After winning the title of jinshi, (Tran. Note: Jinshi was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination; juren was a successful candidate at the provincial level) Juren Zeng and several others who had passed the examination went for an excursion in the suburbs of the provincial capital.
It was said that a fortune-teller was staying at the Contemplative Priory of Vairocana, so they decided to ride to the monastery to visit the diviner. After entering the house, the visitors greeted the oracle and then sat down. Noticing their conceitedness, the diviner flattered then a little bit. Waving his fan and beaming, Zeng immediately asked:”Do I have the luck to be appointed a high minister in future?” With a serious expression on his face, the diviner predicted that Zeng would hold the office of prime minister for twenty peaceful years. Zeng was overjoyed to hear that and became more blown-up with pride.
Just then, it began to drizzle. Zeng and his companions went to take shelter in the monks’ chamber. Inside, an old monk with deep-set eyes and a high nose was sitting on a rush cushion in mediation. The arrogant monk did not even say hello to the visitors, who lightly raised their hands in greeting and then found seats for themselves. They talked to each other and all congratulated Zeng, as if he were already the prime minister. Big-headed, Zeng told his companions:”When I become prime minister, I will recommend that my classmate Zhang be made governor of the southern provinces; my cousins will be appointed staff officers; and my old housekeeper will be an attache. Then, I will feel quite satisfied.” His remarks brought a round of loud laughter from the group.
Soon, the drizzle outside had grown into a downpour. Zeng felt a bit tired, so he lay down on a couch. Suddenly, two eunuches came forward, carrying in their hands an imperial edict handwritten by the emperor to summon Zeng to the court to offer counsel on state affairs. Zeng was very pleased. He hastily followed the two eunuches to the court. The emperor sat close to the scholar and the two engaged themselves in a cordial conservation. Then, the emperor decreed that Zeng was authorized to handle the dismissal and promotion of all officials at the third grade and below. He also offered the scholar a dragon robe, a jade belt and a thoroughbred horse. Zeng put on the dragon robe, thanked the emperor and withdrew.
Back home, he found his old house had already been replaced by a grand one with painted beams and artistically-carved pillars. He could not figure out how this could happen in a wink. But when he whispered an order while twisting the tip of his whiskers, thunderous cheers came from his servants immediately. Soon, streams of officials, all lowering their heads and looking modest and courteous, came to offer imported presents to Zeng. When one of the six high ministers came, he hastily rushed out to greet them. When other ministers came, he bowed and exchanged a few words with them. But when officials of lower rank came, he greeted them with nothing more than a nod. The governor of Shanxi offered Zeng ten female singers, all attractive girls. Among them, Niaoniao and Xianxian were the most beautiful and especially liked by Zeng. When resting at home, he would watch the two girls singing and dancing all day long.
One day, Zeng recalled that Wang Ziliang, a gentleman living in the same county, had once helped him out when he was still a nobody. Now that he was prime minister, he could help Wang to advance in officialdom. The next day, Zeng sent up a memorial recommending Wang as an imperial advisor. Quickly, an imperial edict was issued for Wang’s promotion: Then, Zeng recalled that Master Steward Guo had once found fault with him, so he summoned Advisor Lu, Inspector Chen Chang and some other officials, dropping a hint that he wished to impeach Guo. The following day saw an impeachment request submitted to the emperor and soon an imperial edict came, expelling Guo from the court as a commoner. Zeng was very much pleased at having the clout to follow his inclinations in repaying debts and obligations.
One day, when a drunk bumped into Zeng’s procession on a thoroughfare in the suburbs, the prime minister ordered his followers to bind up the drunk and beat him to death. Families having lands bordering on Zeng’s properties all presented their fertile fields to the official, fearing his ascendancy. Soon, his wealth matched that of the state treasury. Niaoniao and Xianxian died one after the other. He missed them day and night. Then, Zeng suddenly recalled an extremely beautiful girl of a neighbor to the east of his house years ago. He had always intended to buy her as his concubine, but he did not have enough money at that time. Now, he had all the money he needed, so he sent several capable servants to buy the girl, through coercion, if necessary. In a wink, the girl was carried back in a wicker sedan. Zeng found her more attractive than before. Reviewing his life so far, he felt perfectly satisfied.
Another year passed, courtiers began to whisper resentment against Zeng among themselves, but all of them kept silent like ritual horses in public. Zeng was too arrogant to pay any attention to them. Then, Scholar Bao from the Dragon Hall sent up a memorial saying:
“I believe Zeng was originally a rascal and mean fellow in the marketplace who was good at nothing but gambling and drinking. Simply because of a cordial conversation, he was honored by Your Majesty. The father has donned a ministerial purple robe and the son an official red one. However, despite Your Majesty’s exceptional favor, Zeng does not think of sacrificing himself for the state and serving the people in order to repay a tiny fraction of Your Majesty’s kindness. Instead, he acts as a tyrant, following his inclinations. All the hairs on his head are not enough to count his capital crimes. He controls all offices in the court and sells them at a price set according to each one’s potential gain. As a result, numerous ministers, officials and generals in the court have been trying all means to make up to Zeng, just like peddlers attempting to please a patron in a marketplace. Some outstanding officials who have refused to fawn over him have been relegated to petty offices or in the worse cases, stripped of their power and status. Anyone who dared not co-operate with Zeng would face frame-up allegations and those who uttered a single word displeasing him would be exiled to remote border areas. Zeng’s misdeeds have disappointed courtiers and isolated the imperial court. He even plunders common people’s properties and forces girls from decent families to be his concubines. Complaints and grudges have darkened the sky like thick clouds. When a servant from Zeng’s house arrives, prefecture chiefs and county magistrates have to be ready to take hints. When a letter from Zeng is sent, even the justice ministers and inspectors have to bend the law. Sons of his servants and remote relatives go about in official carriages, causing great disturbances to local folks. Along the road, anyone who is slow in presenting supplies is whipped by Zeng’s mounted footmen. Tormenting commoners and treating officials as servants, Zeng and his entourage often leave behind them ransacked fields and raped villages. Capitalising on Your Majesty’s favour, Zeng acts arrogantly and does not have a slightest regret for what he has done. If anyone were to be received by Your Majesty, Zeng would immediately speak evil of him before the court. After he withdraws from the court, Zeng immediately indulges himself in sensual enjoyment in his rear garden, casting all state affairs and the people’s livelihood from his mind. Should any prime minister behave like this? The court is now beset by crises and a mounting public resentment against Zeng is threatening it. If he is not swiftly executed, a rebellion of the sort mounted by Cao Cao and Wang Mang in the past will happen here again. As a minor official, I am concerned during the day and dare not sleep at night. So, I am willing to risk my life to list Zeng’s crimes to Your Majesty. I humbly request Your Majesty to decapitate this treacherous court official and confiscate his illegal properties, thus calming the anger of god in Heaven and comforting the people on the earth. If any of my remarks prove untrue, I am willing to accept execution under an axe or in a boiling cauldron of oil.”
After learning about the memorial, Zeng felt as if his heart had been chilled by a bucket of ice water. Thanks to the emperor’s leniency, the memorial was shelved. Soon after, all sections and departments under the inspection ministry and nine high ministers all sent up memorials demanding Zeng’s impeachment. Even those who used to fawn over him and call him their godfather had now turned their backs on him. An imperial edict was issued, ordering confiscation of all Zeng’s properties and banishing him into exile in Yunnan. Meanwhile, a commissioner was assigned to try his son. Zeng was shaking with fear after receiving the verdict. Then, dozens of soldiers carrying swords and spears in their hands charged into his inner chamber, stripped him of his robe and hat and bound up both him and his wife. Next, several porters piled up Zeng’s valuables on the steps leading into the courtyard. They included several million taels of gold, silver, coins and paper money; hundreds of bushels of pearls, gems, jade ware, emeralds and agate; a few thousand pieces of canopies, curtains and bedding; and even baby’s clothing and embroidered women’s shoes. Looking at these luxuries one by one, Zeng’s heart ached. Next, his pretty concubine was dragged out, dishevelled and crying. Although sadness and sorrow were gnawing at his heart, Zeng did not dare to express his outrage. The soldiers soon sealed all the rooms and storehouses and rudely ordered Zeng to leave the premises. The guards used a long rope to tie together the captives. Swallowing their tears, Zeng and his wife started off. They begged the guards to find a poorly-equipped cart for them, but their request received only cold shoulders. After walking more than five kilometers, Zeng wife’s legs gave out and she almost fell to the ground. Zeng reached out to help her. After another five kilometers, Zeng himself was exhausted. Soon, they found themselves at the foot of a high steep mountain. Zeng worried that they did not have the strength to climb the mountain. From time to time, he and his wife looked at each other with teary eyes. However, the guards all watched them ferociously and did not allow them to pause for breath. Looking back, Zeng saw the sun setting in the west, but there was nowhere to stay for the night. They just had to continue stumbling onward. When they were half-way up the mountain, Zeng’s wife could not walk any more and she sat down at the side of the road weeping. Despite the guards scolding, Zeng also stopped to take a breath. Suddenly, nearly a hundred bandits jumped onto the road in front of them, waving sharp knives and roaring. The guards were scared and fled. Zeng knelt before the bandits and said: “I am a convicted official on my way to Yunnan for exile. I don’t have any valuables with me.” He begged the bandits to let them go. However, the robbers stared at him angrily, saying: “We are all victims of injustice. We don’t want anything but your wicked official head.”
Annoyed, Zeng then shouted back:
“Although convicted, I am still a court-appointed official. How dare you bandits treat me like this?” One robber furiously raised a huge axe to chop off Zeng’s head.
Zeng seemed to hear a thud when his head fell onto the ground. Just as he was still wondering what had really happened, two goblins came forward to tie his hands behind his back and take him away. After a long walk, they entered a city. Soon, they were in a palace. Sitting in the hall was an ugly king, who was leaning against a small table passing judgement on the dead. Zeng came forward and knelt waiting for his sentence. After the king opened a file and read a few lines, he shouted angrily: “Cheating the emperor and harming his country, this guy should be thrown into the boiling oil cauldron!” His remarks were echoed thunderously by thousands of ghosts. Immediately, a giant ghost dragged Zeng down the hall steps to a seven-foot-high cauldron. The high flames had already turned it red hot. Trembling all over, Zeng cried and begged for mercy, but he could find no escape. The giant ghost used his left hand to grab Zeng’s hair and his right hand to seize Zeng’s ankles. Then, he tossed Zeng into the cauldron. Zeng felt himself floating up and down in the boiling oil like a chunk of meat and his skin was all scorched and his heart ached as though stabbed by a knife. When the boiling oil was poured down his throat, Zeng felt all his internal organs being fried. At this moment, he wished for nothing but to die immediately. However, he would not die. After about a long time, the giant ghost took him out of the cauldron and threw him onto the floor of the hall. The king had another look at the file and burst out: “Abusing his power to mistreat others, he should be put on the mountain of knives!” Again, the giant ghost dragged him to a mountain, not very big, but steep as a wall and densely dotted with sharp knives like bamboo shoots. Several dead fellows already had their bellies cut through and their intestines hanging on the knife tips. They were all yelling with pain. The scene was so appalling that one could hardly bear seeing it. The giant ghost forced Zeng to climb the mountain. Zeng stepped back crying loudly. The ghost used a poisonous chisel to prod the back of Zeng’s head. Zeng begged for mercy, but the infuriated ghost grabbed him and threw him into the air. After flying above the clouds for a second, Zeng felt himself suddenly falling down to the mountain. Several knives stuck into his chest and the pain was beyond description. A moment later, his body slid down the mountain heavily, the cuts gaping wider. His limbs were twisting like worms. The ghost drove him to the king again. The king ordered someone to calculate the total amount of wealth Zeng had collected in his lifetime through selling official posts, bending the law and grabbing other people’s property. Instantly, a bearded ghost, carrying tally chips and an abacus, reported:”Altogether three million two hundred and ten thousand taels.”The king then said: “These were what he had stashed, so let him eat them.” Soon, the gold, silver and money were piled up in front of the hall and then were smelted in an iron boiler. Several ghosts in turn used ladles to force feed Zeng with the molten metal. When a drop rolled down the corner of his mouth, the skin was scorched, sending out a foul smell. When the fluid poured down his throat, all Zeng’s internal organs began to bum. In his lifetime, Zeng always thought he did not have enough money. At this moment, he deeply regretted that he had too much. It took nearly half a day for Zeng to swallow all the metal.
The king ordered his followers to take Zeng to Ganzhou, a remote area, to be reincarnated as a female. After taking several steps, Zeng saw a large iron beam several feet thick and turning around it, a huge wheel with a circumference of several thousand kilometers. Flames on the wheel were throwing out light of different colors, making the sky day-bright. The ghosts beat Zeng to drive him onto the wheel. Just as he stepping on the wheel, it began to revolve. Then, Zeng felt himself falling down to a place that was rather cool. He found his body had been transformed into that of a baby girl. Looking up, the girl saw her parents both in ragged clothes and there were beggar’s bowls and sticks in the run-down shelter. Zeng knew then he had been reincarnated as a beggar’s daughter. Everyday, she went out with her father to beg for leftovers, but they were always haunted by starvation. The cold wind often stung her body bitterly, beating through her worn clothes. When she was fourteen, she was bought by a xiucai (trans. note: xiucai was one who had passed the imperial examination at the county level) named Gu as a concubine. Now, she could at least fill her stomach and have warm clothes. However, Gu’s vicious wife beat her everyday with a whip or a club. Often, she would use a red hot iron to burn the concubine’s breasts. Fortunately, Gu treated her well. One day, a young ruffian that lived next door climbed over the wall and wanted to make love to the concubine. Remembering all her sins in the previous life, the concubine did not dare to do anything wrong. So, she yelled out for help. When Gu and his wife rushed to her rescue, the ruffian fled. One night, Gu was sleeping with the concubine. As she was whispering her complaints, two knife wielding robbers burst into their room, cutting off the man’s head and taking away all their clothes and articles. The woman huddled under the quilt and dared not utter a sound. After the robbers were gone, she rushed to tell the mistress what had happened. The frightened wife came over crying to take a look at her husband’s body. Then, suspecting that the concubine had killed the man in collaboration with her lover, the wife filed a lawsuit before the prefectural governor. The governor resorted to cruel tortures to force the concubine to confess to the false charge. According to the law at that time, the woman was sentenced to death and she was taken to the execution ground. With her chest filled with fury, Zeng stamped vehemently and screamed at the top of her voice that she had been wronged. She felt that injustice couldn’t be worse even in hell.
While crying sadly, Zeng heard his companions calling him: “Are you having a nightmare?” Zeng suddenly opened his eyes and saw the old monk still sitting there. His fellow travelers all tried to ask him:”The sun is setting and we are all hungry now. How could you take such a long nap?” With a grim expression on his face, Zeng sat up. The old monk smiled and asked Zeng:”Did the prediction about your being promoted to prime minister come true?” Zeng was very much surprised by the monk’s remarks and then bowed to him asking for instructions. The old monk said: “As long as you follow a virtuous path, you will be protected by the golden of the lotus even if you fall into a pit of fire. As a mountain monk, what else would I know?” Though he had arrived in a cheerful mood, Zeng left the temple crestfallen.
Eventually, he stopped thinking of the prime minister’s dream. Later, he went into the mountains and nobody knows how he spent the rest of his life.
Leave a Reply