In the first year of Xianfeng (AD 185 1), Hong Xiuquan established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Guangxi. He was declared emperor on that day, but the life of ordinary people was not peaceful. Liu Xiucai, the protagonist of this article, hates her teeth. Why? Because of the war, his dream was directly shattered: he won the scholar from the county exam and then took the provincial exam, so he had to be promoted. When he became a juren, he went to Beijing to take the Jinshi exam. Fortunately, he won the Jinshi and then took the imperial examination. Fortunately, the newly enthroned Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty won a champion at first hand. Isn't that the glory of his ancestors and the bright future?
Don't blame Liu Xiucai for being pedantic. Many scholars in the Qing Dynasty really cared whether they were Han Chinese or Manchu emperors, as long as they could get ahead and enter the official career.
During the Taiping Rebellion, Liu Xiucai was worried that the Imperial Examination would become bumpy. What can he do except secretly curse a few words in his heart? For example, although he is a scholar, he often goes hunting with a bow and arrow on his back. Otherwise, what does he eat?
On this day, the scholar turned several times in the mountains and didn't catch any prey. I was about to say a few poems when I caught a glimpse of a fat fox lying in front of a tree hole. He quickly bent his bow and took aim at the arrow. An arrow shot out and missed. Strangely, the cold arrow shot in front of the fox, and the fox did not move, nor did he panic and run away.
The scholar thought, this is a dead fox.
Looking ahead, the fox stared at him with his eyes open, and then touched it with his hand. This fox is warm and fat. Is it full? The scholar was overjoyed and went home with this windfall.
After the fox skin was peeled off, the meat was taken away by the village dogs before it could be treated. The scholar is not angry either. After all, fox meat is not delicious, and it is profitable to get a good fur.
The scholar rubbed the fox skin with nitrate, dried it in the shade, spread it on the bed, and thought about warming up at night. But when the body came together, a chill went deep into the bone marrow, and the scholar was shivering with cold. Strange, isn't fox skin very warm? Although the scholar regretted it, he didn't think much. He threw the fox skin aside and went back to sleep. In a daze, a woman in white floated over and said to the scholar, how can I be content if I don't repay you for ruining my hundred years of practice and killing my skin?
The next day, the scholar woke up, thinking of the dream at night, and associated it with the cold fox skin. He was a little scared and wanted to invite a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits. But as soon as he went out, the dog that had eaten fox meat jumped on him like crazy, barking and biting. When his family rescued him, he was bleeding and in unbearable pain. When the doctor came to see him, he was helpless, and soon the scholar was rotting all over.
Postscript: No matter "San Yan Liang Pai" written by Feng Menglong, who was born in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, or "Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio" written by Pu Songling, who died in Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, as well as the folklore of Ji Yun, an ancient historian in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, recorded some fox's practices to some extent. There is also a folk legend: foxes are the favorite animals to breed. Being a fox spirit, just like Tang Priest's scriptures, needs to go through many disasters. If these disasters don't last, all previous efforts will be in vain and even die. When people meet a fox who has reached the threshold of practice, they just need to cover it with a piece of red silk. When it passes the practice, it will definitely repay the favor and enjoy endless prosperity. The scholar in Xianfeng period of Qing Dynasty did the opposite, and it is reasonable to be retaliated by the fox.