During the Ming Dynasty, in a hugely wealthy family surnamed Shen in Guabu (also known as Taoyeshan, southeast of present-day Liuhe, Nanjing), the couple had an only daughter named Shen Rong, who was clever and clever from an early age. Although Mr. Shen regrets not having a son, he has never fallen behind in his daughter's education, and he is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and song. In Taoye Mountain, when people mentioned the daughter of the Shen family, there was not a single one who did not praise and praise.
Once, Old Master Shen went to count and sort out the warehouse, and Xiao Shen Rong also helped sort it out. In a cluttered corner, she found a box with a seal made of ebony, and in the middle of the seal was painted with cinnabar in strange patterns.
Xiao Shen Rong looked at this box curiously, held it in his hand and watched it repeatedly, and he couldn't see it for half a day, what was inside? How come I never heard my parents say that there is such a thing in the house? She shook it in her hand, stared at the wooden box with a puzzled face, and asked, "Daddy, what kind of treasure is in this little box?" ”
Old Master Shen's busy figure, shuttling between various treasures, did not hear what his daughter said at all, and only casually returned: "You open it and look at it." After saying that, he continued to work in his hand.
Shen Rong looked at the ash-covered wooden box in front of him, and tore off the seal on it, and the wooden box snapped and opened itself, and inside it lay an ancient bronze mirror engraved with lotus flowers. She reached out and took out the bronze mirror from the box, and although the mirror was covered with green patina, the front was still as smooth as new.
A childish baby face appeared in the mirror, a pair of apricot eyes were full of surprise and curiosity, Shen Rong carefully held it in his hand to watch repeatedly, slender fingers caressed the pattern on the mirror inch by inch, the more he liked it, the more reluctant to put it down. Just as she was immersed in joy, suddenly, a scolding came from behind, frightening her so much that she almost threw the bronze mirror in her hand to the ground.
Old Master Shen did not know when he came to her side, and saw that his daughter was repeatedly touching the mirror body with a face of obsession, and a pair of beautiful apricot eyes stared at the mirror tightly, which frightened him to quickly reprimand Shen Rong to 'put down'. "Who told you to play with it?" Shen Yuanwai snatched the bronze mirror from his daughter's hand and put it into the wooden box while roaring loudly.
Shen Rong looked at his father with some grievance, put the ancient mirror back into the wooden box from his hand, and carefully fastened the lock, crouched down and said to his daughter: "You can play with the rest, but this bronze mirror can't." "Why?" Xiao Shen Rong looked at his father with a serious face and asked incomprehensibly.
Old Master Shen reached out and touched his daughter's small face and said, "Is it okay for Daddy to tell you a story?" "Hmm." Shen Rong looked at his father with those eyes full of anticipation. "This mirror, listening to your grandfather, was made during the Tang and Song dynasties, and there was a man-eating monster living in the mirror, and whoever opened it and used it would be eaten by the monster in the mirror. In the future, daddy will buy you a better and more beautiful copper mirror, okay? ”
Shen Rong used his thin arm to wrap his arms around Old Master Shen's neck, nodded his head as if he understood, and promised never to play with this ancient mirror again. After receiving a solemn reply from his daughter, Shen Yuanwai took Shen Rong out of the warehouse.
This matter just passed, and Shen Rong never saw this mirror again. As time passed, she had long forgotten about it.
Just as the so-called eighteenth change of the female eldest, Shen Rong came out of the pavilion, and through the matchmaker as a matchmaker, he recruited Yu Yangzhi, a Huaishang person, as a door-to-door son-in-law. At first, Yu Yangzhi's heart was a little awkward, he thought that all the daughters of rich and noble families were either stupid and stupid, or they looked like Ah Hua of Xu Yuanwai's family at the mouth of the village, ugly and ugly.
Every time he passed by her door, he had to be careful, if he was discovered, he would definitely be stopped by her, pulling on the sleeve, a protruding blood-red mouth, the corners of his mouth were still drooling, shouting loudly to marry himself, Xiao Yu felt terrible when he thought about it, he would rather fight a single stick for a lifetime than marry such a girl.
However, when he saw his wife on the night of the cave flower candle, his mood immediately turned into a cloudy and sunny, looking at the beautiful lady in front of him, Xiao Yu swept away the previous depression, and his face was also filled with happiness.
Since the two married, many of the family's business, Shen Yuanwai also slowly let Yang Zhi participate, the couple has become more and more harmonious and loving, the neighbors in the township have praised each other, envy Shen Yuanwai has recruited a satisfactory son-in-law.
One day, when Yu Yangzhi went to the storeroom to get something, he saw an open ebony box on the shelf in the corner of the wall, he wanted to close the box, walked over to see, there was a mirror full of patina inside, just when he was about to pick it up and take a closer look, he heard the voice of his father-in-law urging him to hurry up, and he was frightened and quickly turned around and walked out.
At night, Yang Zhi asked his wife about the bronze mirror, and the wife only said that there was indeed such an ancient mirror, but his father warned him from childhood that he was not allowed to use it, let alone take it out to play. Yu Yangzhi asked curiously why, and his wife replied that she didn't know either, but instead used something else to divert his attention.
But this bronze mirror, which only glanced at it, seemed to have some magic, and took root in Yang Zhi's heart. From time to time he asked about the bronze mirror, and his wife prevaricated every time, let alone let him see it.
Soon after, the Shen family was thief, the family lost a lot of gold and silver jewelry, not to mention, even the ancient mirror also disappeared together, Shen Father suspected this thief, know the secret of the ancient mirror. He thought to himself that although this ancient mirror was an ominous thing, after all, it had been passed down from generation to generation, and it was also considered to be an heirloom of the Shen family, and it was actually lost in his own hands, how could he have the face to see the ancestors after a hundred years? The more He thought about it, the more upset old master Shen became, and within two days he fell ill in bed, so he had been recuperating for more than a month before he gradually got better.
On this day, when Yang Zhi went to the west of the city to inspect the shop, he was attracted by the shouting of selling mirrors in front of him. At the corner of the street there was an old man dressed in dark blue, patched clothes, and in front of him was a bunch of copper mirrors of various styles and patterns, and he shouted over and over again: "Sell mirrors!" Good looking and easy to use mirror! ”
Yang Zhi walked over and reached over the stall, and a bronze mirror glowing with green rust attracted his eyes. Looking at the mirror in front of him, he had a sense of déjà vu, and he took it in his hand and looked at it carefully: the back of the mirror was engraved with a lotus flower, although it was covered with green rust, but through this mottled rust, it could still be seen that this bronze mirror was definitely not something that should be there now.
Yang Zhi asked the old man, "How can this mirror be sold?" The old man glanced at it hurriedly and said, "This is all overgrown with rust, you can just look at it and give it to two." He looked at the old man in disbelief and said cautiously, "Dare to ask the old man where did he find this mirror?" ”
The old man found a piece of blue flower cloth from under the stall, wrapped the mirror and handed it to him, and said: "Someone moved a few days ago, and the owner of the house prepared to throw away some old things, just met by me, turned over some good things, although old, but it does not affect the use, so pick up and continue to use, this mirror is in the pile of items." ”
Yang Zhi quickly took out a hundred dollars and handed it to the old man, and the old man looked at so much money and said with some surprise: "Gongzi, if you don't want this much, give too much." "Take half the money out of it and give it back to him." Yang Zhi smiled and said, "The old man should not postpone, this bronze mirror is related to me, and this mirror is also worth these silver coins." After saying that, he picked up the wrapped copper lens and left without lifting.
When he returned home, he saw his wife Shen Rong tidying up his makeup in front of the mirror, so he took out the copper mirror wrapped in his sleeve and said, "I just met the merchant who sold mirrors on the street, and Bought it and gave it to you." ”
The wife said with a playful tone while laughing: "Before there was a copper mirror in the house, my father was like a rare treasure, no one was allowed to touch it, not allowed to take it out, let alone dress up in the mirror, you see now from the street to spend a hundred and eighty copper, you can buy one back, I already know that this is not worth much, it is better to take it out as an ordinary item, and my father will not have a serious illness." ”
When she opened the cloth bag, she screamed in shock and said, "That's it, Xianggong, where did you get it?" Yang Zhi said with some shock, "Do you see clearly?" Is it really the side that was lost the other day? Shen Rong took it in his hand and looked at it carefully and said, "Well, it is indeed the mirror that my family lost." Yang Zhi told his wife in detail what had happened.
Shen Rong hesitated, looked at himself in the mirror, suddenly changed his face, and scolded in a loud voice: "Who are you?" A voice shouted from the mirror, "Who are you?" The voice in the mirror paused for a moment and said, "The slave family is Lang Jun's concubine, and here I have given my sister a salute, can't my sister tolerate me?" Shen Rong's hand was frightened, and the bronze mirror fell to the ground with a loud bang, and he said with trepidation: "Scared me to death."
The voice in the mirror also said, "I really fell to my death!" Yu Yangzhi was horrified, bent down to pick up the copper mirror to examine, in the mirror stood a beautiful person, moth eyebrows like dai, phoenix eyes with affection, is looking at themselves tenderly like water.
Yang Zhi coughed lightly and asked her who she really was, and the beauty in the mirror sighed quietly and said, "I was originally The favorite of Zhu Quanzhong during the Five Dynasties period, and later Quanzhong was destroyed by Tang, and I also lost my life in the rebel army." Later, I met a fairy master, cast this bronze mirror with blood, and attached my soul to the mirror, and hundreds of years have passed. I heard that Lang Jun is elegant and erudite, and is willing to be Lang Jun's concubine and accompany him for life. ”
"You wouldn't be a home for trouble, would you?" Yang Zhi asked tentatively. The beauty in the mirror blinked her eyes and said, "Where do you dare to be a disaster, just for the sake of playing for the jun to play, moreover, I will not fight with people for a pillow and be happy, and please Lang Jun and his wife not to worry more." "Is this true?" Yang Zhi once again determined the Tao.
"Of course it's true, but I can't lie to you!" Besides, I was detained in the mirror, even if I wanted to go out, I couldn't break free of the seal of the ancient mirror. The man in the mirror said. Yang Zhi was very happy, holding the bronze mirror and asking, "Then what will you do?" "When I was young, I learned to sing."
Therefore, Yang Zhi placed the bronze mirror on the opposite side of the bed, and the couple sat together to listen to the beauty in the mirror. A melodious song floated out of the mirror, and the music was elegant and ethereal, unlike all the world. At the climax of the singing, the beauty in the mirror did not know when to change into a gauze dress as thin as a cicada wing, bent her waist and bent her wrists and danced a beautiful dance.
The husband and wife could not help themselves after a while, and even the bronze mirror standing on the opposite side was too late to put it away, and they hurriedly lowered the curtain to cheer up. Slowly it became a matter of habituation.
However, within a few days, the couple was actually sick and could not get up and walk, and the condition became more and more serious.
This matter was finally known to Old Master Shen, and the old man put away the bronze mirror from the couple's bedroom and reprimanded his daughter: "In the past, I didn't let you see this bronze mirror, just because I knew that there were demons inside, for hundreds of years, I don't know how many lives were harmed, before your grandfather passed it down, he repeatedly asked, don't open it, let her be a disaster in the world, really can't only destroy this mirror." In the face of this monster, how can you touch it day and night and use it! ”
Old Master Shen wrapped the bronze mirror in cloth and placed it in an iron box, and asked the mage to cast a spell to seal the box layer by layer. After the bronze mirror was removed, the couple underwent medical treatment and slowly recovered their health after half a year.
In the spring of the following year, Old Master Shen suddenly gave up and returned to the west, and this bronze mirror was never seen again, let alone where it went.