The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

Lu Sanjun tasted the dish and praised, "Hey, this steamed fish is cooked to perfection, removing the fishy smell while preserving the freshness. This is no ordinary cooking technique. Steward Shen is truly skilled at managing the household."

Shen Zhou bowed slightly: "You flatter me, sir. It was just some miscellaneous knowledge I acquired in the past... uh, it's nothing to brag about." He paused slightly in the middle of his sentence, as if he had something to hide.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jueming looked up and carefully examined Shen Zhou, then glanced at Xu Shi beside him. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes, but he did not say anything more.

Wang Zhonghua observed all of this without showing any emotion.

After dinner, after seeing off Lü Sanjun and the Liu family, Wang Zhonghua did not return to his room but went to a quiet spot in the backyard. A moment later, Du Ziteng quietly arrived.

"Instructor, we've made a discovery." Du Ziteng spoke quickly. "This evening, Steward Shen went to the woods west of the village again. This time, the Dark Arrow brothers risked getting closer and heard him muttering to himself in the woods, repeatedly saying 'Cunzhong,' 'my son,' and 'be careful,' as if he was waiting for a young man named 'Cunzhong,' and he looked extremely anxious. Also, he seemed to be clutching something wrapped in an old cloth in his hand."

"Cunzhong..." Wang Zhonghua murmured the name, feeling it sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before. He pondered, "Everyone has their own secrets. It seems Uncle Shen does indeed have close relatives who are stranded elsewhere, and they may be in trouble. Ziteng, you personally take two of your most clever brothers and, starting tomorrow, secretly keep watch on the small roads outside the village leading to Yangquan Town and the main road, looking for any suspicious, down-on-their-luck travelers who seem to be searching for someone. Remember, only observe from a distance, do not disturb them, and if you see anything, report to me first."

"Understood!" Du Ziteng accepted the order and left.

Wang Zhonghua gazed at the starry sky, pondering: Shen Zhou is cautious in his actions, and his knowledge and speech are extraordinary; he is no ordinary servant. He must have his reasons for hiding his identity here. If his relatives come seeking refuge, what should he do? Should he investigate his concealment, or…

Three days later, at dusk.

Du Ziteng hurriedly found Wang Zhonghua, who was checking the fermentation of the new wine at the distillery.

"Instructor, we've spotted him! A young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in tattered but faded clothes, carrying a worn-out bookcase, has been loitering around Wangjiagang for two days. He specifically seeks out the village elders when there are few people around, asking, 'Is there a gentleman surnamed Shen, about fifty years old, with a non-local accent, who might be working as a maid here?' The brothers from Anjian noticed ink stains on his fingers and calluses on his hands, as if he writes and turns pages in books all year round, but there are also some fresh wounds, as if he has done rough work. He's currently resting at the village's western earth temple, and it looks like he might sneak into the village tonight to look for someone."

Wang Zhonghua's spirits lifted: "He really came. Do you know his name?"

"When he asked people, he introduced himself as... Shen Kuo, courtesy name Cunzhong," Du Ziteng replied.

Shen Kuo! Shen Cunzhong!

A flash of inspiration struck Wang Zhonghua! It was him! The future extraordinary person, the scientific genius who would write "Dream Pool Essays" and achieve outstanding accomplishments in many fields such as astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, and military strategy!

Unexpectedly, he turned out to be the son Shen Zhou had been longing for every day!

In his initial excitement, Wang Zhonghua quickly regained his composure. Shen Kuo was clearly at a low point in his life, his family in turmoil, and his heart filled with longing to find his father. How could he meet him in a way that would alleviate the pain of separation between father and son, while also ensuring this genius would willingly stay?

"Ziteng," Wang Zhonghua decisively ordered, "you immediately go and quietly invite Uncle Shen to the old elm tree in the west of the village. Just say... just say I have something to ask him, concerning someone he cares about. Then, you go to the local temple in person and politely invite that scholar Shen Kuo over. Be careful with your attitude; you must be very respectful."

"Yes!" Although Du Ziteng didn't understand what was going on, seeing his master's solemn expression, he immediately responded and left.

As dusk settles, under the old locust tree in Wangjiagang.

When Shen Zhou was invited by Du Ziteng, his mind was in turmoil. The matter that had been weighing on his mind day and night for the past three months could probably no longer be kept secret.

"Uncle Shen," Wang Zhonghua said bluntly, his gaze gentle yet carrying an undeniable insight, "you've been going into the woods so often these past few days, are you waiting for someone? A young man named 'Cunzhong'?"

Shen Zhou trembled violently, and the faded blue cloth bundle he had been clutching fell to the ground with a thud. The bundle unraveled, revealing a worn inkstone with frayed edges and a half-broken brush. His face paled instantly, his lips trembled, and finally he knelt down with a thud, his voice choked with sobs: "Master, please understand! I... I have indeed lied! Shen Kuo, courtesy name Cunzhong, is indeed my son! I did not intend to conceal it, but... I was truly afraid of implicating you!"

Wang Zhonghua stepped forward to help him up, picked up the old inkstone, and felt its smooth texture; it was clearly not an ordinary object. "Uncle Shen, let's start from the beginning. Since we're family, we should know each other's backgrounds and share hardships."

With tears streaming down his face, Shen Zhou, under the cover of twilight, finally revealed the long-buried past.

It turns out that Shen Zhou (courtesy name Tongzhi) was not an ordinary slave born to a disgraced official. He was originally from Wu County, Suzhou. He passed the imperial examination at a young age and was quite talented. Later, he rose to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. However, due to his support for the Qingli Reforms, he was demoted and exiled. After being pardoned, his family fell into poverty. To make a living, he traveled to Xiangcheng County, Chenzhou, where he was hired as the county's registrar and tutor to Zhao Wenhuan, a fellow townsman from Qiantang. He taught Zhao's sons and nephews and also managed accounts and documents. He was upright and diligent, and gradually gained Zhao Wenhuan's trust, becoming a steward in his household.

"Registration Officer Zhao... Alas, he wasn't a great villain, just indecisive by nature, and he also had a troublesome in-law." Shen Zhou sighed, "His brother-in-law worked in the Transport Commissioner's Office. When his corruption was exposed, he implicated Registrar Zhao, saying that Zhao had accepted 'ice and charcoal bribes' from him. According to the law, this could have been a minor offense or a major one, but coincidentally, at that time, someone in the court wanted to punish a group of disobedient officials in Chenzhou, so they used Registrar Zhao as an example and punished him severely... His house was confiscated, he was exiled, and all the slaves in his household were sold off by the government."

"My wife, Xu, and I were among those to be sold. At that time, my son, Shen Kuo, was only sixteen and studying in the capital. When he heard the news and rushed back, our family was already destroyed." Shen Zhou's voice trembled. "The officials wouldn't allow him to come along, saying only that 'the family members of officials are to be dealt with separately.' Before my wife and I were taken away, we only had time to stuff the old inkstone that his mother had left him into his hands and say, 'Cunzhong, live on. If you are free one day, we will meet again...'"

Hmm, Wang Zhonghua painstakingly searched for memories of Shen Kuo from his past life, and was greatly puzzled as to why there was no record of Shen Zhou's experiences in historical books. He had read so many time-travel novels, and most of them were also vague about the experiences of Shen Kuo's family.

After listening to Shen Zhou's account, he thought about it carefully and understood the reason: why would the history books pay attention to an insignificant mid-level official and record his experiences in detail?

"And then? Where did your son go?" Wang Zhonghua pressed.

"I was sold to the Chenzhou market, but fortunately, my employer took me in, giving me a place to stay," Shen Zhou said, wiping away tears. "As for my son... I only vaguely heard that he was ordered not to stay in the capital and was expelled. For the past three months, I have relied on the little favors I had in the past to inquire around, only to find that he seemed to have gone towards Bozhou or Yingtian Prefecture, but I have no idea of ​​his exact whereabouts. This agreement in the woods is actually an old agreement between my mother and me when we were in Xiangcheng, in case of an emergency that was inconvenient to speak openly, we would leave a mark under the locust tree at our old house. I have been waiting here in vain, hoping that if he can escape his predicament, he might find us through this old agreement... But I am also afraid that if he really finds us, it will implicate my employer, and I am even more afraid that... he has met with misfortune." At this point, the usually composed old man finally broke down in tears.

Wang Zhonghua listened silently, already understanding. Shen Kuo's situation at this moment was probably even more arduous than the historical record of "father's death and family poverty." A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, suddenly struck by family tragedy, his father becoming a government slave, himself driven from his hometown, with no relatives or friends and nothing to his name—how did he survive those three months? And what kind of perseverance and intelligence did he possess to finally find his way to Wangjiagang?

"Don't worry, Uncle Shen," Wang Zhonghua said in a deep voice, "your son has arrived."

"What?!" Shen Zhou looked up abruptly, his eyes flashing with disbelief.