Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Changhua County Mansheng, teaching in Yuhang.Occasionally passing by the market, passing by a building, suddenly a lychee fell from upstairs and hit Mansheng on the shoulder.Man Sheng looked up, and saw a young girl standing by the window, she was very graceful, Man Sheng was unconsciously moved, stared at it for a long time, and went crazy.The girl bowed her head and smiled, and walked into the house.

Man Sheng wanted to get close to the young girl, so he asked the nearby residents, and learned that she was the daughter of Jia Shi, the procuress of the brothel. She was named Xi Hou, and she was expensive.

The next day, Man Sheng was preparing for the assassination post, and went to Fengyi.The two are happy, and the love is endless.Afterwards, Man Sheng recited a poem between the pillows and banquets, "The night is still young on the greasy copper plate, and the musk orchid fragrance is whispered on the bedside. The new servant girl will make up the phoenix in the morning, and the king of Chu Meng will never come back."

Xihou frowned and said: "Although the concubine's status is humble, she has always hoped to stay with the man she loves forever. Since the young master is alone, can you marry me?" Set for life.Xihou said: "Reciting poems is not my specialty. When I have a chance in the future, I will ask you to give me some pointers. By the way, how much land does your family have?"

Man Sheng said: "Fifty acres of Susukina, with several broken houses." Xihou said: "After I marry you, I hope you will stop teaching. Forty acres of land are enough for self-sufficiency, and the remaining ten acres can be used for planting millet and weaving. Five bolts of cloth, during the Taiping period, you don’t have to worry about food and clothing. From now on, we will get together behind closed doors, the prince reads, the concubine weaves, and in my spare time, I can drink and recite poems, be happy and carefree, better than a prince’s house.”

Man Sheng asked: "How much is the girl worth?" Xi Hou said: "Mom is greedy. I don't have 200 taels of silver, so I'm afraid I won't let her go. I usually don't know how to save money, and I don't have much savings around me. My son tried to raise 100 taels of silver. Let me figure it out."

Man Sheng said: "I am poor and destitute, where can I get 100 taels of silver? Now, I can only ask friends for help. I have a classmate who is a county magistrate in Hunan. He has invited me to visit many times. Because of the long distance, I have been I didn't agree. For the sake of the girl, I have to make an exception. You wait for me here, and I will be back in about three or four months."

Mansheng closed the school and went south to visit friends.When I arrived in Hunan, my friend had been dismissed from office long ago, and now he lives in a house, in a bleak situation.Full of disappointment.After a long journey, there was not much money left around, and it was difficult to return home, so he had to set up a library in Hunan to teach apprentices. Three years later, he still hadn't collected a hundred taels of silver.

Once, Man Sheng hit his disciple several times with a ruler because he was fond of reading and playing. Unexpectedly, the disciple couldn't think about it for a while, so he threw himself into the river.The disciple's father was aggrieved and reported the matter to the government. The county magistrate issued an official document to arrest Mansheng and put him in prison.Fortunately, the students were running around and visiting from time to time, so although Man Sheng was in prison, he didn't suffer too much.

Since Xihou parted from Mansheng, he closed the door and refused to pick up guests. The madam knew the truth and knew that her daughter was stubborn, so she didn't dare to push her too much, so she let her go.A certain wealthy businessman has heard about Xihou's reputation for a long time, so he asks a procuress to be a matchmaker. He wants to marry Xihou through his door, and he will spare no expense of money. He is determined to win, but Xihou refuses.

It happened that a wealthy businessman went to Hunan to do business. He heard that Mansheng was released after serving his sentence, so he bribed the government with silver taels, asking them to try to imprison Mansheng and not let him out of prison.After returning, he asked the old bustard to tell Xihou, lying and saying: Mansheng is dead.

Xihou didn't believe it, and the old bust advised: "Whether Man Sheng is dead or alive, he is a poor man. Instead of suffering and suffering with poor ghosts, it is better to follow rich businessmen and live in rich clothes." Xi Hou said: "Although Man Sheng is poor, But the character is noble. And the businessman is full of money and has a dirty mind, I don’t want to marry her. Besides, it’s unbelievable to hear the hearsay, Mansheng must still be alive.”

The businessman failed in one plan, so he made another plan and sent someone to write a suicide note in fake Man Sheng's handwriting.When Xihou received the letter, he was disheartened and cried morning and night.The old bustard persuaded: "I have raised you since I was a child, and it has not been easy for so many years. You don't want to receive guests, and you don't want to marry. How can you live? I can't raise you forever."

Xihou had no choice but to marry a merchant, who bought her many clothes and jewelry and loved her very much.A year later, Xihou gave birth to a son.

On the other hand, with the help of his students, Man Sheng was cleared of his innocence and released from prison without charge. When he learned that the businessman framed him, he thought, "I have no grievances with the businessman. Why did he plot against me?" Later, when he heard that Xihou was married, he was full of depression, so he wrote the whole story into a letter and entrusted the old wine seller to pass it on to Xihou.

When Xihou learned the whole story, he couldn't help being sad, and finally realized that everything was caused by the businessman. In anger, he killed the infant baby while the businessman was out, and went to Mansheng with the jewelry.

The businessman was furious and went to the government to sue. The county magistrate was ashamed of the businessman's behavior and seized the pleadings, but refused to accept it.