Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio: Fourteen Niangs (Folk Stories)

This article is taken from Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio.

There was a scholar named Feng in Guangping Prefecture, who was a figure in the Ming Dynasty. Since I was a teenager, I have taken off my wine and indulged in alcohol.

One day at dawn, he coveted the coolness of the morning and went to the suburbs to play. On the way, he met a girl in a red shawl. The girl's appearance is very beautiful, followed by a Meidochan, who walks on the road with dew. Her shoes and socks were soaked by morning dew. Shengfeng fell in love with the girl at first sight, secretly followed her, and after a while, he lost her.

Towards dusk, he came back drunk. There used to be an abandoned temple by the roadside. He saw a woman coming out of the temple, a beautiful woman he met at dawn. When the girl saw him suddenly coming to the temple, she immediately turned back to the temple gate.

He thought, how can a beautiful woman live in a temple?

So he tied the donkey in front of the temple and went in to find out.

After entering the temple gate, my eyes were full of ruins and a scene of decline. The steps are covered with grass, as if covered with a blanket.

Just as he was looking around, an old man with gray hair and a neat coat came out and asked, What do the guests want to do here?

He said: I happened to pass by the ancient temple and wanted to come in and pay my respects. When did your dad move here?

Old man: I am wandering in a foreign land and have no certain residence. I will temporarily borrow this big temple and settle down in my home. Since I have received your respect, I have nothing to entertain guests here, only camellia can be used as wine.

So respectfully invited him in as a guest and turned around in the main hall. He saw a yard behind the hall, with a stone-paved passage, flat and clean, without barren and messy vegetation. When he entered the bedroom, he found that the door curtain, bed curtain, screen and curtain all smelled fragrant.

He sat down and asked the old man's name. The old man said, my name is Xin.

When he was intoxicated, he suddenly asked: I heard that there is a microscope, but there is no good match. Forgive me for taking the liberty of wanting to be a matchmaker for myself.

The old man smiled and said, please allow me to discuss it with my wife.

He immediately asked for a writing brush, wrote a poem and said, "Get a jade pestle and be diligent." . YunYing if interested, pro dao Xuanshuang.

The host handed it to the people around him with a big smile. After a while, a maid whispered a few words to the old man. The old man stood up, told the guests to sit patiently for a while, lifted the curtain and entered the back room. I vaguely heard them say three or five sentences, and the old man retired.

He thought he would tell himself the good news; But the old man sat there talking and laughing with him and said nothing else.

He couldn't bear it anymore and asked the old man, I don't know what you mean. I hope to solve the problem.

The old man said: You are an outstanding scholar, and I have admired your manners for a long time. I just don't know some secrets in my heart, so I dare not promise you.

He repeatedly asked the reasons for refusing to get married.

The old man said, I have nineteen girls, twelve of whom are married. My wife has always been in charge of their marriage, so I don't ask.

He said, I want to marry the girl who walked in the dew with a Meidochan this morning.

The old man said nothing, and the two were silent.

He heard a female voice whispering from the back room, so he opened the door curtain and said, since I can't be husband and wife, let me meet to eliminate my regrets.

The people inside stood up at the sound of the curtain hook and looked at him in surprise.

Shengfeng saw that there was indeed a girl in red, with long sleeves and tassels, slightly warped hair, standing slim and twisted nepotism. Everyone saw the stranger break into the inner room and the whole room was caught off guard.

The old man was furious, called several waiters, grabbed him and pushed the door out.

He felt that the alcohol was getting heavier and heavier, and he fainted in the grass. Bricks and tiles rained on him. He lay down for a while, and when he heard that the donkey was still grazing by the roadside, he got up, stepped on the donkey's back and stumbled forward. The night was confused, and he lost his way and walked into the deep mountain canyon. Wolves are running around him, and owls are chirping over his head, which makes him creepy and struggling in his heart.

He wandered around, wondering where this place was. Looking at the dark Woods, there were lights flashing, guessing that it must be a village, so he whipped the donkey and went over.

When I came to the front, I looked up and saw a tall guard room standing in front of me.

He knocked on the door with a whip, and the doorman asked, where did you come from in the middle of the night?

He replied that he was a lost man.

The doorman replied, just a moment, I'll call the master.

He just bent over and waited. Suddenly I heard the sound of unlocking, opened two doors, and a strong servant came out to lead the donkey for him. When he stepped into the gate, he saw the magnificent house in the yard and the brightly lit hall. After sitting for a while, a woman came out and asked his name. He told her his name. After a while, several maids helped out an old lady and said, Your Majesty has arrived.

He stood up and respectfully wanted to kneel and kowtow. The old lady stopped him and asked him to sit down: Aren't you Feng Yunzi's grandson?

He said: Yes.

The old lady said, "You are my nephew's son. The morning bell has stopped, the night leak has stopped, and the old times are coming to an end. There has been no contact between the closest relatives for a long time, and they are alienated. "

Sheng Feng said: My father died when I was very young, and my grandpa's relatives and friends didn't know. I've never been there. I don't know who your father is. Please advise.

The old lady said, you will know.

He didn't dare to ask again, so he sat opposite and recalled.

The old lady said, Why did my grandson come in the middle of the night?

He boasted of his courage and told the old lady what he had just met. The old lady said with a smile, this is a great good thing. Besides, my grandson is a celebrity, and being a bully will never bully them. Why do wild foxes raise their status so high? Don't worry, grandson, I can give you the girl.

He thanked her in a passive manner, and the old lady looked around and said, I didn't expect Xin's daughter to be so beautiful.

A maid in Tsing Yi said, "He has nineteen daughters, all of whom are beautiful and have their own styles. I wonder who your official wants to marry? " ?

Sheng Feng said: I want to hire a child of fourteen or fifteen.

The maid said, this is fourteen Niang. In March, she followed her mother to visit the county magistrate. How could your dad forget?

The old lady said with a smile, is it a girl who came on foot in high heels engraved with lotus petals, stuffed with powder and veiled?

The maid said, yes, that's her.

The old lady said with a smile, this girl is the best at playing tricks and making people happy, but she is really beautiful and her grandson really has a good eye.

When the old lady finished speaking, she said to the maid in Tsing Yi, Send a little maid to call fourteen Niang for me.

Not long after the servant girl left, she brought back fourteen Niang. Shengfeng stood by the curtain and saw a woman in red leaning over the old lady.

The old lady lifted her up and said, you will be my grandson's daughter-in-law in the future, so you don't have to be a handmaiden.

The woman stood up and stood gracefully, her tea hanging low.

The old lady lifted her sideburns with her hands and twisted her earrings. "What have you been doing in the boudoir for the last fourteen years?" ?

Fourteen Niang replied in a low voice, I only embroidered it in my spare time. When I turned around, I saw Shengfeng. I was ashamed and uneasy.

The old lady said, this is my nephew. He really wants to marry you. Why did you kick him out and wander in the wild in the middle of the night?

Fourteen niang bowed their heads and said nothing.

The old lady added, I invited you here only to match my nephew.

Fourteen Niang was too scared to speak and kept silent.

The old lady saw that she had been silent, and directly asked people to clean the bed and prepare the dining tables, hoping that they would get married on the spot.

Fourteen Niang said shyly, please allow me to go back and tell my parents.

Old lady: I am your matchmaker. Will there be mistakes?

Fourteen Niang: Of course, parents dare not disobey the orders of the county magistrate, but the marriage is so hasty that handmaiden dare not disobey even if she dies.

Old lady: My little girl's ambition can't be taken away, but she really deserves my nephew. After that, she took a golden flower from the head of 14 Niangs, taught it to Shengfeng, and told her to go home and choose a good day and set a wedding date.

After seeing off Fourteen Niang, the maid in Tsing Yi asked Sheng Feng to go out and let him go straight ahead. After a while, Shengfeng looked back and saw that the village and houses were gone, except for a miscellaneous pine forest and some bare graves. He thought for a long time and remembered that the grave was Xue Shangshu's grave.

Xue Shangshu is the younger brother of his late grandmother, so he is called grandson. He knew in his heart that he had met a ghost, and he didn't know who it was for fourteen years. He sighed and went home. When he got home, he began to look up the almanac and waited all day. After waiting for a few days, he was worried that the ghost could not make an appointment, and now he was even more disappointed.

After waiting for more than half a month, the cleaned new house has been covered with dust. Just when he had given up in his heart, he suddenly heard something outside the hospital. Before he ran out, the sedan chair carrying the bride had arrived in the yard. Two maids helped her into the new house. The only thing he married was a big crock, which he carried in the corner.

He doesn't care about these things, but is happy for his beautiful wife. At night, he asked the 14-year-old mother: That county magistrate is a fool. Why is your family so obedient to her?

Xue Shangshu is now the governor of Wudu, and the ghost foxes in Fiona Fang for hundreds of miles will be driven away by him!

A few days after the marriage, a classmate named Chu heard that he had married a fox's wife, so he came home on the pretext of delivering food and invited him to drink to celebrate.

A few days later, she wrote to invite him for a drink. After learning this, Fourteen Niang said to Sheng Feng, "That Chu Sheng is a monkey with eagle eyes and nose. Don't be intimate." .

Shengfeng took her advice and didn't go to the party. On Sunday, Chu Sheng personally visited him and asked him why he didn't keep the appointment, and brought some crooked poems written by himself for Shengfeng to evaluate. Sheng Feng laughed at his poem, and Chu Sheng looked pale. The two broke up in discord.

Fourteen Niang looked sad: Chu Sheng is a wolf. You don't listen to me. Be careful what you say and do. Disaster is not far away from us.

Shengfeng doesn't care.

Later, Sheng Feng and Chu Sheng played together again, and they took the exam together, with Chu Sheng second and Sheng Feng second.

Chu Sheng gave a banquet, invited Sheng Feng, and sent people to invite him many times. Shengfeng didn't leave until he was drunk and began to laugh at Chu Sheng, which surprised all the guests.

When Shengfeng came home and woke up, he regretted it very much, so he told him for fourteen years. Stone was disappointed for four years and said, you are really a shallow person who doesn't know it. You have repeatedly insulted morality and mocked villains, which has caused you to die a natural death. I can't bear to see you down and out, so let's say goodbye.

Shengfeng was frightened and cried bitterly, asking Fourteen Niang to stay and save herself.

Fourteen Niang said after a long time that if I want to stay, I must make three rules, study behind closed doors after abstinence, and sever all personnel relations.

After a while, Chu Sheng sent someone to send an urgent letter. Fourteen Niang threw it into the fire without looking, and didn't let Shengfeng know.

However, Sheng Feng met Chu Sheng at the funeral to mourn his friend. Chu Jiang took him home to drink, so he touched the wine and the fish went into the water. Soon he was as drunk as a fiddler.

It happened that Chu Sheng's wife was jealous. Because the maid sent tea to his study, she was beaten to death by her wife. Chusheng hated Sheng Feng's ridicule, and came up with a poisonous plan to sleep with Sheng Feng and his dead maid after being drunk, and then reported it to officials.

Shengfeng was put into prison, and fourteen Niang sent him money with tears: If I had known this day, why didn't you listen to me?

When the judge questioned him, Sheng Feng could not defend himself and was tortured every day.

When SiNian went to see him, he was filled with grief and indignation, and he couldn't say a word.

Since then, Fourteen Niangs have been running for him day and night, and it took half a year to rescue Shengfeng.

Shortly after he came home, his mother said to him, "If I hadn't been trapped by love, I wouldn't have so many troubles. When you were imprisoned, I ran around among my relatives, and no one could help me. The bitterness and suffering at that time were indescribable. Now, seeing this vulgar world, I can't restrain my inner pain. I have found a good wife for you, so let's decide to leave. "

Hearing this, Shengfeng cried and couldn't afford to kneel down, begging Shi4 Niang not to leave him.

Fourteen Niang stayed. She sent her son to Shengfeng's room, but Shengfeng refused to accept it. However, ShiSiNian's face is getting worse and worse, and she is getting old. Six months later, she was dark and short. Shengfeng respects her very much and has never changed her mind.

Another month passed, and Fourteen Niang suddenly became seriously ill. She is lying in bed, not eating or drinking. Shengfeng decocted her medicine as carefully as she served her parents. Soon, fourteen Niang passed away, and Shengfeng was extremely sad.

Later, Shengfeng married his son. A year later, he gave birth to a boy. When he was in famine, he had no rice to cook. He suddenly remembered the dowry of fourteen Niang and the big crock in the corner. In the past, he often saw fourteen Niang throw money into the jar. He dug the corner and broke the jar, and the money in the jar fell to the ground. After that, he became rich.

Many years later, his servant went to Taihua Mountain to do business, and he met fourteen mothers. She rode a blue snail, followed by a servant girl riding a donkey. When they met, they asked: What about Lang Feng? Please give my regards to him and tell him that I have been listed as a fairy now.

Say that finish, he disappeared on the mountain road.