An Daye is from Lulong County, Hebei Province. He was able to talk when he was born, but his mother stopped him by pouring dog blood on him. When he grew up, he was very handsome, and no one among his peers could compare with him. He was also very smart in reading, and everyone from famous families rushed to propose marriage to him. His mother had a dream, saying: "My son should be a princess as his wife."
An Daye believed it. Until he was fifteen or sixteen, he did not see the dream being verified, and he slowly regretted it.
One day, An Daye was sitting alone in the room and suddenly smelled a strange aroma. Then a maid ran in and said, "The princess is here." After that, she spread a long felt on the ground from outside the door to the bed. When An Daye was in shock, a girl walked in holding the servant's shoulder.
An Daye was very surprised and didn’t know what to say. The princess also lowered her head and remained relatively silent. An Daye used to like playing chess, and the Go game was often placed next to his seat. An Daye moved his seat to the table, and the princess got up with him with a smile. After just over thirty moves, the maid disrupted the chess game and said, "The prince-in-law has lost."
The princess stood up and wanted to leave, but An Sheng stood up in a hurry, blocked the way, and closed the door. I saw the maid taking out something that looked like a leather steak and blowing it on the spot, causing clouds of mist to come out. Immediately, the clouds everywhere closed up, and nothing could be seen in the dimness; when he looked again, the princess, maid, and maid had disappeared.
After An Sheng’s mother found out, she was very suspicious of a monster. An Sheng thought about her dreams at night and could no longer let go of Princess Yunluo. He was eager to repair the house and had no time to consider whether it would be a natural punishment. He rushed the repairs day and night, set a deadline, and finally had the house renovated.
Before this, there was a scholar Yuan Dayong from Luanzhou who lived in an alley near An Daye's house and once visited him with a famous post. An Sheng rarely interacted with people, so he made excuses for him to go out. He also took advantage of Yuan Sheng's absence to pay him a return visit.
A month later, the two happened to meet outside the door. They saw Yuan Dayong, a boy in his twenties, wearing a single suit of palace silk, a silk belt, and black shoes. The mood when you go up is elegant. An Daye chatted with him for a while and thought he was very gentle and decent. An Sheng liked him very much and politely invited him to sit in the house. The two entered the house, and An Daye asked Yuan Sheng to play Go with him. The two of them won each other's games.
The next day, Yuan Dayong invited An Sheng to his apartment, presented him with delicacies from all over the world, and entertained him hospitably. There is a boy in the Yuan family who is twelve or thirteen years old. He can clap his hands and sing fresh songs. He can also jump and perform various tricks. An Sheng was very drunk, so Yuan Sheng asked the boy to carry him back. An Sheng thought that the child was weak and might not be able to carry it, but Yuan Sheng insisted on doing so.
Sure enough, the kid carried him back home with more than enough strength. An Sheng felt strange. The next day, An Daye gave the boy silver as a reward. The boy declined several times before accepting.
Since then, Ansheng and Yuan Sheng have become increasingly close, and they visit each other every three or two days. Yuan Sheng was a man of few words, but generous and charitable. There was a girl in the market who sold her for debt, and he used his money to redeem the girl on his behalf, without being stingy at all. An Sheng respected him even more. A few days later, Yuan Sheng went to An Sheng's house to say goodbye to him.
An Daye's neighbor was a man named Tu, who had always had a bad relationship with the An family. He was secretly suspicious of the An family because of their extensive construction work and house repairs. It happened that a servant in An Daye stole the master's ivory chopsticks and went to the butcher's house to sell it. The butcher's family learned that it was a gift from Yuan Dayong and sued the government.
The county magistrate surrounded An Daye's house with soldiers. It happened that An Daye went out with his servants, so the officials arrested his mother. An Daye's mother was old and in poor health. After being frightened, she was dying and had not had any water for two or three days. The county magistrate had no choice but to release her home.
An Daye heard the news that his mother had been arrested outside and hurried home. But my mother's illness was already very serious, and she died after one night. An Sheng was arrested and taken to the government as soon as he buried his mother. Seeing that Ansheng was young and gentle, the county magistrate secretly thought that this was a false accusation and was unjust, so he deliberately and loudly threatened him.
An Daye told the story of his relationship with Yuan Dayong. The county magistrate asked: "Why did you become so rich?" An Sheng said: "My mother had some savings. Because I was getting married, she used it to repair the houses for weddings." The county magistrate believed it and transcribed the confession. , and sent him to the mansion.
The neighbor who gave birth to the butcher heard that An Daye was fine, so he planned to bribe the escort to kill An Daye on the road. The official escorted An Daye into the mansion and passed through a deep mountain. An was dragged to a cliff by the official and was about to push him down. At the critical moment, a fierce tiger suddenly jumped out of the grass, bit the two servants to death, and left safely with its mouth shut.
When we arrived at a place with many pavilions, the tiger entered and put Ansheng down. But when Princess Yunluo helped her maid out, she saw Ansheng and comforted him sadly. So he took off the strap on An Sheng's chest, tied a few knots, and ordered: "When you see the official, untie this knot to avoid trouble."
An Sheng followed Princess Yunluo's instructions. He was ordered to surrender to the county. The prefect liked his loyalty and honesty very much. He checked the official documents and found out that he was unjustly accused, so he acquitted him and let him go home. On the way back, I met Yuan Dayong. An Sheng dismounted to meet Yuan and told him the whole situation.
Ansheng returned home, buried his mother, and then closed himself up and stopped interacting with the outside world. Suddenly one night, thieves entered the neighbor Tu's house and killed more than ten members of his family, including father and son, leaving only a maidservant. He also swept away all the belongings in his home and shared them with a child.
Before leaving, the thief held the lamp in his hand and said to the maid: "You have to realize that it is me who kills the people, and it has nothing to do with anyone else." He did not go through the door, but climbed over the wall from under the eaves. And go. The next day, the maid complained to the government. The government suspected An Sheng knew the inside story and took him away again. The county magistrate's voice was stern during the interrogation. Ansheng went to the court, holding the knot on his chest with his hands, and untying it while talking. The county magistrate couldn't persuade him and let him go again.
An Daye returned home, restrained his behavior even more, concentrated on studying at home, and never went out. There was only a lame old servant left at home to cook for him. He has completed his mourning period for his mother and cleans the steps and house every day, waiting for the arrival of good news. One day, I smelled a strange fragrance all over the garden. When I went upstairs, I saw that the interior and exterior furnishings were brand new. He secretly opened the painting curtain and saw Princess Yunluo sitting inside in full makeup. An Sheng hurriedly paid his respects.
Ansheng hugged her affectionately, the princess was silent, and the two of them went to bed together. The princess said: "I knew you were bound to be secular. This is also your luck."
The princess asked An Daye to raise maids and servants, and let them live in the south courtyard and do some cooking and cooking every day. Weaving and other activities to make a living. There were never fireworks in the North Courtyard where the princess lived, only chessboards and drinking utensils. The door is always closed. When An Sheng comes to push the door, it opens automatically and no one else can get in.
However, the princess herself knows who is diligent and who is lazy among the maids and servants in the South Courtyard. I often tell Ansheng to blame them, and no one is dissatisfied. The princess doesn't talk much and never speaks loudly. When others talk to her, she just lowers her head and smiles. Whenever they sit side by side, they always like to lean on others.
The pavilion where the princess lives is surrounded by brocade and silk curtains. It does not feel cold in winter and not too hot in summer. The princess wears a veil even in the harsh winter. An Sheng made bright new clothes for the princess and forced her to wear them. After a while, the princess took off her clothes and said, "This is a filthy thing in the world. It weighs down my bones and makes me almost sick!"
One day, Ansheng carried her to the On my knees, I suddenly felt heavier than usual, and I was surprised. The princess smiled and pointed at her belly and said, "There is a vulgar seed here." After a few days, the princess often frowned and didn't want to eat. She said, "My appetite hasn't been feeling well lately, and I really want to eat some human food." An Sheng then prepared a good diet for her. From then on, the princess ate like a normal person.
One day. The princess said, "My body is too thin to withstand the labor of giving birth. My maid Fan Ying is very strong, so she can take my place." After giving birth to a boy, she named him Daqi. The princess wrapped the child in a quilt, put it in An Sheng's arms, and asked him to be given to the wet nurse and raised in the south courtyard.
After the princess gave birth, her waist was as thin as before, and she no longer looked like a human being. Suddenly one day, the princess told An Sheng that she wanted to go home and take a look. An Sheng asked how long it would take to come back, and replied, "Three days." The three days were up, and the princess still hadn't come back. After waiting for more than a year, there was still no news from the princess, and An Daye was desperate.
An Daye closed his door to study, and soon passed the provincial examination. After the princess passed away, he always refused to marry again and often stayed alone in the North Courtyard to bathe in the princess's lingering fragrance. One night, while I was tossing and turning in bed, I suddenly saw bright lights in the courtyard, illuminating the windows, and the door opened by itself. I saw a group of maids coming in with the princess in their arms. An Sheng was very happy and got up to blame the princess for breaking the promise.
The princess said: "I have not expired. According to heaven's time, I have only passed the exam for two and a half days." An Sheng proudly told the princess that he had won the exam. The princess said unhappily: "This kind of unintentional thing can't add much luster to you, it can only shorten a person's life. I haven't seen you for three days, and your vulgarity has deepened.
Soon, another son was born. The princess raised it and said, "This child is a jackal." "Immediately asked Ansheng to throw him away. Ansheng couldn't bear it, so he kept him and named him "Kechu". Later, the princess went home to visit, but never came back.
Ansheng often threw him away. I told my friends about this and later learned that there was indeed a girl named Hou with a wart on her left side. This Hou had bad conduct and was looked down upon by everyone. He was regarded as a princess. He arranged this marriage for Ke Qi.
Da Qi passed the exam at the age of ten and married a girl from the Yun family. Both husband and wife were filial and kind. Ke Qi grew up and loved them very much. Ansheng didn't like studying and was good at stealing. From then on, Ansheng became angry and became ill, so he divided the family property between his two sons and wrote a document to allocate the pavilion and good land to Daqi. > Ke Qi was resentful and went into the house with a knife at night, trying to kill his brother but accidentally killed his sister-in-law. After An Sheng found out, his condition became worse and he died within a few months before Ke Qi heard the news of his father's death. In just over a year, all the land he had been allocated was sold out, so Ke Xi went to the county to sue Daqi. The county official knew him well and kicked him out, thus severing the friendship between the brothers.
Extended information:
Theme
"Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" not only exposes the corruption and cruelty of the ruling class, but also writes about the resistance of the oppressed people.
Among them is Xi Fangping ("Xi Fangping") who "will not die even if his grievances are not redressed"; there is Xiang Gao ("Xiang Gao") who eventually turns into a tiger and kills his enemies. "Gao"); there is Wang Ding who went to the underworld and killed two officials ("Wu Qiuyue"). These characters with a spirit of resistance have a certain positive effect in stimulating the struggle consciousness of the oppressed.
Baidu Encyclopedia—Princess Yunluo
Baidu Encyclopedia—"Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"