During the Qing Dynasty, there was a woman named Jiang Shigu in Hubei. She came from a scholarly family. Her parents died when she was young and she was raised by her widowed aunt. She is young, beautiful and intelligent. She helps her aunt make a living with her needlework skill

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a woman named Jiang Shigu in Hubei. She came from a scholarly family. Her parents died when she was young and she was raised by her widowed aunt. She is young, beautiful and intelligent. She helps her aunt make a living with her needlework skills, and they depend on each other for life. My aunt has a son named Brother Jiao. He is three years old and studying in a private school. When he comes home at night, Aunt Shi will always ask him about his homework during the day in order to learn how to read. As time went by, she became proficient in arts and sciences, and her aunt loved her even more. When a matchmaker comes to discuss marriage, the match is often incompatible. There was a certain young man in the village who was always lustful. When he happened to see Shigu's appearance, he was so excited that he pretended to be a relative and came to tease her from time to time. Shi Gu noticed his bad intentions and avoided seeing him. The young master thought that a girl from a poor scholar's family could be lured, so he took his aunt out and dressed up in fine clothes. When Shigu saw it was him, she immediately closed the door.

The young master took off the gold bracelet and threw it in through the window, and said to Aunt Shi, "How about you take a look at this?" Aunt Shi was furious and threw the bracelet back to him, cursing: "Who do you call Qing? Who are you?" My dear! If you think this is a good thing, why don't you give it to your mother? Otherwise, don't give it to your sister or sister, don't think of tainting my body." She was inviolable, picked up the bracelet and left with hatred. When her aunt came back, Aunt Shi cried and told her what had happened. The aunt had the strongest temper, and everyone was in awe of her. Early the next morning, she came to the door to denounce the young master's crimes, scolding him bitterly. The young master was so ashamed and angry that he disappeared from sight. My aunt has a brother's son named Xingsheng. His father died of illness when he was young, and his mother taught him how to read. When he was sixteen, his mother passed away, so he abandoned his studies.

After he was born, he was high-spirited and cunning and upright. The family is impoverished, but they pride themselves on being noble. He once picked up silver left behind by others on the road and returned it to the owner right where he was. Most people who heard about it laughed at his stupidity. At the end of the year, a classmate and friend were teaching at a neighbor's house and invited Xingsheng to come in and copy the book. The neighboring man rewarded me with ten taels of silver to make up for the cost of polishing his pen. Friends Su and Xingsheng have a very close friendship, and they also gave me another ten taels of silver. Xingsheng bought a brand new robe, which looked majestic and gorgeous. At the beginning of the new year, I went to my aunt’s house to pay New Year greetings. My aunt was surprised and said: "I haven't seen you for a while, why are you so glorious all the time? Could it be that you got a windfall?" Probably people in Hubei call digging up a hoard of silver as getting a windfall. Xingsheng smiled and responded casually. The aunt believed it even more and asked repeatedly what happened. Xing Sheng said helplessly: "Why bother to get to the bottom of it, we will know it later."

Auntie understood and said: "Yes, the more secretive it is, the longer it will be prosperous." Probably whenever people in Hubei dig up a hoard of silver, even relatives and friends will definitely keep it a secret. If you don't want to complain, there is always a saying that "a year of secrets will make you rich; a secret of one generation will make you rich forever." That's why my aunt said this. At night, my aunt quietly told Gu Shi: "Xingsheng made a fortune, and he kept it a secret and refused to tell anyone. The more secret it is, the more prosperous it will be, so I won't be able to ask. It's just that he is still young, so there is no guarantee that he will not waste money. I see you are getting older." I am not married yet, so I am always worried. If you are willing to marry him and help him manage the family, what do you think?" Shigu blushed and said nothing. The aunt asked her thoughts again, and it took her a long time to reply: "If aunt finds out clearly, all children will obey orders." The aunt said happily: "I have found out clearly, what else do you have to be suspicious of." The next day, Xing Sheng was told that fate He asked the matchmaker to come quickly to get engaged.

I will never be harsh on you." Xingsheng was forced by his aunt's order, so he sent a matchmaker to prepare a hasty betrothal gift to marry Shi Gu back home. Shi Gu came to Xing Sheng's house and saw that the walls were desolate and there was nothing to grow. Occasionally, I asked Xingsheng whether he really made a fortune, but Xingsheng just laughed and said nothing. Shigu sighed: "Rich or poor, fate is the same, and I won't complain. If a man doesn't study, he will never make any progress.If your husband is really willing to study hard, I will support my family with my tired fingers and needlework, and I will not starve or freeze. Are you willing? Xingsheng smiled and said: "Studying is a niche thing, why don't you want to?" I just can't bear to strain your fingers. You don't have to worry, Xiaosheng has his own way of managing his business. "

Shigu said Xingsheng's words were very erratic and confused, and said angrily: "If this is the case, will your husband really make a fortune? It’s okay to keep it a secret from others, so why keep it a secret from your wife? Xingsheng smiled and said, "I'll tell you when the time comes." A few days later, Xingsheng went out. Aunt Shi saw a small courtyard behind the house, with paths full of grass. She tried to hoe the courtyard one by one. Sure enough, I saw the mouth of the urn in the corner of the wall, and when I dug deeper, I found that there was a lot of silver in the urn. Shi Gu was so happy that she still buried it with soil. The next day, Xingsheng was in an emergency and needed money and planned to pawn something. Shi Gu smiled and said, "Stop pretending! Are you crazy when you pawn something when you obviously have money and don't need it?" Xingsheng was shocked when he heard this. Then he asked: "How did you know that I am rich?" Shi Gu smiled and said: "You kept it a secret and refused to tell me, do you think I never knew about it?" Then she picked up the hoe with a smile and took Xingsheng's clothes to the corner. After excavation, the mouth of the urn was exposed and it was full of silver.

Shigu pointed at the silver and scolded Xingsheng: "What is this? Do you still think I don't know?" Xingsheng was overjoyed, so he lied and said: "Since I let you know, what's the secret? But put it here. After all, it's not a long-term strategy. It's better to transport it and hide it." Shi Gu smiled and said, "Okay!" The two of them moved the money at night, totaling more than 5,000 taels of silver. Shi Gu said: "Getting money secretly but not using it is the behavior of a miser. What's the use?" So she slowly took the money to buy property. Within a few years, the two of them owned fertile land and mansions, and became the richest men in the local area. At first, a certain young man was humiliated by Aunt Shi and he always held a grudge. Now that he heard that she had married Xingsheng and made a fortune, he became even more envious and jealous. So he bribed the thief and identified Xingsheng as the accomplice he was harboring in order to vent his anger.

At this time, Xingsheng studied hard according to his wife's teachings and entered the county school. Since the autumn examination was about to take place, Aunt Shi became more and more strict in supervising her husband's studies. Suddenly the servant panted and came to report that a county official came to the door with a signature, saying that the master was harboring a thief and that he would be put on trial immediately. Xing Sheng looked depressed when he heard the news. Shigu scolded: "Are you really harboring big thieves? Why are you so cowardly?" Xingsheng sighed: "What can I do?" Shigu said solemnly: "I think this must be a frame-up instigated by the enemy, and it is definitely not fearful. Just avoid it. Just go to the court and argue. The court official may not be really indiscriminate, but the villagers will have their own grievances with the respected officials. If you are afraid to evade, you will only make your enemies laugh." When Xingsheng heard this, he became brave and stood up to defend himself at the county government. Shigu then came out to meet the officials in person and said in a commanding tone: "My officials are studying at home and have always been law-abiding. Today I was retaliated by my enemies and framed by thieves. Since I was interrogated by the magistrate, I should go and defend myself. Today I I will hand over the officials to you, and I will give you a lot of money to take care of you. I will give you a reward when the officials come home without incident. , Don’t think that because I am a prostitute, I can’t complain openly.” At first, the official position had high expectations, but now that Shi Gu has a bright face and a strong and resolute speech, he expected that she was not a kind and cowardly person, so he had no choice but to obey his orders and leave. Xingsheng came to the Yamen and was temporarily imprisoned. The magistrate did not bring him to trial.

Shi Gu sent people to visit her from time to time. By the tenth day, she couldn't bear it anymore. So he gathered all the virtuous and respected squires and held a banquet at home. After finishing the meal, Shi Gu told everyone her request behind the screen. Everyone looked at each other in silence and said nothing. Aunt Shi knew that there was nothing anyone could do, so she couldn't help sighing. She went back to her room with tears in her eyes and wrote a petition herself to defend her husband's grievances. Early the next morning, he sent a servant to report to the county magistrate.There is a couplet in it: "It's a mistake to make a mistake. Even if he had participated in the incident, he was framed for murder; if he spread the rumors, could it be that he really occupied other people's property?" Then he asked: "There is a supervisor, Jiang Jiucheng, who is from your hometown. Do you know this person?" "Then your wife is the daughter of Jiang Jiansheng, no wonder she speaks well." So he gave the petition written by Shigu to Xingsheng to read, and he was released from prison on the same day. A certain Duke of the county magistrate was originally from Changbai Mountain, and his father served as the governor of the capital. When Shigu's father was young, he was admitted to the Su Imperial Academy as a student. When he took the imperial examination, he was asked to teach his son. This is the county magistrate, and now he has been promoted from county magistrate to county magistrate. Shi Gu lost her father when she was in her infancy and her mother at the age of nine. When she was a child, she seemed to have heard her mother say, "Your father once taught apprentices in Beijing," but she didn't know that it was a certain father.

Xingsheng returned home and relayed a certain man's words. Aunt Shi was overjoyed and told her husband to get dressed and go to say thank you. A certain man was most fond of the friendship between teacher and student, so he bowed down to pay homage the next day, and begged to meet Shigu to inquire in detail about the teacher's death. Hearing that Aunt Shi was alone with no brothers or sisters, she sighed deeply and gave her a brocade pen, inkstone and other gifts. Before leaving, Aunt Shi thanked her and asked: "Thanks to your protection, this poor family was spared the disaster of ruining our family. I think I have no enmity with the robbers on weekdays, so this must be someone who instigated it. Please find out more clearly." , we are honored!" A certain man nodded and agreed with a smile.

When he returned to the county government office, a certain man actually brought the thief to trial and interrogated him strictly. The thief initially refused to reveal the truth, but after a little torture, he confessed that a certain young master instigated the crime. A certain man was furious and ordered him to be detained and questioned. The young master was very frightened and went to Xing Sheng's house in person to apologize, begging to intercede on his behalf, and was willing to give a thousand taels of silver as a gift. Xingsheng declined and said: "The crime of harboring a big thief is not light. Those who falsely accuse him should sit down. What else can be said!" The young master became even more frightened and gradually increased his money to three thousand taels of silver. Xingsheng went inside to discuss with his wife. Shi Gu smiled and said: "It is a suitable punishment to spend his stingy purse to help with my husband's schooling expenses. If we report it to the magistrate, he will definitely allow it. Moreover, it is better to dissolve enemies than to marry them. There is no greater kindness than to repay a person with a grudge, and since villains often make mistakes, you must first let them lose money and then intercede for them. This is the best way." Xing Sheng nodded and said it was wonderful. Young Master, Young Master is overjoyed and thanks you.

On that day, a certain young man brought three thousand taels of silver as a gift to Xingsheng. Fortunately, I paid a visit to a certain gentleman and explained the truth. A certain gentleman readily agreed: "I am raising funds for you to study, but I have no good plan. It would be great if this was the case." A certain gentleman was spared from the yamen's investigation. He was deeply grateful for Xingsheng's kindness and cleared up all previous suspicions. From then on, a certain Duke often called Xingsheng to the official office to discuss articles, and his wife also frequently interacted with Shigu. A certain man once asked Aunt Shi: "Xianmei, in the couplet you wrote before, it was said that Yan Hui also occupied other people's property. Where did this allusion come from?" Aunt Shi covered her mouth and smiled and said: "My little sister is very talented and has little knowledge, because 'Zeng Shen kills people'" I didn't make the right choice, because I remembered the story about Yuan Rang's accusation against Yan Hui in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", so I just picked it up and used it as a pretext. It was originally written in a hurry. Since I used a picked-up story, I wanted to change "Ba Chan" to "Ba Chan". The word "stealing food" was just written on the paper and I didn't bother to doodle and change it, so it turned out to be a joke to you, a generous person."

A certain official praised: "Although "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" is a novel, it will definitely be passed down for generations to come. It shows that Xianmei has no books to read. The word "possession" is more novel than stealing food, so what's the matter if she doesn't change it?" Aunt Shi felt deeply about her aunt's upbringing and welcomed her mother and son to live together. Later, Xingsheng passed the Jinshi examination and served as the director of the six ministries; Jiao Ge passed the examination and served as secretary of the cabinet; a certain official was recommended by the county magistrate and promoted to the governor of Hubei. Due to the friendship between the two families, they often go back and forth to take care of each other and are closely related.

Li Chengzi's comment: Xingsheng sat there waiting for the owner to return the missing silver; Shigu returned the rogue's gold bracelet. One was a gentle man, the other a loyal one. They were indeed born to be a couple. The windfall must wait for Shi Gu to dig out and discover it. God rewarded Geng Jie for his happiness, but in fact it rewarded Shi Gu for his loyalty.Some people say that the aunt was deceived by Xingsheng, but Xingsheng had no intention of fooling his aunt at first, but the aunt suddenly had random thoughts, and then they became a couple urgently. It was probably God's will, not the result of Xingsheng's deception. Guan Xingsheng was repeatedly questioned by his aunt, but he was vague and did not distinguish right from wrong. This shows his cunning, which is not surprising. But he just witnessed Aunt Shi dig up silver and lied and refused to tell the truth. This cunning is almost It's so cunning, I don't think it has any merit.

For someone like Shi Gu, who is born with a heroic and straightforward temperament, how upright and upright it is to see her reprimanding a certain young man and mentioning the differences between officials and officials! It is particularly appropriate to use the son's stingy money to support his husband's education expenses and repay evil with kindness. It is really beyond the reach of ordinary men! Isn't it true that "a healthy woman who maintains her family will eventually win over a husband"? If they get a wife like this, even if they don't get a windfall, I think their family fortune will definitely be prosperous. That young man coveted Shigu, but in the end he shot himself in the foot. It was a blessing to pay the money and get away with it. Harmful things bring blessings to others. Insinuations are just a waste of scheming. Playboys should take this as a lesson. A certain Duke of the county magistrate was fond of his teacher and had a kind heart. He just happened to come to this place to serve as the county magistrate. I guess God has reserved a position for him, right? Otherwise, why is it so clever? Aunt Shi's father's name was spread through the mouth of the county magistrate, but I had forgotten Xingsheng's name.

--------------------

Translated from an article "Jiang Shigu" in "Lantiaoguan Foreign History"