Original Text
Censor-in-chief Wang of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was a man from Yue. When he was young, one day he lay in bed during the daytime when suddenly the sky grew overcast and thunder roared. An animal, larger than a cat, ran in and crouched beneath his body, refusing to leave. After a while, the weather cleared, and the animal emerged. Upon looking at it, he saw it was not a cat and became frightened, calling his elder brother from across the wall. His brother, hearing this, said joyfully, "My younger brother is destined to become a high official; this was a fox seeking refuge from the calamity of thunder." Later, indeed, at a young age, he passed the imperial examinations as a jinshi, served as a county magistrate, and was then transferred to the capital as a censor. Censor Wang had a son named Yuanfeng, who was exceptionally foolish—at sixteen, he could not distinguish between men and women, and thus no family was willing to form a marriage alliance with them. Censor Wang was greatly troubled. By chance, a woman led a young maiden to the Wang residence, offering to form a marriage alliance. Censor Wang looked at the maiden, who smiled sweetly, truly like a celestial being. Delighted, he asked the woman her surname; she said her surname was Yu, and her daughter was named Xiaocui, aged sixteen. Censor Wang discussed the betrothal gifts with her, but Lady Yu said, "This child has followed me, barely eating chaff to fill her stomach; once she comes to your home, dwelling in grand halls, attended by maids and servants, feasting on fine grains and rich meats, she will be content, and I will be at ease. How could I haggle over prices like selling vegetables?" Censor Wang's wife was also pleased and warmly entertained them. Lady Yu then had Xiaocui kowtow to Censor Wang and his wife, instructing her, "These are your father-in-law and mother-in-law; serve them with care. I am very busy and will go back first, returning in three to five days." Censor Wang ordered a servant to prepare a horse to see her off, but Lady Yu said, "My home is not far from here; no need for trouble." Thus she left. Xiaocui, seeing her mother depart, showed no sorrow or reluctance but began rummaging through her dressing case for embroidery patterns. Lady Wang was also quite fond of her.
After several days had passed, Little Cui's mother still did not come. When asked where her home was, she could only foolishly say she could not recall the way. So they prepared another house and held a wedding ceremony for the young couple. When relatives heard that their family had taken in a poor man's daughter as a bride, they all mocked them. But when they saw Little Cui, they were astonished by her beauty and ceased their gossip. Little Cui was very clever and could read her parents-in-law's moods. Magistrate Wang and his wife doted on their daughter-in-law beyond the ordinary, yet in their hearts they remained uneasy, fearing she would disdain their simple-minded son. However, Little Cui was cheerful every day and showed not the slightest disdain. Yet she delighted in teasing Yuanfeng; she sewed a ball from cloth and kicked it to make him laugh. Wearing little leather boots, she would kick the ball several dozen paces away, making Yuanfeng run to retrieve it, until both he and the maids were drenched in sweat. One day, Magistrate Wang happened to pass by his son's chambers when the ball suddenly flew out and struck him squarely in the face. Little Cui and the maids all fled in terror, but Yuanfeng still bounded after the cloth ball. Magistrate Wang flew into a rage, picked up a stone, and threw it at his son, whereupon Yuanfeng fell to the ground crying. The magistrate told his wife of the matter, and she went to scold Little Cui, who merely lowered her head and smiled, picking at the bed with her fingers. After her mother-in-law left, Little Cui continued to frolic with an innocent, charming air, smearing rouge and powder on Yuanfeng's face until he looked like a painted demon. When his mother saw this, she grew even angrier and summoned Little Cui for a harsh reprimand. Little Cui leaned against the table, playing with the ribbons on her clothes, showing neither fear nor speaking. His mother, at a loss, took up a stick and beat Yuanfeng. Yuanfeng wailed loudly, and only then did Little Cui's face change color in fright; she knelt and begged for mercy. His mother's anger subsided at once, and she cast aside the stick and left. Little Cui laughed, pulled Yuanfeng into the room, dusted off his clothes, dried his tears, massaged the welts from the beating, and fed him dates and chestnuts, until he stopped crying and broke into a smile. Little Cui then closed the courtyard gate, and one moment she would dress Yuanfeng as the Overlord, the next as a desert nomad, while she herself donned splendid garments, cinched her waist tightly, and danced gracefully beneath the tent, playing the part of Consort Yu; or she would stick pheasant feathers in her hair, impersonate Wang Zhaojun plucking a pipa, producing a tinkling melody that filled the room with laughter and joy, and so it went almost every day. Because his son was simple-minded, Magistrate Wang could not bear to reproach his daughter-in-law too harshly, and even when he heard of these antics, he no longer intervened.
Living on the same lane as Censor Wang was a certain Grand Master Wang, separated by a dozen or so households, yet the two families had never been on good terms. At the time, the triennial imperial evaluation of officials was underway, and Grand Master Wang, jealous that Censor Wang held the supervisory power over the Henan Circuit, sought to harm him. Learning of this scheme, Censor Wang grew deeply anxious, unable to devise a countermeasure. One evening, Censor Wang retired early to bed, while Xiao Cui donned official robes, disguised herself as the Grand Chancellor, glued white silk strands to her chin to resemble a beard, and had two maids dress in black as attendants. Stealthily taking a horse from the stable, she rode out, jesting, "I shall pay a visit to Lord Wang." Galloping to Grand Master Wang's gate, she whipped her attendants and shouted loudly, "I am here to call on Censor Wang, not Grand Master Wang!" Then she turned her horse and returned. At her own gate, the doorkeeper mistook her for the real Grand Chancellor and rushed to report to Censor Wang. He sprang from his bed and hurried out to greet the visitor, only to find it was his daughter-in-law playing a prank. Furious, he said to his wife, "Our enemy is seeking faults against us, and now she has gone to their door to expose our family's disgrace—our ruin is near!" The wife, equally enraged, stormed into Xiao Cui's room and berated her harshly. Xiao Cui merely giggled foolishly, offering no defense. The wife wished to beat her but could not bear it; to divorce her was impossible, as she had no home to return to. The couple fretted and lamented, unable to sleep all night. At that time, the Grand Chancellor was at the height of his power, and his appearance, attire, and retinue matched Xiao Cui's disguise exactly; Grand Master Wang also mistook her for the real chancellor. He sent men repeatedly to spy on Censor Wang's gate, but no guest emerged until midnight, leading him to suspect that the chancellor and Censor Wang were secretly plotting. The next morning at court, he asked Censor Wang, "Did the Grand Chancellor visit your residence last night?" Censor Wang, thinking it was a deliberate taunt, answered awkwardly in a low voice. This deepened Grand Master Wang's suspicions, and he abandoned his plan to harm Censor Wang, instead taking the initiative to cultivate friendly relations. Upon learning the truth, Censor Wang secretly rejoiced and privately instructed his wife to urge Xiao Cui to mend her ways. Xiao Cui smiled and agreed.
After a year had passed, the Grand Councilor was dismissed from his post. He had a private letter intended for the Imperial Censor Wang, but it was mistakenly delivered to the Remonstrance Official Wang. The Remonstrance Official was overjoyed and first entrusted a mutual friend of the Censor to borrow ten thousand taels of silver from the Censor's household, but the Censor refused. The Remonstrance Official then went personally to the Censor's home. The Censor sought his formal robes to receive him properly but could not find them. The Remonstrance Official, having waited long and grown angry at the Censor's neglect, was about to turn back when he suddenly saw Yuanfeng, clad in a dragon robe and wearing an imperial crown, pushed out from the door by a woman. Startled, he then smiled, stroked the garments, and stripped them off, taking them away. The Censor hurried out, but the guest had already gone far. Upon hearing what had happened, the Censor turned pale with terror and wept loudly, saying, "This is a calamity! Our entire family will be beheaded before long!" The Censor and his wife took a staff and went to their son's quarters. Little Cui, knowing they were coming, shut the door and let them rail as they pleased. The Censor, in a fury, fetched an axe to hack at the door. Little Cui, laughing from within, said to her parents-in-law, "Father-in-law, do not be angry! As long as I am here, any punishment, be it knife or saw, axe or hatchet, I will bear alone, and I will never implicate you. Is it that you wish to kill me to silence the matter?" The Censor then desisted. After returning home, the Remonstrance Official indeed submitted a memorial to the Emperor, accusing the Censor of plotting treason, citing the dragon robe and crown as evidence. The Emperor was startled, but upon examining the evidence, found the crown was made of sorghum stalks and the robe was a torn yellow cloth wrapping. The Emperor was furious at the Remonstrance Official's false accusation. He then summoned Yuanfeng to the court, and seeing his simpleton demeanor, laughed and said, "Could such a one be the Son of Heaven?" He then handed the Remonstrance Official over to the judicial authorities for interrogation. The Remonstrance Official further accused the Censor's household of harboring a sorcerer. The authorities rigorously questioned the Censor's servants and maids, who all said there was no such thing, only a mad daughter-in-law and a simpleton son, who spent their days in idle play, and the neighbors reported nothing else. The case was settled, and the Remonstrance Official was sentenced to exile in Yunnan. From then on, the Censor realized Little Cui was no ordinary woman. Since her mother had never come to visit, he suspected she was not human and had his wife question her. Little Cui only smiled and said nothing. Pressed further, she covered her mouth and said, "Your child is the daughter of the Jade Emperor. Does my mother-in-law not know this?"
Not long after, Imperial Censor Wang was promoted to Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Over fifty years old, he often fretted over having no grandson. Little Jade had been in the Wang household for three years, yet she slept apart from Yuanfeng every night, as if no marital relations had occurred. The lady of the house had Yuanfeng's bed removed and instructed them to share a bed. After a few days, Yuanfeng told his mother, "They took my bed away, why haven't they returned it? Little Jade puts her leg on my belly every night, pressing so hard I can't breathe, and she keeps pinching my thigh." The maids and servants all burst out laughing. The lady scolded and slapped him, sending him away. One day, Little Jade was bathing in the room; Yuanfeng saw her and wanted to bathe with her. Little Jade smiled and stopped him, telling him to wait a moment. After she finished bathing, she added hot water to the tub, stripped off Yuanfeng's clothes, and with the maids' help, lifted him into the tub. Yuanfeng felt stifled and hot, crying out to get out. Little Jade would not allow it and covered the tub with a quilt. Soon, there was no sound; when they uncovered it, Yuanfeng had stopped breathing. Little Jade smiled calmly, showing no alarm, dragged Yuanfeng to the bed, dried him off, and covered him with a quilt. When the lady heard of this, she came weeping and scolded, "Mad girl, why did you kill my son!" Little Jade smiled faintly and said, "Such a foolish son might as well not exist." The lady grew angrier and charged at Little Jade with her head, but the maids pulled and coaxed her away. Amid the commotion, a maid reported, "The young master is groaning." The lady stopped crying and felt her son; he was panting heavily, drenched in sweat that soaked the bedding. After the time it takes to eat a meal, Yuanfeng's sweating ceased, and he suddenly opened his eyes, looking around, examining everyone in the household as if he did not recognize them, saying, "Now I recall past events as if in a dream; what is this all about?" The lady, seeing that his speech was no longer foolish, was greatly astonished. She led him to see his father, and after repeated tests, indeed he was no longer simple-minded. The whole family rejoiced greatly, as if they had found a precious treasure. That evening, the lady had the bed returned to its original place, with bedding and pillows arranged to observe him. After Yuanfeng entered the inner chamber, he dismissed all the maids. When morning came, the bed was empty, as if unused. From then on, the madness and foolishness of the son and daughter-in-law vanished entirely; the young couple grew exceedingly close, inseparable as shadow and form.
After more than a year had passed, Imperial Censor Wang was impeached by associates of the Remonstrance Official Wang and dismissed from his post, also receiving a minor punishment. In his household, there was a jade vase worth a thousand pieces of gold, a gift from the Vice Censor of Guangxi, which he had intended to present to some powerful official. Little Jade was very fond of this vase; while holding it in her hands to admire it, she accidentally dropped it and shattered it to pieces. Filled with shame and remorse, she quickly went to inform her parents-in-law. They, already disheartened by their loss of office, flew into a rage upon hearing this and both berated her harshly. Little Jade, furious, ran out and said to Yuanfeng, "In your household, I have preserved more than just a single jade vase—why can you not spare me a little face? To tell you the truth, I am not human. Because my mother once faced a calamity of being struck by lightning and received your father's protection, and because we two share a five-year destiny, I came to your home to repay that past kindness and fulfill our fated bond. The scoldings I have endured are more numerous than hairs on my head; the only reason I did not leave you before was that our five years of affection were not yet complete. But now, how can I stay any longer?" With that, Little Jade stormed out the door. Yuanfeng pursued her, but she had vanished without a trace. Imperial Censor Wang felt a deep sense of loss, but regret was useless. Yuanfeng returned to his room, saw the powder she had used and the shoes she had worn, and wept as if he would die; he could not sleep, food lost its taste, and he grew thinner day by day. Wang was deeply worried and urgently sought to arrange a new marriage for his son to relieve his sorrow, but Yuanfeng refused. He only hired a skilled painter to create a portrait of Little Jade and offered sacrifices and prayers before it day and night, continuing this life for nearly two years.
One day, Yuanfeng happened to return from elsewhere. The moon was bright and clear in the sky, and outside the village stood a garden pavilion belonging to Imperial Censor Wang. As Yuanfeng rode past the wall on horseback, he heard laughter and voices within. He reined in his horse, ordered the groom to hold the reins, and stood on the saddle to peer inside. There he saw two young women playing in the garden, but as clouds obscured the moon, he could not see clearly. He only heard the one in green say, "You should be driven out of here, you wench!" The one in red replied, "You are in my family's garden, yet who are you to drive anyone away?" The green-clad woman retorted, "Shameless girl! Unable to be a proper wife, you were cast out, and now you dare claim this as your own property?" The red-clad woman answered, "That is still better than being an old maid without a husband!" Yuanfeng recognized the voice as strikingly similar to Cuicui's and called out urgently. The woman in green departed, saying, "I will not argue with you now; your husband has come." Soon, the woman in red arrived, and indeed it was Cuicui. Yuanfeng was overjoyed. Cuicui bade him climb onto the wall, then helped him down, saying, "In two years, you have wasted away to a mere skeleton." Yuanfeng took her hand and wept, recounting all his longing. Cuicui said, "I know, but I have no face to meet your family. Today, playing with my sister, I encountered you again—this shows our bond is fated by heaven." Yuanfeng begged her to return home with him, but she refused; he then asked to stay in the garden, and she agreed. Yuanfeng sent a servant rushing back to inform his mother. The lady was startled and rose, then took a sedan chair to the garden. When she unlocked the gate and entered, Cuicui hurried forward to greet her, kneeling in obeisance. The lady grasped her arm, weeping and confessing that all past faults were her own, leaving her almost without a place to hide her shame. She said, "If you can but slightly forget past grievances, please return with me, and bring comfort to my old age." Cuicui adamantly refused. The lady, considering the garden outside the village desolate and cold, wished to send more servants to attend her. Cuicui said, "I wish to see no others; only the two maids who once served me day and night—I cannot forget them. Let an old gatekeeper be added, and nothing more is needed." The lady did exactly as Cuicui said. To others, she merely claimed that Yuanfeng was recuperating in the garden, and daily provisions were sent there.
Xiao Cui often advised Yuan Feng to marry another wife, but Yuan Feng would not agree. After more than a year, Xiao Cui's voice and appearance gradually changed and became different from before; when he took out her original portrait to compare, it was as if they were two entirely different people. Yuan Feng found this very strange. Xiao Cui said, "Look at me now—am I more beautiful than before?" Yuan Feng replied, "You are still very beautiful now, yet you seem not as lovely as before." Xiao Cui said, "I think I have grown old!" Yuan Feng said, "At just over twenty, how could you age so quickly?" Xiao Cui laughed and burned the portrait; Yuan Feng tried to save it, but it was too late. One day, Xiao Cui said to Yuan Feng, "In the past, when I was at home, my father said I would die without bearing children. Now your parents are already aged, and you are their only son; I truly cannot bear children, and I fear I will hinder the continuation of your family line. Please take a wife at home, to serve your parents morning and evening; you can come and go between her and me, and there will be no inconvenience." Yuan Feng felt that Xiao Cui's words made sense, so he arranged a betrothal with the daughter of Grand Historian Zhong. As the wedding day approached, Xiao Cui made new clothes and shoes for the new bride and had them sent to her mother-in-law. When the new bride crossed the threshold, her appearance, speech, and mannerisms were exactly like Xiao Cui's, not a hair's difference; Yuan Feng was greatly astonished. He went to the garden pavilion to look, but Xiao Cui was nowhere to be found. He asked the maid, who brought out a red handkerchief and said, "The lady has temporarily returned to her parents' home, leaving this for you, sir." When he unfolded the handkerchief, there was a piece of jade jue inside; Yuan Feng knew that Xiao Cui would not return, so he took the maid and went back home. Although Yuan Feng could not forget Xiao Cui for a single moment, fortunately, looking at his new wife was just like seeing Xiao Cui. It was only then that Yuan Feng realized that Xiao Cui had known in advance about the marriage alliance with the Zhong family, and so she had first transformed her appearance into that of the Zhong girl, in order to console him for the longing that would come after.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales says: A fox, for an unintentional kindness bestowed by the Wang family, still thought to repay it; yet the Wangs, having received the blessing of Xiao Cui's gift of a new life, berated her bitterly over a broken vase—how base was their character! She parted from Yuan Feng only to reunite as a broken mirror made whole, found a substitute and then departed calmly; from this we know that the affection of immortals runs deeper than that of worldly folk!
Commentary
This story is about a fox repaying a kindness. Because Imperial Censor Wang had inadvertently protected a fox from a thunderbolt calamity during his youth, the fox married his daughter Xiao Cui to Wang's foolish son. Xiao Cui not only cleverly used mischievous pranks to save Imperial Censor Wang from the schemes of his political enemies and eliminate hidden dangers, but also cured his son's idiocy, thus helping the Wang family continue their lineage.
According to the conventional pattern of gratitude stories, if approached from a straightforward angle, the tale would easily fall into mediocrity. This piece unfolds its plot through an unexpected prank that defies common sense, depicting Little Cui and the foolish son of Censor Wang engaging in mischief together—kicking a ball, performing plays, and pretending to be high officials swaggering through their neighborhood. Later, they even dare to don the emperor's "dragon robe and imperial crown" to mock political enemies. Though surprising, these antics hit the mark by accident, creating a thrilling yet safe comedy with a strong comedic effect. The jesting and banter in this tale, while necessary for the story, also reveal from another angle Pu Songling's rich theatrical imagination and his consistent witty and robust temperament. The intimate playfulness between Little Cui and Wang Yuanfeng in the boudoir is somewhat excessive, yet it is close to life and extremely vivid. Particularly the scene where Little Cui and Wang Yuanfeng kick a ball and accidentally hit Censor Wang in the face: it describes Censor Wang's fury, "throwing a stone at them," and "reporting to his wife." The wife "summoned the girl and cursed her. The girl leaned against a table, fiddling with her sash, unafraid and silent. The wife, helpless, then beat her son. Yuanfeng wailed loudly, and only then did the girl's expression change; she knelt and begged for mercy. The wife's anger suddenly subsided, dropped the rod, and left. The girl laughed, pulled the young master into the room, brushed the dust off his clothes, wiped his tears, massaged the welts from the rod, and fed him dates and chestnuts, until the young master stopped crying and cheered up." It depicts various family relationships with meticulous detail, reasonable and heartfelt. The story concludes with Censor Wang, because Little Cui accidentally broke a jade vase, "berating her from all sides," causing Little Cui to leave. Though this can be seen as necessary for the plot, it also reflects certain phenomena in the human world. Thus, Pu Songling laments in the "Historian of the Strange's Commentary": "A fox, for an unintentional kindness, still thinks to repay it, yet those who have received the blessing of being reborn, instead cry out over a broken vase—how despicable!"