In Chengwu County, there used to be a Xiucai surnamed Chang, who married his wife Zhu. The couple is in love, and under ideal conditions, they can become a model couple. It's just that this Chang Xiu is obsessed with the imperial examination, and the beautiful articles written can also be written, but he has not been able to go to high school.
In addition to his ability to read and write, Chang Xiucai has no other skills to support his family. Or to say that it is useless to be a scholar, since Zhu Shi married Chang Xiucai, he has not had a good day. Other young people, after getting married, their days are getting more and more prosperous, but Chang Xiucai's family is getting colder and colder every day. So much so that later to the point of not being able to open the pot, it can be said that it was eaten for the last meal, and finally had to give the three-year-old son to the neighbor for adoption.
Chang Xiucai couldn't even support himself, let alone his wife and children. His wife Zhu Shi followed him and became hungry, and later added a son, and the couple's life was even more difficult. It just so happens that the neighbor couple has been married for more than ten years and has not had children. The harvest in the field this year was extremely poor, and Zhu was worried that his son would starve to death sooner or later, so at the suggestion of Chang Xiucai, he gave his son to the neighbors.
After Zhu sent his son away, he continued to go hungry. In the past, in order to survive, Zhu Shi ran to borrow money from relatives and friends. Now the relatives and friends who can borrow have borrowed it, and there are still many old accounts that have not been paid off, and no one is willing to lend them anymore. Zhu Shi couldn't do anything about it, and Chang Xiucai still buried his head in hard reading all day. After sending his son away, Zhu Shi had not eaten for two days, and his eyes were green with hunger. In the end, Zhu Shi really couldn't bear it, so he tried his last breath and chose to hang himself.
Yes, Chu hanged himself because he was hungry because of poverty. However, when Zhu Shun's younger brother Zhu Shun learned of it, he believed that it was his brother-in-law Chang Xiu who had forced his sister to die. Zhu Shun was furious and reported Chang Xiucai to the government, and it happened that the judge at that time was very harsh on the readers, and after receiving the case, he listened to Zhu Shun's one-sided words, so he convicted Chang Xiucai and stripped him of his Xiucai meritorious name, and then exiled him to Surabaya Station to serve as a laborer. At that time, the station manager of Surabaya Station was surnamed Feng, and this Feng was also a reader, only because his family was poor and could not concentrate on the examination, so he first became a station manager to support his family, and then sought a farther ideal.
After Feng learned that Chang Xiucai was also a reader, he did not have difficulties for him. During Chang Xiucai's service at the station, he still studied hard every day and was still hungry. Once he almost starved to death, but fortunately he was found and saved by Feng Mou in time. It was also this time that Feng and Chang Xiu had a deep chat. Through this deep chat, Feng found that Chang Xiu was a talent, and he also knew that he was wronged. Later, there was a patrol surnamed Lu Yushi passing by the Surabaya Station, and Feng knew that Lu was a good official who knew what was going on, so he boldly asked him to rehabilitate Chang Xiucai. Lu called Chang Xiucai for interrogation, and Chang Xiucai waited for the family's poor wife to find short-sightedness because of poverty.
After the interrogation, Lu Mou gave another test question for Chang Xiu to answer. Chang Xiucai made an article after a while, and Lu mou was very happy to read it. Later, another question was asked, and Chang Xiucai answered like a stream, which was even pleasing to Lu. So Lu mou went back and wrote a letter to the local government, restoring Chang Xiucai's meritorious name and rehabilitating him. After being exonerated, Chang Xiucai went through several struggles and finally won the first place, which can also be regarded as the emperor's heart.
As the old saying goes: "Poor people live in the downtown area and no one asks, once the world knows about It", the poor Xiucai, who once had no long belongings, became a decent person, not only had a meritorious name but also gold and silver. Chang Xiucai concentrated on reading, not only gave his son away, but his wife also committed suicide because of poverty, to be honest, this price is a bit large. However, after Chang Xiucai developed, he did not look like Fan Jin. He not only generously rewarded the benefactor Feng Mou for making his own paperwork, but also spent ten silver to get his son from the neighbor's house. Even his brother-in-law, who had falsely accused him, did not retaliate against him after he developed, but instead complained with virtue and took much care of his wife's mother's family.
After Chang Xiucai developed, he was advised to marry another wife, but he refused. Chang Xiucai always remembered his ex-wife in his heart, and after developing, he built a decent tomb for the Zhu family and reserved his own acupuncture points. Chang Xiucai did not marry another wife after that, but only concentrated on cultivating his only son into a talent. Under the careful teaching of Chang Xiucai, his son was later ranked in the examination, and finally the official was shangshu of the Punishment Department!
Although Chang Xiucai was stubborn and even selfish in some ways, he was a kind-hearted person after all, and even if he became the first official in the imperial examination, he did not collude with those corrupt officials. Under his words and deeds, his son later enforced the law for the official Qing Lian and impartially, and never exceeded the thunder pool half a step! Loyalty and filial piety have always been impossible to have both, and the sin of thousands of years of merit will be left to the judgment of the years.
Chang Xiu is the ancestor of the Chang clan of Changfang Temple in our neighboring village, and its name is no longer known. During the Qianlong period, the Yellow River was at its mouth, and the Chang family temple and genealogy disappeared forever in that great flood. However, the story about Chang Xiucai has been passed down in our area. I also learned from the mouths of several elders that I felt the need to record it, so I relayed it to the kings.