The following story is from the Tang Dynasty Xue Yusi's legendary novel collection "Hedong Record", which was slightly changed when translated.
In the ninth year of Zhenyuan (贞元, was the era name of Emperor Dezong of Tang, 785 – August 805), there was a man named Shen Tucheng, who added an official position and went to Puzhou to serve as a Shi Dynasty lieutenant.
On the way to the post, I arrived ten miles east of Zhenfu County, encountered wind and snow, the weather was extremely cold, and the horse could not walk. There was a family on the side of the road, and the house was burning, and Shen Tucheng felt that it was very warm inside, and he wanted to warm up. Entering the house, I saw an old man, an old woman and a young girl, and the three of them sitting around the fire. The girl looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, and although she was unkempt and coarsely dressed, her skin was snow-white and her demeanor was very charming.
The old man and the old woman saw Shen Tucheng enter the house, and hurriedly got up and said: There is a lot of snow on the guests, it must be very cold, quickly sit down and roast the fire. After Shen Tucheng thanked him, he sat down to roast the fire for warmth. Soon, it was dark, the wind and snow were not stopping, and it seemed that it was impossible to continue to set off. So he led the horse to the shed, indicating that the wind and snow outside were heavy, and he was far from his destination, hoping to spend the night.
The old man and the old woman said, "As long as the guests do not abandon us this man is simple, but stay down."
Therefore, Shen Tucheng stayed, at this time, the girl dressed up a little on the side, only to see that she was tall and tall, with a beautiful face, busy making a bed for Shen Tucheng, her behavior was very tempting, and Shen Tucheng looked stunned.
After a while the old woman returned, carrying wine in her hand, and she sat by the fire and poured the wine with her own care. She turned her face and asked Shen Tucheng: Guests, if it is cold, come over to drink, can also withstand the cold. Shen Tucheng thanked him and said, "Please master to start, and I will follow closely behind." So, the old man began to drink, and Shen Tucheng and the old woman also drank.
Drinking and drinking, Shen Tucheng said: Drinking around the fire is really good, that is, there is a lack of a little lady, if there is a little lady to pour wine, it will be more beautiful.
After the old man and the old woman heard this, they smiled and said: There is a little girl in the family, but she was raised by a peasant family and has never seen the world, so how can she be allowed to meet the guests? At this time, the girl suddenly looked back and said: Wine does not care about the noble, but also because someone can play well in order to drink well. Isn't that the case, guest? The old woman smiled, pulled her along, and sat down beside her.
So, several people began to play games while drinking.
The old man, the old woman, the young girl and Shen Tucheng began to drink and speak poetry, but they did not expect that the young girl was very intelligent and did not lose to Shen Tucheng at all. Shen Tucheng was overjoyed, and turned to the old man and said: The little lady is so intelligent that she is better than countless boys in the world. I'm not married yet, and now, I'm a matchmaker for myself, and I want to marry a little girl, how?
The old man said: Although our husband and wife are poor and lowly, they only have such a daughter, and they also raise her as a pearl in the palm of their hands, and they cherish and love her. In the past few years, there have been guests who want to marry a little girl, and our couple feels that their daughter is still young and is always reluctant. Now, seeing that the prince looks extraordinary and loves the little girl, where can I be reluctant to do it?
Therefore, the two sides agreed in this way, and Shen Tucheng also gave the sachet as an engagement object to the young girl. He took out some silver and gave it to his father-in-law and mother-in-law to show his heart. The old woman did not take any part, and said: The virtuous son-in-law does not abandon us poor and lowly, and we are also very touched. Besides, what do we want money for? This money you carry, in the future to live a good life, better than anything.
That night, Shen Tucheng married the girl and entered the cave room.
The next morning, the wind and snow stopped, Shen Tucheng was going to take office, the old woman said: This place is very remote, there are no neighbors, immediately the rain and snow weather is also severe, can not stay for a long time. Since my daughter has become your wife, take her with you. Shen Tucheng felt justified, so he took his wife to work.
Shen Tucheng loved his wife very much, let her ride a horse, and led the way by herself.
When he arrived in Puzhou, Shen Tucheng had a low official position, and feng lu was also very rare, and his life was difficult. However, the wife is very good at planning, always allowing Shen Tucheng to eat enough, and also has extra money to let Shen Tucheng feast on guests and make friends. As a result, in less than a month, Shen Tucheng's reputation for hospitality and righteousness was widely spread, and the feelings between husband and wife were even deeper.
The most amazing thing is that the wife still has money to help Shen Tucheng's relatives, from the elders, nephews and nephews, and even servants, etc., have been rescued by Shen Tucheng's wife. Therefore, people up and down inside and outside have great respect and like Shen Tucheng and his wife.
A few years later, Shen Tucheng was about to expire as an official, and by that time, he already had a son and a daughter. Under the education of his wife, the two children are not only well-informed, but also smart and clever, and Shen Tucheng is grateful for his wife's efforts, so he also has great respect for his wife.
Shen Tucheng once wrote a poem to his wife: One official ashamed Meifu, three years ashamed of Mengguang. What is this metaphor, there are Mandarin ducks on the river. The wife didn't say anything, as if she wanted to echo a song, but didn't say anything. She often told Shen Tucheng that for the way of a woman, she should read more books, but if she still wrote poetry, it seemed like an old woman or a concubine. (I don't know how this view came from)
After his term of office arrived, Shen Tucheng returned home with his wife and two children. After passing through Lizhou and arriving at the bank of the Jialing River, the family sat on the grass and rested.
My wife suddenly said: Before, you wrote me a poem, and I wanted to write a poem at the time, but I didn't think about it. Now, seeing the view in front of me, I can't help but say. Therefore, she recited a poem: Although the qin is heavy, the mountain forest is deep. Often worry about the changing of the times, live up to the heart of a hundred years. After saying this, the wife cried for a long time, as if she was reminiscing about the past.
In fact, the wife has already sprouted the ambition to return to the mountains and forests, after all, she is a goblin, and people can not live permanently, she still hopes to return to nature. However, Shen Tucheng did not understand his wife's meaning, nor did he know that her wife was changed by a demon, and he thought that his wife was the wind of the ancient hermit and wanted to return to the mountains and forests with himself.
So he said, "Poetry is very good, but you are not in good health, how can you think of going to the mountains?" Even if we think about our parents, we have come back, don't be so sad! Life is divided, life and death are all doomed, don't think too much.
After more than twenty days, the family of four finally returned to their wife's hometown. However, although there are still houses here, there is no one left. The family of four lived, and the wife cried every day, as if she missed her parents and seemed to be thinking about something.
Later, the wife cleaned up the house and stumbled upon a tiger skin under the corner clothes. Shen Tucheng saw it and didn't think about anything, but his wife was extremely excited after seeing it, and laughed and said: After so many years, I didn't expect this thing to be still there, hahahahaha! I go also.
Shen Tucheng felt that something was not right, and was about to ask, his wife had finished laughing, she immediately put the tiger skin on her body, suddenly became a tiger, roared, jumped from the house to the door, and then ran away.
Shen Tucheng was shocked, and only then did he understand that his wife was a tiger spirit, and he could not find his wife after chasing him out. Later, he took his son and daughter to the nearby mountains to look for them, but he never found them, and finally he could only cry in the mountains and take the child away.