Yin Tianguan from Licheng County came from a poor family since childhood, but he had extraordinary courage and unique insight. There is a huge ancestral mansion in the county, covering dozens of acres, with pavilions and towers stretching endlessly inside. Due to the frequent occurrence of strange events, there is no one living there and it is desolate and dilapidated. Time flies, and the mansion is filled with flying awns and wormwood, which no one dares to set foot in even in broad daylight. However, one day when Duke Yin was drinking with the scholars in the county, someone joked, “If anyone stays overnight at that mansion, we will all contribute to hosting a banquet together.” Upon hearing this, Duke Yin immediately stood up and expressed his willingness to give it a try.
That night, he brought a mat to the mansion. The crowd escorted him to the door and jokingly said, ‘We’ll wait here for now. If you see any ghosts or monsters, please call for help immediately.’ He responded with a smile, ‘If there are really ghosts or monsters, I’ll catch them as evidence.’ After finishing his sentence, he entered the mansion. The courtyard is covered with dense wormwood, almost blocking the path. The moonlight was dim, and the doors and windows in the courtyard were faintly visible. He walked through several courtyards and finally arrived at the platform on the back floor. He saw that the platform was immaculate and particularly charming, so he sat down. He quietly admired the faint moonlight in the west, without any unease in his heart, secretly laughing that the words circulating outside were not trustworthy. So he lay on the ground, resting his head on a stone, with the sky as his blanket, looking at the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars in the sky.
At midnight, Yin Gongzheng was drowsy when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from downstairs. It goes without saying that someone was walking upstairs. He pretended to be asleep and squinted his eyes to sneak a peek, seeing a person wearing a blue shirt carrying a lantern walking upstairs. When the man in green saw Duke Yin, he took a few steps back in fear and told the people behind him, “There’s a stranger here. After a while, more people came and went, and the whole upstairs was brightly lit. Yin Gong gently turned over and sneezed, and the old man immediately walked out upon hearing the sound. He knelt down and said, “My daughter is coming out tonight, and I didn’t expect to offend you as a noble person. Please don’t blame her.” Yin Gong stood up and helped the old man up, saying, “I didn’t know today was a festive day for your family. I’m sorry I didn’t bring any gifts.” The old man replied, “It’s already our honor to have you as a noble person visit our home. If you could sit with us, we would feel even more honored and honored.” Yin Gong was very happy and agreed to their invitation. After entering the building, he saw that the furnishings were very luxurious.
At this moment, a woman walked out to pay her respects to Duke Yin. The old man introduced her and said, “This is my wife.” Duke Yin bowed to her. After a moment, only the sound of drums and music could be heard. Someone walked upstairs and shouted loudly, “We’ve arrived!” The old man immediately stepped forward to greet him, and Yin Gong stood up to wait. Not long after, a row of lanterns tied with red gauze led the way, and the groom appeared. He looks about seventeen or eighteen years old, handsome and elegant. The old man asked the groom to bow to the distinguished guest first, and the groom looked at Duke Yin, who treated him with half the etiquette of a master. Then the father-in-law and son-in-law bowed to each other and finished the ceremony before everyone started drinking. After a while, some heavily decorated maidservants began to shuttle between the banquets, with various delicious dishes on the table, steaming hot, and jade bowls and gold pots shining brightly, reflecting each other.
After three rounds of drinking, the old man loudly called the maid to invite the young lady out. The maid promised and walked in. However, I waited for a long time and didn’t see her come out. The old man personally stood up and lifted the curtain to urge. After a while, several maids and old women crowded around the bride and walked out. The golden and jade ornaments on her made a rustling sound, and the fragrance of orchids and musk wafted away. The old man asked his daughter to bow to the distinguished guest. After finishing the ceremony, she sat next to her mother. Yin Gong looked up slightly and saw that she had a pearl green phoenix hairpin on her head and pearl earrings hanging on her ears. Her appearance was beautiful and rare in the world. After a while, the maidservants toasted everyone at the table with golden crowns. That golden duke is so big that it can hold several buckets of wine. Yin Gong thought that this golden duke could serve as a witness for his friends, so he quietly put it into his sleeve. Then he pretended to be drunk and fell asleep leaning against the table. Everyone said, ‘My lord is drunk.’ Soon after, the groom got up to say goodbye and left. The sound of drums and music was loud, and everyone went downstairs to leave.
After the banquet, the host found a missing Golden Goblet while packing up his wine utensils, and searched everywhere but to no avail. Some people privately speculated that Yin Gong, who was sleeping there, had taken the Golden Duke, but the master quickly stopped such remarks, fearing that Yin Gong would hear. After a while, both inside and outside the building regained calm, and Yin Gong finally got up. It was pitch black all around, with no lights, only the fragrance of cosmetics and alcohol permeating the air. Dongfang has already started to turn pale. He calmly walked down the stairs, touched his sleeve, and found that Jin Jue was still there. At the gate, sentient beings were already waiting there, and everyone was puzzled that Yin Gong left in the middle of the night and entered again in the morning. So Duke Yin took out the Golden Goblet and showed it to everyone. They were surprised and asked, and then he told them what he had seen and heard. This kind of golden title is not something that ordinary poor scholars can possess, so everyone believes what he said even more.
Later, Duke Yin passed the imperial examination and went to Feiqiu to serve as an official. A wealthy family surnamed Zhu in the local area set up a sumptuous banquet to welcome him. At the banquet, the master ordered the servant to fetch a large wine glass, but the servant did not return for a long time. At this moment, a servant walked up to the master and whispered a few words. The owner’s face instantly became displeased. Soon, he took out a large golden goblet and toasted Duke Yin. Duke Yin discovered that the style and pattern of this golden duke were identical to the one owned by the fox spirit. With doubts in his mind, he asked his master about the source of the Golden Lord. The master replied, “There are a total of eight golden crowns of this kind, which were made by skilled craftsmen when our ancestors served in the capital. This is our family’s heirloom, which has been cherished for a long time. Because of your arrival, we asked our servants to take it out of the box, but found that only seven were left. We first suspected that the servants had stolen it, but we saw that the dust on the box had not moved as before. This matter is very puzzling.” Yin Gong smiled and said, “Perhaps that golden crown has become a fairy and flown away! This heirloom cannot be lost. I have a golden crown that is very similar to yours, and I will give it to you
After the banquet, Duke Yin returned to the official office and immediately sent someone to present the Golden Duke to the Zhu family. After carefully inspecting the Golden Goblet, the owner of the Zhu family was very surprised and personally went to thank Yin Gongdao, and inquired about the origin of the Golden Goblet. Yin Gong told him the whole story in detail. As a result, everyone learned that fox spirits can also find things thousands of miles away, but they dare not ultimately stay with them.
