When King Shangshu was serving as an envoy to Jingzhou, one day, a scholar surnamed Lü, claiming to be his cousin, came to him with a sticker. When Wang Qian looked, he saw that this man was holding a donkey whip in his hand, his clothes were torn, his face was dishes, and he looked poor and destitute. I thought to myself, recognizing such a poor relative would really hurt my face and be laughed at by my colleagues. He pretended not to know him, and he did not treat him with courtesy. Lü Sheng ate the closed door, his heart was angry and hateful, he was unhappy, and fell ill in the guest house. An illness is more than a month, spending every penny, embarrassing poverty to the extreme. Helpless, he had to lead the donkey he was riding on to Jingzhou City to sell.
Guarding the gate of the Jingzhou market was an elder surnamed Yu, who saw Lü Sheng's worried face and sighed unceasingly, knowing that he must have something to do. Yu Laoweng was a warm-hearted old man, who stepped forward and said to Lü Sheng, "Xiang Gong's face is full of sorrow, is there anything difficult about it?" Lü Sheng glanced at the elder in front of him, saw that he was born with clear eyebrows, a rosy face, a long beard hanging down his chest, and a fairy wind Dao bone, and immediately developed a lot of good feelings for him, sighed, and said: "Alas! The student's family is in the north of Chang'an Weishui, because of the poor family, his parents are old, and they are unable to support them. Wang Qian, the cousin of the student, came thousands of miles away to run, hoping that he would read about his relatives, give some help, and make a living. Unexpectedly, he pretended not to know, and did not even look at me. Helpless, I had to sell the donkey I was riding on. It's so bad to think about my life! "Say it, and I am so sad that I will shed tears.
Yu Weng was very sympathetic to Lü Sheng's plight and very angry with Wang Qian's forces, saying: "Although my family is poor and incapable of helping you more money, it is still no problem to invite you to eat a meal and relieve the hunger in your belly." Tonight, please come to my house for dinner. After eating, I live in my house, thinking you won't resign, right? ”
Lü Sheng was grateful, and Yu Weng led Lü Sheng to his home. The house was very shabby, narrow, dark and damp, and the eaves and gables had been sloping and broken. There were no beds and futons in the house, just broken reed mats on the ground. Yu Weng invited Lü Sheng to sit down on the mat, asked Han and warm, talked for a long time, and Fang made a fire to cook. The rice was not good, it was made of brown rice and served in rough pottery. After eating, the night was already very deep, and Yu Weng said to Lü Sheng, "In my early years, I was envious of the Immortals and good Dao, and I used to live in seclusion in the Siming Mountains and follow the Taoist priests to learn the art of immortality, but unfortunately I did not learn it. After coming to Jingzhou, I went into hiding and didn't tell anyone, so although I lived here for ten years, no one knew where I came from. You are trapped in the reverse brigade, it is really pitiful, I can not be indifferent. Tonight, I'm going to do a little trick to get you some money to wrap up for your way home. Isn't that exactly what it should be? ”
Lü Sheng thought to himself, Yu Weng's family is so poor, where to go to get the road fee coiled? Although he suspected that Yu Weng's words were absurd and vain, he saw that the expression on his face was very serious, and his eyes flashed with magical discoloration, not that you were lying to him, so he nodded his head in agreement.
But Yu Weng took out a small clay pot from under the corner of the wall and buckled it to the ground. After eating a meal, he opened the clay pot and saw that there was a small person clasped inside, five inches tall, wearing a golden crown, wearing a purple robe, and a jade belt around his waist, and he bowed to Yu Weng. Yu Weng pointed at the little man and said to Lü Sheng, "This is the soul of Wang Qian, please look at Xianggong carefully." Lü Sheng leaned over to look closely, and sure enough, he looked exactly like Wang Qian, just a little smaller. Lü Sheng was very surprised and secretly admired Yu Weng for his miraculous skills.
Yu Weng pointed his finger at Wang Qian's soul and reprimanded, "Lü Sheng was originally your cousin, because his family was poor and he was unable to support his parents, and he came from Weibei thousands of miles to defect to you." You should think of family affection, treat each other with courtesy, and give some help. However, you are arrogant and arrogant, and instead of helping him, you throw him out of the official residence, do you still have a little conscience? Remembering that you are a first-time offender and that your conscience has not been completely lost, I will not punish you for the time being. After you go back, you should treat him well, give him more help, and don't let him be trapped here and can't go home. Did you hear me clearly? ”
Wang Qian's soul bowed his head and bent down, respectfully listening to the teachings. After Yu Weng finished speaking, Wang Qian's soul couldn't help but bow his hand, and lian lian replied, "Respectfully obey the Immortal Will!" Obey the immortals' will! ”
Yu Weng also said, "Lü Sheng has no servants and horses, so you must give him a horse and a servant, and give him another two hundred silks for his future life." ”
Wang Qian's soul nodded continuously, and one by one agreed. Yu Weng then reused Wang Qian's soul and buckled it with a clay pot, and when the clay pot was opened again, Wang Qian's soul was already gone.
The next day, just after dawn, Yu Weng said to Lü Sheng, "After dawn, Wang Qian will send someone to the guest house to pick you up. ”
Lü Sheng bid farewell to Yu Weng and had just returned to the guest house, when the people sent by Wang Qian to invite him also arrived. Lü Sheng accompanied the people to the Festival, which was very different from the previous time, Wang Qian warmly greeted me, treated me with courtesy, and said with deep regret: "My nephew is not far away to see me, but because I am entangled in military affairs, I do not even have time to have a good conversation with my nephew for a day, which is very rude, deeply ashamed, and also asks my nephew to forgive me." ”
He took Lü Sheng out of the dirty little inn, let him live in the inn of the Jiedu Embassy, and accompanied him to drink and feast for several days. Lü Sheng wanted to resign and go back, and Wang Qian gave him a horse, a servant, and two hundred silks, which was completely consistent with what Yu Weng said, but he dared to make it clear.
After returning to his hometown in Weibei, after many years, once Lü Sheng lived with several friends, and at night he was fine, telling stories of gods and spirits, and only then did he tell his friends about this matter.
This article was originally titled "Yu Shuo", in the 74th volume of the Taiping Guangji, and the picture comes from the Internet.