During the reign of Renzong in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a cloth businessman named Xie Baocheng in Qingyuan Prefecture. When he was twenty, he married Cao, the daughter of Yuanwai Cao. Ms. Cao was very beautiful, but it was only three years after her marriage that she gave birth to a daughter to Xie Baocheng, named Xie Yufang.
Although Xie Baocheng also liked this daughter, he was not reconciled at all. He worked hard every night and wanted Cao to give him a son. But Cao's stomach didn't live up to expectations at all. In the next five years, there was no reaction at all.
The Cao family had no choice but to ask Xie Baocheng to take another concubine in order to continue the Xie family's popularity. Xie Baocheng looked away at this time. He held Cao's hand many times and said with a smile: "Maybe this is my fate - no matter what, we already have Fang'er, so we have a successor, and we don't have to think about our son deliberately anymore."
After hearing what her husband said, Ms. Cao no longer had any plans to regenerate, so she naturally raised Xie Yufang as the apple of her eye. This led to Xie Yufang living a pampered life since she was a child. This kind of life also allowed Xie Yufang to develop a domineering character from the time she was sensible.
When Xie Yufang was six years old, one afternoon in July, she really wanted to eat watermelon, so she asked her maid Xiaoju to go out to buy it. Because the weather was very hot at that time, the melon farmers went into hiding to rest. Xiaoju braved the scorching sun and walked most of the city without buying any watermelons. She had to wait until the afternoon market hour, when the melon farmer returned to the market with watermelons, before she bought a watermelon and went back to do business. Xie Yufang was impatient for a long time. Not only did she smash the watermelon Xiaoju had just bought, she also hit her twice with a whip and said, "You bitch slave, you went out at noon and came back just after lunch. What were you doing in the meantime?"
"Miss, the weather is too hot. I only came out during the melon season. I spent a long time in the city to find this watermelon. I hope the lady won't blame me -" Xiao Ju told the whole story in tears. But Xie Yufang not only refused to listen to her explanation, but also kicked her hard and said, "You have done something wrong and you still dare to quibble? Slap it yourself, or I will beat you to death!"
"I know I was wrong." Xiao Ju did not dare to say any more, so she had to bow her head and admit her mistake. Xie Yufang was not ready to spare her, so he made her kneel in the yard and refused to let her even eat dinner. Xiaoju knelt like this from Shen Shi to midnight. Because she really had no strength, she fainted and fell to the ground. It was only when Xie Yufang was sleepy and went to bed that Cao felt pity and let Xiaoju go back to her room to sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, Xie Yufang still wanted to take it out on Xiaoju, but when she got up, she suddenly felt that her face was extremely itchy. She couldn't help but scratch her face twice, and then she hurriedly took out the bronze mirror and looked at it. This photo showed that she had many red rashes on her face, and her originally beautiful face turned extremely ugly in an instant. After seeing this scene, Xie Yufang no longer had the intention to deal with Xiaoju, and cried bitterly in front of the mirror.
The crying soon alerted Xie Baocheng and his wife. They hurriedly invited a doctor to treat Xie Yufang, but they took medicine for half a month and changed seven or eight doctors, but the red rash on her face was not cured. What's even more tragic is that because of her sadness, Xie Yufang ate too much every day, which caused her to gain serious weight. She weighed hundreds of kilograms at a young age. Xie Baocheng and his wife were deeply afraid that if she continued like this, she would not be able to get married, so they asked people to ask for medicines everywhere to find a cure. But the couple searched for half a year but failed to find a good medicine.
Xie Yufang realized that she could not return to her previous appearance, so she simply broke the jar and threw it. As a result, she ate more every day. Soon, she became the fat and ugly person in town. After people saw her, they naturally avoided her like the plague. Xie Baocheng and his wife became even more anxious, so they continued to send people out to look for capable people and good medicine.
One day, an old nun suddenly came to beg for alms outside the courtyard. Xie Baocheng was in a hurry to go out to get some medicine, so he casually gave her a tael of silver and said, "Master, I'm sorry. During this time, I have spent a lot of money treating my son's face, and I really can't spare much money to give to you - this small amount of money is just a small token of our gratitude to my family, and I hope the teacher won't take it too personally."
"It's really commendable that the donor didn't forget to do good deeds even though he was in dire straits. If my wife had half the heart of you, she wouldn't be like this." The old nun took the money, smiled at Xie Baocheng, and said: "Donor, I'm a poor nun." There is a way to treat your daughter, but this method will take a long time. It depends on whether your daughter can persist. "
"Does the master know what kind of disease my son has?" Xie Baocheng was suddenly surprised. The old nun smiled slightly and said: "She is not actually sick, but she has a bad heart. God made her ugly. As the saying goes, 'Appearance comes from the heart.' When a person's heart is bad, her appearance will not be much better."
"Master, are you exaggerating? My son is only six years old. How bad can such a young person be?" Hearing this, Xie Baocheng was still a little angry. The old nun sneered and said: "As a father, don't you know what she has done? She is indeed still young, but it is strange to have such a small temper. She is so cruel to the servants. What will happen when she grows up in the future? As far as I know, her maid only returned home late in order to buy melons for her. After being beaten for more than an hour, she became ugly from then on, right? "Oh, that seems to be the case! Master, you are really offended just now!" After hearing this, Xie Baocheng quickly bowed to the old nun. The old nun smiled slightly again and said: "As the saying goes, 'No one can make mistakes without being a sage, and they can correct their mistakes, and there is nothing good about them.' You tell your lady, if she still wants to grow up to be a beautiful person, then from today on, in addition to controlling her diet, it is more important to be a good person, do more good deeds, and treat the people around her more. There is a saying that 'people who love others will always love them.' Only this Only in this way can she be respected by others and regain her good looks. "
" "Okay, I will definitely convey this to her. But Master, would it be better if you said this to her directly?" Only then did Xie Baocheng realize: He had met an expert! So he hurried back home and told the matter to Cao and Xie Yufang. After hearing this, Mrs. Cao also tried her best to say to Xie Yufang: "It seems that God is really punishing you for this matter, Fang'er, you must change your temper and character in the future, otherwise - you may stay like this for the rest of your life."
"No, I don't want to be like this, I don't want to be ugly, I want to become beautiful again." After hearing this, Xie Yufang felt very scared, so from that day on, she never dared to lose her temper again, nor did she dare to beat the servants at home. After half a year of this, the red rash on her face gradually disappeared, but her appearance was still far from beautiful. At this time, Xie Yufang felt that the old nun's words were just nonsense, so whenever she was in a bad mood, she would take it out on the servants around her from time to time. Xiaoju hanged herself one night because she couldn't bear Xie Yufang's torture. Not only did Xie Yufang not have any regrets about this, but she also thought that she was fragile and could not bear the blow, so even if she died, she would still be worthy of her death.
Only Xie Baocheng and his wife felt sorry for Xiao Ju, so they bought her a coffin and buried her properly. After this incident, although Xie Yufang no longer had rashes on her face, she still gained serious weight and her appearance was still surprisingly ugly. By the time she was fourteen, she was already a famous ugly woman in Qingyuan City.
When Mrs. Cao saw her daughter looking so shabby, she couldn't help but sigh to Xie Baocheng: "How will Yufang be able to marry in the future when she looks like this?"
"Hey, that's it. , we can only recruit a door-to-door son-in-law. As the saying goes, "There must be a brave man under a big reward." I believe that if you give a high price, someone will come to our house to be a door-to-door son-in-law!" Xie Baocheng had no other choice, so he came up with this idea. Cao hesitated for a moment and said, "Since you are looking for someone, you must find someone who is honest and reliable. Otherwise, what will happen if Yufang is bullied by him in the future?"
"Well, not only must you be honest and reliable, but you must also be diligent." The requirements are actually very simple: they must be diligent, honest, and have passable looks. The most important thing is that they must not dislike the woman's looks and know how to love her. If anyone is willing, they can immediately go to the Xie family to register. After three days, if the registration passes the exam, they can join the Xie family and receive a bride price of three hundred taels of silver. No matter how the other party spends this money, the Xie family will never interfere.
After everyone read this notice, most of them laughed at Xie Yufang because she was ugly and couldn't get married. That's why she came up with such a bad idea. Many people said that even if they died of poverty or starvation, they would not marry that ugly Xie family member. But it is exactly what Xie Baocheng thought: there must be a brave man under the heavy reward. No, three days later, eight applicants went to Xie's house, waiting for Xie Baocheng to test them.
The question asked by Xie Baocheng is very simple: whoever can get enough firewood in half a day will win. Five of these eight people gave up on the spot after hearing this request, because they felt that they were not good at collecting firewood. The reason why Xie Baocheng made such a ridiculous request was that he must have chosen the people long ago and deliberately used them to save face.
The remaining three people are named Zhang Qiang, Liu Yong, and Wan Fei. The family conditions of the three people are not very good. They dream of changing their lives through this marriage and living a prosperous life from now on. After the three people learned about the examination requirements, they quickly took the hatchets and burdens prepared by the Xie family for them and went out of the city to collect firewood.
After Liu Yong and Wan Fei went up the mountain, they immediately waved their hatchets and worked very hard to collect firewood in the mountain. However, the two of them were really unlucky. Before they could get even half a bundle of firewood, they were both injured by flying rocks falling from the mountain and could not even walk. Let's look at Zhang Qiang. Not only did he get down the mountain unscathed, he also picked up a full load of firewood and entered the Xie family courtyard at noon. Xie Baocheng saw that this boy was tall and strong, and his hands and feet were so nimble. Naturally, he had a lot of affection for him, so he smiled and patted his shoulder and said, "It's you! Boy, please treat our Yufang well in the future!"
"Yes, father-in-law, I will definitely love Yufang well." Zhang Qiang smiled and hugged Xie Baocheng. Three days later, he married Xie Yufang and successfully became the Xie family's son-in-law. On the wedding night, Xie Yufang wanted to give Zhang Qiang a boost in order to establish her status in the family. So, after Zhang Qiang entered the new house, she lifted the hijab herself, glared at the boy and said, "Since you are the son-in-law of our family, you must abide by the rules of our family. From now on, you must listen to me. I ask you to stand, but you must not sit down. I ask you to go east, but you must not go east." Xi, otherwise, I will make you unable to eat and walk around. "
" "Hahaha, Xie, tell me how you can make me unable to eat and walk around." Looking at Xie Yufang's face full of black lines, Zhang Qiang not only showed no fear, but also started teasing her. How could Xie Yufang bear this anger? She immediately slapped Zhang Qiang in the face. Zhang Qiang stepped aside, grabbed Xie Yufang with his backhand and said, "You ugly monster, give you some color. You even opened a dyeing workshop? Let's see how I treat you today."
After that, Zhang Qiang pushed Xie Yufang to the ground with all his strength. Xie Yufang didn't stand firm and fell to the ground like a dog eating shit.Zhang Qiang heard the muffled sound of her fall, and instead of showing any mercy, he sat on her back, then raised his right hand and slapped her buttocks several times. Xie Yufang was used to being domineering and domineering, how could she bear these slaps? Immediately he shouted "ouch ouch". She thought that her parents would rush in to help her when she called out. However, before she called out, Zhang Qiang screamed loudly: "Fang'er, good lady, please be gentle to me. I will definitely obey your words in the future. If you ask me to go east, I will never dare to go west. If you ask me to stand, I will I will never dare to sit down. "
The sound was so loud that it directly drowned out Xie Yufang's shouting. After everyone in the Xie family heard it, they all thought that Zhang Qiang was a cheap guy who came to the Xie family just to be abused, so they all made fun of this kid in the dark. Hearing this voice, Xie Baocheng and his wife thought that Xie Yufang had tamed Zhang Qiang, so they no longer worried that Zhang Qiang would run away because he couldn't stand her.
Xie Yufang was hurt by Zhang Qiang’s beating, and no one came to save her. She finally gave in, and begged for mercy with a tearful face: “Good brother, please don’t hit me again, I-I’ll leave you tomorrow.”
“ Did I ask you to divorce me? There are so many delicious food in your house, I don’t want to leave!” Zhang Qiang sneered, blocked Xie Yufang’s mouth with his smelly clothes, and tied her to the foot of the bed with a rope. After doing all this quickly, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
This was the first time Xie Yufang was tortured like this. She couldn't sleep and immediately struggled hard on the bedside. However, her mouth was blocked and her hands were tied. No matter how hard she tried, it was of no avail. She had no choice but to shed tears and beg to spend this long night as soon as possible. The next day, she would go to her parents to report the matter and make them drive this bastard Zhang Qiang out of the Xie family.
After finally making it to dawn, Zhang Qiang finally woke up! He yawned, stretched, and after jumping off the bed, he stared at Xie Yufang in surprise and said, "Oh, my wife, what's wrong with you? Who made you look like this?"
"Ah wu——" Xie Yufang wanted to curse, but couldn't. Seeing this, Zhang Qiang couldn't help but said with amusement: "Oh, I remembered it. I must have been drunk last night and did something stupid to make you look like this! Madam, I hope you won't forgive me, I will untie you right now -" After that, this kid really untied the rope from Xie Yufang's body.
"Bah, surnamed Zhang, how dare you beat me, tie me to the foot of the bed, and let me sleep on the floor all night. I will definitely let you die! I will tell my parents right now about the evil things you did to me last night. I will let them tie you up and send you to the Yamen." Xie Yufang threw the smelly clothes in her mouth in front of Zhang Qiang, stomped on them twice, and immediately went to complain to Xie Baocheng and his wife.
At that time, before Cao and Xie Baocheng got up, Xie Yufang rushed into the room with tears in her eyes and sobbed loudly: "Father, mother, that bastard Zhang Qiang is simply not a human being. Wow, last night he gave me a black and blue nose and a swollen face. He also tied me with a rope to the foot of the bed and let me sleep on the floor all night."
What? How could the new son-in-law be so arrogant? Xie Baocheng and his wife couldn't believe their ears. They hurriedly put on their clothes and got up from the bed.
"Come on, come on, come with me to meet that bastard! The bastard, who has become our Xie family's son-in-law, dares to run wild here, I think he is impatient!" Ms. Cao shouted angrily, and immediately called two servants, ready to vent her anger on Xie Yufang. At this time, Xie Baocheng suddenly remembered something and shouted: "Wait a minute!"
"Madam, don't you understand Fang'er's temper? In our family, she has always been the bully, how can anyone bully her? I think this matter needs to be discussed in the long run!" When saying this, Xie Baocheng pulled Cao aside and murmured in a low voice.After Ms. Cao thought about this, she composed herself and said, "Then you come with me and ask him face to face!"
"Yes!" Xie Baocheng nodded and followed Ms. Cao into Xie Yufang's wedding room. I really don’t know it until I see it, and I’m shocked when I see it! Zhang Qiang was seen naked to the waist, sitting on the edge of the bed and sobbing. When Mrs. Cao saw this scene, she blushed and said, "Put on your clothes quickly. You are a grown man, why are you crying? How unbecoming is this?"
"Zhang, weren't you very capable last night? Why are you sitting on the ground and crying? What do you mean?" Xie Yufang was confused when she saw this scene. At this time, Zhang Qiang continued to cry and said: "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, I don't want the three hundred taels of silver as a gift. Please divorce me. I don't want to be your son-in-law anymore. Wow, look at how Yufang beat me? I just didn't pour her face wash this morning, and she beat me on my face and body My wife is scratched. I am a grown man and I really don’t have the dignity to live. You should let me go, please, please.”
“You, you, you, you are the evil one, you are the first to complain!” Xie Yufang never expected that this guy Zhang Qiang would give her a slap in the face. Immediately, she pointed at Zhang Qiang and said with great grievance: "Father, mother, he is talking nonsense! He obviously hit me, but I didn't hit him."
"I am so thin and small, how can I beat you? Wow, I really don't have the shame to live anymore!" After Zhang Qiang cried and made trouble, not to mention Xie Baocheng, even Cao didn't believe that he bullied Xie Yufang. Xie Baocheng was worried that the boy would run away and make his Xie family the laughing stock of the whole city. He immediately took off his coat and put it on Zhang Qiang. Then he comforted: "Xian son-in-law, I'm sorry. It's our incompetence in teaching that makes my daughter so unreasonable. I hope you won't be like her! Don't worry, we will definitely help you in the future and discipline her well."
"Yes. , please forgive her this time without saying a word." Cao also tried his best to say good things to Xie Yufang, and Zhang Qiang said hypocritically: "I can forgive Yufang, but I don't know if she will bear my grudge -"
"Don't worry, she won't! If she dares to bully you again, I will never forgive her!" After Xie Baocheng made a promise to Zhang Qiang, he scolded Xie Yufang. Xie Yufang couldn't tell her the pain, so after Xie Baocheng and his wife left, she gritted her teeth and said to Zhang Qiang: "Zhang, I have no enmity with you, why do you do this to me?"
"Remember that maid of yours? Xiao Ju? To be honest, she is my cousin. After I heard that she was forced to death by you, I wanted to avenge her. The battle between us has just begun. You have to cheer up and have fun with me! Hahaha!" Zhang Qiang secretly laughed, which almost made Xie Yufang angry. It was also at this time that Xie Yufang felt a little regretful. From this day on, her nightmare began.
Unable to endure Zhang Qiang’s torture, Xie Yufang finally collapsed on the bed a month later. At this time, in order to win the favor of his parents-in-law, the boy pretended to be at the bedside and served him eagerly. As soon as Xie Baocheng and his wife left the house, he changed his ways to deal with Xie Yufang. Xie Yufang was so angry that she rolled her eyes in anger. After she left, Zhang Qiang began to cry beside her hypocritically. Xie Baocheng and his wife thought that the boy was acting like this because he was sad, so they had a good impression of him.
That night after sending Xie Yufang out of the city for burial, Xie Baocheng lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. At this time, the servant Lao Hou suddenly came to report, "Master, there is an old nun outside the door. She said she has something important to see you, and she hopes you will go out and see her."
"It's so late, why should we meet? I guess they are here to cheat money again, just say I fell asleep and disappeared!" Xie Baocheng replied angrily.Lao Hou hesitated for a moment and then said: "She said that she had a chance encounter with you nine years ago. If you don't go out to see her tonight, you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Nine years ago? Could it be that the old nun who asked Yufang to do good deeds? Xie Baocheng was startled, so he got up from the bed and hurried to the door of the hospital to take a look. Sure enough, the person who came was none other than the master from nine years ago. Xie Baocheng was very surprised that her appearance had not changed at all.
"Donor, if you still want to see your Yufang, come with me!" The old nun just smiled slightly at Xie Baocheng and strode towards the outside of the city. Xie Baocheng hurriedly followed and said: "Master, my Yufang has passed away, and her body is buried on the mountain in the west of the city. Where do you want me to go to see her?"
Xie Baocheng originally thought that the old nun was lying to him, but when he followed her and threw away the grave and opened the coffin, he felt a faint breath of Xie Yufang's nostrils. Shortly after the old nun put a black pill into her mouth, she actually sat up from the coffin.
With the moonlight in the sky, Xie Yufang hugged Xie Baocheng and cried bitterly: "Dad, why are you trying to save me? Don't you and your mother believe what Zhang Qiang said? You might as well let me die."
"Is what you said true? That Zhang Qiang is lying to us?" Xie Baocheng suddenly realized. The old nun stared at Xie Yufang and said with a smile: "This is called 'repaying him with his own way'. Nine years ago, I asked your father to tell you that you must do more good deeds and good deeds, but you just didn't listen. Now you have received retribution, right?"
"I Wrong, Master, I will definitely be a good person from now on. You have figured out my fate nine years ago. You are such a master! Master, please accept me as your disciple. I will definitely change my ways in the future." After realizing this, Xie Yufang immediately knelt down to the old nun. The old nun actually accepted her as a closed disciple, and from then on she traveled around, helping the world and saving people. After Xie Baocheng returned home, he realized that he had failed to teach his son well, which was the reason why Xie Yufang suffered retribution. Therefore, he did not hold Zhang Qiang responsible, but only gave him some money and let him leave on his own. After that, both he and Cao devoted themselves to doing good deeds.
It is said that after Zhang Qiang got the money, he did not use it, but gave it to Xiaoju's parents. I have to say that although this boy's method of avenging Xiao Ju is not advisable, this kind of behavior of hurting his loved ones is still worthy of praise.
