Chapter 51 Yingning

Wang Zifu, a native of Luodian, Ju County, lost his father when he was young. He had a smart temperament. At the age of 14, he became a scholar and married his wife, Xiao, and died without going through the door, so he has always been single.

This year's Lantern Festival, Wang Zifu and his cousin Wu Sheng went to the suburbs to play. A girl came with a maidservant's style. The girl held a plum blossom in her hand, and her face was peerless. At first sight, the prince was stunned, paid attention for a long time, and was fascinated.

The girl walked over for a few steps, noticed the prince's behavior, and said to the maidservant, "This boy's eyes are burning, just like a thief." He threw the flowers in his hand on the ground and left with a giggle.

When the beautiful woman went away, the prince was unhappy. He leaned over and picked up the plum blossoms and returned.

After returning home, the prince couldn't forget the girl. His lovesickness became sick, he didn't say a word, and he was demented by plum blossoms every day. The mother was anxious and asked for medical medicine. Her condition was not getting better. Seeing her son getting thinner and thinner day by day, she was secretly worried.

Soon after, Wu Sheng came to visit, and the Queen Mother asked him to enlighten his son. Wu Sheng agreed and said to Wang Zifu with a smile, "Cousin, you are really infatuated for a woman. Don't worry, this is easy to deal with. I'll find the whereabouts of the girl for you. Since she is hiking in the wild, she is definitely not the daughter of a big family. If you don't get married, I'll match you for you. If you get engaged, let's risk spending more betrothal gifts and don't worry about it. Take care of yourself and wait for my news. It's all up to me.

When the prince heard the words, he smiled happily and was in a good mood. Only then did he begin to eat a little.

A few days later, Wu Sheng came back, and Wang Zifu asked, "Is it done?"

Wu Sheng lied and said, "I have found out the news. I thought it was someone's beauty. It turned out to be my aunt's daughter, and it was your aunt and cousin. In a few days, I'm going to propose a bride price. Although there are some obstacles to intermarriage, it's all possible to tell you the truth.

Wang Zifu asked, "Where does she live?"

Wu Sheng casually perfunctorily said, "In the southwest mountains, according to this, 30 miles." After a few words, he hurriedly left.

Since then, the amount of food served by the prince has increased day by day, and his body is like day by day. He touched the plum blossom under the pillow. Although it withered, he was glad that it did not wither. He thought and played like seeing a beauty. But since Wu Sheng left, there has been no follow-up. The prince was depressed and thought to himself, "Thirty miles is not far. Why rely on others? Why don't I visit in person?" So he went to Nanshan in the arms of Zangmei.

On the way, to a valley, I saw the green mountains and the quiet scenery. Looking at the bottom of the valley, there was a small village hidden among the red flowers and green trees.

Go down the mountain and enter the village. There are several huts and a courtyard in the north. There are willow trees in front of the door. The peach and apricot fragrance in the wall are fragrant. The prince did not dare to rush in and sit down on a nearby boulder to rest.

A woman called "Xiaorong!" came from the wall. The voice was delicate and listening. A girl came out from east to west, holding an apricot flower in her hand, and was about to put it on her temples. She inadvertently raised her eyes and suddenly found the prince's suit. She was a little surprised. The flower did not dare to insert it. She smiled and walked into the courtyard.

The prince took a closer look. It was the girl on the Lantern Festival. I was overjoyed and wanted to chase the girl, but I was worried that it was too abrupt. I thought, "If my cousin didn't lie to me, this should be my aunt's house." But I have nothing to do with my aunt, and I don't know what she looks like. I rushed in like this. In case I recognize the wrong person, isn't it a big joke?

I hesitated for a moment. I was so anxious that I walked around outside the house, stood for a while, sat for a while, and wandered. I don't know how long it took. The sun set and the sky gradually darkened. During this period, the girl showed half of her face across the yard and peeped secretly several times. She was surprised to see that the prince refused to leave for a long time.

Suddenly, an old lady came out with a crutch, looked at the prince's clothes, and asked, "Where did the scholar come from? What on earth do you want to do? Are you hungry?

The prince took care of his clothes and said, "I'm here to visit my family."

The old lady asked, "What's your relative's last name?"

Wang Zifu shook his head: "I don't know either."

The old lady smiled and said, "It's really an anecdote. You don't even know your name. What kind of family are you visiting? I think you must be a nerd. It's getting late. It's better to go into the house with my wife and have a home-cooked meal. There is also a bed in the room. Let's stay for one night. Go back and ask clearly, and it's not too late to visit your relatives.

Wang Zifu happened to be hungry and wanted to get close to the beauty. He couldn't help nodding when he heard the words and happily followed the old lady into the yard.

I saw the white stone road in the door, and there were colorful petals everywhere, twisting and turning all the way to a hall. There was also a yard outside, and the yard was full of bean shed flower racks.

Entering the room, I saw that the walls were snow-white and smooth as a mirror, and a begonia branch stretched into the house from the window. The indoor tables, chairs and mattresses are very clean.

As soon as he sat down, Wang Zifu found that there were two people peeping outside the house. The old lady coughed and said, "Xiaorong, go and cook. Who allowed you to peee outside the house? Haven't you seen a man?" Outside the house, a maid agreed loudly and went to prepare the meal.

The old lady offered fragrant tea, and the prince took a sip and began to tell her family background in detail. The old lady listened attentively and asked in surprise, "Young man, is your ancestral surname Wu?"

Wang Zifu nodded, and the old lady smiled and said, "So you are my nephew. Your mother is my sister. In recent years, my wife's family has been in decline, and there is no man, so she has never had anything to do with relatives. My nephew is so old that I don't know him.

Wang Zifu smiled and said, "This time I came here to visit my aunt. By the way, haven't you asked for your aunt's last name yet?"

The old lady said, "My surname is Qin. I have no children in my life. I only have one daughter, who was born to my deceased husband and concubine. Her mother remarried and left the child to me to raise. The little girl is not stupid, but she lacks discipline. She laughs all day long. I'll let her come out to meet the guests later. Your cousins know each other.

Before long, the maid set up a banquet, with rich dishes, fat chicken and beef. After dinner, the maid cleaned up the dishes, and the old lady ordered, "Go and call Aunt Ning." The maid agreed.

No, there was a faint laughter outside the door. The old lady shouted, "YINGNING, your cousin is here." There is still a sneer outside the door. The maid pushed her into the room, and the girl was still smiling. The old lady frowned and said, "There are guests here, laughter, what's it going on?" He pointed to the prince and said, "This Wang Shusheng is your aunt's son. Why don't you salute your cousin?"

Ying Ning suppressed her smile and bowed. The prince hurriedly bowed back and asked the old lady, "How old is the girl?"

The old lady's ears were not good and she couldn't hear clearly. She asked, "What are you talking about?"

Wang Zifu had to ask again loudly, and Ying Ning couldn't help laughing again. The old lady said, "I said that this girl lacks tutors, and you can see it. The sixteen-year-old girl is stupid and stupid, just like a child.

The prince said, "My sister is one year younger than me."

The old lady said, "My nephew is seventeen years old? Isn't it the year of the horse in the year of Gengwu?"

Wang Zifu nodded.

The old lady asked, "Do you have a daughter-in-law?" Which daughter is it?"

The prince said, "I haven't married yet."

The old lady said, "My nephew learned his appearance. Why didn't he get married at the age of 17?" Is the vision too high? It happens that Yingning doesn't have a mother-in-law. You two are a good match, but it's a pity that they are in-laws.

When Wang Zifu heard the words, he said nothing, but stared at Yingning.

The maid remembered the scene of the Lantern Festival and whispered to Yingning, "My eyes are burning, and the thief's appearance has not changed." Yingning just giggled and said to the maid, "Go and see if the peach blossoms have bloomed?" While talking, he covered his mouth with his sleeves, broke his feet, and went out. As soon as I got out of the door, I couldn't help laughing a series of indulgences.

The old lady also got up and stood up, told the maid to make the bed for the prince's clothes, and said, "It's rare for my nephew to come here. Let's stay for three or five days and then send you back. If you feel bored, there is a small garden behind the house, which can be used for leisure. If you like reading, you can go to the study, where there are many books.

The next day, Wang Zifu came behind the house. Sure enough, there was a half-mu-sized garden. The flowers were like brocade, the grass was like grass, and he walked around. Suddenly, he heard a rustle from the tree. Looking up, it turned out that Yingning was playing in the tree. When he saw Wang Zifu, he giggled.

Wang Zifu was worried about her safety and shouted, "Don't move, fall down now."

Yingning climbed down with a coquettish smile. When she was about to reach the ground, she was careless and finally fell down, which stopped laughing. The prince came forward to help her and took the opportunity to touch her palm twice. Yingning laughed again. Later, she couldn't walk with a stomachache, so she had to rely on the tree to gasp.

Wang Zifu waited for her to laugh enough. He took out the plum blossom from her sleeve and showed it to her. Yingning took it in her hand and said, "The flowers are withered. Why do you still have it?"

The prince said, "This is thrown down by the girl on the Lantern Festival, so it has been kept."

"What's the use of saving it?"

"When you see flowers and think of people, you will never forget to love each other. Since I saw my sister on the Lantern Festival, I have missed her every day. I miss her every day, and I think I won't live long. I didn't expect you and I to see you again today. Please be sure to fulfill me.

"This is not a big deal. You and I are relatives. You don't have to be polite. You like flowers, don't you? There are many in the yard. When you go back, I will ask the old servant to fold a large bundle and give it to you.

Wang Zifu couldn't laugh or cry. "The girl is not stupid, is she?"

"Why am I stupid?"

"I don't love flowers, but people who take flowers."

"We are relatives and are already very loving."

"The love I'm talking about is not the love of relatives, but the love of husband and wife."

"Is there any difference?"

"Of course there is a difference. Husband and wife can share the same bed."

Yingning lowered her head and thought for a long time, "But I don't like to sleep with strangers." Without finishing his words, the maid came over quietly, and the prince fled in a hurry.

After a while, Wang Zifu and Ying Ning went to the old lady's place. The old lady asked, "Where have you been?"

Ying Ning said, "I'm talking to the eldest brother in the garden."

The old lady said, "The rice is almost burnt. What can't be said for such a long time?"

Yingning said, "Big brother wants to sleep with me." When he didn't finish speaking, the prince was embarrassed and stared at her with his eyes. Fortunately, the old lady didn't hear well and didn't hear clearly.

After dinner, Wang Zifu whispered to Ying Ning, "Some words can't be said indiscriminately."

Ying Ning asked, "Shouldn't you say what you said just now?"

"Of course you shouldn't say it. You can only know this kind of words, and you have to hide it from others."

"Hidden from others? But my mother is not an outsider. How can I hide it from her? Besides, it's normal to sleep. What's the taboo?

When the prince heard the words, he only smiled bitterly. Yingning was so ignorant that there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, I heard the donkey cry outside the door, but I couldn't come back for a long time. My mother sent a servant to look for it.

Wang Zifu also missed his family, so he went to say goodbye to the old lady and said, "I want to take my cousin Yingning home and ask my aunt to agree."

The old lady smiled and said, "I've been wanting to visit my sister for a long time, but I'm too old to go. It's good for you to take your cousin back and meet your aunt. Yingning came and told him carefully, "Your cousin wants to take you home and clean up. Let's go." Your aunt has a lot of land. She doesn't care about raising you as an idle person. Don't be in a hurry to come back. When you arrive at your aunt's house, you should learn more poetry and etiquette, so that you can serve your parents-in-law in the future. By the way, ask your aunt to find a good husband for you.

Yingning didn't say anything, but just smiled. The old lady stared at her and sighed, "What's the happy thing? Always not enough? If you don't laugh, it will be perfect.

Yingning and Wang Zifu returned home. The Queen Mother came out to greet her. Seeing that Ying Ning was beautiful, she was very surprised and asked, "Who is this girl?"

The prince said, "Her name is Yingning, and she is my aunt's daughter."

The Queen Mother whispered to her son, "I don't have a sister. Where is my niece?" What Wu Sheng said to you before was a lie. He asked Yingning again, "Son, who is your father?"

Yingning said, "My father's surname is Qin. When he died, I was still in a baby, and I don't remember many things."

Wang's mother nodded and said, "I do have a sister married Qin, but she has been dead for a long time. How can she still be alive?" When asked about the appearance of Yingning's mother, Yingning said, "My mother has a black mole on her face."

The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Yes, what you said is not bad."

While talking, Wu Sheng came to visit. Yingning didn't want to see strangers and hurriedly avoided the inner room. Wu Sheng had never seen Yingning. He couldn't help asking questions. After asking, he finally knew what had happened. Suddenly, he shouted and said, "Is this girl really called Yingning?"

Wang Zifu nodded and said, "Yes."

Wu Sheng muttered, "What a coincidence. I have an aunt who married the Qin family and died soon after. My uncle was single and fascinated by the fox spirit. He gave birth to a daughter, also named Ying Ning. When she was a child, I met her. Later, when his uncle died, the fox spirit cared about the old feelings and often came to and from home. The family was afraid and asked the heavenly master to put a lot of charms on the wall, and the fox spirit left with his daughter. Was that Yingning girl born to a fox spirit just now?

The three of them looked at each other in consternation and hesitated to make a decision. At this time, Ying Ning's laughter came from the room, and they laughed endlessly. Wang's mother said, "This little girl is too delicate." As she spoke, she sent a subordinate to invite her out to meet the guests. Ying Ning suppressed her laughter, walked out of the room, saluted Wu Sheng, and then returned to the room and laughed loudly.

The prince's server entrusted Wu Sheng to go to Nanshan to find out what was going on. When he came to the valley, he found that the small mountain village disappeared out of thin air, leaving only the withered grass and mountain flowers scattered. Wu Sheng remembered the place where his aunt was buried, which seemed to be not far away. He couldn't help but doubting in his heart: Isn't Yingning a human, but a ghost?

After going back, she told the experience to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother also suspected that Yingning was a ghost. She entered the house and told Yingning what Wu Sheng had seen and heard. Yingning was not afraid. The Queen Mother felt sorry for her that she had no home, and Yingning was not sad. She was just smiling all day, and everyone couldn't guess her.

The Queen Mother asked her little daughter to live with Yingning. Yingning went to her mother every morning to make needlework, which was extremely exquisite. I just like to laugh, and no one can stop it. Although Yingning smiled casually, she was very beautiful. Everyone liked to see her smile, and the neighbor girls scrambled with her one by one.

The Queen Mother planned to choose an auspicious day to marry Yingning for her son, but she was always worried that Yingning was a ghost. Once she secretly observed in the sun and found that Yingning's shadow was no different from normal people, so she was relieved.

On the day of marriage, Yingning put on a phoenix crown and always laughed when worshipping heaven and earth, which made the wedding ceremony impossible, so she had to end it hastily.

Because of Ying Ning's delicate and simple, Wang Zifu was afraid that she would reveal her private affairs in the room, but Ying Ning was not ignorant. The secret between the husband and wife was never mentioned to outsiders. Whenever the Queen Mother is upset and unhappy, as long as she hears Yingning's laughter, she will feel immediately relieved. And the slaves and maidservants made mistakes and knew that they would make an affair with Yingning. The Queen Mother loved her very much. As long as Yingning opened her mouth, she would often be ttended.

Yingning loves flowers. The yard is full of flowers, and she doesn't even hesitate to buy flower seedlings as gold and silver jewelry. There is a fragrant tree in the backyard, next to the neighbor in the west. Yingning often climbed to the tree to play. The teenager of the Xi family saw Yingning's beauty from afar and couldn't help flirting. Yingning did not avoid it, but just kept laughing. The teenager of the Xi family mistakenly thought that Ying Ning was interested in him and looked more and more crazy.

Yingning pointed to the corner of the wall and left with a smile. The teenager in the West thought she was indicating the date place. In the evening, he happily went to the appointment. Sure enough, he saw Yingning waiting in the corner of the wall. He immediately came forward and hugged him, and his lower body arched back and down. Suddenly, a cone tingling came from the root of my life, which hurt my heart. I couldn't help screaming and rolling around on the ground. Looking carefully, there was no Yingning, it was just an old stump.

When the teenager's father heard the cry, he came to inspect it. He saw a hole in the tree stump, in which there was a poisonous scorpion. The reason why the teenager was injured was that he thought that he was biting the key point of the scorpion. When he returned home, he died soon.

The father was furious and sued the matter to the government. It was revealed that Ying Ning was a monster. Because the prince's reputation was very good, the county magistrate quickly closed the case: the father of the West falsely accused the good man and ignored it.

When the Queen Mother heard the news, she secretly persuaded Yingning, "You always laugh, and I knew it would cause trouble." Fortunately, the county magistrate is reasonable. If I meet a faint official, I will definitely summon my mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to the court to face each other. If that's the case, I will have no face to see anyone.

Ying Ning swore, "I will never laugh again."

The Queen Mother said, "How can there be no one who doesn't laugh? It's just to distinguish the location of the occasion.

But no matter how well the Queen Mother follows the advice, Yingning has never laughed since then. Sometimes her family deliberately teased her, and she doesn't laugh, but she is still carefree and doesn't know what the troubles are.

This night, Yingning suddenly became serious and cried to her husband. Wang Zifu was very surprised and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Yingning choked and said, "In the past, I didn't get along with my father-in-law for a long time, and I didn't dare to say where I came from. At present, my mother-in-law and my father-in-law are very kind to me. I can't hide it anymore. In fact, I'm not a human, but a fox. My mother entrusted me to the ghost mother before she left. We have been together for more than ten years before it is today. I don't have a brother. There is one thing I can only ask my father-in-law for help. The ghost mother lived alone in the ground and was very lonely. Last night, she gave me a dream, hoping to be buried with her father. If the father-in-law doesn't mind the trouble and expenses, and fulfills the wish for the ghost mother, Ying Ning will be very grateful.

Wang Zifu agreed, "Oku, I'll take care of this matter. It's just that the ghost mother's grave is buried by weeds, which is not easy to find.

Yingning said, "Don't worry about this."

A few days later, the prince prepared the coffin, went to Nanshan with Yingning, dug out the old lady's body and put it in mourning. Then he found the grave of his uncle, Mr. Qin, and buried the two together.

That night, the old lady asked the old lady to give the prince a thank-in-law. When the prince woke up, she told his wife about the matter. Yingning said, "I also saw the ghost mother last night. She told me not to scare you."

The prince asked, "Why don't you ask the old lady to stay?"

Yingning explained, "She is a ghost. There are many living people here and she is full of yang. How dare she live for a long time?"

Wang Zifu asked about Xiaorong's recent situation again. Ying Ning said, "She is also a fox demon, the most cunning. My biological mother left her to take care of me and often eats food for feeding, so she often misses her. Last night, the ghost mother told me that she was married.

Since then, every year during the Cold Food Festival, the prince and his wife will go to the Qin family cemetery to offer sacrifices without interruption. A year later, Yingning gave birth to a baby boy. When he was still in his infancy, he was not afraid of strangers at all. He smiled at people and was quite a motherly demeanor.