I have a persona specifically for acting.

Huff!

Tong Zhao opened her eyes, sat up straight in the filming room, and let out a long sigh.

The other actors were still in the room with their eyes closed.

Only actors who died in the scene would wake up early. Everything was still going according to her plan; the character of Shen Guifei had died.

Tong Zhao glanced at Song Wanzhuo in the adjacent room.

A line of transparent liquid slowly slid from the corner of his eye.

Although her memory hadn’t fully returned, it seemed Shen Guifei’s death was quite impactful.

There was a glass window through which she could see the backstage of the shoot. Tong Zhao looked up and waved to the monitoring window, signaling that she was in good condition and would be out soon. The director smiled at her, but the screenwriter’s gaze was rather subtle.

Tong Zhao walked out and took a moment backstage to thank everyone.

The filming style of “Instinct” was quite different from before; it didn’t build deep connections with the crew through each scene. After all, the actors spent most of their time in another “world,” and since she was just a guest star with her character’s role done, it was time for her to leave.

“Let’s have a chance to work together next time.”

“You’ll remember later, I didn’t expect you to dance so well, Zhao Zhao!”

“Enough with the pleasantries, let’s add each other on WeChat first!”

The comment jolted everyone awake.

People quickly pulled out their QR codes to scan, and within minutes, Tong Zhao had added a lot of new contacts, all categorized under [Work] in her list.

The staff was very friendly and enthusiastic towards Tong Zhao.

Firstly, there were no conflicts of interest; secondly, they thought she performed exceptionally well and was bound to become popular soon. Even if they couldn’t benefit from her immediately, having a future big star in their contact list was advantageous.

As she mechanically added new friends, Tong Zhao recalled how she had quietly left the set of “The Tale of Emperor Ming” in her previous life, fading away without making a sound. Only Director Jian Shu sighed and gave her work advice.

The same place, different treatment.

Tong Zhao did not lament the fickleness of human nature; she was simply satisfied that the changes she made were the right ones.

—

“The Tale of Emperor Ming” is still airing.

But besides the main plot, a mysterious force has quietly emerged and become a striking feature in the viewer comments—Ming Chen and Chen Ming shippers.

A male and a female, but why is there a sequence?

Fans of the former shipper are all about the handsome emperor and his delicate consort.

Fans of the latter are all about the domineering beauty and the befuddled, lovesick emperor she has ensnared.

Among them, Song Wanzhuo’s fans are the most quickly captivated.

They worry, “Will my brother really fall in love with her?”, while also thinking, “Ah, but the domineering and affectionate brother is so charming!” They found that viewing from the perspective of Consort Chen made the experience so much better, especially delightful!

What about the main plot?

This segment of the audience turned on double speed for the main plot and only returned to normal speed when Consort Chen appeared. In the script’s setting, this romantic subplot was just sugary fluff mixed in with the main course. But now, it’s like the audience kicked the whole banquet over and made the pastries the main course—sweet, sweet, sweet.

[Life is already so bitter; I just want to eat sweets.]

[It’s not just about the sweetness; I love watching Consort Chen slap faces online. Seeing her flaunt her power is so much fun! Since she’s not the main character, I worried she might suffer, but it seems Tong Zhao’s “true self” is quite domineering.]

[Not just domineering!]

—

This made the audience who were originally focused on the serious plot of **”The Tale of Emperor Ming”** feel a bit uneasy.

The drama was overshadowed by the side plot.

As a result, apart from discussing the sweet moments and the plot, the comment section of the viewer’s bullet chat started to fill with sour comments, especially from female viewers.

[If you want to enjoy sugary moments, go watch a romance drama! This is a historical drama; some female viewers should just back off and stop making me say unpleasant things.]

[Actually, I’ve always thought it’s good that the audience gender ratio for **”The Tale of Emperor Ming”** is somewhat skewed, since they don’t understand it anyway :D]

Anyone surfing the internet has some sense of the underlying hostility.

The targeted groups weren’t going to take it lying down, so they began to retaliate:

[No way, no way. Could there really be people who think women don’t deserve to watch historical dramas?]

[It’s quite strange. This year, the gender ratio of viewers for **”The Tale of Emperor Ming”** is almost even. Do you think TV dramas don’t want female viewers because they’re making too much money? Are you trying to sabotage your own show? Does your master know?]

The argument ironically brought another wave of attention to the drama. Oddly, even though the debate was fierce, the criticism wasn’t directed at Tong Zhao or Consort Chen.

By the next day, the official data came out and revealed the truth.

In the era of big data, each viewer’s consent before watching a show has already defaulted to data collection. The producers pay close attention to who in the show is the key to retaining viewers. With data analysis, nothing escapes scrutiny—whether a particular plot was frequently fast-forwarded or which scenes were watched repeatedly.

To get accurate numbers, the official system has a data fraud detection mechanism. Fans’ mechanical repeat viewings are not counted, so the released data is the genuine version and cannot be deceived.

When the data came out, the people who had been arguing were stunned.

The ratio of male to female viewers repeatedly watching Consort Chen’s scenes was 7:3.

Male 7, Female 3.

[Oh wow…]

[Alright, there’s no difference between the dog emperor and the dog man.]

[As long as it’s a man’s show, whether in the drama or outside, does Consort Chen’s sister slay the whole scene? I almost vomited from laughing so hard at last night’s leftovers.]

Right after this, Tong Zhao thought the long-dead system had suddenly come back to life.

And it came back with two system notifications.

[Congratulations, Host, for activating Consort Chen’s passive skill “Favorite Consort Aura”: Male viewers will view your work through a filter because no man can resist the charm of Consort Chen.]

[Congratulations, Host, for activating Consort Chen’s active skill “Overwhelming Beauty”: No matter the angle or attire, Consort Chen is always the most stunning! Activation Condition – At least three women present.]

……

They were all very useful, making their way to becoming major beauties in the film industry.

Tong Zhao: [System, am I about to undertake another mission? Or is it something else?]

System: [The host has completed all tasks in the small worlds. The system will no longer require the host to solve any tasks with annihilation as a punishment.]

After the explanation, the system fell silent.

Tong Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, this is her life, and she wants to live it according to her own wishes.

Consort Chen was delightfully wicked; not only had she kickstarted Zhao Zhao’s entertainment career, but she had also activated useful skills. She was practically the most contributive one at home: [In the past, Zhao Zhao, you should have promoted me.]

Lu Xianchang coolly responded: [The consort has been promoted as much as possible. Just kill her.]

※

“Chronicles of the Ming Emperor” became increasingly popular, with viewership numbers rising.

Data showed that the character of Consort Chen was exceptionally likable, and the audience wanted to see Tong Zhao!

However, rumors spread that someone on set saw Tong Zhao leaving in a cab.

In other words, Consort Chen had met her end.

How could this be!

The fans firmly refused to accept it and demanded to see the sweet ending!

But as the episodes aired day by day, the audience began to sense something was amiss—Chen’s family’s plot to rebel gave Consort Chen a clear reason to meet her end according to ancient standards. Reluctantly, the audience began speculating about how she would die.

[It’ll probably be death by imperial decree.]

[Just look at the content of the old lady’s substantial bribe to gain entry into the palace. She wanted Consort Chen to die to ensure Chen’s family’s survival, trading death for exile. It seems clear who the Emperor’s favorite truly is.]

[If it’s really due to family pressure, while it makes sense, Consort Chen’s character would lose its appeal.]

Despite the speculation, no one really wanted to see Consort Chen die.

So when the Emperor said he had no intention of granting Consort Chen’s death, the CP fans breathed a sigh of relief.

See, the Emperor couldn’t bear to kill his little darling!

However, the pressure from the previous dynasty cast a shadow over the harem.

Attentive viewers noticed that Consort Chen mentioned the Empress more frequently. Since the Empress was given a white silk for her demise, Consort Chen’s tone when referring to her sister had softened considerably, carrying a vague sense of regret. Some felt this was because, with the death, the grievances were forgotten, while others thought Consort Chen’s tone not only lacked hatred but also carried a hint of affection…

Affection?

How could that be? The woman who was fixated on her own child.

Distracted by this mysterious sisterly bond, the audience even felt relieved when they saw Consort Chen practicing her dance while asking for poison—see, the Consort still had the energy to harm others, she must be quite lively!

The audience watched with smiles as Consort Chen performed a dance for Emperor Ming.

The director, using all his skills, switched camera angles and zoomed in and out, allowing the audience to experience the Emperor’s perspective and become captivated by the beauty’s every move and smile, temporarily forgetting the oppressive storyline of the previous dynasty. Indeed, despite the transient adversity and gloom, Consort Chen would always be tenderly waiting in the harem, and the Emperor was determined to protect both the empire and the Consort…

As they watched this scene, the audience, in unison, displayed a blissful, drunken-like smile.

[Wuwuwu, Consort Chen is absolutely stunning!]

[No matter the floods of the previous dynasty, I just want my Consort Chen to enjoy herself every day!]

[I wonder what expression the Emperor and the two ministers have now…]

[To the person above, why don’t you look in the mirror?]

As the dance concluded, with Emperor Ming catching the fainting Consort Chen and seeing her spitting blood in his arms, the audience’s smiles froze on their faces.

Seeing Consort Chen’s final words, the audience’s smiles gradually faded.

Then, Consort Chen took her last breath.

The character’s inner monologue could be extracted, but during filming, it wasn’t directly heard by the director and was only included in post-production and selectively broadcast. And Consort Chen’s final thoughts were broadcasted.

[In this lifetime, Consort Chen loved only two people.

One was her elder sister, the model for all women in the family, whom her family wanted her to enter the palace to bear children for.

The other was herself.]

……???

Where is the dog emperor???

The audience, who had just been left with a bitter taste, was stunned.

Perhaps anticipating the reaction after this episode aired, the production team quietly posted a “behind-the-scenes” photo on their official Weibo—

@TVSeriesMingEmperorExtra:

The Emperor is also crying with you [dog head emoji]

Attached was a photo of Song Wanzhuo with her eyes closed and tears streaming in the capsule.