The Buddha said: The cycle of cause and effect, good and evil are rewarded. Most of the wonders of the world are like this, but those who believe do much good, and those who doubt should not do many evils, and this is the right way. It is said that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a painter named Wang Yi in Yangwu County, Huaiqing Prefecture, Henan Province, who was about sixty years old and was a painter in the palace.
After Wang Yi returned to his hometown, he made a living by selling paintings, his wife died early, and he had no children under his knees, so he accepted two apprentices, one to inherit his painting skills, and the other to be able to rely on his old age. The eldest apprentice has already graduated from school, and the second apprentice is an orphan picked up by Wang Yi on the side of the road, and he doesn't know his name, so he followed his Wang surname and named Wang Zifeng.
Wang Zifeng is smart by nature, kind and straightforward, but he is not as stubborn as Wang Yi, so Wang Yi likes this little apprentice very much. At that time, the emperor did not go to court day by day, and there were traitorous ministers in charge, and the people lived in great hardship. Although Wang Yi's painting skills are excellent, it is still difficult for ordinary people to eat, and where is there extra silver to paint for himself, which is neither suitable for eating nor wearing.
Now Wang Zifeng has passed the age of eighteen, and has reached the age of self-reliance, this day and night the master and apprentice talked, but heard Wang Yi say: "Zifeng, this Huaiqing Mansion is not a rich place after all, it is difficult to display talents, and you can't rely on painting skills to make a living. Since ancient times, there have been many officials and nobles in the land of Gyeonggi, and many wealthy families in the hometown of Jiangnan, and only these two places are the ideal places for painters. ”
Wang Zifeng nodded yes and said, "Master is reasonable, so I'll go and pack my bags." But should we go to the capital or to the south of the Yangtze River? Wang Yi waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's already the year of being a teacher, and I can't stand the toss!" As the saying goes, the fallen leaves return to the roots, and the teacher doesn't want to die in a foreign country, and he won't be blind when he dies! You are born with a very high level of understanding, and there is no lack of intelligence, if you have the opportunity, you will make a difference, so the teacher wants you to go on your own. ”
Wang Zifeng said: "Master said something, your body has always been strong, and it is not impossible to live a long life. Besides, who will take care of you when the apprentice is gone? Wang Yi said: "It's okay, Master can still move now, and he has accumulated a little silver taels in the past, you don't have to worry about it." If you have accomplished it in another day, it is not too late to think about it. ”
Wang Zifeng didn't know in his heart that the master's move was unwilling to delay himself, and he was not such an indecisive person, so he immediately made up his mind to go north to the capital, and if he achieved it as soon as possible, he would return to his hometown as soon as possible to support the master. Wang Zifeng swore to his master as early as the beginning of learning to paint that he would never paint that kind of obscene painting.
However, in recent days, Wang Zifeng dreamed of a woman every night, and he felt very strange in his heart, and he was now an adult, so he understood the relationship between men and women, so he secretly drew the appearance of the woman in his dream by imagination. Although this painting is not an obscene painting, I was also worried about the master's punishment, so I didn't tell the master. Farewell to the master, Wang Zifeng took this painting with him, but it was this painting that caused an adventure.
This is the first time Wang Zifeng has gone far away, but because he did not inquire about the way, he strayed into the mountains and forests in the evening. At this time, it was the thick autumn, and as soon as I entered the mountain, a cold and solemn air came suddenly. At this time, he heard the sound of wolf howling in the distance, Wang Zifeng suddenly shuddered, his feet seemed to keep calling, and he involuntarily ran into the depths of the mountain forest.
At the end of the day, Wang Zifeng was tired and hungry, his legs were sore, and when he saw that there were thick weeds on the side of the mountain road, he couldn't care about much, so he suddenly lay down in the weeds, gasping for breath. After a long time, Wang Zifeng opened his eyes, only to see the bright moon in the sky, silver light leaking, looking at the full moon like an ice wheel, but a little less frightened.
When he had nothing to do, Wang Zifeng remembered the woman he had seen in his dream recently, so he unfolded the portrait, stared intently at the lifelike woman in the painting, and couldn't help but say: "If you are really so good...... " After saying that, he closed his eyes and kissed the cheek of the woman in the painting. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but let out a "huh", only to see a slight light not far ahead.
Wang Zifeng stood up and hurriedly ran towards the place where the light was shining, and when he got closer, he saw clearly that it was a dilapidated thatched house, and the light came out of the window. Wang Zifeng hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and knocked on the door, and a voice like a green warbler came out: "Who?" Wang Zifeng couldn't help but be dumbfounded, and thought, "Woman? ”
A pretty woman, "squeak" opened the door, and when she saw the woman's appearance clearly, Wang Zifeng was dumbfounded, dumbfounded, looked at her directly, and said tremblingly: "Live, how did you live......" Seeing him so demented, the woman couldn't help but laugh, pushed him, and said: "You kid, can't you lose your heart and go crazy?" ”
It turned out that this woman's appearance was the same as the woman in the painting, and it was no wonder that Wang Zifeng was a little stunned. He was pushed by the woman, only to realize that he was out of shape, and apologized: "The boy is out of shape, please forgive Miss!" The woman asked him what he had come from, and Wang Zifeng told him how he had strayed into the mountains and forests.
When he learned that there was only one woman in the house, Wang Zifeng said: "Men and women don't kiss, the name is big, the kid doesn't dare to tarnish the reputation of the young lady, and it is absolutely impossible to stay overnight." If you have the heart, just give me some food. The woman asked, "Where do you sleep, because you don't want to spend the night?" ”
Wang Zifeng looked around, saw a pile of haystacks behind the house, and pointed: "If Miss doesn't dislike it, I'll spend the night there!" The woman smiled and said, "There are often wolves on this mountain in the middle of the night, if you are not afraid of being bitten by wolves, sleep outside!" Wang Zifeng was a little frightened, and said hesitantly: "This ...... I ......"
He was hesitating to himself, but saw the woman pull him into the house. Entering the house, Wang Zifeng was not good at refusing again, and at this time he also saw the woman's appearance clearly, but he saw that her lips were red and her teeth were white, her face was like peach blossoms, her eyes were like autumn water, her skin was like condensation, and her slender and graceful posture was beautiful, exactly the same as the woman in the painting.
When the two were talking, Wang Zifeng learned that this woman's name was Lin Ruoyu, and when Wang Zifeng asked why he lived in the mountains, Lin Ruoyu only said that this was his own house, and he lived in the mountains in a fit of anger because he had a grudge with his aunt (father's concubine). Although the thatched hut was small, there was wine and food in the house, and the prince was full of wine and food, so he spread a blanket on the ground and fell asleep in a daze.
At night, he had a sweet dream, and Lin Ruoyu worshiped the church, and the two of them were in the cave room, drinking and talking, so happy. In the early morning, Wang Zifeng woke up in a daze, and a cool breeze swept by, and he couldn't help but tremble. He opened his eyes suddenly, and found that he was sleeping outside the house, and that the thatched hut of yesterday was gone.
Then I saw that only the painting was still in my arms, and the woman in the painting was staring at her as usual and laughing. Wang Zifeng put away the painting, and was terrified, only to see a white bone covered under the painting, seeing this terrifying state, he suddenly jumped up and hurriedly retreated a few steps. I thought in my heart: "Could it be that I slept with this white bone last night?" ”
He hung his head and was turning away when he saw a sandalwood box on the ground. After opening it, there was a key and a piece of paper in the box, and four words were written on the paper: dig the grave and open the coffin. Wang Zifeng turned his head to look, there was indeed a tomb not far away, could it be that the paper said that this grave was dug up?
Wang Zifeng first entered the world, where did he dare to dig people's graves, thought for a moment, and still left quickly. When I arrived in the downtown area, the sense of panic decreased slightly, but the suspicion doubled, what happened last night was not a dream, it was indeed a real thing. If it was really that woman who wanted something for herself, but she walked away, wouldn't she be ungrateful?
Wang Zifeng was meditating to himself, but he saw a soldier staring at him on the side of the road, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he had something to say. Wang Zifeng hesitated for a moment, stepped forward and asked, "Dare to ask about the ghosts of Chang Ketong?" The Taoist priest smiled and said, "Whenever things in the world happen in heaven and earth, there must be cause and effect, and there must be a solution!" He also asked the benefactor to tell the poor what he had encountered. ”
Wang Zifengguan is a Taoist priest with a clear wind and bones, and his words have deep meaning, and he must have a little Taoism, so he told him what happened yesterday. After hearing this, the Taoist priest smiled slightly: "Don't worry, if you encounter evil ghosts, the donor's seal hall will inevitably turn black, and your spirit will definitely be damaged." However, the donor's face was ruddy and full of energy, and he was by no means attacked by evil spirits. Even if that woman is indeed a ghost, it will not hurt you. All you have to do is do what she does, and it will work! ”
After listening to the words of the Taoist priest, Wang Zifeng made up his mind, so he returned again, bought a hoe, and dug up the grave and opened the coffin. After a lot of effort, a black coffin came into view. But to Wang Zifeng's surprise, this coffin is not like a coffin, but like a huge wooden box, but a keyhole on the front. Wang Zifeng took out the key left by Lin Ruoyu from his arms, put it into the lock hole, and with a slight twist, the coffin was opened with a "squeak".
I saw that there was indeed a young woman in the coffin, although her face was very pale, but it was difficult to hide her beautiful color, and she was also a stunning beauty in her life. For some reason, Wang Zifeng was a little disappointed in his heart, he thought that when he opened the coffin, he would see yesterday's woman, but he didn't want it to be someone else. Wang Zifeng looked at the woman carefully, there was a letter in front of her, and the envelope was affixed with a sigil.
Wang Zifeng tore the talisman lightly, picked up the envelope, and saw five beautiful small characters: "Wang Zifeng opened it personally!" Wang Zifeng was shocked, and said in his heart: "I have never met this woman, how can she know my name, strange, strange!" Wang Zifeng didn't have the heart to speculate on the inside story, and couldn't wait to open the envelope, it turned out that the daughter in the coffin was called Lin Ruoyu, and told about her family affairs.
This incident happened in the neighboring county of Yuanwu County, and Lin Ruoyu's father was a local member, and the reason was that he accepted a concubine. Lin's father has a lot of money, but he only has two daughters under his knees, the eldest daughter Lin Ruoyu and the second daughter Lin Ruoxi. Although the two daughters have the appearance of the country's beauty and fragrance, they are unable to continue the incense. Father Lin accepted four concubines, but he still failed to do so, until the fifth concubine married into the Lin Mansion, which caused a disaster.
This woman is called Chen Manqing, young and beautiful, extremely smart, but her heart is too vicious. She married Father Lin, just for money, and if anyone stopped her, she would kill him. Within two years of marrying into the Lin Mansion, Lin's father loved him in every way, obeyed his words, and seemed to have been caught in ecstasy soup. Father Lin not only handed over all the family business to Chen Manqing, but also handed over part of the family property to her for safekeeping.
Although Lin Ruoyu's sisters had prejudices, they were powerless to stop them, until one day Lin Ruoyu saw Chen Manqing having a private meeting with her and planned to tell Lin's father, Chen Manqing finally poisoned the two sisters. It is also in line with Lin Ruoxi's life that should not be extinguished, Chen Manqing poisoned the food of the two, and Lin Ruoxi happened to go to the toilet that day.
When she returned to the room, she saw that her sister was already dying, so Lin Ruoyu immediately let her sister escape and escaped. Xu is father Lin noticed Chen Manqing's ambition, and did not hand over all the family property to her, but told Lin Ruoyu the secret of the family property. Chen Manqing was extremely angry, the secret of the family property must still be on Lin Ruoyu, so he searched for his corpse countless times, but he didn't find it.
Chen Manqing said in her heart, since she couldn't get it, others couldn't think of it, so she locked Lin Ruoyu's body in the coffin and pasted a talisman, if ordinary people approached, they would suffer disaster. Unless he was born on the day of the extreme sun, and Wang Zifeng was born at this time, only he could open Lin Ruoyu's tomb and not be harmed by the rune.
Since the coffin was locked by Chen Manqing, and the key should have been on her, how could she run to Wang Zifeng? It turned out that Lin Ruoxi tried his best to steal the key from Chen Manqing, and he was worried that people would know about it, so he quietly buried it next to his sister's grave. Now Lin's father Chen Manqing covers the sky with one hand, Lin's father is depressed because of his daughter's tragic death, and Lin Ruo's whereabouts are unknown.
Lin Ruoyu said in the letter that if Wang Zifeng can avenge him, he will definitely give him a great fortune. Wang Zifeng was very surprised in his heart, lamenting the strangeness of this matter, lamenting the misery of Lin Ruoyu's family, and even lamenting the viciousness of Chen Manqing. Wang Zifeng was not for the so-called wealth, just because Chen Manqing was too vicious, and the fate of the Lin family and his daughter was too miserable, so he got up and walked to Yuanwu County.
Wang Zifeng thought about how to deal with Chen Manqing and his good men. When he arrived in Yuanwu County, after a little inquiry, he knew where the Lin Mansion was, and somehow, Wang Zifeng walked on the road and seemed to feel that someone was following him. Suddenly, a person slapped him hard in the back, and Wang Zifeng exclaimed, "Senior brother? Why are you here? ”
This person is none other than his senior brother Chen Zikun. But I heard Chen Zikun say: "I should ask you this, if you don't know that I am now in the Lin Mansion of Yuanwu County, why did you inquire about the whereabouts of the Lin Mansion as soon as I entered the city?" As far as I know, you don't know anyone in this Yuanwu County. "Wang Zifeng is wondering to himself, why is Senior Brother in Lin Mansion?
He was about to ask a question, but after a moment of thought, he nodded and said, "Exactly, I did hear about you." The two talked on the way, and Wang Zifeng faintly suspected that Chen Manqing's good friend must be Chen Zikun. He was very disappointed in his heart, he never thought that his senior brother would fall like this, but after thinking about it, Chen Zikun was his senior brother after all, how could he avenge Lin Ruoyu?
Chen Zikun brought Wang Zifeng into the Lin Mansion, went in and out freely, and drank as if he were his own family, so he was even more sure that he was Chen Manqing's friend. Chen Manqing learned that Chen Zikun's junior brother came to visit, and he personally greeted him and held a banquet to welcome him. It's just that Wang Zifeng didn't have the slightest appetite, but when he remembered that the two of them had killed the Lin family's father and daughter, he hated it in his heart.
After three rounds of drinking, I heard Chen Zikun say: "Senior brother, you came here today, but I'm afraid that you won't be able to go out again!" Wang Zifeng was puzzled and asked, "What does Senior Brother mean by this?" Chen Zikun stretched out his hand and took out a key and said, "This thing is not yours, but why is it on you?" Wang Zifeng hurriedly touched into his arms and found that the key was no longer there, but he had stolen it.
Since this is the case, Wang Zifeng simply stopped hiding it and said, "Master and I never expected you to do such a thing, you are really unscrupulous for money!" Chen Zikun said angrily: "Don't mention that old thing, I just drew a few pictures of the Spring Palace to sell, and he drove me away!" People die for money, birds die for food, Lao Tzu can't eat enough, and he doesn't care if he is moral or not! ”
After that, he took out a dagger from his arms, but heard Chen Manqing say viciously: "Don't talk nonsense, kill him immediately!" Chen Zikun sneered and stabbed Wang Zifeng in the chest. Suddenly, hearing the sound of "ding", a tall maid drew his sword to resist, and Chen Zikun had to abandon Wang Zifeng to fight the maid.
Wang Zifeng's eyes were fast, he stretched his leg and stumbled, Chen Zikun fell in response, the maid did not hesitate, and stabbed Chen Zikun in the back of the heart with a sword, Chen Zikun struggled a few times, and died of breath. Chen Manqing was shocked and ran away, but it was a pity that she could not catch up with the young maid.
The maid took three steps and made two steps, grabbed Chen Manqing, and said sharply: "Dad! Sister! Daughter, I will avenge you! With that, a sword stabbed Chen Manqing in the throat, and Chen Manqing screamed miserably, and his life was whimpered. She turned her head to look at Wang Zifeng and said, "Don't leave yet!" Wang Zifeng was still feeling sorry for Chen Zikun, listened to her shout, and left the Lin Mansion with her.
When they arrived at a safe place, the maid shed the fat powder and clothes on her face, and Wang Zifeng shouted: "It turned out to be you!" The maid was strange and asked, "Do you and I know each other?" Wang Zifeng immediately told the maid what he had encountered before. This woman is none other than Lin Ruoyu's sister Lin Ruoxi.
I saw her sigh: "That day and night, what you saw must have been my sister drawing a human form, and she would become my form to see you." If you hadn't come to the door today with the key, you wouldn't have led the wicked woman out, and if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been able to take revenge!" It turned out that after Lin Ruoyu's death, the soul of the grievances was not gone, and he wandered in the forest that night, and suddenly found that the woman in Wang Zifeng's painting was exactly the same as his sister.
She thought that Wang Zifeng and his sister knew each other, so she attached herself to a white bone, turned into her sister, and deliberately brought him to see her. After talking, it was revealed that the two did not know each other, and that the painting was just a coincidence. It's just that when he heard that Wang Zifeng was born on the day of the ninth extreme sun in early September, Lin Ruoyu felt that only this person could solve the affairs of the family.
Led Wang Zifeng to open the coffin and lead him to Yuanwu County, all of which were done by Lin Ruoyu. After hearing this, Lin Ruoxi also felt incredible, and what was even more strange was that the two of them had the same dream at night. The next day, they went to Lin Ruoyu's grave together, opened the coffin again, shaved Lin Ruoyu's hair, and a few small words appeared on the scalp: gold and silver at home, under the firewood house of the old house in Yuxi Town, Yuanwu County.
The two reburied Lin Ruoyu, and after everything was in order, Wang Zifeng said: "Your family affairs are over, let's say goodbye!" Lin Ruoxi said angrily: "You painted me again, and dreamed of me again, and you still ....... that night Why did you leave me? Just say it, will you marry me?" Wang Zifeng was surprised and delighted, and said: "Boy, I am poor, so I am naturally willing to ...... in every way" After that, the two looked at each other and smiled, and left side by side.