Virtue is always rewarded. In the Ming Dynasty, outside the East Gate of Wuxi County in Jiangsu, there lived a family with three brothers: the eldest, Lu Yu; the second, Lu Bao; and the third, Lu Zhen.
Lu Yu’s son, Xi’er, went missing at the age of six after visiting a temple fair with a neighbor’s child. Despite searching for several days, Lu Yu and his wife, Wang, could not find any trace of him. Heartbroken and depressed, Lu Yu bid farewell to his wife and set out on a business journey, hoping to find any clues about Xi’er’s whereabouts.
An unexpected find
Years later, while in a place called Chenliu, Lu Yu found a green cloth bag in a restroom. Opening it, he discovered about 200 taels of silver. He thought: “The owner must be very anxious and might have faced a tragic situation because he couldn’t find this money. The ancients did not take what belonged to others and returned lost items with integrity. I must wait here for the owner to return the lost property.”
After waiting a day without seeing anyone, Lu Yu had to continue his journey. At an inn in Suzhou, he spoke about his business with a man named Chen Chaofeng, who sighed and mentioned losing a bag with 200 taels of silver in Chenliu. Lu Yu asked about the bag’s appearance, and it matched exactly with what he had found. Without hesitation, Lu Yu returned the bag and silver to Chen, who was overjoyed and immediately offered to split the money with Lu, but Lu refused.
A surprising reunion
Grateful for Lu Yu’s honesty, Chen invited him to his home and proposed a marriage alliance between their children. With tears streaming down his face, Lu Yu told the story of his son’s disappearance. Chen then revealed that he had bought a boy for three taels of silver a few years ago and offered the boy to Lu as a token of gratitude. When Chen called out to the boy, Lu noticed a scar on the left corner of his eyebrow, just like the one his son had from an injury at the age of four. He asked the boy: “Where are you originally from, and who sold you here?”
The boy replied: “I’m not very clear about it, but I remember my father’s name was Lu, and I had two uncles at home. I was deceived and sold here when I was young.” Upon hearing this, Lu Yu hugged the boy and exclaimed: “I am your father! After being separated for so many years, I didn’t expect to meet you here!”
The father and son reunited, bringing joy to Chen’s family. Lu expressed his gratitude to Chen, saying: “If it weren’t for your family taking care of my son, we wouldn’t have been able to reunite today.” Chen responded: “Brother, it is your virtuous act of returning the lost property that led you to our humble home and allowed the father and son to reunite!”
As a result, the two families made a marriage agreement. Chen also gave 20 taels of silver to the father and son as travel expenses for their journey.
An act of generosity
Early the next morning, Lu Yu and his son bid farewell and arrived at the riverside, where they heard a commotion. A boat was in distress, and the people who had fallen into the water were calling for help. The people on the shore called for nearby boats to rescue them, but the boatmen demanded payment and were in a heated argument.
Lu thought: “Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I happen to have twenty taels of silver on hand. Why not reward the boatmen for rescuing them?” He then said to the boatmen: “Hurry and rescue them. If you save the lives of the people who fell into the water, I will reward you with twenty taels of silver.” Upon hearing this, the boatmen immediately went to rescue them, and in a short while, all of the people were saved.
Another unexpected reunion
After the incident, Lu Yu handed the silver to the boatmen, and the rescued people expressed their gratitude. One person loudly asked: “Brother, where are you from?” Lu Yu looked and realized it was his third brother, Lu Zhen. Lu Yu exclaimed: “Heaven helped me save my brother’s life!” He then recounted the story of returning the lost property and meeting his son.
Lu Yu asked: “Why are you here?” Lu Zhen said: “After you left home years ago, rumors spread that you had passed away in Shanxi, and your wife was already in mourning. Our second brother, Lu Bao, has recently been pressuring your wife to remarry, but she refused. Please hurriedly go home to comfort her. I’m afraid something might happen if it’s too late.” Lu Yu was shocked and immediately urged the boat owner to sail away overnight.
The wicked brother’s deceit
Lu Bao had an unkind heart. Upon hearing that a man in Jiangxi was seeking to remarry after the death of his first wife, Lu Bao offered his sister-in-law to the man, who was willing to pay 30 taels of silver. Lu Bao received the silver and told the man: “My sister-in-law is quite stubborn. If you ask her out nicely, she will refuse. At dusk tonight, send people to carry a sedan chair to my house quietly. Just look for the one wearing a mourning cap, my sister-in-law. There is no need for many words. Help her into the sedan chair and set off on the boat at night.” The man followed the plan.
Fearing that his sister-in-law, Wang, would not obey, Lu Bao secretly sent his wife, Yang, to persuade her. Yang told Wang: “My husband has already promised you to a guest from Jiangxi. The guest will come to marry you at dusk, so you should get ready.” Wang cried: “Even though my husband has passed away, I have never seen the body. I will wait for Lu Zhen to return with confirmation of his death.” She added: “This situation is making me suffer! I am still wearing a mourning cap; how can I remarry?” Upon hearing this, Yang hurried to find another cap for Wang, but surprisingly, she couldn’t find any. So instead, she exchanged her cap with Wang’s.
The mix-up
After dusk, the guest from Jiangxi rushed to Lu’s house with lanterns and torches, carrying a sedan chair. They ran in, and when the door was opened, they only recognized the one wearing a mourning cap and quickly took her away. Yang shouted: “It’s not me!” but the people lifted her onto the sedan chair and swiftly carried her away.
Family reunion and retribution
The following day, Lu Bao returned home. Upon entering, he did not see his wife, but noticed that his sister-in-law wore her cap. He felt suspicious and quickly inquired about it. Wang explained the reason for the cap exchange. Lu Bao lamented and regretted deeply, realizing that he had intended to sell his sister-in-law but ended up selling his wife.
As Lu Bao was about to leave, he saw several people rushing in from outside. To his surprise, it was his elder brother Lu Yu, his younger brother Lu Zhen, and his nephew Xi’er, carrying luggage and goods into the house. Feeling ashamed to face them, Lu Bao disappeared through the back door.
Lu Yu said: “If I had been greedy for the two hundred taels of silver, how could I have been reunited with my son? Further, how could I have met my brother if I was reluctant to part with the twenty taels of silver? If I had not met my brother, how could I have known about the situation at home? Today, our family’s reunion is all thanks to heaven! My rebellious brother selling his wife was a self-inflicted punishment. The divine retribution is indeed just.”
From then on, Lu Yu devoted himself more to doing good deeds, and his family prospered. Later, Xi’er married Chen’s daughter, and their descendants flourished for five generations and produced many dignitaries.
As the poem goes: “Lu Yu originally intended to return lost property, but ended up reuniting with his son. Lu Bao originally intended to sell his sister-in-law, but ended up losing his wife in return. Good and evil are distinct and Heaven cannot be deceived.”
Lu Yu’s experience best explains a gentleman’s way of conducting himself and the rewards of good and evil!
Translated by Joseph Wu
Follow us on X, Facebook, or Pinterest
