The poem says:
Parting from you in Wu and Yue,
For years I confront the separation on a jade pillow.
Ascending the platform, I gaze at the deep misty rain,
Turning back, I weep towards the moon on the horizon.
Again:
Late at night, feeling suffocated by the Gate of Halberds,
I meander through the corridor, sleeping alone.
In the boudoir, only hollow memories linger,
As my soul drifts into desolation and my spirit returns to the spring.
Ximen Qing listened to Pan Jinlian's words and had a change of heart. The next day, Lai Wang'er packed his bags and waited for instructions, but by noon there was still no news. Ximen Qing stepped out, called Lai Wang'er over, and said, "I gave it some serious thought last night. You just got back from Hangzhou, and now you have to head to Tokyo; that’s too much for you. Why not let Lai Bao take your place? You can rest at home for a few days, and I will help you find a job tomorrow." Lai Wang'er didn’t dare to object and simply nodded in agreement. Ximen Qing handed over the silver and letter to Lai Bao and Supervisor Wu, and on the eighth day of the third lunar month, they set off for Tokyo.
Lai Wang'er returned to the room, fuming. He was drunk and rambling in the room, even cursing Pan Jinlian and threatening to kill Ximen Qing. Pan Jinlian yelled at him: "You just blurt out whatever's on your mind, watch what you say, walls have ears! When you're drunk, you talk nonsense!" She kicked him to bed. The next day, Lai Wang'er walked to the backyard, ran to Yuxiao's room, and called Ximen Qing out. The two chatted in a quiet spot behind the kitchen wall, while Yuxiao watched the back door for anyone coming. Pan Jinlian grumbled: "What's wrong with you? You clearly agreed to let him go; why did you change your mind? You're so fickle, changing your mind like the wind, you're just a liar! I'll never trust you again!" Ximen Qing smiled and said: "It's not what you think. I originally wanted to let him go, but I was worried that he wasn't familiar with Cai Taishi's mansion in Tokyo, so I sent Lai Bao instead. I kept him here, finding a job for him to do at home." Pan Jinlian asked: "What kind of job did you get him?" Ximen Qing said: "I got him a gig as a manager to run a tavern right outside our door." Pan Jinlian was thrilled to hear this and ran back to the room to fill Lai Wang'er in on everything, just waiting for Ximen Qing to give the green light.
One day, Ximen Qing sat in the front hall and had someone call Li Wan'er over. There were six bags of silver on the table, and he said, "Kid, you’ve worked hard coming back from Hangzhou. I’m worried you might not know the Cai family in Beijing, so I sent Lai Bao instead. Here’s six hundred taels of silver for you to be the manager. Open a restaurant at the door of the house, earn some money every month to send me some money." Li Wan'er hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, accepting the silver. When he returned to the room, he told his wife, "He arranged a business for me, gave me three hundred taels of silver, let me be a manager, and do business by opening a restaurant." His wife replied, "You fool! Don’t blame me for saying that. Take your time. I can’t believe you’re starting a business today! Just behave yourself, and don’t go drinking and talking nonsense again!" Li Wan'er told his wife to stash the silver away, "I’ll go look for some partners on the street!" So he went to the street to look for partners, but he didn’t find anyone suitable until late at night, and he stumbled home drunk. His wife sent him off to bed, and Yuxiao showed up and took him to the backyard.
Lai Wang fell asleep, probably in the early hours of the morning, still half-drunk and dozing when he suddenly heard someone outside the window calling him: "Lai Wang! Aren't you going to get up and see? Your wife has been seduced by a shameless person to the back garden, getting it on! You're sleeping so soundly!" Lai Wang was startled awake and opened his eyes to find his wife was not in the room. Thinking that Xue'e had discovered something and come to tell him, he immediately became furious and shouted, "What the hell is going on in the middle of the night?" He jumped up in a panic, opened the door, and rushed to the garden. Just as he reached the corner door of the side room, a stool suddenly came flying out of the darkness and tripped him, sending him sprawling. He heard a "clang," and a knife fell to the ground. Several young men rushed out, shouting, "Catch the thief!" They all came forward and grabbed Lai Wang. Lai Wang said, "I am Lai Wang, I came in to find my wife, why are you treating me like some kind of criminal?" They ignored his protests and started beating him, dragging him into the hall. The hall was lit up like a Christmas tree, and Ximen Qing was sitting at the top, shouting, "Take him down!" Lai Wang knelt on the ground and pleaded, "I woke up and didn't see my wife, so I came in to look for her, why are you treating me like some kind of criminal?" Lai Xing held up the knife for Ximen Qing to see.
Ximen Qing was furious, cursing, "This little brat is a murderer! I sent you to Hangzhou to do business, gave you three hundred taels of silver, and you sneak in here in the middle of the night to kill me? What do you think you’re doing with that knife?" He ordered his lackeys, "Take him back to the room and bring me my three hundred taels of silver!" The lackeys quickly dragged him back to the room. Huilian was talking to Yuxiao in the backyard, heard the commotion, and hurried into the house. Seeing Laiwang, she burst into tears, saying, "Why don't you just sleep after drinking? Why bother me for no reason? Are you deliberately giving people a reason to catch you?" She opened the box, took out six packets of silver, and brought them into the main room. Ximen Qing opened them under the light; only one packet actually contained silver; the rest were just lead blocks. Ximen Qing was furious, asking, "What's going on? Where did my silver go? Spill it!" Laiwang cried, "Master asked me to do business; how could I dare to embezzle silver?" Ximen Qing said, "You came at me with a knife! The evidence is clear—what’s there to argue about?" So he called Lailixing and forced him to kneel down as a witness, "Did you say you wanted to kill me because I wouldn’t let you do business?" Laiwang just sighed, couldn’t get a word out. Ximen Qing said, "The evidence is clear, lock him up in the back room. Tomorrow, write a complaint and send it to the magistrate!"
Song Huilian's hair was messy, her clothes disheveled. She ran to the hall and knelt in front of Ximen Qing, saying, "Dad, this is all your fault! He came in looking for me; why did you treat him as if he were a thief? I still have your six bags of silver, just as they were. How did it come to this? Even if you want to kill him, you should at least have a reason, right? Why are you doing this to him? Just a beating would have been enough; now where are you sending him?" Seeing her, Ximen Qing's anger subsided a little, and he said, "This isn’t your concern, wife. Just get up. He has been audacious for a long time, threatening me with a knife; you didn't know. Don’t worry, you don’t have to get involved." Huilian stayed kneeling, refusing to get up, and said, "Dad, you’re being so heartless! Please, for my sake, spare him? Even though he was drunk, he didn’t do this." Ximen Qing, feeling trapped, had no choice but to let Lai'an help her back to the room.
The next morning, Ximen Qing wrote a lawsuit, asking Lai Xing to testify and bringing Lai Wang to the criminal court, claiming he was drunk, wielding a knife and committing murder late at night, as well as embezzling money. Just as he was about to leave, Wu Yueniang walked into the front hall and advised Ximen Qing, saying, "He doesn't understand; a good scolding at home is enough. Why take him out and alarm the authorities?" Ximen Qing glared and shouted, "You, being a woman, don’t understand! This kid wants to kill me, and you still want me to spare him!" He completely ignored Yueniang's words and ordered his men to escort Lai Wang to the criminal court. Yueniang, ashamed, retreated and returned to the backyard, saying to the people in Yulou, "This family is now in chaos; I don’t know whose advice they’re following, sending the servant out for no reason. Even if he is a thief, there must be solid evidence. How can they just arrest people like this? What a foolish decision!" Song Huilian knelt on the ground, crying. Yueniang said, "Child, stop crying. Your husband will not face a death sentence. He’s under some kind of spell; he cannot hear what we say, it's all in vain." Yulou said to Huilian, "Your father is angry right now; we can try to talk to him again in a few days. You go back to your room and rest easy."
Laiwang was taken to the court of criminal justice, and Ximen Qing sent Dai'an to deliver one hundred shi of white rice to Xia Tingxian and He Qianhu. After receiving the gifts, the two began their investigation. Laixing handed over the case file, and after reading it, they knew that Laiwang had taken money to do business, was overcome by greed, embezzled the money, and fearing exposure, broke into the backyard late at night with a knife, attempting to kill his master. They were furious and summoned Laiwang to kneel before them in the hall. Laiwang said, "Please, I ask you to investigate! If you let me speak, I will speak; if you don't let me speak, I won't speak." Xia Tingxian said, "You wretch! The evidence is clear, don't try to be clever, confess honestly to avoid punishment." Laiwang revealed how Ximen Qing had someone use blue satin to seduce Song Shi, and now framed and accused him, wanting to take over his wife. Xia Tingxian shouted and commanded his men to strike him, saying, "You wretched servant, betraying your master! Your wife was given to you in marriage by your master, and he even provided you with capital for your business. You have no thought of repaying his kindness, but instead, drunk and late at night, break into the bedroom with a knife. If everyone in the world is like you, how can we manage people!" Laiwang protested his innocence, and Xia Tingxian called Laixing to testify. Laiwang was speechless.
A plan in heaven may not avoid a present disaster. Xia Tingxian ordered his men to bring a stick and beat Laiwang, hitting him twenty times, causing his skin to split and blood to flow. He ordered the jailer to lock him up. Laixing and Dai'an returned home and told Ximen Qing the situation. Ximen Qing was very pleased and instructed the servants at home, "Do not send him bedding or meals. After beating him, don't tell your sister-in-law, just say he wasn't beaten too badly in the yamen, and will be released after a few days." The servants nodded in agreement.
Song Huilian has been moping since taking Liang Wang'er away, crying all day in the house, not eating, not sleeping, and her complexion has turned yellow. Ximen Qing was worried sick and had Yuxiao and Ben Siniang try to talk her out of it, saying, "Don't worry, your dad was just rambling after a few drinks. Just keep him in there for a few days to cool off, and he will be released soon." Huilian was skeptical, so she had the servant Lai'an take food to Liang Wang'er and check on him when he got back. Lai'an also said, "My brother was arrested, he wasn't beaten, he will be back home in a day or two, sister-in-law, just wait with peace of mind." Huilian finally stopped crying, started dressing up every day, and ventured out. When Ximen Qing returned, he knocked on Huilian’s door. Huilian shouted from under the eaves, "There's no one in the room, dad, come in and sit down!" After Ximen Qing entered the room, he talked to Huilian, trying to comfort her, "My dear, don’t you worry, I have already talked to the officials. He wasn't beaten at all, just keep him in there for a few days to let him be obedient, and he will be released soon to continue his business." Huilian hugged Ximen Qing's neck and said, "My dear dad! You must release him as soon as possible. Let him do business or not, this time when he comes out, I’ll make him give up drinking. If you tell him to go east or west, will he dare not listen? If that doesn’t work, just find him a wife and call it quits; I won’t have any relationship with him in the future." Ximen Qing said, "My darling, you are right. Tomorrow I will buy the house opposite the Qiao family, thirteen rooms, for us to live in. Let's move there and be happy." Huilian said, "Okay, I'll listen to you!" After that, the two closed the door. It turned out that Huilian often went without pants in the summer, just wearing two skirts. When Ximen Qing showed up, she lifted her skirt... while munching on a tea cake. The two... Huilian gave Ximen Qing a silver gauze embroidered sachet—filled with pine and vetiver, embroidered with the words "Charming Fragrance, Beautiful Love." Ximen Qing was thrilled, feeling like he could do anything with Huilian by his side, immediately pulling out some silver to buy her some fruit, and repeatedly comforting her, "Don't stress yourself out. Tomorrow I will write to Mr. Xia, and he will be released." After chatting for a bit, Ximen Qing got worried someone might show up, so he quickly left.
Huilian got Ximen Qing's assurance and became a bit smug in front of the maids and other wives. Meng Yulou had long seen this and went to tell Pan Jinlian that Ximen Qing planned to soon release Lai Wang'er and marry another wife for him; he also wanted to buy the house opposite the Qiao family, settle Huilian there, give her three rooms to live in, and provide her with a maid to serve her; he also wanted to comb her hair and adorn her with jewelry. Meng Yulou told Pan Jinlian everything in detail: "Just like us, what a charmer! Big sister also doesn't care!" Pan Jinlian listened, filled with rage, her cheeks flushed even deeper. She said, "Let him do as he pleases? I don't believe it! If that thieving harlot lets Ximen Qing become the seventh husband, I won't say another word today; I'll even write 'Pan' upside down!" Yulou said, "Men are not serious, big sister also doesn't care, what can we do?" Jinlian said, "You’re too weak; what’s the point of living like this? Live a hundred years just to be a pig! If he doesn't listen to me, I'll risk it; I don’t care if I die at his hands!" Yulou laughed, "I'm timid, I dare not provoke him; let's see if you've got what it takes to stand up to him."
In the evening, Ximen Qing sat in the study of the Emerald Pavilion in the garden, about to have Chen Jingji write a letter to Xia Tiexing to bring Wang'er. Jinlian suddenly walked up to him, leaned on the desk, and asked, "What letter are you having Brother Chen write?" Ximen Qing couldn't hide his intentions and replied, "I want to give Wang'er a good beating and then let him go." Jinlian stopped the servant and said, "Don't bring Brother Chen here." She sat next to Ximen Qing and said, "You're just holding onto a man's reputation for no reason. It turns out you're a man who goes with the flow! I have told you but you don't listen; instead, you listen to that scoundrel and his mistress. Even if you treat him like royalty every day, he still loves his man. If you let that servant go, don't think about having this wife again. Give him an excuse, you're making a fool of yourself at home; what kind of image does that project? If you want to treat him as a mistress, the servant will see it; if you want to treat him as a wife, you've spoiled him so much he can't even hold his head up in public! Even if you marry another wife, keeping this wife, if you sit together in the future, will the servant talk back or do something that makes you angry? Will the wife stand up or not when she sees the servant? No matter the order, this alone is embarrassing. If this gets out, not only will the neighbors laugh, but your own family will lose respect for you too. If the top beam is crooked, the bottom one won't be straight either. If you want to do this, it might be better to just get rid of that servant, then you can have his wife without worry." Jinlian persuaded Ximen Qing with a few words, he regretted it, and wrote another letter to Xia Tiexing, asking him to bring Wang'er out within three days and beat him severely, to the point of being unrecognizable. The magistrate and the prison staff all took bribes from Ximen Qing, so they didn't hold back.
There was a man named Yin Zhui, from Xiaoyi County in Shanxi, who was a righteous and kind person. He saw that Ximen Qing wanted to set up Liang Wang'er and take his wife, so he refused to write the documents several times and even confronted the magistrates directly. Yin Zhui's interference delayed the two magistrates for several days. In the end, they had no choice but to publicly lash Yin Zhui forty times and send him back to his hometown in Xuzhou. They confiscated seventeen taels of silver and five packs of lead and tin from Liang Wang'er, letting Ximen Qing's family collect them via Lai Xing'er. They sent a letter to inform Ximen Qing that Liang Wang'er would be escorted that day. The magistrate immediately wrote an official document, had people bring out Liang Wang'er, who was already in a terrible state from the beating, put him in shackles, and prepared to send him to Xuzhou immediately.
Liang Wang'er had been in jail for half a month, penniless, looking extremely unkempt in ragged clothes, with no one to turn to for help. He pitifully begged the two jailers, "Brothers, I have been wronged in this lawsuit, and I have no money on me. I want to give you a little something, please have mercy on me and take me to my master's place. My wife still has my clothes and belongings there, which can be sold to you for your trouble and to cover your travel costs, to thank you for your hard work and expenses and to give me some relief." The two jailers said, "You really don't understand! If your master had put you in here, would he give you your wife and belongings? Got any family or friends? For the sake of our superior, we'll look the other way and take you there, get some money and rice for you, enough for your travel expenses, that's all we expect from you!" Liang Wang'er said, "Brothers, please take me to my master's doorstep first, I'll ask the neighbors to vouch for me and see if they can spare some cash." The two jailers said, "Fine, we will take you there."
Lai Wang first went to the home of Earl Bao, but the Earl was not at home. He then asked his neighbors Jia Renqing and Yi Mianci to go to Ximen Qing's house to help him ask Ximen Qing for his wife's belongings. Ximen Qing did not come out at all, but instead sent five or six servants to drive them away with a beating, forbidding them from loitering at the door. Jia Renqing and Yi Mianci felt utterly humiliated. Ximen Qing's wife, Song Huilian, was inside and was completely unaware of this. Ximen Qing ordered, "If any servant leaks the news, they should receive twenty lashes!" The two jailers then took him to his father-in-law, Song Ren, who was a coffin seller. Lai Wang cried and complained, and Song Ren gave him a couple of silver coins, and the two jailers a small coin and a measure of rice as travel expenses. Weeping as he went, he left Qinghe County in early April and headed to Xuzhou.
It is true:
If one can just keep their foolish life, they'd gladly suffer hunger and hardship for a lifetime.
Lai Wang was escorted to Xuzhou. Meanwhile, Song Huilian waited at home every day for Lai Wang to return. The servants brought her meals, ate outside, and when they returned, she would ask them, and they would say, "Brother has eaten; everything is fine in the jail. Even if he hasn't been released, the magistrate hasn’t been to the yamen lately to deal with any cases; he should be back home in a day or two." Ximen Qing reassured her, saying, "I’ve had someone check; he’ll be out soon." Song Huilian believed him. One day, she overheard someone mention that Lai Wang had been taken out and was at the gate asking for his clothes and belongings, then he was taken away, and she didn't know where. She asked the servants several times, but no one would tell her. Suddenly, she saw Yue An riding back on Ximen Qing's horse, and she hurriedly asked, "Is my brother Wang doing well in jail? When will he come out?" Yue An said, "Sister-in-law, let me tell you, my brother has long been sent to Xuzhou, his hometown." Song Huilian asked what happened, and Yue An said, "He was given forty lashes and sent back to Xuzhou. Don't spread the word; just let me tell you." Upon hearing this, Song Huilian closed the door and cried out loud, "My man! What bad things did you do in their house? You were secretly plotted against and harmed! You served as a servant, yet you couldn't even save a good piece of clothing. Now you have been exiled to a faraway place; this has caused me so much suffering! I don’t even know if you are alive or dead on the road; I feel like I’ve sunk to the bottom of a vat; how can I go on living?" After crying for a while, she tied a long handkerchief to the bedroom door frame and hanged herself.
To her surprise, Wang's wife, Yi Zhangqing, lived in a room connected to hers. She heard her crying for a while in her room, then there was no movement, only the sound of breathing after a while. Knocking on the door elicited no response, which terrified her. She had the servant, Ping'an, pry open the window to get in. She saw Song Huilian wearing clothes, hanging from the door frame. She quickly brought her down, closed the door, and fed her ginger soup. Before long, word spread to everyone in the backyard. Wu Yueniang brought Li Jiaor, Meng Yulou, Ximen Dajie, Li Ping'er, Yuxiao, and Xiaoyu to see her, and Mrs. Ben Si also came. Yi Zhangqing helped her sit down, only choking back her sobs, unable to cry out. Wu Yueniang called her; she lowered her head, spat on the ground, and did not respond. Wu Yueniang said, "It turns out she's a silly child! If you have something to say, why would you want to die?" She then had Yuxiao support her and advised, "Huilian, if you have something on your mind, speak honestly, it's okay." After a long while of questioning, Song Huilian choked for a while, then finally broke down in tears. Wu Yueniang had Yuxiao help her to bed, but she stubbornly refused. After Wu Yueniang and the others tried to comfort her for a while, they eventually left. Only Mrs. Ben Si and Yuxiao remained by her side.
Ximen Qing lifted the curtain and entered, seeing her sitting on the cold ground crying. He told Yuxiao, "Help her onto the bed." Yuxiao said, "Mom asked her to go up just now, but she refused." Ximen Qing replied, "Stubborn child, you're cold on the ground. Tell me what's on your mind—why act so foolish?" Song Hui Lian shook her head and said, "Dad, you're a good person, you kept your good deeds from me! And you call me a child! You're a murderer, always burying people alive and pretending to be innocent! You coax me every day, saying you'll let him out today, and tomorrow you say he'll be released. I thought he could really come out. You sent him away without telling me—how sneaky! You should have some sense of fairness! You believe others, come up with such cruel plans, set traps, and hide it from me. You sent both of them away; what's left for me?" Ximen Qing smiled and said, "Child, it's none of your business. That guy committed a crime, so he was sent away. Don't worry, I have my ways." He then told Yuxiao, "You accompany Mrs. Ben Si to keep her company for the night; I'll have someone bring wine for you to drink." After speaking, he left. Ben Si's wife helped her onto the bed for a while, and Yuxiao tried to persuade her. Ximen Qing bought some snacks and wine from the shop and had Lai An deliver it to Hui Lian, claiming it was from his father. Hui Lian was furious and scolded Lai An for being a bad person, demanding he take it away quickly so she wouldn't drop it. Lai An said, "Sister-in-law, just accept it; if I take it back, his father will beat me." Helpless, Lai An had to leave the items on the table and walk away. Hui Lian was about to drop the wine, but was stopped by Yi Zhang Qing. Ben Si's wife watched Yi Zhang Qing biting his finger. At this time, Ben Si's son ran in to tell his mom that his dad was outside waiting for dinner. Ben Si's wife and Yi Zhang Qing then went out.
They walked to the entrance of Yi Zhangqing's house and saw Ximen Dajie talking to the daughter-in-law Huixiang. Ximen Dajie asked Ben Sisi where she was headed. Ben Sisi said her husband had come back and wanted dinner, so she was just going to check on him and would be back soon. Actually, she just wanted to see Ximen Qing but got caught up in conversation instead. Huixiang asked Ben Sisi what Ximen Qing had said earlier. Ben Sisi smiled and said she didn't expect Ximen Qing's wife to be such a tough cookie; they really are a perfect match! Huixiang said this daughter-in-law is different from the rest; she "inherited" her position from her father-in-law, and no one can compare to her. After saying that, Huixiang took off. Zhangqing urged Ben Sisi to hurry home. Ben Sisi said if she didn't go back, her father-in-law would be angry again.
During the day, Ximen Qing had Ben Sisi and Yi Zhangqing keep him company, and at night he let Yuxiao sleep with him. Ximen Qing tried to persuade Huilian, saying, "You're smart and beautiful, in your prime, and the master likes you—it's fate. Even though you might not measure up to those wealthy families, you're definitely better off than most. Being with the master is way better than being with a servant. Your husband’s gone, so stop being sad; crying will only hurt you! As the saying goes, you just have to take it one day at a time; the whole chastity thing isn't going to apply to you anymore." Huilian listened, still crying nonstop and refusing to eat or drink all day. Yuxiao told Ximen Qing about the situation, and Ximen Qing asked Pan Jinlian to persuade her, but Huilian still refused. Pan Jinlian got mad and said to Ximen Qing, "This shameless woman! She only has her dead husband in her heart. What's the use of talking about the gratitude between husband and wife for a hundred days? How could possibly keep a chaste woman like her from moving on?" Ximen Qing smiled and said, "Don't pay attention to her nonsense. If she was really so chaste, why did she marry Laiwang and not Jiang Cong?"
Ximen Qing summoned all the servants for questioning, wanting to know who informed Laiwang Huilian about this. He threatened that if he discovered the culprit himself, each person would receive thirty lashes. At this time, a young painter knelt down and said that he heard Yue'an talking about this on the road that day. Ximen Qing was furious upon hearing this and immediately sent someone to find Yue'an. Yue'an, sensing trouble, had already hidden in Pan Jinlian's room. While Pan Jinlian was washing her face, the servant cried out and begged her for help. Pan Jinlian scolded him for startling her and demanded to know what trouble he had caused. Yue'an said that Ximen Qing was going to punish him for telling on Huilian and begged Pan Jinlian to save him. Pan Jinlian scolded him for being a coward, then told him to hide in her room and not go out.
Unable to find Yue'an, Ximen Qing shouted in the hall, sending several groups to search Pan Jinlian's room, but they were all scolded away by Pan Jinlian. Finally, Ximen Qing rushed over himself, brandishing a horsewhip to strike Yue'an. Pan Jinlian snatched the whip and threw it on the bed, rebuking Ximen Qing for his shamelessness, stating that Huilian missed her late husband and felt ashamed; that's why she took it out on the servant. What's it to him! Furious, Ximen Qing, Pan Jinlian urged Yue'an to leave quickly, saying she would protect him if Ximen Qing tried to beat him again. Yue'an escaped.
It is said: With both hands, one can break through the path of life and death. Pan Jinlian saw that Ximen Qing was interested in Huilian, so she stirred up trouble by instigating Sun Xue'e to tell Huilian that she had betrayed her about her relationship with Laiwang, causing Laiwang to be beaten. Sun Xue'e believed it and went to argue with Huilian, harshly scolding her and accusing her of being a treacherous servant who seduced the master, leading to her husband's departure. Now, the two women were now completely estranged.
One day, it just so happened to be Li Jiao'er’s birthday, April 18th. Li's mom and sister Li Guijie came to celebrate her birthday. Wu Yue Niang had Li Jiao'er and the other guests drinking in the back hall, while Ximen Qing was not at home as he was attending a banquet at someone else's house. Song Huilian finished her meal and had been sleeping in her room from morning until evening; several people called her, but she did not come out. Xue E couldn’t think of a reason, so she went to her room to wake her up, saying, "Sister-in-law has become a 'Jade Beauty'—why is she so hard to wake up?" Huilian ignored her completely and kept sleeping. Xue E said again, "Sister-in-law, think about your husband Wang! Open your mind! Even if it’s not him, you can’t just die; you still live in Ximen Qing's house!" Upon hearing this, Huilian remembered what Pan Jinlian had said and suddenly flipped over, jumping up and yelling at Xue E, "What are you yelling about? It's all because he made me this way; what are you doing here? I’ll give you a good beating and send you packing! If others don’t say anything, fine, but why do you have to come and bring me down?" Xue E was enraged and shouted, "You lowlife, a whore keeping a man! How dare you insult me!" Huilian retorted, "I’m a wretched woman and a whore, but you’re just a lowly little woman! I’m raising a master, much better than the servant you’re raising! You secretly steal my man and still come to stir up trouble!" This made Xue E furious, and Huilian was caught off guard and slapped hard across the face by Xue E, leaving it bright red. Huilian cried out, "You dare hit me?" and rushed forward, and the two began to fight. Lai Wang's wife, Zhang Qing, hurried over to mediate, pulling Xue E away, but the two continued to hurl insults at each other. Wu Yue Niang came over and scolded, "You have no sense of propriety! It doesn’t matter whether there are people at home, you act like this! When your master gets back, just wait until I tell him!" Only then did Xue E leave. Seeing Huilian's hair all disheveled, Wu Yue Niang said, "Why don’t you quickly comb your hair and go to the back!" Huilian ignored her. After Wu Yue Niang left, Huilian went back to her room, locked the door, and cried her heart out. When it was time to light the lamps, everyone was busy, and the guests in the back yard were still drinking; this poor woman couldn’t take it anymore, found two ropes, tied them to the door frame, and hanged herself, at just twenty-five.
It is:
In this world, beautiful things are not enduring; colorful clouds disperse easily, and glass is fragile. Later, Mrs. Wu saw off Mrs. Li and Miss Li. Passing by Huilian's room, they noticed the door was closed, and there was no sound from inside, which puzzled them. After seeing Mrs. Li and the others off, they came back and knocked on the door, but there was no response. Everyone was in a panic. They quickly sent a servant to climb in through the window and cut the rope to free her. Unfortunately, it was too late; Huilian was already dead. They found her: Her limbs were cold, and the lamp's light was dim. Her fragrant soul had faded, already departed for her homeland; her starry eyes were closed, her body lying on the ground. Uncertain of where her spirit has gone, as if drifting among autumn waters.
Wu Yueniang, seeing that there was no hope of saving her life, panicked and hurriedly sent a servant to ask Xing'er to ride out and bring Ximen Qing back. Snow Girl, afraid that Ximen Qing would return and hold her accountable, ran to the main room, knelt before Wu Yueniang, and begged her to keep this matter a secret. Seeing her so frightened, Wu Yueniang felt a pang of pity and said, "If you were afraid at this time, you should have said fewer words back then." In the evening, Ximen Qing returned, saying that Hui Lian had cried all day because she missed him, and later had an argument with someone else and, in a moment of despair, took her own life. Ximen Qing said, "Such a foolish woman, she was never meant to be happy." He then had his family write a statement to report to County Magistrate Li, saying that Hui Lian had committed suicide out of fear after losing a silver bell while taking care of the silverware during a family gathering. He also gave the magistrate thirty taels of silver. The magistrate, seeing the money, sent a constable and a few coroner's assistants to take a quick look. Ximen Qing personally bought a coffin and arranged the funeral, while Ben Si and Lai Xing'er took the coffin to the Dizang Temple. They gave the crematory staff five coins of silver and added extra firewood. Just as they were preparing for the cremation, unexpectedly, Hui Lian's father, Song Ren, heard the news and rushed over to stop them, saying that his daughter had died under suspicious circumstances and accused Ximen Qing of forcing her: "My daughter, who was innocent, was driven to death by him. I will report this to the authorities; who would dare to burn her body!" The crematory staff were so scared that they all fled. Ben Si and Lai Xing'er had no choice but to leave the coffin behind at the temple and wait for further instructions.
As the saying goes:
The Green Dragon and White Tiger travel together, and fortune and misfortune are entirely uncertain.
