Filming

A week later, all the preparations for the production were complete, and the TV series Young Bao Qingtian officially began filming at the Huairou Film and Television Base.

As the production's sole screenwriter, Li Xun naturally moved into the film and television base with the rest of the crew.

Before long, another seven days had passed.

At exactly three o'clock that afternoon.

"All right, we've got it. Everyone take a fifteen-minute break, but don't go far."

Director Kong Teng was very pleased with the take. The actors were working hard and following directions. Neither the stars and Big Shots nor the extras and guest actors had caused any trouble during filming, and they were making faster progress than expected. In high spirits, the director waved a hand and gave everyone a break.

Li Xun sat on a little folding stool, leisurely watching the actors milling about in front of him, and felt great. Men and women in ancient costumes all had phones in their hands. Some were playing Fight the Landlord, some were playing tile-matching games, and some were scrolling through short videos. It was a ridiculous, hilarious sight.

Chen Minghao, dressed in an elaborate ancient costume, walked over to Li Xun with his hands crossed and tucked into his wide sleeves, taking slow, measured steps.

Li Xun quickly stood up to greet him. Chen Minghao stopped in front of him and smiled. "I usually don't act in shows that are filmed and broadcast at the same time. Since I can't see the later scripts, I can't guarantee their quality. But after reading your first six episodes, I agreed to join right away. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Li Xun asked.

Chen Minghao smiled. "Because even in those six short episodes, I saw your skill as a screenwriter, your literary talent, and your imagination."

"Brother Chen, you're flattering me," Li Xun said quickly. "It's really not that good. I still have a lot of room to improve. But I'm truly happy to have your approval."

"Do you know?" Chen Minghao continued. "My contract with the production explicitly states that I agreed to act in this show on the condition that the screenwriting team would never be replaced. In other words, if you leave the production tomorrow, or someone else writes the later scripts, I can refuse to continue filming at any time, without any conditions."

Li Xun was touched. "If there's ever anything you need me for, Brother Chen, I'll go through fire and water for you!"

Chen Minghao patted Li Xun on the shoulder and smiled. "That's too much. I'm just trying not to damage the little reputation I've spent years building. But you're likely to achieve at least as much as I have, so I may well need to ask you for help someday."

Li Xun said earnestly, "If you ever ask, Brother Chen, I won't hesitate. You may not know this, but Young Bao Qingtian was initially classified as a B-Class Production. It was only after you agreed to play the Eighth Prince that President Ma at the company approved upgrading it to an A-Class Production. The screenwriter's fee for an A-Class script is 200,000 per episode, while a B-Class script pays 100,000. Young Bao Qingtian is expected to run for forty episodes, so that's a difference of 100,000 per episode, or four million in total. It's no exaggeration to say that your decision to join the show alone brought me an extra four million."

Chen Minghao laughed heartily. "Maybe President Ma initially upgraded it because of me, but even if I hadn't joined the show, it would definitely have been an A-Class Production."

As he spoke, he looked toward the other side, where Huang Zhou, who played Bao Zheng, was talking with Director Kong Teng.

Chen Minghao continued, "You managed to convince Huang Zhou to play Bao Zheng. That alone means the show was never going to be rated below A-Class."

Li Xun gave a bitter smile. "That's why even Huang Zhou's agent and assistant look at me like I'm their sworn enemy."

Chen Minghao burst out laughing. "Can you blame them? You're too good at talking people into things. You got a leading man in the new film by an internationally acclaimed director and Oscar winner to act in a web series instead. If the show succeeds, fine. But if it flops, you'd better be ready for Huang Zhou's agent to come after you at home!"

Just then, Director Kong Teng called out, "All right, back to work! Let's try to shoot two more scenes before dark!"

The actors and crew groaned as they returned to their places.

Once everything was ready, the clapperboard snapped, and filming began.

In this scene, Bao Zheng followed a trail of clues and successfully identified the Goryeo Seventh Prince, Wang Xi, as the murderer.

Bao Zheng first exposed the Goryeo Seventh Prince's alibi.

Bao Zheng said, "He had an assassin wear his clothes and go carousing in the eastern part of the city. He even made sure to get into an argument with someone so people would remember him. The people of Song rarely saw people from Goryeo, and they couldn't remember his face, so they only remembered his clothes. Based on the witnesses' statements, we all thought the man was the Seventh Prince, Wang Xi. It was a flawless plan—until he burned his back on a kettle. That turned out to be the biggest giveaway."

After Bao Zheng dismantled the Seventh Prince Wang Xi's alibi, Prefect Gongsun Zhen asked, "Why would Wang Xi kill the Crown Prince? They're brothers. What would he gain from it?"

Bao Zheng said, "Precisely because they're brothers. I just checked Goryeo's royal genealogy. Although the King of Goryeo has many sons, most of them died young. The Crown Prince, Wang Gang, is the eldest son. If he dies, the Seventh Prince, Wang Xi, will inherit the throne. Wang Xi raised a large number of assassins for the sole purpose of killing Wang Gang. When the assassination failed, he killed the witnesses to cover it up!"

Bao Zheng's words convinced everyone that the Goryeo Seventh Prince, Wang Xi, was the murderer.

Yet Bao Zheng himself began to hesitate.

"But!"

At that moment, the Eighth Prince, played by Chen Minghao, entered and interrupted Bao Zheng. "But what? The evidence is all here. Take your men to Laiyi Pavilion and arrest him at once!"

Bao Zheng hurried to stop him. "Wait!"

Bao Zheng stepped forward and stood in front of the Eighth Prince. "Your Highness, that was only my personal conjecture. There are still many questions left unanswered. For example, how did he get in? How did he kill the victim? And how did he get out?"

The Eighth Prince barked, "Enough! We have the motive for murder, the assassin was his subordinate, and he has no proof that he wasn't at the scene. That's enough to prove that the murderer was the Goryeo Seventh Prince, Wang Xi."

Bao Zheng said, "That doesn't necessarily mean he was the one who did it!"

The Eighth Prince said, "You need say no more. I have my reasons!"

"Cut!"

Director Kong Teng watched the footage from behind the monitors. The camera and sound crew reported that everything was good, and Kong Teng called out, "That's a wrap on this take!"

The scene between Chen Minghao and Huang Zhou had come together exceptionally well.

Huang Zhou was a standout among the younger generation of actors known for their skill, while Chen Minghao was a major figure in the film industry who had been famous for nearly twenty years. Today, the two actors, one young and one veteran, had shared the screen—and sparked something extraordinary.

The scene was a clash between two philosophies.

Bao Zheng cared only about the truth. Even if the suspect was a heinous villain, even if bringing that villain to justice would benefit everyone, he would keep investigating to the end as long as he still had unanswered questions—as long as there was a chance the suspect wasn't the real murderer.

The Eighth Prince, by contrast, took the wider situation into account and put the greater good first.

If the Goryeo Crown Prince had been killed by one of his own people, then Goryeo couldn't blame Great Song. The alliance between Song and Goryeo would remain intact.

But if Bao Zheng insisted on hunting down the real murderer, only to discover that the culprit was a person of Song, the alliance between Song and Goryeo might collapse. If that drove Goryeo to side with Great Liao, then Liao would have nothing left to worry about. Great Liao would surely send its armies south, and the result would be untold suffering.

So, did the Eighth Prince not know that the real murderer might not be the Goryeo Seventh Prince, Wang Xi?

Of course he knew.

But for the sake of the people, and for the greater good of an alliance between Song and Goryeo against Liao, he had no choice but to compromise.

It was hard to say which of the two philosophies was right or wrong. In truth, they were intertwined, each containing something of the other.

Wasn't Bao Zheng now just like the Eighth Prince had been in his youth?

Huang Zhou's performance brought out Bao Zheng's relentless pursuit of the truth. Chen Minghao, meanwhile, perfectly conveyed the Eighth Prince's admiration for Bao Zheng's determination to find the real culprit, while also capturing the helplessness of a man forced to compromise in the face of a difficult political situation.

In that one scene, he portrayed with remarkable depth the Eighth Prince's inner conflict: he wanted Bao Zheng to uphold the truth, yet also wanted him to compromise and be pragmatic.

As Director Kong Teng watched the footage on the monitor, he had the vague sense that his career might soon open onto a much broader horizon.