During the Ming Dynasty, there was a jinshi named Ni Minyue in Nanjing, who was appointed by the imperial court as the commander of Pushui County. One autumn, the county order led people to patrol the river by the river, and many retinue followed, so it was not majestic and lively.
Near the river lived a rich man named Tao Tianyi, and tao Tianyi had a pear tree in his home, and the tree was full of pears, one of which was particularly large.
When Tao Tianyi heard that the county order had come, he plucked the big pear and let a servant in the family carry it, ready to dedicate it to the county order and please the county order.
Halfway through, he passed by the home of a friend, Wang Zhongqi, so he talked to Wang Zhongqi about it. Who knew that after Wang Zhongqi listened, he wanted to taste this big pear, so the cleaver snatched the pear from the servant's hand and fell to the ground at once, and the good end of the pear was suddenly broken.
Tao Tian was furious and scolded Wang Zhongqi, "What are you doing here!" Wang Zhongqi saw that Tao Tianyi was angry, and deliberately smiled and said, "Brother, what favor has the county order given you, and you want to offer such a good pear to him?" The two of us are fellow countrymen and friends, you might as well give me pears and let me taste them, and I am grateful to you. ”
Tao Tian saw that Wang Zhongqi was so rogue, and his heart was even more angry, but he and Wang Zhongqi were friends, and because of the bad face, he got angry with Wang Zhongqi on the spot, so he took up a stick and beat the servant who took the pear to death.
After that, Tao Tianyi came to the county court and falsely accused Wang Zhongqi of the county order, saying that Wang Zhongqi coveted pears, stole his servant's pears, and beat the servants to death. Xiaomin pleaded with the county grand master to severely punish Wang Zhongqi and return my justice.
The county commander believed that it was true, sent a servant to arrest Wang Zhongqi and bring him to justice, and then, without saying a word, severely tortured Wang Zhongqi. Wang Zhongqi was beaten to death and came back to life, and he really couldn't stand the abuse, so he had to confess against his heart that he had killed someone, and soon after Wang Zhongqi died in prison. A month later, Tao Tianyi was walking on the street, and suddenly ran to his home like crazy, and he shouted while running: "Wang Zhongqi and the servants are chasing me in the back, help!" ”
After Tao Tianyi ran home breathlessly, he didn't even have time to close the gate, so he jumped out of the other wall, and as a result, because the wall was too high, Tao Tianyi fell into a serious fracture when he landed, lost too much blood, and died tragically on the spot. When Tao Tianyi's family bought a coffin and buried it for Tao Tianyi, he saw that Tao Tianyi had fallen and his nose was blue and his face was swollen, and his seven holes were bleeding, which was very tragic.
Wang Zhongqi, for the sake of his own appetite, smashed the pear that Tao Tianyi was preparing to offer to the county order, which was Wang Zhongqi's fault first; but Tao Tianyi blamed his servants and cruelly beat the innocent servants to death.
After that, Tao Tianyi developed schizophrenia due to his guilt for Wang Zhongqi and his servants, and eventually fell off the wall and died tragically.
A pear, resulting in the tragic death of three people, this story gives us a profound lesson - people must learn to restrain their desires and control their temper, so that they can avoid disasters and live a better life.
Reference: Ancient and Modern Commentaries Series