Explore the eerie tale of a wife's mysterious encounters with the afterlife while preparing a sumptuous feast.
The wife of scholar Du Jiawan fell ill. It happened during the Double Ninth Festival when Du Jiawan was invited by his friends to go mountain climbing and drink chrysanthemum wine. Early in the morning, after he had washed and dressed, he informed his wife of his destination, put on his hat, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, he noticed that his wife was not in her right mind, mumbling as if talking to someone. Du Jiawan was quite puzzled and asked her what she was doing in front of the bed. To his surprise, his wife called him “son.” The family suspected that something was wrong.
At that time, Du Jiawan’s mother had not yet been buried, so they suspected that his mother’s spirit had possessed his wife. Du Jiawan prayed and said, “Could it be my mother?” His wife scolded him, saying, “You beast! Don’t you recognize your father?” Du Jiawan said, “If you’re my father, why are you haunting my daughter-in-law?” His wife called him by his nickname and said, “I came specifically for my daughter-in-law. Why are you blaming me? I should have died right away, but four people came to fetch my soul, with Zhang Huaiyu as their leader. I begged them in every way, and they finally agreed. I promised to give them a small gift, so you should give it to them now.”
Du Jiawan followed her instructions and burned paper money outside the door. His wife said, “Those four people have left. They didn’t want to offend me, so three days later, we must prepare a feast to thank them. Your mother is old and can’t move well, so she can’t cook. At that time, we’ll have to ask my daughter-in-law to come.” Du Jiawan said, “The way things work in the world of the living and the world of the dead is different. How can she cook for my mother? I hope my father can forgive her.” His wife said, “Don’t worry, she will come back after a short while. This is her duty, and she shouldn’t be afraid of hard work.” After saying that, she fell into a deep coma.
The wife finally woke up after a long time. Du Jiawan asked his wife what she had just said, but his wife couldn’t remember anything. She only said, “I saw four people come just now, and they wanted to capture me. Fortunately, your father begged them not to, and he even gave them money as a bribe. That’s when they left. I noticed that your father’s money pouch still had two silver ingots left, and I thought of taking one secretly for our future. But your father found out and scolded me, saying, ‘What do you think you’re doing? Do you think this is something you can use?’ So, I quickly withdrew my hand and didn’t dare to touch it.” Du Jiawan thought his wife’s condition was serious and had mixed feelings about her words.
Three days later, while they were chatting and laughing, the wife suddenly stared for a long time and said to Du Jiawan, “Your daughter-in-law is too greedy. A few days ago, she had impure thoughts when she saw my silver. But it’s mainly because she’s too poor, so I can’t blame her. I plan to take your daughter-in-law with me to handle the cooking, so you don’t have to worry.” As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly passed away. After about half a day, the wife finally woke up. She told Du Jiawan, “Just now, your father called me and said, ‘You don’t need to do it yourself. I have my own chefs in the underworld, and you just need to sit there and give orders. We like things plentiful in the afterlife, and all the dishes must be overflowing from the plates. Remember that.’ I agreed. When I arrived in the kitchen, I saw two women inside cutting vegetables, both wearing sky-blue vests with green borders, and they both called me sister-in-law. Whenever they put the dishes in the plates and bowls, they always asked me to check. The four people who fetched my soul last time were all sitting at the feast. After serving the food, the tableware was already arranged in the containers, and your father asked me to come back.” Du Jiawan was greatly astonished and often told this story to his friends.
《鬼作筵》
杜秀才九畹，内人病。会重阳，为友人招作茱萸会。早兴，盥已，告妻所往，冠服欲出。忽见妻昏愦，絮絮若与人言。杜异之，就问卧榻，妻辄“儿”呼之。家人心知其异。时杜有母柩未殡，疑其灵爽所凭。杜祝曰：“得勿吾母耶？”妻骂曰：“畜产何不识尔父？”杜曰：“既为吾父，何乃归家祟儿妇？”妻呼小字曰：“我专为儿妇来，何反怨恨？儿妇应即死，有四人来勾致，首者张怀玉。我万端哀乞，甫能得允遂。我许小馈送，便宜付之。”杜如言，于门外焚钱纸。妻又言曰：“四人去矣。彼不忍违吾面目，三日后，当治具酬之。尔母老，龙钟不能料理中馈。及期，尚烦儿妇一往。”杜曰：“幽明殊途，安能代庖？望父恕宥。”妻曰：“儿勿惧，去去即复返。此为渠事，当毋惮劳。”言已，即冥然。
良久乃苏。杜问所言，茫不记忆，但曰：“适见四人来，欲捉我去。幸阿翁哀请，且解囊赂之，始去。我见阿翁镪袱尚馀二铤，欲窃取一铤来，作糊口计。翁窥见，叱曰：‘尔欲何为！此物岂尔所可用耶！’我乃敛手未敢动。”杜以妻病革，疑信相半。
越三日，方笑语间，忽瞪目久之，语曰：“尔妇綦贪，曩见我白金，便生觊觎。然大要以贫故，亦不足怪。将以妇去，为我敦庖务，勿虑也。”言甫毕，奄然竟毙。约半日许，始醒，告杜曰：“适阿翁呼我去，谓曰：‘不用尔操作，我烹调自有人，只须坚坐指挥足矣。我冥中喜丰满，诸物馔都覆器外，切宜记之。’我诺。至厨下，见二妇操刀砧于中，俱绀帔而绿缘之，呼我以嫂。每盛炙于簋，必请觇视。曩四人都在筵中。进馔既毕，酒具已列器中。翁乃命我还。”杜大愕异，每语同人。