Ming Dynasty During the Hongwu period, there was a middle-aged man named Xu Yongxiang in Yaoshang Village south of Baoning Prefecture. He supported his family by opening up wasteland and farming. He lived a tight life and could not save much money throughout the year.
One night, as usual, the whole family had dinner and went to bed early to rest. His wife Zhang sighed and couldn't sleep for a long time. She seemed to have something on her mind. When Xu Yongxiang asked, his wife told the truth.
There is a man named Tang Fu in the same village. He is short in stature, not good-looking, and most importantly has a disability. If placed in an ordinary family, it would be difficult for him to marry a wife with his conditions, but the Tang family is rich, and they are surprised to find a beautiful wife.
Today is Tang Fu’s wedding day. Everyone in the village went to watch the fun, and Zhang was no exception. I heard from neighbors that Tang Fu's wife was as dignified and beautiful as a flower. When Mrs. Zhang heard this, she had mixed feelings.
It turns out that Xu Yongxiang and his wife have two sons and two daughters. The eldest son is over 18 and has reached the age of marriage, but no one is willing to come to propose marriage. The Xu family was extremely poor, so it was understandable that no one would marry her.
Seeing Tang Fu getting married, Zhang was deeply stimulated and couldn't help but worry about her son's marriage. After Xu Yongxiang learned about it, he was silent, hesitated for a long time, and said: "A while ago, I wanted to buy a boat. I can cultivate the fields during the busy farming period and go to the river to ferry in my spare time. It should also be able to increase my income."
Mrs. Zhang felt that her husband was right and she was very happy. However, buying a boat costs money, which is a big expense for the Xu family.
The couple discussed it over and over again, and finally made up their minds, took out the little savings they had at home, and bought a small boat. Xu Yongxiang learned from others and started a business of ferrying passengers.
On this day, he sat in the bow of the boat and waited for a long time, but no business came to him. He was as listless as an eggplant beaten by frost. Suddenly, he felt sleepy and dozed off unconsciously.
After an unknown amount of time, a voice came from the shore, "Boatman, this poor monk wants to go to Fuji Temple across the way. Can you give me a ride?" Xu Yongxiang opened his eyes when he heard the voice and saw an old monk in robes standing in front of him.
"Master, please come on board. I will send you there for free." Xu Yongxiang has been full of respect for monks since he was a child. He readily agreed without thinking. The monk smiled and thanked him as he boarded the boat.
Xu Yongxiang shook the oar with both hands, and the boat slowly moved forward. The two were chatting casually, and the monk suddenly asked about his birth date. Xu Yongxiang replied truthfully, but he didn’t know what the other party’s intention was?
"To be honest, the poor monk knows a thing or two about fortune-telling. The benefactor's seal turned black, which is a bad omen, and there will be a bloody disaster within a month. Judging from the horoscope of your birth date, you are destined to be in trouble, and doing this job will bring disaster. Listen to the poor monk's good advice, it is better to change your career as soon as possible and find another way out!" The monk said sincerely and slowly.
Xu Yongxiang never believed in these things and was too embarrassed to refute them in person, so he smiled and nodded. After walking to the other side, the monk took out two copper coins from his arms. He refused to take them and walked back while rocking the oar.
Strangely enough, after sending the monk off, Xu Yongxiang's business was surprisingly good. He didn't have any time until dark, and he happily returned home with a handful of copper coins.
The couple gathered around the lamp and counted their money, thinking that if they continued like this, they would be able to save enough money to marry their son in just one year. Xu Yongxiang was so motivated that he had long forgotten what the monk said.
Half a month later, there was a heavy rain, and the water level in the river rose by more than one meter. The originally crystal clear river water became a little turbid, with some dead wood and weeds floating on the surface. For Xu Yongxiang, rowing was a bit difficult.
On this day, he sent a woman off and walked back while rocking the oar. When he reached the middle of the river, he suddenly saw the corpse of an adult man floating in the water.
Xu Yongxiang was a little scared. He looked around and saw no other ships. He wanted to report the case to the government, but he felt that something was wrong. It would take at least half an hour to go to the Yamen and back. The current in the river was very fast, and by the time he came back, the body would probably be gone.
Thinking of the anxious and helpless eyes of the deceased's family, Xu Yongxiang decided to bravely go down to the river to retrieve the body. He picked up a rope from the boat, jumped into the water with a splash, groped in the water for a long time, and tied one end of the rope to the deceased's feet and the other end to the boat.
Xu Yongxiang shook the oar vigorously and dragged the body ashore. In order to preserve the last dignity of the naked corpse, he took off a coat and covered it, and then ran to the Yamen to report to the official.
The prefect received the report and rushed to the scene of the incident with his entourage. Seeing the male corpse in front of him, he instantly thought of a missing person case reported by Du Wenzhong, the magistrate of the area five days ago.
In order to find out the truth of the case as soon as possible, Prefect Kong ordered people to work hard and notify Du Wenzhong to arrive as soon as possible. An hour later, Du Zhixian hurried over, accompanied by a young woman in her thirties.
The woman's name is Ying Niang, and she lives in Dukou Village thirty miles away. Five days ago, she went to the Yamen to report to the officials, claiming that her husband Liu Bingsheng died while taking a bath in the river, and hoped that the officials would help recover the body.
On the day of the incident, Du Zhi County brought more than ten officials to the scene of the incident. They saw a few clothes and a pair of straw sandals lying by the river. According to Ying Niang, these were the clothes that her husband was wearing before he drowned.
Officials fished around the nearby river for two days, but finally found nothing. The county magistrate Du reported the case to the government, so the prefect Kong had already heard about it.
Every summer, villagers near the river come to bathe in the river to cool off. Deaths from falling into the water and drowning occur from time to time, which is not surprising to everyone. No one raised any doubts about Liu Bingsheng’s death.
Zhifu Kong asked Ying Niang to come forward to identify the body. She bravely stepped forward, took a look, and said: "Reporting to your lord, the deceased has been soaked in water and is beyond recognition. It is really difficult to identify the civilian woman, but the height and body shape are somewhat similar."
Zhifu Kong coughed lightly and continued to ask: "I want to ask you, are your parents-in-law alive? Can you come to the scene to identify the body?"
"Reporting to your lord, the two elders are still alive, but they are old and weak, and I am afraid they cannot bear this blow." Tears burst into the eyes of Ying Niang, and she started to cry loudly as soon as she finished speaking.
Human life is at stake, and the identity of the deceased must be found out no matter what. Magistrate Kong thought twice and sent someone to summon Liu Bingsheng's parents to the scene. After the two arrived at the scene, they touched the body and cried bitterly, insisting that the deceased in front of them was their son Liu Bingsheng.
Zhifu Kong asked about the reason. Father Liu pointed to the deceased's right foot and said: "When my son was five years old, he accidentally scalded his foot with boiling water, leaving a scar the size of an egg. This scar is still vaguely visible to this day."
When Lady Ying heard this, she was startled, and a look of panic flashed across her face. Magistrate Kong had a delicate mind and was good at observing words and expressions. He felt that Ying Niang's expression was a little unnatural, and he suddenly became suspicious.
It turns out that when the prefect was inspecting the scene just now, he found a purple pinch mark on the neck of the deceased. Although it did not look very obvious, it did not escape the eyes of prefect Kong. Based on years of experience in handling cases, it is inferred that Liu Bingsheng died of homicide.
According to the parents of the deceased, their son worked as a handyman for a wealthy family in the city. He would go home at the end of every month and leave half of the wages he earned to his parents and half to his wife to buy rice and noodles to make ends meet.
Normally, the old couple lives alone, not with their son and daughter-in-law. Liu Bingsheng was very filial. Every time he went back, he would buy some meat for his parents and let the two elders beat him to give him teeth as a sacrifice.
Five days ago, Liu Bingsheng suddenly returned home. He said that his friend was getting married and came back to have a wedding wine. Unexpectedly, he drove away before the wedding wine had time to drink.
Zhifu Kong frowned and thought for a long time, then asked Ying Niang about the details before and after the incident.
Ying Niang wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said with a sob: "My husband came home in the evening that day. At that time, the slave family was cooking dinner. He said that the weather was hot and wanted to go to the river to take a bath. I made the meal, but he didn't come back, so I went to the river to look for him, but unexpectedly something happened."
"From my point of view, Liu Bingsheng's death is not that simple. There may be much to it." After listening to Ying Niang's story, Magistrate Kong suddenly said this out of the blue.
Miss Ying was so frightened that her hands trembled and her heart was in panic. The prefect said nothing more and asked her to take her parents-in-law home first and wait for summons at any time.
Afterwards, Magistrate Kong called Zhao Captou to him and whispered softly in his ear. Not long after, I saw Capt. Zhao turning around and leaving with two official servants. The case has not yet been investigated, and the body has been temporarily carried back to the Yamen for proper placement.
At the second watch in the evening, Ying Niang was just about to turn on the lamp and take a rest when she suddenly heard a "dong, dong" knock on the door from outside. She walked to the door in a panic and asked softly: "Who is it?"
"It's me, open the door quickly!" A middle-aged man whispered.
"You dare to come at this time, are you risking your life? Go back quickly." Ying Niang's tone was a little irritable, and after speaking, she turned around and walked back to the house. Capt. Zhao broke into the house with several officials, and Ying Niang was so frightened that her legs collapsed and she sat on the ground, and was then taken to the Yamen.
Prefect Kong was sitting in the lobby, slapped the gavel , and said solemnly: "You are a bold and cunning woman, you dare to conspire with others to murder your own husband, why don't you bring it to justice!"
Ying Niang knew that she had been tricked, and she complained in her heart. Facing the interrogation of the prefect, her psychological defense collapsed instantly. With a pale face, she recounted what happened.
It has been five years since Ying Niang came to the house. During this period, she has had nothing to do. The parents-in-law are anxious to hold their grandson, and they sigh all day long. In particular, her mother-in-law, Mrs. Deng, had a cold attitude towards her daughter-in-law. She was always picky and picky when she had nothing to do. She often encouraged her son to divorce his wife. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not harmonious, and the whole family was not at peace.
Liu Bingsheng couldn't bear it anymore. A year ago, he proposed to separate from his parents and live alone. The young couple moved into the old house, and Ergenzi finally calmed down.
In order to force their sons to move back home, their parents deliberately did not provide them with food and clothing. The young couple had no savings and their days were stretched thin.
In order to support his family, Liu Bingsheng had to work as a handyman for a wealthy family in the city. He didn't earn much, but he still had some income.
Baishan is filial. Every time he gets paid at the end of the month, he will buy some delicious food to take back to his parents. Except for leaving part of the living expenses to his wife, everything else was handed over to the second elder.
Ying Niang was frugal and spent three months saving more than a dozen copper coins. On this day, she wanted to go back to her parents' home, and planned to go to Xinglong Cloth Store to buy a piece of floral cloth and buy a new dress for her mother.
The shopkeeper of Buzhuang is named Hu Qinghe. Unfortunately, his wife passed away due to illness six months ago, leaving only two underage children. He wanted to succeed but never found a suitable candidate. Ever since I saw Ying Niang, I was instantly attracted by her beauty.
Later, after inquiring about Ying Niang's situation, Hu Qinghe felt that there was an opportunity and deliberately created an opportunity to get close to Ying Niang. The man was affectionate and the concubine was interested, and soon the two of them came together.
In fact, Ying Niang is not a ruthless person, she just feels insecure with Liu Bingsheng. She was worried that sooner or later her husband would propose to divorce his wife, so instead of just waiting for her to die, it would be better to find a good family in advance.
After careful consideration, Ying Niang planned to divorce her husband and was just waiting for him to come home at the end of the month to clarify the matter. Unexpectedly, Liu Bingsheng was going to attend a friend's wedding banquet and suddenly returned home early, which happened to reveal the scandal between the two.
They were afraid of being imprisoned, so they brutally murdered Liu Bingsheng in desperation. In order to escape the blame, Hu Qinghe took advantage of the darkness and threw Liu Bingsheng's body into the rushing river.
Afterwards, Ying Niang lied that her husband accidentally drowned when he went to take a bath in the river. She thought she could hide it, but the prefect Kong discovered the clues.Ying Niang and her sympathizer killed her husband Liu Bingsheng. The two committed a heinous crime and were sentenced to beheading on the spot.
Liu Bingsheng’s parents cried so hard when they learned the ins and outs of the incident. The couple regretted that they should not have interfered in their son’s life. Because of the bad relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the son lost his life.
One day two months later, Xu Yongxiang was still ferrying passengers by the river, and he accidentally met the monk again. When the two met, they looked at each other and smiled. Xu Yongxiang said with a proud look on his face: "Master said that if I am destined to be in trouble, there will be a bloody disaster within a month. But now I am living well, how can I explain this?"
The monk clasped his hands together and said with a smile: "It's not surprising that good deeds can turn bad luck into good fortune. The benefactor's ability to escape this disaster must be due to good causes. If you don't believe it, just look back on the past and you will find the answer!" After speaking, he turned around and left with a smile.
Xu Yongxiang recalled the incident of fishing corpses from the river two months ago, and suddenly realized that he did not expect that a small act of kindness changed his destiny. For this reason, the government also rewarded him with ten taels of silver, just in time for his son to get married.
Conclusion:
Since ancient times, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has been difficult to get along with. Unfortunately, Ying Niang met a nosy mother-in-law. Because she had nothing to do after marriage, her mother-in-law often encouraged her son to divorce his wife, which led to Ying Niang's divorce, which eventually led to the tragedy of and .
After a son gets married, he becomes an independent individual. As an elder, you must know how to keep a certain distance from your son and daughter-in-law. The so-called concern is chaos. Too much interference in the lives of younger generations will only increase troubles.
As people get older, they should see more clearly, spend more time caring about themselves, don't put all their energy on their children, and "care" less about their children, maybe the whole family will live a happier life.
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