36 The Boy Is Back in Town

"Chestnut, you're playing Felicity, the young lady of the Rong family here. I don't think you've captured the essence of her character." Yuan Ge says to Chestnut, then turns to the other actors and says, "Come over here, you lot, have a listen too. You need to get a thorough understanding of the Rong family's background before you can get into character."

During the shooting break, Yuan Ge gathers the young actors together and explains to them the key points they need to grasp in order to play the subplot of the Rong family.

"Qiuchen was the first prize winner of the Flowers of the Opera Stage, the equivalent of a superstar nowadays, so you can imagine how many powerful people in high society were promoting him and pursuing him. And the main reason why this Third Lord of the House of Rong was able to get Qiuchen into his household, apart from his tactics, was because of his illustrious background. The House of Rong, or Manchurian Guwalgiya clan, was a family of loyalty and martyrdom, sheltering its descendants by the sacrifices of its forefathers. It had a distinguished record of warfare - the Third Lord's father and uncles died for the Qing dynasty. His elder brother died young, so his second brother, Ronglu, inherited the family title and became a First Grade Minister before the age of forty, taking charge of the imperial treasury, overseeing the construction of the imperial tombs, and serving as the Governor of the Nine Gates. There were even rumours that he was an old lover of the Empress Dowager Cixi. It was never money he lacked, but time, so he doted on his only brother and sister. He spoiled his younger brother, the Third Lord Huilu, into a playboy, a rich idler. Although Huilu did not want to achieve anything in life, he definitely knew how to have fun and enjoy life. In today's terms, he was a big collector and an avid fan. For elegant pastimes such as listening to opera or playing with actors, if it wasn't top notch, it simply wouldn't have caught his attention."

"No wonder the script says that the Third Lord loves poetry and books, the qin and chess, paintings, wine, opera, and... sex! Probably an old hand in the land of debauchery, not a decent guy."

In stark contrast to Chestnut's clueless face, Waylon and Stephen couldn't help but laugh out loud as they listen to the director talk about the scene.

"Although Qiuchen committed himself to the House of Rong, his heart was never on the Third Lord. Their relationship was still essentially one of coercion between master and servant. As you know, there is a big difference between the operatic circles of the old days and the show business of today. Back then, actors had no personal freedom, their indentures of servitude were held in the hands of their masters, and only the top actors had the chance to earn enough money to repay their indentures and eventually free themselves to establish their own careers."

"Then surely Qiuchen had this money. He was a superstar, so why did he have to come to the Rong Mansion?"

"His mistake was to fall in love with someone unworthy. The Third Lord was just one of his admirers, obsessed with Qiuchen's beauty but powerless over his noble character. Although he spent a lot of money courting him from the beginning, he was never able to get close to him. It was only later when the Third Lord made a deal with Liang Zitang, trading his sister's marriage for Qiuchen's indenture of servitude, that he finally got him into the Rong Mansion."

"Director, is this man, Liang Zitang, the heartbreaker in the film? Qiuchen is a beautiful person that no one can get close to, so how could he fall in love with him, a poor scholar, and use the money he saved up for his indenture to pay for his studies and get him to the position of importance, only to be abandoned by him anyway? To please the Third Lord and the power of the House of Rong, Liang Zitang took Qiuchen's love to exchange for a marriage with Miss Rong …"

Chestnut blinks her innocent big eyes and asks seriously. Before Yuan Ge could answer, she suddenly exclaims, "Dir-Director … Do you see a man behind that tree? Isn't that the costume that sister Amy has been looking for?"

Yuan Ge looks in the direction Chestnut is pointing and sees a wide sleeve of a costume behind a large tree. Several people rush over and find the unconscious boy who claimed to be Rong Qiuchen behind the tree.

"This little brother is so good looking!" Chestnut immediately notices that Rong Qiuchen's dirty little face is actually very handsome.

"Isn't this the same guy we saw the other day when we were shooting the funeral scene?" A few guys obviously remember  him too.

"Yes, actually, I saw him at noon today …" Waylon stutters a little as he looks at Rong Qiuchen's seemingly frozen face, "He was so quick that I couldn't catch him. He seemed to know the place really well, like it was his home. I lost him after he made a few turns."

"What a strange guy! In the middle of winter, lying outdoors in a thin piece of costume, is he nuts? Even if he's not frozen to death, he must easily catch a cold or a fever." Stephen reaches out and touches the boy's forehead and immediately let out a gasp, "Oh my God, it's as cold as ice!"

"I'll go back to the congee bar and bring him a bowl of hot congee." Chestnut volunteers and gets up immediately.

Seeing the boy's frosty face, Yuan Ge also wants to check his temperature, but just as he reaches out his hand, his wrist is grabbed by the boy unexpectedly. It took a long while before he slowly opens his eyes, but both hands still clung to Yuan Ge's hand as if he was clutching the only straw that could save his life. He looks terrified, but does not say a word.