The following story is from the Tang Dynasty Bao Chen(yin tong need) Zhi Wei note novel "Huichang Xie Yilu", which was slightly changed when translated. The illustrations in the text come from the network, if there is infringement, please inform us to delete.
During the reign of Tang Baoying (Emperor Zong of the Tang Dynasty, 762 to 763 AD), in Yuezhou, there was an observer named Emperor Fuzheng. Huang Fuzheng's wife surnamed Lu, very beautiful, outstanding posture, although not better than Xi Shi, mink cicada, but also has its own charm and appearance.
Huang Fuzheng and his wife have been married for many years, and although the two lived a rich life, they could not have a child, which also became the heart of the two.
There is a temple in Yuezhou called Baolin Temple, which is not small in scale and is very famous in the local area. There is a Hall of the Demon Mother in Baolin Temple, and it is said that as long as you go to the Hall of the Demon Mother to pray and pray, whether it is for a boy or a girl, it will soon be fulfilled. After a long time, it was passed out, and Baolin Temple became more and more famous.
Emperor Fuzheng had heard of the fame of Baolin Temple, and when he was resting (on a day of rest), he took his wife, maid and other people to Baolin Temple and came to the Hall of the Demon Mother. At this time, the wives and maids bowed down, and the emperor also bowed.
Emperor Fuzheng prayed: I pray to the Devil Mother to send a boy to me and my wife, and if it can be done, I will dedicate a million dollars to help you rebuild the shrine and make you more brilliant.
And my wife Lu Shi also prayed, she said: I pray to the Devil Mother, let me give Xiang Gong a son, if I can succeed, I will also donate my one million powder fat money to paint the Devil Mother on the wall of the Devil Mother Hall promised by my husband.
After the prayer, Emperor Fuzheng and his wife played in the Baolin Temple again, and did not return until the evening.
It is also miraculous to say that two months later, Lu Shi became pregnant, and less than a year later, she gave birth, and it was indeed a boy. When the husband and wife looked at it, they cried with joy, and the old tears flowed, and they could not speak happily, but just looked at the child.
In addition to the great joy of the emperor's government, he immediately built three houses for the Demon Mother, from bricks and tiles to wooden pillars, from inside to outside, all very gorgeous, magnificent, like a palace. Inside, a statue of the Devil Mother is carved for people to worship and bow down.
At the same time, At the entrance of Baolin Temple, Lu Shi piled up a million dollars to recruit painters and painters, from Bianzhou, Huazhou, Xuzhou, Sizhou, Yangzhou, to Tanzhou, Hongzhou and even the world's painters and painters, many people came every day, but because of too many rewards, these painters and painters did not dare to start easily.
After several days, there was a man who claimed to have come from Jiannan, and he refused to say his name, saying only that he was good at painting and could help Huang Fuzheng and Lu Shi paint. After Huang Fuzheng and Lu Shi heard about it, they nodded their heads and agreed, after all, other painters did not dare to paint, and since this person had said something big, he must have the ability.
For the sake of convenience, let's call this man the Great Painter.
Therefore, the Emperor Fuzheng sent several people to be responsible for serving the food and living of the great painter every day, so that he could concentrate on painting and other things.
After the great painter promised, he went to the built room to see it, several times a day, and sometimes nodded his head after reading it. He looked to the left and to the right, above and below, and looked at almost every gap and corner. In this way, I have been watching it for more than a month, but he still has not painted it.
The monk in charge was anxious and asked: "Great painter, you have been watching for more than a month, why haven't you started painting?" Otherwise, Lord Huangfu may have to wait in a hurry!
The great painter laughed and said: "Great monk, please prepare the lamp oil, tonight I will start painting, when the time comes, there will be no one else in the house, just me."
When the monk in charge heard this, he immediately prepared enough lamp oil, and at night, he asked people to put the lamp oil in the room. Then the great painter entered the house and closed the door, and no one knew what he was doing inside.
After dawn, the monk in charge knocked on the door again and asked the great painter how much he had drawn. Knocking several times, the monk found that no one had opened the door, he tried to push open the door, and when he entered the house, he was stunned, only to see that the four walls and even the roof of the house were painted with the Witch Mother and her deeds, like a huge painting. And the great painter is gone.
The monk in charge was very happy and hurriedly asked people to report to the emperor. When Emperor Fuzheng saw this, he was also very satisfied, so he began to prepare for the banquet.
Emperor Fuzheng chose a good day, let Baolin Temple prepare a meal, took the samurai, and invited soldiers, officials, rich merchants, and famous people to arrange drum music to go to Baolin Temple together to celebrate the completion of the painting of the Demon Mother Hall.
At noon, an old man came to Baolin Temple, this man was eight feet long, very dark, very ugly, wearing a bucket hat, wearing a cloak, and a hoe on his shoulder.
The person in charge of the gatekeeper, seeing that the old man was about to enter the Baolin Temple, felt that a farmer should not come in, so he stopped him. Huang Fuzheng saw it, felt that this old man looked good, hurriedly got up, and welcomed this person in.
The old man was also not polite, nor did he say thank you to Emperor Fuzheng, after entering, he went straight into the Hall of the Demon Mother, and then picked up the hoe and began to plan the murals on the walls. When the crowd saw it, they were all frightened, and by the time the crowd rushed to stop the old man, the old man had already destroyed more than half of the paintings on the wall.
The left and right samurai grabbed the old man, drew his sword and was about to cut the old man to death, but he still had to wait for the emperor's order, so he did not move for the time being.
Huang Fuzheng found that the old man had no fear and seemed to be afraid of death, so he asked: Are you crazy? The old man said he wasn't crazy. Huang Fuzheng asked again: Could it be that you are also good at painting? The old man still shook his head and said no.
At this point, Emperor Fuzheng did not understand, and asked angrily: If this is the case, why did you destroy the paintings on the wall?
The old man said angrily: I just hate this painter, deceive you, deceive everyone. The lady promised a million dollars, plus a million dollars funded by the adults, for a total of two million dollars, which were to be used to paint the demon mother and other gods. But you see, these immortals, even ordinary people do not look like, how can they be gods?
Emperor Fuzheng was furious and said: The immortals painted on the wall are obviously very good, how can they be said to be inferior to ordinary people?
The old man clapped his hands and laughed, saying: If the adult does not believe, he can look at my old wife, and he will be able to know. These gods and immortals on the wall, even my old wife is not as good as ah, how can they be gods? Ridiculous, ridiculous! The gods in the sky must be a hundred times more beautiful than the gods on the wall, you are really stupid!
Huang Fuzheng asked where his wife was, and the old man said that her wife was at the lake three miles away from here, crossing the river.
Therefore, the emperor sent ten people to follow the old man and go to find his wife. The old man led the crowd to a thatched hut.
The people thought that the old man's wife must be the old woman, not to mention that he himself said "old wife." However, in the thatched hut, there appeared a young girl, only sixteen or seventeen years old, not powdered, not gorgeous, but with a superb posture, beautiful and charming, that is, the legendary Chang'e fairy, I am afraid it is not so.
It turned out that the "old wife" in the old man's mouth was actually such a young and gorgeous girl.
After the young girl heard about it, she followed the old man and the crowd to Baolin Temple. Her appearance made countless men in Baolin Temple fall for it at that time, and even the monks in the temple saw her and moved their hearts of love.
The girl slowly went up the steps, and after everyone saw it, they all nodded, and it seemed that the old man was right, and the gods and immortals painted on the wall were indeed inferior to his wife.
Soon, the girl came closer, and she didn't give a salute, just smiled.
Huang Fuzheng and his wife Lu Shi were also shocked by her beauty when they saw it. Lu Shi has always been very conceited about his beauty, although he is over twenty years old, not twenty or eight years old, but he is also a famous beauty in the future. However, when Lu Shi saw the young girl, he couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself.
Huang Fuzheng was suddenly angry and said to the old man: You are just an ordinary person, how can there be such a young girl of national color? How could she be your wife? This girl should be dedicated to the son of the day!
The old man was not even angry, and said: "So, when I am allowed to go home and say goodbye to her."
Emperor Fuzheng agreed, and sent fifty samurai and ten maids to follow the old man and the girl home. When they reached the river, the old man rowed a small boat, and the samurai, maids and maidens sat in a large boat.
When she reached the shore, she saw that the young girl suddenly flew to the old man's boat, and she even flew beautifully, like a beautiful and elegant crane.
The samurai and the maid looked stunned, and when the reaction came, they remembered to get up and chase it. The old man and the girl had reached the shore, and the two held hands and walked forward. The samurai went ashore and drew their swords, and they were going to catch the two men,
I saw the old man and the girl, suddenly flew up, and when they reached the air, they turned into two cranes and slowly flew into the clouds and disappeared.
Who are the old and the young? Are they gods, or are they subordinates or mounts of gods? If even the immortal's subordinates or mounts are so beautiful, then how beautiful the real immortals should be!