Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Gu Sheng, born in Jinling, 25 years old, single and poor, learned and talented, depended on his mother for life, good at calligraphy and painting, and made a living by it.

There is an empty house opposite the door, where an old woman and her daughter live. Because there is no man in the family, they don't have much contact with outsiders.One day Gu Sheng came back from his trip and saw a young girl walking out of his mother's room. She was about ten years old, she was handsome and elegant, and she was rare in the world.

Shang Sheng entered the room and asked his mother, "Who was that girl just now?"

The mother said, "It was the girl from the opposite door who came to borrow scissors from me. She said that there was only one mother in the family, and this girl was not like a child from a poor family. When asked why she didn't marry, she said, 'Mother is old and can't bear to abandon her'. Tomorrow you can go to visit, by the way, if the old lady is willing, the man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried, so she happens to marry her daughter."

The next day, Gu Sheng went to visit the opposite door. The girl's mother was a deaf old woman, her family was poor, and she relied on her daughter's knitting and embroidery for her livelihood.Gu Sheng used marriage as a test, but the old lady had no objection, but the young girl remained silent, with a very unhappy expression.

Gu Sheng came back to discuss with his mother, and the two speculated privately, "Could it be that the girl dislikes my family's poverty? Seeing her taciturn and seldom laughing, she is as beautiful as peaches and plums, but as cold as frost and snow, she is really strange."

One day Gu Sheng was sitting quietly in his study, and a young man came to ask for a painting. He was handsome, but his words and deeds were very frivolous.From then on, the young man would come every three or two days, and the two gradually became familiar with each other, hugging each other and forgetting about it.

One time, a young man saw a girl walking by and asked, "Who is she?" Gu Sheng replied, "The girl next door." The young man smiled and said, "So beautiful, but why is her expression so cold, it's daunting."

After a while, Gu Sheng came into the room to meet his mother. The old lady said: "Just now, the woman came to borrow rice, and the family has not been cooking for several days. This woman is extremely filial, and the family is poor. I feel sorry for her. I can give some relief in the future."

Gu Sheng obeyed his mother's order and came to visit with a bucket of rice on his back. The girl accepted the rice, but her words were still cold and she did not thank her.In the days to come, the girl would often come to Gu's house and rush out the door. Whenever Gu's mother was doing some hand-knitting, she would come forward to help.Go in and out of the hall again, helping Cao with housework, just like a daughter-in-law.Seeing it, Gu Sheng was secretly grateful. Every time he sold a painting, he always gave her a portion of the silver taels. The girl accepted it calmly, but never mentioned the polite words of gratitude.

Once, Gu's mother fell ill in private, the pain was unbearable, and she groaned day and night. After hearing the news, the girl took the initiative to take care of the patient, applying medicine and cleaning it, meticulously.

Gu's mother felt very uneasy, and said: "Oh, if there is a daughter-in-law like a young lady, she will die in old age without regret." The young lady comforted her: "Young master Gu is a hundred times more filial than my orphan and widowed mother."

Mother Gu sighed and said, "Although that is the case, there are some trivial things at the bedside, which are only suitable for women, and men can't help them. Besides, I am old, and I may be buried in the ground one day. The only thing that makes me worry Yes, the Gu family has no offspring yet."

While talking, Gu Sheng came in, and his mother cried, "Son, this time I got sick, thanks to the girl who took care of me. You must always remember your great kindness and virtue." Hearing this, Gu Sheng bowed down in a hurry to express his thanks.

The girl said: "Master, I have never thanked you for taking care of my mother, and you don't need to be polite. You don't have to thank me here and there."

One day when the girl went out, Gu Sheng stared at him intently, but the girl suddenly turned around and smiled sweetly.Gu Sheng was overjoyed, and followed her back home, provocatively, the girl did not resist, and the two happily made love.

After the matter was over, the girl warned: "This matter must never be repeated." Gu Sheng remained silent, and visited the door the next day as usual, with words of flattery, the girl looked stern and ignored him.

The white lady still rushes out the door from time to time, and when the two meet, the girl's expression is stern, without any false words.If Gu Sheng took the initiative to strike up a conversation, the girl responded with a cold face.

On this day, the girl asked Gu Sheng in a quiet place, "Who is that boy during the day?"

Gu Sheng told the truth, "He is a scholar next door, and he came to buy paintings."

The girl said: "This man speaks frivolously and is rude to me frequently. For the sake of friendship between you two, I didn't bother with him. You tell him for me: If you talk crazy again, you will seek your own death."

The next day the young man came, Gu Sheng conveyed the girl's words, and said: "Be careful in the future, and don't violate her again." That I raped her?"

The young man said: "If the two of you have nothing to do with each other, why did she only tell you these obscene words?" Gu Sheng was tongue-tied and unable to answer in embarrassment.

The young man said: "I also have a message for you to convey: Please advise the woman not to be hypocritical. If not, don't blame me for spreading the scandal between you two." After finishing speaking, he left bitterly.

Gu Sheng was so angry that he never had any contact with the young man again. That night, Gu Sheng sat alone in the bedroom, never thinking of a girl pushing the door in, and said: "My relationship with the young master has not been broken, this is God's will." Gu Sheng was ecstatic, and put The girl hugged her arms, and was about to make love to me, when suddenly she heard footsteps approaching quickly, the two stared in surprise, but it was the boy who came uninvited.

Gu Sheng said angrily, "What do you mean?"

The young man sneered and said: "No other meaning, just to see how the chaste and strong woman steals a man." Looking at the girl, he said: "This time, you will have nothing to say when you catch the rape in bed."

The girl's willow eyebrows stood on end, she remained silent, quickly turned over her blouse, revealing a leather pouch, and put her hand inside, a white light flashed in an instant, and in her hand was a crystal dagger that was about a foot long.

As soon as the young man saw the sharp weapon, he turned pale and ran away.The girl chased outside, looking around vaguely, the boy didn't know where to hide.She pondered for a while, and threw the dagger in the air, only to hear a sudden sound, a bright light flashed across the sky, bright like a white rainbow, Er Er fell to the ground with a sound, Gu Sheng took out a candle to illuminate, a white fox in the grass Lie dead dead, decapitated.

The girl said: "This thing is the young master's child molestation. I wanted to spare its life, but who knows that the fox wants to die, so I have to let it go." Putting the dagger in his pocket, Gu Sheng took her hand and dragged it into the room, thinking about it. Revisiting the joy of fish and water, the girl shook her head and said, "Why is there any interest in being disturbed by the fox demon? Come back tomorrow night."

The next night, the girl came to the appointment on time, and the two of them were lingering, Gu Sheng asked: "The girl can fly swords, are you a sword fairy?"

The girl said: "This is not something you should know. Please keep it a secret for me. If it is revealed, it may cause disaster."

Gu Sheng nodded, and asked again: "When will I marry you?"

The girl said: "We are already sharing the same bed, as long as you regard me as your wife in your heart, why bother to get married?"

Gu Sheng said, "Do you think I'm poor?"

The girl said: "My son's family is poor, so is a lowly concubine rich? The reason why I am happy with you is because I pity you for your downfall." She stepped forward to leave, and said before parting: "You can only do it occasionally. I will come when I come, son, a manly man, don't be greedy for beauty all the time."

When the two met later, whenever Gu Sheng wanted to be alone with the girl, she would stay far away, and only concentrate on doing housework and serving Gu's mother.

A few months later, the girl's mother died, and Gu Sheng helped with the funeral.The girl lived alone from now on, Gu Sheng thought it was an opportunity, so he climbed over the wall and entered this night, and whispered the girl's name through the window, but there was no response for a long time.Taking a closer look, the doors and windows are blocked, the bedroom is empty, and the girl has disappeared.

For several consecutive days, there was no news of the girl. Gu Sheng couldn't help but feel disappointed. At noon this day, the girl finally appeared. The two met. Everyone has their own secrets, and I can't tell you the truth for the time being. There is one thing that I would like to ask the young master to help out with."

Gu Sheng asked, "What's the matter?"

The girl said: "I have been pregnant for eight months, and I will give birth soon. The identity of the concubine is unknown. Although she can give birth to the son, she cannot take care of her. Please ask the son to find a concubine. The sooner the better."

Gu Shengnuo promised to go back and bring up the matter with his mother. The old lady smiled and said: "This girl is really strange. The Ming Dynasty is marrying her and she doesn't want to, but she secretly fell in love with my son."

After more than a month, the girl did not show up for several days. The old lady was suspicious, so she came to visit the door in person, and saw that the door was closed. In the room, a baby was lying on the bed in the bedroom, crying non-stop.

Surprised and delighted, the old lady asked, "When was it born?"

The girl said: "It's been three days, it's a boy."

The old lady picked up the baby and teased it, and said with a smile: "Good girl, thank you for giving birth to offspring for the Gu family, but you are a weak girl alone, what do you plan to do in the future?"

The girl said: "I still have something on my mind, so I can't tell my mother. The child will be taken care of by you." As soon as she finished speaking, she drifted away.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, the girl pushed open the door and came in with a leather bag in her hand. She smiled and said to Gu Sheng, "I'm done, I'm here to say goodbye to you."

Gu Sheng asked: "What's going on? Farewell? Where are you going?"

The girl said: "The young master takes care of his mother's kindness, and he never forgets it. I told you before that 'you can never do it again', which means that repaying your kindness is not on the bed. The young master's family is poor and has no wife. From the moment I met, I called I made up my mind to continue the incense for you. I thought I would be able to conceive once we had sex, but who would have thought that menstruation would come, so I made an exception and had intercourse with you again. Now that I have given birth to your son, my mind is over, and I have no regrets."

Gu Sheng asked, "What's in the skin?"

The girl said: "The head of the enemy." When I opened it, it was bloody.

Gu Sheng panicked, collected himself, and asked why.

The girl said: "I didn't tell you in the past, because the matter was confidential, and I was afraid of leaking the wind. Now that the big event has been accomplished, you might as well tell the truth: I am from Zhejiang, and my father lives in Sima. He was murdered by the enemy, and the whole family was ransacked and killed The concubine escaped with her mother behind her back, and has been incognito for three years. The reason why she didn't take revenge immediately was because the mother needed to take care of her. Later, the mother passed away, and I became pregnant again, which delayed me for a while. A few days ago, I Not at home every night, that is to check the residence of the enemy, memorize the roads and gates, and make sure nothing will go wrong.” After speaking, he got up and wanted to leave, and said: “I will entrust you to raise the child. The son’s fortune is not good, and his life is not long, but the son You can glorify the lintel. Don't disturb mother in the middle of the night, I'm going."

Three years later, Gu Sheng really died. His son passed the Jinshi examination and took care of his grandmother until his death.