Official Release Date Set

Madam Bao, Bao Zheng, and Captain Lu emerged from the suspect's home.

On the street, Madam Bao and Bao Zheng, mother and son, bickered as they walked, the atmosphere light and cheerful.

Madam Bao took out a flatbread from her basket and offered it to Captain Lu, smiling. "Captain Lu, are you hungry? Here, have a piece of bread."

"No, no, thank you," Captain Lu said politely, waving his hands.

Madam Bao smiled. "You should have it."

Bao Zheng also urged, "Go on, eat it."

Captain Lu smiled and accepted the flatbread. "Then I won't be polite."

"It's delicious!" Captain Lu praised with a chuckle.

"Isn't it!" Madam Bao replied with a grin.

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao continued their stroll, chatting.

"Mother, you just finished examining the body. Did you wash your hands?" Bao Zheng asked Madam Bao.

"Why would I need to wash my hands?" Madam Bao frowned.

"Why wash your hands? You just touched the corpse's vomit!" Bao Zheng said sternly. "Wash your hands before eating the bread!"

"It's fine, I didn't eat the bread!" Madam Bao said dismissively.

Bao Zheng: "You didn't eat the bread? Then..."

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao turned to look at Captain Lu beside them. Captain Lu's mouth was stuffed with flatbread. As he listened to the mother and son's conversation, his eyes gradually widened, and he forgot to chew.

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao gave an awkward smile.

Seeing this, Gong Cheng let out a chuckle.

"It seems this TV series blends suspense, humor, and comedy! The atmosphere is relaxed and natural, yet serious and brain-burning. The couplets and riddles showcase the screenwriter's skill and serve as a nice touch. The viewership for this drama shouldn't be too low!"

Gong Cheng continued watching. Shen Daotou appeared, followed by the Hundred Ghosts Bamboo Forest, the Eighth Prince, Grand Tutor Pang, the Emperor, and the Korean Envoy. The characters appeared one after another in an orderly fashion, yet without any sense of clutter. Unknowingly, their relationships, personalities, and abilities were imprinted in Gong Cheng's mind.

The Korean Envoy was ambushed, the Korean Crown Prince was cruel and lecherous, the Korean officials were arrogant and overbearing, and there was a hidden struggle at the welcoming banquet.

Ah, and then there were those brilliant couplets again.

The Korean Envoy presented the upper line:

"Ten mouths, a heart's thoughts, thinking of home, thinking of country, thinking of the state."

Gongsun Ce responded:

"Eight eyes, still appreciating, appreciating flowers, appreciating the moon, appreciating the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Bao Zheng responded:

"Eight eyes, adding joy, celebrating the new year, celebrating the month, celebrating peace."

Gong Cheng smiled and shook his head.

"Where did the screenwriter find these couplets? They're so skillful! The key is that such well-crafted couplets shouldn't be obscure. Why haven't I heard of them before?"

The plot continued.

The Goryeo Crown Prince died, a locked-room murder, and everyone had an alibi.

The Great Song's war faction? The Female Ghost? Ling Chuchu? The Seventh Prince Wang Xi? Goryeo's Minister Cui?

One by one, the mysteries were unraveled, and one by one, the suspects were eliminated. By this point, Gong Cheng was completely immersed in the plot, not even having the desire to go out for lunch. He had his assistant bring food to the office, and he continued watching while he ate.

Bao Zheng's meticulous mind, his keen observation.

The casual remarks of supporting characters and passersby, Bao Zheng's sudden realization.

When he saw Bao Zheng finally reveal all the mysteries, and the clues from the previous episodes gradually connected to form the entire course of events, Gong Cheng felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

"So it was him!"

"So that's how it was!"

"Brilliant, the plot design is stunning!"

At 3:30 PM, Gong Cheng finally finished watching all six episodes.

All the mysteries were solved. Gong Cheng leaned back in his chair, feeling a sense of loss.

"Why does it feel like it's even more exciting than The Coroner?"

"A hugely popular drama on the level of The Coroner, can two of those come out in a year?"

Gong Cheng, who had always regretted his lack of discerning taste and inaccurate judgment of dramas, now vaguely wished he had misjudged this one.

"Such an excellent drama, why was it produced by the in-house production center? If it were from an independent company outside, I would definitely spare no expense to acquire this drama! The potential for this drama to explode is too high!"

Penguin Video's acquisition department and Penguin Video's in-house production center, although both departments belonged to the same company, they were undeniably pure competitors.

Penguin Video's annual spending on content was limited. If more money was allocated to the acquisition department, it would inevitably be cut from the in-house production center, and vice versa.

Gong Cheng felt a hint of frustration, but then he thought again:

"Whether a TV series becomes popular depends not only on its quality but also on its style, luck, and even metaphysics. Many critically acclaimed masterpieces by industry insiders have ultimately failed miserably. Some high-reputation dramas with Dou Miao scores exceeding 9 have performed poorly in viewership, even causing their production companies to abandon the pursuit of quality and switch to making purely popcorn entertainment!"

"It looks good, but will it be a hit? Will the audience like it? Who can say for sure?"

Gong Cheng found paper and a pen and began writing his review:

"It's innovative, has highlights, and selling points. The plot is intricately linked, the characters are lifelike, and the actors performed beyond expectations, with lively and natural acting. Some parts are even comparable to the phenomenally popular drama The Coroner. I recommend the platform fully promote it. I predict its market performance will rank in the top three this year. Among the dramas released so far this year, only iQIYI Video's The Coroner can faintly outperform this Young Bao Qingtian."

Although Gong Cheng felt a hint of jealousy and regret, he still wrote his most honest evaluation in the assessment.

His review would be recorded in the high-level meeting minutes. If he deliberately misrepresented good as bad or bad as good, it wouldn't matter once or twice, but if it happened too often, the platform's executives would start to doubt the judgment of the Head of Content Acquisition.

After finishing his review, Gong Cheng leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought, replaying the plot.

Suddenly, he sat up straight.

"The couplets in the drama are very interesting. Which ancient scholar penned them?"

Gong Cheng typed the couplets into the search engine and clicked search.

But the usually all-powerful search engine yielded nothing this time!

"This is truly bizarre! Did I misremember? Impossible! Those couplets and riddles left such a deep impression on me, how could I possibly get them wrong?!"

Gong Cheng tried searching for a different couplet, but the results were still empty.

"Did I get both couplets wrong?"

Gong Cheng finally reopened the first episode and fast-forwarded to the scene with the couplets.

He carefully compared them word for word.

"They're correct, so why can't I find them? This is so strange!"

Gong Cheng leaned back in his seat, and after a few minutes, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Could it be..."

At the Penguin Video high-level meeting.

Present were Chairman Ma Mingyuan, Head of Original Drama Center Dai Ying, Head of Content Acquisition Gong Cheng, Chief Operating Officer Wang Jinling, and others.

After discussing next year's work arrangements, company personnel adjustments, and the introduction of popular foreign film and television variety shows, the meeting finally shifted its focus to the upcoming original exclusive drama Young Bao Qingtian.

"IQIYI Video's The Coroner sister drama Mortuary is scheduled to premiere on December 25th at 7:30 PM. Gua Video has announced they will follow suit, releasing their I Was a Detective in Ancient Times at the same time. Both platforms have already begun their final promotional push."

"It's reported that both Mortuary and I Was a Detective in Ancient Times have production costs exceeding 3 million per episode, making them definite S-tier productions. Furthermore, Mortuary benefits from the traffic of the phenomenally popular sister drama The Coroner, and I Was a Detective in Ancient Times is a top IP from Yue Long Group, boasting a massive fanbase and extremely high recognition. Our original drama center's Young Bao Qingtian, despite featuring the acclaimed actor Chen Minghao, the rising star Huang Zhou, and Jin Jiawei, one of the 'Four Young Dan Actors' born after '85, still lags far behind the other two in overall metrics, online search volume, and the Dou Miao anticipation rankings."

"Therefore, our operations department suggests releasing our work before the other two premiere, to gain a time advantage."

"What are the thoughts of each department? Please share!" Chairman Ma Mingyuan said slowly.

"My opinion is that we should launch simultaneously with the new dramas from iQIYI Video and Gua Video!" Dai Ying stood up and said, "Let's also set the premiere at 7:30 PM, the same prime time slot. If we deliberately avoid the competition and launch early, casual viewers and fans might think that Young Bao Qingtian is inferior to The Coroner, inferior to its sister drama Mortuary, and inferior to I Was a Detective in Ancient Times. They'll think, 'See, even its production company, even Penguin Video itself, lacks confidence and is just trying to cash in before Mortuary premieres, harvesting as much as they can.' This creates a first impression, a fixed stereotype, and they might lose interest in clicking on it."

Ma Mingyuan looked at Dai Ying and smiled, saying, "It seems our President Dai is very confident!"

He scanned the room and asked, "What does everyone else think?"

"Alright, since there are no objections, this matter is settled!" Ma Mingyuan made the final decision.