In ancient times, there was a man named Le Zhong in Xi'an, whose father died before he was born, and he was a widow. My mother believed in Buddhism and never touched a meat for the rest of her life. However, Le Zhong grew up to be fond of good food and drink, although he did not say it in his mouth, but in his heart he felt ridiculous that his mother did not eat wine and meat, and often took delicious meat to persuade his mother to eat, but he was always rejected and reprimanded by his mother.
Later, Le zhong's mother fell ill and suddenly wanted to eat meat when she was dying. Le Zhong was anxious to find the meat, so he cut a piece of meat from his left leg and offered it to his mother. After eating it, my mother's condition improved a little, but she regretted breaking the meat ring, and even did not eat or drink, and died of hunger strike.
Le Zhong was in pain, remembering that his mother had died of remorse because he had eaten his own flesh, and he couldn't help but regret stabbing his right leg with a knife, so that even the bones were exposed. The family hurriedly stopped him and bandaged him again, but he was cured soon after.
Le Zhong remembered that his mother had been a hard time keeping the festival, and he was saddened by his mother's practice of believing in Buddhism, so he burned the Buddha statue that his mother had enshrined before he died, and erected his mother's tablet, morning and evening to worship. Every time I got drunk, I cried bitterly at my mother's tablet.
Later, Le Zhong did not marry his wife until he was twenty years old, and at this time he was still a child man. On the third day after marriage, he said to others: "It is the most filthy thing under the heavens when men and women live together, and I really don't feel any happiness." So he took his wife Hugh back to her mother's house.
His father-in-law, Gu Wenyuan, begged his relatives to intercede on his behalf, hoping that Le Zhong would let his daughter go back. Despite repeated requests, Le Zhong still refused to agree. After half a year, Gu Wenyuan had to let his daughter remarry.
Since then, Le Zhong has lived alone for twenty years, and his behavior is even more unrestrained, whether it is a slave or a drama, he is willing to drink with them; when relatives and friends ask for something, he does not hesitate to help; some people say that when his daughter marries and returns the pot, he takes the pot on his stove to give to others, and he borrows the pot from the neighbor's house to cook.
Some misbehaving people have found out what he is doing, and they often deceive him. There was a gambler, because he had no capital, he came to him and cried, saying that the family had no money to pay taxes, and the government was so desperate that he planned to sell his son and take the money to pay taxes. Le Zhong really took out the money he used to pay taxes and handed it all over to this person. When he had to pay taxes himself, he could only raise money by selling his property.
As a result, the Lezhong family became poorer and poorer.
In the past, when Le Zhong's family was rich, the children of the same clan rushed to please him, and Le Zhong was happy, and everything they liked in the family was free for them to take, and did not bother with them. After the defeat of the Le Zhongjia Dao, those disciples rarely came to him. Le Zhong had a broad temperament and did not pay attention to it.
This day was the death day of Le zhong's mother, and Le Zhong happened to be ill and could not go to the grave to worship his mother, so he wanted to ask the children of the same clan to worship his mother on his behalf, but those people all refused to do something. Le Zhong had no choice but to put wine in his home and cry at his mother's tablet.
The grief of not having children lingered in his heart for a long time, making his illness more and more serious. Just when he fell into a coma, he suddenly felt that someone was touching him, and he opened his eyes slightly to see that it was his mother. Le Zhong was surprised and asked, "Mother, how did you get here?" ”
My mother replied, "It was only because no one in the family gave me a grave, so I came to my house to enjoy the memorial service, and by the way, I also came to see your condition." ”
Le Zhong asked again, "Where has your mother always lived?" ”
The mother replied, "South Sea." ”
When his mother finished stroking, LeZhong felt that his whole body was cool and comfortable. When I opened my eyes, there was no one in the room, but the illness was better.
After Le Zhong recovered from his illness, he remembered his mother's words and decided to go to the South China Sea to worship. It just so happened that some people from neighboring villages formed incense clubs and collectively went to the South China Sea to worship. So Le Zhong sold ten acres of land and asked them to take him to the South China Sea with money. However, the people of the incense society thought he was unclean and refused to join him. Le Zhong had no choice but to follow them.
On the way to worship, Le Zhong still drank wine and ate meat, and the meat was not fishy, and those people hated him even more when they saw him, so after he was drunk and asleep, he did not say goodbye, and Le Zhong had to rush alone.
When he went to Fujian, he met a friend who invited him to drink and called a fireworks woman Qionghua to accompany him. During the banquet, Le Zhong talked about the pilgrimage trip to the South China Sea, and Qionghua said that he was also willing to go to the South China Sea with Le Zhong to worship. Le Zhong was overjoyed, so he asked her to pack up and set off together. Although they ate and lived together along the way, there was no selfish affair.
After arriving in the South China Sea, the people of the Xiang Society saw that Lezhong actually came with a fireworks girl, laughed at him even more, and disdained to worship with him. Le Zhong and Qiong Hua understood what they meant, so they waited until they had finished worshipping themselves before going forward to worship.
When the people of the Incense Society worship, they regret that there are no miracles in the sea. When Le Zhong and Qiong Hua were worshipping, they had just fallen to their knees when they suddenly saw lotus constellations all over the sea, and there were strings of skewers hanging from the seats. Qionghua saw that on the lotus seat was a bodhisattva, and Lezhong saw that on each lotus seat, it was his own mother. He hurriedly jumped into the sea and cried out to his mother on the lotus seat.
The crowd saw that the ten thousand lotus flowers suddenly all turned into a rainbow and covered the entire sea like a colorful brocade. After a while, the clouds were calm, and everything that had just happened disappeared, while Le Zhong was still on the shore. He didn't know how he had returned from the sea, and his clothes and shoes were not wet at all.
Le Zhong looked at the sea and cried loudly, and the cry shook the island. Qionghua took his arm and tried his best to persuade him, and he couldn't help but shed tears. Then the two men left the Guanyin Temple with a desolate look and called the boat back to the north.
On the way back, a rich man called Qionghua over, and Le Zhong stayed alone in the inn. On this day, a child of eight or nine years old went to the inn to beg, but he did not look like a beggar. Out of curiosity, Le Zhong went forward to inquire carefully, and it turned out that the child was a stray child who had been kicked out of the house by his stepmother.
The child leaned closely to Le zhong's side and begged Le Zhong bitterly to save him from the sea of suffering, and Le Zhong took pity on him and took him home with him. On the way, he asked about the child's surname, and the child said, "My name is Asin, my surname is Yong, and my mother's surname is Gu." I once heard my mother say that she gave birth to me six months after marrying into the Yong family, and my original surname was Le. ”
Le Zhong was shocked, doubting that he would have been married once in his life for three days, and there should be no children. So he asked Ashin again, where is the home of the surname Le? Ashin replied, "I don't know, but my mother gave me a letter before she died telling me not to lose it." ”
Le Zhong hurried to write a letter to see that it was the divorce document he had written to the Gu family that year, and he exclaimed, "It is really my son!" "Counting the child's date of birth exactly, I felt very relieved.
Father and son were naturally happy to recognize each other, but the family's money was decreasing day by day, and after two years, even the fields were sold out, and even the servants could not afford to hire.
One day, the father and son were cooking, when suddenly a beautiful woman walked in, and Le Zhong looked at it, and it turned out to be Qionghua. Le Zhong asked in surprise, "How did you get here?" ”
Qionghua smiled and said, "We have already been a fake couple, do you want to ask me why?" I didn't come back with you right away because my mother was still alive, and now she's dead. So I think that if you don't marry a man, you can't protect yourself; if you marry someone, you can't keep yourself. The best of both worlds is better than following you, so I came to you from afar. "Just drop off your luggage and help them cook."
At night, Le Zhong's father and son slept in the same room as usual, and cleaned up another room for Qionghua to live in. Ashin regarded Qionghua as his mother, and Qionghua treated him like his own son. After the relatives and friends knew, they brought food to Le Zhong and QiongHua according to the marriage etiquette, and the two happily accepted it.
When someone came to the house as a guest, Qionghua could always hold a sumptuous banquet, and Le Zhong never asked her where the wine and dishes came from. Gradually, Qionghua took out gold and silver jewelry to redeem the original property for Lezhong, and widely purchased livestock and slaves, and the family business became more and more prosperous.
Le Zhong often said to Qionghua, "When I am drunk, you must avoid me and don't let me see." Qionghua smiled and agreed.
One day, Le Zhong was drunk again and eagerly called for Qionghua, who came out in full costume. Le Zhong looked at her with drunken eyes for a long time, and suddenly danced happily and shouted, "I have realized." "The wine woke up all at once. I only felt that the world in front of me was bright, and the houses I lived in had become Qionglou Yuyu, and after a while, the illusion disappeared.
From then on, Le Zhong no longer went outside to drink with others, but just sat down with Qionghua to drink. Qionghua eats fasting, but also accompanies him with tea instead of wine.
One day, Le Zhong was slightly drunk, and asked Qionghua to massage his thighs, only to see that the knife cut wounds on his legs had turned into two red lotus flowers, faintly protruding from the flesh, Qionghua felt very curious, Le Zhong smiled and said: "When you see these two lotus flowers blooming, our twenty-year fake couple should break up." Qionghua was convinced.
After helping Ah Xin complete the marriage, Qionghua gradually entrusted the affairs of the family to his daughter-in-law, and he and Le Zhong lived in other courtyards. Mr. and Mrs. Ashin came to see each other once every three days, and they did not bother them if they were not a difficult matter. Le Zhong and Qiong Hua only hired two maids, one responsible for warm wine and one responsible for boiling tea.
One day Qionghua went to see Mr. and Mrs. Ashin, chatted for a while, and then went with them to see Lezhong. As soon as I entered the door, I saw Le Zhong sitting barefoot on the bed. Le Zhong opened his eyes when he heard the voice and smiled, "Your mother and son have come too well!" After saying that, he closed his eyes again.
Qionghua was shocked and asked, "What are you going to do?" Looking at Lezhong's legs, the two lotus flowers were already in full bloom, and when he tried it with his hand, Lezhong was already out of breath. Qionghua hurriedly closed the two lotus flowers with his hands and prayed, "It is not easy for me to follow you from thousands of miles away, and it is also a little credit to teach your daughter-in-law for you." It's only two or three years away, so why can't you wait? ”
After a while, Le Zhong suddenly opened his eyes and smiled, "You have your own business, why do you need to pull me along?" Or, leave it for you for a while. Qionghua heard this and then let go of his hand, only to see that the two lotus flowers were closed again. So, the two talked and laughed as usual.
After more than three years, Qionghua was nearly forty years old, but still looked like a person in his twenties. One day, she suddenly said to Lezhong: "After people die, they will be lifted up by others, which is not elegant and clean." So he found a craftsman to make two coffins. Ashin asked in surprise why, and Qionghua replied, "This is not something you can know. ”
After the coffin was ready, Qionghua finished bathing and dressing, and told her son and daughter-in-law: "I am going to die." ”
Ashin cried out, "After so many years of relying on my mother, the whole family will not be frozen and starved." The mother has not enjoyed a few days of happiness, so why should she leave her child and leave? ”
Qionghua said, "The father planted the blessed field and enjoyed it by the son." Those slaves, cows and horses, are all repaid to your father by those who deceived your father in the first place, and I have no credit. I was originally a scattered flower goddess, but because of the accidental thinking of Fan, I was demoted to a fan for thirty years, and today the deadline has expired. After saying that, he lay down in the coffin himself, and when he called her again, Qionghua had already closed his eyes.
Ashin cried and went to tell his father, but his father did not know when he had stiffened and was dressed neatly. Asin burst into tears and heartbroken. The couple put Le Zhong into a coffin and placed it in the lobby with Qionghua's coffin, and did not mourn for several days, hoping that they would wake up again.
On this day, suddenly a ray of light emanated from Le Zhong's thigh, illuminating the whole room. In Qionghua's coffin, a thick incense mist was emitted, which even the neighbors could smell. After the coffin is closed, the light and incense mist gradually disappear.
After Le Zhong and Qiong Hua were buried, the children of the Le family coveted Le Zhong's property, so they gathered together to discuss and plan to drive Ah Xin away. They went to the government office and said that he was not a member of the Lejia family. The government could not distinguish between authenticity and falsity, so it planned to distribute half of Lezhong's family property to the sons of his own clan. Ashin was not convinced and took the case to the county, but still did not have a verdict for a long time.
It is said that at the beginning, after Gu Wenyuan's daughter was suspended by Le Zhong, he remarried her daughter to the Yong family. After more than a year, his daughter was exiled to Fujian, and the communication between father and daughter was cut off.
Gu Wenyuan was childless in old age and missed his daughter bitterly, so he went to his son-in-law's house to learn that his daughter was dead and his grandson had been driven away. Gu Wenyuan was furious, so he reported the Yong family to the official palace, and the Yong family was afraid and wanted to bribe Gu Wenyuan with money. But Gu Wenyuan refused to accept it, and he must get a grandson.
Gu Wenyuan has been looking for his grandson everywhere since then, but there has been no news of his grandson. One day, Gu Wenyuan happened to be walking on the road, and when he saw a car passing by, he avoided the side of the road. A beauty in the car shouted, "Aren't you Gu Weng?" ”
Gu Wenyuan replied yes.
The woman said, "Your grandson is my son, and now he is in Lejia, so don't sue." Your grandson is in trouble now, and you hurry over. Gu Wenyuan also wanted to ask the truth, the car had gone far.
Therefore, Gu Wenyuan accepted the Yong family's money and set off for Xi'an. When he arrived, the Lejia lawsuit over property was in full swing. Gu Wenyuan himself went to the court to surrender, telling the time when his daughter was suspended from returning home, the day she remarried, and the year of giving birth to the child, which was explained in detail and very clearly.
So the truth came out, and the sons of the Lejia family were beaten up and expelled, and the case was finally closed. When they returned home, they talked about the day they saw the beauty, which turned out to be the day qionghua died.
Ashin then asked Gu Wenyuan to move to his house, and gave him a house and a maid. Gu Wenyuan gave birth to another son when he was in his sixties, and Ah Xin took good care of this little uncle.
This story is from "Chatting with the Joy of Zhizhi", and I have a question after reading it. The article says that after Le Zhong took a break from his wife, he lived alone for twenty years before leaving for the South China Sea to worship. On his return, he met his own son, Ashin, who was only eight or nine years old. If it is really a biological son, then when we meet again after twenty years of divorce, shouldn't the son be almost twenty years old?