There was an official in the Tang Dynasty whose life was saved twice because he married the right wife. The official’s name was Hou Min.
A wife’s foresight in dangerous times
Hou Min was in charge of agriculture and was not a well-known character in history. The period he lived in happened to be the Wu Zetian era. At that time, Wu Zetian particularly favored an official named Lai Junchen. Hou Min, in order to have a better chance for promotion, wanted to flatter him.
However, Hou Min’s wife, Mrs. Dong, stopped him and reasoned: “Lai Junchen is a traitor. Although he seems to be favored at the moment, traitors will be the first to be eliminated once the situation turns around. If you attach yourself to him now, you will be in serious trouble when that time comes, so it is better to stay away from him.”
His wife’s reasoning showed great foresight, so Hou Min listened to her and deliberately stayed away from Lai Junchen. Later, when Lai Junchen discovered it, he hated Hou Min and tried every means to frame him. He said that while in charge of agriculture, Hou Min secretly took a lot of vegetables back home for his own household consumption. In other words, it could be regarded as absconding with public property for private use.
Wu Zetian was very angry. She demoted Hou Min and sent him to a distant place to serve as the county magistrate. Hou Min was angered. He had such a good life working in the capital, but now, suddenly, he was to be sent to a remote place. He could not bear it and wanted to quit.
Patience and prudence save the day
In the end, Hou Min’s wife advised him: “Wu Zetian is angry at this time. If you tell her you quit, you will be violating her order. Disobeying the imperial decree will result in your death.” Hou Min listened to her again and put up with it.
Later, as he was ready to take office, his letter of introduction was rejected because it followed the wrong format. This made him unable to take up his post immediately. Hou Min was furious. His wife told him not to be anxious and to wait patiently because there was no point in rushing.
It turned out that a few days later, Lai Junchen fabricated a charge and sent someone to kill the county magistrate, thinking Hou Min had already taken the post. Hou Min was very scared when he found out. If he had gone there as planned, he would have been the one who lost his head.
Also, Lai Junchen relied on Wu Zetian’s trust to do all kinds of bad things and offended many people, including the Crown Prince and even Wu Zetian’s most beloved daughter, Princess Taiping. After they explained all the crimes committed by Lai Junchen, Wu Zetian had him disposed of.
The value of a wise partner
Either of these two incidents was enough to take Hou Min’s life, but both were stopped because of his wife. This shows that it is essential to marry the right wife. Hou Min’s wife was wise and visionary. She was steady and calm when faced with difficulties. These qualities are really rare. Hou Min was truly blessed to be able to marry such a woman!
Translated by cecilia
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