Experience the intriguing story of a scholar from Fengyang and his wife, where dreams, deception, and a mysterious encounter unfold, leading to a surprising family reunion.
In Fengyang, there was a scholar who went on a journey for his studies. When he left, he said to his wife, “I’ll be back in six months.” However, ten months passed without any word from him. His wife eagerly awaited his return, anxiously hoping for his arrival.
One night, as the wife had just laid down to sleep, she saw the moonlight flickering outside the window, and her thoughts of longing and separation filled her heart. Unable to sleep and tossing in bed, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared. She had pearl flowers in her hair, and she was dressed in a bright red shawl. She lifted the curtain and entered with a smile, asking, “Sister, do you perhaps miss your husband?” The wife quickly got up and replied. The beautiful woman invited her to go together. The wife was worried about the long journey, but the beautiful woman assured her not to be concerned. She took her hand, and they walked forward in the moonlight.
After walking for a while, the wife felt that the beautiful woman was walking very fast, and she was having trouble keeping up. She asked the beautiful woman to wait a moment while she returned home to change her shoes. The beautiful woman pulled her to sit by the roadside, took off her own shoes, and lent them to the wife. The wife joyfully put on the shoes, which luckily fit perfectly. They stood up again and this time walked with swift strides.
After some time, they saw the scholar riding a white mule approaching. The scholar was shocked to see his wife and asked, “Where are you going?” The wife replied, “I was going to visit you.” The scholar looked at the beautiful woman and asked who she was. Before the wife could answer, the beautiful woman covered her mouth and laughed, saying, “Don’t inquire further. Madam has traveled a difficult journey, and her husband is riding a mule in the middle of the night. Both people and animals must be exhausted. My house is not far from here; please come and rest. You can continue your journey in the morning.” Just a few steps away, there was a village, so they all went there together.
Upon entering the courtyard, the beautiful woman woke up her maidservant, who had already fallen asleep, and instructed her to serve the guests. She said, “The moonlight is bright tonight; there’s no need to light candles. We can all sit on the small stone platform bed.” The scholar tied his mule to a pillar in front of the house and then sat down. The beautiful woman said to the wife, “Your shoes must not be very comfortable, and you must be tired from the journey. Since you have a mount for the way back, please return my shoes.” The wife expressed her gratitude and returned the shoes to the beautiful woman.
Before long, the wine and dishes were already set, and the beautiful woman poured wine while saying, “After a long separation, tonight we are reunited as husband and wife. Let’s share a toast to celebrate.” The scholar also raised his wine cup in response. The host and the guest chatted and laughed, exchanging banter, with no distinction between them. The scholar kept gazing at the beautiful woman and repeatedly used flirtatious words to tease her. Although the husband and wife had just reunited, they didn’t exchange any words of concern or inquiry. The beautiful woman also conveyed affection with her eyes, speaking in suggestive and alluring tones. The wife simply sat there silently, pretending to be oblivious.
As time passed, the two of them gradually became drunk, and their words became even more intimate. The beautiful woman brought out a large wine cup to persuade the guest, while the scholar used drunkenness as an excuse to decline. However, the beautiful woman persisted in her persuasion. The scholar smiled and said, “Sing a little song for me, and then I’ll drink.” The beautiful woman didn’t refuse and immediately used her teeth to pluck the strings of a zither, singing, “At dusk, I remove my leftover makeup, and the cold west wind outside the window pierces through the gauze. Listening to the banana leaves rustling, the rain falls in fine drizzles. Where is there leisure to chew betel nuts with someone else? Gazing through the autumn waters, no sign of my husband’s return; tears flow like threads. I miss him again, I resent him again, holding these red embroidered shoes, consulting the ghostly oracle.”
After singing, she laughed and said, “This is a folk song that circulates in the streets and alleys, not worthy of your appreciation. However, due to prevailing customs, I’ll imitate the style.” Her voice was soft and tender, her demeanor affectionate, and she behaved without restraint. The scholar’s heartstrings were swayed, as if he couldn’t control his own emotions.
After a while, the beautiful woman pretended to be drunk and left the table, and the scholar also got up and followed her. They didn’t return for a long time. The maidservant, tired, fell asleep in the corridor. The wife sat alone, lonely without companions, filled with anger that was hard to bear. She thought about sneaking back, but the night was dark, and she couldn’t remember the way. Restless and indecisive, she stood up to check on them.
As she approached the window, she faintly heard the sounds of their amorous activities. On closer listening, she even heard her husband sharing with the beautiful woman the affectionate moments that were usually reserved for her. The wife, overwhelmed with anger, her hands trembling, and her heart unable to bear it any longer, thought it might be better to go out and jump into a ravine to die.
As the wife was about to leave, she suddenly saw her younger brother Sanlang riding up on a horse in a hurry, dismounting and asking for an explanation. The wife narrated the entire incident to him. Sanlang, furious, immediately followed his sister back to the house, forcefully breaking into the bedroom. At that moment, the bedroom door was tightly closed, and the two of them were still whispering sweet nothings on the bed.
Sanlang raised a big stone like a weight and threw it at the window frame, breaking several pieces. Suddenly, a loud cry was heard from inside the room, “My husband’s head is injured! What should we do?” The wife, upon hearing this, burst into tears and said to her brother, “I didn’t ask you to kill him! What have you done now?” Sanlang, with widened eyes, said, “You continuously cried for my help, and just as I managed to relieve my anger, you protected him and scolded your own brother. I’m not accustomed to being bossed around by you, little sister!” With that, he turned and left.
The wife grabbed his clothes and said, “If you don’t take me with you, what am I to do?” Sanlang pushed his sister to the ground and walked away. The wife suddenly woke up, realizing that it was all a dream.
The next day, the scholar indeed returned home, riding a white mule. The wife was very surprised but didn’t say anything. The scholar had also had a dream that night, and when he recounted what he had seen and heard in the dream, it matched exactly with his wife’s dream. Both of them were equally astonished and frightened.
Before long, Sanlang heard that his brother-in-law had returned from his distant journey and came to greet him. In their conversation, he said to his brother-in-law, “Last night, I dreamt of your return, and today, seeing you back for real, it’s truly a strange occurrence.” The scholar chuckled and replied, “Thankfully, I wasn’t crushed to death by a big stone.” Sanlang, taken aback, asked for an explanation, and the scholar shared the details of his dream. Sanlang was even more astonished.
As it turned out, that same night, Sanlang had also dreamt of his sister crying and had angrily thrown a stone. The dreams of all three of them perfectly matched, but they still didn’t know who the beautiful woman truly was.
《凤阳士人》
凤阳一士人，负笈远游。谓其妻曰：“半年当归。”十馀月，竟无耗问，妻翘盼綦切。
一夜，才就枕，纱月摇影，离思萦怀。方反侧间，有一丽人，珠鬟绛帔，搴帷而入，笑问：“姊姊，得无欲见郎君乎？”妻急起应之。丽人邀与共往。妻惮修阻，丽人但请勿虑。即挽女手出，并踏月色。约行一矢之远，觉丽人行迅速，女步履艰涩，呼丽人少待，将归着复履。丽人牵坐路侧，自乃捉足，脱履相假。女喜着之，幸不凿枘。复起从行，健步如飞。移时，见士人跨白骡来。见妻大惊，急下骑，问：“何往？”女曰：“将以探君。”又顾问丽者伊谁，女未及答，丽人掩口笑曰：“且勿问讯。娘子奔波匪易，郎君星驰夜半，人畜想当俱殆。妾家不远，且请息驾，早旦而行，不晚也。”顾数武之外，即有村落，遂同行，入一庭院，丽人促睡婢起供客，曰：“今夜月色皎然，不必命烛，小台石榻可坐。”士人絷蹇檐梧，乃即坐。丽人曰：“履大不适于体，途中颇累赘否？归有代步，乞赐还也。”女称谢付之。
俄顷，设酒果，丽人酌曰：“鸾凤久乖，圆在今夕，浊醪一觞，敬以为贺。”士人亦执盏酬报。主客笑言，履舄交错。士人注视丽者，屡以游词相挑。夫妻乍聚，并不寒暄一语。丽人亦美目流情，妖言隐谜。女惟默坐，伪为愚者。久之渐醺，二人语益狎。又以巨觥劝客，士人以醉辞，劝之益苦。士人笑曰：“卿为我度一曲，即当饮。”丽人不拒，即以牙杖抚提琴而歌曰：“黄昏卸得残妆罢，窗外西风冷透纱。听蕉声，一阵一阵细雨下。何处与人闲磕牙？望穿秋水，不见还家，潸潸泪似麻。又是想他，又是恨他，手拿着红绣鞋儿占鬼卦。”歌竟，笑曰：“此市井里巷之谣，不足污君听。然因流俗所尚，姑效颦耳。”音声靡靡，风度狎亵。士人摇惑，若不自禁。
少间，丽人伪醉离席，士人亦起，从之而去。久之不至。婢子乏疲，伏睡廊下。女独坐，块然无侣，中心愤恚，颇难自堪。思欲遁归，而夜色微茫，不忆道路。辗转无以自主，因起而觇之。裁近其窗，则断云零雨之声，隐约可闻。又听之，闻良人与己素常猥亵之状，尽情倾吐。女至此，手颤心摇，殆不可过，念不如出门窜沟壑以死。愤然方行，忽见弟三郎乘马而至，遽便下问。女具以告。三郎大怒，立与姊回，直入其家，则室门扃闭，枕上之语犹喁喁也。三郎举巨石如斗，抛击窗棂，三五碎断。内大呼曰：“郎君脑破矣！奈何！”女闻之，愕然大哭，谓弟曰：“我不谋与汝杀郎君，今且若何！”三郎撑目曰：“汝呜呜促我来，甫能消此胸中恶，又护男儿，怨弟兄，我不贯与婢子供指使！”返身欲去。女牵衣曰：“汝不携我去，将何之？”三郎挥姊仆地，脱体而去。女顿惊寤，始知其梦。
越日，士人果归，乘白骡。女异之而未言。士人是夜亦梦，所见所遭，述之悉符，互相骇怪。既而三郎闻姊夫远归，亦来省问。语次，谓士人曰：“昨宵梦君归，今果然，亦大异。”士人笑曰：“幸不为巨石所毙。”三郎愕然问故，士以梦告，三郎大异之。盖是夜，三郎亦梦遇姊泣诉，愤激投石也。三梦相符，但不知丽人何许耳。