Mutating Rumors

In the word-of-mouth chain, any hot topic would be distorted beyond recognition by the time it reached the end.

Qin He left, and the rumor that the Regent Crown Prince's bird was useless spread like wildfire along with his departure.

Twenty paces from its point of origin, the rumor underwent its first mutation: the Crown Prince had summoned a beauty to his bed, only to summon an assassin instead. His bird was injured and shrank back inside, while the assassin escaped.

Half a street away, the rumor underwent its second mutation: the Crown Prince had summoned a male favorite, only for the favorite to pull out a tool bigger than his. The Crown Prince went from aggressor to resisting aggression, was so frightened that his manhood shrank, and the Imperial Physicians worked through the entire night without getting his bird to come back out.

One street away, the rumor underwent its third mutation: the Crown Prince was limp in bed, so he took a potent aphrodisiac. The result was Qi Deviation. Before he could even summon a beauty, he wildly unleashed himself at the mouth of a wine pot—then got stuck.

Three streets away, the Crown Prince and a dog barked all night.

Half a city away, it had become a tale of twisted love and hatred between the Crown Prince and a Kuo Longdu Giant Lizard.

Before the tale could even finish spreading, it had already become unrecognizable halfway through. All manner of versions filled the air, some of them utterly illogical and senseless.

In the end, whether it was true or false no longer mattered. What mattered was what the people of the Capital City were willing to believe—or willing to use for entertainment.

Countless grievances against the Great Jing Empire were poured into the crafting of the