During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, there was a peddler named Zhang Wan in Dongping County. He was over 40 years old and carried a peddler's pole to go from village to village to sell miscellaneous goods such as needles and thread all year round. One day in the autumn of that year, Zhang Wan went to the city to purchase goods. After finishing his business, he drank two taels of wine with a pair of large cakes in a tavern. It was dark when he left the city with his pole. Zhang Wan was brave and it was common for him to get up early and go to bed late. He didn't care about any beasts or ghosts. There were few pedestrians on the road at night. The night was getting darker and darker. Zhang Wan also quickened his pace and walked four or five miles unknowingly. Because he drank some wine in the tavern and was sweating profusely, Zhang Wan felt thirsty and wanted to find someone to ask for some water. Looking around, there was a light not far ahead, and a small courtyard appeared faintly in front of him. Zhang Wan walked a few steps to the gate of the courtyard and knocked on the door. Soon the door opened and a young man came out, followed by a woman holding a lantern in her hand. Zhang Wan clasped his fists and said, "Excuse me, young man. I'm just passing by and I'm very thirsty. Can you give me a bowl of water?" The young man looked at Zhang Wan and said, "Please come in."
Zhang Wan followed his host into the house and drank two large bowls of water in one breath. Only then did he see clearly: the young man in front of him was a handsome scholar in a long gown, and the woman was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had a dignified, gentle and elegant appearance. Zhang Wan was puzzled and asked the scholar: "You don't seem to be from a small farming family, why do you live in this remote wilderness?"
When Zhang Wan asked this question, the scholar suddenly looked miserable, and tears welled up in his eyes. The scholar sighed and said, "To be honest, we are ghosts in the underworld. But you don't have to be afraid. We were born in scholarly families in our previous lives and will not harm anyone."
The ghost scholar told Zhang Wan that his name was Liu Zhongwen, and the woman's surname was Zhao, and her nickname was Suyu. She was originally from Huangzhou, Hubei. Liu Zhongwen's father was Liu Yunming, and he and Suyu's father Zhao Jinggong were both scholars from the same hometown. The two had a close friendship and were as close as brothers. At that time, Liu Zhongwen and Suyu were still young, and the two often played together. They were innocent and close like brothers and sisters. That year, the imperial examination was held in Beijing, and Liu Yunming and Zhao Jinggong went to the examination together. After the results were announced, Zhao Jinggong passed the examination, but Liu Yunming failed. Later, Zhao Jinggong filled the vacancy and became a county magistrate in another province. Before he took his family to take office, the two friends made a lifelong commitment to the young Liu Zhongwen and Zhao Suyu. Later, Liu Yunming took the examination twice, but his name was not on the list. From then on, he was discouraged and no longer wanted to enter the official career. Time flies, and Liu Zhongwen has grown to 19 years old unknowingly. His father Liu Yunming ordered him to go to his father-in-law's place to marry Su Yu, and study there, and wait for the big exam to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination to seek fame. Liu Zhongwen obeyed his father's order and left his hometown alone. After more than a month of trekking through mountains and rivers, he finally arrived at Xiyingbao, a small town governed by his father-in-law Zhao Jinggong. Xiyingbao was still more than a hundred miles away from Dongping County. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Zhongwen stayed at an inn in Nanguan. There were not many guests staying in this inn, but at night a group of people gathered in the inn to gamble "betting on big treasures". Liu Zhongwen was tired from the journey, so he went to bed after dinner. The next day, Liu Zhongwen set off before dawn. At dusk, he came to the foot of a hillside. Liu Zhongwen thought that this place would not be too far from Dongping County, and he had to rush to the city even if it was a little dark. At this time, three knife-wielding fierce men suddenly rushed out of the woods on the side of the road! Three men dragged Liu Zhongwen off his horse, put a knife to his neck, and demanded that he hand over his money or else they would kill him! Liu Zhongwen was a weak scholar, and he was so scared when he met the robbers that he had to let the robbers search him. However, the three robbers searched Liu Zhongwen's bag and body, but only found a few small coins. The robbers felt unlucky, and in anger they killed Liu Zhongwen, and then dragged his body into the bushes. There was a new grave in the bushes, so the robbers dug up the grave and buried Liu Zhongwen's body in it. Unexpectedly, the girl Su Yu was buried in this lonely grave!
It turned out that after Su Yu's father Zhao Jinggong took office with his family, his political achievements had been mediocre for more than ten years. Later, he was transferred several times and came to Dongping County. Three years ago, Su Yu's mother died of illness, and County Magistrate Zhao remarried a young lady. This young lady was born in a wealthy family. Her parents spoiled her since she was a child and she had a bad temper. After she gave birth to her little daughter, she regarded Su Yu as a thorn in her eyes, made things difficult for Su Yu, insulted her, and urged County Magistrate Zhao to marry Su Yu as soon as possible… Facing the coercion of the stepmother, Su Yu resisted sternly and vowed to die! She said that as the parent official of a county, how could the marriage alliance he personally made for his daughter be torn up for no reason? County Magistrate Zhao felt that his daughter's words were both "reasonable" and "legal", so he scolded the young lady and forbade her to mention it again. Although the stepmother did not succeed, Su Yu was always worried that her father would not be able to withstand the wind in her ears and change over time. She looked forward to Liu Zhongwen coming to get married as soon as possible. However, her hometown was far away and it was difficult to get news from her. She was so depressed that she became ill and gradually became bedridden. She finally passed away more than a month ago. Her father bought this cemetery at the foot of a secluded hillside in the suburbs for her burial.
Unexpectedly, Liu Zhongwen and Su Yu, two infatuated lovers who missed each other, became ghosts in the underworld, and unexpectedly met each other in this wild grave. The two ghosts were filled with grief and anger, hugged each other and cried bitterly. They could not be married in life, but they wanted to be a pair of "ghost mandarin ducks" in death, and accompany each other forever! However, one was a scholar who was well-educated and well-mannered, and the other was a daughter of an official. It was impolite to have an affair without a host.
When the ghost scholar said this, he pulled the ghost girl Su Yu over, and they both knelt in front of Zhang Wan: "Uncle, you came at the right time, please be the master of ceremonies for us, with a master of ceremonies, we will be legitimate."
Zhang Wan said with embarrassment: "I am a human, and you are ghosts. How can I officiate your wedding?" The ghost scholar said: "This is not difficult. I will write a marriage certificate, write my name and Su Yu's name, and then write your name as the officiating uncle. Please choose an auspicious day to go to the City God Temple and burn the marriage certificate in front of the City God, and the matter will be settled." Zhang Wan said: "If so, I agree." The ghost scholar was very happy to see that Zhang Wan agreed. He asked the female ghost Su Yu to get two ingots of silver. The ghost scholar handed the silver ingots to Zhang Wan respectfully, "Uncle, I have one more request. Please buy a new coffin for us, dig up the grave and rebury the bodies of Su Yu and me. After deducting the cost of buying the coffin, the rest of the two ingots of silver will be our reward to you. Your great kindness and virtue will be remembered forever…" Zhang Wan said: "Please rest assured, I will do it!"
After Zhang Wan returned home, he took out two silver ingots and looked at them again and again. He saw that both silver ingots had the same number on them. Although he did not recognize the number, the silver ingots were genuine. The next day, Zhang Wan got up early and went to the county town to die in the same coffin . He went to the bank to exchange the silver ingots for copper coins, and then went to the carpenter's shop to buy a coffin. The bank owner took Zhang Wan's silver ingots and looked at them. He looked Zhang Wan up and down, smiled and said to Zhang Wan: "Sir, please come in and have a cup of tea. Your silver ingots are top-quality silver ingots. I guarantee that I will exchange them at the highest exchange rate…" Zhang Wan was of course happy to hear the bank owner say this, and followed the bank owner into the guest room of the bank. The bank owner and Zhang Wan chatted while drinking tea. The two were chatting, when suddenly two yamen runners broke in and took Zhang Wan away without asking any questions! It turned out that the bank owner saw Zhang Wan's silver ingots and became suspicious at the time. Where did a peddler get the silver ingots? Especially since there was a seal script "Zhao" on the silver ingot, the shopkeeper concluded that the man was either a thief or a robber who wanted to rob and kill people! So he let Zhang Wanran stay in the guest room and secretly sent someone to report the case to the county government…
After Zhang Wan was brought to the county government, County Magistrate Zhao Jinggong went to the court to interrogate him. Zhang Wan told the story of encountering the ghost last night, and presented two silver ingots and the "marriage certificate" written by the ghost scholar to the county magistrate. After seeing the silver ingot and the "marriage certificate", County Magistrate Zhao opened his eyes wide in shock – the seal character "Zhao" on the silver ingot was the mark of his family's silver ingot, and the female ghost Su Yu was his daughter. The two silver ingots were his burial objects for his daughter. Liu Zhongwen was indeed the husband he arranged for his daughter, but he was killed on the way to his relatives… But County Magistrate Zhao still had some doubts about this man and ghost, so he took Zhang Wan and the yamen runners to his daughter's grave to check the truth. County Magistrate Zhao ordered people to dig up his daughter's grave, and sure enough, there were two bodies, a man and a woman, in the grave! County Magistrate Zhao was shocked, and it seemed that what Zhang Wan said was not fabricated. The next day, County Magistrate Zhao and Zhang Wan came to the City God Temple together. County Magistrate Zhao signed his name on the "marriage certificate" and became the master of marriage for his daughter and Liu Zhongwen together with Zhang Wan. He knelt in front of the statue of the City God and burned the "marriage certificate" while praying for his daughter and son-in-law. Then he transported the new coffin to his daughter's grave in the suburbs, reburied Su Yu and Liu Zhongwen, and buried them together in the same tomb, so that the ghost couple finally got what they wanted. Zhang Wan was so loyal and entrusted by the ghosts of his daughter and son-in-law to do his job meticulously. County Magistrate Zhao was very grateful and decided to keep Zhang Wan in the county government to manage things.
Magistrate Zhao thought of the tragic death of his son-in-law Liu Zhongwen and was determined to avenge him. Based on the information provided by Zhang Wan, he ordered the yamen runners to go to Xiyingbao to summon the owner of the inn where Liu Zhongwen stayed that day to the county yamen, and asked him to confess the names and addresses of the gamblers who often gambled in the inn. The owner did not dare to hide it and told the truth about the gamblers. Magistrate Zhao immediately ordered the constables to arrest the gamblers together. After interrogating them one by one, the gambling boss and two accomplices who killed Liu Zhongwen confessed the crime truthfully. After the documents were sorted out and reported, they were quickly approved, and the three villains were finally brought to justice.