Hester's Dream

Hester's Dream | Quanzhou Story 13 Marriage is predestined, and the matchmaker can't help asking.

A match made in heaven, that is, the arrangement of heaven, does not need the introduction of a matchmaker.

During the reign of Emperor Yingzong in the Ming Dynasty, Wu Fu, a man from the magnetic stove outside the south gate of Quanzhou, was rehabilitated with the title of "fighting with a bookend". He was elected as the supervisor of Lishui County in Jiangsu Province after passing the examination, and was later promoted to magistrate of a county because of his political achievements. During his tenure in Lishui County, he skillfully decided a marriage dispute case of bullying the poor and regretting the marriage, so that all shall be well.

Qian Yuanwei and Lin Xiucai in Lishui County have been neighbors and friends for many years. They are usually very close friends. One year, Qian Yuanwei and Lin Xiucai's wife were pregnant at the same time, and both families felt happy and relaxed. At a family dinner, Mr. Qian and Mr. Lin Xiucai drank heartily and talked about everything. It's really "one person, one thousand cups". In order to be arty, Mr. Qian offered: "I would like to be friendly with scholars from generation to generation. If both wives have boys, they will become sworn brothers. If there are girls, they will become sisters. If one has a boy and the other has a girl, they will become husband and wife in the future. " Lin Xiucai readily agreed. Then sign the agreement separately to show caution. Later, Lin Xiucai's wife liked the boy very much and named him Wen Lin. Mr. Qian's wife gave birth to a girl named Miss Qian. They have been childhood friends since childhood. When they grow up, they all know that they are bossing each other around, caring more about each other, treating each other sincerely and empathizing with each other. Both parents are satisfied with this marriage, and the neighbors are envious.

However, something unexpected happened. It's a pity that Lin Xiucai fell ill and spent all his savings at home, even losing his life. As the saying goes, "when the guy dies, the scholar is gone." From then on, Wen Lin and his mother lived together and lived a poor life. Not only did Mr. Qian not sympathize with and support Wen Lin's difficult situation, but his attitude became very indifferent, and Miss Qian was not allowed to continue to associate with Wen Lin. With the passage of time, Qian Yuanwei's attitude towards Wen Lin gradually alienated and despised, and he thought of breaking off the engagement. Miss Qian was very dissatisfied with what her father had done, and said to her father, "Liu Yuee, the daughter of the Northern Song Dynasty, married the bride, threw the hydrangea to the beggar Lv Mengzheng, and willingly lived with him in a broken kiln. Later, Lv Mengzheng took the imperial examination and won the first place in high school. I want to learn from Xiangfu's daughter, marry a chicken and fly with it, and marry a dog and follow it, without complaint! " Seeing that his daughter had made up her mind, Mr. Qian locked her in the embroidery room. Miss Qian couldn't help it, so she had to stay in the embroidery room and sigh. She can't sleep at night, her face is thin and listless, and she suffers from the pain in the distance. One day, Mr. Qian ordered the chef to prepare a sumptuous banquet and sent out a red post to invite him to dinner. As the saying goes, "Good or bad luck is a sign of the future". All kinds of signs before and after made Wen Lin think that Mr. Qian was up to no good, and he might coerce him to break off his engagement at today's banquet (in ancient times, it was legal to get married or engaged, which was protected by the law at that time, and only the man wrote a divorce certificate could he break off his engagement), so he made full preparations to avoid being caught off guard and missing the lifelong event. Wen Lin was bold enough to be invited to dinner. As expected, after several rounds of drinking, Mr. Qian said loudly: "My family ranks first in the county in wealth and has a wide range of friends between officials and gentry, which can be called' wealth and power'." During the dinner, someone echoed: "Yes! Yes! This is indeed the case. " Then, Mr. Qian changed the subject and asked, "Wen Lin, please talk about your life experience." The engagement to my little daughter, right? Wen Lin knew it was a scam, so he didn't say anything, but expressed his strongest resistance with silence. Qian Yuanwei grinned and said, "Since you have nothing to answer, write a divorce certificate consciously! "Wen Lin thinks that it is right for such people to tell more in silence than in voice, which is unclear, or he keeps silent. Finally, Mr. Qian threatened fiercely: "You are in my hand, you have to write if you want, or you have to write if you don't want, or you will suffer!" Not to be outdone, Wen Lin said, "I'll write! You are quick to bring Four Treasures of the Study! " Mr. Qian is happy to let the servants do it one by one. See Wen Lin wrote twelve words on the paper, "This book remarries with you, and you are not allowed to come to our door again" (punctuation was not needed at that time), signed his name, and then threw the brush on the ground without saying goodbye. Teacher Qian didn't know the real meaning, so he interpreted it as "this book remarries with you and is not allowed to come back to our door" according to his own ideas. After reading it, Teacher Qian collected it satisfactorily.

Wen Lin was very angry when he returned to China, and immediately wrote a petition: "When my father was alive, I was friends with him, and we had very close contacts and friendship as brothers. Miss Qian and I are heart-to-heart, and we have never been able to guess since childhood, and we love each other. After my father died, the situation was much worse than before. I was careful not to miss the friendship of the past. Xiao Sheng was left out in the cold, his daughter was banned, and now he uses a vicious means to bully the poor and destroy his marriage. I can't help it, so I have to complain and ask the county grandfather to make the decision for me. " After writing, Wen Lin sent the form paper to Lishui County.

After reading the complaint, the county magistrate Wu went to court, knocked on the gavel and shouted to Mr. Qian, "You are bold and unruly. As a member, you should obey the law. It's wrong to bully the poor and break off marriage now. You must make a full confession! " Mr. Qian argued: "The old man is really wronged! Wen Lin can't get married just because he is idle, doesn't work hard and has a dim future. I'm afraid of delaying my daughter's life, so I'll handle it properly through consultation between the two sides. This is a divorce certificate written by Wen Lin personally. I hope everyone can learn from me! " After reading Wen Lin's Divorce, Wu Fu feels very ambiguous, which can be interpreted from both positive and negative aspects. Looking closely at Wen Lin, he is dignified, handsome, gentle and noble, nothing like what Mr. Qian said. On second thought, I think there is something fishy about this matter, and I have to visit it closely to get to know it before I can make a clear decision. I immediately announced my withdrawal and tried again another day. Wu Zhifu took him to the back hall and asked him kindly about his life experience and the details of his marriage dispute. Wen Lin has a glib tongue, and his answer is endless. Wu Zhifu asked again, "What's the reason why you wrote a divorce certificate and came to complain?" Wen Lin argued: "This is not a divorce! In order to get out of danger, I wrote twelve words, with four words as a section to express my mind, which is completely opposite to what Qian Yuan understood. " Magistrate Wu thinks that he is smart and can be cultivated, so he politely asks him to go home. Wu Zhifu knew it well and decided to play along, so he concentrated on how to judge the case skillfully in the second instance.