The Dragon King took his leave, departed Chang'an, and returned to his water palace. The great and small water gods greeted him, asking, "How did Your Majesty's visit to the fortune teller go?" The Dragon King replied, "Yes, yes, yes! But it was a smooth-talking fortune teller. I asked him when it would rain, and he said it would rain tomorrow; I asked him the exact time and the amount of rain, and he said the clouds would gather at Chen hour (7-9 AM), thunder would rumble at Si hour (9-11 AM), rain would fall at Wu hour (11 AM-1 PM), and the rain would stop at Wei hour (1-3 PM), yielding three feet, three inches, and forty-eight drops of water. I made a bet with him: if it was as he predicted, I would give him fifty taels of silver; if it was slightly different, I would smash his shop, kick him out, and forbid him from misleading the people of Chang'an." The water creatures laughed, saying, "Your Majesty is the Grand Administrator of the Eight Rivers, the Great Dragon God in charge of rain. Only Your Majesty knows whether it will rain or not. How dare he spout such nonsense? That fortune teller must have lost, he must have lost!"
At this moment, the dragon princes and grandsons, along with the fish, carp, and crab warriors, were laughing and discussing this matter when a voice from mid-air called out, "Jing River Dragon King, receive the decree!" Everyone looked up and saw a golden-clad warrior, holding the Jade Emperor's edict, descending directly upon the water palace. The Dragon King, startled, straightened his clothes, burned incense, and accepted the decree. The golden-clad warrior returned to the sky. The Dragon King thanked him and opened the seal. It read: "Imperial decree commands the commanders of the eight rivers to command thunder and lightning; tomorrow, bestow rain to universally benefit Chang'an City." The time and date on the decree were exactly as the fortune teller had predicted, terrifying the Dragon King to the point of utter panic. After a short while, he awoke and said to the aquatic creatures, "There is such a spiritual being in the mortal world, truly capable of understanding heaven and earth, no less than him!" The shad strategist replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. What difficulty is there in defeating him? I have a small plan that will surely silence that scoundrel." The Dragon King asked for the plan, and the strategist said, "If the rain is delayed by a little, and the amount is slightly less, then even if that scoundrel's divination is inaccurate, we might still lose. Then we can simply smash his signboard and drive him away. What difficulty is there in that?" The Dragon King followed his advice and was indeed not worried.
The next day, he summoned the Wind God, Thunder God, Cloud Boy, and Lightning Goddess, directing them to the heavens above Chang'an. He waited until the hour of Si (9-11 AM) to spread the clouds, at noon thundered, at 1-3 PM rained, and by 3-5 PM the rain stopped, but the total amount of rain was only three feet and forty points. He had altered the hour by three inches and eight points, and after the rain, he sent his generals back to their camp. He then descended from the clouds, transformed into a white-robed scholar, and stormed into Yuan Shoucheng's fortune-telling shop on the main street inside the West Gate. Without a word, he smashed Yuan's signboard, writing brush, inkstone, and other items to pieces. The fortune teller sat in his chair, completely unmoved. The Dragon King then swung the door panel, striking and cursing, "You fickle sorcerer who speaks of fortune and misfortune, you scoundrel who deceives the masses! Your divination is inaccurate, and your words are wildly absurd! You said the time and amount of rain today were completely wrong, yet you sit so high and mighty. Get out of here, or I'll spare your life!" Shoucheng remained completely fearless, looking up at the sky and coldly laughing, "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid! I'm not guilty of a capital offense, but you are! It's easy to deceive others, but hard to deceive me. I recognize you; you are not a scholar, but the Dragon King of the Jing River. You have disobeyed the Jade Emperor's decree, changed the time, and altered the amount of rain, violating heavenly laws. You are on the Dragon-Slaying Platform, where you will likely face a fatal blow, yet you still dare to curse me here?" The Dragon King, upon hearing this... Terrified and terrified, the dragon hastily dropped the door panel, straightened its clothes, and knelt before the master, saying, "Master, please forgive me. My words were merely a joke; who knew they would become so real, truly violating the heavenly rules? What can I do? I beg you, master, to save me! Otherwise, I will die rather than let you go." Shoucheng said, "I cannot save you, but I will show you a way to be reborn." The dragon said, "I beg for your guidance." The master said, "Tomorrow at noon, you must go to the official Wei Zheng to be executed. If you truly wish to save your life, you must quickly go and plead with the current Emperor Taizong of Tang. Wei Zheng is the prime minister under the Tang Emperor; if you can gain his favor, you will be safe." Upon hearing this, the dragon bowed and left in tears. Before he knew it, the sun had set in the west, and the moon shone brightly. Thus, one could see—smoke condensing on the purple mountains, crows returning wearily, travelers seeking lodging at inns. New geese roosted on the sandy shore, the Milky Way appeared. The night watchman's drum sounded, the lamplight of the lonely village flickered without flame. A gentle breeze stirs the incense smoke in the quiet temple; in my butterfly dream, the person is nowhere to be seen. The moon shifts, casting flower shadows on the railing; starlight is scattered. The water clock drips its water, and before I know it, the night is half over.
The Dragon King of the Jing River did not return to his underwater palace, but remained in the air until around midnight. He then dispersed his clouds and mist, and went directly to the palace gates. At that moment, Emperor Taizong was dreaming of walking outside the palace gates, strolling under the moonlight and amidst the flowers, when suddenly the Dragon King transformed into a human and knelt before him, crying out, "Your Majesty, save me! Save me!" Emperor Taizong said, "Who are you? I will save you." The Dragon King replied, "Your Majesty is a true dragon, and I am a karmic dragon. I have violated the heavenly laws and am to be executed by Your Majesty's virtuous minister, the official Wei Zheng. Therefore, I have come to beg Your Majesty to save me!" Emperor Taizong said, "Since it is Wei Zheng who is to execute me, I can save you. Go forth with peace of mind." The Dragon King was overjoyed, bowed in gratitude, and departed.
After Emperor Taizong awoke from his dream, the thought lingered in his mind. It was already three o'clock in the morning when he held court, gathering two groups of civil and military officials.
After the officials finished their court greetings, they each took their assigned positions. The Tang Emperor, with his sharp, discerning eyes, examined them one by one. Among the civil officials were Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xu Shibian, Xu Jingzong, and Wang Gui, while among the military officials were Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Yin Kaishan, Cheng Yaojin, Liu Hongji, Hu Jingde, and Qin Shubao—each dignified and imposing. However, Prime Minister Wei Zheng was nowhere to be seen. The Tang Emperor summoned Xu Shibian to the court and said, “Last night I had a strange dream. In it, a man bowed before me, claiming to be the Dragon King of the Jing River, who had violated heavenly laws. This man was to be executed by the official Wei Zheng, but he begged me to save him, and I promised. Today, Wei Zheng is nowhere to be seen before the court. Why is this?” Xu Shibian replied, “This dream has come true. Wei Zheng will come to court soon. Your Majesty should not let him leave. After this day, the dragon in the dream can be saved.” The Tang Emperor was overjoyed and immediately issued an edict, ordering the imperial guards to summon Wei Zheng to court.
却说魏征丞相在府，夜观乾象，正?宝香，只闻得九霄鹤唳，却是天差仙使，捧玉帝金旨一道，着他午时三刻，梦斩泾河老龙。这丞相谢了天恩，斋戒沐浴，在府中试慧剑，运元神，故此不曾入朝。一见当驾官赍旨来宣，惶惧无任；又不敢违迟君命，只得急急整衣束带，同旨入朝，在御前叩头请罪。唐王出旨道：“赦卿无罪。”那时诸臣尚未退朝，至此，却命卷帘散朝，独留魏征，宣上金銮，召入便殿，先议论安邦之策，定国之谋。将近巳末午初时候，却命宫人取过大棋来，“朕与贤卿对弈一局。”众嫔妃随取棋枰，铺设御案。魏征谢了恩，即与唐王对弈。
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