to retakes if needed.

Amid the lively chatter, Ruan Mengqing pressed a hand to her chest, unable to name the strange sensation stirring within her. Her heartbeat felt oddly erratic, and her gaze lingered on Su Yuchen, searching for answers she couldn’t yet grasp.

Her fair face was adorned with a pair of strikingly beautiful almond-shaped eyes, a lovely young girl whose radiant smile was as infectious as sunlight.

Just like the warm winter sun slanting through the doorway at this moment, enveloping the side of her face, it outlined her delicate profile and the contours of her figure, as if casting a soft, hazy glow over her entire being.

Her hair accessories and strands reflected the warm light, and when she smiled, her two small dimples exuded sweetness, as if both the sunlight and her very essence carried a tender warmth.

Was her name… Su Yuchen?

…

The scene was reshot from two additional camera angles, each completed in a single take. After that, they hurriedly filmed the scenes Liu Ruomeng had missed earlier, with no further shared shots with Ruan Mengqing.

Though many scenes were shot, Su Yuchen had already memorized Princess Minglu’s lines thoroughly over the past few days. These reshoots were almost all done in one take, earning her the elegant nickname “One-Take Su” among the crew.

So even though there were many scenes today, they finished the scheduled work without running too late.

By the time she bid farewell to everyone and headed to the dressing room to change, it was just before five o’clock.

Su Yuchen thought she could go home early today, maybe even stop by the market to buy a chicken carcass and make a pot of soup for her mother. The gloom in her heart over the past few days had gradually begun to lift.

Once again, she couldn’t remember how many times it had been, she thought of Shen Wu. The moment his image surfaced, a pang of sour bitterness tightened in her chest.

Shen Wu’s smile, Shen Wu’s arrogance, Shen Wu’s domineering demands that were always for her own good.

“…”

“Forget it. Just focus on living your own life.” Those icy heights were not for her to “climb.”

When the fantasy shattered, she’d only realize she had humiliated herself for others’ amusement.

Not worth the loss.

Su Yuchen suppressed the sharp pain in her chest and took a deep breath.

Then, lifting the hem of her skirt, she took a shortcut toward the makeup department.

Suddenly, from the small garden not far behind her, came the sound of a girl crying.

Behind the garden shrubs, Liu Ruomeng was sobbing loudly into her phone. “I already went to apologize to that old man Director Gao, but he still won’t forgive me! I was so sincere, and he wouldn’t even see me! Waaah…”

“It’s not like I wanted to splash her!”

“Now look! Not only did I lose this role, but all the other roles I was negotiating for are gone too! I have no money, how am I supposed to fund the two stray animal shelters? So many cats will starve, and it’s the middle of winter! What are they supposed to do?!”

“Bullshit! I’m not going to entertain anyone!”

Liu Ruomeng shrieked before slamming her phone to the ground.

Her temper was truly explosive, but right now, all she could do was rage.

At this moment, Su Yuchen deeply regretted taking this path. She even wished some benevolent deity would grant her a tiny reversal of time.

But the holly bushes were so tall maybe she wouldn’t be seen.

Just as she turned, lifting her skirt, the strings of glass beads decorating the hem clinked together, producing a clear, melodious sound.

After the soft ding-ding ling-ling, Su Yuchen froze mid-step, still holding her skirt. Liu Ruomeng’s head snapped up.

The next second,

“Stop right there!”

“Don’t you dare run! I see you! Keep running, I said STOP!”

Two slender, tall figures chased each other down the antique-style corridor, one in flowing ancient robes, the other in modern fashion. Had Liu Ruomeng’s makeup not been smeared to the point of resembling a ghost, it would have made for quite a picturesque scene.

Liu Ruomeng finally managed to grab Su Yuchen’s arm, yanking her back despite the distance she had already put between them.

“Why are you running?!” Liu Ruomeng’s face was streaked with tears, her smudged eye makeup making her look like a grimy little kitten.

Why shouldn’t I run? This place is quiet and deserted, should I just wait for you to bully me again?

Su Yuchen turned around reluctantly. “If it weren’t for this ridiculously large skirt today, you wouldn’t have caught me.”

I’m a seasoned pro at squeezing onto subways and chasing buses every day.

“…”

Liu Ruomeng’s face cycled through shades of green and purple before she finally stomped her foot, crouched down, and burst into loud, wailing sobs.

“How have I ever bullied you? You’re the one bullying me~!”

She cried so loudly she completely abandoned any pretense of dignity, eventually plopping onto the ground and clinging to Su Yuchen’s leg. “No, you have to fix this for me! I’m in this miserable state because of you!”

Su Yuchen’s elaborate costume already restricted her movements, and now, with Liu Ruomeng suddenly latching onto her leg, she had to brace herself against the corridor’s pillar to keep from losing her balance.

“How exactly am I supposed to take responsibility? Did I teach you to slack off on memorizing your script and bully others on set? How are you turning this around on me?”

“I-I wasn’t bullying anyone!” Liu Ruomeng’s sobs hitched. “They… they all said I did nothing wrong, that it was their fault! Sometimes I just have a short temper because of stress, but that’s not a big deal! My assistants, my agency’s manager, they all said so!”

“…”

Su Yuchen sighed. “Then go find them.”

“Waaah!” Mentioning them only made Liu Ruomeng’s tears gush harder.

“Th-they-! After everything happened, they all avoided me like the plague! Waaah! My manager even told me to apologize to Director Gao! I did, but he wouldn’t accept it! They-they all abandoned me!”

“No! You owe me!” With that, Liu Ruomeng scrambled up and lunged for Su Yuchen again.

“Who said you could be this fair-skinned?!”

“Who allowed you to be this fair-skinned?!”

Su Yuchen blocked her arm, making her stumble, but Liu Ruomeng just stamped her foot and shrieked, “I don’t care! You have to make it up to me! You have to take responsibility!”

Spouting these baffling accusations, she lunged again.

Su Yuchen sidestepped, leaving Liu Ruomeng to crash face-first onto the ground.

“You dared to trip me?!”

She refused to stay down, scrambling up to yank at Su Yuchen’s sleeve while chanting, “You have to take responsibility! You have to take responsibility for me!”

“…”

The two assistants who had been chasing after them cowered in the bushes, too terrified to make a sound.

“Oh my god, what? Xiao Meng is demanding Su Yuchen take responsibility?”

“She’s clinging this desperately, did we just stumble onto some huge scandal?”

While their imaginations ran wild, the altercation continued.

With a sharp rrriip, the sleeve of Su Yuchen’s costume tore open.

The fabric was high-quality, so the rip stood stiffly in the breeze, swaying like the grinning mouth of an oblivious optimist.

“Liu Ruomeng!”

Su Yuchen was genuinely furious. She grabbed Liu Ruomeng, who was as scrawny as a weakling, flipped her over, and sat down with the girl’s stomach resting on her knee. Then, she raised her hand and smacked her bottom.

“Acting so domineering, did you bring this on yourself?”

“Instead of focusing on your work, you waste time on nonsense. How old are you?”

“You’re an adult now, shouldn’t you take responsibility for yourself?”

With each reprimand came another smack.

Liu Ruomeng lay there, yelping loudly with every hit, while the two assistants watching covered their mouths in shock.

“Damn, daytime playtime?”

“So wild!”

As they whispered, Su Yuchen delivered another slap, making Liu Ruomeng howl.

“I won’t take responsibility for you. What makes you think I would?”

Smack.

“What about you is worth my responsibility?”

Smack.

“I owe you nothing!”

The assistants peeking from the bushes squinted their eyes and hissed in unison, “So heartless.”

Finally, after enduring the spanking, Liu Ruomeng wailed,

“If you won’t take responsibility for me, what’s gonna happen to my two stray animal rescue centers? Waaah!”

“Huh?”

Su Yuchen loosened her grip. “What did you say about stray animal rescue centers?”

Liu Ruomeng slid to the ground, clinging to Su Yuchen’s leg and sobbing uncontrollably, too breathless to answer.

A long moment passed, but the crying showed no sign of stopping.

At last, Su Yuchen frowned, bent down, and pinched Liu Ruomeng’s chin, forcing her tear-streaked face upward.

Her gaze was cold and commanding, the earlier gentleness gone. Shadows fell across her beautiful features, exuding an aura that brooked no argument, impossible to ignore.

Then she spoke: “Answer the question.”

“Answer, and I might help. Keep crying, and go do it somewhere else. Don’t dirty my clothes.”

Liu Ruomeng’s sobs cut off instantly. She swallowed hard, the gloom in her eyes vanishing as tiny stars began to sparkle in her gaze, fixed on Su Yuchen.

“Sis, I’ll talk.”