[Beyond] TVB Mag Issue 620

Tavia Yeung, Charmaine Sheh's [Palace Maids - A Series of Unfortunate Events]


Mag scans credit to Kwan5170 from www.shehsheh.com

After the classic hit [War & Beauty], come [Beyond the Realm of Conscience] which is filming in progress. Both are also costume series revolving around the conflicts and struggle within the inner palace. Apart from Charmaine Sheh and Moses Chan from [WAB], this series also cast strong actresses such as Michelle Yim and Susanna Kwan. In addition, Tavia Yeung will be portraying her first villainess role. Because Charmaine and Tavia background originated from palace maids, hence they suffered a lot of hardships before rising to their positions among the women. Charmaine being splashed with water, Tavia's mouth being stitched with needle. It's not easy being a palace maid.

Left caption: Blunt speech

Kam Ling (Tavia) simply says anything on her mind therefore she often offends the Empress Dowager. She was punished to have her mouth stitched up.

Right caption: To the rescue

Moses portrays Emperor Muzong's 13th brother in the series. He later became King known as Xuanzong. Because he is childhood friends with Sam Ho (Charmaine), he steps in and rescued Sam Ho's best friend Kam Ling.

Break through role

Tavia often portrayed roles that are blunt and straightforward in her speech. This time, she is ultimately punished for her bluntness. "I will simply comment on anything and often offend people. Previously I was slapped until my face was swollen, this time my mouth is going to be stitched up. Though the needle was blunt, but it still hurts when pressed onto my face." Apart from suffering all sorts of torture, Tavia have a new break through in [Beyond], where she portrays a villainess for the first time. "I often portray good character; therefore I want to experiment with bad character. There will be a lot of inner conflict within this character; therefore it will be a challenging portrayal. I will seek advice from Michelle and Susanna. Before this I've also watched Best Actress Lu Xiao Qing's movie, I hope to give a refreshing and different feeling in my portrayal."

Left caption: Split personality

Sam Ho and Kam Ling both grew up in the palace. However, Sam Ho doesn't care about fame and power while Kam Ling is the complete opposite, hence a growing distance between them.

Right caption: It's difficult being a palace maid

There are also conflicts amongst palace maids. Because Sam Ho offended other palace maids, they splashed water on her.

Different from the past

Different from [WAB], Charmaine will not be portraying a scheming concubine in this series full of palace conflicts. Instead she will be portraying a contented palace maid. "This time I will be portraying a palace maid who grew up in the palace. When I was little my mum keep reminding me to have 'good speech, good conduct and good intention'. Therefore I followed my mother's instruction and became a good person in the palace, unlike Tavia's character where she will stop at nothing to become an imperial concubine. I personally have high hopes for this series because the storyline is very interesting. After I received the script, I finished reading 10 episodes in the same day. I hope this series will attract a large following of audiences when aired."

Series synopsis

The story begins in the late Tang Dynasty, after the demise of Emperor Xianzong. Consort Guo nominated her own son Li Heng to become the next emperor; Muzong. Lau Sam Ho's father supported the second prince; Li Yuan to become the emperor and because of this he was persecuted by Emperor Muzong after the latter ascended the throne. He was exiled to the borders, while his wife, young daughter Sam Ho (Charmaine) and maid Yiu Kam Ling (Tavia) were forced to become slaves in the palace. Sam Ho was sent to the Embroidery Proceedings, under the charge of 'Si Zhai' Chung Suet Ha (Michelle). On the other hand Kam Ling was sent to the Jewellery Proceedings, under the charge of 'Si Zhen' Yuen Chui Wan (Susanna).

20 years later, Sam Ho's childhood friend; Emperor Muzong's 13th brother Li Yi (Moses) was bestowed with the rank King as Xuanzong. Kam Ling knew about Sam Ho good relationship with Xuanzong and make good use of this to become closer to him. In the end her wish came true and she was promoted to the rank of Consort Lai. After she became a concubine, Kam Ling schemed against people who opposed her including Sam Ho, breaking their relationship. Sam Ho, while on one hand had to deal with threats from her once sworn sister, on the other hand was trapped between Xuanzong and chess master Ko Hin Yeung (Kevin).

Top left caption: Fighting amongst sisters

Under charge of Sheung Gong, there are four supervisors Si Zhai (Embroidery Proceedings), Si Zhen (Jewellery Proceedings), Si Sin (Feast Proceedings) and Si She (Upholstery Proceedings). Michelle portrays Chung Suet Ha who is Si Zhai while Susanna portrays Si Zhen. They used to be sworn sisters but later went against each other for fame and power.

Lower left caption: Entrance of Empress Dowager

After [Rosy Business], Susan Tse continues to film costume series for TVB. In [Beyond], she portrays Grand Empress Dowager Guo.

Lower right caption: Chess Master

Kevin portrays the role of chess master Ko Hin Yeung in the series. Because he earned the merit of protecting the emperor, he was promoted to General. Ko Hin Yeung is in love with Sam Ho but because Sam Ho is a palace maid, she can’t fall in love with other people. Both of them suffered much in their romance.

No repost of the translation. I apologize in advance for any unintentional mistake. Thank you for your co-operation.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Remember to check out Charmaine's TVB blog, she left a video message!