The marquis of Cai, the ruler of the Cai Nation, was a lecherous drunkard. He took the princess of the Chen Nation as his wife. She was prone to jealousy, and her ways of handling matters was terrifyingly cruel.
King Wen of Chu then sent someone to spy on Madam Cai. She had a sister who was married to the marquis of Xi, the king of the Xi Nation. Madam Xi’s beauty could bring a nation to a halt. The news flew throughout the whole of ancient China.
But King Wen of Chu didn’t care about that. The spy he sent whispered about the happiness of Madam Xi into the ears of Madam Cai who was living an unhappy life; of how she was the pride and joy of Xi Hou.
That rekindled Madam Cai’s fire of resentment. Thus, she sent an invitation to Madam Xi as an elder sister when she was going to visit her parents.
Madam Xi already needed to pass through the Cai Nation in her itinerary. Naturally she couldn’t decline Madam Cai’s earnest invitation.
The sisters met. Madam Cai had always been envious of Madam Xi’s beauty since they were little. That fire only calmed down when she got married to a strong nation; but Madam Xi only got married to a small one.
But now her sister was living such a full life. She even bloomed into a more stunning person. On top of that, Madam Cai heard that the marquis of Xi listened to her every whim and fancy.
The fire of resentment in her heart burnt it black.
She prepared a feast to welcome her sister and found an excuse to leave her seat. She called her licentious husband over in order to have him assault her so she could incriminate both her sister and her husband.
But what she didn’t know was, an incredibly strong Madam Xi hid beneath that weak exterior. The marquis of Cai not only failed to get his hands on her; she even stormed out of the feast.
Madam Xi has been incomparably smart since she was little. She knew that the Xi Nation’s strength couldn’t go against the Cai Nation’s. She also knew that her husband treats her with utmost love. He would be livid if he knew that she was humiliated in the Cai Nation.
She used some strict method to punish the servants in the Cai Nation who were in the know. She even left a letter to Madam Cai after she left. Turned out Madam Xi already had some incriminating evidence about Madam Cai’s wrongdoing. She just didn’t use them against her.
With this, Madam Cai didn’t dare to spread the events that had transpired in the Cai Nation. She couldn’t let a shameful event like the marquis of Cai almost getting severely wounded by a weak woman with a sword get out.
The spy hiding in Madam Cai’s shadows told King Wen of Chu about what happened. He immediately changed his impression toward the woman whose beauty was sung all over ancient China, yet whom he hadn’t met. It was the first time that he was interested in a woman.
He went and got Madam Xi’s portrait after that. It was just a drawing of her back toward him while she played the lute under a tree. But he still felt unbelievably astonished.
The most important part that King Wen of Chu found out after knowing that she got married to the marquis of Xi through investigating everything about her was that Madam Xi wasn’t just all looks; she could also assist the marquis of Xi in controlling the harem, as well as having accurate opinions on administrative matters.
King Wen of Chu’s heart leapt at that moment.
Only such a woman could be paired with such a man like him.
Thus, he unhesitatingly leaked the events that happened in the Cai Nation to the marquis of Xi through his men.
Even though the marquis of Xi was weak and had nothing to show during his rule, this was something pertaining to a man’s dignity. If he swallowed this down, he would have no right to be a man!
But even though he was weak, he knew about his limitations clearly. He wasn’t a match for the Cai Nation.
When he thought about how his wife hid this to try to calm things down; he kept what he was doing away from her knowledge
Under the instigation of the manipulators, he finally hatched a plan. He knew that the Chu Nation wanted to conquer the Cai Nation.
He then sent a letter to King Wen of Chu. He proposed that he would do something profane to the Chu Nation on purpose to have King Wen of Chu attack his nation as a feint. He would request backup from the Cai Nation using this opportunity. By that time, King Wen of Chu could capture the marquis of Cai with this opening.
If Madam Xi wasn’t in the picture, everyone would be serving their own interests in the marquis of Xi’s plan. But what the marquis of Xi didn’t know was that King Wen of Chu was determined to get Madam Xi.
He wanted both the Cai Nation and Madam Xi.
Everything he did was within the grasp and calculation of King Wen of Chu. He gladly accepted the collaboration with the marquis of Xi.
Surely enough, they finally captured the marquis of Cai alive. It was the best chance to take down the Cai Nation as it would be justifiable.
But King Wen of Chu sneaked into the Xi Nation during the battle and glimpsed at Madam Xi from afar.
Her beauty couldn’t be wholly captured by the rumors. Her talent and wisdom was even more stunning than he thought.
When he thought about his fairylike dream woman, King Wen of Chu said that he could let the marquis of Cai go and help him crush the Xi Nation who deceived him. But he had to give him a reason to do that to the Xi Nation.
There was no reason for the marquis of Cai to not cooperate. He shot his mouth about the beauty of Madam Xi to King Wen of Chu. He praised that a beauty like Madam Xi should be paired up with a heroic king like King Wen of Chu
King Wen of Chu was an ambitious man who wanted ancient China for himself really let the marquis of Cai go in exchange for Madam Xi.
The marquis of Cai naturally held a grudge against the marquis of Xi when he returned to his nation. He followed through with the plan and provoked at the border. It would give a chance for King Wen of Chu to go on patrol.
The marquis of Xi, who was in the dark prepared a welcome feast when King Wen of Chu passed through the Xi Nation. The marquis of Cai used this opening to send someone to fake assassinate King Wen of Chu.
King Wen of Chu used this as justification and eradicated the Xi Nation quickly. He took Madam Xi away and wed her.
Madam Xi only agreed to the marriage if King Wen of Chu agreed to let the marquis of Xi go, as well as treating its people kindly.
King Wen of Chu treated Madam Xi like a priceless treasure after marriage; she only replied with freezing chill.
He redeployed his army to crush the Cai Nation just because of her offhand remark that made him think that she disliked them.
It was only at this moment that Madam Cai knew that she could really influence this man with just words.
She didn’t dare to give herself in to her every whim and fancy anymore and started working to be a wife to the king of the Chu Nation. She tried her best to not even make a misstep.
With this, King Wen of Chu’s home was now stable. He continued his conquest for the whole of ancient China and expanded everywhere.
“You have your eyes on this script?” He Wei’s boomed.
Yun Xiangxiang pulled out from the story. She raised her head, “Yeah. I like this Madam Xi.
She had the mild tenderness and the poetic quality of a woman in an era where woman had low status. However, she also had wisdom and burning courage. It was a fantastic character.
“Even though Madam Xi is the female protagonist in this film, she doesn’t really make a lot of appearances,” He Wei unbuttoned his suit and sat across from Yun Xiangxiang.
“I know. It’s a film dominated by men,”
And Yun Xiangxiang was looking at the script through the perspective of the female protagonist. Her part was already scarce, let alone having a lot of scenes throughout the whole movie. “But this is the wisp of tenderness within a tough war of iron wills. It is like a bit of greenery among the sea of flowers. It can’t be missed out; it can’t be overlooked.”
The good or bad; the success or failure of a character wasn’t equal to the size of the part.
Even though having a bigger part could leave a deeper impression, it would be annoying if they were mediocre. It would be more memorable if the parts were great, even if there weren’t many of them.
“Do you know who’s the director for this film? Do you know who will be playing as King Wen of Chu, the marquis of Xi and Cai, or even the marquis of Zhen who had lesser scenes?” He Wei suddenly asked.
Yun Xiangxiang didn’t even hear about the news for this film. She shook her head honestly.
He Wei handed a form to her. She couldn’t help but gasp when she saw the names there. They were the names of the three biggest best actors for leading male roles, the director who stood at the apex of the pyramid in China, as well as an authoritative producer.
Even a supporting character like Madam Cai who only had some slightly important scenes was played by a famous star.
This was one of the strongest lineups Yun Xiangxiang had ever seen!