Judge Lu's translation
One day, Zhu Erdan and some literary friends were drinking. Someone joked with him, "You are notoriously bold. If you can go to the Ten Kings Hall in the middle of the night and recite the judge on the left porch, we'll buy you a drink. " It turns out that there is a hall of ten kings in Lingyang, and all the gods and gods enshrined in the hall are carved out of wood, and the decoration is lifelike. There is a standing judge in the east corridor of the main hall. His face is green and his beard is red. He looks particularly ferocious. Someone once heard the sound of interrogation and torture in two corridors at night. Everyone who has been to the temple is terrified. So everyone made this request to embarrass Zhu Erdan. Zhu smiled and walked away. After a while, I heard someone shouting outside the door: "I invited the bearded master!" " "When Zhu Erdan came in behind the judge's back, everyone stood up. He put the judge on the table, raised his glass and offered him three cups in a row. When they saw the appearance of the judge, they sat in their seats in fright, so they asked Zhu Erdan to carry it back. Zhu raised his glass again, put it on the ground and prayed, "I believe the host will not be angry because of the rudeness of the students!" "My home is not far from here. Please have a drink when you are in the mood. Don't be surprised at the difference between man and God! " Say that finish, or pull the judge back.
The next day, everyone invited Zhu Erdan to drink. Drink until dark, Zhu Erdan drunk to go home. When he stopped drinking, he held the lamp in his hand and poured it himself. Suddenly, a man opened the curtain and came in. Zhu Erdan looked up and it turned out to be a judge! He quickly stood up and said, "Hey! Looks like I'm going to die! I offended you last night. Are you here to kill me tonight? " The judge's beard moved and smiled and said, "No, thank you for your kind invitation last night. I happen to be free tonight, so I'm here to make an appointment with someone who knows the ropes." Zhu Erdan was overjoyed. He took the judge's clothes and told him to sit down quickly. He got up and washed his own wine, and ordered warm wine. The judge said, "It's very warm. Let's have a cold drink. " Zhu Erdan listened, put the bottle on the table and ran to tell his family to buy food and fruit. When his wife found out, she was shocked and discouraged him from hiding in the house. Zhu Erdan didn't listen. When she prepared the food, she served it, changed the cup again, and they drank it together. Zhu Erdan asked the judge's name. The judge said, "My surname is Lu, and I have no name." Zhu Erdan talked with him about classical learning, and the judge answered him like a stream. Zhu Erdan asked him again, "Do you know stereotyped writing now?" The judge said, "You can still tell the good from the bad. Reading and writing in the underworld is similar to that on earth. " Judge Lu was a heavy drinker and drank ten cups in a row. Zhu Erdan fell asleep at his desk because he had been drinking all day. When I woke up, I saw that the candle was dim and the ghost guest had already left.
From then on, Judge Lu came every two or three days, and the two became more harmonious and often slept together. Show his composition to Judge Lu, and Judge Lu picks up a red pen to correct it, but it's all bad. One night, after drinking. Drunk, go to bed first, Lu Zhishen is still drinking. Zhu Erdan suddenly felt a little pain in his viscera during his sleep. When I woke up, I saw Judge Lu sitting in front of the bed. He had already cut open his belly and pulled out his intestines, one by one. Zhu Erdan said in surprise, "We have no hostility. Why did you kill me? " Judge Lu smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll give you a smart heart." Say that finish, slowly tidy up the intestines, put them in Zhu Erdan's stomach, close the knife edge, and finally wrap the waist with a foot wrap. When it was all over, I saw that there was no blood on the bed. Zhu Erdan only felt a little numb in his stomach. Judge Lu put a piece of meat on the table. When Zhu Erdan asked what it was, Judge Lu said, "This is your heart. You are not quick-thinking, I know it is because you are closed-minded. Just now, in the underworld, I chose the best one from thousands of hearts and changed it for you. Leave this to make up for the shortage. " Say that finish, he got up and closed the door and left.
After dawn, Zhu Erdan untied the tape and saw that the wound had healed, leaving only a red line on his stomach. Since then, he has made great progress in writing, and his articles have never been forgotten. A few days later, he showed the article to Judge Lu, who said, "That's enough. However, you are too lucky to be a big official. At most, I will win a prize. " Zhu Erdan asked, "When will you be admitted?" "This year will be the first!" Judge Lu replied. Soon, Zhu Erdan won the first place in the scholar exam and the first place in the autumn exam. His classmates and friends have always looked down on him, and when they saw his exam articles, they couldn't help looking at each other and were greatly surprised. After careful questioning, I realized that it was Judge Lu who gave him a wise heart. They please introduce Judge Lu to everyone and want to make friends with him. Judge Lu readily agreed. They held a grand banquet. Waiting to entertain Judge Lu.
At one o'clock, Judge Lu's palace came. I saw his red beard fluttering, and his bright eyes penetrated people's hearts like lightning. Everyone is expressionless, and their teeth can't help rattling. Soon after, they left the table one by one and ran away. Zhu Erdan invited Judge Lu to his house for a drink. When they were drunk, Zhu Erdan said, "I am very grateful to you for washing my intestines and changing my heart! I have one more thing to trouble you. I don't know if it's ok? " Judge Lu asked him to talk. Zhu Erdan said, "You can change your heart or your face if you like. My wife's figure is not bad, but her eyebrows and eyes are not very good. How about bothering you with knives and axes? " Judge Lu smiled and said, "Well, let me think about it slowly."
A few days later, Judge Lu knocked at the door at midnight. Zhu Erdan stood up quickly and invited him in. I lit the candle and saw something wrapped in Judge Lu's skirt. Zhu Erdan asked what it was. Judge Lu said, "What you told me last time has always been difficult to find out. I just happened to get a beautiful girl's head, and I'm here to fulfill my promise! " Zhu Erdan lifted his skirt and saw that the blood on his head and neck was still wet. Judge Lu urged to go to the bedroom quickly and not to disturb the chickens and dogs. Zhu Erdan is worried that his wife's bedroom door will be locked at night. Judge Lu arrived, stretched out a hand and pushed it, and the door opened. Walking into the bedroom, I saw Zhu Erdan's wife sleeping on her side in bed. Judge Lu gave his head to hold, drew a dagger from his boots, held down Zhu's wife's neck with one hand, and cut it hard like tofu with the other, and Zhu's wife's head fell on one side of the pillow. Judge Lu quickly took the beauty's head from her arms, put it around Zhu's wife's neck, looked at it carefully, pressed it hard, then moved it over the pillow and stuffed it under Zhu's wife's head. After all, Zhu Erdan was ordered to bury his chopped head in an abandoned place before he left.
Zhu's wife woke up the next day with a slight numbness in her neck and a dry face. I found some blood clots when I rubbed them with my hands. I was surprised and asked the maid to fetch water and wash my face. The maid came in with water and saw her face covered with blood. She was startled. Zhu's wife washed her face and a basin of water turned red. Looking up, the servant girl suddenly saw her beyond recognition and was even more surprised. Zhu's wife took a look in the mirror herself. She was surprised and confused. When he came in, he told his wife that Judge Lu had changed her head. He looked at his wife again and again and saw her beautiful eyebrows and a pair of dimples on both sides of her cheeks, which really looked like a beauty in the painting. When I unbuttoned my collar, I saw that there was only one red line on my neck, and the skin color above and below the red line was completely different.
Before that, Wu had a very beautiful daughter. I was engaged twice, and my husband died without going through the door, so I didn't get married at the age of 19. On the Lantern Festival, Wu Nv visited the Ten Kings Temple. At that time, there were many and varied tourists. One of them peeked at her gorgeous appearance and secretly visited her home. At night, she climbed over the wall with a ladder and entered the yard. She drilled a hole in her bedroom door, first killed a maid under the bed, and then threatened to rape a martial girl. Wu struggled to resist and shouted for help. The rogue got angry and cut off her head with a knife. Mrs. Wu vaguely heard something in her daughter's bedroom and asked the maid to look. She was almost scared to death when she saw the body in the room. The whole family got up, parked the body in the hall, and put the girl's head around her neck. The family cried all night. At dawn the next day, Mrs. Wu opened the quilt on her daughter and saw that her body was still there, but her head was gone. I was so angry that I beat up the maids who guarded the body one by one, thinking that they were lax in guarding and were eaten by dogs. Wu immediately told the county government about her daughter's murder. The county magistrate ordered the murderer to be arrested within a time limit, but three months later, the murderer has not been arrested.
Soon, the strange news that his wife changed her head gradually reached Wu's ears. He became suspicious and sent an old maid to visit the Zhujiajian family. When the old maid saw Mrs. Zhu, she immediately ran back in horror and told Kung Fu. Seeing that her daughter's body was still there, Kung Fu hesitated. She speculated that Zhu Erdan might have killed her daughter with witchcraft, so she asked Zhu Erdan herself. Zhu said, "My wife changed her head in her sleep. I really don't know what happened! It is really wrong to say that I killed your daughter! " Do not believe in martial arts, sue the county government. The leader arrested his family for interrogation, and the result was the same as Zhu said, and the leader could not judge clearly. After returning home, Zhu Erdan asked Judge Lu for advice. Judge Lu said, "It's not difficult. I'll let his daughter make herself clear. " At night, Wu dreamed that her daughter said to herself, "My daughter was killed by Yang Danian of Suxi, and it has nothing to do with Zhu. Zhu thought his wife was ugly, so Judge Lu replaced her daughter's head with Zhu's wife. Now my daughter is dead and my head is still alive. I hope our family will not be enemies with Zhu. " When Wu woke up, he told his wife the dream, and her wife had the same dream. So he asked the county government and the chief, and sure enough there was a Yang Danian. Immediately caught a confession by torture, Yang Danian confessed the crime. Wu went to visit and asked to meet Mrs. Zhu. He also admitted that Mrs Zhu was his daughter and married Zhu Erdan. So he buried Mrs. Zhu's head on Wu's body.
Later, Zhu Erdan took three Jinshi examinations in Beijing, and was relegated for violating the rules of the examination room. He was discouraged and didn't want to be an official any more. One night thirty years later, Judge Lu said to him, "Your life is coming to an end." Zhu Erdan asked about the date of death, and Judge Lu replied that five days later. "Is there any saving?" Judge Lu said: "Life and death are decided by heaven. How can people change? Besides, in the eyes of the wise, life and death are the same. Why do you think that you are happy when you are alive and sad when you die? " Hearing this, Zhu Erdan felt quite right, so he made a shroud coffin. Five days later, he died in a dress.
The next day, Mrs. Zhu was crying with her coffin in her arms when she suddenly came in from the outside. Mrs Zhu is afraid. Zhu Erdan said, "I am a ghost, but I am no different from when I was alive. I miss your orphans and widows, and I really can't bear to leave! " The lady heard this and burst into tears, and tears flowed to her chest. Zhu Erdan comforted his wife affectionately, and her wife said, "In ancient times, there was a saying of resurrection. Since you have a spirit, why don't you take care of your life? " Zhu Erdan said, "Why does heaven violate it?" The wife asked again, "What are you doing in the underworld?" Zhu Erdan replied, "Judge Lu recommended me to be in charge of documents, and I was also awarded an official title. There is nothing to be miserable about. " When his wife wanted to ask again, Zhu Erdan said, "Duke Lu came with me. Get the table ready quickly. " Say that finish and went out. Mrs. Zhu immediately prepared according to her husband's instructions. After a while, I heard Judge Lu talking and laughing in the room, just like a living person. In the middle of the night, when I looked into the house again, both of them were gone.
From then on, Zhu Erdan came every few days and sometimes stayed at home with his wife to do housework. At that time, his son Zhu Wei was only five years old. When Zhu Erdan comes, catch him. When Zhu Wei was seven or eight years old, Zhu Erdan taught him to read under the lamp. My son is very clever. He was able to write articles at the age of nine, and was admitted to the county school at the age of fifteen. He doesn't know that his father has been dead for many years. But since then, Zhu Erdan has come less and less, sometimes only once a month.
Another night, Zhu Erdan came and said to his wife, "Now I want to say goodbye to you forever!" " The wife asked, "Where are you going?" Zhu Yue said, "Thanks to Tai Huaqing's orders, I will soon go to a distant place to take up my post. Busy business, long journey, can't come again. " The wife and son listened, holding him and crying. Zhu Erdan comfort said, "don't do this! When my son grows up, his family can get by. How can there be a couple who have been together for a hundred years? " He looked at his son again and said, "Be a good man and don't neglect the studies taught by his father. We can still meet in ten years. " Say that finish, went straight out. Never been here again.
Later, 25-year-old Zhu Wei was admitted to Jinshi, became a pedestrian officer, and was ordered by the emperor to sacrifice at Huashan Mountain in Xiyue. When I was passing Huayin, suddenly a group of ceremonial soldiers rushed at me, and did not shy away from Zhu Wei's team. Zhu Wei was surprised. Look carefully at the man sitting in another car. It turned out to be his father! Zhu Wei jumped off his horse and knelt on the side of the road and wept bitterly. Father stopped the car and said, "You have a good reputation as an official. I can close my eyes. " Zhu Wei knelt on the ground and couldn't cry. Zhu Erdan, regardless, urged the vehicle to gallop away. Just a few steps later, I turned around, took off my sabre, sent someone back to give it to Zhu Wei, and shouted at a distance, "With this sword, you can make a fortune!" Zhu Wei wanted to chase after him, only to see his father's chariots and horses following people, fluttering like the wind, and suddenly disappeared. Zhu Wei suffered for a long time, but he was helpless. I took out the knife my father gave me and looked at it. It's very delicate. There is a line engraved on the knife: "I want to be bold but I want to be small, I want to be mellow and do what I want."
Later, Zhu Wei became an official until Sima. He gave birth to five sons, namely Zhu Shen, Zhu Qian, Zhu Xun, Zhu Hun and Zhu Shen. One night, Zhu Wei dreamed that his father said to himself, "The sabre should be given to Zhu Hui." Zhu Wei listened. Later, Zhu Hunguan came to the General Constitution and had a great political voice.
Yi Shi said: It is too melodramatic to cut off the crane's foot and attach it to the duck. The author is reckless; Replacing trees with flowers, the founder is amazing. What's more, people cut their liver and intestines (such as changing their hearts) and put a knife cone on their necks (that is, Zhu's wife changed her head)? Duke Lu is an ugly but beautiful story. From the late Ming dynasty to the present, it is not far away. I wonder if Duke Lu of Lingyang is still there? If there is still a spirit, it is willing to whip him away and become a servant!