Officially Scheduled

Madam Bao, Bao Zheng, and Captain Lu came out of the suspect's house.

As they walked down the street, Madam Bao and her son Bao Zheng bantered back and forth, the mood light and cheerful.

Madam Bao took a baked flatbread from her basket and handed it to Captain Lu with a smile. "Captain Lu, you must be hungry. Here, have a piece."

"No need, no need," Captain Lu hurriedly said, politely declining.

Madam Bao smiled. "Go on, have some."

Bao Zheng urged him too. "Eat, eat."

Captain Lu smiled and accepted the flatbread. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

"It tastes pretty good!" Captain Lu praised it with a grin.

"Not bad, right?" Madam Bao said with a smile.

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao continued walking and chatting.

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

"Do I really need to wash them?" Madam Bao said with a frown.

"You don't need to wash them? You just touched the corpse's vomit!" Bao Zheng said sternly. "Wash your hands before eating!"

"It's fine. I'm not eating any flatbread!" Madam Bao said dismissively.

Bao Zheng said, "You're not eating any? Then..."

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao turned to look at Captain Lu, who was standing beside them with his mouth stuffed full of flatbread. As he listened to their conversation, his eyes widened little by little, and he even forgot to chew.

Bao Zheng and Madam Bao gave awkward smiles.

Watching this, Gong Cheng snickered.

"Looks like this drama blends mystery, humor, and comedy! The atmosphere is light and natural without losing its seriousness or making you strain your brain. The couplets and word puzzles showcase the screenwriter's skill and make a nice touch. This show's viewership probably won't be low!"

Gong Cheng continued watching. Shen Daotou appeared, followed by the Hundred Ghosts Bamboo Grove, the Eighth Prince, Grand Tutor Pang, the emperor, and the Korean Envoy. One character after another was introduced in an orderly fashion, without ever feeling chaotic. Before he knew it, their relationships, personalities, and abilities had all been etched into Gong Cheng's mind.

The Korean Envoy was attacked. The Korean Crown Prince was cruel and lecherous, and the Korean officials were arrogant and overbearing. At the welcoming banquet, everyone schemed against one another.

Right, another pair of dazzling couplets appeared.

The Korean Envoy offered the first line:

"Ten mouths, one heart: thinking of home, the country, and the realm."

Gongsun Ce answered:

"Eight eyes admire and appreciate: admiring the flowers, the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Bao Zheng answered:

"Eight eyes add congratulations: celebrating the year, the month, and peace."

Gong Cheng shook his head with a smile.

"Where did the screenwriter find these couplets? They're so good! And couplets this clever shouldn't have gone unnoticed. How come I've never heard them before?"

The story continued.

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

The Song dynasty's hawks? A Female Ghost? Ling Chuchu? Seventh Prince Wang Xi? Goryeo's Minister Cui?

One mystery after another was unraveled, and one suspect after another was eliminated. By now, Gong Cheng was completely absorbed in the story. He no longer had any interest in going out for lunch, so he had his assistant bring food to his office and kept watching as he ate.

Bao Zheng was meticulous and had an eye for detail.

A few words from a supporting character or passerby would suddenly make Bao Zheng realize something.

When Bao Zheng finally solved every mystery and the clues from the earlier episodes gradually came together to reveal the whole sequence of events, Gong Cheng suddenly felt as though everything had fallen into place.

"So it was him!"

"So that's what happened!"

"Incredible! The plot is brilliantly designed!"

At half past three in the afternoon, Gong Cheng finally finished all six episodes.

Every mystery had been resolved. He leaned back in his chair, feeling strangely bereft.

"Why does it feel even better than The Coroner?"

"Can you really get two smash-hit dramas of The Coroner's caliber in a single year?"

Gong Cheng had always worried that his eye for a good show wasn't sharp enough, and that he wasn't good at predicting a drama's success. Now, for once, he found himself hoping he'd misjudged this one.

"Why did such an excellent show have to be made by the in-house production center? If it were an independent production, I'd spare no expense to get it! This show has a very high chance of becoming a sensation!"

Penguin Video's acquisition department and its in-house production center belonged to the same company, but there was no denying the two departments were direct competitors.

Penguin Video had only so much money to spend on content each year. Give a little more to the acquisition department, and the in-house production center would inevitably take the hit, and vice versa.

Gong Cheng felt a little dejected, but then he thought:

"A drama's success depends on more than just quality. Its style, luck, even metaphysics can all play a part. How many acclaimed masterpieces have ended up losing everything? Even dramas with rave reviews and Dou Miao Scores above nine have bombed with audiences, driving their production companies to abandon quality dramas and switch to pure popcorn entertainment!"

"It certainly looks good, but will it actually be a hit? Will audiences buy it? Who can say for sure?"

Gong Cheng fetched some paper and a pen, then wrote down his assessment:

"Fresh, compelling, and marketable. The plot is tightly woven, the characters vivid, and the actors deliver outstanding, natural performances. In some respects, it's even on par with the Phenomenon Level hit drama The Coroner. I recommend that the platform promote it to the fullest. I estimate that its market performance could place it among this year's top three. Of the dramas released so far this year, only iQIYI Video's The Coroner seems likely to have a slight edge over Young Bao Qingtian."

Although Gong Cheng felt a little jealous and disappointed, he still honestly recorded his most genuine assessment.

His evaluation would be recorded in the minutes of a senior management meeting. If he deliberately called good shows bad and bad shows good, it wouldn't matter once or twice. But if he did it too often, the platform's senior management would start doubting his judgment as head of the acquisition department.

After finishing the evaluation, Gong Cheng leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought as he replayed the story in his mind.

Suddenly, he sat up straight.

"The couplets in the drama were really interesting. Which ancient scholar came up with them?"

Gong Cheng entered the couplets into a search engine and clicked search.

But for once, the usually all-knowing search engine came up empty!

"That's bizarre! Could I have remembered them wrong? Impossible! Those couplets and riddles made such a deep impression on me. How could I have gotten them wrong?!"

Gong Cheng tried searching for one of the couplets instead, but the results were still blank.

"Did I misremember both of them?"

Gong Cheng reopened the first episode and fast-forwarded to the couplet scene.

He carefully compared the words one by one.

"I didn't get them wrong, so why can't I find them? That's strange!"

Gong Cheng leaned back in his chair. A few minutes later, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Could it be..."

At a senior management meeting at Penguin Video.

Chairman Ma Mingyuan, in-house production center head Dai Ying, acquisition department head Gong Cheng, Chief Operating Officer Wang Jinling, and others were all in attendance.

After discussing next year's work plans, company personnel changes, and importing popular overseas films, TV shows, and variety programs, the meeting finally turned its attention to the upcoming in-house exclusive drama Young Bao Qingtian.

"IQIYI Video's sister series to The Coroner, The Villa, is scheduled to launch on December 25 at 7:30 p.m. Gua Video has announced that it will follow suit, launching I Was a Detective in Ancient Times at the same time. Both platforms have begun their final promotional campaigns."

"Reportedly, production costs for each episode of both The Villa and I Was a Detective in Ancient Times have exceeded three million, making them solid S-tier productions. The Villa can draw viewers from its Phenomenon Level hit sister series, The Coroner. I Was a Detective in Ancient Times is a top IP owned by Yue Long Group, with an enormous fan base and tremendous name recognition. Our in-house production center's Young Bao Qingtian has acclaimed actor Chen Minghao and rising star Huang Zhou, as well as Jin Jiawei, one of the Four Little Flowers born in the '80s. But overall, in online search volume and on Dou Miao's most-anticipated list, we're still far behind the other two."

"So our operations department recommends launching our show ahead of theirs to gain a timing advantage."

"What does everyone think? Let's hear from each department," Chairman Ma Mingyuan said slowly.

"My view is that we should launch at the same time as the new dramas from iQIYI Video and Gua Video!" Dai Ying stood up and said. "We should also schedule it for 7:30 p.m., in the same prime-time slot. If we deliberately avoid a head-on competition and launch early, casual viewers might think Young Bao Qingtian is simply inferior to The Coroner, its sister series The Villa, and I Was a Detective in Ancient Times. They'll think, 'Look, even its production team—even Penguin Video itself—has no confidence in it. They just want to cash in as much as they can before The Villa launches.' That first impression could take hold, and viewers might end up with no interest in clicking on it."

Ma Mingyuan looked at Dai Ying and smiled. "Looks like President Dai has a lot of confidence!"

He glanced around the room. "What does everyone else think?"

"Good. Since no one objects, it's settled!" Chairman Ma Mingyuan declared, bringing down the gavel at last.