There is a village at the bottom of Jinding Mountain, and there is a scholar in the village, and the surname of Shusheng is Wang. Wang Shusheng's parents died one after another when he was 12 years old, and he grew up with his uncle. His uncle did not marry a wife in order to raise him. When Wang Shusheng was 18 years old, his uncle died of illness. After his uncle's death, he cried bitterly for three days and three nights. Finally, with the help of the villagers, he buried his uncle on a hillside. Since then, he has often burned paper at his uncle's grave, and while burning paper, he has spoken to his uncle.
It is said that time is the best medicine to treat trauma, and after two years, the grief in Wang Shusheng's heart disappeared. Since then, he has been concentrating on reading. Before his death, his uncle told him that he hoped that he would study well and be able to obtain a meritorious name in the future.
One afternoon, when Wang Shusheng was reading, he felt dizzy. So he put down his book and walked out of the house. After walking around the door for a while, he suddenly had a whim and planned to go to the mountains to play. So he left the house and walked toward the village entrance.
After Wang Shusheng arrived on the mountain, he began to play on the mountain. To tell the truth, although his home is at the foot of the mountain, he rarely goes up the mountain. This time up the hill, he had a great time. After an hour of playing in the mountains, he burrowed into a valley. It was in this valley that he discovered a hidden cave. When he entered the hidden cave, he found three men and six women in the cave. When the three men saw him, they ran to his side and grabbed him. Then a man asked him, "What are you?" ”
Wang Shusheng said: "I am a person in the village at the foot of the mountain, and I am a scholar. The man went on to ask, "Are you telling the truth, or are you telling a lie?" Wang Shusheng said, "Of course I am telling the truth, by the way, who are you?" How is it in this cave? After Wang Shusheng finished speaking, the three men let go of him. Next, Wang Shusheng communicated with three men. Through communication, he learned about the situation of the three men and six women. It turned out that three men were bandits on the mountain, and six women were the bandits' dependents. Not long ago, officers and soldiers went up the mountain to suppress the bandits, and many of the bandits died, but they survived and hid in this cave. However, they told Wang Shusheng that these bandits were different from other bandits, that they killed the rich and helped the poor, never robbed the poor, and only robbed the local tycoons and gentry with black conscience.
After learning about the situation of the three men and six women, Wang Shusheng asked them: "What are you hiding in this cave, eating?" A woman said, "We'll go up to the mountain in the morning and in the evening to find fruit." Wang Shusheng said: "Now there are fruits on the mountain this season, and after this season, there will be no fruit on the mountain, what will you eat?" After Wang Shusheng finished speaking, three men and six women were silent. Wang Shusheng saw that they were silent and said to them, "Well, in the future, I will often send you something to eat." After listening to Wang Shusheng's words, the three men and six women quickly expressed their gratitude to Wang Shusheng. Since then, Wang Shusheng has really often sent them something to eat.
Time passed, unconsciously, and three years passed, and this year there was war. One night, Wang Shusheng came to the hidden cave with something to eat. He said to three men and six women, "Now that there is a war, I will give you an idea, that is, to join the army, and maybe you will be able to get ahead in the future." Three men and six women, after listening to him, began to discuss. In the end, they accepted Wang Shusheng's suggestion and went to join the army. When Wang Shusheng saw that they had decided to join the army, he said to them, "Tomorrow I will make dozens of large cakes, and you will take them to eat on the road." ”
The next night, Wang Shusheng entered the hidden cave with dozens of large cakes, and he gave dozens of large cakes to three men and six women and said, "Bring the big cakes, hurry up!" Next, Wang Shusheng sent them to the side of the road to the town and went home by himself.
Unexpectedly, the next afternoon, a group of servants came to the village and arrested Wang Shusheng. It turned out that last night, when Wang Shusheng went out of the village with dozens of large cakes, he met the second-rate children in the village. The second-rate son asked Wang Shusheng, "Where are you going with dozens of large cakes?" Wang Shusheng said: "I will give these dozens of large cakes to my relatives." What Wang Shusheng never expected was that the second-rate son quietly followed him. When Wang Shusheng entered the secret cave, the second-rate son hid outside and eavesdropped, only to learn the secret that three men and six women were bandits. After the second-rate son quietly went down the mountain, he went to the county court to report the case. After Zhixian received the report, he ordered the servants to arrest Wang Shusheng.
In the public court of the county court, Zhixian asked Wang Shusheng: "You are a scholar who knows the code of the imperial court, why should you know the law and break the law?" Wang Shusheng said: "Those bandits are different from other bandits, they never rob the poor, only those local tycoons and inferior gentry." As a result, after Wang Shusheng and Zhixian debated the time of a burning incense, Zhixian sentenced Wang Shusheng to 8 years in prison. The second-rate son rewarded him with 20 taels of silver for his meritorious report. Since then, Wang Shusheng has lived in prison.
To say that time, passed really fast, unconsciously, 5 years have passed. Suddenly, one day, Zhixian came to Wang Shusheng's cell with a general. The general walked up to Wang Shusheng and asked, "Do you still know me?" After listening to the general's words, Wang Shusheng looked at the general carefully and said, "I know you." "It turned out that the general was one of the three men in the hidden cave. The general said, "Let you suffer." As soon as the general's voice fell, Zhixian said, "This officer misjudged him that year." ”
Next, in the county court, Wang Shusheng and the general exchanged. Wang Shusheng asked the general, "Why are you the only one here?" What about the other 8 people? The general was silent for a while and said: "The other 8 people all died in the war, 9 people only lived me, after the war, I introduced you to the marshal, the marshal said you can go to the exam, he specially wrote a letter of recommendation for you, you take the recommendation letter to the capital to find the official Shangshu Wu Lord." After the general finished speaking, he took out a letter and handed it to Wang Shusheng.
After Wang Shusheng and the general broke up, they rushed to the capital. A month later, he arrived in the capital and soon found the official Shangshu Wu. After reading the recommendation letter, Lord Wu said to Wang Shusheng: "There are still 12 days before the exam, so let's live in my house first, and when it comes to the exam, I will inform you." After 12 days, Wang Shusheng took the exam. As a result, Wang Shusheng won high school. After Wang Shusheng won high school, one day, he met Zhixian in the capital. Originally, the general went to the imperial court and said that Zhixian had arbitrarily sentenced Wang Shusheng to death, and as a result, the imperial court dismissed Zhixian from his post. Zhixian's home was in the capital, and after he was dismissed, he returned to the capital.
On the Qingming Festival of the following year, Wang Shusheng returned to the village of his hometown, and he returned to his uncle's grave. The second-rate children in the village heard that Wang Shusheng had returned, and they hid in the mountains in fright. After the villagers saw Wang Shusheng, they all got close to him. On the one hand, they congratulated Wang Shusheng on becoming a high-ranking official, and on the other hand, they condemned the second-rate son. Wang Shusheng smiled and said, "Let him pass the things of the past!" I will not hold the second-rate man responsible, he went to the county court to report me at that time, just for a few rewards. ”
A month after Wang Shusheng left the village, someone found the body of a second-rate son on the mountain. It turned out that after the second-rate children hid in the mountains, they picked fruits on the mountains during the day and ate them, and slept in caves at night. One afternoon, while picking fruit on the mountain, he was bitten to death by a poisonous snake.