During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, there was a young man named Maye He who had not yet been married. His father is a businessman who travels back and forth to the capital city all year round. That year, when his father set off for the capital city, he said to Mayo Crane, “You’re no longer young. Don’t be idle all day long. From today on, learn to do business with me and you’ll be able to make a living in the future. Ma Fu decided to store the goods and brought a truckload back. He will come back in the second half of the year, and the market should improve by the end of the year.
Not far from the outskirts of the city, there is a Taoist temple staffed by female Taoists. Ma Fu and the abbot are familiar with each other, so they store their goods in the temple under the supervision of Ma Yehe, who pays some rent when the time comes. There is a side house in the Taoist temple, right next to the backyard, which is idle all year round and not connected to the backyard. The master rented this side house to Ma Fu. Mayo Crane eats and stays in this room, bored and can only wander around outside the Taoist temple because there are people guarding the inner courtyard and he cannot enter. The backyard is the residence of the female Taoists. The Maye Crane wall can hear the sound of the Taoists’ voices, but no one can be seen because the courtyard wall is over ten feet high and covered with iron spikes, making it impossible for him to climb over.
On this day, Mayo Crane was strolling outside the Taoist temple when he saw two young female Taoists coming up from the foot of the mountain. One of them had a beautiful appearance, staring intently at Mayo Crane, who also looked at her with four eyes facing each other, and two red clouds flying from their faces. Another female Taoist noticed something unusual and couldn’t help but joke, “Xuanjing, you’ve started to have vulgar thoughts. Be careful not to hit your master’s palm.” Xuanjing woke up, smiled shyly, and the two of them entered the Taoist temple while fighting. Mayo Crane’s gaze followed Xuan Jing’s back until it was no longer visible.
Afterwards, the figure of Xuan Jing kept appearing in Mayo Crane’s mind and he couldn’t sleep at night. But there was a high wall in between, like two worlds, and he wanted to take another look at Xuanjing, but it became a luxury. Mayo Crane wanders outside the Taoist temple every day, hoping to see Xuanjing again. After waiting for more than ten days, I finally saw Xuan Jing and another female Taoist walking out together. Kono Tsuru shamelessly approached and started a conversation, only to find out that the two had been ordered by their master to deliver a letter to the donor’s house. Originally, the abbot had a wide circle of friends, often exchanging letters and running errands, which were entrusted to these two female Taoists. The last time, they came back to deliver a message and met Tsuru Mayo. Mayo Crane followed the two of them all the way to deliver the letter, and when they arrived at the market, he invited them to eat. Xuanjing has a good impression of Maye Crane, and the two of them have a great conversation and developed feelings for each other. On the way back, Mayohe pulled Xuanjing aside and expressed his feelings. Xuanjing blushed and whispered, “I like you too, but there are rules in the teachings that prohibit private relationships unless you return to secular life.” Mayohe said, “When my father comes, I will beg him to find the abbot and plead for you to return to secular life.” Xuanjing nodded. Mayo Crane pleaded with the female Taoist accompanying her not to tell her master about their affairs, and she agreed.
From then on, the two of them would chat by the wall every night. Xuanjing sneaked out and hit the wall three times with a stone. Upon hearing this, Mayo Crane responded three times with a stone, and then the two began to speak. They didn’t dare to say much, and after exchanging a few greetings, they hurriedly left. Over a month passed like this, and on that night, when the third shift was coming to an end, Mayo Crane didn’t hear the sound of knocking on the wall. He couldn’t rest assured and tossed and turned in bed. At the beginning of the fifth shift, there was suddenly a hurried knocking on the door. Ma Yehe quickly got up, opened the door, and Xuan Jing flashed into the room, anxiously saying, “Oh no, Master has discovered our affair and locked me up. He said he will send me to a Taoist temple a hundred miles away tomorrow and follow his senior uncle. He is not allowed to come back.” Ma Yehe asked, “How did you get out?” Xuan Jing said, “I sneaked out while the senior sisters guarding us were dozing off.” Ma Yehe paced back and forth in the room, feeling at a loss. Xuanjing anxiously said, “Why are you hesitating and indecisive? If I go to my senior uncle’s place, we won’t be able to meet again in this life. In my opinion, I’ll elope with you now and get married at home.” Ma Yehe hesitated and said, “What about the goods?” Xuanjing said, “I can’t worry about that much anymore. Your father will come back to pick them up later, so I don’t think we’ll lose them.” Ma Yehe then locked the door and rushed home with Xuanjing.
At home, Mayo Crane explained the details to his parents, and his mother happily pulled Xuan Jing and nodded in agreement to the marriage. Ma Fu said, “That’s all we have to do. You two get married first, and then I’ll go find the abbot to intercede, cancel the roster, and make you return to secular life.” So, he chose an auspicious day and let the two get married. The two are like glue, with an indescribable love. About ten days later, Mayo Crane accidentally woke up at night and found Xuan Jing’s eyes open. He thought she was awake and spoke to her, but saw that she had not spoken. He shook his hand in front of Xuan Jing’s face and noticed that she didn’t react, so he pushed her. Xuanjing woke up and asked him what he was doing? He dealt with it vaguely.
Later, he waited until Xuanjing fell asleep and carefully observed that Xuanjing was sleeping with her eyes open. He suddenly realized that something was wrong and felt timid in his heart. The next morning, he quietly told his parents. Mother trembled and said, “Isn’t this person Xuan Jing?” Maye Crane said, “It’s indeed her, I know her
After a few days, Ma Fu set off with his goods and arrived in the capital city more than ten days later. He went straight to visit the supporting senior teacher. Grandmaster said, “Grandfather has left without saying goodbye. Can you go home?” Ma Fu smiled and said, “He feels bored and has gone home.” During the chat, Ma Fu asked Xuan Jing, and she let out a long sigh and said, “I don’t know why, she has been sleeping soundly all this time, which really breaks my heart. Okay, as long as you can wake her up, I’ll rely on you,” Ma Fu said. “If you want to wake her up, it’s a bit troublesome. You need to send her to my house.” The senior teacher asked, “Why is that Ma Fu said, “I can’t tell you about this yet.” After much consideration, the senior teacher had to agree. Ma Fu handled the goods and drove Xuan Jing back home in a carriage, accompanied by three female Taoists.
At home, Ma Fu walked into the house and said to Xuan Jing, “Go to the carriage and see who’s here.” Xuan Jing ran out, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and suddenly screamed, falling to the ground and disappearing. At the same time, Xuan Jing in the car woke up. Originally, Xuanjing was in a hurry and her soul slipped away, eloping with Maye Crane. Because the soul came back, I slept with my eyes open. Ma Fu had a wide range of knowledge and guessed five or six points in his heart. When he arrived at the Taoist temple, he found out that Xuan Jing was unconscious, so he was very confident. Xuanjing fulfilled her wish and returned to secular life, and the three senior sisters went back to fulfill their orders. Later on, Xuanjing gave birth to seven or eight children and had a deep affection with Mayo Crane, growing old together.
