Huayu Entertainment Starts with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Jiang Yang played Shen Jiayan, who was originally the third male lead.

Now that he's been promoted to the second male lead, the script will definitely need to be revised, but not by much. So Jiang Yang received the revised script before filming even started.

Open it up...

Hmm, this tastes off?

The inscription reads: "General Shen Jiayan is brave and skilled in battle, and has a handsome face. However, because his appearance cannot intimidate the enemy, he always wears a mask when going into battle, as if he were a ghost or god descending to earth."

The people of Jiangyang are numb.

Damn, do you think I'm historically illiterate? Isn't this the character design of Gao Changgong, the Prince of Zaozhuang?!

Gao Changgong was indeed an important figure in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

He is Gao Yan and Gao Zhan's nephew, and they are not too far apart in age, only five or six years younger.

The pinnacle of Lanling Prince Gao Changgong's military career, the Battle of Mangshan, in which he, along with Hulü Guang and Duan Shao, formed the "Three Giants of Northern Qi" and dealt a heavy blow to Northern Zhou, took place during the reign of Emperor Wucheng Gao Zhan—the male protagonist of this drama.

The main storyline of this drama is set during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhao, Gao Yan, when Gao Changgong served as the Commander of the Central Army, a high-ranking general in the Imperial Guard.

It's a winding and circuitous road, but it manages to get to the right place.

At that time, Gao Changgong was around twenty years old, which was about the same age as Jiang Yang.

The entire story background of "Legend of Lu Zhen" is now fictional, so we can ignore whether it makes sense or not for now.

Adding the character of Lanling King Gao Changgong to Jiang Yang's role shows that Yu Zheng is still trying to capitalize on historical IP.

Faced with his questioning, the brat readily admitted it.

"That's right, I'm piggybacking on the coattails of Lanling King Gao Changgong. Who else would I piggyback on?"

"It's because he's famous, otherwise I wouldn't bother trying to piggyback on his fame!"

"Jiang Yang, originally you were only playing the third male lead, Shen Jiayan. So it's fine if the character is a little thin. The amount of screen time is what it is, and we can't possibly act out more of it."

"Now that he's the second male lead, his character and screen time definitely need to be enhanced. How can we do that?"

"The character of Lanling Wang is practically tailor-made for you, and he fits perfectly into this story set against the backdrop of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Perfect!"

Yu Zheng's considerations are not hard to understand.

If you can piggyback on something, do so; it's good for the promotion of "Legend of Lu Zhen." That brat keeps stirring things up to generate buzz; she's a traffic player.

This guy is actually the "mainland version of Wang Jing".

He treats acting as a business, without any artistic pursuits, yet he has still produced some wildly popular works.

Jiang Yang is not obsessed with historical purity.

It's not that he can't accept playing a character based on Lanling Wang; after all, he's playing Shen Jiayan, not Gao Changgong.

The problem is, this persona doesn't suit me.

"I'm not handsome at all."

"That's easy."

Yu Zheng didn't expect him to be so serious, but the little brat was cunning; her eyes darted around and a plan came to her.

"I'll revise it for you again."

"Shen Jiayan wears a mask not because he is handsome, but because he has scars on his face from fighting in his early years."

"He treats the female lead, Lu Zhen, differently because when Lu Zhen sees his scars, she doesn't show fear like others do; instead, she treats them as usual."

"This sparked his interest in Lu Zhen, and their feelings deepened through subsequent interactions."

They've got some skills.

You know what, this change actually makes the plot more reasonable.

The male and female leads in "Legend of Lu Zhen" are both succubi, and the supporting characters fall madly in love at first sight. I'm afraid I'll get pregnant if I watch too much.

But to be honest, Zhao Liying doesn't quite live up to the image of a "beautiful woman loved by everyone."

According to the revised setting, Shen Jiayan likes Lu Zhen more because of her unique personality rather than her looks, and the romantic storyline is more fully developed.

Jiang Yang finally expressed his approval.

"That's what we'll do!"

He repeatedly raised questions, but Yu Zheng always yielded and cooperated because these modifications were already very minor.

Regardless of whether Shen Jiayan is the third or second male lead, or whether he wears a mask because of his handsome face or because of injuries, it only involves a little bit of his background and has no impact on the main plot.

What is the main storyline of idol dramas?

fall in love!

As for the scars on Jiang Yang's face, that's easy to fix, and it certainly won't make him look ugly.

In the terminology specific to historical dramas, it's called "battle-damaged makeup."

In short, Jiang Yang got a Shen Jiayan who satisfied him, and filming for "Legend of Lu Zhen" officially began.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Liying came looking for me.

"Did you ask Teacher Yu to revise the script?"

Judging from her tone, Jiang Yang almost thought she was there to cause trouble, but after chatting for a couple of sentences, he found out that it was the opposite.

"Yes, I felt that the original setting was not very reasonable, and it wasn't difficult to change, so I asked him if it could be adjusted."

"Very good!"

Zhao Liying's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Actually, I've always felt that there was something wrong with the original storyline."

"But I am just a nobody, and it was Teacher Yu who gave me this opportunity because he values ​​me, so I am not in a position to raise any questions about the script."

"This is much better. I feel it goes much more smoothly than before. Thank you, Jiang Yang!"

"Let's rehearse our lines. If I have any other ideas, can we discuss them?"

Goodness, so that's what it was.

Jiang Yang understood. Zhao Liying had opinions about the script but didn't dare to say them herself. She realized that Jiang Yang could influence Yu Zheng, so she asked him to pass on the message.

"Sure, tell me what you think."

Zhao Liying cannot change the script, while Jiang Yang can, not because the latter is a higher-ranking celebrity.

Their identities are different.

Most importantly, Yu Zheng still believes that Jiang Yang represents Gao Xixi in the film crew.

Of course, Zhao Liying didn't care about the reason.

She placed unparalleled importance on the drama "Legend of Lu Zhen".

Since the huge success of "Palace" propelled Yang Mi and Feng Shaofeng to stardom, Yu Zheng has been riding high these past two years, almost becoming a "godfather of top stars".

She had a premonition that her chances of turning her life around depended on "Legend of Lu Zhen".

In today's entertainment industry, if even a talent scout like Yu-Ning can't make you famous, you might as well give up and go to sleep.

Therefore, Zhao Liying definitely took the most serious attitude she has ever had since entering the industry, and she gave her all to this drama without reservation.

Yu Zheng said that he felt Zhao Liying was very similar to Lu Zhen, and that Zhao Liying was Lu Zhen.

This could be a promotional gimmick for publicity purposes.

But Zhao Liying and the female lead do have at least one similarity: they are both very resilient, which is completely different from her deceptively soft and gentle face.

He grabbed Jiang Yang and launched into a long, uninterrupted chatter, not even letting him eat before he was finished.

This was the first time Jiang Yang had ever been "forced" by a woman.

What can I say?

"Sister Zhao is awesome."

Zhao Liying accepted the title calmly and even found it quite pleasant to hear.

Given her age and status, she was usually called "Little Zhao" before, and this was the first time she heard Jiang Yang call her "Sister Zhao".

It sounds great, I love listening to it!

Zhao Liying had a good impression of Jiang Yang. The two talked about the plot, but no one else was involved, so it's impossible to know what they were thinking.

Jiang Yang noticed that Chen Xiao was staring fiercely from a distance, his back teeth almost grinding to powder.

He kindly offered a word of advice.

"It seems someone's jealous. Sister Zhao, should you go back and appease them?"

Zhao Liying's face hardened, and she didn't even turn her head.

"Never mind him, let's continue!"