Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 199 A Story Within a Story
"Red wedding dress? Could it be..."

Hearing this, Tian Ye and Fan Shoulin finally realized something.

Although the two of them didn't give an answer, the guy nodded with a deeply appreciative expression: "You two guessed right, Xia'er was taken away by Zhang's family, and she was taken to be married to Zhang Quan." Yin marriage."

Yin marriage, also known as ghost marriage, is a bad custom among the people.

Some boys and girls died of illness or accidents before they got married. Some people believed that if they did not get married for the deceased, the deceased would have resentment and lingering ghosts, which would lead to unrest in the house.

Moreover, the appearance of solitary graves in the family will also affect the prosperity of future generations.

At the same time, some Feng Shui masters will try their best to encourage some wealthy families to hold ghost marriages in order to earn more money.

In other words, even if the person died, the wedding still had to be held.

"You say that this family, if you are married to a ghost, you should be married to a ghost, after all, this is also an ancient custom.

Under normal circumstances, Miss Xia'er can be married first, and she will be buried with Zhang Quan when she grows old one day.

If this were the case, the following tragedies would not have happened.

The Zhang family didn't know what they were thinking, but they went so mad that they quietly took Miss Xia'er away.

It is said that in order to marry Zhang Quan as a pair of ghosts, he completely ignored Miss Xia'er's cries and pleas, washed her up, changed her into a red wedding dress, and then... drowned her alive..."

"His!"

Hearing this, Fan Shoulin and Tian Ye could not help but gasp.

This is too insane, right?
They have also heard of ghost marriage, but it is usually the living who marry the dead, so that they become husband and wife in name, and they are buried together after the other party dies.

But what the Zhang family did was too heartless. For their own selfishness, they even drowned a fresh life.

"Xiao Er, is this true or not? It's not a rumor, is it?"

Tian Ye couldn't help asking.

"You two guest officers, this matter is absolutely true, even though that Miss Xia'er has transformed into a ghost, she is not like some ghosts who kill indiscriminately.

She only killed the Zhang family, and besides avenging herself, she also avenged her unjustly killed mother..."

"So, she wiped out the Zhang family?"

"No..." The man shook his head: "I heard that seven or eight people were killed, and an elder of the Zhang family suddenly took out a bronze mirror.

It is said that the bronze mirror is a magic tool for suppressing evil, which was obtained by Zhang family's ancestors with a lot of money from an expert.

Miss Xia'er seemed to be afraid of the bronze mirror, and finally left.

But she said that she would not stop there, and she must let everyone in the Zhang family get retribution.

The people of the Zhang family were frightened, and they didn't bother to arrange the funeral, so they went to an expert to set up a net at home.

On the second night, Miss Xia'er came to Zhang's house again, and there was a fierce fight between the two sides.

This time her strength seems to have become stronger, and even the expert invited by the Zhang family is no match.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of hand, a scholar suddenly rushed out, calling Miss Xia'er's name loudly..."

"Why does this involve another scholar?"

The two of Tian Ye were surprised.

"Who said it wasn't? At the beginning, everyone didn't know the twists and turns of the story.

But as soon as the scholar appeared, Miss Xia'er didn't do anything, threw herself into the scholar's arms and cried for a while, then left with the scholar.

It wasn't until later that the big guys found out that this scholar was Miss Xia'er's favorite man.

Back then, Miss Xia'er met the scholar by accident, and they fell in love at first sight.

Although the scholar's family is poor, he knows how to read books, writes good calligraphy, and knows medical skills. He often helps his neighbors to treat illnesses. Everyone likes him.

Because of this, Miss Xia'er's parents did not object to the relationship between the two parties.

Later, the two got engaged and planned to get married in a few months.Unexpectedly, not long after the engagement, the Zhang family came to the door to offer a betrothal gift..."

Hearing this, Fan Shoulin couldn't help asking: "Isn't Miss Xia'er already engaged? Why is the Zhang family still coming to offer a betrothal gift?"

"The specific reason is not clear, but some people say it is because of the horoscope.

The Zhang family tested Zhang Quan's horoscope, saying that the guy's fate is too hard, and he must find a woman born in a cloudy year, a cloudy moon, and a cloudy day to get married.

It may be that the Zhang family found out that Miss Xia'er's birthday happened to be a cloudy year, so they rushed to the door.

Miss Xia'er's parents didn't dare to offend the Zhang family, so they could only greet them with smiles and politely declined, saying that their daughter had already been betrothed and would be married in a few months.

Generally speaking, since Miss Xia'er is already engaged, the Zhang family shouldn't make any further entanglements.

In the end, the people they sent were quite arrogant, dropped the dowry, and said that Miss Xia'er's engagement was not counted, and they would go to the scholar to take the initiative to withdraw the engagement.

Miss Xia'er's parents thought that the scholar would definitely not agree, and they were still worried for him, worried that the Zhang family would be unfavorable to him.

But it never occurred to him that within two days, the scholar actually came to resign, saying that the Zhang family made up some money for him...

Miss Xia'er cried to death, but the scholar left without looking back.

At that time, many people secretly called him a spineless scholar and a money-grubbing villain.

It wasn't until later that he realized that he had misunderstood him. The reason why he came to break the engagement was not for money, but was threatened by the Zhang family.

The Zhang family threatened him, saying that as long as he didn't withdraw the engagement, they would find a way to make Xia'er's family die.

The scholar was originally full of pride, if the Zhang family threatened his life, it might not work.

However, the Zhang family threatened the lives of Xia'er and her parents, so the scholar had to bow his head.

Because he knew very well in his heart that with the power of the Zhang family, it would be a breeze if he really wanted to match Xia'er's family.

After the divorce, the scholar ran away from home and disappeared.

At first, everyone thought he had made a fortune and moved to the city.

It wasn't until after this incident that many truths slowly emerged.

It turned out that the scholar did not give up, he was very rational, he knew that if he wanted to deal with the Zhang family, he had to be admitted and become an official to have a chance.

He ran away from home because he didn't want to be disturbed, so he devoted himself to studying hard and finally passed the Juren examination.

I originally planned to come back after passing the Jinshi examination and becoming an official, but it may be because I was uneasy, so I came back quietly, but Miss Xia'er is no longer alive..."

Speaking of this, the clerk couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if he was feeling sorry for the rough fate of the scholar and Xia'er.

"Where does that scholar live?" Tian Ye couldn't help asking.

"Live in...Huh? You two don't want to go to that scholar, do you? But don't go, everyone can't avoid it."

Tian Ye smiled: "Didn't you say that Miss Xia'er doesn't hurt innocent people?"

"That's what I said, but she is a ghost after all, who is not afraid?"

"It's okay, you might as well tell us where the scholar lives, and let's take a look from afar."

"Why do you scholars..."

As soon as I said this, the man saw Tian Ye took out more than ten copper coins and put them on the table, so he changed the subject: "Well, let me tell you, the scholar lives near Tangjiaqiao, from the town to the north..."

The buddy explained the route, and finally said: "But I don't know if the scholar still lives there, he used to live there."

"What's the name of the scholar?"

"Looks like someone named Tang..."

"Thank you, Xiao Er. In this way, you can help us deliver the wine outside the town, and I will give you ten copper coins for traveling expenses."

"Outside town? Where?"

"It's at the east end of the town, less than a mile out of the town. There are many scholars there. You should be able to see them as soon as you leave the town."

"Oh, that's fine... But I still want to persuade the two of you, it's best not to join in this kind of excitement."

"Don't worry, we know what to do."

Tian Ye and Fan Shoulin had already been aroused with curiosity, and decided to take a look for themselves.

As for female ghosts or not...is that a thing?As a scholar, the most feared thing is female ghosts, not to mention the scholars of Wendao Academy.

There was a student named Zuo Zhengyi in the academy who once had an adventure.

One day in hot summer, in order to study at ease, I went to the countryside and found an idle courtyard to study at ease.

This small courtyard is very cool and quiet, Zuo Zhengyi is quite satisfied.

A few nights later, Zuo Zhengyi opened the window and sat at the table, drinking tea while shaking his head and reading aloud.

Not long after, he suddenly felt a coolness on the back of his neck, as if someone was blowing air from behind.

Turning around, there was no one.

He thought that he had an illusion, but he didn't care, and continued to study.

After a while, I felt someone blowing on the back of my neck again, and when I turned around, there was still no one.However, he seemed to hear a woman's snicker faintly.

Could it be... a female ghost?

With this in mind, Zuo Zhengyi is not only not afraid, but has some expectations.

He has heard many beautiful legends about scholars, female ghosts and female foxes, and sometimes he will inevitably have sweet dreams.

If it was a murderous female ghost, why would she still tease him?It must be a strange female ghost.

After a while, Zuo Zhengyi felt itchy on the back of his neck, as if someone was teasing him with the ends of his hair.

So, he simply put down the book, went to the bed and lay down.

As a result, a woman really appeared, walked to the bed and looked at him with a smile.

Needless to say what happened after that, it was naturally a cloud and rain.

Afterwards, the woman asked, "Why are you not afraid at all?"

Zuo Zhengyi asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"He is a ghost."

"Ghosts are not necessarily harmful to people, and we scholars are upright and not afraid of evil ghosts."

Afterwards, the woman came every night, but it didn't affect Zuo Zhengyi's studies. Instead, she persuaded him to study hard so that he could pass the exam as soon as possible.

Later, Zuo Zhengyi finally learned of the woman's life experience. Her nickname was Yi'er, she was originally the daughter of a wealthy family, and she had read some poetry and books since she was a child.

Unfortunately, he died of illness and was buried on the hillside not far from this courtyard.

For some unknown reason, he finally became a lonely ghost, wandering around the world for more than thirty years.

Zuo Zhengyi sympathized with Yan'er's experience, and Yan'er brought him a lot of happiness, so he spent a lot of money to find a few eminent monks to help Yan'er cross over, so that she would not be a lonely ghost again.

A year later, Zuo Zhengyi accidentally met a woman who looked exactly like Yan'er who had been with him for three months.

What surprised Zuo Zhengyi even more was that there was also a small plum blossom-shaped birthmark above the left eyebrow of the woman in front of him.

At the same time, the woman was also staring at Zuo Zhengyi in a daze.

Puzzled, Zuo Zhengyi couldn't help but stepped forward to strike up a conversation, and when he asked, coincidentally, the woman was also named Yan'er.

After talking again, Yan'er said that she had a fall last year and was in a coma for three whole months.During the period, it seemed that she had a long dream, in which she saw Zuo Zhengyi, that's why she was in a daze just now.

Zuo Zhengyi was even more surprised, and asked about the time when Yan'er was in a coma in detail, and it happened to coincide with the time when he met the female ghost named Yan'er.

The night Yan'er woke up was also the night when he asked the eminent monk to cross over for the female ghost named Yan'er.

With such a romantic relationship, Zuo Zhengyi naturally didn't want to miss it, so he asked someone to go to Yan'er's house to propose marriage. It didn't take long before he and Yan'er got married and became a loving couple.

After that, Zuo Zhengyi came to Wendao Academy to study, and somehow his adventure spread in the academy and became a good story.

Tian Ye and Fan Shoulin were very interested in the tortuous and bizarre story told by the buddy, and wanted to witness it with their own eyes.

Of course, they are not the kind of pedantic scholars, since they dare to go, of course they still have a certain confidence.

But which one of the students who come out of Wendao Academy is not both civil and military?Courageous?

The key point is that according to the staff, although this Miss Xia'er is a fierce ghost, she is kind-hearted and only kills enemies, not innocent people indiscriminately.

Then there is nothing to be afraid of.

According to the buddy's guidance, the two found Tangjiaqiao.

Tangjiaqiao is an ancient stone arch bridge, which is also a place name, and there are several villages nearby.

When we arrived at Tangjiaqiao, the sky was slowly getting dark, and there was no one outside.

Later, I finally saw a man who came back late. After some inquiries, I found out that the scholar's full name was Tang Jiaye, and he lived in Gukan Village on the west side of Tangjia Bridge.

"However, I heard that he doesn't live in the village now, and if he wants to go back to the village, all the people in the village will probably have to be scared away.

I heard that he used to like to study in an old house outside the village, you can go and have a look. "

"Thank you uncle."

"Hey, you scholars are really unreasonable."

The uncle sighed, turned his head and left.

After all, everyone was avoiding Tang Jiaye like a plague god, but some people took the initiative to look for it.

Afterwards, Tian and Ye found a deserted old house about one mile away from Gukan Village.

This old house was built by a rich man in the past. It is said that the house was not clean, so it was abandoned later.

But Tang Jiaye didn't care. Sometimes he thought the villagers were noisy, so he went to study in the old house by himself.

This time, Xia'er left with him, presumably she also came to this old house.

"Hey, you two want to court death?"

As soon as Tian Ye and Fan Shoulin approached the old house, an old man in a gray robe came out from the darkness, blocked their way and roared in a low voice.

Immediately afterwards, another young man came out, cast a gloomy glance at Tian Ye and the others, and then shouted, "Who are you?"

The other party's arrogant attitude and question made Tian Ye's face darken, and he replied dissatisfiedly: "What? You are from the government? You still want to check passers-by?"

"Young people, don't be too arrogant. To tell you the truth, there is a ghost in this courtyard. I advise you two to leave quickly."

Hearing this, Fan Shoulin couldn't help but smiled: "Old man, Xiaosheng, to tell you the truth, we came here specially to see you."

"you……"

The old man in gray blew his beard and stared in anger.

……

(End of this chapter)