Lu Xiaoyou portrayed a woman imprisoned within the depths of the palace, a vanquished combatant in the palace's power struggles. The Emperor had stripped her of her title, demoted her to a commoner, and her maternal family had been slaughtered. She was the only one left in the world.
The victorious consort who had bested her brought poison wine and a three-foot length of white silk to visit her.
Lu Xiaoyou raised her hand towards an imaginary person in the void and spoke her first line, causing the judges to hold their breath.
However, Lu Xiaoyou quickly realized something was wrong with the microphone; her voice sounded several pitches higher when it came out of the portable speaker.
A monologue performance tests an actor's foundation in line delivery, and when the sound collection is problematic, the effectiveness of the lines suffers greatly.
A smile touched Lu Xiaoyou's heart, and suddenly, there was a subtle change in her voice.