The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

Outside the window, the night wind in Bianjing suddenly picked up, whistling through the bamboo leaves, as if foreshadowing a massive wave about to sweep across the city, stirred up by art and the human heart.

In the courtyard of Tianxiang Tower, a theatrical spark destined to shake Bianjing and even stir up the imperial court has been quietly ignited.

In mid-March in Bianjing, beneath the surface of public opinion, the undercurrents had already transformed into a surging undercurrent.

The seeds sown by Wang Zhonghua with those fifty coins and a piece of silver took root, sprouted, and grew wildly at an astonishing speed in Bianjing, a land that thirsted for fresh stories and was brimming with a simple sense of justice!

The first to be ignited were the storytellers who lived in the streets and made a living with their mouths and their gavels.

For them, a good story is their lifeline. And the script of "Chen Shimei Killing His Wife and Children" is simply a gift from heaven!

In the "Qingyin Pavilion" in the west of the city, the old gentleman with white hair and beard, "Xingmu Zhang," chewed over the story outline three times by the light of an oil lamp that very night.

His withered fingers traced lines in the air, as if sketching a figure. The following afternoon, when he began his lecture, he didn't immediately strike the gavel; instead, he first let out a long sigh and said in a desolate, hoarse voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, today I will not speak of the rise and fall of dynasties, nor of supernatural tales or strange phenomena, but will only speak of one... the most heinous evil in humankind, one that will break your heart and make you shudder!"

He meticulously depicted how Qin Xianglian wove hemp cloth at night to support her husband's studies, how she ate tree bark during famine years to save food for him, and how she endured ten years of waiting in a cold cave, her heart filled with longing… Then, he described Chen Shimei's heartless letter after passing the imperial examination, lamenting that he had lost both parents and was studying alone, his smugness when he was recruited to marry into the capital, and the fleeting fear and murderous intent that surged when his wife and children came to visit… “Xingmu Zhang” filled the framework provided by Wang Zhonghua with countless vivid details, some from his own life experiences, and some from impromptu emotional performances. When he recounted how Qin Xianglian and her son were being hunted down, how they clung to each other for warmth in a dilapidated temple on a stormy night, and how the young son asked, “Why doesn’t Father want us?” the entire teahouse fell silent, with only suppressed sobs and the cracking sound of clenched fists. When "Chen Shimei" colluded with powerful figures to falsely accuse his wife of theft, "Zhang the Woodcutter" slammed his gavel down with a loud "crack!" Tears streaming down his face, he hissed, "A scholar? Is he reading the classics of sages or the scriptures of wolves?! Is he wearing an official robe or a wolf's skin?!"

The room erupted in uproar! Teacups were slammed onto the table, and shouts of curses nearly lifted the roof: "Beast! He deserves to die!" "He's disgraced all scholars!" "That Lady Qin suffered so much!" "And then what? Did the fairy maiden save her? Where is the upright official?!"

"Zhang the Wooden Striker" wiped away his tears, leaving the button on: "To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment. May this bright and just world one day see justice served!" Tips of copper coins rained down onto the stage, many men with red eyes giving extra coins, shouting, "Old sir, tell this story again tomorrow! Tell it in detail! Let everyone hear the face of this scoundrel!"

The young storyteller "Quick-Tongu Liu" at the "Sihailou" in the south of the city has a completely different style.

He spoke quickly and passionately, and was adept at imitation. He perfectly captured the hypocrisy and ruthlessness of "Chen Shimei," the arrogance and viciousness of the "daughter of a high-ranking official," and the tragic resilience of "Qin Xianglian." When he spoke of "Chen Shimei" sending his servants to hunt him down, he glared and sneered, displaying the arrogance of a powerful family's lackeys; when he switched to Qin Xianglian protecting her child and fleeing, his voice trembled and his posture hunched, perfectly conveying the despair of a weak woman and the strength of her maternal instincts. He was particularly skilled at creating tension: "That knife, carrying the cold wind, cleaved straight into Qin Xianglian's back! In the blink of an eye—" He paused abruptly, and the entire audience craned their necks, holding their breath. He then leisurely sipped his tea, "Just then, a pebble flew from the side, 'crack!' deflecting the steel knife three inches! A female knight-errant, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and veiled in a light gauze, swooped in like a swallow..." He portrayed Yang Jinhua's rescue as a legendary tale of martial arts, stirring the blood of the audience and intensifying their hatred for "Chen Shimei." "Quick-Tongu Liu's" version added even more embellishments, including the horrifying detail that "Chen Shimei," in an attempt to please his new father-in-law, tried to offer his wife's head as a sign of loyalty. The "Sihai Lou" theater was packed for days, with standing audiences spilling onto the street outside. After the performances, the chants of "Chen Shimei deserves to die!" echoed from the theater all the way to the Bianhe River wharf.

The storyteller at the "Huixianlou" in the north of the city was a failed scholar, known as "Sour Scholar Li".

His version focused more on "literary satire." He quoted extensively from classical texts, from Chen Shimei's diligent study of "a wife who has shared hardship should not be abandoned," to his sudden shift to "easily making friends when rich, easily changing wives when powerful," analyzing how his character was corrupted by fame and fortune. He compared Qin Xianglian to Zhu Maichen's wife in the Han Dynasty (removing her snobbishness and valuing her resilience in managing the household), and Chen Shimei to the Tang Dynasty's "killing his wife to gain a generalship." He spoke slowly and deliberately, yet every word was piercing: "This man's learning is not the way of Confucius and Mencius, but the art of tigers and wolves; his aspirations are not self-cultivation, family harmony, and national peace, but extravagance and debauchery. His heart is black, his actions are depraved; even in brocade robes, he cannot hide his stench; even in a grand hall, he cannot escape being a beast!" This scathing rebuke from a "cultured man" had a profound impact on scholars and even slightly educated citizens. The name "Chen Shimei" gradually became synonymous with "heartless, fickle, and utterly devoid of conscience." Even during arguments, some vendors would blurt out, "You're like a 'Chen Shimei' (a notorious traitor in Chinese folklore)!"

As a time traveler, Wang Zhonghua is well aware of the key elements of "viral" public opinion dissemination: simplicity, repetition, emotional impact, and ease of derivative development.

Intentionally or unintentionally, he had different storytellers highlight different aspects of the story: some emphasized emotions (marital affection, mother-child affection), some emphasized righteousness (chivalrous rescue), and some emphasized reason (moral criticism). This made the "Chen Shimei story" like a multifaceted mirror, reflecting the ugliness and indignation of human nature from various angles, attracting audiences from different social classes.

What's even more amazing is that the story automatically "iterates and upgrades" as it spreads.

Some listeners, after hearing the story, would go home and embellish it for their neighbors; some teahouse waiters would take the fragments they heard to other places; even blind street performers would adapt it into simple ballads and tunes, which would be sung in the more impoverished streets and alleys. The resilience of "Qin Xianglian," the pitiful fate of her "two children," the mystery of the "fairy maiden/heroine," and the despicable nature of "Chen Shimei" became topics of great interest among the common people of Bianjing. People felt heartbroken for the fictional "Qin Xianglian" and vehemently condemned the fictional "Chen Shimei," and this sentiment continued to accumulate and ferment.

Finally, some "clever people" began to vaguely connect the "Chen Shimei" they heard with the "Chenzhou" and "Qin Tiehua" on the blurry arrest warrants they occasionally glimpsed at the city gate, as well as the conflict in front of Tianbo Mansion.

"Hey, do you guys think... the 'Chen Shimei' in this story... could he have actually been a real person?"

"I've been thinking about it too. His surname is Chen, he's an official, ungrateful, and wants to harm his wife and children... It sounds so plausible..."

"Shh! Don't you dare talk nonsense! That could cost you your head!"

"Losing your head? I think so! Otherwise, why would they search the whole city for a woman surnamed Qin from Chenzhou? Why is the Tianbo Mansion protecting her so much?"

"If that's true... then this world..."

These whispered discussions, though not uttered aloud, were like a smoldering fire, quietly spreading in the corners of restaurants and teahouses, during the breaks in market transactions, and in the evenings when neighbors were cooling off in the streets. A specific conjecture about the person of "Chen Shimei," a vague sympathy for Qin Tiehua's deeds, and a widespread dissatisfaction with "official protection" and "power oppression" were quietly brewing into a silent storm in the hearts of the millions of people in Bianjing.

Wang Zhonghua navigated the increasingly heated public discourse, calmly observing everything.

He sat in a corner at the back of the "Qingyin Pavilion," listening to "Xingmu Zhang" weep with tears streaming down his face, while women and children in the audience covered their faces and wept.

He was in the crowd outside the "Sihailou" building when he heard "Quick-Tongued Liu" incite the crowd to anger, and the shouts of cursing were deafening.

He stood at the bridgehead, listening to the blind performer's hoarse voice singing, "Qin's daughter, tears streaming down her face, dragging her children along as she searches for her husband... Chen Shimei, black-hearted, disowns his wife and children, turning into a wolf instead..."

He knew the time was almost right. The groundwork for the rumors had been laid; now, a more sophisticated, impactful, and "refined" form—and therefore more difficult to suppress directly—was needed to push this undercurrent of public opinion to a new climax and to "artistically" link it to the real grievances of Liu Xinyi and Qin Tiehua.