Translation by Wang Guian

Wang Fou, whose courtesy name is Guian, is a child of an aristocratic family in Damingfu, Hebei Province. One year, he traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and stopped his boat on the bank of the Yangtze River. There is a boatman girl on the boat nearby. She is very beautiful. She is sitting on the bow of the boat, lowering her head and embroidering shoes. Wang Guian looked at her for a long time, but the woman didn't seem to notice. Wang Guian then recited Wang Wei's poem "Luoyang's daughter lives opposite the door" loudly, deliberately letting her hear it.

The woman seemed to understand that it was recited for her, but she only raised her head slightly, glanced at it, and then lowered her head to embroider. Wang Gui'an became even more emotional and threw a piece of gold forgetfully, and it happened to fall on the woman's lapel. The woman still didn't look up, picked it up and threw it on the shore. Wang Guian had no choice but to pick up the gold. He took out another pair of gold bracelets and threw them over, landing next to the woman's feet. The woman continued to embroider her shoes and ignored them. After a while, the boatman came back from outside. Wang Gui'an was afraid that he would find the gold bracelet, and he was scratching his head and head anxiously. However, he saw the woman calmly hooking the gold bracelet with her feet and covering it up. After the boatman got on the boat, he urged the woman to pack up her work, while he untied the mooring rope and sailed down the river.

Wang Guian looked at the sailing shadow in the distance and sat there blankly, feeling very melancholy. At that time, he had just lost his wife and regretted not immediately asking a matchmaker to arrange a marriage with the boatman. When I asked around on the boats, I didn't even know the name of the boatman just now. Wang Guian quickly asked the stern of his boat to catch the boat, but there was no trace of the boat!

As a last resort, Wang Guian had to cross the river to do business. When I returned to the north, I checked along the river again, but there was still no news. After returning home, whether eating or sleeping, I could not forget the beautiful figure of the boatman girl.

The next year, Wang Guian went to the south again and bought a boat. He lived on the riverside and watched the ships coming and going every day. In half a year, I became familiar with all the boats in this area, but there was no sign of the boat from last year, and the money bag in my waist gradually became empty, so I had no choice but to go home again. This time, Wang Gui'an missed her even more urgently. No matter when he was walking during the day or dreaming at night, the shadow of the beautiful boat girl always floated in his mind.

One night, Wang Guian had a dream: He suddenly arrived in a small village by the river. As soon as he passed through several doors, he saw a chai door open to the south. The sparse green bamboo in the courtyard was woven into a fence. The flowers and trees are luxuriant, like a pavilion. Wang Gui'an went straight in, and suddenly saw a tall Albizia julibrissin tree not far away. The tree was full of red silk hanging down, and its dense shade was attractive. He couldn't help but recite silently: The poem "A Tree of Lantana Flowers in Front of the Door" written by Yu Ji in the Yuan Dynasty probably describes this kind of scenery, right? After walking a few more steps, a small, smooth and simple courtyard suddenly appeared in front of me, surrounded by a reed fence. There were three rooms in the north of the courtyard, and the doors were closed. Looking back, I saw a small room by the south wall, with a red banana plant in front of the window. . Wang Gui'an leaned over and took a peek, and saw a clothes rack with a colorful skirt hanging on it. He knew it was a woman's boudoir, so he hurriedly retreated; but the people in the room seemed to have noticed that someone was coming, so they came out to welcome her. Wang Guian took a look and saw that the pretty face was that of the boatman girl from last year. Wang Guian was overjoyed. He shouted: "Isn't it possible that we will meet one day?" The two were about to get intimate when the woman's father suddenly came back. Wang Guian was startled and woke up, only to realize that it was a dream. Recall the sceneries in the dream as vividly as if they were before your eyes. Wang Guian kept this sweet dream in her heart, fearing that telling others would destroy this beautiful idea.

More than a year later, Wang Guian went to Zhenjiang, Jiangnan again. In the south of the city, Mrs. Xu, a family friend of the Wang family, invited Wang Guian to have a drink. On the way to a banquet, Wang Guian lost his way and entered a small village by mistake. Suddenly, he felt that the scenery in the village seemed to have been seen somewhere before. In the gate of a courtyard, there is a tall acacia tree, which is like a scene I have seen in a dream. He was so pleasantly surprised that he dismounted and rushed in. The scenery in the courtyard is indeed no different from a sweet dream. Walking further into the courtyard, the layout of the buildings is also consistent. Since the dream came true, Wang Gui'an no longer hesitated and went straight to the small south room in the backyard. As expected, the boatman's daughter was in the room. She was startled when she saw Wang Guian coming in from a distance. She quickly stood up and covered herself with the door leaf, yelling: "Where did this man come from?" Wang Guian was neither advancing nor retreating. He seemed to be still in his dream. . When the woman saw that he was already standing by the door, she closed the door with a bang. Wang Guian shouted anxiously: "Don't you remember the person who threw the bracelet?" Then he confided in him the pain of lovesickness in the past few years and told the omen in his dream. The woman asked Wang Guian about his family background through the window, and Wang Guian told her the truth. The woman said: "Since you are an eunuch, you already have a beautiful wife at home. What do you want me to do?" Wang Guian said anxiously: "If it wasn't because I miss you, I would have married a long time ago!" The woman said : "If it is like what you said, it shows your sincerity. Although it is difficult for me to express my feelings to my parents, I have already rejected several marriage offers against my orders. I still keep that pair of gold bracelets, and I expect to fall in love with them. Eventually, the news will come. Unfortunately, my parents went to my grandma's house today and are about to come back. You can go back for the time being and then ask the matchmaker to come and formally propose the marriage. I think you will get your wish. But if you want to get married in an indecent manner, then You made the wrong calculation!"

Wang Gui'an was about to leave in a hurry, when the woman looked at his back and shouted from a distance: "Wang Lang! My name is Yun Niang, my surname is Meng, my father's cousin. It's Jiang Li. Don't forget it!" Wang Guian said, "Remember it!" While running out of the courtyard.

Wang Guian went to Mrs. Xu’s house for a banquet. Because she had something on her mind, she ended the banquet early, said goodbye, came back, and hurried to the small village to meet Meng Jiangli.

Meng Jiangli received Wang Gui'an politely and set up tables and stools by the fence in the courtyard to invite him to sit down. After Wang Guian thanked him, he first introduced himself, then explained his purpose of coming, and respectfully presented one hundred taels of silver as a betrothal gift. Unexpectedly, the old man waved his hand and said, "I'm sorry, my daughter has been betrothed to someone else." Wang Gui'an shouted anxiously, "I have inquired for sure, and it is clear that she is still waiting for employment. Why did you refuse like this?" Jiang Li The old man said calmly: "What I just said is all the truth. I don't dare to lie at all." After hearing this, Wang Guian immediately lost his mind and left dejectedly.

Wang Guian returned to his residence and thought about it, but he had nowhere to find a matchmaker. I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Looking back at Mrs. Xu's house, I originally wanted to tell him about this, but I was afraid that he would laugh at me for marrying a boatman's daughter, so I didn't have the nerve to say it; now I have no choice but to do so. I had to go and beg him. So as soon as it dawned, I ran to the servant's house and told him the situation. The servant smiled and said, "That's it. Don't worry. I still have something to do with this old man. He is my grandmother's great-nephew. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Wang Guian then plucked up the courage to talk. The hidden secrets that have been hidden in my heart for several years. When the servant heard this, he was surprised and said: "Jiang Li is a poor farmer and has never punted boats as a profession. Are you mistaken?" So he sent his son Dalang to Meng's house to inquire. Old man Jiang Li explained: "Although my family is poor, we are definitely not people who sell marriages. Yesterday, the prince used gold and silver as a matchmaker. I think he probably thought that we poor people were greedy for money and acted upon profit, so they did not dare to reach this high level. It's a marriage matter. Since you came here today, it must be true. But my daughter is very willful and spoiled, and she often refuses good people if she doesn't like them. I have to discuss it with her to avoid any complaints in the future." He stood up and walked into the inner room. After a while, he came out, clasped his hands and said with a smile: "Now you can completely do as the servant wants." So the two agreed on a good day, Dalang said goodbye and went home, and reported the good news to the servant. Wang Gui'an arranged a generous dowry, went to Meng's house to pay the bride price, and borrowed the house of Mrs. Xu's family to hold the wedding.

After three days of marriage, Wang Guian took Yun Niang to bid farewell to his father-in-law and return north. On the way, they stayed on the boat at night, and the newlyweds chatted. Wang Guian asked Yun Niang: "I met you in this area that year. At that time, I suspected that you didn't look like a boat girl. Where were you going by boat?" Yun Niang said: "My uncle's home is in Jiangbei. That was when we borrowed a boat to visit him. Although my family was poor, we only had enough food and clothing, and no savings, but we were not greedy for this kind of unexpected wealth. I laughed at you with eyes wide open again and again. I want to use money to impress people. I hear you reciting ancient poems, and I know that you are an elegant scholar, but I suspect that you are a frivolous and frivolous child who treats her as a slut. Huh, if my father finds out about your gold bracelet, you will die. No place for burial! Do you think I love money so much?" Wang Gui'an laughed and said, "Although you are smart, you still fell into my trap!" Yun Niang was surprised and asked quickly: "Why?" What's going on?" Wang Guian stopped deliberately and smiled without saying anything. Yun Niang kept asking, and Wang Gui'an said: "We are getting closer to home every day, and I can no longer hide this from you. To tell you the truth, I have a wife at home, and she is the daughter of Wu Shangshu." Yun Niang didn't believe it. , Wang Guian said it again deliberately and solemnly. After hearing this, Yun Niang suddenly stood up and ran out of the cabin without saying a word. Wang Gui'an hurriedly dragged his shoes out, but Yun Niang had already jumped into the river. Wang Guian shouted for help, and there was a commotion among the surrounding ships. However, the night on the river is vast and the stars are dotted. Where can I find the shadow of Yun Niang? Wang Guian cried loudly, heartbroken, in pain, and regretful. He paid a high price to hire sailors along the river to salvage Yun Niang's body, but there was no trace of it. In the end, I had no choice but to return to my home in Damingfu. I was filled with grief and sorrow. I was afraid that my father-in-law would come to visit my daughter. How should I explain it at that time?

It happened that his brother-in-law was an official in Henan, so Wang Guian lived there for more than a year before returning. Encountering heavy rain on the way back, Wang Gui'an went to a farmhouse in the village to take shelter from the rain. He saw that the house in the courtyard was clean and tidy, and an old lady was playing with a baby under the building. When the baby saw Wang Gui'an coming in, he rushed over and asked him to hold him. Wang Gui'an felt a little strange, and seeing that the baby looked delicate and cute, he took it over and put it on his lap. Even if the old lady calls him, he won't go. After a while, the rain cleared and the sky cleared. Wang Guian lifted the little guy and handed it to the old lady. He walked down the hall and asked the servants to get ready and set off. Unexpectedly, the baby started crying and shouting: "Daddy is gone!" The old lady laughed at the child calling a stranger his father, and quickly scolded him to stop, picked him up and went back indoors. Wang Guian was waiting for his servants to pack his clothes when he suddenly saw a beautiful young woman walking out from behind the indoor screen with the baby in her arms. Wang Gui'an looked more and more like Yun Niang. Just as he was wondering, Yun Niang had already started to scold him: "You heartless man! What should I do with this piece of meat you left behind?" Only then did Wang Gui'an realize that this baby was his son. , couldn't help feeling sad, and didn't have time to ask them how mother and son got here, so she explained the original joke first, and then Yun Niang turned from anger to joy, and the two of them shed tears relative to each other. Then Yun Niang told what happened: The owner of the family, Mo Weng, was childless in his sixties. I took my wife to Putuo Temple in Nanhai, Zhejiang to offer incense. When the boat stopped at the bank of the Yangtze River on the way back, Yun Niang happened to be going down the river and happened to hit the side of Mo Weng's boat. Mo Weng hurriedly asked people to fish her out, and after rescuing her for a night, Yun Niang regained consciousness. When Mo Weng saw that Yun Niang was a girl from a good family, he happily recognized her as his goddaughter and took her home. After a few months, Yun Niang wanted to find a husband for her, but Yun Niang expressed her unwillingness to remarry.

At ten months, Yun Niang gave birth to a boy, named Xiesheng. By chance, Wang Gui'an came to this house to take shelter from the rain. By this time, the parasite was almost one year old. Wang Gui'an was overjoyed after hearing this, so he unloaded the car again, went into the house to meet the old man and the old lady, and also addressed him as father-in-law and mother-in-law. After staying for a few days, the couple returned to Daming Mansion with their son and Mr. and Mrs. Mo.

As soon as he entered the house, Meng Weng had been waiting at Wang's house for two months. When Meng Weng first arrived, the Wang family members were in a trance, which made Meng Weng feel strange; now that they met, the truth was revealed, and everyone became happy, Meng Weng realized that the previous hesitation was for a reason.