In ancient times, weddings were often celebrated with multiple families joining the festivities. One day, two families were marrying their daughters; one bride was wealthy, and the other bride was extremely poor. As they met in the middle of their journey, heavy rain started to fall, and the bearers of both families put their sedan chairs in the same pavilion.
The poor bride’s sadness
The poor girl cried in the sedan chair for a long time. Then, finally, when the rich girl heard her sadness, she sent her maid over to ask why. The poor girl replied: “My mother’s family is impoverished, and now I am married to a beggar’s son. I don’t know what will happen, so I am unfortunate.”
The rich girl was deeply moved by her words and felt pity and sympathy for her. She took out two perfume bags embroidered with lotus flowers from her dowry, each containing a gold ingot, weighing about 20 taels, and sent her maid to deliver these to the poor girl’s arms. She said that these gold ingots could be used to exchange for some money to avoid starvation and freezing in the future. The poor girl accepted the gold ingots gratefully.
The rich bride’s generosity
Just as she was about to ask her benefactor’s name, the rain stopped, and the bearers urged everyone to get into the sedan chair, and then they each left. After the poor bride married, she gave the two gold ingots to her husband who used them as capital to run a business.
The couple was diligent, starting from a small business, and gradually the business grew more extensive, and the family became wealthy and bought a lot of land and estates. The couple bought land in pairs, built two identical houses, and divided the money earned into two shares. They were very generous and were known as a good couple by the locals.
The mysterious three-story building
After more than 10 years of marriage, they had a son and chose a nanny to care for him. When the nanny came, the maid and servant pointed to a small three-story building at the back of the house and told her: “Every morning after washing up, the hostess will take the incense burner and go upstairs. You must not ascend the stairs; you will be punished if you break the rule.” When she asked why, the others said: “We have been here for more than ten years, and no one knows about it, only that we have to follow the rule.”
The nanny’s discovery
The child grew up and was able to walk everywhere. One day when the child tried to climb up the stairs, he was stopped by his nanny. He cried out loudly and climbed up the stairs despite her blocking. She had to follow him and found that the room in the building was empty, except for an incense burner and a niche facing the south, covered by a curtain in front. She lifted the curtain, took a long look, and cried too. When others heard the sound, they brought her to the hostess for questioning.
The nanny’s confession
She confessed her guilt and said: “I didn’t think carefully in my haste because I was afraid that the child would fall when he tried to climb stairs. I have no complaint about how I should be punished for violating the rule.”
When the hostess asked her why she was crying, the nanny said with tears, “I saw the lotus blossom scented bag placed inside, very much like the one I put inside my sleeve when I married. On the day of my wedding, on the way, I gave the scented bag and the gold ingots in it to another bride. At that time, my mother’s and husband’s families were wealthy; two pieces of gold were nothing to care about. I never thought I would be in such a bad state today.” After saying this, she cried again.
The hostess’s kindness
The hostess asked her: “In what year, what month, and on what day were you married?” The nanny answered with the exact date. She also asked: “Did it rain on the day of your marriage?” The nanny said: “If it hadn’t rained, my lotus fragrance bag would still be with me.” The hostess listened silently and did not blame her, only bringing her husband to look at the nanny. The nanny thought she was going to be dismissed and became sadder.
The host’s generosity
The next day, the host decorated the house with lanterns and invited all the family members and relatives. They also requested a theater troupe to celebrate the event. In addition, two honorary seats were placed in the lobby, and two small tables were set by them, on which were accounting books a foot high.
Four servants brought in the nanny’s husband, and another four servants also invited the nanny out of the room, making them sit on the two honorary seats.
Then the host and the hostess bowed down to both of them and rose and said: “It is we who have been indebted to you for the gift of gold ingots. We would not be here today without the two gold ingots you gave us. Therefore, I have kept the lotus flower incense bag upstairs because I will never forget your kindness. I burn incense and worship every day, hoping to meet you again one day. God has blessed us, and my family’s assets are divided into two: we keep one part and ask you to take the other part.”
The nanny’s blessing
The host then urged everyone to sit down, and the feast began with the troupe’s music. At two o’clock in the morning, when the dinner ended, the servants sent the nanny and her husband to the east courtyard with lanterns, where the beds, covers, and furnishings were no different from those of the host’s house.
The power of kindness
Some people wonder if the nanny and her husband were lucky to receive such a fortune, but her previous compassion and kindness gave the poor bride the capital to be rich. Because the rich bride did not expect to get any return when she helped the poor bride, and the poor bride wanted to repay her benefactor when she became wealthy, they met each other by the arrangement of fate. Does the creator give blessings at will?
The power of kindness is a timeless lesson that can be seen in this story. The rich bride’s generosity and the poor bride’s determination to repay her benefactor are inspiring. The story also shows us that there is always hope, no matter how difficult the situation may seem. The nanny and her husband were able to turn their lives around with the help of the rich bride’s kindness.
This story is a reminder that we should always be kind and generous, as it can have a lasting impact on the lives of others.
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