In the early years of the Han Dynasty, there was chaos. In a bustling alley in the capital, there lived a family. The owner was Lan Ting. He was in his 30s. He failed several exams. He spent all day at home studying and writing legal books from past dynasties. It took him more than 10 years. . The family’s wife, children and old mother barely make ends meet by running a small business. Life is quite difficult, but fortunately, the family is harmonious and happy.
Lan Ting was writing books in the study every day, and rarely went out of the door, only in the dead of night, when the moon was high, he paced back and forth in the courtyard, thinking about some problems. This habit has been going on for many years, and the family has long been used to it. This year, Lan Ting’s writing of the legal books of the Han Dynasty was coming to an end. On that day, according to the daily habit, the wife delivered meals to the husband who was writing in the study. However, on this day, his wife came back late from her natal home, and his mother brought him meals instead. The door squeaked, and he was very tired after writing for a whole day. He turned his head and glared at his wife, who knew that it was his mother who delivered the meal today, so he immediately knelt down in front of the old man, confessed his mistake, and murmured that he was the one who wrote the law, so he should never stare at his mother. . The kind old mother, looking at the gray temples, wrote for the book, the prematurely aging son felt a stabbing pain in his heart, child, mother does not blame you, I do not blame you, but when are you a head? ?
Lan Ting burst into tears after hearing this. He resolutely found a pair of scissors from nowhere. In order to punish the old man for staring at the old man, Lan Ting dug out one of his eyes. Immediately, blood flowed profusely. He hurriedly found herbs to stop the bleeding, and after a long time of busy work, he stopped the bleeding in his eyes.
Lying on the bed, Lan Ting calmed down a little. Looking at the worried look of the family, he said: “I do this, and I don’t regret it at all. My mother forgave me, but I can’t forgive myself.”
The wife said: “Why are you bothering? The family is not rich, but I never complained to you, but you…”
Lan Ting said: “After writing the book for more than 10 years, my body is in decline, and I may die soon.”
“You, why do you say that! You have to live, you are gone, what about us orphans and widows!” the wife whimpered.
Lan Ting asked his wife to approach him, and said to her in a low voice: “In the past ten years, I have completed the writing of a legal book of the Han Dynasty. This book is divided into two volumes. If I die, you will The second law book was placed under my coffin pillow, and the coffin was buried deep in the ancestral grave. Then, the first book was sold on the street…”
“Who knows? Who would buy it? You’re not dreaming!” the wife said dubiously.
Lan Ting said confidently: “Sell books to people who know what to buy. If they are cheap, don’t sell them. The money you sell is enough to feed you orphans and widows for three lifetimes.”
After Lan Ting confessed his funeral, he felt relieved for a while. After recovering from his illness, he handed over the legal manuscripts to his wife for safekeeping. Three months later, Lan Ting finally passed away due to overwork. After cooking, his wife went to the street all day long and set up an inconspicuous stall to sell them.
In the blink of an eye, more than a year later, on this day, Xiao He, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, visited the streets of the capital unannounced. As he walked, the personal guards escorting him found a woman selling books. The guards hurriedly reported to the prime minister, and Xiao He came to the woman. , Flipping through the books, secretly pleasantly surprised, he inquired in detail about who wrote it, what it was called, where he lived, and so on. Telling the truth, Xiao He thought to himself, this is a rare legal book for governing the country and the country, and the great ancestor Liu Bang asked me to write this book. “If you present it to Gaozu, you will definitely appreciate me even more!
Thinking of this, he asked about the price. Although the price was 50 taels of gold, for Xiao He, a thousand gold is hard to find! Without further ado, deal!
Besides, when Gaozu Liu Bang saw the law book presented by Xiao He, he couldn’t put it down, and he read it all night long. Qing, you wrote this legal book so well, you are really lucky, the widow gave you 1 million taels of gold and 500 acres of fertile land.” Xiao He hurriedly thanked the Lord for his kindness.
Gaozu Liu Bang changed the subject: “Aiqing, you still haven’t finished the lower part of this legal book. When will you let the widows read it?”
Liu Bang’s words scared Xiao He into a cold sweat, and the lower part? I didn’t even look at the top part. He reacted quickly and said: “Yes, the next part is being written, and I will present it to you for your review soon.” Liu Bang was delighted after hearing this, and said a few words to pay attention to his body.
The next morning, Xiao He hurried to Lan Ting’s house, asking where is the next law book? Lan Ting’s wife told the truth, Xiao He didn’t ask the price, just said: “Any amount of gold is fine.” That night, Xiao He sent people to dig in Lan Ting’s ancestral grave under the dark moonlight, pried open the coffin, and finally found two intact legal books sealed with oiled paper.
Xiao He was very happy to get this second law book, Liu Bang will definitely reward me! He immediately presented it to Gaozu for reading. Liu Bang read it and said: This book is so good that it can fill the gap in the law after the Han Dynasty unified the world.
At the end of the reading, suddenly, a line of words jumped into Gaozu’s eyes: “Gouging out the grave and digging up the red stubble is a crime. If you don’t kill Xiao He, you can’t do it.” Immediately, Xiao He was sent, and Liu Bang knew the truth of the matter. To uphold the dignity of the law, Gao Zu ordered him to be brought to justice, and Xiao He received the punishment he deserved.
Lan Ting’s family kept their identities incognito, and they also left their hometowns.