周主者，淄邑之幕客。令公出，夫人徐，有朝碧霞元君之願，以道遠故，將遣僕齎儀代往。使周為祝文。周作駢詞，歷敘平生，頗涉狎謔。中有云：「栽般陽滿縣之花，偏憐斷袖；置夾谷彌山之草，惟愛餘桃。」此訴夫人所憤也，類此甚多。脫稿，示同幕凌生。凌以為褻，戒勿用。弗聽，付僕而去。未幾，周主卒於署；既而僕亦死；徐夫人產後，亦病卒。人猶未之異也。周生子自都來迎父櫬，夜與凌生同宿。夢父戒之曰：「文字不可不慎也！我不聽凌君言，遂以褻詞，致干神怒，遽夭天年；又貽累徐夫人，且殃及焚文之僕；恐冥罰尤不免也！」醒而告凌，凌亦夢同，因述其文。周子為之惕然。
周主者，淄邑之幕客。令公出，夫人徐，有朝碧霞元君之愿，以道远故，将遣仆赍仪代往。使周为祝文。周作骈词，历叙平生，颇涉狎谑。中有云：「栽般阳满县之花，偏怜断袖；置夹谷弥山之草，惟爱余桃。」此诉夫人所愤也，类此甚多。脱稿，示同幕凌生。凌以为亵，戒勿用。弗听，付仆而去。未几，周主卒于署；既而仆亦死；徐夫人产后，亦病卒。人犹未之异也。周生子自都来迎父榇，夜与凌生同宿。梦父戒之曰：「文字不可不慎也！我不听凌君言，遂以亵词，致干神怒，遽夭天年；又贻累徐夫人，且殃及焚文之仆；恐冥罚尤不免也！」醒而告凌，凌亦梦同，因述其文。周子为之惕然。
There was a scholar named Zhou Zhu, a private secretary on the staff of the magistrate of Zichuan county. Once, when the magistrate was away on official business, his wife, Lady Xu, who had vowed to go and pay her respects to the Goddess of the Azure Clouds, decided that since the road was long she would send a servant with offerings in her place. She had Zhou write the prayer. Zhou wrote it in parallel prose, going through her whole life, and it was full of ribald jokes. Among the lines were these: “He plants Banyang with flowers to fill the whole county, yet his tenderness goes to the cut sleeve; he lays Jiagu’s grasses over every hill, yet loves only the bitten peach.” This was to voice the lady’s grievance, and there was a good deal more like it. When it was finished, he showed it to Ling, a fellow secretary. Ling thought it indecent and warned him not to use it. Zhou would not listen; he handed it to the servant, who set off. Before long Zhou died in the county office. Soon after, the servant died too. Then Lady Xu fell ill after giving birth, and she also died. Even so, no one thought anything strange of it. Zhou’s son came from the capital to take his father’s coffin home, and spent the night in the same room as Ling. He dreamed that his father warned him: “You must be careful what you write! I would not listen to Mr. Ling, and with my indecent words I angered the goddess and was cut off before my time. I have brought ruin on Lady Xu as well, and disaster on the servant who burned the prayer. And I fear I shall not escape punishment in the underworld besides!” He woke and told Ling. Ling had dreamed the same, and so he told him what the prayer had said. Zhou’s son was filled with dread.