Original Text
Minister Zhao was a native of Wuling in Huguang, who had once served as the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince before retiring to his home. One day, a young man waited at his gate, requesting to be employed as a steward of correspondence. Zhao summoned him inside and found him refined and elegant in appearance. When asked his name, he replied that he was called Lu Yaguan and would accept no salary. Zhao retained him, and Lu proved to be far more intelligent than the ordinary servants. In drafting letters and memorials, he wrote with effortless grace, his words always exquisite and skillful. When Zhao played chess with guests, Lu would cast a single glance and, with a mere hint, secure victory. Thus, Zhao grew increasingly fond of him and treated him with special favor.
Zhao Gong's servants, seeing that Lu Yaguan was favored by their master, jokingly urged him to treat them to a feast. Lu Yaguan agreed and asked, "How many will be attending?" Just then, the stewards of Zhao Gong's villa arrived, numbering about thirty, and the company counted all present, intending to put Lu Yaguan to the test. Lu Yaguan said, "This is quite easy. But with so many guests, it cannot be arranged hastily, so let us go to a restaurant." He then invited all the guests to a tavern facing the street, where they took their seats. As they were about to drink, a man pressed down on the wine jug and stood up, saying, "Gentlemen, do not drink yet. May I ask who is hosting today? The money should be placed on the table first, so that we may feast and drink freely. Otherwise, if we spend several thousand coins and then scatter after eating, to whom shall we look for payment?" All eyes turned to Lu Yaguan. Lu Yaguan smiled and said, "Do you think I have no money? I do have money." He then rose, took a lump of dough the size of a fist from a basin, pinched it into pieces, and threw them onto the table. As he threw, each piece turned into a small mouse, scurrying all over the table. Lu Yaguan casually caught one, tore it open with a squeak, and found a small piece of silver in its belly. He caught another, and there was silver as well. In an instant, the mice were gone, and the table was covered with bits of silver. Lu Yaguan said to the company, "Is this not enough for the wine?" The guests, amazed, indulged in eating and drinking heartily. After the meal, the innkeeper demanded over three taels of silver. When the company weighed the silver on the table, it exactly matched the amount. They then asked the innkeeper for a small piece of leftover silver, took it home, and reported the strange event to Zhao Gong. Zhao Gong asked to see the silver, but when they reached into their pockets, it was gone. When they returned to inquire with the innkeeper, all the silver had turned into caltrops. The servant reported this to Zhao Gong, who asked Lu Yaguan what had happened. Lu Yaguan said, "My friends pressed me to treat them, but I had no money in my pocket. In my youth, I learned some tricks, so I gave it a try." The company then insisted he repay the innkeeper for the wine. Lu Yaguan said, "I am not one to freeload on others' food and drink. In the wheat straw of a certain village, if you winnow it again, you can get two piculs of wheat, enough to repay the wine bill, with some left over." He then begged someone to go with him. Just then, a steward from that village was returning, and the two went together. When they arrived, several pecks of cleanly winnowed wheat were already piled in the center of the threshing floor. The company thus found Lu Yaguan even more miraculous.
One day, Zhao Gong attended a banquet at a friend's house and saw a lush orchid in the hall, which he greatly admired, and could not stop praising it even after returning home. Lu Yaguan said, "If you truly love this orchid, obtaining it is not difficult." Zhao Gong did not believe him. The next morning at dawn, he went to his study and suddenly smelled a rich fragrance of orchids. Upon looking, he saw a pot of orchids with the same number of branches and leaves as the one he had seen at his friend's house. Suspecting it was stolen, he interrogated Lu Yaguan. Lu Yaguan replied, "The orchids I keep at home number no less than a thousand; why would I need to steal?" Zhao Gong remained unconvinced. Just then, Zhao Gong's friend arrived and, upon seeing the orchid, exclaimed in surprise, "How is it so like my orchid?" Zhao Gong said, "I just bought it and do not know its origin. But when you left your house, was the orchid still there?" The friend said, "I never went to the hall, so I do not know if it was there or not. But how did it come here?" Zhao Gong looked at Lu Yaguan. Lu Yaguan said, "This is not hard to distinguish. Your flowerpot is broken, with a mended spot; this one has none." Upon careful inspection, it was indeed so. That night, Lu Yaguan said to Zhao Gong, "I once told you that I have many flowers at home. Tonight, I would trouble you to come and enjoy them under the moonlight. But no one else may follow, except A Ya." A Ya was a young servant in Zhao Gong's household at the Imperial Academy. Zhao Gong agreed to go. After leaving the house, four men were already waiting by the roadside with a sedan chair. Zhao Gong got in, and the bearers moved as swiftly as galloping horses. In a short while, they entered the mountains, where a strange fragrance pierced the bones. They arrived at a cave dwelling, with towers and chambers so splendid they were unlike anything in the mortal world. Everywhere there were rare flowers and strange stones, exquisite potted landscapes, and precious blooms dazzling to the eye and fragrant to the nose. Among them, orchids alone numbered several dozen pots, all in full bloom. After viewing everything, he returned home by sedan chair just as he had come.
Lu Yaguan had followed Lord Zhao for over ten years. Later, Lord Zhao passed away peacefully without illness, and Lu Yaguan, along with A Ya, both departed from the Zhao household, vanishing to an unknown destination.
Commentary
"Lu Yaguan" is a tale of immortal magic. Unlike previous stories where the practitioners of magic were often Taoist priests or elderly men, this one features a refined young man who specializes in literary work. The narrative is composed of two major episodes: the first involves hosting a drinking feast, and the second, admiring orchids. In these episodes, the young man's wondrous magic is displayed: the money for the feast is first conjured from molded dough mice, then compensated with wheat winnowed from chaff. For the orchid viewing, he first presents a pot to Lord Zhao, then invites him under the moonlight to a celestial cave dwelling to admire dozens of orchid pots. The story is not only layered and varied, blending bustling tavern revelry and farmyard winnowing with the refined pleasures of a scholar and moonlit orchid appreciation, like a kaleidoscope rich and colorful, casually drawn from life with a strong sense of everyday charm. Moreover, under Pu Songling's pen, each magical feat is vividly brought to life, as if unfolding before one's eyes.