It was late spring, a gentle breeze rustling the willows, and fine rain dotting the flowers. Guangrui decided to return home and greeted his mother, Zhang, with his wife. Zhang said, "Congratulations, my son, on your return from your wedding." Guangrui replied, "I am honored by your blessing, Mother, that I have achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations and was granted the honor of being paraded through the streets. Passing by the Prime Minister Yin's residence, I was fortunate enough to be chosen by the Prime Minister to be his son-in-law. The court has appointed me as the Prefect of Jiangzhou, and I have come to fetch you, Mother, to take up my post." Zhang was overjoyed and began preparing for their journey. After several days on the road, they arrived at Liu Xiaoer's inn at Wanhua Inn. Suddenly, Zhang fell ill and told Guangrui, "I am feeling unwell; I will rest at the inn for two days before continuing my journey." Guangrui obeyed. The next morning, Guangrui saw a man selling a golden carp in front of the shop. He bought it with a string of cash, intending to cook it for his mother. He noticed the carp's gleaming, pierced eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "I've heard that fish with pierced eyes are no ordinary creatures!" He then asked the fisherman, "Where did you catch this fish?" The fisherman replied, "It came from the Hongjiang River, fifteen li from the prefecture." Guangrui released the fish into the Hongjiang River. Returning to the shop, he told his mother, Zhang, about this. Zhang said, "Releasing fish is a good deed; I'm very happy." Guangrui said, "I've been staying at this shop for three days. The deadline is urgent, and I intend to set off tomorrow. I wonder if Mother is feeling well?" Zhang said, "I'm not feeling well, and the road is hot now; I'm afraid it will worsen my condition. You can rent a room here for me to stay temporarily. Give me some travel money here, and you two can go to your posts first and come back to fetch me when the weather cools down in autumn." Guangrui discussed it with his wife, rented a room, gave his mother travel money, and then bid farewell to his mother and departed.
The journey was arduous, requiring them to travel by day and rest by night, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Hongjiang ferry. There, they saw Liu Hong and Li Biao, two boatmen, rowing to meet them. It seemed Guangrui was destined for this calamity in his past life, running into these nemesis. Guangrui ordered his servant to carry their luggage onto the boat. As the couple boarded, Liu Hong opened his eyes and saw Miss Yin's face, as round as the full moon, her eyes like autumn waves, her cherry lips, and her slender waist—truly a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, a beauty that could shame the moon and flowers. Suddenly, he was filled with lustful desires. He and Li Biao plotted to row the boat to a deserted place, waiting until the dead of night. They first killed the servant, then beat Guangrui to death, and pushed their bodies into the water. Seeing that she had killed her husband, Miss Yin also tried to drown herself. Liu Hong grabbed her, saying, "If you submit to me, all will be well; if you don't, I'll cut you off completely!" Miss Yin, having no other choice, had to temporarily agree and submit to Liu Hong. The thief ferried the boat to the south bank, entrusted it to Li Biao for his care, and then, dressed in his official robes and carrying his official credentials, went with the young lady to take up his post in Jiangzhou.
Meanwhile, the body of the servant boy killed by Liu Hong floated away with the current, but Chen Guangrui's body remained motionless at the bottom. A sea yaksha patrolling the Hongjiang Estuary saw this and rushed to report to the Dragon Palace. Just then, the Dragon King was holding his court. The yaksha reported, "Today, someone at the Hongjiang Estuary beat a scholar to death and threw his body to the bottom of the water." The Dragon King ordered the body to be brought before him and examined it carefully. He said, "This man is my benefactor who saved me. How could he have been murdered? As the saying goes, kindness should be repaid with kindness. Today, I must save his life to repay the kindness I showed him." He immediately wrote a petition and sent the yaksha directly to the City God and Earth God of Hongzhou to retrieve the scholar's soul and save his life. The City God and Earth God then ordered their little devils to deliver Chen Guangrui's soul to the yaksha. The yaksha took the soul to the Crystal Palace and reported to the Dragon King. The Dragon King asked, "Scholar, what is your name? Where are you from? Why have you come here and been killed?" Guangrui bowed and said, "I am Chen E, courtesy name Guangrui, from Hongnong County, Haizhou. I have been the top scholar in the imperial examination and have been appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. I was traveling with my wife to take up my post when we boarded a boat at the riverbank. However, the boatman Liu Hong coveted my wife and killed me, throwing my body away. I beg Your Majesty to save me!" Upon hearing this, the Dragon King said, "So that's how it is, sir. The golden carp you released earlier was me. You are my savior. Now that you are in trouble, how could I not help you?" He then placed Guangrui's body against a wall, placing a youth-preserving pearl in his mouth to prevent it from being damaged, so that he could return to his soul and take revenge in the future. He added, "Your true soul will now temporarily serve as a commander in my underwater palace." Guangrui kowtowed and thanked him. The Dragon King then hosted a banquet in his honor.
What happened after that is not mentioned. This Dragon King lived in the Jing River and was called the "Jing River Dragon King". One day, fish and shrimp soldiers came to report that there was a fortune teller in Chang'an City whose divination was always accurate. However, he helped a fisherman and wanted to harm the dragon's son and grandson.
The Dragon King, being of noble birth, could not swallow this insult. So he sought trouble with the diviner.
The Dragon King obeyed the request, discarding his precious sword and ceasing to summon clouds and rain. He stepped ashore, transformed himself into a white-robed scholar—truly—imposing and majestic, towering above the mountains. His gait was dignified and orderly. His speech followed the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and his manners were in accordance with the Zhou dynasty. He wore a jade-colored silk robe with bat motifs and a carefree headscarf.
He set off, his steps light and swift, arriving at the main street of the west gate of Chang'an City. There he saw a crowd, jostling and noisy, with one person loudly proclaiming, "Those born in the Year of the Dragon are incompatible with those born in the Year of the Tiger. Although the Tiger, Dragon, Snake, and Pig are considered auspicious, the danger lies in the day's clash with the year's ruling animal." The Dragon King, hearing this, knew it was a fortune-telling place. He stepped forward, parted the crowd, and peered inside. There, he saw—walls adorned with jewels, the hall filled with exquisite embroidery. Incense burned continuously in the precious duck-shaped burner, and water in the porcelain vase was crystal clear. On either side were paintings by Wang Wei, and above hung a figure of Guiguzi. A Duanxi inkstone, its ink gleaming with gold smoke, complemented a large, frosty-haired brush; the Fire Pearl Forest, Guo Pu's divination, meticulously matched the new classics of governance. He was well-versed in the Six Lines of Divination and proficient in the Eight Trigrams. He knew the heavens and earth, and was adept at understanding the spirits and deities. His neck held the noon arrangement, his mind filled with the stars and constellations. Truly, he viewed the future and the past as clearly as a mirror; he saw the rise and fall of dynasties as divinely discernible. Knowing misfortune, he can foretell good fortune; predicting death, he can speak of life. His words flow like a whirlwind, his writing astounds even ghosts and gods. His signboard bears his name: Master Yuan Shoucheng, the diviner.
Who was this man? It was none other than Yuan Shoucheng, the uncle of Yuan Tiangang, the current Director of the Imperial Observatory. The man was indeed of extraordinary appearance and handsome bearing, renowned throughout the land, his skills unparalleled in Chang'an. The Dragon King entered and met with the man. After the formalities, the Dragon King was invited to sit, and a servant offered tea. The man asked, "What brings you here?" The Dragon King replied, "I wish to divine the weather." The man immediately revealed a divination slip from his sleeve, saying, "Clouds obscure the mountaintops, mist shrouds the treetops. If you wish to divine rain, it will surely fall tomorrow." The Dragon King asked, "When will it rain tomorrow? How much rain will fall?" The man replied, "Tomorrow, clouds will gather at Chen hour (7-9 AM), thunder will rumble at Si hour (9-11 AM), rain will fall at Wu hour (11 AM-1 PM), and the rain will cease at Wei hour (1-3 PM), totaling three feet, three inches, and forty-eight points of water." The Dragon King laughed and said, “This is no joke. If it rains tomorrow, I will give you fifty taels of silver as a reward, according to the time and number you predicted. If it doesn’t rain, or if it doesn’t rain according to the time and number, I will tell you the truth: I will definitely destroy your shop, tear down your signboard, and drive you out of Chang’an immediately, so you will not be allowed to deceive people here!” The scholar happily replied, “I will certainly grant your request. Please, please, I will meet you after the rain tomorrow.”
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