The imperial study set had been built inside the film studio complex's largest soundstage, Stage One.
When Song Shi'an walked in, the lighting crew was adjusting the overhead lights, and more than a dozen crew members were bustling around the stage.
Director Zheng crouched in front of the monitor, a thermos in his hand, his expression as stern as ever.
Xu Yanzhi had already arrived. Dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, he sat behind the imperial desk leafing through the script, while his assistant stood beside him, holding a small fan up to blow air at him.
The dragon robe looked thick, its collar fastened tight and its cuffs embroidered with gold-thread dragons. Just seeing him sit there made it feel as though the temperature had climbed two degrees.
As Song Shi'an approached, Xu Yanzhi looked up at him and gave him a nod by way of greeting.
"I meant to say this at yesterday's table read," Xu Yanzhi said casually, setting down his script. "You had a pretty distinctive way of handling those lines, especially the ending of the last one."
Song Shi'an had not expected him to bring up acting. He paused before saying, "Thank you. I just felt that Meng Zhen wouldn't put too much force into his words. He doesn't need volume to overwhelm people."
Xu Yanzhi considered this, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. "That makes sense. Let's try out the rhythm again when we rehearse the scene."
Director Zheng's loud voice came from behind the monitor. "Get ready! Meng Zhen stands behind the dragon throne on the left. Go stand there and let me see."
Song Shi'an hurried over and took his place behind the dragon throne on the left. This position had been decided earlier: as the chief palace eunuch, Meng Zhen stood beside the emperor during court and followed behind him after court was dismissed.
Director Zheng watched the monitor for a while, then raised his walkie-talkie. "Half a step to the left. Yes, right there."
The camera operator adjusted the camera position and gestured to Director Zheng.
The first scene was simple: the new emperor's enthronement ceremony. The emperor, played by Xu Yanzhi, walked from the entrance of the great hall toward the dragon throne along a red carpet.
Meng Zhen, played by Song Shi'an, followed two paces behind, his eyes lowered and his steps steady.
Once the emperor sat on the dragon throne, he turned sideways to stand beside him, shifting the horsetail whisk into the crook of his left arm and letting his right hand hang at his side, his eyes on his nose and his nose toward his heart.
There were no lines. It all depended on posture and blocking.
As Song Shi'an followed Xu Yanzhi, he deliberately lightened his steps.
Playing a guard and playing a eunuch required different ways of applying force when walking; a eunuch needed to keep his upper body steady and prevent the hem of his robe from swaying too much.
After two steps, he found the feel of it. When he came to a stop beside the dragon throne, he rested his right hand on the command token at his waist and shifted the whisk into the crook of his left arm, the whole sequence flowing like clouds and water.
Director Zheng poked his head out from behind the monitor, replayed the footage once, then looked up at Song Shi'an.
"Done costume dramas before?"
"I played a guard once. Another standing-around role," Song Shi'an answered honestly.
"No wonder." Director Zheng nodded and said nothing more, but he did not ask for another take either.
The morning's second transitional scene went smoothly too.
It showed Meng Zhen following the emperor along a corridor after court, where they encountered an imperial consort coming to lodge a complaint.
Meng Zhen stepped forward to stand in front of the emperor and stopped her, his tone respectful but his attitude firm. He had only three lines: "Please return to your quarters, Your Highness. His Majesty is tired. Any matters can be discussed tomorrow."
Song Shi'an delivered the three lines with neither servility nor arrogance, his voice neither loud nor soft, but he put slightly more weight on "please return" than on the preceding words, just enough for his scene partner to feel the pressure of "I'm informing you, not negotiating with you."
The actress playing the consort felt her back tense under his gaze and nearly forgot to deliver her next line.
They shot two takes. For the second, Director Zheng asked the consort to react more strongly. Meng Zhen's expression remained unchanged; he merely moved another half step in front of the emperor and pressed his hand against the command token at his waist.
Song Shi'an had added the gesture of pressing the token himself.
Director Zheng saw it on the monitor and did not call cut. After the take, he replayed it twice, then said to the executive director beside him, "This actor knows how to think a scene through for himself."
The afternoon's big scene was the warning delivered to a minister in the imperial study.
Song Shi'an ate only half his boxed lunch. His costume was simply too tight, and the leather belt around his waist dug into him whenever he sat down.
Worried that eating too much would affect his condition for the afternoon shoot, he took only a few chopstickfuls of vegetables and two mouthfuls of rice before setting it down.
The veteran minister was played by an actor in his fifties, surnamed Zhou, who had spent decades playing supporting roles in the industry.
Dressed in a purple official's robe, he sat on a rosewood chair in the imperial study and lifted his teacup for a sip, looking perfectly at ease.
The clapperboard snapped shut.
Wang Zhaoshan set down his teacup and cupped his hands, his tone carrying some of the arrogance of a man trading on his age. "Eunuch Meng, this old minister believes that what His Majesty spoke of in court today still requires deliberation. These new policies and reforms-pull one hair, and the whole body moves. We must not act too hastily."
Meng Zhen stood opposite him, neither sitting down nor refilling his tea.
His eyes lowered and the whisk resting in the crook of his left arm, he waited until Wang Zhaoshan finished before slowly raising his gaze.
Under the lights, those eyes were dark and deep, like two wells, their surfaces untroubled by a ripple, while what lay suppressed beneath made one's skin crawl.
"Minister Wang." His voice was very soft. "His Majesty took in every word you said in court just now."
The corners of Wang Zhaoshan's mouth lifted slightly. He was about to respond when Meng Zhen's next sentence fell.
"What His Majesty took in was which matters should be discussed, and which should not."
His tone remained respectful, and there was even the faintest trace of a smile on his lips, but his eyes stayed fixed on Wang Zhaoshan without blinking, as though examining a piece of merchandise whose price he already knew.
Wang Zhaoshan's smile froze on his face.
"Minister Wang, you are a veteran of three reigns, with a long record of service. There is no one in court who does not respect you."
Meng Zhen moved half a step forward, his tread so light that it made almost no sound on the carpet. Yet with every step closer, Wang Zhaoshan's upper body leaned a little farther back. "But seniority, to put it plainly, is His Majesty's grace. When that grace is granted, you have your prestige as a veteran minister. When that grace is withdrawn..."
He left the sentence unfinished, merely smiling as he reached for the teapot on the table and unhurriedly filled the cup in front of Minister Wang seven-tenths full.
The sound of tea pouring into the cup was exceptionally clear in the quiet imperial study. Steam curled upward, blurring his expression.
"The tea is still hot. Take your time, Minister Wang."
Wang Zhaoshan reached for the teacup, his fingertips trembling slightly, and the lid struck the rim with a soft clink.
"Cut!"
Director Zheng rose from behind the monitor, still holding his thermos, his expression considerably less severe than it had been that morning.
He watched the playback, then looked at Song Shi'an, and finally said just two words.
"That's good."
One take, approved.
Teacher Zhou rose from his chair and rubbed his wrist, looking Song Shi'an up and down before shaking his head with a smile. "The younger generation is a force to be reckoned with. Did you add that tea-refilling gesture yourself?"
"Yes." Song Shi'an nodded quickly. "The script only had Meng Zhen speaking. I felt just standing there talking was a little dry, so I added the tea-pouring gesture."
"A good addition." Teacher Zhou patted his shoulder. "A young actor who thinks a scene through. That's rare."