On the day of her wedding, a beautiful bride named Li was to marry a man named Lu, but before the ceremony began, an old woman arrived, telling Li’s mother that the man she thought would be her son-in-law was not the actual bridegroom. Li’s mother thought the woman was talking nonsense and drove her away, but during the ceremony, the groom fled in full view of everyone as soon as he saw Li’s face. Here is what happened.
The fated marriage
The county magistrate of Hongnong County promised his daughter, Li, to a man named Lu Sheng when she reached marriageable age. Soon, the day came when Li was to be married. On that day, a witch came to the magistrate’s house and Li’s mother questioned her about the couple’s future. She said: “Today, my daughter is getting married. The man who will be the groom has often been here, so you should have had a chance to see him on one of your earlier visits. Tell me, what do you think of his fate?”
The witch asked: “Does the young man you are talking about have a long beard?” Li’s mother told her that he did indeed have a long beard. The witch then said: “He is not your son-in-law. The one who will marry your daughter has a fair face, a medium build, and no long beard.”
This surprised Li’s mother, so she asked: “Then is my daughter’s wedding today going to be possible?” The witch replied: “Yes, she can still be married today.” Li’s mother was again confused and asked: “Since the wedding is today, how come the son-in-law will not be Lu Sheng?” The witch was not sure of the reason, but she was still sure that Li’s marriage partner was not Lu Sheng.
After a while, Lu Sheng came to visit the bride’s family in order to leave some wedding gifts for them along with a betrothal gift for the bride. Upon seeing him arrive, Li’s mother was certain he must be her future son-in-law and asked the witch why she was trying to disturb their wedding preparations. The witch, however, insisted on her claims and said that she would not dare speak falsely. The family became so angry that they drove her away and continued with their daughter’s wedding feast.
The fleeing groom
Later, Lu Sheng arrived in a carriage for the marriage ceremony. Both parties and guests were already in place, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. When it was time for Lu Sheng to lift the veil covering the bride’s face, he suddenly shouted and quickly got on a horse and rode away. Even though the people chased and called out to him, Lu Sheng fled the scene without looking back, leaving the people in dismay.
This absurd incident made Li’s parents feel very humiliated and angry. They invited the guests into the house, and then brought their daughter out, revealing her beautiful and delicate face. Li’s parents said indignantly: “Is our daughter that scary-looking? If we don’t let you see her, people will mistakenly think she looks like a wild beast!” Everyone sympathized with them, feeling both angry and sorry.
Suddenly, Li’s parents offered that if anyone was willing to propose to their daughter, the wedding would be held that very day. At that moment one of the groomsmen, an official surnamed Zheng, came forward and said he was willing to marry Li. The two became engaged on the spot and were married the same day. Later, the family realized that he exactly matched the description of the man who would marry their daughter as given to them by the witch.
A few years later, Zheng went to the capital to take up his post and met his friend Lu Sheng. The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and by chance, the conversation happened to turn to the wedding back then. Lu told him that when he looked at Li and saw her red eyes and long teeth, he was so frightened that he fled in panic. But later Zheng asked his wife to meet Lu Sheng one more time. When his friend saw the beautiful Li, he realized his past mistake and then left with regret. Destiny seems to be a foregone conclusion, even if one must reach the inevitable outcome in an unbelievable way.
Translated by Eva
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