嘉平某公子，風儀秀美。年十七八，入郡赴童子試。偶過許娼之門，見內有二八麗人，因目注之。女微笑點首，公子近就與語。女問：「寓居何處？」具告之。問：「寓中有人否？」曰：「無。」女云：「妾晚間奉訪，勿使人知。」公子歸，及暮，屏去僮僕。女果至，自言：「小字溫姬。」且云：「妾慕公子風流，故背媼而來。區區之意，願奉終身。」公子亦喜。自此三兩夜輒一至。一夕，冒雨來，入門解去溼衣，罥諸椸上；又脫足上小靴，求公子代去泥塗。遂上床以被自覆。公子視其靴，乃五文新錦，沾濡殆盡，惜之。女曰：「妾非敢以賤物相役，欲使公子知妾之癡於情也。」聽窗外雨聲不止，遂吟曰：「淒風冷雨滿江城。」求公子續之。公子辭以不解。女曰：「公子如此一人，何乃不知風雅！使妾清興消矣！」因勸肄習，公子諾之。往來既頻，僕輩皆知。公子姊夫宋氏，亦世家子，聞之，竊求公子，一見溫姬。公子言之，女必不可。宋隱身僕舍，伺女至，伏窗窺之，顛倒欲狂。急排闥，女起，踰垣而去。宋嚮往甚殷，乃修贄見許媼，指名求之。媼曰：「果有溫姬，但死已久。」宋愕然退，告公子，公子始知為鬼。至夜，因以宋言告女。女曰：「誠然。顧君欲得美女子，妾亦欲得美丈夫。各遂所願足矣，人鬼何論焉？」公子以為然。試畢而歸，女亦從之。他人不見，惟公子見之。至家，寄諸齋中。公子獨宿不歸，父母疑之。女歸寧，始隱以告母，母大驚，戒公子絕之，公子不能聽。父母深以為憂，百術驅之不能去。一日，公子有諭僕帖，置案上，中多錯謬：「椒」訛「菽」，「薑」訛「江」，「可恨」訛「可浪」。女見之，書其後：「何事『可浪』？『花菽生江。』有婿如此，不如為娼！」遂告公子曰：「妾初以公子世家文人，故蒙羞自薦。不圖虛有其表！以貌取人，毋乃為天下笑乎！」言已而沒。公子雖愧恨，猶不知所題，折帖示僕。聞者傳為笑談。
嘉平有一位公子，容貌秀美，舉止瀟灑。十七八歲時，他到府城參加童子試，偶然經過許姓妓女的門前，看見裡面有個十六歲的美麗女子，便盯著她看。女子微笑著點了點頭，公子就走近和她說話。女子問：「你住在哪裡？」公子詳細告訴了她。女子又問：「住處還有別人嗎？」他說：「沒有。」女子說：「我晚上去看你，別讓人知道。」公子回去後，到了傍晚便把僕人們支開。女子果然來了，自稱：「我的小名叫溫姬。」又說：「我仰慕公子的風采，所以瞞著老太太來了。我這點心意，是願意終身陪伴你。」公子也很高興。從此，溫姬每隔兩三夜就來一次。一天晚上，她冒雨前來，進門後脫下溼衣服，掛在衣架上，又脫下腳上的小靴子，請公子替她擦去泥汙，自己便上床，拉過被子蓋上。公子看那雙靴子，是用五色新錦做的，幾乎全溼透了，很是心疼。女子說：「我不是故意拿這些不值錢的東西來使喚公子，只想讓你知道，我為情痴迷到了什麼地步。」她聽著窗外不停的雨聲，便吟道：「淒涼的風，冰冷的雨，灑滿了江邊的城。」又請公子續下一句。公子推辭說自己不會。女子說：「公子這樣的人，怎麼竟不懂詩文雅趣！把我的興致都弄沒了！」於是勸他學習，公子答應了。兩人來往多了，僕人們都知道了。公子的姐夫宋氏，也是世家子弟，聽說後，私下求公子讓他見溫姬一面。公子把這話告訴溫姬，溫姬堅決不肯。宋氏便藏在僕人的住處，等溫姬來了，伏在窗外偷看，看得神魂顛倒，幾乎發狂。他急忙推門闖進去，溫姬起身翻過牆，走了。宋氏非常想念她，便備了禮物去見許老太太，指名要找溫姬。老太太說：「確實有個溫姬，可早就死了。」宋氏驚愕地告辭，把這事告訴公子，公子才知道溫姬是鬼。到了夜裡，公子便把宋氏的話告訴她。女子說：「確實如此。不過，你想得到一個美女，我也想得到一個美男子。彼此如願就夠了，何必計較是人是鬼呢？」公子覺得她說得對。考試結束後，他回家，溫姬也跟著去了。別人都看不見她，只有公子能看見。到了家，公子讓她住在書齋裡，自己也獨自睡在那裡，不回內宅，父母便起了疑心。公子的姐姐回孃家時，才私下把這事告訴母親。母親大驚，告誡公子和溫姬斷絕來往，公子卻不肯聽。父母十分憂慮，想盡辦法驅趕溫姬，都趕不走。一天，公子寫了一張吩咐僕人的字條，放在書桌上，裡面有許多錯字，把「椒」寫成「菽」，把「姜」寫成「江」，把「可恨」寫成「可浪」。溫姬看見，便在後面寫道：「什麼事叫人『可浪』？竟是『花菽生江』。嫁給這樣的丈夫，還不如去當妓女！」接著對公子說：「我起初以為公子是世家出身的讀書人，所以不顧羞恥，主動來找你。沒想到你只是外表好看！我憑相貌挑人，豈不是要被天下人笑話！」說完便消失了。公子雖然羞愧懊惱，卻仍看不懂她寫的那些話，把字條摺好，交給僕人看。聽說這件事的人，都把它當作笑話傳說。
嘉平某公子，风仪秀美。年十七八，入郡赴童子试。偶过许娼之门，见内有二八丽人，因目注之。女微笑点首，公子近就与语。女问：「寓居何处？」具告之。问：「寓中有人否？」曰：「无。」女云：「妾晚间奉访，勿使人知。」公子归，及暮，屏去僮仆。女果至，自言：「小字温姬。」且云：「妾慕公子风流，故背媪而来。区区之意，愿奉终身。」公子亦喜。自此三两夜辄一至。一夕，冒雨来，入门解去湿衣，罥诸椸上；又脱足上小靴，求公子代去泥涂。遂上床以被自覆。公子视其靴，乃五文新锦，沾濡殆尽，惜之。女曰：「妾非敢以贱物相役，欲使公子知妾之痴于情也。」听窗外雨声不止，遂吟曰：「凄风冷雨满江城。」求公子续之。公子辞以不解。女曰：「公子如此一人，何乃不知风雅！使妾清兴消矣！」因劝肄习，公子诺之。往来既频，仆辈皆知。公子姊夫宋氏，亦世家子，闻之，窃求公子，一见温姬。公子言之，女必不可。宋隐身仆舍，伺女至，伏窗窥之，颠倒欲狂。急排闼，女起，逾垣而去。宋向往甚殷，乃修贽见许媪，指名求之。媪曰：「果有温姬，但死已久。」宋愕然退，告公子，公子始知为鬼。至夜，因以宋言告女。女曰：「诚然。顾君欲得美女子，妾亦欲得美丈夫。各遂所愿足矣，人鬼何论焉？」公子以为然。试毕而归，女亦从之。他人不见，惟公子见之。至家，寄诸斋中。公子独宿不归，父母疑之。女归宁，始隐以告母，母大惊，戒公子绝之，公子不能听。父母深以为忧，百术驱之不能去。一日，公子有谕仆帖，置案上，中多错谬：「椒」讹「菽」，「姜」讹「江」，「可恨」讹「可浪」。女见之，书其后：「何事『可浪』？『花菽生江。』有婿如此，不如为娼！」遂告公子曰：「妾初以公子世家文人，故蒙羞自荐。不图虚有其表！以貌取人，毋乃为天下笑乎！」言已而没。公子虽愧恨，犹不知所题，折帖示仆。闻者传为笑谈。
嘉平有一位公子，容貌秀美，举止潇洒。十七八岁时，他到府城参加童子试，偶然经过许姓妓女的门前，看见里面有个十六岁的美丽女子，便盯着她看。女子微笑着点了点头，公子就走近和她说话。女子问：“你住在哪里？”公子详细告诉了她。女子又问：“住处还有别人吗？”他说：“没有。”女子说：“我晚上去看你，别让人知道。”公子回去后，到了傍晚便把仆人们支开。女子果然来了，自称：“我的小名叫温姬。”又说：“我仰慕公子的风采，所以瞒着老太太来了。我这点心意，是愿意终身陪伴你。”公子也很高兴。从此，温姬每隔两三夜就来一次。一天晚上，她冒雨前来，进门后脱下湿衣服，挂在衣架上，又脱下脚上的小靴子，请公子替她擦去泥污，自己便上床，拉过被子盖上。公子看那双靴子，是用五色新锦做的，几乎全湿透了，很是心疼。女子说：“我不是故意拿这些不值钱的东西来使唤公子，只想让你知道，我为情痴迷到了什么地步。”她听着窗外不停的雨声，便吟道：“凄凉的风，冰冷的雨，洒满了江边的城。”又请公子续下一句。公子推辞说自己不会。女子说：“公子这样的人，怎么竟不懂诗文雅趣！把我的兴致都弄没了！”于是劝他学习，公子答应了。两人来往多了，仆人们都知道了。公子的姐夫宋氏，也是世家子弟，听说后，私下求公子让他见温姬一面。公子把这话告诉温姬，温姬坚决不肯。宋氏便藏在仆人的住处，等温姬来了，伏在窗外偷看，看得神魂颠倒，几乎发狂。他急忙推门闯进去，温姬起身翻过墙，走了。宋氏非常想念她，便备了礼物去见许老太太，指名要找温姬。老太太说：“确实有个温姬，可早就死了。”宋氏惊愕地告辞，把这事告诉公子，公子才知道温姬是鬼。到了夜里，公子便把宋氏的话告诉她。女子说：“确实如此。不过，你想得到一个美女，我也想得到一个美男子。彼此如愿就够了，何必计较是人是鬼呢？”公子觉得她说得对。考试结束后，他回家，温姬也跟着去了。别人都看不见她，只有公子能看见。到了家，公子让她住在书斋里，自己也独自睡在那里，不回内宅，父母便起了疑心。公子的姐姐回娘家时，才私下把这事告诉母亲。母亲大惊，告诫公子和温姬断绝来往，公子却不肯听。父母十分忧虑，想尽办法驱赶温姬，都赶不走。一天，公子写了一张吩咐仆人的字条，放在书桌上，里面有许多错字，把“椒”写成“菽”，把“姜”写成“江”，把“可恨”写成“可浪”。温姬看见，便在后面写道：“什么事叫人‘可浪’？竟是‘花菽生江’。嫁给这样的丈夫，还不如去当妓女！”接着对公子说：“我起初以为公子是世家出身的读书人，所以不顾羞耻，主动来找你。没想到你只是外表好看！我凭相貌挑人，岂不是要被天下人笑话！”说完便消失了。公子虽然羞愧懊恼，却仍看不懂她写的那些话，把字条折好，交给仆人看。听说这件事的人，都把它当作笑话传说。
A young master of Jiaping, handsome and graceful in bearing, went to the prefectural city at seventeen or eighteen to sit the boys’ examination. He happened to pass the gate of a courtesan named Xu and saw a beauty of about sixteen inside. He fixed his eyes on her. She smiled and nodded, and he went up to speak to her. “Where are you lodging?” she asked. He told her. “Is anyone staying with you?” “No.” “I will call on you this evening,” she said. “Let no one know.” He went back, and when night fell he sent his servants away. She came, as she had said. “My pet name is Wen Ji,” she told him. “I admire your grace and charm, so I have slipped away from the old madam to come to you. My humble wish is to be yours for life.” The young master was delighted. From then on she came every two or three nights. One evening she came through the rain. Inside the door she took off her wet clothes and hung them on the clothes rack. Then she pulled off the little boots on her feet and asked him to clean the mud off them for her. Then she got into bed and pulled the quilt over herself. He looked at the boots: new brocade of five colours, soaked almost through. He thought it a pity. “I don’t presume to make you wait on my cheap things,” she said. “I wanted you to know what a fool I am for love.” Listening to the rain that would not stop outside the window, she chanted, “Bleak wind and cold rain fill the river town,” and asked him to add the next line. He excused himself: he didn’t know how. “A man like you,” she said, “and you know nothing of poetry! You have killed my mood!” She urged him to study, and he promised he would. As her visits grew frequent, the servants all came to know of them. The young master’s brother-in-law Song, his elder sister’s husband and also the son of a great family, heard about it and privately begged him for a look at Wen Ji. The young master asked her, and she flatly refused. Song hid in the servants’ quarters, waited for her to come, and crouched at the window to peep. He was beside himself, half mad. He burst through the door; she rose, went over the wall, and was gone. Song longed for her so ardently that he prepared a gift and went to see old Mother Xu, asking for Wen Ji by name. “There was a Wen Ji,” said the old woman, “but she died long ago.” Song withdrew, astonished, and told the young master. Only then did he realize she was a ghost. That night he told her what Song had said. “It’s true,” she said. “But you wanted a beautiful woman, and I wanted a handsome man. Each of us has what we wished, and that is enough. Why talk of human and ghost?” He thought she was right. When the examination was over he went home, and she went with him. No one else could see her; only he could. At home he lodged her in his study. He slept there alone and never came back to the house, and his parents grew suspicious. When the daughter of the family came home on a visit, she quietly told her mother. The mother was horrified and warned the young master to break it off, but he could not bring himself to obey. His parents were deeply worried. They tried a hundred ways to drive her out, but she would not go. One day the young master wrote a note of instructions for a servant and left it on his desk. It was full of mistakes: he had written “beans” for “pepper,” “river” for “ginger,” and “how wanton” for “how hateful.” Wen Ji saw it and wrote at the end: “What is so ‘wanton’? ‘Flower-beans and fresh river.’ Rather than a husband like this, I’d sooner be a whore!” Then she said to him, “I took you for a man of letters from a great family, so I swallowed my shame and offered myself. I never thought you were all show! To pick a man by his looks — won’t the whole world laugh at me?” With that she vanished. Ashamed and resentful as he was, he still did not know what she had written. He folded the note and gave it to the servant. Those who heard of it passed it round as a joke.
異史氏曰：「溫姬可兒！翩翩公子，何乃苛其中之所有哉！遂至悔不如娼，則妻妾羞泣矣。顧百計遣之不去，而見帖浩然，則『花菽生江』，何殊於杜甫之『子章髑髏』哉！」
異史氏說：「溫姬真是個可愛的女子！這樣風度翩翩的公子，何必還苛求他肚子裡有多少學問呢！她竟懊悔到覺得嫁給他還不如當妓女，這可要讓做妻妾的人羞愧落淚了。不過，想盡辦法都趕不走她，她一看字條，卻毅然離開了，那麼『花菽生江』，和杜甫所說的『子章的骷髏』，又有什麼不同呢！」
异史氏曰：「温姬可儿！翩翩公子，何乃苛其中之所有哉！遂至悔不如娼，则妻妾羞泣矣。顾百计遣之不去，而见帖浩然，则『花菽生江』，何殊于杜甫之『子章髑髅』哉！」
异史氏说：“温姬真是个可爱的女子！这样风度翩翩的公子，何必还苛求他肚子里有多少学问呢！她竟懊悔到觉得嫁给他还不如当妓女，这可要让做妻妾的人羞愧落泪了。不过，想尽办法都赶不走她，她一看字条，却毅然离开了，那么‘花菽生江’，和杜甫所说的‘子章的骷髅’，又有什么不同呢！”
The Historian of the Strange says: What a darling Wen Ji was! With so elegant a young master, why be so exacting about what was inside him? When it came to her saying she would sooner be a whore, wives and concubines might well weep for shame. Yet a hundred schemes could not send her away, and one look at the note sent her off for good. So how is “flower-beans and fresh river” any different from Du Fu’s “Zizhang’s skull”?