2

Yao Dizhu Flees from Disgrace Only to Incur More Disgrace

Zheng Yue’e Uses a Mistake to Advance Her Own Interests

In the words of a quatrain:

No two hearts have ever been alike,

Just as is the case with faces.

But even when the faces look the same,

The hearts may well be worlds apart.

It is said that the greatest difference among people is in their looks. Being born to different parents from different family lines, how in the world could they look exactly the same? Even in the case of birth brothers or twins, they may look identical at first glance, but on closer examination, one can always detect slight dissimilarities. And yet, strange as it may sound, two entirely unrelated people may just happen to look exactly alike and can easily pass themselves off as each other. It is recorded in official histories that Confucius was once assaulted by local people in the Kuang area [in the ancient state of Wei] because he was mistaken for Yang Hu, who had done them harm. This is a case of an evil man resembling a sage. But the reverse can also be true. As a chuanqi dramatic piece has it, Zhou Jian, a retainer serving Lord Zhao Shuo, saved his master by posing as him and killing himself. This is a case of a lowly vassal resembling a nobleman. Why such resemblances occur is a mystery beyond anyone’s comprehension.

According to Supplement to Records of West Lake, a look-alike impostor in the Song dynasty managed to enjoy more than ten years of riches and grandeur until her identity finally came to light. The story takes place in the reign of Jingkang [1126] when the capital city Bianliang fell to the Jurchens, and Emperor Qinzong and his father, Emperor Huizong, were both captured and taken as prisoners to the Jurchen territories in the north. Among their fellow prisoners were many imperial consorts and princesses, including Princess Roufu, daughter of Emperor Qinzong. Later, Prince Zhao Gou proclaimed himself emperor (Emperor Gaozong) after crossing the Yangzi River and changed the reign title to Jianyan [1127–30].

In the fourth year of this new reign period, a woman presented herself at court and asked for an audience with the emperor, claiming that she was none other than Princess Roufu, there at the court because she had managed to escape from the barbarians. Emperor Gaozong was skeptical. He wondered, “How could she have made her escape with her tiny bound feet, while none of the many officials in captivity have been able to do so?” Thereupon, he issued a decree, ordering those palace maids who knew the princess to check her identity.

Every one of them reported back, “This is indeed Her Highness.” To all questions about past events in the old palace in Bianliang, the woman gave correct answers, and she even provided the names and backgrounds of several people who had served in the previous court. There was only one problem: her feet were much too big.

The maids commented, “Her Highness back then had such tiny feet, nothing like what she has now. That’s the only difference.”

After being thus informed, the emperor went to the reception room to see for himself, and, sure enough, he also became convinced of her identity as the princess. Nevertheless, he pressed her with one more question, “What happened to your feet?”

Bursting into sobs, the woman said, “Those stinking barbarians treated us like beasts of burden. After I slipped away at the first opportunity, I walked barefoot for almost ten thousand li until I arrived here. How can I be expected to keep my feet as tiny and delicate as before?” (MC: Her tale of woe does sound convincing.)

Saddened by her words, the emperor issued a special imperial edict, conferring on her the title First Princess of Fuguo, and married her, beneath her status, to Gao Shiqi, who was thus promoted to commandant-escort. The edict was drafted by Wang Longxi, who included the following lines:

In the confusion of defeat at Pengcheng,

Sadly, Luyuan was kicked out of her father’s carriage.

When the court revived east of the Yangzi River,

Yishou was matched with a princess.

“Luyuan” refers to Princess Luyuan, daughter of Emperor Gaodi of the Han dynasty [r. 206–195 BCE]. She had been lost in the confusion of the battle at Pengcheng but was found later. “Yishou” was the childhood courtesy name of Xie Hun [d. 412], who was married, above his status, to the daughter of Emperor Yuandi of the Jin dynasty [Emperor Xiaowu of the Jin dynasty (r. 373–96)] after the regime was reestablished southeast of the Yangzi River. These two cases closely resemble that of the royal couple of our story, who got to enjoy wealth and distinction, with more imperial favors showered on them than they could ever count.

Meanwhile, Emperor Gaozong’s mother, Lady Wei, titled Virtuous Imperial Consort, remained a captive in the north. The emperor gave her the grand title Illustrious Benevolent Empress Dowager and paid exorbitant ransoms in gold and jewelry for her year after year. After a peace treaty was signed, the empress dowager was finally released and sent back in the twelfth year of the Shaoxing reign period [1142]. When she was told that Princess Roufu was about to pay her a visit, she was appalled. “What?” she cried. “Roufu died in captivity long ago. The suffering was too much for her, and I was there when she died. Where does this Roufu come from? She must be an impostor!” An edict was sent to the Department of Justice, directing it to interrogate the suspect under torture.

The Department of Justice complied. Unable to withstand the torture, the woman confessed: “I used to make a living practicing sorcery in Bianliang. When the city fell to the Jurchens, a palace maid who went into hiding among the commoners called me “Princess Roufu.” I was puzzled and asked her why she addressed me that way. She said that I looked exactly like the princess. That was when I got the idea. Every day, I asked her what life in the palace was like, and she told me something every day until I learned all the details by heart and had the temerity to pass myself off as the princess in order to live the life of royalty. I thought there would never be any witnesses against me. Who could have foreseen that the empress dowager would make it back! So much for my good fortune! My number is up, but it has all been worthwhile.” She was duly found guilty.

On reading the confession, the emperor burst into angry words, calling her a vile woman guilty of lèse-majesté. She was immediately taken under guard to the marketplace and executed, and all her property was confiscated. The gifts she had received from the emperor were worth a total of 470,000 strings of cash. Although death overtook her, she had nevertheless managed to enjoy a life of luxury for more than ten years. Her resemblance to the real princess had fooled everyone, including the princess’s kith and kin. Had the empress dowager not returned, who would have suspected her of being an impostor? Even if she had died earlier, before the empress dowager’s return, she still would have lived a life that she was not entitled to. Since this was an evil deed that Heaven would not tolerate, its exposure was only to be expected.

I shall now tell another story of mistaken identity, a case that leads to a complicated and bizarre lawsuit. Verily:

Only siblings are supposed to look alike,

But by chance, strangers may look alike, too.

Look at the identical faces of two Dizhus;

They differ only inside, in their hearts.

Our story takes place in the reign of Emperor Wanli [r. 1573–1620] of this dynasty [Ming]. There lived in Suntian Village of Xiuning County in Huizhou Prefecture a Mr. Yao and his wife, whose daughter, named Dizhu [Silver Bead], was as pretty as a flower and as fair as jade. At sixteen years of age, she was the most beautiful girl in the area, and her wealthy and overprotective parents pampered and doted on her. She was married, through the mediation of a matchmaker, to a Pan Jia of Tunxi.

It seems that, of all the words spoken in this world of ours, those of a matchmaker should be given the least credit. If she wants to make someone out to be poor, even Shi Chong could be reduced to sheer poverty. If she means to present someone as rich, even Fan Dan could appear to be wallowing in luxury.1 Indeed, whether one is rich or poor, handsome or ugly, all depends on how the matchmaker wags her well-oiled tongue. You can hardly expect anything that bears even a remote resemblance to the truth from her.

The Pans of Tunxi were an old family of distinguished lineage but had fallen on hard times. Their men had to leave home to make a living outside, while the women needed to do all the domestic chores themselves, including fetching water from the well and husking rice with mortar and pestle. No one in the family could afford to stay idle. Although quite a decent man with passable good looks, Pan Jia had abandoned scholarly pursuits to engage in trade. In addition, both Mr. Pan Senior and his wife were ruthless and tyrannical, prone to throwing verbal abuses at their daughter-in-law upon the slightest provocation.

Dizhu’s parents, giving full credit to the matchmaker’s rhetoric, had taken the Pans to be a good family and married their beloved daughter into it. The bride and the groom turned out to be a loving couple, but now that she had seen how impoverished the family was, Dizhu began to feel distressed and shed many a furtive tear. Her anguish was not lost on Pan Jia, but he could do no more than comfort her with kind words to make her life a little easier.

Two months into the marriage, Mr. Pan Senior began to show his son the rough edge of his tongue: “The way you indulge yourselves in marital love! What do you think you’re going to live on? Why can’t you go out to do some trading?” In frustration, Pan Jia told Dizhu about this. The young couple dissolved into a flood of tears and talked the whole night through.

The very next day, Mr. Pan Senior drove his son out of the house. Left alone, Dizhu felt all the more listless and miserable. She who had enjoyed a sheltered life just could not get the hang of how to do chores in this new environment. And so she did everything wrong and then felt sorry for herself all day long. Displeased by her gloominess, her parents-in-law hurled insults at her every so often, saying, “That slut must be suffering from lovesickness for some lover of hers!” Dizhu’s own parents had always cherished her like a priceless pearl in their palms. When had she ever been exposed to such abusive language? Not daring to talk back, she swallowed the humiliation each time and shed many a furtive tear.

One morning, Dizhu happened to rise a little too late to serve breakfast to her parents-in-law at the usual hour. Mr. Pan Senior lashed out, “That slut likes to eat but not to work! She sleeps in until the sun is way up in the sky. Only a prostitute can afford to lead such a carefree and leisurely life, selling her charms to her patrons. This is no way to run a decent home.”

“I am from a decent family,” said Dizhu. “Even if I’ve done something wrong, you don’t have to insult me like this!” Then she burst into a violent fit of crying, but she found no sympathetic ear. Unable to sleep at night, she stayed awake in mounting anger. “That hateful old man! How can he be so unfair to me? This is more than I can bear. Why don’t I go back home to tell my parents about this? They can reason with him face-to-face about whether those words of his were called for or not. What’s more, I’ll get to stay with my parents longer and be spared this misery for a while.” So she made up her mind.

She got up at daybreak the next morning and, without bothering to do a proper toilette, threw a silk scarf over her head and headed straight for the ferry. If this storyteller had been born in the same year and grown up with her and known that something untoward would happen to her, I would have seized her around the waist or yanked her back. That way, nothing would have happened.

The hour was still early, with very few people up and about. All was quiet at the ferry. Now, in that part of town, there was a depraved character always up to no good. His name was Wang Xi, nickname “Maggot in the Snow,” meaning he was tough enough to withstand cold and hunger. It was Dizhu’s misfortune to cross paths with him as he was poling his bamboo raft to the ferry. Catching sight of such a flower of a young woman standing alone on the bank with her hair disheveled and her cheeks tear-stained, he realized something must have happened to her.

“Do you want to cross the river, madam?” he asked, standing on the raft.

“Yes, I do,” she said.

“In that case, please get on to my raft. Watch your step!” So saying, he reached out a hand to help her board.

Once she was on board, he poled the raft away and kept poling until they reached a secluded spot. “Madam, which family are you from? Where are you going all alone?” he asked.

“I’m going to my parents’ home in Suntian Village,” replied Dizhu. “You only need to take me across the river. I know my way home. Why ask me irrelevant questions?”

“The way I see it, if a young woman with messy hair, unwashed face, and teary eyes is traveling alone, there must be something going on. I’ll ferry you across only if you tell me what it is.”

Being in the middle of the river and anxious to go home, she had no choice but to tell him, through her sobs, how she had been badly treated while her husband was away. An idea came to Wang Xi as he listened. He turned around and said, “If that’s the case, then I can’t ferry you across. You must be up to something. If I let you go ashore, you’ll either run away or kill yourself, or you may be kidnapped. When they eventually find out that I’m the one who ferried you across, I’ll be falsely charged for your disappearance.”

“Nonsense!” said Dizhu. “I’m going to my parents. How can you say I’m running away? If I wanted to kill myself, why didn’t I throw myself into the river earlier? Why would I have to wait until you ferry me across before I kill myself ? I know my way to my parents’ home. Nobody’s going to kidnap me!”

“But I still don’t believe you,” said Wang Xi. “If you’re really going to your parents, you can stay in my house nearby while I go to your parents and have them send someone over to pick you up. That way, both sides can be spared worry.”

She agreed. “All right. That’s just as well.” Being a woman with little worldly knowledge and in such a helpless position, too, she stood no chance of winning the argument. Assuming that he was full of good intentions, she followed him.

They went ashore, and after many twists and turns, they reached a house. After walking through several gates, they arrived at a courtyard with charming, quiet halls. Behold:

Bright windows and clean tables,

Brocade curtains and patterned carpets,

In the courtyard, potted flowers,

In the hallway, unadorned chairs.

On the walls, scrolls by artist Zhou Zhimian,

On the tables, ceramic teapots by Master Shi Dabin.2

Although a small dwelling, not a mansion of wealthy noblemen,

With its quiet and winding paths, it was no commoners’ house.

This place was one of of Wang Xi’s hideouts, to which he regularly spirited off women from decent families. Claiming that they were his relatives, he would lure licentious men to the house. The couples might spend brief moments of pleasure together, or if they became mutually infatuated, the place could serve as their love nest. All this meant piles of silver for Wang Xi.

As for women with no strong family connections, he would sell them to middlemen willing to pay a high price, who in turn would sell them to brothels. An old hand in this line of work, he had sensed Dizhu’s vulnerability and therefore had conceived the evil idea of tricking her into entering the house.

Dizhu was from a respectable and well-to-do family accustomed to a quiet and leisurely lifestyle. With her parents-in-law as abusive as they were, she found it too much of a headache to devote her days to dealing with cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, not to mention heavier household chores such as starting a kitchen fire, cooking, and carrying water. (MC: Poor thing!) Not suspecting any lurking danger, she took a liking to this clean and exquisite house. Seeing that Dizhu was delighted instead of frightened, Wang Xi burned with irrepressible desire. He went up to her, knelt down, and asked for sexual favors.

“How dare you!” Her face fell. “I’m from a good family. You said that I could stay in your house while you go to my parents’ house to deliver a message. But in fact this is abduction, and you’re now trying to compromise me, and all this in broad daylight, too! If you keep pushing me, I’ll kill myself here and now!” So saying, she grabbed an iron pick used to light a lamp from the table and pointed it at her throat.

Horrified, Wang Xi stopped her, saying, “Take it easy. I give up!” It turned out that Wang Xi, in his shady business, was more interested in profit than sex. He was afraid of letting a good transaction slip through his fingers if Dizhu did what she said she would do. So his sudden lustful urge vanished without a trace.

He went into a back room and, after a good while, reemerged with an old woman. “Mother Wang,” he said to the old woman, “please stay here to keep this young lady company while I go to her home to let her parents know where she is.”

Before he took off, Dizhu stopped him and gave him directions to her home as well as her parents’ names (IC: Poor thing.), adding, “Be sure to ask them to come as soon as possible. I’ll have a handsome reward for you.”

After Wang Xi left, the old woman brought in a basin of water and some toilet articles for Dizhu. While she was doing her toilette, the old woman kept staring at her before finally asking, “Young lady, whose wife are you? Why are you here?” Whereupon Dizhu gave her a detailed account of what had happened to her. After hearing the story, the old woman stamped her foot in a show of anger and said, “Those old scoundrels! They don’t know a good girl when they see one! They don’t deserve such a beautiful daughter-in-law. (IC: She’s getting to her point.) Instead of feeling unworthy, they have the nerve to heap insults on you. How could you live with such people for even one day?”

These words touched Dizu in a sensitive spot, and her eyes misted over. The old woman continued, “Now where do you plan to go?”

“I’m going home to tell my parents about how they mistreat me,” said Dizhu. “And then I’ll stay with my parents until my husband returns.”

“When will your husband come back home?”

Dizhu said tearfully, “He was yelled at and driven out only two months after the wedding day. Who knows when he’ll come back? It’s hard to say.”

“This is outrageous! They make a grass widow of such a flower of a girl, and there’s all that verbal abuse, too! (IC: Another attempt to poison her mind.) Young lady, don’t blame me if I’m too intrusive, but it doesn’t solve the problem if you stay at your parents’ home temporarily. Eventually, you’ll have to go back to your parents-in-law. Can you hide in your own parents’ house for the rest of your life? Your troubles aren’t going to end any time soon. What are you going to do about them?”

“That’s my fate,” said Dizhu in resignation. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“In my humble opinion,” suggested the old woman, “there is a way for you to enjoy a happy life.”

“And what might that be?” said Dizhu.

“I associate with wealthy and distinguished families who have a good supply of handsome and refined young gentlemen. You don’t have to do the asking. All you need to do is pick one to your liking. After I talk the man into it, he’ll cherish you like a treasure. Yours will be an easy and comfortable life, with food, clothing, and everything else provided, and all work will be done by maidservants. You won’t have to do a thing. This is the kind of life worthy of a flower of a girl like you. It will be a million times better than that of an abused grass widow and maid rolled into one.”

Being a young woman averse to undergoing hardships and without a mind of her own, Dizhu felt tempted as she recalled the many unpleasantries at her husband’s home. (IC: It’s no surprise that she felt tempted. Pitiable.) However, she said, “I’m afraid that won’t work. What if this were to become known?” (IC: She’s giving in.)

“No stranger would dare show up here,” said the old woman. “This is a hush-hush place. Not a soul knows about it. After you stay here for a couple of days, you won’t want to live anywhere else, not even in heaven.”

“But I’ve already sent the raftsman to my parents’ home,” said Dizhu.

“He’s my adopted son,” said the old woman. “How silly of him, delivering such a stupid message!”

At this point, a man suddenly walked in from outside. He grabbed the old woman and said, “Well, well! Coaxing a married woman into adultery, and in broad daylight, too! (IC: Putting on a good show.) I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Dizhu was shocked, but on taking a closer look, she found the man to be none other than the raftsman Wang Xi. “Did you deliver my message to my parents?” she asked him. (IC: Poor thing!)

“To hell with your message! I’ve been listening to your conversation all this time. Mother Wang’s plan is perfect any way you look at it. It’s good enough for your lifelong enjoyment. Think it over.”

Dizhu heaved a sigh, saying, “Now that I’ve walked into a trap in my desperation, I have no other choice. I only hope you won’t let me down.” (IC: She surrenders.)

The old woman said, “As I said before, you’re free to pick and choose a willing young man. How could I let you down?”

Feeling helpless, Dizhu found the old woman’s eloquence quite convincing. Moreover, the rooms were exquisitely decorated, with nice bedding and drapes. In a surge of relief, she decided to stay on in this secluded place to, as a poem puts it,

Enjoy moments of leisure in this floating life

While chatting with the hermit over the bamboo fence.

The old woman and Wang Xi danced attendance on her and waited on her hand and foot, offering her tea, water, and whatnot, anxious lest she find their services wanting. Dizhu was so delighted that her unpleasant memories completely evaporated.

The next day, out on the streets, Wang Xi ran into a Wu Dalang [Big Fellow], an immensely wealthy man in the Shangshan area of the same county. A millionaire and a philanderer, Wu Dalang supported a network of hangers-on, Wang Xi among them.

“Have you discovered any new fun places lately?” asked Dalang.

“For your information, sir, one of my nieces was recently widowed. She’s a ravishing beauty but has not found a new match yet. She’s the right stuff for you, but the price may be a little high.”

“May I have a look?” asked Dalang.

“Of course,” replied Wang Xi. “The only thing is that she’s shy because she’s from a good family. Let me go back first, and when I’m talking with her in the main hall, you can just come in unannounced and look your fill.” Dalang agreed.

When he returned, Wang Xi saw Dizhu sitting in her room, lost in thought. “Why don’t you go to the main hall, madam?” he asked. “Why stay holed up in your room?”

On hearing him, Mother Wang walked up from behind and said, “That’s right. Madam, come and take a seat outside.” As Dizhu obediently walked out into the main hall, Wang Xi surreptitiously bolted the door of her room.

Sitting down, Dizhu said, “Auntie, it would be better to let me go home.” (IC: Too late now.)

“Be patient, please,” said Mother Wang. “We ask you to stay here because we love your charming looks and personality, and we don’t have the heart to see you suffer hardships. (IC: Sugar-coated words to pluck at her heartstrings.) Just wait a little longer, and I’m sure you’ll meet a man after your own heart.”

While they were talking, a man burst in on them. How was he dressed? Behold:

He is wearing

A roof-shaped hat made of bamboo strips

With a golden amber pendant on each side,

A blue velvet robe with a narrow collar and broad sleeves,

A pair of low-heeled shoes with low uppers of red silk.

If he does not look like Song Yu walking along the wall,

He must be Pan An in his carriage.3

The man walked straight into the main hall and asked, “Is Little Wang home?”

Startled, Dizhu rose immediately to get out of the newcomer’s way, but not quickly enough to be out of his line of sight. She then rushed to the door leading to her own room, only to find it bolted—Wang Xi had bolted it stealthily when she first walked into the main hall. Thus cornered, she grew frantic.

Mother Wang, however, said with a smile, “Oh, it’s the venerable Squire Wu! (IC: A typical smooth-talking procuress.) Why did you come in unannounced?” Turning to Dizhu, she continued, “He’s a regular patron of ours. He’s all right.” Then she said to Wu Dalang, “Now come and meet this young lady.”

His hands folded before him, Wu Dalang greeted her with a deep bow. Dizhu could not do otherwise than return the greeting with a curtsy. Stealing a glance at him, she found him to be a handsome and attractive young man and instantly took more than a little liking to him. Wu Dalang, on the other hand, looked her over from head to toe and saw that her unadorned and unassuming natural beauty distinguished her from women of the pleasure quarters. A veteran in the world of love, he was quite a judge of women, and he was impressed. Melting with desire, he said, “Please take a seat, young lady.”

Being from a respectable family after all, Dizhu felt embarrassed and turned to Mother Wang for help. “Let’s go inside,” said she.

“Don’t be so bashful!” said Mother Wang as she walked Dizhu to her room. (IC: How interesting that Dizhu no longer resists.) She returned shortly thereafter and asked Wu Dalang, “How do you find her?”

“If you can bring this off for me, I’ll never forget your kindness.”

“You’re rich enough,” Mother Wang replied. “Why don’t you take out a thousand taels and marry her?”

“She’s not from a house of pleasure. Why is she so expensive?”

“That’s not expensive at all,” said Mother Wang. “Isn’t such a charming young lady worth one thousand taels as a concubine?”

“Money isn’t a problem,” said Dalang. “But my wife is a holy terror and a bully. Not that I’m afraid of her (IC: He’s just afraid of her big mouth.), but she may come down hard on a concubine. So I can’t take her home.”

“But that can easily be taken care of,” said Mother Wang. “You can rent a house for her. Won’t it be nice for you to have two wives in two separate houses? The other day, the Jiangs said that they would like to rent out a vacant house with a garden. I can ask them about it for you. What do you think?”

“Sounds good,” said Dalang. “But if I rent a house, I’ll need to hire new servants and maids and set up another kitchen. And this isn’t the worst part compared with what will happen when, not if, the secret leaks out. My wife will make one scene after another demanding to share the new house. And that will be a disaster.”

“I have another suggestion,” said Mother Wang. “You pay the betrothal money and hold the wedding ceremony right here. Each month, you pay me a few taels of silver to cover the expenses, and I’ll wait on her and keep her company. You can tell your wife that you have business to attend to and come here as often as you can manage. Everything will be hush-hush. Won’t that be nice?”

“That will be wonderful!” Dalang burst out laughing.

They settled on eight hundred taels of silver as betrothal money. New clothes and jewelry to be purchased and delivered in due time came to about another thousand taels of silver. The monthly expenses and rent amounted to ten taels of silver, to be paid once a month. After accepting all these terms, Wu Dalang scurried off to get his money.

Mother Wang returned to Dizhu’s room and asked her, “How do you like that gentleman’s looks?”

It so happened that although she had been bashful at first and returned to her own room, her thoughts were still with him. Hiding herself in the shadows, she kept peeping out and got quite an eyeful of him. In the meantime, Wu Dalang was keeping an eye on Dizhu’s door while talking with Mother Wang and, from time to time, caught sight of her half-hidden face. Had there been no one else around, and had they not been total strangers to each other, they would have been in each other’s arms then and there. Now that Mother Wang was asking about her impression of him, Dizhu answered with a casual question, “What family is he from?”

“He’s from the famous Wu clan of Shangshan in Huizhou Prefecture. He’s none other than Squire Wu, or Millionaire Wu, the number one rich man of the Wu clan! He was quite smitten with you. He’d love to take you home as his wife, but he can’t very well do that because of certain inconveniences. So he’s planning to marry you and take up residence right here in this house. What do you say?”

Dizhu liked that nice, clean room to begin with. This, coupled with the fact that she was also smitten with Wu Dalang, made her feel as if she now had a home to call her own. Her heart filled with delight, she said, “Since I’m already here, I’m entirely at your disposal. I only hope everything will be done discreetly and no word of this will get out.” (IC: Important point.)

“How would this ever get out?” said Mother Wang. “But you yourself must also keep mum about it! Even after you get to know each other well, you still shouldn’t tell him the whole story. Otherwise, he’ll look down on you. Just pretend to be my relative and enjoy him in privacy.”

Soon, Wu Dalang arrived at Wang Xi’s house in a sedan-chair, followed by two good-looking page boys, each holding a gift box in his hand. After delivering the payment in silver, Wu Dalang asked, “When will my wedding day be?”

“It’s up to you, Squire,” said Mother Wang. “You may choose an auspicious date, but you don’t have to. It can be this very evening if you like.”

“Staying here tonight would be imprudent of me because I didn’t leave word with my family. I can come over tomorrow on the excuse that I need to take a trip to Hangzhou to make incense offerings and collect debts. Why even bother to choose a date?”

Wu Dalang the debaucher was too impatient to pick a date. But for an occasion as momentous as a wedding, consultation with the calendar is hardly dispensable. (IC: This sarcastic commentary has a comic touch.) His rash move must have offended some evil spirits, which was why their cohabitation came to an end in just a couple of years. But these events still lie ahead of us.

To get on with our story: His account settled, Wu Dalang took himself off, eagerly anticipating the pleasures of the next day. Mother Wang, after consulting Wang Xi, went up to Dizhu and said, “Congratulations, young lady! Mission accomplished!” She took out four hundred taels of silver (IC: This is all that matters to her.) and said, all smiles, “It’s eight hundred taels altogether. Half of it goes to you, and the other half is divided equally into two shares for Wang Xi and me as our service fees.” So saying, she laid out the glittering silver on the table, much to Dizhu’s delight as well.

But, storyteller, you are quite mistaken! Procurers are as hungry for money as flies are for blood. How could these two be so fair-minded and generous as to give half of it to Dizhu?

Dear audience, let me explain. First of all, Mother Wang was trying to show off in order to impress Dizhu. Second, Dizhu’s share of the silver remained in the house after all. It wouldn’t go off on its own. She could easily coax the girl to give the silver back, bit by bit, until it was all back in her possession. If Dizhu didn’t receive a share, she would most probably tell Wu Dalang the truth later on after they came to know each other well, and if Dalang should demand a refund, wouldn’t the old woman be put in a bad light? You see, this procuress had ingenious tricks up her sleeve.

The next day, Wu Dalang, dressed in all his finery, came to Wang Xi’s house for the wedding. In order to keep it sub rosa, he dispensed with attendants and musicians. He only had Wang Xi prepare a feast for two tables and asked Dizhu to dine with him before they entered the bedroom together.

Dizhu was so bashful at first that she refused to come out, but she gave in after repeated entreaties. She managed to remain seated at the table for a short while and then excused herself and went back to her bedroom. She blew out the lamp and went to bed by herself, leaving the door unbolted.

“She’s still a shy little girl,” said Mother Wang to Wu Dalang. “Let’s humor her.” Holding a lamp in her hand, she ushered Wu Dalang into the bedroom, lit the lamp there, went out, and closed the door behind her. Wu Dalang was a meticulous man. He bolted the door and carried the lamp to the bedside. When he pushed aside the bed curtain, he saw Dizhu sleeping with her face covered. So as not to disturb her, he quietly took off his clothes, blew out the lamp, and slid in under the quilt. (IC: He is an old hand at this business.)

Dizhu heaved a sigh, and curled herself up. (IC: Vivid description.) Whispering honeyed words in her ear, Wu Dalang gently turned her around and mounted her with agility. Quivering all over, she let him have his way.

The truth of the matter is that although Dizhu had been married for two months, she had never experienced such sensual pleasure, because her husband, Pan Jia, was no expert. Wu Dalang, in contrast, was an old hand in the world of love, and his affection and tenderness in bed need not be described here. Dizhu only wished that she had met him earlier, and the two continued their amorous sport until daybreak.

The next morning, Mother Wang and Wang Xi came to offer their congratulations, and Wu Dalang rewarded them both. Henceforth he spent most of his time in this place with Dizhu, wallowing in pleasure, and paid brief visits to his home only once every month or two. But we will say no more of this for the moment.

Storyteller! How could the Pans do nothing about their daughter-in-law’s absence, thus effectively giving her license to enjoy herself with another man?

Dear audience, this story has two threads. I can’t very well pursue both of them simultaneously, can I? Now let us turn to the Pan family. Early that morning, after Dizhu’s departure, Mrs. Pan didn’t see Dizhu preparing breakfast in the kitchen, as she was expected to do. Assuming that she had overslept again, Mrs. Pan went to her bedroom door and called out Dizhu’s name in a loud, harsh voice. Not hearing any response, she walked into the room and pushed open the windows in the screen, only to find an empty bed.

“Where did that slut go?” she yelled and went out to tell Mr. Pan.

“She’s up to some funny business again!” he said. “Maybe she’s gone to her parents.”

He hurried to the ferry crossing to make inquiries about her. Someone told him, “I saw a woman ferrying across the river very early this morning.” Another person who knew Dizhu said that the woman seen on the raft was indeed the Pan family’s daughter-in-law.

“What a willful girl!” said Mr. Pan. “I gave her only a little lecture yesterday, and she had to fly off to tell her parents about it. Well, let her stay there with them. I’m not going to take her back. Let’s see what she’s going to do next!” In a huff, he returned to tell his wife about it.

About ten days later, the Yaos, who missed their daughter, prepared a few boxes of homemade pastries and had two servants, one male and the other female, carry them to the Pan family to inquire after Dizhu. Mr. Pan told them, “She went to your place about ten days ago. Why are you here, asking me about her?”

“What are you talking about?” The servants were quite taken aback. “It’s been only two months since she came to your house, and we’ve never sent for her. How could she have returned home on her own? Her parents sent us here to ask about her because they’re concerned. And now you’re turning the tables on us!”

“The other day when I had a few harsh words for her, she got so angry that she left for her parents’ home,” said Mr. Pan. “Some people saw her at the ferry. Where else could she possibly have gone, if not to her parents’ house?”

“But she didn’t return home. Those people must have seen the wrong person at the ferry,” said the servants.

Mr. Pan flared up. “She must have told her parents a pack of lies, and her parents want to seek a divorce and marry her to another man. Is this part of your scheme—coming to me and asking about her?”

“She disappeared from your house, but you blame us for it instead,” said one of the servants. “There must be something fishy going on.”

On hearing the words “something fishy,” Mr. Pan flew into a rage. “You swine! I’ll report this to the authorities, and let’s see if you can back out of the marriage!”

Seeing that things were taking an ugly turn, the servants went back home quickly without delivering the food boxes.

Mr. and Mrs. Yao were shocked by the servants’ report and both burst into loud sobs. “Could those scoundrels have driven our daughter to her death? We need to file a complaint against them and get our daughter back.” Losing no time, they engaged legal counsel to prepare an official complaint.

Mr. and Mrs. Pan, in the meantime, fully convinced that the Yaos were hiding Dizhu, called their son back home. The two families lodged written complaints against each other, and the county court accepted the case.

When Magistrate Li of Xiuning County summoned both parties to court, each blamed the other for the missing woman. In a towering rage, Magistrate Li ordered that the squeezers be applied to Mr. Pan first. “Dizhu was seen taking a ferry across the river,” explained Mr. Pan. “If she committed suicide by throwing herself into the river, her body should have been found by now. It’s obvious that they’ve hidden their daughter and accused us.”

“You’re right,” said the magistrate. “She’s been missing for more than ten days. If she’s dead, where’s the corpse? She must be in hiding somewhere.” So he had the squeezers transferred from Mr. Pan to Mr. Yao.

“My daughter has been living in their house for more than two months without returning even once,” said Mr. Yao. “If she had come back home on her own, why in the past ten days or so hasn’t Mr. Pan sent someone to our house to inquire after her? A human being is not that easily hidden. If we had hidden her, how could we marry her off to another man without anyone knowing about it? I submit all this to Your Honor for consideration.”

After some reflection, the magistrate said, “You’ve also got a point. It’s true that you can’t hide her. Even if you could, what purpose would that serve? Most probably she eloped with a lover.” (IC: He’s onto something.)

Mr. Pan said, “My daughter-in-law may be lazy and spoiled, but I keep a strict household. I’ve never seen any signs of her carrying on an affair.”

“If so,” said the magistrate, “she may have been kidnapped (IC: Bravo!) or be in hiding at a relative’s house, for all we know.” Turning to Mr. Yao, he continued, “You failed to raise your daughter properly, and as her father, you should know where she is. You can’t shirk your responsibility. You must look for her and report to the police once every five days.” Mr. Pan and his son were released on bail, whereas Mr. Yao, with his arms trussed up, was taken out of the court under guard. (MC: Mr. Pan should not be let go.)

With his daughter missing, Mr. Yao was already in agony, and now that he was being treated so unfairly by the magistrate, he could call out to no one but heaven and earth for help. He had missing-person posters put up everywhere, offering handsome rewards to anyone with information. But all his efforts were of no avail. As for Pan Jia, who had lost his wife, he found himself unable to vent his frustration on anyone and went to the magistrate once every five days for an update. (IC: He is an innocent victim.) And each time he did so, Mr. Yao was punished with the bamboo rod. This caused quite a stir throughout Xiuning County, and the story gained wide circulation around the towns and villages. Mr. Yao’s relatives, although sympathetic to him, could do nothing for him.

Let us turn our attention to another man, a certain Zhou Shaoxi, who was a close relative of Mrs. Yao’s. While on a business trip, he was touring a street of ill fame in Quzhou, Zhejiang, when he saw a prostitute standing in front of a house wearing a coquettish smile on her face. She looked very much like someone he knew. He searched his memory and realized that she looked exactly like Dizhu. (MC: Such a curious coincidence can be attributed only to karma.) He said to himself, “The missing-person lawsuit has been dragging on back home for two years now, but here she is!” He was about to go up and ask her but changed his mind on second thought. “No. That won’t work. She may not want to tell me the truth. If I confront her, she may be frightened into running away this very evening. A prostitute’s life is a life on the road. How would I find her? (IC: This is a sensible man.) I’d better tell her family about it and let them come here to get her.”

As a matter of fact, Huizhou borders on Quzhou, although the two prefectures are in two different provinces, Zhejiang and the Southern Metropolitan Area, respectively.4 Zhou Shaoxi arrived at Xiuning, Huizhou, just a few days later and gave Mr. Yao a detailed account of what he had seen in Quzhou. “She must have been abducted and sold to a brothel by some scoundrel,” said Mr. Yao, so he told his son Yao Yi to take one hundred taels of silver and go secretly to Quzhou to redeem Dizhu. Then he added, “What if they refuse to settle in private?” (MC: This man is as meticulous as Zhou Shaoxi.) So he reported the matter to the magistrate of Xiuning County, greased a few palms, and obtained an official arrest warrant, so that Yao Yi could bring the case to the local authorities should anything go wrong. Yao Yi duly took the instructions. Mr. Yao then asked Zhou Shaoxi to join his son on the trip, and the two men set out for Quzhou.

In Quzhou, Zhou Shaoxi stayed with his old host and found a tavern for Yao Yi. After Yao Yi had deposited his baggage there, Zhou Shaoxi took him to the brothel, where the woman happened to be standing by the door at that time. To Yao Yi’s eyes, she was indeed his sister, but when he called her childhood name several times, she just looked at him with a smile but did not respond to it. “She’s definitely my sister,” said Yao Yi to Zhou Shaoxi, “but she didn’t respond when I called her again and again, as if she didn’t know me at all. Can it be that she’s too happy here to recognize her own brother?”

“The truth of the matter is that all brothel keepers are vicious and ruthless,” explained Zhou Shaoxi. “Since your sister is someone of unknown background, the procuress must have warned her in advance. That’s why she dares not recognize you openly.”

“How do I pass a message to her?” asked Yao Yi.

“That’s easy,” said Zhou Shaoxi. (MC: A resourceful man.) “You can pretend to be a patron who’s interested in her. You order a feast and send one tael of silver for her and a pack of copper coins for the sedan-chair carriers. When she’s carried to your tavern, you can identify each other in secret and make plans for the future. If she’s not your sister, sleep with her for the night and let her go the next morning.”

“Good idea!” said Yao Yi.

Having traveled often to Quzhou, Zhou Shaoxi knew his way around the town. He hired an idler, gave him some silver, and in a trice a sedan-chair was carried up to Yao Yi’s tavern. “If she’s really his sister,” said Zhou Shaoxi to himself, “it would be inappropriate for me to stay here with them.” So he made an excuse and took himself off. (MC: Circumspect in everything he does. A man well versed in the ways of the world.) Yao Yi, thinking along the same lines, refrained from asking him to stay.

Lo and behold! There came into view a slender, delicate girl stepping down gracefully from the sedan-chair.

One is eager to see his sister, his eyes fixed on her;

The other is expecting a patron, her face beaming with delight.

He wonders, “Why is she not coming up to call me ‘brother’?”

She is puzzled. “Why doesn’t he greet me and call me his darling?”

Yao Yi stepped forward to take a close look at her and was positive that she was none other than his very own sister. But she, all smiles, only dropped a curtsy in an affected manner. Thinking it inappropriate to claim her as his sister at this point, he felt obliged to ask her to take a seat. He said, “May I ask what your name is? And where are you from?”

“My family name is Zheng, and my given name Yue’e [Moon Fairy]. I’m a native of this county,” she replied, with a strong Quzhou accent and in a voice quite different from Dizhu’s. Doubts began to cross Yao Yi’s mind.

“Where are you from, sir?” Zheng Yue’e asked him.

“My family name is Yao, and I’m a native of Suntian Village, Xiuning County, in Huizhou Prefecture. My father is so-and-so and my mother so-and-so.…” He gave her detailed information about his parents and grandparents, including their places of ancestral origin, as if he was being cross-examined. That way, he thought, she would acknowledge him as her brother if she really was Dizhu.

Zheng Yue’e, for her part, found him too much of a talker. “I didn’t ask you about your family background,” said she with a smile. “Why bring up your ancestors?” (MC: This is how sisters talk.) His face aflame, he realized now that she was not Dizhu.

After the table was set, they drank two or three cups of wine together, face-to-face. Zheng Yue’e was puzzled when she noticed Yao Yi staring at her one moment and muttering to himself the next. “I’ve never met you before,” she said. “But the day before yesterday, you walked back and forth in front of our house and pointed your finger at me. My sisters and I were all amused and laughed up our sleeves. Today I have the honor of being invited here to your place, but you still keep staring at me, as if something is bothering you. May I ask what it is?”

Hemming and hawing, Yao Yi gave evasive answers. Being a smart girl who had seen a great deal of life in her line of work, Zheng Yue’e felt sure that something was afoot. So she pressed him with more questions.

“It’s a long story,” said Yao Yi. “Let’s talk about it in bed.” So they got themselves ready and went to bed, where they naturally played a game of clouds and rain.5

Then Yue’e resumed her questioning, and this time, Yao Yi saw nothing for it but to give her a detailed account of what had happened back at home. “Because you look so much like her, I pretended to be your client and invited you here in order to make an identification. But now I know that you’re not my sister.”

“Do I really look like her?” asked Yue’e.

“You’re exactly like her in appearance and in the way you carry yourself. But there’s a slight difference in expression that can be picked up only by the closest family members, and only if they try hard to look for it. The resemblance is indeed striking. I myself almost took you for my sister, if it hadn’t been for your accent.”

“Since I look so much like her,” she said, “let me be your sister.” (MC: An extraordinary idea from an extraordinary woman.)

“You must be joking,” said Yao Yi.

“I’m not joking,” she said. “We need to have a good talk about this. You lost your sister, and the lawsuit will drag on until your sister shows up at the court. I’m the daughter of a local decent family and was married to Scholar Jiang as a concubine. But his wife refused to accept me. Later, even Scholar Jiang himself hardened his heart against me and sold me to Madam Zheng’s brothel for profit. The madam and her husband beat me so often that I can’t put up with the abuse anymore and have just been thinking of a way to get out. Now, if you stick to your story that I’m your sister, and I insist that you’re my brother, the two of us can go together to the court so they can close the case and order that I return to your family. That way I’ll get my freedom and avenge myself, and your legal troubles will be over once I’m in your home as your sister. Won’t that be wonderful for everyone?”

“Good idea,” said Yao Yi. “The only thing is that you don’t sound like my sister at all. What’s more, if you join our household, you need to know everything about all our relatives in order to pass yourself off as my sister. But that will be very hard to do.”

“What matters is appearance,” said Yue’e. “Voices and accents can change and shouldn’t be something to go by. (MC: How true!) If your sister had really been here in Quzhou for the past two years, she would probably have picked up the local accent. As for your relatives, you can tell me everything about them. And also, since it may take a long time for you to go through all the procedures and wait for the court’s decision, we’ll be able to stay together long enough for me to learn your dialect. You can also tell me about your household. What’s there to worry about?”

Anxious to bring the lawsuit to a conclusion, Yao Yi gave Yue’e’s plan some thought and found it quite feasible. “I have an arrest warrant with me,” he told her. “If I take it to the authorities for arbitration, their ruling will most likely be in my favor. But you’ll have to stick to your story all the way. No slips of the tongue, mind you!”

“This is an opportunity for me to get out of this place. (IC: Good planning.) Why would I go back on my word?” she replied. “There’s only one thing. What kind of man is your brother-in-law? Will I be able to get along with him?” (IC: An important point.)

“He’s a traveling merchant and a well-behaved young man. Throwing in your lot with him will do you good.” (IC: He is being heartless and unfeeling.)

“Whatever happens, it’s better to be a married woman than a prostitute,” said Yue’e. “Besides, I’ll be his one and only wife, not a concubine as I was before. I’ll be taken care of.”

Then they took an oath together: “The two of us are in this together. (IC: Important.) Neither shall betray the other. The one who breaks this oath will be put to death by the gods.” With that, they felt even closer to each other and resumed their amorous sport, after which they slept in each other’s arms until daybreak. (MC: Moments of joy amid the stress of all that planning.)

Yao Yi got up and went straight to Zhou Shaoxi without even bothering to comb his hair. Concealing the truth even from Zhou, he said, “She’s indeed my sister. Now, what’s to be done next?”

Zhou Shaoxi said, “Brothel owners are a bad lot. The madam will surely turn you down if you try to redeem your sister in private. Let me call together the ten or so Huizhou natives who happen to be staying here, and together we’ll submit a petition to the prefect. There’s justice in numbers. Besides, you have the arrest warrant from our county with you. The prefect will surely order that she be returned to you. But you need to send a few more taels of silver to the madam and tell her that you’d like to keep the girl for a few more days at your place, so as not to arouse her suspicions while we make preparations.”

Yao Yi agreed. Zhou Shaoxi and the group of Huizhou natives whom he had assembled went together with Yao Yi to see the prefect. They stated their case, and Yao Yi presented the Xiuning County arrest warrant to the prefect. After reading it, the prefect immediately issued a summons to bring Madam Zheng and her husband to court. Zheng Yue’e also made an appearance. She claimed that Yao Yi was her brother, and he claimed that she was his sister. Along with Zhou Shaoxi, there were a few other Huizhou natives who also knew Dizhu, and they said in unison, “She is Dizhu!”

Not knowing why he had been summoned all of a sudden, the procurer shouted in protest. “Slap him in the face!” ordered the prefect.

When asked where he had kidnapped the girl from, the brothel owner did not dare hold anything back. “She was a concubine of Scholar Jiang’s,” he confessed. “She wasn’t kidnapped but was bought for eighty taels of silver.”

The prefect then sent for Scholar Jiang, but the scholar, with his guilty conscience, had gone into hiding to evade the legal proceedings.

The prefect then ruled that Yao Yi pay the procurer forty taels of silver as ransom money and take his sister back home. The brothel owner was duly punished for having forced a decent girl into prostitution, and Scholar Jiang was stripped of his scholar status. Thus, Zheng Yue’e was fully vindicated. (IC: Sheer delight!)

Jubilantly, Yao Yi took Zheng Yue’e back to his tavern, where they stayed a few more days until the documents were properly filed at the yamen, the ransom money was delivered through the prefectual treasury, and all miscellaneous fees were paid. They then set out on their trip to Huizhou.

During the journey, Yao Yi slept with Zheng Yue’e every night. (IC: Sheer delight!) To others, they claimed to be brother and sister, but in private, they thought of themselves as husband and wife. Their pillow talk turned out to be training sessions, during which she learned everything she needed to know about what to say and how to behave once they got home.

A few days later, when they were approaching Suntian Village, people who saw them clapped their hands, exclaiming, “Good! The lawsuit is finally over!”

Someone rushed back to inform the Yao family, and both parents came out through the gate to greet them. Pretending to know them well, Yue’e went up confidently and addressed them in the way Yao Yi had coached her to do. As an experienced prostitute, Yue’e was a quick learner, capable of adapting herself to different circumstances. Small wonder she managed to deliver a perfect performance.

“My child,” Mr. Yao cried, “where have you been these past two years? You have no idea what your poor father has been through!”

Yue’e made a show of choking with sobs. Then, feeling obliged to say something, she asked, “Have Dad and Mom been well these years?”

Hearing that, Mr. Yao said, “Your voice has changed in two years.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Yao grabbed her hand and caressed it, saying, “You didn’t have such beautiful long fingernails before you left.”

Everyone broke down in tears. Only Yao Yi and Yue’e knew what was afoot. Exhausted by the two-year-long lawsuit, Mr. Yao was so relieved to have his daughter back home that he didn’t even bother to look closely at her. The girl bore such a strong resemblance to Dizhu that not a doubt crossed his mind. (IC: Convincing details.) As for what she had been doing during the past two years, he felt it would be awkward to ask her for more details, knowing that she had just been ransomed from a brothel. As soon as the much-awaited daybreak came, he sent Yao Yi and the girl to see the county magistrate.

After calling the court session to order and listening to a statement of the case, the magistrate who had been entangled in this case over the past two years immediately caught on. “Who kidnapped you?” he asked the girl.

“I don’t know his name. He sold me to Scholar Jiang in Quzhou over my protests, and Scholar Jiang in turn sold me to the brothel. I have no idea where the kidnapper is.”

The magistrate knew very well that because Quzhou was administered by another province, it would be difficult to conduct an investigation there. Eager to close the case, he decided not to dig deep. (IC: He does have a point.) So he ordered that Pan Jia and his parents be brought to court to claim the girl.

When they arrived and saw her, Mr. and Mrs. Pan exclaimed, “What a good daughter-in-law you’ve been, staying away from us for so long!”

Pan Jia said, “Lucky me! I finally get to see you!”

And so the girl was accepted as Dizhu by everyone and was taken back home. At the county court gate, the parents of both families apologized to each other in acceptance of their own bad luck. All believed that the case was over, once and for all.

The next morning, when Magistrate Li opened his court session and was about to put the files of the case into the archives, Pan Jia appeared again, saying, “The woman I took home yesterday is not my wife.”

The magistrate was furious. “You lowlife! Haven’t you had enough of involving your father-in-law in this mess? Why can’t you stop making trouble?” He ordered the lictors to drag him down and give him ten strokes of the bamboo rod, (IC: How unjust!) but Pan Jia kept crying out in protest. The magistrate said, “The document from Quzhou Prefecture clearly establishes her identity, and it was your brother-in-law who brought her back. Her parents recognized her as their daughter, and you and your parents also made an identification right here in the court and took her home. Why are you singing a different tune now?”

“I filed the lawsuit in order to get my wife back, not someone else’s wife,” said Pan Jia. (IC: Right!) “That woman is all too clearly not my wife. I can’t take her, and Your Honor can’t force me to. If you force me into an act of deception, I’d rather not have a wife.”

“How can you be so sure she’s not your wife?” asked the magistrate.

“She does look exactly like my wife,” said Pan Jia, “but during intimacy, I found her quite different.”

“Don’t be silly,” said the magistrate. “Maybe she’s changed because of her brothel experience.”

“Not at all, Your Honor,” said Pan Jia. “She knows none of the secret little phrases that my wife and I shared, and her body is slightly different in ways that I know but can’t describe to Your Honor. If she were really my wife, I’d be only too eager to see her since we were separated just two months after our wedding day. Why would I come here to create trouble out of nothing? I trust that, in your wisdom, Your Honor will surely make a just and fair judgment.”

The magistrate was astonished to hear this convincing argument but was loath to admit his own mistake. “Stay calm and be patient,” he instructed Pan Jia in a subdued voice. “Keep this a secret and don’t let anyone else in on it, not even your own parents and relatives. (IC: Wonderful!) Let me handle this.”

On Magistrate Li’s instructions, notices were posted everywhere, stating, “Yao Dizhu was found on a certain day of a certain month. (IC: Ingenious!) Both the Pan family and the Yao family voluntarily dropped the lawsuit, and neither will lodge any more complaints on this matter.” Meanwhile, he secretly offered a hefty reward for the capture of the offender and had more than ten lictors keep a close watch on those who read the notices. If anything unusual happened, they were to report back to him immediately.

Now let us put the detective work aside and turn back to Dizhu and Wu Dalang, who had been living together for two years now. Gradually, his wife got wind of something and refused to let him leave the house without a good reason. As a result, his visits to Dizhu became few and far between. Dizhu had once asked Wu Dalang for a maidservant, and Wu Dalang in turn asked Wang Xi to take care of it. But Wang Xi, who was an old hand at abducting girls, was certainly not going to spend any money on a maidservant. Instead, he planned to abduct one when the opportunity presented itself. Recently he had often seen one of Mr. Wang Ruluan’s maidservants washing clothes by the river in She County. He made a mental note of it.

One day, when he was out for a walk, he got word that Dizhu had been found, as stated in the county government’s notice. He rushed back to Mother Wang and said, “Someone has filled the vacancy for us. This article of ours is now definitely our property.”

Not believing what he had said, Mother Wang wanted to see the notice with her own eyes. So the two went together to the county court to read the notice. As Wang Xi read the notice aloud for Mother Wang, gesticulating with his hands, they caught the eye of a lictor on duty, who then followed them as they left. (MC: Sure enough, Wang falls for the scheme.) When they reached a secluded spot, he heard them say, “This is wonderful. We can sleep tight now!”

The lictor pounced on them. “A fine thing you did!” he roared. “Now that the truth is out, where do you think you’re going?”

Seized with panic, Wang Xi said, “You frightened me! Why don’t we go to a restaurant and sit down?” So they invited the lictor to a restaurant and sat down upstairs. Then, pretending he was going to order food and drink, Wang Xi slipped away.

After Mother Wang and the lictor had sat at the table for quite a while without being served, they went downstairs, only to realize that Wang Xi had long disappeared. The lictor tied up Mother Wang and said, “I’m taking you to the county court.”

“Please spare my life,” she pleaded on her knees. “Come with me to my house, and I’ll thank you with a gift of money.”

In fact, the lictor had been bluffing, just because their behavior had aroused his suspicions. He had no idea what they were guilty of, but they had given themselves away with their guilty consciences. Now, expecting something promising, the lictor followed her to Wang Xi’s house and knocked at the door. When he laid eyes on the woman who opened the door for them, he gave a start. “Isn’t this the woman taken under guard from Quzhou the other day?” he said to himself. Then it suddenly occurred to him that she must be the real Dizhu. However, he chose to say nothing but just drank the tea, took the money from Mother Wang, and left. Believing that she was off the hook, Mother Wang set her mind at rest.

The next day, the lictor went to the county court to report his findings. The magistrate ordered him, together with another ten or so men, to arrest Mother Wang and Dizhu immediately. The lictors, as fierce as wolves and tigers, forced their way into Wang Xi’s house with a cry. Mother Wang was so frightened that she hanged herself from a beam. Dizhu was taken to the court.

When he saw her, the magistrate said, “This is the one they wanted the other day.” He then tossed a bamboo slip and ordered that Pan Jia and his wife be sent for. When the fake Dizhu arrived, the two women were seen to be exactly alike. Unable to tell them apart, the magistrate asked Pan Jia to identify his wife. Pan Jia of course knew which one was his wife. He talked with her in their own secret language. To the magistrate’s questions, the real Dizhu answered with a full account of how she had been tricked by Wang Xi.

“Did anyone seduce you through Wang’s services?” asked the magistrate. Still tenderly attached to Wu Dalang, Dizhu didn’t want to name him. Instead, she said that she didn’t know the seducer’s name.

Then the magistrate questioned the fake Dizhu. She made a total confession: “My name is Zheng Yue’e. Because I wanted to avenge myself and Yao Yi wanted to bring the lawsuit to a quick end and told me I looked like his sister, we worked out this scheme together.” Thereupon, the magistrate ordered that Wang Xi be arrested immediately, but he was already on the run. Then the magistrate wrote a report on the case and sent it, along with all the suspects, to the prefectual government.

Now let us turn to Wang Xi. After fleeing from the restaurant, he ran into Cheng Jin, one of his accomplices, and they went together to She County. When they arrived there, they saw Mr. Wang Ruluan’s maidservant washing foot-binding bandages at the riverside. Grabbing her with one wrench of his hand, Wang Xi shouted, “Aren’t you my runaway maidservant? So this is where you ended up!” So saying, he snatched a bandage, tied her with it, and tried to drag her to the bamboo raft. She screamed for help, and Wang Xi quickly covered her mouth with his sleeve, but she continued to utter muffled cries. Cheng Jin seized her by the throat, but because he applied too much force and she was gagged, she died instantly. Witnesses surrounded the two men and took them to the county court.

Magistrate Fang of She County sentenced Cheng Jin to death by hanging and Wang Xi to military exile. When they were brought to the prefectual court, it so happened that the real Dizhu and the fake Dizhu had also arrived there under escort. As all four of them appeared in the courtroom, the real Dizhu shouted, “Isn’t that Wang Xi?”

Prefect Liang was a highly principled official. He flew into a rage when he found Wang Xi’s name in both files. “Wang Xi is the principal culprit in both cases,” said he. “How can he be sentenced only to military exile?” Whereupon he ordered his lictors to give Wang Xi sixty strokes of the bamboo rod, which killed him on the spot. The real Dizhu was to be reunited with her husband, and the fake one sold by the government. Yao Yi was sentenced to military exile because he had used the government’s warrant to commit fraud. Only Wu Dalang was spared punishment because his name was not in the file and also because, being well connected, he had bribed high and low after hearing about the lawsuit.

Pan Jia took Dizhu home for a happy reunion. Yao Yi was to be deported to a designated garrison in a remote region for penal servitude. Wives of convicts were allowed to be with them, but Yao Yi was not married. Zheng Yue’e wept her heart out when she learned about it. “It’s because I wanted to get my freedom and avenge myself that he and I worked out this scheme. Who would have thought that it would ruin him? I’ll go with him, dead or alive. Then this scandal will have been worth it.” (MC: What a fine woman!)

Mr. Yao could not bear the thought of letting his son leave home alone. When he heard about Zheng Yue’e’s words, he bought her out under a false name. Then he changed her name and let her follow his son into exile as his wife. (IC: It’s just as well.) Later, they returned home after a general amnesty was proclaimed and became bona fide husband and wife. This shows us the goodness of Zheng Yue’e’s heart. That the two sisters-in-law, Yao Dizhu and Zheng Yue’e, looked so much alike makes a delightful story that is still going around in the Huizhou region, as is attested in a poem:

Both had been decent girls gone astray;

Both started life afresh as good wives.

No wonder they looked so much alike;

They did share a similar fate in life.