Chapter 1368 – Tea Party of the Ladies (Part 11)
For the entertainment-starved common folks in ancient times, listening to storytellers and watching theater troupes perform were rare pleasures.
A couple of copper coins could keep them entertained for an entire day.
Some troupes and storytellers even made special trips to the countryside, causing a frenzy among the villagers with each appearance.
Their fervor rivaled that of fans in a live stream!
Under Wei Ci’s orchestrations, all sorts of “heart-wrenching” tales spread from Wanzhou to various locales, garnering countless sympathy and tears.
The villagers enjoyed the shows to their hearts’ content but returned home pondering the plots, feeling increasingly uneasy.
“Hey, Second Aunt, do you know about that crazy widow in South Village?”
“That insane woman? A few days ago, I passed her house, and she threw a handful of dog poop at someone! It was disgusting!”
The woman said with a pale complexion, “Second Aunt, you don’t know… that crazy widow wasn’t always mad. A few idle rascals dragged her daughter up the mountain and killed her, lying that a bear did it… Seeing her daughter’s corpse broke her spirit and sent her mad. The dog poop she threw? You know who it was aimed at? Those filthy brats!”
Second Aunt gasped in shock.
“Isn’t that what we just watched?”
The woman gritted her teeth and nodded vigorously.
The recent play was adapted from a new novel by a certain author.
The story was simple, revolving around a girl named Gu Sanniang, who escapes being sold to a lame old man by her stepmother. She sneaks away to join the army as a female soldier, battles for years, follows her lord to stabilize the realm, and finally returns home triumphant.
In addition to Gu Sanniang, the character with the most focus was her clever and beautiful friend, A Jia. Thanks to A Jia’s support, Gu Sanniang gathered the courage to flee her marriage and join the military.
The audience hoped A Jia would also leave the village, but out of filial piety, she chose to stay behind.
Years later, Gu Sanniang comes back home.
The last scene shows her returning on horseback and imagining what A Jia might look like now. The actress playing Gu Sanniang was a talented young girl with an excellent singing voice, vividly envisioning A Jia happily married with children, a beautiful and thriving life…
To Gu Sanniang, A Jia was the sort of person deserving to be an empress.
But then—
Upon returning home, Gu Sanniang found her mad friend’s widow mother and learned from her that A Jia had died four or five years ago.
Just as the audience speculated about the cause of A Jia’s death, the widow, in her crazed state, sobbed and revealed the truth.
A Jia had still been a year away from maturity, growing more stunning by the day. Envious village rascals took advantage while her mother was out working, deceitfully luring A Jia away, and subjected her to brutal torment, leaving her unrecognizable.
The tale ended with Gu Sanniang avenging her friend, but the audience still felt a knot in their throats.
The play also reminded them of the mad widow’s daughter from years ago!
Aside from this new play, others had the same tone.
Even if they concluded with a light-hearted finale, the villagers felt a persistent lump in their throats, suffocating them.
Whether it was A Jia or the characters Wei Ci penned, their lives were destined to be devoid of brightness.
Second Aunt returned from laundry and passed by a house, spotting an old man leering at her chest from behind a fence. Infuriated, she spat over the fence, “Pah! That old lecher will get his comeuppance!”
Before the old man could react, Second Aunt stomped away, swaying her hips in frustration.
These storylines weren’t merely coincidences.
When Han Yu reviewed the relevant documents from various places, Wei Ci casually selected a few typical cases as material.
He wouldn’t interfere with what the novelists wrote, as long as the content wasn’t against the rules.
However, this time he issued a themed writing prompt, restricting everyone’s new book content and topics.
The others had no objections; they were government workers after all, writing novels not just to realize their ideals but as a means of survival. Wei Ci treated them well, and writing these themed novels wasn’t too burdensome.
These novelists’ new releases ultimately contributed to the so-called “Social Revenge Series,” notorious for its “realistic, depressing, dark” writing style.
Wei Ci’s “The Legend of Cui Niang” was the pioneer of this genre.
As public sentiment swelled, discussions grew louder among the common people regarding these matters.
After a tumultuous start to the year, Wanzhou was shrouded in an air of impending storm.
Jiang Pengji, at the center of this oppressive atmosphere, could feel the commotion from the live stream, even from across dimensions, let alone the beleaguered individuals working overtime.
“To shirk their responsibilities and force the unwilling into prostitution, what kind of sage books are these people reading? Aren’t they afraid the sages will scold them in their dreams?” Jiang Pengji was furious over their shameless actions—she had seen dishonorable behavior before, but never such flagrant disregard, “They’re all beasts!”
Jiang Pengji was so incensed she even cursed.
Qi Guanrang and Wei Ci exchanged knowing glances, seemingly ignoring their lord’s vulgar outburst.
What else could they do?
With Jiang Pengji slamming her specially made copper table, leaving deep impressions that looked ready to break, they certainly dared not step in.
Moreover, they had little respect for those who engaged in such underhanded tactics just to curry favor.
In these chaotic times, the management of noble and base status had many loopholes, but the blatant forcing of nobility into a base position was truly uncommon.
Feng Jin calmly stated, “They are merely the kind who become arrogant once they hit it big, insatiable for more—there’s no need for you to be angry, my lord.”
Although he didn’t place much importance on social status, he still pointed out—after all, how many who came from humble beginnings could maintain their integrity after achieving success? The faults of aristocrats lay in their complacency and mediocrity, while the faults of commoners stemmed from their insatiability.
However, to Jiang Pengji, regardless of which group held the reins, that was never a good sign.
She was never the kind to compromise her principles; those who crossed her would not escape unscathed.
“It’s easy to say that, but I still feel boiling anger inside. Just from what they’ve revealed, it’s already distasteful enough; who knows what lurks in the shadows? Allowing such beasts to rise unchecked will threaten countless innocent lives!” Jiang Pengji declared, “I originally thought I could let them off with a light punishment for a grave offense, but now it seems unwise not to discipline them severely as a warning!”
No one opposed her words, and even the idle watchers in the live stream expressed their agreement with hands and feet raised.
