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Chapter 159: Chang'e from Liaozhai, Zong Zimei's Blessing of Having Two Women! (Please Subscribe)
Snowflakes fall softly, the first snow of the season in Yangzhou heralds the arrival of winter.

The city of Yangzhou in the wind and snow is like a delicate painting slowly unfolding. The city is covered in silver, and the snow is light but abundant, like willow catkins rising in the wind and flying flowers through the courtyard, elegant and beautiful.

Hongqiao Bridge, located on the shore of Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, is named for its red railings. It was a famous venue for literati and scholars in Yangzhou to hold purification rituals, which promoted the prosperity of poetry and prose gatherings in Yangzhou.

The ritual of purification is an ancient custom originating from the Zhou Dynasty. On the "Si" day of the first ten days of the third lunar month, people would gather by the water to bathe and cleanse themselves in order to ward off disasters and evil spirits.

But at some point, the gatherings of literati who drank wine and composed poems in later generations were also called "Xiuxi" (a ritual purification ceremony). There was a "Spring Purification" for spring outings and a "Autumn Purification" for autumn scenery viewing.

The opening lines of Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" state: "At the beginning of late spring, we gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji, to perform the ritual of purification."

The phrase "xiuxi shiye" in the article refers to a gathering for drinking and composing poems.

To put it simply, it was a group of idle literati who went to the water's edge to play the game of floating wine cups on a winding stream, drinking wine, composing poems, and making some comments.

When Niu Jun arrived in Yangzhou, he happened to encounter the first snowfall in Yangzhou. A group of literati were in a pavilion by the Red Bridge, warming wine, reciting poems, admiring the snow scene, and holding a purification ritual.

"Smoke shrouds the cold waters, moonlight veils the sand; I moor my boat on the Qinhuai River near a wine shop. The courtesans, oblivious to the sorrow of a fallen nation, still sing 'The Flowers of the Rear Courtyard' across the river!"

"The great pine tree is a symbol of the decline of the nation. Countless people have frozen to death outside Yangzhou. Yet a group of self-proclaimed scholars, concerned for the country and its people, are here drinking wine, composing poems, watching the snow, and engaging in empty talk."

"I really don't know why such a scholar can receive special treatment from the Heavenly Dao."

Oh, how cruel is Heaven!

Niu Jun sighed softly, feeling that the Heavenly Way of this world was truly blind, showing such favor to these scholars that not only fox spirits and female ghosts threw themselves at them, but even Chang'e from the heavens wanted to marry them.

can only say.

The whole world is in chaos.

As Niu Jun thought this, his gaze fell on a seventeen or eighteen-year-old scholar among the group of literati not far away.

The scholar was the protagonist of the story "Chang'e" in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio". His name was Zong Zimei. He was originally from Taiyuan, Shanxi. Later, he traveled around with his father and settled in Yangzhou.

Zong Zimei's father had a regular relationship with Granny Lin under the Red Bridge.

Four years ago, Zong Zimei and her father were passing by the Red Bridge when they happened to meet Granny Lin. Granny Lin repeatedly invited them to her home for tea and conversation. At Granny Lin's house, Zong Zimei saw a woman named Chang'e, who was very beautiful.

Seeing that Zong Zimei was interested, Granny Lin joked, "Your young master is gentle and kind, just like a young lady. He has the appearance of a blessed man. If you don't mind, how about we betroth my daughter to him?"

With a smile, Zong Weng urged his son to bow to Granny Lin, saying, "Your words are worth a thousand pieces of gold!"

Of course, this was just a joke between the grandfather and Granny Lin; they didn't take it seriously.

Unexpectedly, Zong Zimei was still thinking about Chang'e, but he could not ask her for her hand in marriage because his father did not allow it.

A year passed, and Zong Zimei's parents passed away. Zong Zimei still couldn't forget Chang'e. When the mourning period was about to end, she asked someone to ask Granny Lin for a marriage proposal.

At first, Granny Lin disagreed, but later she had no choice but to relent slightly, saying that as long as Zong Zimei could come up with five hundred gold coins, she would give Chang'e to him in marriage.

Zong Zimei felt that this matter was difficult to accomplish, so he put it aside.

At that time, a widow happened to move next door to his house. She had a daughter who was of marriageable age and whose nickname was Diandang.

Zong Zimei occasionally met Dian Dang, who was elegant and beautiful, no less so than Chang'e. He became interested in her and would approach her under the pretext of giving her gifts. He also tricked Dian Dang into having sex with him, and completely forgot about Chang'e.

One day, Zong Zimei was passing by the Red Bridge when he saw Chang'e waiting for him inside the gate under the bridge. Zong Zimei quickly walked over.

Chang'e first scolded Zong Zimei for forgetting their previous promise, and then took out gold and gave it to Zong Zimei so that he could marry her.

Zong Zimei declined, saying, "I thought I would never be destined to be with you again, so I got engaged to someone else. If I accept your gold and marry you now, I will be betraying that person; if I accept your gold but don't marry you, I will be betraying your kindness. So I dare not accept this gold." Chang'e, however, said that she had known about Zong Zimei and Dian Dang's affair for a long time and believed that the two of them were impossible. She even said that even if the two of them could get married, she would not blame Zong Zimei.

After Zong Zimei returned, she told Dian Dang about Chang'e and persuaded Zong Zimei to devote herself to Chang'e, and expressed that she was willing to be second to Chang'e.

Hear this.

Zong Zimei was naturally overjoyed and immediately took the gold to ask Granny Lin for a marriage proposal. He also told Chang'e what Dian Dang had said, and Chang'e encouraged Zong Zimei to take Dian Dang as a concubine.

Then came a whole soap opera.

After Dian Dang left, Chang'e awakened her past life memories after marriage. She pretended to be a thief and wanted to sever this relationship. However, Dian Dang reappeared, which led Zong Zimei to find Chang'e.

Then the family of three lived happily together, their life a mix of elegance and debauchery. They even played roles, with one playing the Dragon Girl and the other playing Guanyin, making it quite captivating.

In the end, Chang'e gave birth to a son and a daughter for Zong Zimei.

correct.

That woman named Dian Dang was a fox spirit.

The story even mentions that the eleventh aunt of the Moon Palace will get married.

have to say.

This strange story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio left Niu Jun speechless.

He felt that he had to come and give such a scathing critique.

Ok.

That's right.

This needs to be thoroughly criticized.

Of course, what intrigued him most was this mortal named Zong Zimei, and he wanted to know what kind of charm he possessed that could move Chang'e so much.

Or rather, Chang'e's behavior makes it hard to believe that she is the fairy Chang'e from the Heavenly Court.

"I don't see anything special about Zong Zimei!"

"He is neither a reincarnation of a banished immortal nor a chosen one, and even his literary talent and official career are far inferior to Ning Caichen's."

"How could such an ordinary mortal attract Chang'e to marry him, and also win the favor of a fox demon whose appearance is no less than Chang'e's?"

Niu Jun opened his divine eyes and kept scrutinizing Zong Zimei among the literati. He looked at him from left to right, but he couldn't see anything special about Zong Zimei.

However, this ordinary mortal was able to enjoy the blessings of both a fairy and a demon woman at the same time, namely the fairy Chang'e and the beautiful fox demon, with Chang'e bearing him a son and a daughter.

This is beyond bizarre.

"Could it be that my previous divination of the heavens was wrong?"

"That Chang'e isn't the real Chang'e, but some female demon in disguise?"

Niu Jun couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)