Destined Splendor was scheduled to premiere before the Spring Festival. The production team had money to spare, so the advance publicity was strong.
Although plenty of people still predicted it would flop, overall anticipation was fairly high.
The first night's ratings were merely decent. Zhao Wenshu posted in the group chat that he could accept that. Since it was a serious ensemble drama, it had very few of the fraught romantic scenes most viewers enjoyed, and he had been a little worried it would bomb.
Shen Lian had been through it all and was even more levelheaded.
But late that night, terms related to Destined Splendor began appearing on Weibo's Trending Search, their popularity climbing steadily. Aside from the tight plot and compelling suspense, there were the production's costumes and makeup. They really did look good.
The men were handsome and the women beautiful. Of course, that excluded anyone beyond the saving power of styling.
During this time, photos and edited clips of Shen Lian as the down-and-out prince stood out the most.
He actually had little screen time at first. His blue-green robes were stained with dirt and food scraps, and a section of the crown securing his hair was broken, leaving a few strands of black hair hanging loose. Pale and thin, the young man looked as though he might fall at any moment when the eunuchs bullied and shoved him. With his head mostly lowered, Shen Lian's features appeared only fleetingly through the hair obscuring his eyes.
But whenever a shot lingered for a few seconds, there was always something in Shen Lian's eyes that held the audience captive.
One crowd analyzed the plot. As for the other, all anyone could say was that the perverts had assembled.
[That waist, that waist! It's so tiny [gesturing]]
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