Although dubbed as a sequel to the highly successful War and Beauty <金枝慾孽> Beauty at War has an independent plot that is not linked to the first series. Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯) remains in the sequel to portray Imperial Concubine Yu Fei, who has a son in the sequel. She meets an opera troupe performer, who resembles Hung Mo, played by Moses Chan (陳豪). Yu Fei’s sister Yuen Sau, played by Christine Ng (伍詠薇) deliberately acts as a matchmaker for the pair. As the drama unfolds, Yuen Sau harbors an evil intention and hatches a plot to frame Yu Fei. Yuen Sau hopes to destroy Yu Fei and watch her status crumble in the palace. After learning about her sister’s plot, Yu Fei retaliates and plans revenge on Yuen Sau. The original War and Beauty packed a first-class cast, including Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), Gigi Lai (黎姿), and Maggie Cheung (張可頤). The sequel retained a strong cast, including Sheren Tang, Christine Ng, and Ada Choi (蔡少芬). With a new plot and a different cast, Beauty at War was pitched as one of the most exciting series of the year. Sheren Tang Sacrifices Looks for “Beauty at War” Although the weather was extremely hot in mainland China, all the actors and actresses had to wear thick ancient costumes during filming. Sheren Tang had expressed earlier that she was worried in filming the winter scenes, as she would need to wear bulky and furry clothing in the hot summer. However, she was very professional and seemed undaunted by the heat during the shooting process. Sheren was spotted filming a peasant rebellion scene, which required her to sacrifice her elegant and graceful look. With the peasants charging into the palace, Sheren’s character nearly lost her life. Luckily, she was saved by an imperial guard, who protected her with his life. The filming of the peasant rebellion scene was filmed during noon time, with the cast and crew bearing the scorching hot sun. The make-up artist deliberately created a distressing and despairing look for Sheren, with hair falling all over her face. Sheren even appeared with drips of sweat on her face to portray her character’s panicked state. The cast and crew of TVB drama, Beauty at War <金枝慾孽 (貳)> have been shooting in Hengdian World Studios for more than a month and recently wrapped up the filming. The cast and crew are scheduled to return to Hong Kong to shoot the remaining scenes. Along with The Confidant <大太监>, Beauty at War was one of TVB’s most expensively produced series this year. Creds: QQ
