{"id":3633,"date":"2026-05-28T04:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-18\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:03:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:03:05","slug":"dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-18","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/chapter\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Play with Fire [Entertainment Industry] 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 18 Eighteen Fires (including notice of official release)

Although they were some distance apart, Yanduo could still hear the woman’s sweet voice calling “Teacher Ji.” As for why a woman’s voice would be near Ji Ran at eleven o’clock at night, and what they were doing, Yanduo told herself not to overthink it and didn’t ask any more questions. Ji Ran didn’t offer an explanation either, and the two continued, as usual, to have very little contact.

As The Stratagem aired, the relationship between Ninth Prince and Biyu grew ever closer, and as the years passed, the grown princes were gradually released from the palace to establish their own households; the day Ninth Prince would set up his own residence was now fixed.

That day, the Ninth Prince came into Biyu’s chamber. After Biyu poured him a cup of tea, the Ninth Prince took her hand and asked, “In five days I’ll be ennobled as king, and then I’ll promote the back courtyard. Do you have any requests?”

The prince’s inner court was strictly hierarchical; Biyu’s status was far too low. Although she had no hope of becoming a “madam,” if she wished, Ninth Prince could petition to obtain a concubine title for her.

Biyu smiled and said, “This servant has no requests; as long as I can see Your Highness every day, I will be completely satisfied.”

The Ninth Prince squeezed her hand, “But I want to give you a title.”

Biyu knew her own status was limited and didn’t want to make things harder for the struggling Ninth Prince, so she kept shaking her head in refusal, “It’s really not necessary.”

Good intentions unaccepted, Ninth Prince looked displeased as he stared at Biyu, unable to understand how there could be a woman who neither fought nor competed.

Biyu glanced at Ninth Prince, knowing he was displeased, but she did not change her mind; she only bit her lip and sat in silence with him.

Prince Jiuwang, seeing her stubbornly biting her lower lip until she drew blood without yielding, finally softened. He took a handkerchief to wipe away the traces of blood and helped her up onto the couch.

Finally, when Ninth Prince moved to the residence outside the palace, none of the four handmaidens who followed him had official status, but only Biyu was placed in the inner chamber closest to the Ninth Prince\u2019s main hall.

Half a year after the Ninth Prince left the mansion, a lady arrived to take up the household. Another six months on, under the new princess’s management, the prince’s harem\u2014two side consorts, four madams, eight concubines attached to the official household\u2014was fully staffed. For more than half of each month, the prince spent his time among those fifteen women. Even so, the princess harbored deep hostility toward Biyu, the chambermaid who lived closest to the prince.

As the plot reached this point, two completely different perceptions of Biyu emerged online.

\u201cThis princess consort is way too petty; Ninth Prince in order to ease her mind, in everything .

If she goes along with him, does that mean she can’t tolerate a mere maid?

“The person upstairs has an interesting idea\u2014could you tolerate someone else sharing your husband?”

“If she really didn’t want to share Ninth Prince, why would she find so many women for him?”

“I think the princess must have sensed that Ninth Prince had no feelings for anyone else except Biyu, so even if she later eliminated this rival, it would actually be understandable.”

\u201cRival in love? I don’t see the princess consort liking Ninth Prince; it’s just jealousy. Biyu doesn’t fight or grab\u2014she even moved herself to the most remote hall so Ninth Prince wouldn’t be troubled. Can’t the consort leave her alone?\u201d

\u201cExactly. When someone spoiled that Biyu would die a tragic death, I almost cried. The scenes of her with Ninth Prince are so sweet ahhhh.\u201d

\u201cDespite the huge gap in status, love itself isn’t wrong. My heart aches for the Biyu about to die, and even more for Ninth Lord losing his beloved.\u201d

\u201cNinth Prince is at fault too\u2014whoever let him be so weak that he can’t even protect the one he likes. Loving someone like that is practically a death sentence.\u201d

“It looks like the princess won’t end well.”

……

At this moment Qi Sixian was sitting in the office scrolling through netizens’ comments about Biyu; as he scrolled he laughed, “Your character’s profile is really something \u2014 she’s the other woman, yet most netizens actually like her.”

Calling her “the other woman” was deliberate on Qi Sixian’s part; after all, in the ancient inner court where moral standards were nonexistent, there really was no concept of mistress number three or four. If you applied the modern “whoever came first” rule, then aside from Biyu, the others would probably be the third, fourth, fifth mistresses.

Yan Duo, who hadn’t been sleeping well these days, sat across from her yawning and replied casually, “Maybe people sympathize with the weak.”

Qi Sixian looked at Yan Duo, whose tears hadn’t stopped all morning, and raised an eyebrow. “Were you up to thievery last night?”

Yan Duo shook her head. “A bit of insomnia.”

Qi Sixian smiled. “You’re just too idle. Get yourself a boyfriend, get some exercise before bed every night, and I guarantee you’ll sleep straight through till morning.”

Yan Duo’s face showed little interest, but inside she agreed with Qi Sixian. When Ji Ran was around, she didn’t have this problem\u2014her sleep quality was excellent.

Qi Sixian, seeing Yan Duo had no interest, didn’t press the subject and said to her, “Tonight your character goes offline. I’m planning to give you a little marketing push.”

These days, although Qi Sixian had been steering public opinion, it was all minor stuff. He wanted to take advantage of the climax around Biyu’s death to promote properly, so more people would remember Biyu and remember Yan Duo.

Yan Duo trusted Qi Sixian’s professional ability, nodded, and had no objections.

“Sigh, Ji Ran sure is lucky. The film has been in theaters for a month, and they’ve extended it for another half month. Who knows how many hundreds of millions it’ll have by the end.”

The movie\u2019s box office was already strong, and with Ji Ran\u2019s recent lead role in “Stratagem” airing, his popularity skyrocketed, causing daily ticket sales to climb as well. So it was only natural that the film\u2019s run was extended, and that extension meant the two billion already earned at the box office still had room to grow.

This news came out today, and Yan Duo had seen it. Extending the screening time was nothing surprising to her\u2014after all, Ji Ran had a huge fanbase and they were extremely unified. It was common for them to go see his film three or five times just to boost the box office. If there was profit to be made, it was only natural for the distributor to extend the run.

Thinking of Ji Ran, Qi Sixian thought of something else. “There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news\u2014 which would you like to hear first?”

Yan Duo: “Good news first.”

“The good news is, a director wants to cast you and Ji Ran as the leads in a TV drama.”

In the earlier episodes of “Schemes of Power,” the pairing of Ninth Prince and Biyu attracted some shipper fans, and a director, spotting the opportunity, wanted to hire the two to work together.

Yan Duo’s eyes brightened, but she didn’t dare to be too elated \u2014 after all, deciding on the leads wasn’t something so simple. “So what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is, Ji Ran flat-out refused.”

Yan Duo:……

Qi Sixian laughed heartily at Yan Duo’s speechless expression, and after laughing comforted her, “The two of you are on completely different levels. It’s only natural he wouldn’t agree!”

Yan Duo rubbed her temple. “Sis, you’d better not say anything\u2014I’m feeling sick.”

Qi Sixian laughed heartily again. When he saw that Yan Duo was really not doing well after laughing, he magnanimously excused her from the afternoon classes and told her to go home and sleep. Yan Duo didn’t refuse; after having lunch with him she left the company.

Just as she reached the company entrance to hail a car, a flashy purple sports car honked and pulled up in front of Yan Duo.

“Hi, senior sister, what a coincidence.”

Yan Duo looked at Ji Siz\u0435 sitting in the car and didn’t think their meeting in front of her company’s entrance was a mere coincidence. She raised an eyebrow and asked him, “Is there something you need?”

Ji Siz\u00e9 found the senior in front of him quite interesting; despite his two attempts at striking up a conversation, she remained so indifferent\u2014she truly didn’t have any liking for him at all.

“Coming to chase you.”

Yan Duo looked at him and said bluntly, “You’re not my type.”

After saying that, she ignored him and walked straight ahead, intending to hail a cab at the intersection.

Ji Size waited for several days to catch up with Yan Duo; he wasn’t going to give up so easily. He drove slowly alongside her, planning to coax her into the car, but before he could speak, Qiao Xier stormed over in a fury, pointed at Yan Duo and demanded loudly, “Is it because of her that you broke up with me?”

Being called out in public as the other woman put a damper on Yan Duo’s mood. She said to the woman in front of her, “Please don’t make wild accusations. I’m not close to him.”

Qiao Xi’er didn’t believe it at all. “Not close to him? Would he wait here for you three days if you weren’t? You’re the mistress and you won’t even admit it!”

Now Yan Duo was genuinely angry. She looked Qiao Xi’er up and down with a smile and said, “Brains are a wonderful thing, but not everyone has one. Take your pretty head for example\u2014it’s just for show. What a pity.”

After Yan Duo finished her retort, Ji Size, trying to suppress a laugh, got out of the car and stood between the two women. He pulled Qiao Xi’er aside and said, “Enough already.”

“Not enough!” Qiao Xier shrugged off Ji Size’s hand and shouted at Yan Duo, “You bitch, who are you calling brainless? Say that again!”

Yan Duo couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone whose mind was tangled; just then a taxi happened to pass by. She hailed it, got in, and left.

She had barely arrived home when Qi Sixian’s call came through.

“What is your relationship with Ji Size?”

As soon as Yan Duo heard that, she knew Qi Sixian had learned what happened at the door. She couldn’t really explain their true relationship, so she downplayed it and said, “We’re not a couple, and I certainly wouldn’t be his girlfriend.”

Qi Sixian felt reassured. “That guy is just a player\u2014he’s not right for you. Stay away from him.”

Yan Duo responded with a hum of agreement.

“Don’t worry about Qiao Xi’er,” she said. “I won’t let you suffer that kind of quiet loss.”

Qiao Xier stopped Yan Duo from scolding the mistress; after the security guard downstairs reported it, Qi Sixian was pretty angry. That person really had nerve\u2014daring to insult Yan Duo at the company entrance. Fan Xian was even angrier and told her to let go and retaliate. The boss had already spoken, so how could Qi Sixian disagree? She had already started gathering dirt on Qiao Xier, just waiting for the right moment to release it.

Yan Duo nodded in agreement. People who are brainless and like to yap recklessly are exactly the ones who deserve a comeuppance.

That night, “Schemes” aired episode ten.

That day, the princess consort took advantage of the Ninth Prince being out on official business to summon Biyu to her main residence. The inner chamber was already filled with the Ninth Prince\u2019s various concubines.

“Biyu, do you know what crime you’ve committed?”

Biyu, kneeling on the floor in a slightly worn brocade robe with plum blossoms embroidered on a white background, bowed her head and replied, “Your Highness, I don’t understand what you mean.”

The princess consort seemed to have anticipated Biyu’s evasions; she tossed a white silk handkerchief in front of her and gave a look to her wet nurse. Before long, a person dressed in eunuch’s robes was thrown down beside Biyu.

Biyu held the handkerchief she had embroidered herself and that had gone missing several days ago, then looked at little Shunzi lying on the ground, mouth bloody and making “ooh ooh” sounds\u2014what was there left to not understand?

“Jade, the prince was only gone a few days and you’ve already been cozying up to the little eunuch \u2014 how can you face him?”

Biyu shook her head in denial. “Your maid has never done anything to wrong the prince. I beg the princess to look into this clearly.”

The princess snorted, \u201cOf course I can see clearly. This is your lover\u2014he\u2019s confessed to everything. What else do you have to say?\u201d

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shunzi\u2019s sobs grew louder. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out\u2014only large mouthsfuls of blood spat forth. Only then did those present realize that the eunuch\u2019s tongue had been cut out. Not allowed to speak and not allowed to die\u2014the princess consort truly had ruthless methods. But if she was looking for a “paramour,” she should at least find someone fully functional; choosing a eunuch…one could only say the princess was really desperate.

Biyu felt she was doomed; her hand instinctively covered her lower abdomen as she tried to buy herself a chance to survive.

“Your Highness the Princess Consort, this servant has been three months pregnant…”

Before she could finish speaking, the princess interrupted her, “Oh? Really? It just so happens Doctor Wang is here today as well. Why not ask him to take a look?”

Doctor Wang was highly skilled and held great prestige in the capital; having him take the pulse was as fair as it could be. It was just that his appearance at this moment felt almost too coincidental.

Those present looked at one another and finally understood why the princess suddenly punished Biyu. The prince\u2019s residence had no children now; the princess was worried about the legitimate son!

After examining for a while, Doctor Wang clasped his hands and said, \u201cReporting to the princess, this noble lady is indeed pregnant. yinyouhulian.com\u201d

When Biyu heard this, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn\u2019t mind dying, but she wanted to save the prince\u2019s child.

“However,” Dr. Wang continued hesitantly, “this month isn’t the three months your nobleman mentioned, but one month.”

Everyone present was shocked. The prince had been away for two months, and Biyu was only one month pregnant\u2014this…

Biyu glared angrily at Dr. Wang. “Dr. Wang, a physician should have a parent’s heart. How could you lie?”

Dr. Wang dared not look at Biyu. He glanced up at the princess consort; seeing her slight nod, he withdrew to the outside.

The princess consort looked down at Biyu with disdain and said, “So it turns out you not only flirt with eunuchs, but with others as well. What’s worse, you dare to claim you’re carrying a bastard and try to pin it on the prince\u2014are you trying to confuse the royal lineage? Guards, take her away!”

Biyu clutched her belly and begged loudly, “Princess consort, this servant wouldn’t lie\u2014the child is indeed the prince’s…”

Before she could finish, the consort’s wet nurse snatched a handkerchief and clamped it over Biyu’s mouth, while two eunuchs at her side dragged Biyu out.

Soon everyone heard the sound of a rod striking a body and Biyu’s wails; after a short while the cries stopped. The wet nurse returned to report, “Princess consort, sinful servant Biyu has been executed.”

The concubines present drew a sharp breath and fell silent like cicadas in winter. After waiting for everyone to leave, the courtyard was permeated with a thick metallic scent. Biyu lay on the ground as if asleep; her face was still beautiful, only streaked with tears. Fresh blood kept seeping from beneath her and spreading around like a blossoming crimson flower. The timid were nearly brought to tears. In the end, people helped one another and left the princess’s courtyard.

……

After that episode aired, online commentary was almost unanimously against her. Even those who had previously supported the princess now denounced her as cold-blooded. Qi Sixian seized the opportunity to have people start the hashtag #HeartacheForBiyu on Weibo; many netizens who liked Biyu began discussing it spontaneously. An hour later it had surged onto the trending list at number 30. Qi Sixian was very pleased with this outcome. For Yan Duo, it generated buzz but didn’t let her stand out too conspicuously \u2014 the best possible result.

But before long, she realized something was wrong.

In the afternoon, there had been ongoing online chatter that Qiao Xier and second-generation rich heir Ji Sizeze had broken up; the topic hadn’t drawn much attention. Yet after #HeartacheForBiyu shot up, a new trending topic suddenly landed at number two: #YanDuo_JiSiZe_RumoredToBeDating. Seeing this trending topic, Qi Sixian frowned \u2014 this trend was clearly fishy. She picked up her phone and began making calls.

Over here, her own “romance” had trended on Weibo, so Yan Duo of course couldn’t be unaware. Being mistakenly thought to be in a relationship\u2014after all it was only “suspected”\u2014wasn’t a big deal, but…as she looked at the top two spots on the trending list, she couldn’t help but feel utterly frustrated.

1. Ji Ran and Xiao Yao sneaked back to the woman’s boudoir hand in hand at midnight and didn’t leave all night

2. Yan Duo and Ji Size seem to be in love

Yan Duo had imagined that she and Ji Ran might land on the trending list together, but she never expected it would be like this. After a wash of faint irritation, an unprecedented calm slowly rose in her heart.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3633","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3634,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3633\/revisions\/3634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}