 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
 |
|
by Pu Songling |
| Wang Muzhen was from a rich family in Mengyin County, Shandong.
When he was visiting Zhejiang one day, he found an old lady crying by the
roadside and went up to find out why. She said: “Before my husband’s death
we had a son who is now imprisoned for committing a crime. Who can help
him?”
Wang Muzhen had always wanted to help people so he memorized the name of her son. He used his money to facilitate things and her son was acquitted and released. When the man came out of prison and learned how Wang Muzhen had saved his life, he could not understand why Wang had done so. He went to visit Wang at his hotel, thanked him and asked why. Wang Muzhen said: “I helped you because I pitied your mother.” The man was surprised, saying: “My mother died years ago.” Now it was Wang Muzhen who was surprised. In the evening, the old lady came and Wang Muzhen asked her why she had told a lie. She said: “To be honest, I am a fox from the East Mountain and had a one-night affair with the man’s father twenty years ago. I did not want to see my one-night husband’s son die.” Wang was impressed by her loyalty and before he could ask any more questions, she had disappeared. Wang Muzhen’s wife was a king-hearted woman and a Buddhist disciple. She was so pious that she did not drink nor had meat. She put aside a room, kept it clean and had a portrait of the Goddess of Mercy hung on the wall. Since she had given birth to no son, she prayed in the room all day long. The goddess often helped people, instructing Wang’s wife to avoid disasters and so the family lived in harmony and peace. In fact, whatever the wife did, she did according to the will of the goddess. Later the woman had fallen ill seriously. She has a bed moved into the prayer room, put aside another set of bedding in the same room and had the door locked, as if she was waiting to share the room with somebody else. Wand could not understand what was going on, but since his wife was very ill, he did not want to press her for an answer. His wife lay in bed for two years. Afraid of any sound, she insisted that she would sleep all by herself. She was, however, often heard talking with somebody inside the prayer room. When her room was opened, Wang found no one except his wife. Wang’s wife had a daughter fourteen years old, and in her sick bed, she urged her husband to marry their daughter off. When she was married, Wang’s wife held his hand and said: “I’m going to die now. When I first got sick, the Goddess of Mercy told me that I wouldn’t have much tie. At the time, I was worried about our daughter’s marriage, so the goddess gave me some medicine to prolong my life. Last year, before the goddess left for the South Sea, she left her maid Xiaomei to look after me. I’m unfortunate person and will die soon, without giving birth to a son for you. But I love Baor. I am afraid after my death, you will marry again and your wife may not be kind enough to Baor and his mother. Since Xiaomei is beautiful and kind, please take her as your step-wife.” Wang Muzhen had a concubine who had given birth to a boy named Baor. Wang Muzhen found his wife’s words very strange, so he said: “You’ve been very devoted to the Goddess of Mercy and is what you’ve said just now a disrespect?” His wife said: “Xiaomei has been with me for more than a year, we are close and know each other extremely well. I’ve asked her to marry you.” Wang Muzhen asked: “Where is Xiaomei, then?” His wife said: “Don’t you see she is right in this room?” Before he could ask again, his wife was already dead. That night, Wang kept vigil for his wife and suddenly heard somebody sobbing, which greatly alarmed him as he thought there must be a ghost. He had his wife’s room unlocked and saw a beautiful girl about fifteen or sixteen years old wearing a mourning dress. People thought they were seeing a spirit and knelt down, bowing. The young woman forced back her tears and helped them up. Wang Muzhen watched on the side and found the woman not saying anything. So he said: “If what my wife told me before her death is right, please come into the main room and accept the show of respect of the children. If you don’t agree, then I won’t cherish any wishful thinking.” Now blushed, the young woman came out and walked into the main hall. Wang had a maid place a chair for her and he was the first to bow to her. She returned his bow out of respect. Then, the entire household knelt down and kowtowed to her according to seniority. The young woman sat there solemnly accepting the show of respect. When Wang Muzhen’s concubine came to kneel down, the young woman immediately helped her up. Ever since Wang’s ex-wife fell ill, the servants in the house had become sloppy and the household had gone downhill. Now the servants bowed and stood on both sides. Xiaomei, the young woman, began to speak: “I was grateful for Mrs. Wang’s kindness, so I decided to stay. Now she has entrusted the whole family to me. From today on, all of you should bid goodbye to your past behavior and serve the master whole-heartedly. This way I will not punish you for what you have done in the past. Don’t think there is no housewife under this roof.” They all looked at her and found her sitting there just like the goddess in the portrait. Holding her in awe, they promised to do as she had said. So Xiaomei made the funeral arrangements, assigning them to different jobs and none were lax in their duties. Xiaomei ran the house well, and whatever Wang Muzhen did, he had to consult her first. Though they say each other every night, there was no talk of an intimate relationship. After Wang’s wife was properly buried, he wanted to fulfill what had been promised between him and Xiaomei, but did not want to say it directly to her himself. So he sent his concubine to suggest it to Xiaomei, who said: ”Since I have accepted Mrs. Wang’s arrangement, I have the obligation to carry it out. But marriage is a solemn thing and has to be done properly. You uncle Mr. Huang is a highly respected man. Ask him to preside over our wedding and I will do what I have promised.” Mr. Huang from Xinshui County had been a high-ranking official, but now lived in retirement. He had been a close friend of Wang Muzhen’s father. Wang therefore personally went to see Mr. Huang and told him everything. Surprised by what he heard, Mr. Huang came with Wang to his house. Xiaomei hurriedly ran out to kneel in front of Mr. Huang by way of welcome. Huang thought he had seen an angel and did not dare to accept her now. He decided to pay expensive dowries for her and did not go back home until he had performed his duty at the wedding. Xiaomei gave Mr. Huang pillows and shoes that she had made herself and treated Mr. Huang as if he were her father-in-law. So this way the two families became very close. When they married, Wang Muzhen always regarded Xiaomei, his new wife, as a spirit and was rather reserved when they were most intimate together. He often asked her about the details of the life of the Goddess of Mercy. Xiaomei smiled, saying: “Don’t be silly. When did you ever hear of a goddess marrying a secular man?” Wang Muzhen kept asking her about her history. She told him: “Don’t try to press me. Since you treat me like I am a god, do so day and night and you’ll be free of disasters.” Towards the servants, Xiaomei was very kind, smiling all the time, but when they saw her at a distance, they grew quiet. Xiaomei tried to persuade them: “Do you think I’m a spirit? Of course, I’m not. Actually I am a cousin of Mrs. Wang. When she was sick, she sent for me. Since it was not appropriate for me to mix around with my brother-in-law, I pretended to be a spirit and stayed inside my sister’s room all the time. I am no spirit!” Nobody believed her. As they found her behavior just like an ordinary lady, gradually the talk about her being a spirit died down. The most difficult servants whom Wang Muzhen could not keep under control either by swearing or beating all followed what Xiaomei said. They said: “We don’t know how to explain it. It is not fear of the mistress, but we become soft as soon as we see her face. So we don’t think it is right to do things against her will.” Things were back on track at Mr. Wang’s house and in several years’ time, the Wangs had their land expanded and granaries filled with grain. Several years later, Wang’s concubine gave birth to a baby daughter, while Xiaomei gave birth to a son who had a red mole on his left arm, winning him the nickname Red Mole. When he was a month old, Xiaomei had Wang Muzhen prepare a feast to entertain Mr. Huang. The old man sent expensive gifts but declined to come, reasoning he was too old to travel far. Xiaomei sent two maids to incite Mr. Huang again, who eventually had to come. Xiaomei showed him her son, asking him to explain what the red mole meant. Mr. Huang smiled, saying: “This is a lucky red mole and I think we should call him Lucky Red Mole.” Xiaomei was delighted and kowtowed to Mr. Huang. That day, the whole house was filled with music and guests. Mr. Huang stayed for three days before he left for home. One day, a horse-drawn cart suddenly arrived outside the house to pick up Xiaomei for a visit home. For more than ten years, no relative of Xiaomei had ever come to visit her and the sudden arrival of the cart had everybody talking. Xiaomei, however, offered no explanation. She carefully did her make-up, got dressed and took her son in her arms. She asked Wang Muzhen to see them off. After they were about fifteen kilometers away fro home and when there was not a single person insight, Xiaomei stopped the cart and asked Wang Muzhen to get off. She told the servant to stand away and whispered to Wang: “My husband! Out life together is short and our separation is long. Isn’t this a tragedy?” Wang was taken aback and asked her what she really meant. Xiaomei said: “Can you tell me who you think I really am?” Wang said he could not answer that. Xiaomei told him: “Once you saved a man form being sentenced to death in the south. Is that true?” Wand said it was. Xiaomei went on: “The old lady who cried by the roadside was my mother. She was deeply moved by your benevolence and wanted to pay you back. She made use of your wife’s devotion to the Goddess of Mercy and took the opportunity to send me over to than you. Now that we have a baby son, I have done what mother wanted me to do. I realize your good days are running out and it will be hard for the boy to continue to live here. So I am taking him away from trouble. Please remember if somebody dies in the family, go to the Willow Dike on the West River when the rooster crows. If you see somebody holding a sunflower lamp, stop him and beg him for help. That way you will be free from disasters.” Wang Muzhen nodded and asked Xiaomei when she would be back. Xiaomei said: “This is hard to predict. Please remember what I’ve said and it won’t be too long before we meet again.” They held each other’s hands and bid goodbye with tears in their eyes. She jumped onto the cart and drove off. Wang Muzhen watched until the cart had totally disappeared before he turned homeward. Six to seven years had passed without any news from Xiaomei. Suddenly a strange disease broke out in the village and many people died. A maid in Mr. Wang’s house was caught by the illness and died three days later. Wang, remembering Xiaomei’s instructions, grew concerned. One day, after he became very drunk while drinking with some guests, he dozed off soundly. When he woke up, he heard a rooster crowing. He got up and ran toward Willow Dike, where he found a lantern being taken away. It was about one hundred steps away, so he ran after it. The more he ran, the further away the lantern became and later it simply was out of sight. He had to go back home with regret. Several days later, he became ill and died. Most of the members of Wang clan were shameless rascals who began to bully Wang’s concubine and her children, openly harvesting her crops and felling her trees. Wang Muzhen’s family began to grow poor. A year later, Baor, her first child with Wang Muzhen, died. With the boy dead, the clan members became more aggressive, dividing the land and taking away the domestic animals. They even planned to divide up the houses. One day they came with a group of people who tried to take the concubine out of the house to sell her. She clutched to her daughter, crying in despair. Her neighbors were saddened by what they saw. Just then a sedan chair arrived outside the house and out from it came Xiaomei and her son. She looked around at the crowd and asked: “Who are these people?” The concubine told her what had happened while still crying. Xiaomei’s face became grim and she told the servant to lock the door with a huge lock. The clan members wanted to protest but found themselves unable to make a move. Xiaomei had each one tied to a pillar of the corridor, feeding them with three bowls of thin porridge a day. Immediately she sent for Mr. Huang. Once inside the house, she cried. Then she said to the concubine: “This is purely fate. I planned to be back a month ago, but my mother was suddenly sick. Little did I expect to see that our family had fallen to what it is today!” She asked about the maids and learned that clan members had forcibly taken them away. The next day, they came back, having learned that the hostess had returned. They cried violently when they met. The shameless rascals tied to the corridor pillars insisted that the boy Xiaomei brought back was not Wang Muzhen’s son. Xiaomei did not argue with them. When Mr. Huang came, she took Lucky Red Mole to greet him. Mr. Huang held the boy’s left arm, rolled up the sleeve and pointed out the red mole to people around, verifying that he was indeed Wang Muzhen’s son. The he checked what property was missing, pout them down on a list and went to visit the county magistrate who next had the rascals arrested and lashed forty times, telling them to pay back what they had taken away. Several days later, all the animals and land were returned to the former owners. Mr. Huang was about to leave when Xiaomei thanked him. Crying, she said: “I’m not a human being of the world and Uncle Huang of course knew this all along. Now please take the boy with you.” Mr. Huang promised: “As long as I live, I will do everything for the boy.” After he was gone, Xiaomei entrusted Lucky Red Mole to the concubine and she went to her husband’s tomb to pay her respects, taking along food and wine as sacrifices. A long time passed and she did not return home. People were sent out to look for her and they found the sacrificial items right there in front of the tomb, but she was nowhere to be seen. |
