彭城郎玉柱，其先世官至太守，居官廉，得俸不治生產，積書盈屋。至玉柱，尤癡：家苦貧，無物不鬻，惟父藏書，一卷不忍置。父在時，曾書「勸學篇」黏其座右，郎日諷誦；又幛以素紗，惟恐磨滅。非為干祿，實信書中真有金粟。晝夜研讀，無間寒暑。年二十餘，不求婚配，冀卷中麗人自至。見賓親，不知溫涼，三數語後，則誦聲大作，客逡巡自去。每文宗臨試，輒首拔之，而苦不得售。一日，方讀，忽大風飄卷去。急逐之，踏地陷足；探之，穴有腐草；掘之，乃古人窖粟，朽敗已成糞土。雖不可食，而益信「千鍾」之說不妄，讀益力。一日，梯登高架，於亂卷中得金輦徑尺，大喜，以為「金屋」之驗。出以示人，則鍍金而非真金。心竊怨古人之誑己也。居無何，有父同年，觀察是道，性好佛。或勸郎獻輦為佛龕。觀察大悅，贈金三百、馬二匹。郎喜，以為金屋、車馬皆有驗，因益刻苦。然行年已三十矣。或勸其娶，曰：「『書中自有顏如玉』，我何憂無美妻乎？」又讀二三年，迄無效；人咸揶揄之。時民間訛言，天上織女私逃。或戲郎：「天孫竊奔，蓋為君也。」郎知其戲，置不辯。一夕，讀漢書至八卷，卷將半，見紗翦美人夾藏其中。駭曰：「書中顏如玉，其以此應之耶？」心悵然自失。而細視美人，眉目如生；背隱隱有細字云：「織女。」大異之。日置卷上，反復瞻玩，至忘食寢。一日，方注目間，美人忽折腰起，坐卷上微笑。郎驚絕，伏拜案下。既起，已盈尺矣。益駭，又叩之。下几亭亭，宛然絕代之姝。拜問：「何神？」美人笑曰：「妾顏氏，字如玉，君固相知已久。日垂青盼，脫不一至，恐千載下無復有篤信古人者。」郎喜，遂與寢處。然枕席間親愛倍至，而不知為人。每讀，必使女坐其側。女戒勿讀，不聽。女曰：「君所以不能騰達者，徒以讀耳。試觀春秋榜上，讀如君者幾人？若不聽，妾行去矣。」郎暫從之。少頃，忘其教，吟誦復起。踰刻，索女，不知所在。神志喪失，囑而禱之，殊無影跡。忽憶女所隱處，取漢書細檢之，直至舊所，果得之。呼之不動，伏以哀祝。女乃下曰：「君再不聽，當相永絕！」因使治棋枰、摴蒱之具，日與遨戲。而郎意殊不屬。覷女不在，則竊卷流覽。恐為女覺，陰取漢書第八卷，雜溷他所以迷之。一日，讀酣，女至，竟不之覺；忽睹之，急掩卷，而女已亡矣。大懼，冥搜諸卷，渺不可得；既，仍於漢書八卷中得之，葉數不爽。因再拜祝，矢不復讀。女乃下，與之弈，曰：「三日不工，當復去。」至三日，忽一局贏女二子。女乃喜，授以絃索，限五日工一曲。郎手營目注，無暇他及；久之，隨指應節，不覺鼓舞。女乃日與飲博，郎遂樂而忘讀。女又縱之出門，使結客，由此倜儻之名暴著。女曰：「子可以出而試矣。」郎一夜謂女曰：「凡人男女同居則生子；今與卿居久，何不然也？」女笑曰：「君日讀書，妾固謂無益。今即夫婦一章，尚未了悟，枕席二字有工夫。」郎驚問：「何工夫？」女笑不言。少間，潛迎就之。郎樂極，曰：「我不意夫婦之樂，有不可言傳者。」於是逢人輒道，無有不掩口者。女知而責之。郎曰：「鑽穴踰隙者，始不可以告人；天倫之樂，人所皆有，何諱焉。」過八九月，女果舉一男，買媼撫字之。一日，謂郎曰：「妾從君二年，業生子，可以別矣。久恐為君禍，悔之已晚。」郎聞言，泣下，伏不起，曰：「卿不念呱呱者耶？」女亦悽然，良久曰：「必欲妾留，當舉架上書盡散之。」郎曰：「此卿故鄉，乃僕性命，何出此言！」女不之強，曰：「妾亦知其有數，不得不預告耳。」先是，親族或窺見女，無不駭絕，而又未聞其締姻何家，共詰之。郎不能作偽語，但默不言。人益疑，郵傳幾遍，聞於邑宰史公。史，閩人，少年進士。聞聲傾動，竊欲一睹麗容，因而拘郎及女。女聞知，遁匿無跡。宰怒，收郎，斥革衣衿，梏械備加，務得女所自往。郎垂死，無一言。械其婢，略能道其彷彿。宰以為妖，命駕親臨其家。見書卷盈屋，多不勝搜，乃焚之；庭中煙結不散，瞑若陰霾。郎既釋，遠求父門人書，得從辨復。是年秋捷，次年舉進士。而啣恨切於骨髓。為顏如玉之位，朝夕而祝曰：「卿如有靈，當佑我官於閩。」後果以直指巡閩。居三月，訪史惡款，籍其家。時有中表為司理，逼納愛妾，託言買婢寄署中。案既結，郎即日自劾，取妾而歸。
彭城有個郎玉柱，他的祖先曾做到太守，為官清廉，所得俸祿不用來置辦產業，只用來買書，積攢的書堆滿了屋子。到了玉柱這一代，對書尤其痴迷：家裡窮得厲害，什麼東西都賣了，唯獨父親留下的藏書，一卷也捨不得賣掉。父親在世時，曾把《勸學篇》抄下來，貼在他的座位旁邊，郎玉柱每天都朗讀背誦，還用白紗罩著，生怕字跡磨損。他這樣讀書，並不是為了做官領取俸祿，而是真心相信書裡確實有黃金和糧食。他日夜鑽研，不論嚴寒酷暑，從不間斷。二十多歲了，他也不求婚娶，盼著書裡的美人自己來到身邊。見了親友賓客，他不懂得寒暄，才說上兩三句話，就又大聲讀起書來，客人只好遲疑著自行離去。每逢文宗前來主持考試，總把他列在第一名，他卻苦於始終不能在後來的科舉考試中考中。一天，他正在讀書，忽然一陣大風把書吹走了。他急忙追趕，一腳踩下去，竟陷進了地裡。他伸手摸索，發現洞裡有腐爛的草，挖開一看，原來是古人埋藏的糧食，早已腐爛成了糞土。雖然不能吃，他卻更加相信書裡有千鍾糧食的說法並非虛妄，讀書也更加賣力。一天，他爬梯子登上高高的書架，從雜亂的書卷中找到一輛直徑一尺的金輦，高興極了，以為這就是書裡有黃金屋的證明。他拿出去給別人看，才知道只是鍍金，並不是真金，心裡暗暗埋怨古人欺騙了自己。沒過多久，父親的一位同年到這一道擔任觀察，此人喜好佛教。有人勸郎玉柱把金輦獻給他，作為佛龕。觀察十分高興，贈給郎玉柱三百兩銀子和兩匹馬。郎玉柱很歡喜，認為黃金屋和車馬的說法都得到了驗證，於是讀書更加刻苦。不過，這時他已經三十歲了。有人勸他娶妻，他說：「書裡自然有顏如玉，我何必擔心沒有漂亮妻子呢？」又讀了兩三年書，始終沒有如願，人們都取笑他。當時民間傳著一個謠言，說天上的織女私自逃走了。有人逗郎玉柱說：「天孫偷偷下凡私奔，想來是為了你吧。」郎玉柱知道對方是在開玩笑，也不爭辯。一天晚上，他讀《漢書》讀到第八卷，快讀到一半時，看見書裡夾著一個用紗剪成的美人。他吃驚地說：「書裡的顏如玉，難道就是拿這個來應驗的嗎？」心裡很失落。可是仔細看那美人，眉眼栩栩如生，背上隱約還有兩個小字：「織女。」他覺得十分奇異，每天把她放在書卷上，反覆端詳欣賞，竟忘了吃飯睡覺。一天，他正注視著她，美人忽然彎腰起身，坐在書卷上微笑。郎玉柱驚恐萬分，伏在書案下叩拜。等他起來時，美人已經長到一尺多高了。他更加驚駭，又向她叩頭。美人從桌上走下來，身姿亭亭玉立，分明是一位世間罕見的美女。郎玉柱行禮問道：「你是哪位神仙？」美人笑著說：「我姓顏，字如玉，你本來就認識我很久了。你每天這樣深情地看著我，我要是一次也不來，恐怕千年之後，就再也沒有人肯這樣誠心相信古人了。」郎玉柱大喜，便與她一起生活，同床共枕。不過，雖然在床上對她十分親熱，他卻不懂男女之事。每次讀書，他一定要讓那女子坐在身旁。女子勸他別再讀，他不聽。女子說：「你之所以不能飛黃騰達，全是因為只知道讀書。你看看春秋兩季科舉考試的榜上，有幾個像你這樣讀書的人？你要是不聽，我就走了。」郎玉柱暫時聽從了她。可是沒過多久，他就忘了她的勸告，又朗讀起來。過了一刻多鐘，他找那女子，卻不知道她去了哪裡。他急得魂不守舍，一遍遍呼喚祈求，始終不見她的蹤影。忽然，他想起女子原先藏身的地方，便取出《漢書》仔細翻找，一直找到原來的位置，果然發現了她。他呼喚她，她一動不動，他便伏下身，哀聲祈求。女子這才走下來，說：「你要是再不聽我的話，我就永遠離開你！」於是讓他準備棋盤和摴蒱的用具，每天陪他玩耍。可是郎玉柱的心思完全不在這上面，瞅見女子不在，就偷偷拿書來看。他怕被女子發覺，暗中把《漢書》第八卷混放到別處，想讓她找不到。一天，他讀得入迷，女子來到身邊，他竟沒有察覺。等他忽然看見她，急忙合上書，女子卻已經消失了。他十分害怕，苦苦翻遍各卷書，始終找不到她。後來，還是在《漢書》第八卷裡找到了她，連所在的頁數都與先前一樣。他便再次叩拜祈求，發誓不再讀書。女子這才下來，和他下棋，說：「三天之內學不好，我就再走。」到了第三天，他忽然有一局贏了女子兩子。女子這才高興起來，又教他彈奏絃樂器，限他五天之內學好一支曲子。郎玉柱手上忙著彈奏，眼睛專心看著，沒有工夫顧及別的事。練了一陣，他的手指便能跟上節拍，不知不覺高興得手舞足蹈。女子於是每天陪他飲酒、玩博戲，郎玉柱玩得開心，終於忘了讀書。女子又讓他出門結交朋友，從此，他灑脫豪爽的名聲一下子傳開了。女子說：「你可以出去應試了。」一天夜裡，郎玉柱對女子說：「世上的男女住在一起就會生孩子，如今我和你住了這麼久，為什麼還沒有呢？」女子笑著說：「你每天讀書，我早就說沒什麼用。如今連夫婦這一章，你還沒有弄明白，枕蓆這兩個字裡，可有要學的本領。」郎玉柱驚訝地問：「什麼本領？」女子只笑，不說話。過了一會兒，她悄悄引導他與自己交合。郎玉柱快樂極了，說：「我沒想到，夫妻之間的快樂，竟有無法用言語表達的！」於是他逢人就講，聽的人沒有不掩嘴笑的。女子知道後責備他。郎玉柱說：「鑽牆洞、爬縫隙去私會的人，才不能告訴別人。夫妻之間的快樂，人人都有，有什麼可避諱的？」過了八九個月，女子果然生下一個男孩，他們買來一個老婦人照料孩子。一天，女子對郎玉柱說：「我跟了你兩年，已經生了孩子，可以分別了。待得太久，我怕會給你帶來災禍，到時後悔就晚了。」郎玉柱聽了，流下眼淚，伏在地上不肯起來，說：「你難道不惦記那個啼哭的孩子嗎？」女子也很悲傷，過了許久才說：「你一定要我留下，就得把書架上的書全都送走。」郎玉柱說：「這裡是你的故鄉，這些書又是我的性命，你怎麼說出這樣的話！」女子沒有勉強他，說：「我也知道這事自有命數，只是不能不事先告訴你。」在這之前，親族中有人偶然看見女子，無不驚歎不已，又從沒聽說郎玉柱和哪家結了親，便紛紛追問。郎玉柱不會編假話，只能默不作聲。人們更加懷疑，訊息輾轉傳遍了附近，傳到縣令史公耳中。史公是福建人，年輕時就考中了進士。聽說女子的美貌，他心動不已，暗暗想親眼看看，便下令拘拿郎玉柱和女子。女子得知訊息，躲藏起來，蹤影全無。縣令大怒，把郎玉柱關進牢裡，革去他的秀才資格，種種刑具都用上了，非要逼問出女子去了哪裡。郎玉柱被折磨得奄奄一息，始終一句話也不說。縣令又拷打他家的婢女，婢女多少說出了女子的一些情況。縣令認定她是妖怪，便叫人備車，親自來到郎玉柱家中。看見書卷堆滿屋子，多得搜查不過來，便把書燒了。庭院裡煙霧聚集，久久不散，昏暗得像籠罩著陰霾。郎玉柱獲釋後，向遠方父親的門生求取書信，憑著這些書信申辯，恢復了秀才資格。那年秋天，他考中舉人，第二年又考中進士，可對史公的怨恨已經深入骨髓。他為顏如玉設了牌位，早晚祈禱說：「你若有靈，就保佑我到福建做官。」後來，他果然以直指的身份巡察福建。到任三個月，他查明史公的罪狀，抄沒了史公的家產。當時，郎玉柱有一位表親擔任司理，郎玉柱逼史公交出寵愛的妾，假稱是買來的婢女，把她寄放在表親的官署裡。案子辦結後，郎玉柱當天便上書彈劾自己，帶著那名妾回鄉去了。
彭城郎玉柱，其先世官至太守，居官廉，得俸不治生产，积书盈屋。至玉柱，尤痴：家苦贫，无物不鬻，惟父藏书，一卷不忍置。父在时，曾书「劝学篇」黏其座右，郎日讽诵；又幛以素纱，惟恐磨灭。非为干禄，实信书中真有金粟。昼夜研读，无间寒暑。年二十余，不求婚配，冀卷中丽人自至。见宾亲，不知温凉，三数语后，则诵声大作，客逡巡自去。每文宗临试，辄首拔之，而苦不得售。一日，方读，忽大风飘卷去。急逐之，踏地陷足；探之，穴有腐草；掘之，乃古人窖粟，朽败已成粪土。虽不可食，而益信「千钟」之说不妄，读益力。一日，梯登高架，于乱卷中得金辇径尺，大喜，以为「金屋」之验。出以示人，则镀金而非真金。心窃怨古人之诳己也。居无何，有父同年，观察是道，性好佛。或劝郎献辇为佛龛。观察大悦，赠金三百、马二匹。郎喜，以为金屋、车马皆有验，因益刻苦。然行年已三十矣。或劝其娶，曰：「『书中自有颜如玉』，我何忧无美妻乎？」又读二三年，迄无效；人咸揶揄之。时民间讹言，天上织女私逃。或戏郎：「天孙窃奔，盖为君也。」郎知其戏，置不辩。一夕，读汉书至八卷，卷将半，见纱翦美人夹藏其中。骇曰：「书中颜如玉，其以此应之耶？」心怅然自失。而细视美人，眉目如生；背隐隐有细字云：「织女。」大异之。日置卷上，反复瞻玩，至忘食寝。一日，方注目间，美人忽折腰起，坐卷上微笑。郎惊绝，伏拜案下。既起，已盈尺矣。益骇，又叩之。下几亭亭，宛然绝代之姝。拜问：「何神？」美人笑曰：「妾颜氏，字如玉，君固相知已久。日垂青盼，脱不一至，恐千载下无复有笃信古人者。」郎喜，遂与寝处。然枕席间亲爱倍至，而不知为人。每读，必使女坐其侧。女戒勿读，不听。女曰：「君所以不能腾达者，徒以读耳。试观春秋榜上，读如君者几人？若不听，妾行去矣。」郎暂从之。少顷，忘其教，吟诵复起。逾刻，索女，不知所在。神志丧失，嘱而祷之，殊无影迹。忽忆女所隐处，取汉书细检之，直至旧所，果得之。呼之不动，伏以哀祝。女乃下曰：「君再不听，当相永绝！」因使治棋枰、摴蒱之具，日与遨戏。而郎意殊不属。觑女不在，则窃卷流览。恐为女觉，阴取汉书第八卷，杂溷他所以迷之。一日，读酣，女至，竟不之觉；忽睹之，急掩卷，而女已亡矣。大惧，冥搜诸卷，渺不可得；既，仍于汉书八卷中得之，叶数不爽。因再拜祝，矢不复读。女乃下，与之弈，曰：「三日不工，当复去。」至三日，忽一局赢女二子。女乃喜，授以弦索，限五日工一曲。郎手营目注，无暇他及；久之，随指应节，不觉鼓舞。女乃日与饮博，郎遂乐而忘读。女又纵之出门，使结客，由此倜傥之名暴着。女曰：「子可以出而试矣。」郎一夜谓女曰：「凡人男女同居则生子；今与卿居久，何不然也？」女笑曰：「君日读书，妾固谓无益。今即夫妇一章，尚未了悟，枕席二字有工夫。」郎惊问：「何工夫？」女笑不言。少间，潜迎就之。郎乐极，曰：「我不意夫妇之乐，有不可言传者。」于是逢人辄道，无有不掩口者。女知而责之。郎曰：「钻穴逾隙者，始不可以告人；天伦之乐，人所皆有，何讳焉。」过八九月，女果举一男，买媪抚字之。一日，谓郎曰：「妾从君二年，业生子，可以别矣。久恐为君祸，悔之已晚。」郎闻言，泣下，伏不起，曰：「卿不念呱呱者耶？」女亦凄然，良久曰：「必欲妾留，当举架上书尽散之。」郎曰：「此卿故乡，乃仆性命，何出此言！」女不之强，曰：「妾亦知其有数，不得不预告耳。」先是，亲族或窥见女，无不骇绝，而又未闻其缔姻何家，共诘之。郎不能作伪语，但默不言。人益疑，邮传几遍，闻於邑宰史公。史，闽人，少年进士。闻声倾动，窃欲一睹丽容，因而拘郎及女。女闻知，遁匿无迹。宰怒，收郎，斥革衣衿，梏械备加，务得女所自往。郎垂死，无一言。械其婢，略能道其仿佛。宰以为妖，命驾亲临其家。见书卷盈屋，多不胜搜，乃焚之；庭中烟结不散，瞑若阴霾。郎既释，远求父门人书，得从辨复。是年秋捷，次年举进士。而啣恨切于骨髓。为颜如玉之位，朝夕而祝曰：「卿如有灵，当佑我官于闽。」后果以直指巡闽。居三月，访史恶款，籍其家。时有中表为司理，逼纳爱妾，托言买婢寄署中。案既结，郎即日自劾，取妾而归。
彭城有个郎玉柱，他的祖先曾做到太守，为官清廉，所得俸禄不用来置办产业，只用来买书，积攒的书堆满了屋子。到了玉柱这一代，对书尤其痴迷：家里穷得厉害，什么东西都卖了，唯独父亲留下的藏书，一卷也舍不得卖掉。父亲在世时，曾把《劝学篇》抄下来，贴在他的座位旁边，郎玉柱每天都朗读背诵，还用白纱罩着，生怕字迹磨损。他这样读书，并不是为了做官领取俸禄，而是真心相信书里确实有黄金和粮食。他日夜钻研，不论严寒酷暑，从不间断。二十多岁了，他也不求婚娶，盼着书里的美人自己来到身边。见了亲友宾客，他不懂得寒暄，才说上两三句话，就又大声读起书来，客人只好迟疑着自行离去。每逢文宗前来主持考试，总把他列在第一名，他却苦于始终不能在后来的科举考试中考中。一天，他正在读书，忽然一阵大风把书吹走了。他急忙追赶，一脚踩下去，竟陷进了地里。他伸手摸索，发现洞里有腐烂的草，挖开一看，原来是古人埋藏的粮食，早已腐烂成了粪土。虽然不能吃，他却更加相信书里有千钟粮食的说法并非虚妄，读书也更加卖力。一天，他爬梯子登上高高的书架，从杂乱的书卷中找到一辆直径一尺的金辇，高兴极了，以为这就是书里有黄金屋的证明。他拿出去给别人看，才知道只是镀金，并不是真金，心里暗暗埋怨古人欺骗了自己。没过多久，父亲的一位同年到这一道担任观察，此人喜好佛教。有人劝郎玉柱把金辇献给他，作为佛龛。观察十分高兴，赠给郎玉柱三百两银子和两匹马。郎玉柱很欢喜，认为黄金屋和车马的说法都得到了验证，于是读书更加刻苦。不过，这时他已经三十岁了。有人劝他娶妻，他说：“书里自然有颜如玉，我何必担心没有漂亮妻子呢？”又读了两三年书，始终没有如愿，人们都取笑他。当时民间传着一个谣言，说天上的织女私自逃走了。有人逗郎玉柱说：“天孙偷偷下凡私奔，想来是为了你吧。”郎玉柱知道对方是在开玩笑，也不争辩。一天晚上，他读《汉书》读到第八卷，快读到一半时，看见书里夹着一个用纱剪成的美人。他吃惊地说：“书里的颜如玉，难道就是拿这个来应验的吗？”心里很失落。可是仔细看那美人，眉眼栩栩如生，背上隐约还有两个小字：“织女。”他觉得十分奇异，每天把她放在书卷上，反复端详欣赏，竟忘了吃饭睡觉。一天，他正注视着她，美人忽然弯腰起身，坐在书卷上微笑。郎玉柱惊恐万分，伏在书案下叩拜。等他起来时，美人已经长到一尺多高了。他更加惊骇，又向她叩头。美人从桌上走下来，身姿亭亭玉立，分明是一位世间罕见的美女。郎玉柱行礼问道：“你是哪位神仙？”美人笑着说：“我姓颜，字如玉，你本来就认识我很久了。你每天这样深情地看着我，我要是一次也不来，恐怕千年之后，就再也没有人肯这样诚心相信古人了。”郎玉柱大喜，便与她一起生活，同床共枕。不过，虽然在床上对她十分亲热，他却不懂男女之事。每次读书，他一定要让那女子坐在身旁。女子劝他别再读，他不听。女子说：“你之所以不能飞黄腾达，全是因为只知道读书。你看看春秋两季科举考试的榜上，有几个像你这样读书的人？你要是不听，我就走了。”郎玉柱暂时听从了她。可是没过多久，他就忘了她的劝告，又朗读起来。过了一刻多钟，他找那女子，却不知道她去了哪里。他急得魂不守舍，一遍遍呼唤祈求，始终不见她的踪影。忽然，他想起女子原先藏身的地方，便取出《汉书》仔细翻找，一直找到原来的位置，果然发现了她。他呼唤她，她一动不动，他便伏下身，哀声祈求。女子这才走下来，说：“你要是再不听我的话，我就永远离开你！”于是让他准备棋盘和摴蒱的用具，每天陪他玩耍。可是郎玉柱的心思完全不在这上面，瞅见女子不在，就偷偷拿书来看。他怕被女子发觉，暗中把《汉书》第八卷混放到别处，想让她找不到。一天，他读得入迷，女子来到身边，他竟没有察觉。等他忽然看见她，急忙合上书，女子却已经消失了。他十分害怕，苦苦翻遍各卷书，始终找不到她。后来，还是在《汉书》第八卷里找到了她，连所在的页数都与先前一样。他便再次叩拜祈求，发誓不再读书。女子这才下来，和他下棋，说：“三天之内学不好，我就再走。”到了第三天，他忽然有一局赢了女子两子。女子这才高兴起来，又教他弹奏弦乐器，限他五天之内学好一支曲子。郎玉柱手上忙着弹奏，眼睛专心看着，没有工夫顾及别的事。练了一阵，他的手指便能跟上节拍，不知不觉高兴得手舞足蹈。女子于是每天陪他饮酒、玩博戏，郎玉柱玩得开心，终于忘了读书。女子又让他出门结交朋友，从此，他洒脱豪爽的名声一下子传开了。女子说：“你可以出去应试了。”一天夜里，郎玉柱对女子说：“世上的男女住在一起就会生孩子，如今我和你住了这么久，为什么还没有呢？”女子笑着说：“你每天读书，我早就说没什么用。如今连夫妇这一章，你还没有弄明白，枕席这两个字里，可有要学的本领。”郎玉柱惊讶地问：“什么本领？”女子只笑，不说话。过了一会儿，她悄悄引导他与自己交合。郎玉柱快乐极了，说：“我没想到，夫妻之间的快乐，竟有无法用言语表达的！”于是他逢人就讲，听的人没有不掩嘴笑的。女子知道后责备他。郎玉柱说：“钻墙洞、爬缝隙去私会的人，才不能告诉别人。夫妻之间的快乐，人人都有，有什么可避讳的？”过了八九个月，女子果然生下一个男孩，他们买来一个老妇人照料孩子。一天，女子对郎玉柱说：“我跟了你两年，已经生了孩子，可以分别了。待得太久，我怕会给你带来灾祸，到时后悔就晚了。”郎玉柱听了，流下眼泪，伏在地上不肯起来，说：“你难道不惦记那个啼哭的孩子吗？”女子也很悲伤，过了许久才说：“你一定要我留下，就得把书架上的书全都送走。”郎玉柱说：“这里是你的故乡，这些书又是我的性命，你怎么说出这样的话！”女子没有勉强他，说：“我也知道这事自有命数，只是不能不事先告诉你。”在这之前，亲族中有人偶然看见女子，无不惊叹不已，又从没听说郎玉柱和哪家结了亲，便纷纷追问。郎玉柱不会编假话，只能默不作声。人们更加怀疑，消息辗转传遍了附近，传到县令史公耳中。史公是福建人，年轻时就考中了进士。听说女子的美貌，他心动不已，暗暗想亲眼看看，便下令拘拿郎玉柱和女子。女子得知消息，躲藏起来，踪影全无。县令大怒，把郎玉柱关进牢里，革去他的秀才资格，种种刑具都用上了，非要逼问出女子去了哪里。郎玉柱被折磨得奄奄一息，始终一句话也不说。县令又拷打他家的婢女，婢女多少说出了女子的一些情况。县令认定她是妖怪，便叫人备车，亲自来到郎玉柱家中。看见书卷堆满屋子，多得搜查不过来，便把书烧了。庭院里烟雾聚集，久久不散，昏暗得像笼罩着阴霾。郎玉柱获释后，向远方父亲的门生求取书信，凭着这些书信申辩，恢复了秀才资格。那年秋天，他考中举人，第二年又考中进士，可对史公的怨恨已经深入骨髓。他为颜如玉设了牌位，早晚祈祷说：“你若有灵，就保佑我到福建做官。”后来，他果然以直指的身份巡察福建。到任三个月，他查明史公的罪状，抄没了史公的家产。当时，郎玉柱有一位表亲担任司理，郎玉柱逼史公交出宠爱的妾，假称是买来的婢女，把她寄放在表亲的官署里。案子办结后，郎玉柱当天便上书弹劾自己，带着那名妾回乡去了。
Lang Yuzhu was a man of Pengcheng. One of his forebears had risen to be a prefect, an honest official who never spent his salary on land or property, but filled his house with books. Yuzhu was more bookish than any of them. The family was wretchedly poor, and there was nothing they had not sold; only his father’s books he could not bear to part with, not a single volume. While his father was alive he had written out the “Exhortation to Study” and pasted it up beside his seat. Lang recited it every day, and covered it with white gauze for fear it would wear away. It was not that he wanted an official’s salary: he truly believed there was gold and grain in books. He read day and night, winter and summer without a break. At twenty-odd he did not look for a wife, hoping a beauty would come to him out of his books. When he met guests or relatives he did not know how to make small talk; after a few words he would burst into loud recitation, and the guest would edge away and leave. Whenever the examiner came to hold the examinations he always placed Lang first, yet Lang could never pass the higher examinations. One day, as he was reading, a great wind suddenly blew his book away. He ran after it, and his foot sank into the ground. He felt about: there was rotten straw in a hole. He dug: it was grain some ancient had stored in a pit, rotted long since into dung and dirt. It could not be eaten, but it made him all the surer that the “thousand measures of grain” were no lie, and he read harder than ever. One day, climbing a ladder to a high shelf, he found among the jumbled books a golden carriage a foot across. He was overjoyed, taking it for proof of the “house of gold”. But when he showed it to people, it was gilt, not real gold. Privately he blamed the ancients for deceiving him. Not long after, a man who had passed the examinations in the same year as his father came to be intendant of the circuit. He was devoted to the Buddha. Someone advised Lang to present the carriage to him for a Buddha shrine. The intendant was delighted and gave him three hundred taels and two horses. Lang was glad, taking it that the house of gold and the carriages and horses had all come true, and he studied harder than ever. But by now he was thirty. When people urged him to marry, he said, “‘In books there is a girl with a face like jade.’ Why should I worry about finding a beautiful wife?” He read for another two or three years with no result, and everyone made fun of him. At that time a rumour went about among the common people that the Weaving Maid had run away from heaven. Someone teased Lang: “The Heavenly Granddaughter has eloped — it must be for you.” Lang knew it was a joke and did not bother to answer. One evening, reading the eighth volume of the History of the Han, about halfway through, he found a beauty cut out of gauze pressed between the pages. “So this is how the girl with a face like jade in books comes true?” he said in dismay, and felt crushed and lost. But looking closely at the beauty, he saw her brows and eyes were as if alive, and on her back, faintly, were tiny characters: “The Weaving Maid.” He marvelled. Every day he set her on his book and gazed at her over and over, forgetting to eat or sleep. One day, as he was gazing at her, the beauty suddenly bent at the waist and rose, and sat on the book, smiling. Lang was thunderstruck and prostrated himself under the desk. By the time he got up she was over a foot tall. More frightened than ever, he kowtowed again. She stepped down from the table, slender and graceful, a beauty without equal in her age. He bowed and asked, “What goddess are you?” She smiled. “My family name is Yan, and I am called Ruyu. You have known me for a long time. You looked on me with favour day after day; if I had not come even once, I fear that for a thousand years to come no one would ever again believe in the ancients.” Lang was delighted, and shared her room and bed. But though on the pillow and mat he was doubly loving, he did not know what to do as a man. Whenever he read, he made her sit beside him. She told him not to read, but he would not listen. “The only reason you cannot get ahead,” she said, “is that you read. Look at the lists of successful candidates, spring and autumn: how many of them read the way you do? If you won’t listen, I’ll be going.” For the time being Lang did as she said. But soon he forgot her advice, and the chanting started up again. A little later he looked for her, and she was nowhere to be found. Beside himself, he prayed to her, but there was no trace of her at all. Suddenly he remembered where she had been hidden. He took the History of the Han and searched through it page by page until he came to the old place, and there she was. He called her, but she did not move, so he prostrated himself and prayed and pleaded. Then she came down. “If you disobey me once more, I will leave you forever!” She had him get a Go board and the things for chupu, and played games with him every day. But Lang’s heart was not in it. Whenever he saw she was not there, he would sneak a book and leaf through it. Afraid she would find out, he secretly took the eighth volume of the History of the Han and hid it among the others to throw her off. One day, deep in his reading, he did not notice her come in; when he suddenly saw her he hurriedly shut the book, but she had already vanished. In terror he searched through all the books, but she could not be found; in the end he found her in the eighth volume of the History of the Han again, at exactly the same page. So he bowed twice and prayed, and swore he would never read again. Then she came down and played Go with him. “If you aren’t good at it in three days,” she said, “I’ll leave again.” On the third day he suddenly beat her by two stones in one game. She was pleased, and gave him a stringed instrument, allowing him five days to master a tune. Lang’s hands were busy and his eyes intent, with no time for anything else. After a while his fingers kept time without thinking, and before he knew it he was nodding and swaying to the music. Then she drank and gambled with him every day, and Lang enjoyed himself so much he forgot to read. She also let him go out and make friends, and from then on he was known everywhere as a free and easy fellow. “Now you can go out and sit the examinations,” she said. One night Lang said to her, “When a man and a woman live together they have children. I have lived with you a long time now — why haven’t we?” She laughed. “Every day you read your books, and I always said it did no good. Even now you have not understood the chapter on husband and wife. There is a craft to those two words, pillow and mat.” “What craft?” asked Lang in surprise. She smiled and said nothing. After a while she quietly drew him to her. Lang was overjoyed. “I never imagined that the joys of husband and wife were beyond words!” After that he told everyone he met, and there was no one who did not cover their mouth. When she learned of it, she scolded him. “It’s those who bore holes in walls and climb through gaps who mustn’t tell anyone,” said Lang. “The joys of husband and wife are something everyone has. Why hide them?” Eight or nine months later she did indeed bear a son, and they bought an old woman to nurse him. One day she said to Lang, “I have been with you two years and have borne you a son. It is time for us to part. If I stay long, I fear it will bring you disaster, and then it will be too late for regrets.” Lang wept at this and fell on the floor and would not get up. “Have you no thought for the crying baby?” She was sad too. After a long while she said, “If you really want me to stay, you must get rid of every book on the shelves.” “They are your old home, and they are my life!” said Lang. “How can you say such a thing?” She did not press him. “I know it is fated,” she said. “I had to warn you beforehand, that’s all.” Before this, relatives had sometimes caught a glimpse of her, and they were all astounded; nor had they heard what family he had married into. They all questioned him. Lang could not make up a lie, and only kept silent. People grew more suspicious, and the story spread almost everywhere until it reached the county magistrate, Shi. Shi was from Fujian, a young jinshi. Hearing of her, he was smitten and longed to see her beauty for himself, so he had Lang and the woman arrested. When she learned of it, she fled and hid without a trace. The magistrate was furious. He had Lang put in prison, stripped him of his licentiate’s robes, and put him to every kind of torture to find out where the woman had gone. Lang came near death but did not say a word. The magistrate tortured his maid, who could tell him something of what the woman was like. The magistrate decided she was an evil spirit and went to Lang’s house himself. Seeing the books filling the house, too many to search, he burned them. The smoke gathered over the courtyard and would not disperse, as dark as a gloomy fog. When Lang was released, he sought letters from his father’s old students far away and so got his rank restored. That autumn he passed the provincial examination, and the next year he became a jinshi. But his hatred cut him to the marrow. He set up a spirit tablet for Yan Ruyu and prayed to it morning and night: “If you have any power, help me to an office in Fujian.” And later he was indeed sent to tour Fujian as an imperial inspector. After three months there he looked into Shi’s crimes and had his property confiscated. At that time a cousin of Lang’s was serving as judge, and Lang forced Shi to surrender his favourite concubine, claimed that he had bought her as a maid, and lodged her temporarily at his cousin’s office. Once the case was closed, Lang impeached himself that same day, took the concubine and went home.