Original Text
Zhu Daxing was a man of Zhangde. His family was wealthy but he was extremely stingy; unless it was a matter of his children's marriage, there were no guests in his house, and no meat on the dining table. However, he was frivolous and lecherous by nature, and when it came to women, he would spend any amount of money without regret. Every night, he would climb over walls and cross village boundaries to sleep with wanton women. One night, he encountered a young woman walking alone, and knowing she was a runaway, he forced her to follow him and led her back to his home. When he lit a lamp to look at her, the young woman was exceedingly beautiful. She said her surname was Huo. Zhu Daxing pressed her with further questions, but Huo said displeasedly, "Since you have already taken me in, why must you keep interrogating me? If you fear being implicated, you might as well let me leave early." Zhu Daxing dared not ask further and kept her to live with him. Huo refused to eat coarse food and detested meat; her meals had to be bird's nest, or soup made from chicken-heart conch and fish maw, before she could be satisfied. Zhu Daxing had no choice but to supply her with all his might. Huo was also prone to illness, requiring a bowl of ginseng soup daily. At first, Zhu Daxing was unwilling to provide it. Huo groaned incessantly, seeming near death, and forced to, he gave her the ginseng soup, whereupon her illness immediately healed. Thereafter, drinking ginseng soup became a regular practice. Huo insisted on wearing only silk and brocade, and after a few days, she would find the clothes old and demand new ones. Thus, after more than a month, a great deal of money had been spent, and Zhu Daxing gradually found it hard to sustain her. Huo wept and refused to eat, demanding to leave. Zhu Daxing, frightened, racked his brains to continue supplying her needs. Whenever Huo felt bored, she would have Zhu Daxing summon actors every ten days or so to perform plays; during the performances, Zhu Daxing would place a stool outside the curtain, holding his son as he sat watching. Huo showed not a trace of a smile and often cursed Zhu Daxing, who did not argue. Thus, after two years, Zhu Daxing's family gradually declined. He gently explained to Huo, begging her to reduce expenses, and Huo agreed, cutting the costs by half. As time went on, he still could not afford it, and Huo began to tolerate meat porridge, and gradually she could do without rare delicacies. Zhu Daxing secretly rejoiced. Suddenly, one night, Huo opened the back door and fled. Zhu Daxing was left in a daze, searching everywhere, only to learn that she had gone to the He family in a neighboring village.
The He family was also a prominent clan, having produced officials for generations; they were generous and fond of entertaining guests, often feasting and reveling from dusk till dawn. One day, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared in He's bedchamber in the dead of night. Upon inquiry, she claimed to be a runaway concubine of the Zhu family. He had always despised Zhu Daxing's character, and now, captivated by the woman's beauty, he decided to keep Huo Nü. After a few days of intimacy, He became even more infatuated with her, exhausting his entire fortune to indulge her every whim, providing for her just as lavishly as the Zhu family had. When Zhu Daxing learned of this, he went to the He residence to demand her return, but He paid him no heed. Zhu then filed a lawsuit with the authorities, but the officials shelved the case, citing Huo Nü's unclear origins and identity. Zhu sold off his property to bribe the officials, and only then was a summons issued for the defendant to appear in court. Huo Nü said to He, "In the Zhu household, I was never taken as a proper wife through formal rites—what is there to fear?" Overjoyed, He prepared to win the case. However, a guest of the He family, a man named Gu Sheng, advised him, "By harboring a fugitive, you have already violated the law. Moreover, since this woman entered your home, her daily expenses have been exorbitant; even if you possessed a fortune of ten thousand strings of cash, could you sustain it for long?" He came to his senses, dropped the lawsuit, and returned Huo Nü to the Zhu family.
After a day or two, Huo the Woman fled once more. There was a scholar named Huang, a poor student without a wife. Huo the Woman knocked at his door and entered, explaining whence she had come. Huang, seeing a beautiful woman suddenly seeking refuge with him, was both startled and alarmed, uncertain how to act. Being a man who had always adhered to the law, he at first refused to take her in, but Huo the Woman would not leave. As she spoke with him, her manner grew exceedingly charming and alluring. Huang's heart was moved, and he allowed her to stay, though he feared she could not endure a life of poverty. Huo the Woman rose early each day, personally attending to household chores, laboring even more diligently than Huang's former wife. Huang, being a man of free and elegant spirit, knew well how to cherish his wife, and thus the two regretted only that they had not met sooner. They dreaded only that word of their union might leak out, and that their happiness could not long endure. As for Zhu Daxing, after lodging his complaint, his family circumstances grew ever more impoverished; moreover, he considered that Huo the Woman could not abide a life of hardship, and so he ceased his search for her.
Huo Nu and Huang Sheng lived together for several years, their affection growing deep and intimate. One day, Huo Nu suddenly proposed returning to her parental home and asked Huang Sheng to drive her there. Huang Sheng said, "You have always said you had no home—why do your words now differ from before?" Huo Nu replied, "That was said casually before. I am from Zhenjiang. Previously, I married a dissolute man and wandered through the rivers and lakes until I arrived here. My family is quite wealthy; if you spend all your fortune to escort me there, they will surely not treat you poorly." Huang Sheng heeded her words, hired a carriage, and returned with her. When they reached the Yangzhou region, they moored their boat by the riverbank. As Huo Nu was gazing from the window, the son of a wealthy merchant passed by and was astonished by her beauty. He turned his boat back and followed theirs, while Huang Sheng remained unaware of this. Suddenly, Huo Nu said to Huang Sheng, "Your family circumstances are truly too impoverished. Now I have a remedy, but I do not know if you will follow it." Huang Sheng asked what the plan was, and Huo Nu said, "I have followed you for many years but cannot bear you children—this is a matter without resolution. Though I am plain, I am fortunately not yet too old. If someone is willing to offer a thousand taels of silver, you could sell me, and then you would have both a wife and property. What do you think of this plan?" Huang Sheng was greatly startled and did not understand why she spoke such words. Huo Nu smiled and said, "Do not be anxious. There are many beautiful women in the world—who would be willing to pay a thousand gold for me? I am merely speaking a jest to see if anyone would buy me. Whether to sell or not is entirely up to you." Huang Sheng was unwilling to do this. Huo Nu then spoke these words to the boatman's wife, who looked at Huang Sheng, and he casually agreed. The boatman's wife went out for a while and returned, saying, "The son of a merchant on the neighboring boat is willing to offer eight hundred taels." Huang Sheng deliberately shook his head to make it difficult. Soon, the boatman's wife returned, saying the other party agreed to his demand of a thousand taels and asked him to go to the other boat immediately to collect the money and hand over the person. Huang Sheng smiled faintly. Huo Nu said to the boatman's wife, "Tell him to wait a moment; let me instruct Huang Lang, and then he may go." Huo Nu said to Huang Sheng, "I have served you daily as a body worth a thousand gold—now do you understand?" Huang Sheng asked, "What words can I use to dismiss him?" Huo Nu said, "Please go at once to sign the document; whether I go or not is up to me." Huang Sheng did not go. Huo Nu urged him to go quickly, and Huang Sheng, having no choice, went to the boat to meet the merchant's son. The merchant's son immediately counted out the silver and handed it over. Huang Sheng had the silver wrapped and sealed, marked it, and said to the merchant's son, "Because I am so poor, I have come to this point, abruptly severing our marital bond. If my wife resolutely refuses to go with you, the silver will still be returned in full." As soon as Huang Sheng had transported the silver back to his own boat, Huo Nu had already followed the boatman's wife from the stern onto the merchant's son's boat. She looked back at Huang Sheng from afar and bid him farewell, showing no sign of reluctance or attachment. Huang Sheng was so startled that his soul flew beyond the heavens, and he sobbed, unable to speak. Soon, the merchant's boat cast off its moorings and sped away like an arrow. Huang Sheng wailed loudly, wanting to chase after the merchant's boat. The boatman refused, and they sailed southward. In an instant, they reached Zhenjiang. The boatman unloaded the luggage ashore and then sailed away. Huang Sheng sat gloomily guarding the luggage, not knowing where to go, gazing at the surging river as if a thousand arrows pierced his heart. As he was covering his face and weeping, he suddenly heard a soft voice calling, "Huang Lang." Startled, he looked around and saw Huo Nu already on the path ahead. Overjoyed, Huang Sheng shouldered his luggage and caught up with her, asking, "How did you come so quickly?" Huo Nu smiled and said, "If I had delayed any longer, you would have grown suspicious." Huang Sheng suspected that Huo Nu was no ordinary person and repeatedly pressed her for the truth. Huo Nu smiled and said, "All my life, I have made the miserly break their fortunes and deceived those with wicked intentions. If I had told you my true plan, you would surely not have agreed—how else could we have obtained a thousand taels of silver? Now that our purse is full and the lost one has returned, you should be content—why press further?" So she hired someone to carry the luggage, and they went together toward the Huo family home.
Upon arriving inside the Water Gate, there stood a house facing south, and Lady Huo led Scholar Huang straight inside. In a moment, men and women, old and young, came out to greet them, all saying, "Master Huang has arrived." Huang entered and paid his respects to his father-in-law and mother-in-law. Two young men bowed to Huang and exchanged greetings; after sitting down to converse, these were Lady Huo's brothers, the eldest and the third. At the welcoming banquet, there were not many dishes, only four large jade platters set upon the square table, which sufficed to fill it. Chicken, crab, goose, and fish were all sliced and then reassembled to appear whole. The eldest and third brothers drank from large bowls, speaking with bold and unrestrained manner. After the meal, they were led into another courtyard, where the couple was allowed to dwell together. The bedding and pillows on the bed were soft and smooth, and the bed itself was made of leather instead of palm rattan. Each day, maids and serving women brought three meals, and Lady Huo sometimes did not leave the room for an entire day. Huang, living in the secluded courtyard, felt somewhat bored and repeatedly expressed a desire to return home, but Lady Huo always urged him to stay. One day, Lady Huo said to Huang, "Now, for your sake, I wish to purchase a woman for you, so that you may have a son to carry on your lineage. But buying a concubine or maid is too costly; you may pretend to be my elder brother, and let my father arrange a match for you. It will not be difficult to find a daughter from a good family." Huang disagreed with this plan, but Lady Huo would not listen. There was a certain Graduate Zhang, whose daughter had recently been widowed; they agreed on a betrothal price of one hundred taels of silver, and Lady Huo forced Huang to marry her. The new bride, whose pet name was Amei, was quite beautiful. Lady Huo called her "sister-in-law," and though Huang felt ill at ease, Lady Huo remained perfectly composed. One day, Lady Huo said to Huang, "I shall go with my elder sister to visit our aunt in the Southern Sea; we will return in a month or so. Please stay here peacefully with your wife." Having said this, she departed.
Scholar Huang and Amei lived alone in a small courtyard, and the maidservants brought them meals at the appointed times, which were also quite sumptuous. Yet ever since Amei had entered the household, not a single person had been seen coming to their chamber. Each morning, Amei would go to pay her respects to her mother-in-law, exchange a few words, and then withdraw; the sisters-in-law, standing nearby, would merely smile when they met her gaze. Even if Amei lingered there a little longer, there was scarcely any display of warmth. The same was true when Scholar Huang visited his father-in-law. Occasionally, when he happened upon Amei's brothers engaged in conversation, the moment he approached, they would all fall silent. Scholar Huang was greatly perplexed but knew not to whom he might confide his troubles. Amei, perceiving this, asked him, "Since you are brothers with them, why have you been like a stranger these past month or more?" Scholar Huang, caught off guard and unable to answer, stammered, "I have lived abroad for ten years, and have only just returned." Amei pressed further, inquiring about the family background of his parents and the native places of his sisters-in-law; Scholar Huang could not reply and was deeply embarrassed, realizing he could no longer conceal the truth, so he confessed everything to Amei. Amei wept and said, "Though my family is poor, we have never stooped to being a concubine; no wonder the sisters-in-law look down on me so!" Scholar Huang, trembling with fear and at a loss, knelt on the ground, submitting to whatever punishment Amei might decree. Amei ceased her tears, raised him up, and asked what other plans he had. Scholar Huang replied, "What other plans dare I have? There is but one course: you should return alone to your parents' home." Amei said, "Since I have already married you, how could my heart bear to leave you? Though she came before you, it was an elopement; I, though later, was wed through proper rites and matchmaking. Better to wait until she returns, and then ask her, since she devised this scheme, how she intends to arrange for me?"
After several more months had passed, Huo Nu still had not returned. One night, Huang heard the sounds of guests drinking and laughing in the guest chamber. He stole a look and saw two men in military garb seated in the places of honor; one was wrapped in a leopard skin, imposing and majestic like a celestial deity, while the one on the east side wore a helmet made of tiger's head fur, with his forehead nestled in the tiger's mouth, and the tiger's nose and ears were all visible. Huang, startled, returned to his room and told A Mei of what he had seen, but they could not fathom what manner of men Huo and his son truly were. The couple, both suspicious and fearful, discussed renting a house and moving elsewhere, yet they feared arousing the Huo family's suspicions. Huang said to A Mei, "To tell you the truth, even if the one who went to the South Sea returns, these matters are already settled, and I cannot remain here. Now I wish to take you with me, but I fear your father may object. Let us part for a time; within two years I shall return. If you can wait for me, do so; if you wish to marry another, that is your decision." A Mei wanted to tell her parents and leave with Huang, but he would not agree. A Mei, weeping profusely, made Huang swear an oath, then bid him farewell and returned to her parents' home. Huang entered to take his leave of Huo's parents, but the Huo brothers had all gone out; Huo the father urged Huang to stay until their return, but Huang would not listen and set off at once. Once aboard the boat, Huang was deeply sorrowful, as if his soul had fled. At Guazhou, he turned back and suddenly saw a sailboat speeding toward him; as it drew near, he saw Huo Dalang seated at the prow, hand on his sword. Dalang called out from afar, "You wish to hasten home—why not consult with us? You left your wife here, asking her to wait two or three years—who can endure that?" As he spoke, the boat drew alongside, and A Mei emerged from within; Dalang helped her aboard Huang's vessel, then leaped back to his own boat and returned. It turned out that when A Mei had gone home and was weeping to her parents, Huo Dalang suddenly arrived with a carriage and horses, forced A Mei into the carriage with his sword, and drove off with great haste. A Mei's family was so terrified they dared not breathe, and no one dared to question or stop him. After A Mei recounted all this, Huang did not understand what had happened, but he was overjoyed to have her back, and so he set sail for home.
Upon arriving home, Huang Sheng used the silver to engage in trade and soon lived in considerable comfort. Amei often missed her parents and wished for Huang Sheng to visit them, but feared that Huo Nu might accompany him, leading to disputes over the status of wife and concubine. Not long after, Amei's father, Old Zhang, came to call. Seeing Huang Sheng's house neat and clean, he was quite pleased and said to Amei, "After you left, I went to inquire at the Huo family home, but found the door locked and the landlord gone without a trace; for half a year, there was no news at all. Your mother wept day and night, saying you had been abducted by some scoundrel and were lost to us. Now, thankfully, all is well, is it not?" Huang Sheng told Old Zhang the truth, and everyone surmised that the Huo family were divine beings. Later, Amei gave birth to a son, whom they named Xianci. When Xianci reached his teens, Amei sent him to Zhenjiang. On the way, he stopped at an inn in the Yangzhou region, and while his attendants were out, a woman entered, took his hand, led him into another room, lowered the curtain, and sat him on her lap. Smiling, she asked his name, and he told her. She said, "What is the meaning of this name?" He replied, "I do not know." She said, "When you return, ask your father, and you will understand." She then combed his hair, took a flower from her own head and placed it in his, drew a gold bracelet from her wrist and put it on his, and slipped some gold into his sleeve, saying, "Take this to buy books and study." Xianci asked who she was, and she said, "Do you not know you have another mother? Tell your father that Zhu Daxing has died without a coffin and must be helped; do not forget this." When the old servant returned to the inn and found his young master missing, he searched the other rooms and heard him speaking with someone. Peeping in, he saw it was his master's former wife. The servant coughed softly outside the curtain, intending to enter and speak, but Huo Nu pushed Xianci onto the bed and vanished in a blur. When the innkeeper was asked, he knew nothing of it. A few days later, Xianci returned from Zhenjiang and told Huang Sheng of the encounter, showing him the gifts from Huo Nu. Huang Sheng sighed deeply. He then went to inquire about Zhu Daxing and found that he had been dead for only three days, his corpse still exposed and unburied. Huang Sheng gave him a lavish funeral.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: Was this woman perhaps an immortal? She changed three husbands, which cannot be deemed chaste, yet she caused misers to lose their wealth and lechers to squander their fortunes—surely she was not a woman without cunning. But since she had already made them lose their wealth and squander their fortunes, there was no need to pity them further; the bones of those greedy, lustful misers, cast into ditches and gullies, what regret could there be?
Commentary
This tale recounts the story of a mysterious woman surnamed Huo, who would break the fortunes of the miserly and deceive the wicked.
A woman of the Huo family first became acquainted with the miserly Zhu Daxing, squandering his wealth in reckless extravagance, then found a profligate man named He, with whom she indulged in the utmost luxury and dissipation. Yet in the end, she voluntarily went to the impoverished Huang's home, personally enduring the hardships of domestic labor, toiling even more diligently than his former wife. While journeying with Huang to visit her family, she cunningly swindled a wealthy merchant's son, who was infatuated with her beauty, out of a large sum of money, which she gave to Huang. During her stay at her natal home, she also tricked Zhang Gongshi's daughter, Amei, into marrying Huang, and then vanished like a drifting cloud.
Huo Nu, relying on her beauty and passion, acted as a chivalrous figure, breaking through stinginess and subduing wickedness with strange and mysterious deeds. Though she carried out justice on behalf of heaven, her actions bore the flavor of a mere tool or symbol. In terms of structure, this tale shows some coherence, and the first half is written with tightness and flow, but the latter half becomes sluggish. The critic Feng Zhenluan, after reading the lengthy passage where Huo Nu declares she will go to the South Sea, criticized, "This narrative is disjointed, having no connection to the preceding or following veins," which is a very insightful observation.