This story took place during the Qing Dynasty. There was a family surnamed Du, consisting of a mother and her son, since the father had passed away. The son was engaged to marry a girl from the Fu family. Just before the wedding, the son of the Du family suddenly developed mental illness. The mother of the Fu family was also a widow.
Du’s mother believed that her son would not recover from his mental illness. She explained to the Fu family’s mother: “Our family is unfortunate. My son has this mental illness and has become disabled. I don’t want to burden you and bring you down. It is not beneficial to continue with this marriage. It would be better for your daughter to remarry. If someone proposes to her, we will return half of the dowry.”
Upon hearing this, the girl from the Fu family came out and bowed to Du’s mother, saying: “Mother, you have worked hard! Since your son is sick, how will you support yourself?”
Du’s mother replied: “Our family only has a few acres of barren land, and we have had poor harvests for many years. There’s only enough food for half a year! Once the food is gone, we worry about not eating enough daily.” Therefore, Du’s mother repeated her earlier request for the girl to remarry.
The girl spoke earnestly, saying: “I have done nothing improper. Since we are already engaged, and now you want to break off the engagement, outsiders won’t know the truth. What will they say? If that’s the case, I would rather die than live. I am willing to return home with my mother-in-law and rely on each other. I learned sewing when I was young. If there’s not enough food, I can do sewing work at night, and we can get by. Today, I am willing to go home with you. Otherwise, you must find me on the road to the underworld.”
Hearing her words, both mothers were delighted and embraced each other, completely overwhelmed with emotions and crying. After Du’s mother returned home, she sent a carriage to pick up the girl. The girl went to them without changing her clothes, dressed in a blue shirt and white skirt, looking rather charming.
Before the girl arrived at Du’s family home, the son dressed nicely and happily told his mother: “The bride is coming soon. Mother, it would be best if you went out to welcome her. I’m cured of my mental illness.”
His mother asked in astonishment: “How do you know we should welcome the bride? Are you speaking nonsense again?”
He replied: “No! I was lying down just now and saw four ghosts behind the bed. They were all evil spirits with messy hair. They said to me: ‘We have no grudges against you. Your father wrongly accused us, imprisoned us, and later tortured us to death. That’s why we sought revenge against you. But seeing the daughter of the Fu family with such integrity and courage, we both respect and fear her. So how dare we cause harm again?’ Then they disappeared, and I felt like I had just awakened from a drunken state. I am not sick anymore.”
Just as he finished speaking, the girl arrived. Du’s mother told everyone about these strange events, and everyone was shocked. Upon hearing this, the mother of the Fu family was delighted and chose an auspicious day for them to complete the wedding.
The girl from the Fu family was the granddaughter of Zhang Yigong, and the father of Du’s son had once served as a county official.
Jing Xingshao, the author of Shanzhai Ketan, analyzed the two families’ positive outcomes.
He said: “Du’s mother’s original intention was to be honest and upfront regarding her son’s mental illness. Since she treated the girl kindly, the mother-in-law unexpectedly gained an excellent daughter-in-law. The girl from the Fu family originally intended to remain a widow and never wished to remarry, but instead gained a husband. It shows how a good conscience with integrity brings forth abundant rewards. This family’s story shows the retribution bestowed by following divine principles. Who can deny that ghosts or deities exist?”
