One Hundred and Twenty-Three         The Destroyed Temple Ghost Case

In the seventh year of Jiayou in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a scholar Liu Yu, a scholar on Zhending Prefecture on West Road in Hebei. He was almost in a twentieth year. His father Liu Qi served as the magistrate of Gaoyi. Later, because of the fourth year of Qingli, he was dismissed from office and returned home after participating in the reform of Fan Zhongyan. Soon after, he died of depression. A few years later, the Liu family fell into decline.

Eighteen years ago, Liu Qi had a deep relationship with the local wealthy man Cheng Feng. At that time, Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Cheng were pregnant at the same time. During a banquet, Liu Qi and Cheng Feng made an appointment while the wine was in full swing. If both parties gave birth, they would become brothers. If both parties had a daughter, they would become sisters. If one man and one woman would become husband and wife. Soon the two wives gave birth to a baby boy, named Liu Yu, and Mrs. Cheng got a baby girl and named Cheng Ying. Three years later, Liu Qi was demoted to the common people and returned to Zhen Dingshi, leaving behind the ancestral jade Ruyi as a betrothal gift. The Cheng family also separated a pair of white jade bracelets and gave one of them back to the in-laws as a token of recognition in the future.

Eighteen years later, the Liu family became more and more poor. When Liu Yu was about to marry, Mrs. Liu handed the white jade bracelet to Liu Yu and ordered her son to go to Gaoyi to find the Cheng family to recognize her relatives. Liu Yu then put in some clothes, and Mrs. Liu handed the only ten taels of scattered silver in the family into her hands, and told her: "Be careful along the way, and do not leave the bracelet and silver wrap, and you must also carry it with you when sleeping." Liu Yu remembered that he bid farewell to his mother, tied the wrap tightly around his waist, and embarked on the road to Gaoyi.

It was the autumn rain season, Liu Yu was walking at night and ran to Gaoyi. One day he arrived at Fenglongshan outside Luancheng. The mountain road was rugged and it was already late. It was raining suddenly. Liu Yu held an umbrella and walked in the rain, trying to find a place to stay away from the rain. He set his hand on the awning and raised his eyes to look for it. He saw the lights flashing in the distance in front of him. He thought that there must be someone who had a home. Liu Yu ran towards the lights and came closer. When he was approaching, the rain suddenly poured down, and lightning thunder and lightning. Under lightning, he saw the three main rooms in the main rooms, two east and west wing rooms, surrounded by fences of the courtyard, and the wooden door swayed in the wind and rain, squeaking. He hurriedly knocked on the door, shouting loudly, and heard the thunder in the courtyard, and heard a woman He asked, "Who knocked on the door?" Liu Yu replied, "I asked for the person who stayed." After a while, the door opened, and an old woman in sixty-six years old looked at her head. Liu Yu held her fists and bowed, "Old lady, I am a passerby. I want to go to Gaoyi. I don't want to rain heavily. I have to ask my aunt to stay for a night. Can I stay there?" The old woman refused, "My house is narrow and dirty, and it is difficult to arrange. Please look for another place." It's dark and heavy, where can I find another place? Liu Yu asked again, "I don't think it's narrow and small, I can accommodate her immediately. Can I pay my family first?" After saying that, he untied the package and wanted to get the silver to pay it. The old woman saw that the money was bulging, so she smiled and said, "If the young master doesn't dislike it, you don't need to pay it first, please enter it for peace."

Liu Yu entered the courtyard and was placed in the east wing room. He entered the house with a lamp. Under the light, he saw an embroidered shoes under the edge of the kang. He was stunned. Could it be that there was a female family in this family? Why did the embroidered shoes be left here? What strange! He smelled the smell of rouge on the kang mat, which was very strange. However, since this happened, there was no need to worry too much. He placed the embroidered shoes under the kang mat and went to bed on the kang. He put his clothes together and slept, and tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He heard the wind and rain outside the window, and suddenly he heard There was a sound of beating in the upper room, and I was even more surprised. He got up and put on his shoes and walked into the yard. He heard the sound of beating became more intense. He quietly went to the west room of the upper room and peeked into the room through the broken window paper hole. He saw a fierce man trying to mock a beautiful woman. The woman struggled desperately. When he saw it, he was furious and shouted angrily: "Stop! I want to sue the official." The man heard the angrily shouting outside the window, and couldn't help but tremble, panic and abandoned his daughter from the kang.

At this time, Liu Yu suddenly felt a wind sound behind his head, so he quickly looked back and avoided him. A wooden stick hit the window lattice. With a click, the window lattice was smashed! Liu Yu saw that the person who waved the stick was an old woman! The old woman raised the stick again and grinned, with a hideous face. Liu Yu suddenly ran away and ran away. The man in the room lifted a knife out of the house, trying to kill Liu Yu. Liu Yu saw a gap in the fence and jumped quickly and heard a sneering sound. The clothes were scratched on the wooden fork of the fence. He ran away desperately, and his clothes were pulled, and a rag strip was hung on the wooden fork, swaying with the wind.

Liu Yu ran wildly on the muddy mountain road. Although the rain stopped, the lightning was still thundering. Under the lightning, he saw a temple not far away in front of him, and rushed in. This temple was ruined and had been disrepair for many years. The temple was covered with weeds, the temple door was crooked, the windows were damaged, and the gods were covered with dust. A coffin was placed on the side of the shrine. It was a local folk custom. Anyone who had rich people purchased longevity materials for their parents first, and they were placed in the temple. When they were used, they were transported to their homes. Therefore, there was no corpse in the coffin. He was afraid that the man would chase him, so he panicked to the front of the coffin, lifted the cover, jumped in and hid it, put the wrapping pillow under his head, and then moved the cover to hold it, leaving a gap for breathing, curled up and slid down.

Soon, he heard footsteps in the temple and peeked through the cracks. Under the lightning, he saw an evil ghost in green face, fangs, holding a ghost-headed knife, approaching the coffin step by step. Another lightning flashed, and saw a naked female corpse, standing under the altar. Liu Yu lost his soul, screamed, knocked open the lid of the coffin, grabbed the package, and jumped out of the coffin like crazy. The evil ghost suddenly saw it and was stunned. At this moment, he grabbed the door and fled outside the temple.

At that time, the fish belly in the east was white, and Liu Yu was panting and fled to the foot of the mountain. Seeing the tombs on the side of the road, he became more and more frightened and rolled to the intersection. He ran into two yamen runners. The two yamen runners saw their clothes messy and looked panicked and embarrassed, so he stopped them and interrogated them. Liu Yu was still in a panic and said that he had encountered an evil ghost. The two yamen runners were very suspicious and took him to the county yamen to examine them.

Why did the second yamen runners go to the intersection of the mountain? Cheng Yu, a former rich gentry in Gaoyi, made a big business trip and built a luxury house in Luancheng. His daughter Cheng Ying was in the afternoon of the Lantern Festival yesterday. The Lantern Festival was held on the banks of the Tsu River every Mid-Autumn Festival. Visitors were crowded and crowded. Cheng Ying went with a maid. There were many people. The master and servant were separated. The maid returned, but the maid did not return. He did not see Cheng Ying return late at night. Cheng Yu hurriedly sent someone to search for him, but he could not find him, so he had to report the case to the county government.

Li Zong, the magistrate of Luancheng, was a clean and upright official, with a meticulous judgment and was quite strategic. When he received a report in the middle of the night, he immediately ordered the yamen runners to look for him separately. At dawn, the two yamen runners came to the intersection of the mountain and were about to run away in a panic.

Li Zhixian went to the hall to interrogate Liu Yu. The yamen runners unpacked his package and saw that there was a white jade bracelet besides the common items and silver. Li Zhixian asked, "Where did this white jade bracelet come from? Why do you have any women?" Liu Yu replied, "Sir, this jade bracelet is a token of engagement. I took it to Gaoyi to recognize my relatives. Unexpectedly, the thunderstorm last night, and I took it away from the rain in a weed house..." He described the events he had encountered last night in detail.

Li Magistrate Li was investigated and dissatisfied him. He stood up and took Liu Yu and several yamen runners to the ruined temple to inspect it. He saw a female corpse under the altar table, and grabbed a rag in his hand. This rag was in front of Liu Yu's clothes. On the side of the female corpse, there were women's clothes and embroidered shoes. The yamen runner opened the coffin and saw that it was empty. Li Magistrate Li ordered people to transport the female corpse and clothes to the county corpse for detailed investigation.

County Magistrate Li took Liu Yu and the yamen runners to the old woman's residence and asked him. The old woman pointed to Liu Yu and said, "Last night, this young master stayed in the room and brought a beautiful woman. For some reason, the woman cried and ran away in the middle of the night. The young master chased her away, but she did not return." Liu Yu shouted and said, "No, I only came here to stay here yesterday, and you are talking nonsense, how could there be a woman walking with you?" County Magistrate Li pondered for a long time, and then ordered the yamen runners to search it. After searching for another embroidered shoe under the kang mat in the west wing, asking who was wearing this shoe? The old woman said, "This shoe is worn by the woman who escaped, and left it when she escaped." Liu Yu retorted, "This shoe has nothing to do with me. I saw it in the house last night, so I put it under the kang mat."

After interrogation, it was found that the old woman's husband's surname was Wei, and her husband died early, with only one son, named Wei Bulun. She is now almost ill and has not yet married. Magistrate Li went to the chief court to investigate it again, but he did not see any abnormality, so he took Liu Yu and the yamen runners back.

Cheng Yu was passed to the county yard. Cheng Yu saw that the clothes and embroidered shoes were the items of his daughter. He also saw that the white jade bracelet in the package was carried by his daughter. However, the corpse of the daughter was not the corpse of his daughter. He was very shocked and suspicious, saying that Liu Yu was the suspect of killing his daughter. Liu Yu argued: "Uncle, I am not the murderer, but it is wronged!" Cheng Yu asked angrily: "If you are not the murderer, how can these embroidered shoes and clothes be explained? How can the jade bracelet be wrapped in your package?" Liu Yu shouted wronged and wanted to explain the words in detail. Li magistrate waved his hand to stop him and said, "Old Cheng, please calm down for the time being. Your daughter's body has not been seen. I think of it. He may not be killed. He heard that the mountain is often haunted. If the evil ghosts are used to understand it, he will definitely know the whereabouts of Cheng Ying." Li magistrate ordered Liu Yu to temporarily detain him, and then ordered all the yamen runners to go up the mountain to find Cheng Ying and look for him separately.

During the afternoon search, the yamen runner heard the sound of crying for help in the grass on the mountainside, and hurriedly looked at him. He saw a woman with disheveled hair, her chest was hung with a pocket cloth, her lower body was wearing shorts, she had no shoes under her feet, and only wrapped her feet cloth, and her face was haggard. When asked, he realized that Cheng Ying was the lady of the Cheng family. Cheng Ying was saved and cried about her experience:

Yesterday evening, Cheng Ying and his maid were lost. The sea of ​​people on the banks of the river were vast. Where can I find it? Cheng Ying was anxious to relieve her, and she was looking for a remote place. She was about to relieve her. Suddenly, she heard a cough behind her. She looked back in shock. When she saw an old woman driving a donkey cart approaching. The old woman laughed and said, "Miss, don't be afraid, my family is not far from here. Please get on the car and come to my house to take advantage of it." Cheng Ying was anxious and did not worry too much, and got on the car and followed the old woman.

This old woman was Wei Bulun's mother, an evil woman. The car was far away from the lanterns, and Wei's mother took out a handkerchief and shook it to Cheng Ying. Cheng Ying suddenly felt dizzy, lost consciousness, and fainted in the car.

Wei Bulun was a very vicious thief. He often pretended to be ghosts around Fenglongshan ruined temples, threatened passers-by and robbed people of money to eat, drink, and gamble. On the Lantern Festival, he and his mother drove a donkey cart to the riverside, and entered the crowd to find a way to take action. At night, the Lantern Festival was over, and he did not see his mother's trace. Suddenly, a young woman, who was a bit beautiful, became evil and followed him secretly. When he arrived at no one, he threw the woman over and held her hostage in the ruined temple. After forcibly committing evil, he was afraid that it would be exposed and later harmed him, and then he plundered his clothes and wealth and returned.

At the second round, when the wind and rain came, Wei Bulun returned in the rain. He heard that his mother had fascinated a beautiful woman and wanted to marry her as his wife. He was very happy when he heard that he wanted to be rude first and wait until the rice was ripe for food, and then forced her to marry her. When he entered the west wing, he saw a beautiful woman lying on the kang, and hurriedly stepped forward to take off Cheng Ying's clothes and wanted to go there. At this time, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. He was afraid that the woman's family would come, so he hurriedly carried Cheng Ying out of the west wing. In a hurry, he left an embroidered shoe in the house. Wei Bulun came to the west wing and hid Cheng Ying in the big cabinet. He listened to it again, and the person who knocked on the door was the person who was staying at the door, so he felt relieved.

Liu Yu knocked on the door and stayed at the door. Wei's mother didn't want Liu Yu to be admitted to the hospital, but she regarded him as a weak scholar and brought a heavy package. She became malicious and wanted to kill him to seek wealth, so she let Liu Yu enter the hospital.

The mother and son secretly plotted that when Liu Yu was sleeping soundly, they first accomplished his good things with Cheng Ying, and then killed Liu Yu. In the middle of the night, the rain stopped and the mother and son acted. Wei’s mother held a stick to monitor the west wing. Wei Bulun opened a large cabinet and took Cheng Ying out, placed it on the kang, trying to extricate the beastly movement. At this time, Cheng Ying was exposed to the rain and woke him up and said, how could he not resist it? He struggled desperately.

When Liu Yu heard the movement of the upper room, he went out to observe it. Seeing Wei Bulun's evil deeds, how could he stand by and watch it? He roared and stopped him. He was hit by Wei's mother with a stick, but failed and smashed the window frame. Wei Bulun was surprised and chased him out with a knife, trying to kill someone to destroy the traces. Liu Yu fled wildly, but Wei Bulun was afraid that Liu Yu would report to the official, so he wore a ghost mask to chase him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cheng Ying got up, knocked open the back window, and jumped out to escape. Due to the urgency of the time, he fled in the desert regardless of his clothes, hiding in the weeds, waiting for his family to rescue him.

After Cheng Yingxue, Li Magistrate immediately ordered the arrest of Wei Bulun and his son. The yamen runners quickly whipped Wei Bulun's house. Wei Bulun had already fled. When the yamen runners took Wei's mother to the ruined temple at the foot of the mountain, it was already dusk. He suddenly saw an evil ghost in green face and fangs jumping out of the ruined temple. The yamen runners were very scared and pulled their swords back step by step. The evil ghosts opened their teeth and claws, pressing them step by step. At this moment, two ghosts rushed out of the ruined temple, one man and one woman, with their hair disheveled, grinning, holding a wooden stick, and rushed towards the evil ghost. The evil ghost in front saw it, screaming and trying to escape. The two ghosts behind swung their batons and fell to the ground. They were wearing fake masks to take off. The original Wei Bulun! Suddenly, a gust of cold wind broke out, and the two ghosts behind were gone.

When the yamen runners saw it, they rushed forward and tied up Wei Bulun. The evil ghost in front was Wei Bulun pretended to be him, and the two ghosts in the latter were real ghosts. Wei Bulun was unintentionally, pretending to be a ghost and actually led to a real ghost!

Li Magistrate Li was promoted to the court to examine it that night. Wei Bulun confessed that he was afraid of being arrested by the officials after the incident. In order to deceive the yamen runners, he put Cheng Ying's clothes and embroidered shoes to the ruined temple, placed the side of the female corpse, and put Liu Yu on the fence cloth strips in the hands of the female corpse, making false appearances, and attempting to blame Liu Yu. He also confessed that a few days ago, a Shang man passed by Fenglong Mountain at night and went to the grave at the foot of the mountain. He wore a fake mask to pretend to be a ghost, and suddenly appeared from behind the grave, scaring the Shang man, plundered money, shot the Shang man to death, and buried him on the side of the road.

Cheng Yu was extremely surprised to see Cheng Ying return safely, and saw that his daughter was wearing a white jade bracelet. He suddenly felt it. When he arrived at the county government office, he asked Liu Yu in the lobby: "Is Mr. Liu a person from Zhending Mansion? Is your father Liu Qi?" Liu Yu replied: "It's true that the young son was ordered by his mother to go to Gaoyi to recognize his relatives with a white jade bracelet..." Before he finished speaking, Li Magistrate laughed and said: "Mr. Liu, you have gone through hardships and dangers to recognize your relatives, and your father-in-law has already been in front of him.

!” Cheng Yu said, “Mr. Liu, I am Cheng Yu! A few years ago, my family moved to Luancheng and did not tell my relatives. This is my fault.” Liu Yu was overjoyed when he heard this, so he knelt down and bowed, shouting, “My father-in-law is here, please accept a son-in-law’s greeting!” Li Magistrate said, “Miss Cheng was in danger and met Mr. Liu and called for help. This is God’s will. I hope that on the day of marriage, don’t forget to invite my official to drink and celebrate.”

Wei Bulun was guilty and was sentenced to beheading and executed. His mother, son, committed a crime and was exiled to Shuozhou. Wei's mother was unable to bear the heavy responsibility. When she was in the middle of the journey, she went to the river and drowned. The mother and son who were guilty of this ended up in this way, and deserved it!
Chapter completed!