The two fell in love, but the Prince of Chu only had five points, and the Tian family had ten points. Fortunately, it was remote in the mountains, so even if he did something wrong, no one would notice.
The person I hated had recently been mourned, and besides, it was hard for a woman to ask for a favor from a man. She had been waiting for a few more days, about half a month. The woman was so distraught that she couldn't hold herself back.
On this day, I found an opportunity to quietly call the old man into the room, enjoy the wine and comfort him with good words. He calmly asked: "Has your master ever been married?"
The old man said: "Never married."
The mother-in-law asked again: "What kind of person does your master choose to marry?"
The old man was drunk and said: "My prince and grandson once said that if he can find someone as charming as a lady, he will be satisfied!"
The mother-in-law's heart trembled and she said: "That's really what you said! Could it be that you are tricking me?"
The old man said: "How can an old man lie at his age?"
The mother-in-law said: "I asked your old man to act as a matchmaker and arrange a marriage for you and us. If you don't give up, I am willing to serve your master."
The old man said: "My master once told the old man that although it is a good marriage, it only involves the words master and apprentice, so I am afraid it will cause people to talk about it."
The mother-in-law said: "Your master and your late husband only made a verbal agreement before his death, and there was no such thing as going to the north to study, so he is not a junior brother.
Moreover, you live in a remote mountain with few neighbors. Who can talk about it? You old man will definitely endure hardships and teach you to have a cup of wedding wine." The old man agreed.
Before leaving, the mother-in-law called me again and told me: "If you agree, no matter morning or evening, come to the room and give me a reply. I am waiting here."
After the old man left, the mother-in-law was always thinking about him and was very anxious. She kept looking at the filial piety hall dozens of times, wishing that a thin rope could tie the pretty young boy's feet, pull him in and hug him together.
At dusk, the old woman got impatient and walked into the filial piety hall in the dark, listening to the sound in the left room. Suddenly there was a noise on the mourning seat. The old woman was startled, only to hear that the undead appeared. She hurried back to the inner room and took the
When the light came on, it turned out that the old man was drunk and was lying upright on the table.
The mother-in-law hated him so much that her teeth itched, but she didn't dare to scold him or wake him up, so she had to go back to her room and lay on the floor in pain all night.
The next day, she saw the old man walking back and forth without replying to his words. The mother-in-law felt itchy in her heart, so she called him into the room again and asked him about his past. The old man said, "No, no, no!"
The mother-in-law said: "Why can't it be done? Is it possible that you didn't explain what you said last night clearly?"
The old man said: "The old man has said it, and my princes and grandsons are also right. He said: 'My wife's appearance is of course needless to say. If you have not become a master or disciple, you can ignore it. But there are three things that are not right, and it is difficult to restore my wife.'
'"
The mother-in-law said: "Those three things?"
The old man said: "My Wang Sun said: 'There is a murderous weapon in the hall, but I am doing auspicious rituals with my wife. How can I bear it? It is also indecent.'
Secondly, Mr. Zhuang and his wife are a loving couple, and he is a moral and famous man. My talents and learning are extremely low, and I am afraid that my wife will look down on me.
The third time I came, my luggage was still behind and I came here empty-handed. I had nothing to pay for the betrothal gift and the banquet. For these three things, I couldn’t do it.’”
The mother-in-law said: "Don't worry about these three things. The murder weapon is not rooted, and there is an empty room behind the house. Just ask a few villagers to carry him out. This is one piece."
The second thing is, was my late husband a famous and virtuous man? At first he was unable to maintain his family, so he divorced his wife, and was said to have bad morals.
King Wei of Chu admired his false reputation and hired him as his prime minister with generous gifts. Knowing that he was too talented, he fled here. The month before last, he was walking alone at the foot of the mountain and met a widow. He fanned the grave of a widow and waited until the soil in the grave was dry before marrying her.
The stupid man teased him, took his fan from him, fanned him with dirt, and brought the fan back, but I tore it into pieces. I even vomited for him a few days before he died, so what kind of love was that!
Your master is young and eager to learn, and his future is limitless. Moreover, he is a royal and grandson, and the slave family is also the daughter of the Tian clan. They have similar family backgrounds. Today, the marriage is a perfect match.
The third thing is the cost of the betrothal gift and the banquet. The slave family has the final say. Who wants the betrothal gift? The banquet is also a trivial matter. The slave family has even accumulated twenty taels of private platinum to give it to your master and make a new set of clothes.
You go and talk about marriage again, and if it succeeds, tonight is an auspicious day for marriage, and we will get married." Old Cangtou received twenty taels of silver and replied to the king and grandson of Chu, who had no choice but to obey.
The old man replied to his mother-in-law, who was so happy that she took off her mourning clothes, redoubled her face, added red lips, and wore a new set of colorful clothes.
After that, he asked Cangtou Gu to call the guests who were approaching the villa, carry the corpse of Zhuang Sheng, and stop it in the dilapidated house at the back. He cleaned the thatched cottage and prepared for the wedding banquet.
The handsome orphan and widow are very charming, and Wang and Sun deliberately pick each other up.
Who is talking about a saddle and a horse? Tonight I am thinking of recruiting my husband soon.
That night, the woman tidied up the incense room, and the thatched cottage was decorated with bright lights. The king of Chu wore hairpin robes and Tian's brocade jacket and embroidered skirt, both standing under the flowers and candles. A man and a woman were as beautiful as jade and gold.
explain.
After paying homage to each other, the beloved ones entered the bridal chamber hand in hand, drank the cup, and were about to go to bed and undress and go to bed. Suddenly, King Chu's brows furrowed and he couldn't move an inch. He immediately fell to the ground and rubbed his chest with his hands, which only made him feel heartbroken.
Unbearable.
Mrs. Tian loved Wangsun so much that she didn't care about the shame of newlyweds. She hugged him, stroked him, and asked him the reason. Wangsun was in great pain and was speechless, drooling at the mouth, and was dying.
The old man was frightened and panicked. Tian asked hurriedly: "Is Wang Sun usually sick?"
The old man cried hastily: "This disease occurs every day, or occurs once every one or two years. There is no medicine to cure it. There is only one thing that can be used."
Tian asked urgently: "What did you use?"
Old Cangtou said: "The imperial doctor passed down a strange prescription, which will definitely cure the pain of a person's brain. Drinking hot wine will stop the pain immediately. Normally when this disease occurs, His Highness will tell the King of Chu to call a death row prisoner, tie him up and kill him, and take the medicine."
His brain is like a brain. Where can you find a human brain in the mountains today? I’m afraid the person will die!”
Tian said: "Where can I find the brains of living people? I wonder if they can be used for the brains of dead people?"
The old man said: "The imperial doctor said that if the brains of those who die less than forty-nine days have not dried up, they can still be used."
Tian said: "My husband died only twenty days ago, why not open the coffin and take it out?"
The old man said: "Yes, yes, I'm afraid my wife won't do it."
Tian said: "I and Wang Sun are married. A woman is willing to serve her husband with her own body. How can she care about others?"
So Tian ordered the old man to wait on the king and grandson. He found an ax for chopping firewood, carried the ax in his right hand, and held a lamp in his left hand. He hurriedly came to the broken house at the back, put the lamp on the coffin lid, raised the ax with both hands, and pushed the coffin head with all his strength.
Chop away.
Fortunately, the coffin was crude, and a piece of wood was chopped off with one stroke of the ax. Another blow, and the lid of the coffin cracked. Zhuang Sheng sighed from inside the coffin, pushed the lid aside, and sat up.
Although Tian was cruel, she was still a woman. She was so frightened that her legs were weak and her muscles were numb, her heart was beating wildly, and her ax fell to the ground unconsciously.
At this time, Zhuang Sheng shouted from the coffin: "My lady, help me up."
The woman had no choice but to help Zhuangsheng out of the coffin. Zhuangsheng brought a lamp, and the mother-in-law came into the room with him.
The mother-in-law knew that there were two masters and servants of the King of Chu and his grandson in the room. She was so frightened that her face turned pale and she sweated a lot. She took one step and took two steps back.
When I looked inside the room, I saw that the decoration was still festive and beautiful, but the master and servant had long since disappeared.
Although the mother-in-law was secretly shocked and suspicious, she was relieved and she said to Zhuang Sheng, "Since your death, I have missed you day and night. I just heard the sound in the coffin. I thought that there were many resurrections among the ancients.
I hope you will be resurrected, so I used an ax to open the coffin. Thank God, you are reborn! This is really a great blessing for my family!"
Zhuang Sheng said: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. It's just one piece. My Madam has not been keeping her filial piety for a long time, so why is she wearing a brocade coat and an embroidered skirt?"
The mother-in-law explained: "When you open a coffin to see happiness, you don't dare to impulsively subdue the evil, so you use brocade to get good omens."
Zhuang Sheng said: "That's all! There is another section. Why not put the coffin in the sleeping room instead of leaving it in the broken house? Isn't it also a good sign?"
The mother-in-law kept mumbling for a long time, but she had nothing to say.
When Zhuang Sheng saw the cups and plates listed again, he didn't ask why and asked Tian to warm the wine to drink, while his mother-in-law hurriedly went to prepare it.
Zhuang Sheng let go of the wine and drank as much as he could. The woman failed to keep up with the current situation and hoped to make her husband happy and become husband and wife again. She sat next to the wine pot, acted coquettishly and sweetly, and tried to coax Zhuang Sheng into bed with him.
Zhuang Sheng got drunk and picked up a pen and paper and wrote:
"In the past, we settled our enemies' debts. When you loved me, I didn't love you.
If I get married to you again, I'm afraid you might chop the Heavenly Spirit Cap with your axe."
After reading these four lines of the poem, the woman was filled with shame and was speechless. Zhuang Sheng wrote again:
"What's the benefit of a couple for a hundred nights? When you meet the new person, you forget the old one.
How can you wait for the coffin to be opened when it is struck by an ax?"
After Zhuang Sheng finished writing, he said to Tian, "I will teach you how to look at two people now."
Zhuang Sheng pointed out with his hand, and the mother-in-law turned around to look, only to see the King of Chu, Sun, and Lao Cangtou walking in. The mother-in-law was startled. She turned around and disappeared from Zhuang Sheng. When she turned back, even the master and servants of King Chu and Sun were gone.
In fact, the kings and grandsons of Chu and Lao Cangtou there were all transformed by Zhuang Sheng's invisibility method.
The woman was in a trance, and felt that she had no face to live in the world again. She took off her embroidered belt from her waist, hanged herself from the beam, what a shame!
Seeing that Tian was dead, Zhuang Sheng came down and placed him in the coffin. He used the earthenware basin as a musical instrument, played the drums to form a rhyme, and composed a song leaning on the coffin.
The song says:
"I am a careless man who gave birth to Yi and I. I am not Yi's husband and Yi is not my wife. We met by chance and we live together in the same room.
The time has come to an end, there will be union and separation. People are unscrupulous, and emotions change between life and death. Now that true love is seen, what is the point of not dying?
When she is born, she chooses to take it, but when she dies, she returns to emptiness. When she hangs on me, she gives me a giant axe; when she hangs on her, she comforts her with lyrics.
When the ax sounds, I am resurrected, and when the singing sounds come out, I know! Hey, when the pot is broken and there is no more drum, who am I and who am I?"
Zhuang Sheng finished singing and recited four lines of poetry:
"If you die, I will bury you; if I die, you will marry.
If I really die, it will be a big joke!"
Zhuang Sheng laughed loudly and broke the pot into pieces. He set a fire in the thatched cottage and burned the whole house, even the coffin was reduced to ashes. Only the Tao Te Ching and the South China Sutra were not destroyed.
Zhuang Sheng traveled far and wide and never married.
"Dugu Wentian, why don't you shut up! Why do you say such heart-wrenching words?" Zu Wu shouted with a furious look on his face.