She wasn't just playing Hua Fei; she was summoning the character from the book, reviving the true Hua Fei.
Sun Li, too, played her part exceptionally well.
Jiang Ling's brilliant performance put immense pressure on her, which she converted into motivation, igniting an explosion of her acting prowess.
Her performance today was far better than ever before.
While the directing profession was about making a living, Zheng Xiaolong, as a renowned director in the industry, also had his artistic pursuits.
As he aged, he became increasingly sensitive to the camera and more discerning of actors' performances, striving for perfection in his filming.
Yet, he had never achieved a perfect take like the one today.
Jiang Ling's acting, from her lines, movements, and gaze to her emotional outbursts, had given him far too many surprises.
Even now, he found it hard to believe that an eighteen-year-old girl could possess acting skills that even an eighty-year-old veteran might not reach.
"Come, come, come, you must see this. This segment is truly perfect!"
During Jiang Ling's few months on set, Zheng Xiaolong had recognized her high demands on her own performance. He quickly asked the cameraman to replay the scene for her.
This scene, without any post-production editing or color grading, was captured naturally and authentically in a single take.
More than a dozen cameras, from every conceivable angle, had focused on capturing the nuances of her and Sun Li's expressions, movements, and dialogue.
Hua Fei's pride, arrogance, anger, sorrow, breakdown, and finally, her despair as her heart turned to ash, almost leaped off the screen.
Zhen Huan's furious recounting of her child's death and the satisfaction of revenge were also portrayed vividly, with her deeply immersed in the role.
In short, their scene together was so perfect that not a single flaw could be found.
With the completion of this scene, all of Hua Fei's parts were finished.
She had no further scenes in "The Romantic Prince and the Pretty Nun" or "Temptation Returns," and she was free to pack her belongings and leave.
Zheng Xiaolong was reluctant to see Jiang Ling go.
It was a shame that such a talented actress like her only participated in the early stages of filming and missed out on later iconic scenes like the blood test, the emperor's bird killing An Xiaoniao's little bird, and the Empress Dowager pushing Zhen Huan.
But there was nothing to be done; Hua Fei's role was limited, and there was no way for her to extend it.
Just as Jiang Ling finished packing and was preparing to leave the set,
Zheng Xiaolong knocked on her door and asked, "Who did the voice-over for you when you played Tianshan Tonglao?"
Jiang Ling was taken aback, "Voice-over? What voice-over?"
Zheng Xiaolong explained, "It's like this: after Hua Fei dies, the ultimate villain, the Empress, exposes her true colors due to the incident with Chun Yuan's old clothes. The Empress will replace Hua Fei as Zhen Huan's rival, and her scenes will increase accordingly. You know, Cha Shao Fen's accent is quite distracting, and we'll definitely need a voice-over for post-production, so I came to ask you."
Cha Shao Fen's original dialogue was indeed a significant issue in her performance.
Phrases like "Don't tell Xia," "This concubine is Ula Nara," and "Even the taste of God's concubine's prince needs to be spoiled and look presentable..."
Almost no one who heard Fen Jie's original voice could resist laughing.
Over eighty percent of the laughter on set came from Fen Jie's Cantonese accent.
However, this was understandable; since Fen Jie was an actress from the Hong Kong circle, it was normal for her Mandarin to not be perfect.
In fact, Fen Jie's situation wasn't the most extreme; the most unbelievable was in "Temptation of Home."