Zhang Pu, with the courtesy name Gongzhi, is little known about his life story, except that he once served as the governor of Wu County.
One year, the court summoned him back to Beijing to take up a position, and Zhang Pu set off north with his family.
When passing by Mount Lu, his children were curious about this famous mountain and decided to stop and take a tour.
When they were visiting the Lushan Temple, a maid, perhaps out of a joke, pointed to the clay statue and said to her, “Look at that statue, how handsome it is. Why don’t you let him be your husband
That night, Zhang Pu’s wife was shocked to see a self proclaimed deity from Mount Lu visiting with a gift. She earnestly requested that her incompetent son be betrothed to Zhang’s daughter and presented a small gift as a sign of respect.
The next morning, Mrs. Zhang woke up feeling very strange and told everyone about it.
The maid then revealed the joke she had made yesterday, and Mrs. Zhang was very afraid, worried that it might anger the gods. She urged her husband to leave this place as soon as possible to avoid any accidents.
When the ship reached the center of the river, it suddenly stopped moving forward. The whole ship was very frightened, throwing things into the river together, but the ship still didn’t move.
At this point, someone suggested that Zhang’s daughter be sacrificed and sunk into the river to appease the wrath of the gods.
This suggestion was echoed by others on the ship, ‘The mountain god’s intention is already very clear. How can we let go of a daughter and cause trouble for the whole family?’
Under the pressure of everyone, Zhang Pu could only agree in the end. Unable to bear to watch his daughter being thrown into the river, he climbed onto the top floor of the ship and went to sleep.
Mrs. Zhang also didn’t want her own daughter to die, so she secretly manipulated and replaced her own daughter with the orphan daughter of Zhang Pu’s deceased brother.
She placed the mat on the water and asked the girl to sit on it. Soon, the girl sank underwater and the boat was able to continue moving forward.
After Zhang Pu got off, he found that his daughter was still safe and sound on the boat. He felt ashamed and angry for a moment, thinking that this action was insulting to the family.
Angry, he said, “What face do I have to live in this world
After speaking, he even threw his own daughter into the river with his own hands.
However, when they arrived on the other side, they unexpectedly saw two girls standing intact on the shore waiting.
At this moment, a small official who claimed to be the chief clerk of the Lushan God came to greet and express his apologies to Zhang Pu on behalf of the Lushan God.
I am the chief clerk of the Lushan God. The Lushan God thanks and apologizes to you. He knows that ghosts and gods cannot marry your daughter, and he admires your morality, so he sent both girls back
Later, when Zhang Pu asked his daughter about her experience, she recalled, “I only saw beautiful houses and officials and soldiers at that time, and didn’t feel like I was in the water
