安大業，盧龍人。生而能言，母飲以犬血，始止。既長，韶秀，顧影無儔；慧而能讀。世家爭婚之。母夢曰：「兒當尚主。」信之。至十五六，迄無驗，亦漸自悔。一日，安獨坐，忽聞異香。俄一美婢奔入，曰：「公主至。」即以長氈貼地，自門外直至榻前。方駭疑間，一女郎扶婢肩入；服色容光，映照四堵。婢即以繡墊設榻上，扶女郎坐。安倉皇不知所為，鞠躬便問：「何處神仙，勞降玉趾？」女郎微笑，以袍袖掩口。婢曰：「此聖后府中雲蘿公主也。聖后屬意郎君，欲以公主下嫁，故使自來相宅。」安驚喜，不知置詞；女亦俯首：相對寂然。安故好棋，楸枰嘗置坐側。一婢以紅巾拂塵，移諸案上，曰：「主日耽此，不知與粉侯孰勝？」安移坐近案，主笑從之。甫三十餘著，婢竟亂之，曰：「駙馬負矣！」斂子入盒，曰：「駙馬當是俗間高手，主僅能讓六子。」乃以六黑子實局中，主亦從之。主坐次，輒使婢伏坐下，以背受足；左足踏地，則更一婢右伏。又兩小鬟夾侍之；每值安凝思時，輒曲一肘伏肩上。局闌未結，小鬟笑云：「駙馬負一子。」進曰：「主惰，宜且退。」女乃傾身與婢耳語。婢出，少頃而還，以千金置榻上，告生曰：「適主言居宅湫隘，煩以此少致修飾，落成相會也。」一婢曰：「此月犯天刑，不宜建造；月後吉。」女起；生遮止，閉門。婢出一物，狀類皮排，就地鼓之；雲氣突出，俄頃四合，冥不見物，索之已杳。母知之，疑以為妖。而生神馳夢想，不能復捨。急於落成，無暇禁忌；刻日敦迫，廊舍一新。先是，有灤州生袁大用，僑寓鄰坊，投刺於門；生素寡交，託他出，又窺其亡而報之。後月餘，門外適相值，二十許少年也。宮絹單衣，絲帶烏履，意甚都雅。略與頃談，頗甚溫謹。悅之，揖而入。請與對弈，互有贏虧。已而設酒留連，談笑大懽。明日，邀生至其寓所，珍肴雜進，相待殷渥。有小童十二三許，拍板清歌，又跳擲作劇。生大醉，不能行，便令負之。生以其纖弱，恐不勝。袁強之。僮綽有餘力，荷送而歸。生奇之。次日，犒以金，再辭乃受。由此交情款密，三數日輒一過從。袁為人簡默，而慷慨好施。市有負債鬻女者，解囊代贖，無吝色。生以此益重之。過數日，詣生作別，贈象箸、楠珠等十餘事，白金五百，用助興作。生反金受物，報以束帛。後月餘，樂亭有仕宦而歸者，橐貲充牣。盜夜入，執主人，燒鐵鉗灼，劫掠一空。家人識袁，行牒追捕。鄰院屠氏，與生家積不相能，因其土木大興，陰懷疑忌。適有小僕竊象箸，賣諸其家，知袁所贈，因報大尹。尹以兵繞舍，值生主僕他出，執母而去。母衰邁受驚，僅存氣息，二三日不復飲食。尹釋之。生聞母耗，急奔而歸，則母病已篤，越宿遂卒。收殮甫畢，為捕役執去。尹見其年少溫文，竊疑誣枉，故恐喝之。生實述其交往之由。尹問：「何以暴富？」生曰：「母有藏鏹，因欲親迎，故治昏室耳。」尹信之，具牒解郡。鄰人知其無事，以重金賂監者，使殺諸途。路經深山，被曳近削壁，將推墮之。計逼情危，時方急難，忽一虎自叢莽中出，囓二役皆死，啣生去。至一處，重樓疊閣，虎入，置之。見雲蘿扶婢出，淒然慰弔：「妾欲留君，但母喪未卜窀穸。可懷牒去，到郡自投，保無恙也。」因取生胸前帶，連結十餘扣，囑云：「見官時，拈此結而解之，可以弭禍。」生如其教，詣郡自投。太守喜其誠信，又稽牒知其冤，銷名令歸。至中途，遇袁，下騎執手，備言情況。袁憤然作色，默不一語。生曰：「以君風采，何自污也？」袁曰：「某所殺皆不義之人，所取皆非義之財。不然，即遺於路者，不拾也。君教我固自佳，然如君家鄰，豈可留在人間耶！」言已，超乘而去。生歸，殯母已，柴門謝客。忽一夜，盜入鄰家，父子十餘口，盡行殺戮，止留一婢。席卷貲物，與僮分攜之。臨去，執燈謂婢：汝認之：殺人者我也，與人無涉。」並不啟關，飛簷越壁而去。明日，告官。疑生知情，又捉生去。邑宰詞色甚厲。生上堂握帶，且辨且解，宰不能詰，又釋之。既歸，益自韜晦，讀書不出，一跛嫗執炊而已。服既闋，日掃階庭，以待好音。一日，異香滿院。登閣視之，內外陳設煥然矣。悄揭畫簾，則公主凝妝坐。急拜之。女挽手曰：「君不信數，遂使土木為災；又以苫塊之戚，遲我三年琴瑟：是急之而反以得緩，天下事大抵然也。」生將出貲治具。女曰：「勿復須。」婢探櫝，肴羹熱如新出於鼎，酒亦芳冽。酌移時，日已投暮，足下所踏婢，漸都亡去。女四肢嬌惰，足股屈伸，似無所著。生狎抱之。女曰：「君暫釋手。今有兩道，請君擇之。」生攬項問故。曰：「若為棋酒之交，可得三十年聚首；若作床第之歡，可六年諧合耳。君焉取？」生曰：「六年後再商之。」女乃默然，遂相燕好。女曰：「妾固知君不免俗道，此亦數也。」因使生蓄婢媼，別居南院，炊爨紡織，以作生計。北院中並無煙火，惟棋枰、酒具而已。戶常闔，生推之則自開，他人不得入也。然南院人作事勤惰，女輒知之，每使生往譴責，無不具服。女無繁言，無響笑，與有所談，但俯首微哂。每駢肩坐，喜斜倚人。生舉而加諸膝，輕如抱嬰。生曰：「卿輕若此，可作掌上舞。」曰：「此何難！但婢子之為，所不屑耳。飛燕原九姊侍兒，屢以輕佻獲罪，怒謫塵間，又不守女子之貞；今已幽之。」閣上以錦布滿，冬未嘗寒，夏未嘗熱。女嚴冬皆著輕縠；生為製鮮衣，強使著之。踰時解去，曰：「塵濁之物，幾於壓骨成勞！」一日，抱諸膝上，忽覺沉倍曩昔，異之。笑指腹曰：「此中有俗種矣。」過數日，顰黛不食，曰：「近病惡阻，頗思煙火之味。」生乃為具甘旨。從此飲食遂不異於常人。一日曰：「妾質單弱，不任生產。婢子樊英頗健，可使代之。」乃脫衷服衣英，閉諸室。少頃，聞兒啼。啟扉視之，男也。喜曰：「此兒福相，大器也！」因名大器。繃納生懷，俾付乳媼，養諸南院。女自免身，腰細如初，不食煙火矣。忽辭生，欲暫歸寧。問返期，答以「三日」。鼓皮排如前狀，遂不見。至期不來；積年餘，音信全渺，亦已絕望。生鍵戶下幃，遂領鄉薦。終不肯娶；每獨宿北院，沐其餘芳。一夜，輾轉在榻，忽見燈火射窗，門亦自闢，群婢擁公主入。生喜，起問爽約之罪。女曰：「妾未愆期，天上二日半耳。」生得意自詡，告以秋捷，意主必喜。女愀然曰：「烏用是儻來者為！無足榮辱，止折人壽數耳。三日不見，入俗幛又深一層矣。」生由是不復進取。過數月，又欲歸寧。生殊悽戀。女曰：「此去定早還，無煩穿望。且人生合離，皆有定數，撙節之則長，恣縱之則短也。」既去，月餘即返。從此一年半歲輒一行，往往數月始還，生習為常，亦不之怪。又生一子。女舉之曰：「豺狼也！」立命棄之。生不忍而止，名曰可棄。甫周歲，急為卜婚。諸媒接踵，問其甲子，皆謂不合。曰：「吾欲為狼子治一深圈，竟不可得，當今傾敗六七年，亦數也。」囑生曰：「記取四年後，侯氏生女，左脅有小贅疣，乃此兒婦。當婚之，勿較其門地也。」即令書而誌之。後又歸寧，竟不復返。生每以所囑告親友。果有侯氏女，生有疣贅，侯賤而行惡，眾咸不齒，生竟媒定焉。大器十七歲及第，娶雲氏，夫妻皆孝友。父鐘愛之。可棄漸長，不喜讀，輒偷與無賴博賭，恆盜物償戲債。父怒，撻之，卒不改。相戒提防，不使有所得。遂夜出，小為穿窬。為主所覺，縛送邑宰。宰審其姓氏，以名刺送之歸。父兄共縶之，楚掠慘棘，幾於絕氣。兄代哀免，始釋之。父忿恚得疾，食銳減。乃為二子立析產書，樓閣沃田，盡歸大器。可棄怨怒，夜持刀入室，將殺兄，悞中嫂。先是，主有遺袴，絕輕耎，雲拾作寢衣。可棄斫之，火星四射，大懼，奔出。父知，病益劇，數月尋卒。可棄聞父死，始歸。兄善視之，而可棄益肆。年餘，所分田產略盡，赴郡訟兄。官審知其人，斥逐之。兄弟之好遂絕。又踰年，可棄二十有三，侯女十五矣。兄憶母言，欲急為完婚。召至家，除佳宅與居；迎婦入門，以父遺良田，悉登籍交之，曰：「數頃薄產，為若蒙死守之，今悉相付。吾弟無行，寸草與之，皆棄也。此後成敗，在於新婦：能令改行，無憂凍餓；不然，兄亦不能填無底壑也。」侯雖小家女，然固慧麗，可棄雅畏愛之，所言無敢違。每出，限以晷刻，過期，則詬厲不與飲食，可棄以此少斂。年餘，生一子。婦曰：「我以後無求於人矣。膏腴數頃，母子何患不溫飽？無夫焉，亦可也。」會可棄盜粟出賭，婦知之，彎弓於門以拒之。大懼，避去。窺婦入，逡巡亦入。婦操刀起。可棄反奔，婦逐斫之，斷幅傷臀，血沾襪履。忿極，往訴兄，兄不禮焉，冤慚而去。過宿復至，跪嫂哀泣，求先容於婦，婦決絕不納。可棄怒，將往殺婦，兄不語。可棄忿起，操戈直出。嫂愕然，欲止之。兄目禁之。俟其去，乃曰：「彼固作此態，實不敢歸也。」使人覘之，已入家門。兄始色動，將奔赴之，而可棄已坌息入。蓋可棄入家，婦方弄兒，望見之，擲兒床上，覓得廚刀；可棄懼，曳戈反走，婦逐出門外始返。兄已得其情，故詰之。可棄不言，惟向隅泣，目盡腫。兄憐之，親率之去，婦乃納之。俟兄出，罰使長跪，要以重誓，而後以瓦盆賜之食。自此改行為善。婦持籌握算，日致豐盈，可棄仰成而已。後年七旬，子孫滿前，婦猶時捋白鬚，使膝行焉。
安大業是盧龍人，一出生就能說話，母親給他喝了狗血，他才不說了。長大以後，他容貌俊秀，顧影自照，覺得無人能與自己相比，又聰明，善於讀書。世家大族爭著要把女兒嫁給他。母親做了一個夢，說：「我兒子該娶公主。」她深信不疑。可安大業到了十五六歲，這話始終沒有應驗，她也漸漸後悔起來。一天，安大業獨自坐著，忽然聞到一股奇異的香氣。不一會兒，一個美貌的婢女跑進來，說：「公主到了。」隨即把一條長氈鋪在地上，從門外一直鋪到榻前。安大業正驚疑不定，一個年輕女子扶著婢女的肩膀走了進來，她衣服的顏色和容貌的光彩，映亮了四面的牆壁。婢女立刻在榻上放好繡墊，扶她坐下。安大業慌得不知如何是好，躬身問道：「不知是哪一位神仙，勞您親自降臨？」女子微微一笑，用衣袖掩住嘴。婢女說：「這是聖後府中的雲蘿公主。聖後看中了郎君，想把公主嫁給您，所以讓公主親自來看看宅院。」安大業又驚又喜，不知說什麼才好；女子也低著頭，兩人相對無言。安大業向來喜歡下棋，身旁常放著一張楸木棋盤。一個婢女用紅巾拂去灰塵，把棋盤移到桌上，說：「公主每天都愛下棋，不知和這位俊俏的郎君相比，誰更高明？」安大業把座位移到桌旁，公主笑著也移了過來。剛下了三十多手，婢女竟把棋子攪亂，說：「駙馬輸了！」她把棋子收進盒裡，又說：「駙馬想必是人間的高手，公主只能受您讓六子。」便在棋盤上擺下六顆黑子，公主也由著她。公主坐著的時候，總讓婢女伏在座位下面，用背托著她的腳；左腳落到地上，就換另一個婢女伏在右邊。還有兩個小婢女在兩旁侍候，每逢安大業凝神思考棋路，公主就彎起一條胳膊，把肘部支在婢女肩上。棋局快下完，還沒算出結果，一個小婢女笑著說：「駙馬輸了一子。」又上前說：「公主累了，還是先回去吧。」女子便側過身，貼著婢女的耳朵說了幾句話。婢女出去，不一會兒回來，把一千兩銀子放在榻上，對安大業說：「剛才公主說，這宅院低矮狹窄，請用這點銀子稍加修整，等完工以後再來相會。」一個婢女說：「這個月犯天刑，不宜動工建造；過了這個月才吉利。」女子起身要走，安大業攔住她，把門關上。婢女拿出一件東西，形狀像皮排，放在地上鼓動起來，雲氣立刻噴湧而出，轉眼便從四面合攏，昏暗得看不見東西，再找她們，已經不見蹤影了。母親知道這件事，懷疑來的是妖怪。可安大業無論醒著還是夢裡，都想著公主，再也放不下。他急著把房子修好，顧不得那些禁忌，定下期限，催著趕工，廊房屋舍全都煥然一新。在這以前，有個灤州的讀書人袁大用，暫住在鄰近的街坊，曾到門前遞過名帖。安大業向來不大與人交往，便託辭外出，又等袁大用不在時，去回拜他。一個多月後，兩人恰好在門外相遇。袁大用是個二十歲左右的年輕人，穿著宮絹單衣，繫著絲帶，腳穿黑鞋，神態十分文雅。略談了一會兒，覺得他很溫和謹慎，安大業喜歡他，便作揖請他進屋，邀他下棋，兩人互有勝負。隨後又擺酒留他，談笑得十分暢快。第二天，袁大用請安大業到自己的住處，各種珍貴的菜餚接連端上來，招待得十分殷勤。有個十二三歲的小童，打著拍板，清聲歌唱，又跳躍翻騰，表演雜耍。安大業喝得大醉，不能走路，袁大用便叫小童揹他回去。安大業看小童瘦弱，怕他背不動，袁大用卻堅持讓他背。小童的力氣綽綽有餘，背起安大業便送回了家。安大業十分驚奇，第二天拿銀子酬謝他，小童推辭了兩次才收下。從此兩人交情深厚，每隔幾天就互相來往。袁大用為人沉默寡言，卻慷慨好施。街市上有人欠了債，要賣女兒還債，他便解開錢袋，代為贖回，毫無捨不得的神色。安大業因此更加敬重他。過了幾天，袁大用前來告別，送給安大業象箸、楠珠等十多樣東西，還有五百兩銀子，幫助他修建房屋。安大業退回銀子，收下物品，回贈了一束帛。又過了一個多月，樂亭有個做官回來的人，帶回了大量錢財。盜賊夜裡闖進他家，抓住主人，把鐵鉗燒紅了烙他，將財物搶得一乾二淨。家裡人認出袁大用，官府便發文追捕。安大業隔壁的屠家，向來與他家不和，見他大興土木，暗中又疑心又嫉恨。恰好有個小僕人偷了象箸，賣到屠家。屠家知道是袁大用送的，就報告了縣令。縣令派兵圍住安家，正逢安大業和僕人都不在，便抓走了他的母親。母親年老體衰，受到驚嚇，只剩一口氣，兩三天都不再吃喝，縣令才把她放了。安大業聽到母親的訊息，急忙奔回家，可母親已經病重，過了一夜便去世了。剛把母親收殮好，他就被捕役抓走。縣令見他年少溫文，暗自懷疑他受了誣陷，便先恐嚇他。安大業如實講述了與袁大用交往的經過。縣令問：「你怎麼忽然富起來了？」安大業說：「母親存了一些銀子，因為我要迎娶妻子，所以修整婚房罷了。」縣令相信了，寫好公文，把他押送到郡裡。鄰居知道他會平安無事，就拿重金賄賂押送的人，讓他們在路上殺了他。路過深山時，他被拖到陡峭的山崖邊，眼看就要被推下去。正在走投無路、性命危急的時候，忽然一隻老虎從草叢裡衝出來，把兩個差役都咬死了，銜著安大業離開。來到一處樓閣層疊的地方，老虎進去，把他放下。他看見雲蘿扶著婢女走出來，神情悽然地安慰他，向他致哀，說：「我想把你留下，可你母親還沒有選定墓地安葬。你可以帶著公文，到郡裡自行投案，我保你平安。」她拿起安大業胸前的衣帶，接連打了十多個結，囑咐說：「見官的時候，捏著這些結解開，就能消除災禍。」安大業照她的話，到郡裡自行投案。太守喜歡他的誠實，又查閱公文，知道他受了冤枉，就從案中除去他的名字，讓他回家。走到半路，遇見袁大用，安大業下馬拉住他的手，把事情的經過全說了。袁大用臉上露出憤怒的神色，沉默著一句話也不說。安大業說：「以你的風采，為什麼要做這種玷汙自己的事呢？」袁大用說：「我殺的都是不義的人，拿的都是不義的錢財。否則，就算東西遺落在路上，我也不會撿。你勸我自然是好意，可像你家鄰居這樣的人，難道還該留在人間嗎！」說完，躍上馬揹走了。安大業回到家，安置好母親的靈柩，關上柴門，謝絕來客。忽然一天夜裡，盜賊闖進鄰家，把父子等十多口人全部殺死，只留下一個婢女，將財物一掃而空，與小童分著帶走。臨走時，他舉著燈對婢女說：「你認清楚：殺人的是我，跟別人沒有關係。」連門也不開，便飛越屋簷和牆壁離開了。第二天，事情報到官府，官府懷疑安大業知情，又把他抓去。縣令說話和神色都十分嚴厲。安大業上堂時握著衣帶，一邊分辯，一邊解結，縣令無法再追問，又把他放了。回家以後，他更加深藏不露，只管讀書，不再出門，只有一個跛腳老婦給他做飯。守孝期滿以後，他每天打掃臺階和庭院，等候好訊息。一天，奇異的香氣充滿院子。他登上樓閣一看，裡面外面的陳設都已煥然一新。輕輕揭起畫簾，只見公主盛裝坐在那裡，他急忙上前行禮。女子拉著他的手說：「你不信命數，結果修建房屋反而招來災禍；又因為母親去世，要守孝，讓我們的夫妻生活推遲了三年。這就是急著辦成，反而拖慢了，天下的事情大多如此。」安大業準備拿錢置辦酒菜，女子說：「不用再準備了。」婢女從匣子裡取出菜餚和羹湯，熱得像剛從鍋裡端出來，酒也芳香清冽。喝了一會兒，天色已近黃昏，給她墊腳的婢女漸漸都離開了。女子四肢嬌軟無力，兩腿屈伸，像是無處安放。安大業親暱地抱住她。女子說：「你先放開手。現在有兩條路，請你選一條。」安大業摟著她的脖子，問是什麼意思。她說：「如果我們只是下棋飲酒的朋友，可以相聚三十年；如果做同床共枕的夫妻，就只能相好六年。你選哪一種？」安大業說：「六年以後再商量吧。」女子便不再說話，兩人於是結為夫妻。女子說：「我本來就知道你免不了走世俗這條路，這也是命數。」她讓安大業僱用婢女和老婦，另住在南院，做飯、紡紗、織布，維持家中的生計。北院從不生火做飯，只有棋盤和酒具。院門常常關著，安大業一推就自動打開，別人卻進不去。可是南院的人做事勤快還是偷懶，女子總能知道，每次讓安大業去責備他們，他們無不認錯。女子話不多，也不大聲笑，與人交談時，只是低著頭微微一笑。兩人並肩坐著，她喜歡斜靠在安大業身上。安大業把她抱到膝上，輕得像抱著嬰兒。他說：「你這麼輕，可以在手掌上跳舞了。」她說：「這有什麼難的！只是婢女做的事，我不屑去做罷了。飛燕原是我九姐的侍女，屢次因為輕浮受到責罰，九姐一怒之下把她貶到人間，她又不守女子的貞節，如今已經被幽禁了。」樓上到處鋪著錦緞，冬天從不寒冷，夏天從不炎熱。女子隆冬時也只穿輕薄的紗衣。安大業給她做了漂亮的新衣，硬勸她穿上。過了一會兒，她便脫掉，說：「人間這些汙濁的東西，壓得我骨頭都快病了！」一天，安大業把她抱到膝上，忽然覺得比從前重了一倍，十分奇怪。她笑著指了指肚子，說：「這裡面已經有了凡人的孩子。」過了幾天，她皺著眉頭，不肯吃東西，說：「近來害喜，很想嚐嚐人間生火做出的飯菜。」安大業便給她準備美味的食物。從此，她的飲食就和常人沒有區別了。一天，她說：「我身體單薄，經不起生產。婢女樊英很健壯，可以讓她替我生。」於是脫下內衣，給樊英穿上，把她關在房裡。不一會兒，聽到嬰兒的哭聲，開門一看，是個男孩。女子高興地說：「這孩子有福相，將來會有大出息！」便給他取名大器。她把孩子包好，放進安大業懷裡，讓他交給奶媽，在南院撫養。女子生下孩子以後，腰身又像從前一樣纖細，也不再吃人間生火做出的飯菜。忽然，她向安大業告別，要暫時回孃家探望。安大業問什麼時候回來，她答道：「三天。」隨後像先前那樣鼓動皮排，便不見了。到了約定的日子，她沒有回來。一年多過去，音信全無，安大業也已經絕望。他關門專心讀書，後來考中了舉人，始終不肯另娶；每次都獨自睡在北院，聞著她留下的香氣。一天夜裡，他在榻上輾轉難眠，忽然看見燈光照進窗戶，門也自動打開，一群婢女簇擁著公主進來。安大業大喜，起身責問她為什麼失約。女子說：「我沒有誤了日期，天上才過了兩天半。」安大業得意地誇耀自己，告訴她秋試中榜的事，以為公主一定高興。女子卻神色憂傷地說：「這些偶然得來的東西，有什麼用！並不能帶來真正的榮辱，只會折損人的壽命。三天不見，你又陷入世俗的迷障深了一層。」安大業從此不再求取功名。過了幾個月，女子又要回孃家。安大業十分悲傷，捨不得她走。女子說：「這次一定早回來，不用望眼欲穿。而且人生的相聚和分離，都有固定的數目，節省著用，就能長久；任意揮霍，就會短暫。」她走後，一個多月便回來了。從此，每隔半年或一年，她就回去一次，往往幾個月才回來。安大業習以為常，也不覺得奇怪。後來，她又生了一個兒子。她抱起孩子說：「這是豺狼！」立刻命人扔掉。安大業不忍心，攔住了，給孩子取名可棄。孩子剛滿一歲，女子就急著給他挑選婚事。媒人接連不斷地來，她問過女方的生辰，都說不合適。她說：「我想給這隻狼崽修一道深深的圍欄，竟然找不到，看來他得敗落六七年，這也是命數。」她囑咐安大業說：「記住，四年以後，侯家會生一個女兒，左脅下有一顆小肉瘤，她就是這孩子的妻子。一定要讓他們成婚，不要計較她家的門第。」隨即讓他寫下來記住。後來，她又回孃家，竟再也沒有回來。安大業常把她囑咐的話告訴親友。果然，侯家生了一個女兒，身上有肉瘤。侯家地位低微，品行又壞，眾人都瞧不起，安大業還是請媒人訂下了婚事。大器十七歲考中進士，娶了雲氏，夫妻都孝順父親，友愛家人，父親十分疼愛他們。可棄漸漸長大，不喜歡讀書，總偷偷跟無賴賭博，常常偷東西償還賭債。父親生氣，打他，他始終不改。家裡人互相提醒，嚴加防備，不讓他偷到東西。於是他夜裡出門，幹起小偷小摸的勾當。被失主察覺，捆起來送到縣令面前。縣令問清他的姓氏，便附上自己的名帖，把他送回家。父親和哥哥一起把他捆住，狠狠鞭打，打得他幾乎斷氣。哥哥替他求情，才放了他。父親氣憤憂惱，得了病，飯量大減，便給兩個兒子寫下分家文書，樓閣和肥沃的田地都歸大器。可棄怨恨憤怒，夜裡拿刀進屋，想殺哥哥，卻誤砍中了嫂子。先前，公主留下一條褲子，極其輕軟，雲氏拿來當睡衣穿。可棄砍上去，火星四濺，他大為驚恐，跑了出去。父親知道後，病情更加嚴重，幾個月後便去世了。可棄聽說父親死了，才回到家。哥哥好好對待他，可他越發放肆。一年多後，分給他的田產幾乎揮霍殆盡，他到郡裡告哥哥。官員查明他的為人，把他呵斥出去。兄弟之間的情分就此斷絕。又過了一年，可棄二十三歲，侯家女兒十五歲。哥哥想起母親的話，要趕快給他完婚，便把他叫回家，騰出一所好宅院給他住。新娘進門以後，哥哥把父親留下的良田全都登記好，交給她，說：「這幾頃薄田，我替你拼命守著，如今全交給你。我弟弟品行不好，給他一棵草，他也會扔掉。往後的成敗，就看新婦了：能讓他改過，就不用擔心挨餓受凍；否則，我這個做哥哥的，也填不滿這無底的溝壑。」侯氏雖然出身小戶人家，卻聰明美麗，可棄很怕她，也很愛她，她說的話，一句也不敢違背。每次出門，她都規定他回來的時刻，超過時間，就嚴厲責罵，不給他吃喝。可棄因此稍有收斂。一年多以後，她生了一個兒子，說：「我以後不用再求別人了。幾頃肥田，我們母子還怕不能吃飽穿暖嗎？沒有丈夫也可以。」恰逢可棄偷了糧食出去賭博，妻子知道後，在門口拉開弓，不讓他進來。可棄大為害怕，躲開了。他偷看妻子進屋，遲疑了一會兒，也跟了進去。妻子拿起刀站起來，可棄轉身就跑，妻子追上去砍他，砍斷衣襬，傷了臀部，血染紅了襪子和鞋。他憤怒至極，去向哥哥告狀，哥哥不肯好好理他，他又委屈又羞慚地走了。過了一夜，他又來，跪在嫂子面前哭泣，求她先向妻子說情，可妻子堅決不肯讓他回來。可棄發怒，說要去殺妻子，哥哥沒有說話。可棄氣憤地站起來，拿著戈直衝出去。嫂子驚愕，想要攔住他，哥哥用眼色制止她。等可棄走了，哥哥才說：「他不過裝出這個樣子，其實不敢回家。」他派人去看，可棄已經進了家門。哥哥這才變了臉色，正要趕過去，可棄已經氣喘吁吁地跑進來了。原來可棄進家時，妻子正在逗孩子，看見他，就把孩子扔到床上，找來一把廚刀。可棄害怕，拖著戈轉身逃跑，妻子一直追到門外才回去。哥哥已經知道事情經過，卻故意問他。可棄不說話，只是對著牆角哭，眼睛都哭腫了。哥哥可憐他，親自帶他回家，妻子這才讓他進來。等哥哥走後，妻子罰他長時間跪著，逼他發下重誓，然後才用瓦盆給他飯吃。從此，可棄改過向善。妻子掌管賬目，精打細算，家業一天比一天豐厚，可棄只管享用她經營的成果。後來他到了七十歲，子孫圍滿眼前，妻子還時常揪著他的白鬍須，讓他跪著挪動。
安大业，卢龙人。生而能言，母饮以犬血，始止。既长，韶秀，顾影无俦；慧而能读。世家争婚之。母梦曰：「儿当尚主。」信之。至十五六，迄无验，亦渐自悔。一日，安独坐，忽闻异香。俄一美婢奔入，曰：「公主至。」即以长毡贴地，自门外直至榻前。方骇疑间，一女郎扶婢肩入；服色容光，映照四堵。婢即以绣垫设榻上，扶女郎坐。安仓皇不知所为，鞠躬便问：「何处神仙，劳降玉趾？」女郎微笑，以袍袖掩口。婢曰：「此圣后府中云萝公主也。圣后属意郎君，欲以公主下嫁，故使自来相宅。」安惊喜，不知置词；女亦俯首：相对寂然。安故好棋，楸枰尝置坐侧。一婢以红巾拂尘，移诸案上，曰：「主日耽此，不知与粉侯孰胜？」安移坐近案，主笑从之。甫三十余着，婢竟乱之，曰：「驸马负矣！」敛子入盒，曰：「驸马当是俗间高手，主仅能让六子。」乃以六黑子实局中，主亦从之。主坐次，辄使婢伏坐下，以背受足；左足踏地，则更一婢右伏。又两小鬟夹侍之；每值安凝思时，辄曲一肘伏肩上。局阑未结，小鬟笑云：「驸马负一子。」进曰：「主惰，宜且退。」女乃倾身与婢耳语。婢出，少顷而还，以千金置榻上，告生曰：「适主言居宅湫隘，烦以此少致修饰，落成相会也。」一婢曰：「此月犯天刑，不宜建造；月后吉。」女起；生遮止，闭门。婢出一物，状类皮排，就地鼓之；云气突出，俄顷四合，冥不见物，索之已杳。母知之，疑以为妖。而生神驰梦想，不能复舍。急于落成，无暇禁忌；刻日敦迫，廊舍一新。先是，有滦州生袁大用，侨寓邻坊，投刺于门；生素寡交，托他出，又窥其亡而报之。后月余，门外适相值，二十许少年也。宫绢单衣，丝带乌履，意甚都雅。略与顷谈，颇甚温谨。悦之，揖而入。请与对弈，互有赢亏。已而设酒留连，谈笑大懽。明日，邀生至其寓所，珍肴杂进，相待殷渥。有小童十二三许，拍板清歌，又跳掷作剧。生大醉，不能行，便令负之。生以其纤弱，恐不胜。袁强之。僮绰有余力，荷送而归。生奇之。次日，犒以金，再辞乃受。由此交情款密，三数日辄一过从。袁为人简默，而慷慨好施。市有负债鬻女者，解囊代赎，无吝色。生以此益重之。过数日，诣生作别，赠象箸、楠珠等十余事，白金五百，用助兴作。生反金受物，报以束帛。后月余，乐亭有仕宦而归者，橐赀充牣。盗夜入，执主人，烧铁钳灼，劫掠一空。家人识袁，行牒追捕。邻院屠氏，与生家积不相能，因其土木大兴，阴怀疑忌。适有小仆窃象箸，卖诸其家，知袁所赠，因报大尹。尹以兵绕舍，值生主仆他出，执母而去。母衰迈受惊，仅存气息，二三日不复饮食。尹释之。生闻母耗，急奔而归，则母病已笃，越宿遂卒。收殓甫毕，为捕役执去。尹见其年少温文，窃疑诬枉，故恐喝之。生实述其交往之由。尹问：「何以暴富？」生曰：「母有藏镪，因欲亲迎，故治昏室耳。」尹信之，具牒解郡。邻人知其无事，以重金赂监者，使杀诸途。路经深山，被曳近削壁，将推堕之。计逼情危，时方急难，忽一虎自丛莽中出，囓二役皆死，啣生去。至一处，重楼叠阁，虎入，置之。见云萝扶婢出，凄然慰吊：「妾欲留君，但母丧未卜窀穸。可怀牒去，到郡自投，保无恙也。」因取生胸前带，连结十余扣，嘱云：「见官时，拈此结而解之，可以弭祸。」生如其教，诣郡自投。太守喜其诚信，又稽牒知其冤，销名令归。至中途，遇袁，下骑执手，备言情况。袁愤然作色，默不一语。生曰：「以君风采，何自污也？」袁曰：「某所杀皆不义之人，所取皆非义之财。不然，即遗于路者，不拾也。君教我固自佳，然如君家邻，岂可留在人间耶！」言已，超乘而去。生归，殡母已，柴门谢客。忽一夜，盗入邻家，父子十余口，尽行杀戮，止留一婢。席卷赀物，与僮分携之。临去，执灯谓婢：汝认之：杀人者我也，与人无涉。」并不启关，飞檐越壁而去。明日，告官。疑生知情，又捉生去。邑宰词色甚厉。生上堂握带，且辨且解，宰不能诘，又释之。既归，益自韬晦，读书不出，一跛妪执炊而已。服既阕，日扫阶庭，以待好音。一日，异香满院。登阁视之，内外陈设焕然矣。悄揭画帘，则公主凝妆坐。急拜之。女挽手曰：「君不信数，遂使土木为灾；又以苫块之戚，迟我三年琴瑟：是急之而反以得缓，天下事大抵然也。」生将出赀治具。女曰：「勿复须。」婢探椟，肴羹热如新出于鼎，酒亦芳冽。酌移时，日已投暮，足下所踏婢，渐都亡去。女四肢娇惰，足股屈伸，似无所着。生狎抱之。女曰：「君暂释手。今有两道，请君择之。」生揽项问故。曰：「若为棋酒之交，可得三十年聚首；若作床第之欢，可六年谐合耳。君焉取？」生曰：「六年后再商之。」女乃默然，遂相燕好。女曰：「妾固知君不免俗道，此亦数也。」因使生蓄婢媪，别居南院，炊爨纺织，以作生计。北院中并无烟火，惟棋枰、酒具而已。户常阖，生推之则自开，他人不得入也。然南院人作事勤惰，女辄知之，每使生往谴责，无不具服。女无繁言，无响笑，与有所谈，但俯首微哂。每骈肩坐，喜斜倚人。生举而加诸膝，轻如抱婴。生曰：「卿轻若此，可作掌上舞。」曰：「此何难！但婢子之为，所不屑耳。飞燕原九姊侍儿，屡以轻佻获罪，怒谪尘间，又不守女子之贞；今已幽之。」阁上以锦布满，冬未尝寒，夏未尝热。女严冬皆着轻縠；生为制鲜衣，强使着之。逾时解去，曰：「尘浊之物，几于压骨成劳！」一日，抱诸膝上，忽觉沉倍曩昔，异之。笑指腹曰：「此中有俗种矣。」过数日，颦黛不食，曰：「近病恶阻，颇思烟火之味。」生乃为具甘旨。从此饮食遂不异于常人。一日曰：「妾质单弱，不任生产。婢子樊英颇健，可使代之。」乃脱衷服衣英，闭诸室。少顷，闻儿啼。启扉视之，男也。喜曰：「此儿福相，大器也！」因名大器。绷纳生怀，俾付乳媪，养诸南院。女自免身，腰细如初，不食烟火矣。忽辞生，欲暂归宁。问返期，答以「三日」。鼓皮排如前状，遂不见。至期不来；积年余，音信全渺，亦已绝望。生键户下帏，遂领乡荐。终不肯娶；每独宿北院，沐其余芳。一夜，辗转在榻，忽见灯火射窗，门亦自辟，群婢拥公主入。生喜，起问爽约之罪。女曰：「妾未愆期，天上二日半耳。」生得意自诩，告以秋捷，意主必喜。女愀然曰：「乌用是傥来者为！无足荣辱，止折人寿数耳。三日不见，入俗幛又深一层矣。」生由是不复进取。过数月，又欲归宁。生殊凄恋。女曰：「此去定早还，无烦穿望。且人生合离，皆有定数，撙节之则长，恣纵之则短也。」既去，月余即返。从此一年半岁辄一行，往往数月始还，生习为常，亦不之怪。又生一子。女举之曰：「豺狼也！」立命弃之。生不忍而止，名曰可弃。甫周岁，急为卜婚。诸媒接踵，问其甲子，皆谓不合。曰：「吾欲为狼子治一深圈，竟不可得，当今倾败六七年，亦数也。」嘱生曰：「记取四年后，侯氏生女，左胁有小赘疣，乃此儿妇。当婚之，勿较其门地也。」即令书而志之。后又归宁，竟不复返。生每以所嘱告亲友。果有侯氏女，生有疣赘，侯贱而行恶，众咸不齿，生竟媒定焉。大器十七岁及第，娶云氏，夫妻皆孝友。父钟爱之。可弃渐长，不喜读，辄偷与无赖博赌，恒盗物偿戏债。父怒，挞之，卒不改。相戒提防，不使有所得。遂夜出，小为穿窬。为主所觉，缚送邑宰。宰审其姓氏，以名刺送之归。父兄共絷之，楚掠惨棘，几于绝气。兄代哀免，始释之。父忿恚得疾，食锐减。乃为二子立析产书，楼阁沃田，尽归大器。可弃怨怒，夜持刀入室，将杀兄，悮中嫂。先是，主有遗袴，绝轻耎，云拾作寝衣。可弃斫之，火星四射，大惧，奔出。父知，病益剧，数月寻卒。可弃闻父死，始归。兄善视之，而可弃益肆。年余，所分田产略尽，赴郡讼兄。官审知其人，斥逐之。兄弟之好遂绝。又逾年，可弃二十有三，侯女十五矣。兄忆母言，欲急为完婚。召至家，除佳宅与居；迎妇入门，以父遗良田，悉登籍交之，曰：「数顷薄产，为若蒙死守之，今悉相付。吾弟无行，寸草与之，皆弃也。此后成败，在于新妇：能令改行，无忧冻饿；不然，兄亦不能填无底壑也。」侯虽小家女，然固慧丽，可弃雅畏爱之，所言无敢违。每出，限以晷刻，过期，则诟厉不与饮食，可弃以此少敛。年余，生一子。妇曰：「我以后无求于人矣。膏腴数顷，母子何患不温饱？无夫焉，亦可也。」会可弃盗粟出赌，妇知之，弯弓于门以拒之。大惧，避去。窥妇入，逡巡亦入。妇操刀起。可弃反奔，妇逐斫之，断幅伤臀，血沾袜履。忿极，往诉兄，兄不礼焉，冤惭而去。过宿复至，跪嫂哀泣，求先容于妇，妇决绝不纳。可弃怒，将往杀妇，兄不语。可弃忿起，操戈直出。嫂愕然，欲止之。兄目禁之。俟其去，乃曰：「彼固作此态，实不敢归也。」使人觇之，已入家门。兄始色动，将奔赴之，而可弃已坌息入。盖可弃入家，妇方弄儿，望见之，掷儿床上，觅得厨刀；可弃惧，曳戈反走，妇逐出门外始返。兄已得其情，故诘之。可弃不言，惟向隅泣，目尽肿。兄怜之，亲率之去，妇乃纳之。俟兄出，罚使长跪，要以重誓，而后以瓦盆赐之食。自此改行为善。妇持筹握算，日致丰盈，可弃仰成而已。后年七旬，子孙满前，妇犹时捋白须，使膝行焉。
安大业是卢龙人，一出生就能说话，母亲给他喝了狗血，他才不说了。长大以后，他容貌俊秀，顾影自照，觉得无人能与自己相比，又聪明，善于读书。世家大族争着要把女儿嫁给他。母亲做了一个梦，说：“我儿子该娶公主。”她深信不疑。可安大业到了十五六岁，这话始终没有应验，她也渐渐后悔起来。一天，安大业独自坐着，忽然闻到一股奇异的香气。不一会儿，一个美貌的婢女跑进来，说：“公主到了。”随即把一条长毡铺在地上，从门外一直铺到榻前。安大业正惊疑不定，一个年轻女子扶着婢女的肩膀走了进来，她衣服的颜色和容貌的光彩，映亮了四面的墙壁。婢女立刻在榻上放好绣垫，扶她坐下。安大业慌得不知如何是好，躬身问道：“不知是哪一位神仙，劳您亲自降临？”女子微微一笑，用衣袖掩住嘴。婢女说：“这是圣后府中的云萝公主。圣后看中了郎君，想把公主嫁给您，所以让公主亲自来看看宅院。”安大业又惊又喜，不知说什么才好；女子也低着头，两人相对无言。安大业向来喜欢下棋，身旁常放着一张楸木棋盘。一个婢女用红巾拂去灰尘，把棋盘移到桌上，说：“公主每天都爱下棋，不知和这位俊俏的郎君相比，谁更高明？”安大业把座位移到桌旁，公主笑着也移了过来。刚下了三十多手，婢女竟把棋子搅乱，说：“驸马输了！”她把棋子收进盒里，又说：“驸马想必是人间的高手，公主只能受您让六子。”便在棋盘上摆下六颗黑子，公主也由着她。公主坐着的时候，总让婢女伏在座位下面，用背托着她的脚；左脚落到地上，就换另一个婢女伏在右边。还有两个小婢女在两旁侍候，每逢安大业凝神思考棋路，公主就弯起一条胳膊，把肘部支在婢女肩上。棋局快下完，还没算出结果，一个小婢女笑着说：“驸马输了一子。”又上前说：“公主累了，还是先回去吧。”女子便侧过身，贴着婢女的耳朵说了几句话。婢女出去，不一会儿回来，把一千两银子放在榻上，对安大业说：“刚才公主说，这宅院低矮狭窄，请用这点银子稍加修整，等完工以后再来相会。”一个婢女说：“这个月犯天刑，不宜动工建造；过了这个月才吉利。”女子起身要走，安大业拦住她，把门关上。婢女拿出一件东西，形状像皮排，放在地上鼓动起来，云气立刻喷涌而出，转眼便从四面合拢，昏暗得看不见东西，再找她们，已经不见踪影了。母亲知道这件事，怀疑来的是妖怪。可安大业无论醒着还是梦里，都想着公主，再也放不下。他急着把房子修好，顾不得那些禁忌，定下期限，催着赶工，廊房屋舍全都焕然一新。在这以前，有个滦州的读书人袁大用，暂住在邻近的街坊，曾到门前递过名帖。安大业向来不大与人交往，便托辞外出，又等袁大用不在时，去回拜他。一个多月后，两人恰好在门外相遇。袁大用是个二十岁左右的年轻人，穿着宫绢单衣，系着丝带，脚穿黑鞋，神态十分文雅。略谈了一会儿，觉得他很温和谨慎，安大业喜欢他，便作揖请他进屋，邀他下棋，两人互有胜负。随后又摆酒留他，谈笑得十分畅快。第二天，袁大用请安大业到自己的住处，各种珍贵的菜肴接连端上来，招待得十分殷勤。有个十二三岁的小童，打着拍板，清声歌唱，又跳跃翻腾，表演杂耍。安大业喝得大醉，不能走路，袁大用便叫小童背他回去。安大业看小童瘦弱，怕他背不动，袁大用却坚持让他背。小童的力气绰绰有余，背起安大业便送回了家。安大业十分惊奇，第二天拿银子酬谢他，小童推辞了两次才收下。从此两人交情深厚，每隔几天就互相来往。袁大用为人沉默寡言，却慷慨好施。街市上有人欠了债，要卖女儿还债，他便解开钱袋，代为赎回，毫无舍不得的神色。安大业因此更加敬重他。过了几天，袁大用前来告别，送给安大业象箸、楠珠等十多样东西，还有五百两银子，帮助他修建房屋。安大业退回银子，收下物品，回赠了一束帛。又过了一个多月，乐亭有个做官回来的人，带回了大量钱财。盗贼夜里闯进他家，抓住主人，把铁钳烧红了烙他，将财物抢得一干二净。家里人认出袁大用，官府便发文追捕。安大业隔壁的屠家，向来与他家不和，见他大兴土木，暗中又疑心又嫉恨。恰好有个小仆人偷了象箸，卖到屠家。屠家知道是袁大用送的，就报告了县令。县令派兵围住安家，正逢安大业和仆人都不在，便抓走了他的母亲。母亲年老体衰，受到惊吓，只剩一口气，两三天都不再吃喝，县令才把她放了。安大业听到母亲的消息，急忙奔回家，可母亲已经病重，过了一夜便去世了。刚把母亲收殓好，他就被捕役抓走。县令见他年少温文，暗自怀疑他受了诬陷，便先恐吓他。安大业如实讲述了与袁大用交往的经过。县令问：“你怎么忽然富起来了？”安大业说：“母亲存了一些银子，因为我要迎娶妻子，所以修整婚房罢了。”县令相信了，写好公文，把他押送到郡里。邻居知道他会平安无事，就拿重金贿赂押送的人，让他们在路上杀了他。路过深山时，他被拖到陡峭的山崖边，眼看就要被推下去。正在走投无路、性命危急的时候，忽然一只老虎从草丛里冲出来，把两个差役都咬死了，衔着安大业离开。来到一处楼阁层叠的地方，老虎进去，把他放下。他看见云萝扶着婢女走出来，神情凄然地安慰他，向他致哀，说：“我想把你留下，可你母亲还没有选定墓地安葬。你可以带着公文，到郡里自行投案，我保你平安。”她拿起安大业胸前的衣带，接连打了十多个结，嘱咐说：“见官的时候，捏着这些结解开，就能消除灾祸。”安大业照她的话，到郡里自行投案。太守喜欢他的诚实，又查阅公文，知道他受了冤枉，就从案中除去他的名字，让他回家。走到半路，遇见袁大用，安大业下马拉住他的手，把事情的经过全说了。袁大用脸上露出愤怒的神色，沉默着一句话也不说。安大业说：“以你的风采，为什么要做这种玷污自己的事呢？”袁大用说：“我杀的都是不义的人，拿的都是不义的钱财。否则，就算东西遗落在路上，我也不会捡。你劝我自然是好意，可像你家邻居这样的人，难道还该留在人间吗！”说完，跃上马背走了。安大业回到家，安置好母亲的灵柩，关上柴门，谢绝来客。忽然一天夜里，盗贼闯进邻家，把父子等十多口人全部杀死，只留下一个婢女，将财物一扫而空，与小童分着带走。临走时，他举着灯对婢女说：“你认清楚：杀人的是我，跟别人没有关系。”连门也不开，便飞越屋檐和墙壁离开了。第二天，事情报到官府，官府怀疑安大业知情，又把他抓去。县令说话和神色都十分严厉。安大业上堂时握着衣带，一边分辩，一边解结，县令无法再追问，又把他放了。回家以后，他更加深藏不露，只管读书，不再出门，只有一个跛脚老妇给他做饭。守孝期满以后，他每天打扫台阶和庭院，等候好消息。一天，奇异的香气充满院子。他登上楼阁一看，里面外面的陈设都已焕然一新。轻轻揭起画帘，只见公主盛装坐在那里，他急忙上前行礼。女子拉着他的手说：“你不信命数，结果修建房屋反而招来灾祸；又因为母亲去世，要守孝，让我们的夫妻生活推迟了三年。这就是急着办成，反而拖慢了，天下的事情大多如此。”安大业准备拿钱置办酒菜，女子说：“不用再准备了。”婢女从匣子里取出菜肴和羹汤，热得像刚从锅里端出来，酒也芳香清冽。喝了一会儿，天色已近黄昏，给她垫脚的婢女渐渐都离开了。女子四肢娇软无力，两腿屈伸，像是无处安放。安大业亲昵地抱住她。女子说：“你先放开手。现在有两条路，请你选一条。”安大业搂着她的脖子，问是什么意思。她说：“如果我们只是下棋饮酒的朋友，可以相聚三十年；如果做同床共枕的夫妻，就只能相好六年。你选哪一种？”安大业说：“六年以后再商量吧。”女子便不再说话，两人于是结为夫妻。女子说：“我本来就知道你免不了走世俗这条路，这也是命数。”她让安大业雇用婢女和老妇，另住在南院，做饭、纺纱、织布，维持家中的生计。北院从不生火做饭，只有棋盘和酒具。院门常常关着，安大业一推就自动打开，别人却进不去。可是南院的人做事勤快还是偷懒，女子总能知道，每次让安大业去责备他们，他们无不认错。女子话不多，也不大声笑，与人交谈时，只是低着头微微一笑。两人并肩坐着，她喜欢斜靠在安大业身上。安大业把她抱到膝上，轻得像抱着婴儿。他说：“你这么轻，可以在手掌上跳舞了。”她说：“这有什么难的！只是婢女做的事，我不屑去做罢了。飞燕原是我九姐的侍女，屡次因为轻浮受到责罚，九姐一怒之下把她贬到人间，她又不守女子的贞节，如今已经被幽禁了。”楼上到处铺着锦缎，冬天从不寒冷，夏天从不炎热。女子隆冬时也只穿轻薄的纱衣。安大业给她做了漂亮的新衣，硬劝她穿上。过了一会儿，她便脱掉，说：“人间这些污浊的东西，压得我骨头都快病了！”一天，安大业把她抱到膝上，忽然觉得比从前重了一倍，十分奇怪。她笑着指了指肚子，说：“这里面已经有了凡人的孩子。”过了几天，她皱着眉头，不肯吃东西，说：“近来害喜，很想尝尝人间生火做出的饭菜。”安大业便给她准备美味的食物。从此，她的饮食就和常人没有区别了。一天，她说：“我身体单薄，经不起生产。婢女樊英很健壮，可以让她替我生。”于是脱下内衣，给樊英穿上，把她关在房里。不一会儿，听到婴儿的哭声，开门一看，是个男孩。女子高兴地说：“这孩子有福相，将来会有大出息！”便给他取名大器。她把孩子包好，放进安大业怀里，让他交给奶妈，在南院抚养。女子生下孩子以后，腰身又像从前一样纤细，也不再吃人间生火做出的饭菜。忽然，她向安大业告别，要暂时回娘家探望。安大业问什么时候回来，她答道：“三天。”随后像先前那样鼓动皮排，便不见了。到了约定的日子，她没有回来。一年多过去，音信全无，安大业也已经绝望。他关门专心读书，后来考中了举人，始终不肯另娶；每次都独自睡在北院，闻着她留下的香气。一天夜里，他在榻上辗转难眠，忽然看见灯光照进窗户，门也自动打开，一群婢女簇拥着公主进来。安大业大喜，起身责问她为什么失约。女子说：“我没有误了日期，天上才过了两天半。”安大业得意地夸耀自己，告诉她秋试中榜的事，以为公主一定高兴。女子却神色忧伤地说：“这些偶然得来的东西，有什么用！并不能带来真正的荣辱，只会折损人的寿命。三天不见，你又陷入世俗的迷障深了一层。”安大业从此不再求取功名。过了几个月，女子又要回娘家。安大业十分悲伤，舍不得她走。女子说：“这次一定早回来，不用望眼欲穿。而且人生的相聚和分离，都有固定的数目，节省着用，就能长久；任意挥霍，就会短暂。”她走后，一个多月便回来了。从此，每隔半年或一年，她就回去一次，往往几个月才回来。安大业习以为常，也不觉得奇怪。后来，她又生了一个儿子。她抱起孩子说：“这是豺狼！”立刻命人扔掉。安大业不忍心，拦住了，给孩子取名可弃。孩子刚满一岁，女子就急着给他挑选婚事。媒人接连不断地来，她问过女方的生辰，都说不合适。她说：“我想给这只狼崽修一道深深的围栏，竟然找不到，看来他得败落六七年，这也是命数。”她嘱咐安大业说：“记住，四年以后，侯家会生一个女儿，左胁下有一颗小肉瘤，她就是这孩子的妻子。一定要让他们成婚，不要计较她家的门第。”随即让他写下来记住。后来，她又回娘家，竟再也没有回来。安大业常把她嘱咐的话告诉亲友。果然，侯家生了一个女儿，身上有肉瘤。侯家地位低微，品行又坏，众人都瞧不起，安大业还是请媒人订下了婚事。大器十七岁考中进士，娶了云氏，夫妻都孝顺父亲，友爱家人，父亲十分疼爱他们。可弃渐渐长大，不喜欢读书，总偷偷跟无赖赌博，常常偷东西偿还赌债。父亲生气，打他，他始终不改。家里人互相提醒，严加防备，不让他偷到东西。于是他夜里出门，干起小偷小摸的勾当。被失主察觉，捆起来送到县令面前。县令问清他的姓氏，便附上自己的名帖，把他送回家。父亲和哥哥一起把他捆住，狠狠鞭打，打得他几乎断气。哥哥替他求情，才放了他。父亲气愤忧恼，得了病，饭量大减，便给两个儿子写下分家文书，楼阁和肥沃的田地都归大器。可弃怨恨愤怒，夜里拿刀进屋，想杀哥哥，却误砍中了嫂子。先前，公主留下一条裤子，极其轻软，云氏拿来当睡衣穿。可弃砍上去，火星四溅，他大为惊恐，跑了出去。父亲知道后，病情更加严重，几个月后便去世了。可弃听说父亲死了，才回到家。哥哥好好对待他，可他越发放肆。一年多后，分给他的田产几乎挥霍殆尽，他到郡里告哥哥。官员查明他的为人，把他呵斥出去。兄弟之间的情分就此断绝。又过了一年，可弃二十三岁，侯家女儿十五岁。哥哥想起母亲的话，要赶快给他完婚，便把他叫回家，腾出一所好宅院给他住。新娘进门以后，哥哥把父亲留下的良田全都登记好，交给她，说：“这几顷薄田，我替你拼命守着，如今全交给你。我弟弟品行不好，给他一棵草，他也会扔掉。往后的成败，就看新妇了：能让他改过，就不用担心挨饿受冻；否则，我这个做哥哥的，也填不满这无底的沟壑。”侯氏虽然出身小户人家，却聪明美丽，可弃很怕她，也很爱她，她说的话，一句也不敢违背。每次出门，她都规定他回来的时刻，超过时间，就严厉责骂，不给他吃喝。可弃因此稍有收敛。一年多以后，她生了一个儿子，说：“我以后不用再求别人了。几顷肥田，我们母子还怕不能吃饱穿暖吗？没有丈夫也可以。”恰逢可弃偷了粮食出去赌博，妻子知道后，在门口拉开弓，不让他进来。可弃大为害怕，躲开了。他偷看妻子进屋，迟疑了一会儿，也跟了进去。妻子拿起刀站起来，可弃转身就跑，妻子追上去砍他，砍断衣摆，伤了臀部，血染红了袜子和鞋。他愤怒至极，去向哥哥告状，哥哥不肯好好理他，他又委屈又羞惭地走了。过了一夜，他又来，跪在嫂子面前哭泣，求她先向妻子说情，可妻子坚决不肯让他回来。可弃发怒，说要去杀妻子，哥哥没有说话。可弃气愤地站起来，拿着戈直冲出去。嫂子惊愕，想要拦住他，哥哥用眼色制止她。等可弃走了，哥哥才说：“他不过装出这个样子，其实不敢回家。”他派人去看，可弃已经进了家门。哥哥这才变了脸色，正要赶过去，可弃已经气喘吁吁地跑进来了。原来可弃进家时，妻子正在逗孩子，看见他，就把孩子扔到床上，找来一把厨刀。可弃害怕，拖着戈转身逃跑，妻子一直追到门外才回去。哥哥已经知道事情经过，却故意问他。可弃不说话，只是对着墙角哭，眼睛都哭肿了。哥哥可怜他，亲自带他回家，妻子这才让他进来。等哥哥走后，妻子罚他长时间跪着，逼他发下重誓，然后才用瓦盆给他饭吃。从此，可弃改过向善。妻子掌管账目，精打细算，家业一天比一天丰厚，可弃只管享用她经营的成果。后来他到了七十岁，子孙围满眼前，妻子还时常揪着他的白胡须，让他跪着挪动。
An Daye was a man of Lulong. He could talk as soon as he was born; only when his mother gave him dog’s blood to drink did he stop. When he grew up he was handsome and refined, with no match but his own reflection, and he was clever and good at his books. Great families vied to marry their daughters to him. His mother had a dream, and said, “Our son is to marry a princess.” She believed it. But he reached fifteen, then sixteen, and nothing came of it, and little by little regret set in. One day, as An sat alone, he suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. Soon a pretty maid ran in. “The princess is here,” she said. At once a long felt carpet was laid along the ground, from outside the gate right up to his couch. While he was still startled and wondering, a young lady came in, leaning on a maid’s shoulder; her clothes and her radiance lit up all four walls. The maid put an embroidered cushion on the couch and helped her sit. An was flustered and did not know what to do. He bowed and asked, “What immortal are you, to trouble your jade feet to come down here?” The lady smiled and hid her mouth behind her sleeve. “This is Princess Yunluo, of the Holy Empress’s palace,” said the maid. “The Holy Empress has her eye on you, young sir, and means to give you the princess in marriage, so she has sent her to look over your house herself.” An was astonished and delighted, and could not find a word to say. The girl, too, kept her head bowed. They sat facing each other in silence. An had always loved weiqi, and kept a board of catalpa wood beside his seat. A maid dusted it with a red kerchief and moved it onto the table. “The princess is absorbed in this every day,” she said. “I wonder which is better, she or the Powdered Marquis?” An moved his seat up to the table, and the princess, smiling, did the same. They had played barely thirty moves when the maid swept the stones into disorder. “The consort has lost!” she said. She gathered the stones into their boxes. “The consort must be a master among mortals. The princess can give him only six stones.” So she set six black stones on the board for him, and the princess went along with it. As the princess sat, she always had a maid crouch beneath her seat to take her feet on her back; when she put her left foot down, another maid crouched on the right. Two little maids stood in attendance on either side, and whenever An was deep in thought over a move, she would bend an elbow and lean on one of their shoulders. The game was nearly over but not yet counted when a little maid laughed. “The consort has lost by one stone.” She stepped forward. “The princess is tired. She should withdraw for now.” The girl leaned over and whispered to a maid. The maid went out, came back shortly, and put a thousand taels on the couch. “The princess said just now that your house is cramped and low,” she told him. “Please use this to do it up a little. When it is finished, she will meet you.” Another maid said, “This month falls under the Heavenly Punishment. It is not right for building. After this month it will be lucky.” The girl rose. An barred her way and shut the door. A maid brought out a thing shaped like a leather bellows and pumped it on the ground. Cloud billowed out of it, and in a moment closed in on every side, so dark that nothing could be seen. When he searched for them, they were gone. His mother heard of it and suspected they were evil spirits. But An’s mind ran after the princess waking and dreaming; he could not let her go. In his haste to finish the house he had no time for taboos. He set a date and pressed the work, and the halls and rooms were all made new. Before this, a scholar from Luanzhou named Yuan Dayong, lodging in a neighbouring quarter, had left his card at the gate. An had never cared for company; he sent word that he was out, then watched until Yuan was away and went to return the call. A month or so later they happened to meet outside the gate. Yuan was a young man of about twenty, in an unlined gown of palace silk, with a silk sash and black shoes, and a most elegant air. They talked a little, and he was gentle and courteous. An liked him, and bowed him in. He invited him to a game of weiqi, and each won some and lost some. Then An set out wine and kept him on, and they talked and laughed with great pleasure. The next day Yuan invited An to his lodging and served him dish after dish of delicacies, treating him most warmly. A page boy of twelve or thirteen sang in a clear voice, beating time with clappers, then leaped and tumbled to amuse them. An got very drunk and could not walk, so Yuan told the boy to carry him. An thought him too slight, and feared he could not manage. Yuan insisted. The boy had strength to spare; he took An on his back and carried him home. An thought it remarkable. The next day he sent the boy a reward of money; the boy refused twice before he took it. From then on the two were close friends, and called on each other every few days. Yuan was a man of few words, but generous and fond of giving. When a man in the market was selling his daughter to pay a debt, Yuan opened his purse and bought her back, without a trace of grudging. An thought all the more of him for it. Some days later Yuan came to take his leave. He gave An a dozen or so things, ivory chopsticks, nanmu-wood beads and the like, and five hundred taels of silver to help with the building. An returned the silver, kept the things, and gave him a bolt of silk in return. A month or so later, in Laoting, an official came home from his post with his bags stuffed full. Robbers broke in at night, seized the master, burned him with red-hot tongs, and carried off everything. The household recognized Yuan, and warrants went out for his arrest. The Tu family next door to An had long been at odds with his household, and when they saw his great building works they grew secretly suspicious and spiteful. It happened that a young servant of An’s stole the ivory chopsticks and sold them to the Tus. Learning they were Yuan’s gift, the Tus reported it to the magistrate. The magistrate surrounded the house with soldiers. An and his servant happened to be out, so they took his mother away. She was old and frail, and the fright left her barely breathing; for two or three days she would not eat or drink. The magistrate let her go. When An heard the news he rushed home, but his mother was already gravely ill, and she died the next night. He had barely laid her in her coffin when the constables seized him. The magistrate, seeing how young and gentle he was, privately suspected a false charge, and tried to frighten him. An told him truthfully how he had come to know Yuan. “How did you get rich so suddenly?” the magistrate asked. “My mother had money put away,” said An. “I am about to bring home a bride, so I was making ready the bridal rooms.” The magistrate believed him, and sent him under escort to the prefecture with a report. The neighbours knew he would get off, so they paid the guards a large bribe to kill him on the road. Their way led through deep mountains. The guards dragged him to a sheer cliff and were about to push him over. At this desperate moment, with no way out, a tiger sprang from the thickets, bit both guards to death, and carried An off in its jaws. It came to a place of towers and halls rising one above another, went in, and set him down. Yunluo came out, leaning on a maid, and sadly consoled him on his loss. “I would keep you here,” she said, “but your mother’s grave is not yet chosen. Take the papers with you and give yourself up at the prefecture. I promise no harm will come to you.” She took the sash at his breast and tied a dozen or more knots in it. “When you stand before the official,” she told him, “pick at these knots and untie them, and the trouble will pass.” An did as she said, and gave himself up at the prefecture. The prefect was pleased with his honesty, and, finding from the papers that he had been wronged, struck his name from the case and sent him home. Halfway home he met Yuan. He got down from his horse, took his hand, and told him all that had happened. Yuan’s face darkened with anger, but he said not a word. “A man of your bearing,” said An, “why do you sully yourself?” “Everyone I have killed was a wicked man,” said Yuan, “and everything I have taken was ill-gotten. If not, I would not pick up so much as a thing dropped on the road. Your advice is good in itself. But people like your neighbours — how can they be left in the world?” With that he leaped onto his horse and was gone. An went home, held his mother’s funeral, and shut his brushwood gate against callers. One night a robber broke into the house next door and slaughtered the whole family, father, sons and all, more than ten people, sparing only one maid. He swept up everything of value, and he and his boy carried it off between them. As he was leaving, he held up a lamp and said to the maid, “Take a good look. I am the one who did the killing. It has nothing to do with anyone else.” He did not even open the gate, but flew over eaves and walls and was gone. The next day it was reported. The officials suspected An knew something, and arrested him again. The county magistrate was harsh in word and look. An went up into the hall holding his sash, and as he argued he untied the knots; the magistrate could find nothing to put to him, and released him again. Back home, he hid himself away more than ever, reading and never going out, with only a lame old woman to cook for him. When his mourning was over, he swept the steps and courtyard every day, waiting for good news. One day a strange fragrance filled the courtyard. He went up to the upper rooms to look, and found them furnished in splendour inside and out. Quietly he lifted the painted curtain: there sat the princess in full array. He hastened to bow to her. She took his hand. “You did not believe in fate,” she said, “and so your building brought disaster on you. Then your grief on the straw mat and clod pillow put off our music of zither and lute for three years. Hurry a thing and it comes all the slower. Most things in the world are like that.” An was going to spend money on a feast. “There is no need,” she said. A maid reached into a box, and the dishes and broth were as hot as if just out of the pot, and the wine was fragrant and clear. They drank for a while. As the sun went down, the maids she had been resting her feet on all slipped away one by one. The princess grew languid in every limb; she bent and stretched her legs as if they had nothing to rest on. An took her in his arms. “Let go for a moment,” she said. “There are two roads before you. Choose one.” He held her round the neck and asked what she meant. “If we are companions over chess and wine, we may have thirty years together. If we take the pleasures of the bed, we will have six years of harmony, no more. Which will you take?” “Let us talk it over again in six years,” said An. She said nothing, and they made love. “I knew you could not escape the common way,” she said. “This too is fate.” So she had An take on maids and old women to live apart in the south courtyard, cooking, spinning and weaving to make a living. In the north courtyard no cooking fire was ever lit; there was only the weiqi board and the wine things. Its door was always shut. When An pushed it, it opened of itself; no one else could get in. Yet whether the people in the south courtyard worked hard or idled, the princess always knew, and she would send An to rebuke them; not one failed to own up. She spoke little and never laughed aloud. When he talked to her, she only bowed her head and smiled faintly. When they sat shoulder to shoulder, she liked to lean against him. An would lift her onto his knee; she was as light as a baby in his arms. “You are so light, my dear,” he said, “you could dance on the palm of a hand.” “What is hard about that? Only it is a thing for maids, and beneath me. Feiyan was my ninth sister’s handmaid. She was punished again and again for her flighty ways, until in anger she was banished to the dusty world below, where she did not keep a woman’s chastity either. She is shut away now.” The upper rooms were hung all over with brocade; they were never cold in winter, never hot in summer. Even in the depths of winter the princess wore only light gauze. An had new clothes made for her and pressed her to put them on. After a while she took them off. “Things of the dusty, muddy world,” she said. “They weigh on my bones till I nearly fall ill.” One day, holding her on his knee, he suddenly found her twice as heavy as before, and wondered at it. She smiled and pointed to her belly. “There is a mortal seed in here.” A few days later she knit her brows and would not eat. “I have morning sickness,” she said, “and I rather long for the taste of food cooked over a fire.” So An got delicacies for her, and from then on she ate and drank like anyone else. One day she said, “My constitution is frail. I am not equal to giving birth. My maid Fan Ying is sturdy; she can do it in my place.” She took off her underclothes, dressed Ying in them, and shut her in a room. In a moment they heard a baby cry. They opened the door: it was a boy. The princess was delighted. “This child has a lucky face. He will be a great vessel!” So he was named Daqi, Great Vessel. She swaddled him and put him in An’s arms, and had him handed to a wet nurse and raised in the south courtyard. Once she was delivered, her waist was as slender as before, and she no longer ate food cooked over fire. Then suddenly she took leave of An: she wanted to go home for a while to visit her mother. He asked when she would be back. “In three days,” she said. She pumped the leather bellows as before, and vanished. The day came and she did not. A year and more passed with no word at all, and he gave up hope. An locked his door, let down the curtain over his books, and went on to pass the provincial examination. He would never marry. He always slept alone in the north courtyard, bathed in the scent she had left. One night, as he tossed and turned on his bed, lamplight suddenly shone in at the window, the door opened of itself, and a crowd of maids came in around the princess. An was overjoyed. He got up and charged her with breaking her word. “I have not missed the day,” she said. “It is only two and a half days in Heaven.” Pleased with himself, An boasted of his success in the autumn examination, sure that the princess would be glad. Her face fell. “What use is a thing that comes by chance like that? It brings no true honour or disgrace; it only cuts short your years. I have not seen you for three days, and you have sunk one layer deeper into the veils of the world.” After that An sought no further advancement. A few months later she wanted to visit home again. An was very sad to let her go. “This time I will surely be back soon,” she said. “You need not wear your eyes out watching for me. Besides, our meetings and partings in life all have their fixed measure. Spend them sparingly and they last long; squander them and they are short.” She went, and came back in a month or so. From then on she went every year or half year, often not returning for several months. An grew used to it and thought nothing of it. She bore another son. She held him up. “A jackal, a wolf!” she said, and ordered at once that he be cast away. An could not bear it and stopped them. He named the boy Keqi, Fit to Be Thrown Away. When the child was barely a year old, she hastened to find him a match. Matchmakers came one after another, but when the birth dates were compared, none was found to suit. “I wanted to build a deep pen for this wolf cub,” she said, “and it cannot be had. He must go to ruin for six or seven years. That too is fate.” She told An, “Remember this. Four years from now, a family named Hou will have a daughter with a small wart on her left side. She is this boy’s wife. Marry him to her, and never mind her family’s standing.” She had him write it down to remember it. Later she went home again, and this time never came back. An often told relatives and friends what she had charged him with. Sure enough, a daughter was born to the Hou family with a wart. The Hous were lowly people of bad conduct whom everyone looked down on, but An went ahead and had the match arranged. Daqi passed the examinations at seventeen and married a girl of the Yun family. Husband and wife were both dutiful and loving, and their father doted on them. As Keqi grew up he had no liking for books. He would sneak off to gamble with ruffians, and was always stealing things to pay his gambling debts. His father beat him in fury, but he never mended. The household warned each other to watch him and let nothing fall into his hands. So he went out at night and took to petty burglary. A householder caught him, tied him up, and took him to the county magistrate. When the magistrate found out his family name, he sent him home with his own visiting card. His father and brother tied him up together and flogged him so cruelly that he nearly stopped breathing. Only when his brother begged them to spare him did they let him go. His father fell ill from rage and vexation, and ate far less. He drew up a deed dividing the property between his two sons; the buildings and fertile fields all went to Daqi. Keqi, bitter and furious, came into the room one night with a knife to kill his brother, and struck his sister-in-law by mistake. Now the princess had left behind a pair of trousers, extremely light and soft, and Daqi’s wife, Mrs. Yun, had taken them to sleep in. When Keqi’s blade struck them, sparks flew every way. In terror he ran out. When his father learned of it, his illness grew worse, and a few months later he died. Only on hearing of his father’s death did Keqi come home. His brother treated him well, but Keqi grew wilder than ever. In a year or so he had run through nearly all his share of the land, and he went to the prefecture to sue his brother. The official, knowing what sort of man he was, threw him out. That was the end of brotherly feeling between them. Another year passed. Keqi was twenty-three, and the Hou girl fifteen. His brother remembered their mother’s words and wanted the marriage done quickly. He called Keqi home and cleared a fine house for him to live in. When the bride came in at the gate, he entered in the register all the good fields their father had left and handed them over to her. “These few qing of poor land,” he said, “I have guarded with my life for you, and now I hand them all over. My brother has no conduct. Give him so much as a blade of grass and he will throw it away. From now on, whether he makes good or comes to ruin rests with you, his bride. If you can make him mend his ways, you need never fear cold or hunger. If not, even I, his brother, cannot fill a bottomless pit.” Though the Hou girl came of a humble family, she was clever and pretty, and Keqi both feared and loved her; he dared not cross a word she said. Whenever he went out she set him a time to be back. If he was late, she cursed him fiercely and gave him nothing to eat or drink. This reined Keqi in a little. After a year or so she bore a son. “From now on I need nothing from anyone,” she said. “With a few qing of rich land, why should mother and son fear going cold or hungry? I can do without a husband too.” Then Keqi stole some grain to go gambling. When his wife found out, she stood at the gate with her bow drawn to keep him out. He was terrified and slunk off. He watched until she went in, then crept in after her. She took up a knife and rose. Keqi turned and ran; she chased him and slashed, cutting through his gown and into his buttock, so that blood soaked his socks and shoes. Beside himself with rage, he went to complain to his brother. His brother showed him no courtesy, and he left aggrieved and ashamed. The next day he came again, knelt to his sister-in-law and wept, begging her to speak for him to his wife first. But his wife flatly refused to take him back. Keqi, in a rage, said he would go and kill his wife. His brother said nothing. Keqi sprang up furious, seized a halberd, and went straight out. His sister-in-law was alarmed and wanted to stop him, but his brother checked her with a look. When Keqi had gone, he said, “He’s only putting on a show. He doesn’t really dare go home.” He sent someone to spy; Keqi had already gone in at his own gate. Only then did the brother’s face change. He was about to rush over when Keqi came in, panting. What had happened was this. When Keqi went in, his wife was playing with the baby. Seeing him, she tossed the baby onto the bed and found a kitchen knife. Keqi was frightened; he turned and fled, trailing his halberd, and she chased him out of the gate before she turned back. His brother already knew the whole story, but asked him anyway. Keqi said nothing; he only wept facing the corner until his eyes were swollen shut. His brother pitied him and took him back himself, and then his wife let him in. Once the brother had left, she made him kneel a long time as punishment and swear a solemn oath, and only then did she give him food in an earthenware bowl. From then on he mended his ways and lived a good life. His wife kept the accounts and managed everything, and they grew richer by the day; Keqi simply lived on what she made. Later, when he was seventy, with sons and grandsons all around him, his wife would still now and then take hold of his white beard and make him go about on his knees.
異史氏曰：「悍妻妒婦，遭之者如疽附於骨，死而後已，豈不毒哉！然砒、附，天下之至毒也，苟得其用，瞑眩大瘳，非參、苓所能及矣。而非仙人洞見臟腑，又烏敢以毒藥貽子孫哉！」
異史氏說：「兇悍的妻子、嫉妒的婦人，誰遇上了，就像骨頭上長了毒瘡，直到死才罷休，難道不狠毒嗎！然而砒霜、附子，是天下最毒的藥物，如果用得恰當，服後雖然頭暈目眩，卻能使重病痊癒，這就不是人參、茯苓所能比得上的了。可要不是神仙，能夠看透人的臟腑，又怎麼敢把這樣的毒藥留給子孫呢！」
异史氏曰：「悍妻妒妇，遭之者如疽附于骨，死而后已，岂不毒哉！然砒、附，天下之至毒也，苟得其用，瞑眩大瘳，非参、苓所能及矣。而非仙人洞见脏腑，又乌敢以毒药贻子孙哉！」
异史氏说：“凶悍的妻子、嫉妒的妇人，谁遇上了，就像骨头上长了毒疮，直到死才罢休，难道不狠毒吗！然而砒霜、附子，是天下最毒的药物，如果用得恰当，服后虽然头晕目眩，却能使重病痊愈，这就不是人参、茯苓所能比得上的了。可要不是神仙，能够看透人的脏腑，又怎么敢把这样的毒药留给子孙呢！”
The Historian of the Strange says: A shrewish wife, a jealous woman: to the man who meets one she is like an ulcer clinging to the bone, not gone till he dies. Is that not poison? Yet arsenic and aconite are the deadliest poisons under heaven, and if they are put to the right use, the patient reels and is wholly cured, as ginseng and poria could never do. But who but an immortal, seeing straight into a man’s vitals, would dare leave poison as a legacy to children and grandchildren?