But due to a twist of fate, the palace maid never became the new emperor's empress. The entire story is gripping and full of ups and downs.

The budget investment for this historical drama will reach fifty million, and considering it's only 2009, it's much cheaper compared to similar dramas costing hundreds of millions in a few years.

Originally, Zhao Liying only wanted to shoot a film or series with an investment of under 20 million, but unexpectedly, Yi Anguo placed a historical drama with an investment of over 50 million in front of her.

Before his rebirth, Yi Anguo also wrote online novels in his spare time. Although not a top author, he earned over ten thousand yuan a month, which, combined with his salary, was a major reason he was able to buy a house.

Since "Hua Qiangu" can't be filmed yet, Yi Anguo had Zhao Liying start with "The Empress Does Not Believe in Tears," as this drama doesn't involve copyright issues.

This show was adapted from historical folklore, and Yi Anguo had happened to see a similar drama, so he wrote the script himself based on his memory.

In fact, Yi Anguo also watched "Hua Qiangu." Writing the script now wouldn't be impossible.

However, as a former online author, he thought he should refrain from infringing on the original author's rights.

For the cast of this historical drama, including the director and other character actors, Yi Anguo tried to use the original team for filming.

As for the kissing scenes in the drama, of course, they all had to be cut. Yi Anguo warned Zhao Liying not to take any kissing scenes, let alone bed scenes.

Excessive romantic scenes, the kind with tight embraces, if unavoidable, could only use a body double.

Yi Anguo admitted to being petty about such matters, except when he was just having fun.

If Zhao Liying insisted on not listening to him, he would have to give up on her.

What a joke, with a fortune of hundreds of billions of US dollars, his woman shouldn't have to shoot kissing scenes?

Zhao Liying immediately assured Yi Anguo that she would absolutely not shoot any kissing scenes.

Prior to this, Zhao Liying had always played supporting roles, such as maidservants, and had never had her first on-screen kiss.

Amidst the bustling activities, after a series of moves, time moved into March 2009.

In the past February, the housing price index in Shenzhen began to rise sharply, with the average price increase reaching about 500 yuan. The volume of second-hand house transactions also began to increase significantly, with many first-time homebuyers entering the market, fearing another surge in prices.

The 4 trillion yuan investment announced last year to stimulate economic recovery was finally starting to have an effect.

Domestic stock markets, after a period of growth in mid-month, began to decline again due to the drag from the US stock market, nearing their bottom.

Especially the US stock market, where many stocks had fallen to their lowest points in years.

Yi Anguo's traders, who had been kept closed off for over half a month, basically had nothing to do and were quite bored, having no clue why Yi Anguo had confined them.

But now they knew Yi Anguo wanted them to build positions and accumulate chips by buying a large amount of stock in the four major US banks.

Especially Citibank and Bank of America, as well as Wells Fargo stock, with Citibank being the focus.

But they couldn't buy too much, so they had to use multiple accounts to purchase; otherwise, exceeding a five percent stake would be a bit troublesome.

After all, Yi Anguo's bottom-fishing this time was for short-term investment, not long-term investment.

Although long-term investment would certainly yield significant profits, bank stocks were too sensitive, especially the four major US bank stocks.

Back in October 2008, the US government injected 45 billion US dollars into Citibank. Despite its significant loss in market value at the time, the market value was still above several hundred billion US dollars.

The stock price once rose above 23 US dollars, but it was just a flash in the pan, falling below 4 US dollars in less than two months, almost breaking below 3 US dollars at its lowest.

Over the next half month, there was a revival, with the stock price climbing to over 8.8 US dollars, allowing Yi Anguo to earn a small profit.

After January 2009, the stock price struggled briefly, then plunged quickly, dropping from over 7 US dollars per share to below 3 US dollars in about ten days.

Then it entered a volatile period, lasting up until February 10th, when another plunge occurred, with the stock price falling from 4 US dollars to under 2 US dollars, again taking ten days.

Ten days later, moving into March, the stock price couldn't climb back up to 2 US dollars.

By March 5 (March 5th), the stock price fell below the 1 US dollar threshold, dropping to as low as 0.97 US dollars per share, with a market value below 5.6 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, Bank of America's stock dropped to its lowest at 3 US dollars, Wells Fargo broke the 8 US dollars barrier, and JPMorgan Chase fell below 17 US dollars per share.

And this wasn't just a quick drop followed by a significant rebound; it lasted for a week, so there was ample time to accumulate shares.

Many American investors were dazed, thinking the four major banks were about to collapse; the stock prices fell beyond their imagination.

But there were also many who bought in at the lows, firmly believing that the US government wouldn't just stand by and watch the banks collapse, surely they would intervene.

Among them were some bank executives, such as those from Citibank, who purchased 6 million shares after the stock price fell below 1 US dollar.

In the previous few days, Yi Anguo was quietly collecting shares at prices above 1 US dollar but below 1.2 US dollars, having instructed the traders to place a large number of buy orders below 1 US dollar, so when the stock price dropped below 1 US dollar, a large number of shares were instantly traded.

His target wasn't just a few million shares, nor tens of millions, but hundreds of millions, so he couldn't rely on buying all under the 1 US dollar stock price; he had to prepare in advance, accepting ranges up to 1.2 or even 1.3 US dollars.

However, the higher the stock price, the less he bought. If the stock price exceeded 1.3 US dollars, he wouldn't buy too much.

The turnaround appeared on March 10. At 10 a.m. on March 10, the US government announced a new round of economic stimulus measures, and the stock market then surged. On that day, the four major bank stocks soared by more than 25%, with Citibank surging by 38%.

Ten days later, Citibank's stock price opened at 3.69 US dollars and continued to rise to 3.89 US dollars per share after the market opened. Before the market opened that day, Yi Anguo had the trader team sell a large amount of Citibank stock at 3.60 US dollars during the collective bidding.

After the market opened, they continued to sell the Citibank stocks they held until the price fell below 2.8 US dollars, then they stopped selling, but didn't buy anymore either.

Until the next day when the stock price dropped to 2.4 US dollars per share, they started adding again.

On the third day, when the stock opened at 3.31 US dollars, Yi Anguo started selling again in large quantities, selling whenever the price was above 3 US dollars.

A few days later, when the price fell below 2.3 US dollars, he started buying back in large quantities.

By this time, it was already April, and the Qingming Festival was approaching. Yi Anguo was also preparing to return home to pay respects to his ancestors and tend to the graves of his parents.

This time, the group was quite large. Yi Anguo didn't choose to fly but instead drove back to his hometown in Jian'an City, Xijiang.

His third sister and brother-in-law also returned home. Although they had already returned home for the New Year, this time with Yi Anguo, the reunion with siblings was significant.

If his third sister and brother-in-law didn't return, it would feel incomplete.

In total, they arranged for ten cars to travel together, with Yi Anguo riding in a seven-seater SUV.

There was no alternative, as with Yi Anguo, Hu Jing, Yi Yunlong, Yi Yufeng, Yi Xinyi, and three children totaling five people, plus two security drivers, they just fit seven people.

With a regular sedan, there would be no way to fit everyone.

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