Pathway to Japanese Literature

Suddenly feeling as though the sun had dimmed and a cover been thrown over his head, Nan Sanfu cautiously looked up at the sky while taking care not to fall from the donkey he rode. Across the heavens spread clouds like splashed lye, against which inky-black formations—now coiling like dragons, now surging like colossal bats—seemed to take flight as they churned. The sudden rain showers that had settled into a pattern around this time appeared ready to strike again.

Nan thought he must not let his new long robe get wet. He urged the donkey forward with the long-stemmed pipe he carried instead of a whip. That place was the outskirts of Jinyang.

The young scion of Jinyang’s prominent family, known for his rakishness, found himself liberated by widowhood and wealth alike. With no wife to constrain him and coffers never lacking, he reveled in a life of dissolution, commuting almost daily to his suburban villa.

The rain had already begun to fall in heavy drops.
Such rain would pass if one waited it out somewhere for a while.
He wondered if there was somewhere to take shelter and cast his eyes about.
That place was a small hamlet where farmhouses with earthen walls, each surrounded by elm trees, stood in a row.
Nan spotted a house there with a somewhat spacious garden.
Nan, who knew the hamlet well himself and believed there was no one in it who didn’t know his house, entered through the gate without the slightest hesitation, leapt off the donkey, tied it to a nearby elm tree, and hurried under the eaves.

The rain came down in splashing torrents.
Nan avoided the splashes and with one hand brushed off the tiny droplets clinging to his long robe.
Noticing Nan’s presence, the master of that place showed his face.

“Is this Sir Nan?”

It was a face he had occasionally glimpsed along the way, but this was of course a farmer whose name he neither knew nor with whom he had ever exchanged words.

“Please let me wait out the rain here for a while.”

“Please do come in. This dreadful weather simply won’t do.”

Nan followed the master into the room.
It was a narrow, box-like room.

“I’ll just tidy up a bit.”

The master hurriedly took a broom and swept the room.
Nan did not feel ill at ease, as the master showed him respect.

“Please don’t trouble yourself; I’ll be leaving shortly.”

“Please do take your time here, though this is such a humble abode.”

The master went to the next room and brought tea.
Though hesitant to sit due to the room’s shabbiness, Nan had no choice but to take a seat.

“Well then, excuse me,” said Nan as he sat down. Wanting to know the master’s name now that he was imposing on him, he asked, “I really should know your name—what is it?”

“As for myself, my given name is Tingzhang, and my family name is Dou.”

Master Tingzhang went to the next room again, and a clattering sound began there as if he had started doing something. Amidst those noises, faint voices too began to mingle, but they did not reach Nan’s ears that remained fixed on the rain lashing beyond the window. Into Nan’s rain-focused gaze suddenly came the figure of Tingzhang bearing wine and appetizers. Though aware of their deference, Nan had never expected them to serve wine; his eyes widened. Nan’s gaze then shifted toward the entrance of the next room that Tingzhang had entered. At the threshold stood a girl—half-visible—who seemed to have been helping with meal preparations. Though dressed in crude garments, she was a beautiful girl of fifteen or sixteen with finely sculpted facial features. Nan did not let that face escape his notice.

“It probably won’t suit your taste, but please have one.”

Offered a cup by Tingzhang, Nan was flustered.
To the simple-minded farmer welcoming the visit from a city’s prominent family as a matter of family honor, Nan’s frivolous demeanor went entirely unnoticed.

“Oh, you really shouldn’t have...”

The appetizers consisted of boiled chicken chicks.

“Please do try some appetizers.”

Nan, his attention focused, picked up his chopsticks, but he couldn’t discern the taste of the appetizers or even what they were.

“This is splendid.”

Nan, seizing the moment when Tingzhang was distracted, looked again toward the entrance of the next room.
There were the eyes of a girl stealing glances in his direction.
The girl hurried away in a fluster.
Nan, holding his cup so as not to be noticed by Tingzhang, waited for the girl’s face to reappear, but she never showed herself again.

Before long, the rain ceased and a faint sunlight broke through.
With the rain having stopped, he could no longer justify lingering.
Nan found himself compelled to turn back.

The next day, Nan went to Tingzhang’s house carrying millet and silk cloth.
Nan waited in that manner for the girl’s face to appear, but the girl did not come out.
Nan returned home disappointed.

Nan could not forget the girl.
Two days later, Nan took wine and appetizers and went to Tingzhang’s house again.
Tingzhang believed that Nan’s actions—showing no discrimination even toward those of lowly status—were the deeds of a virtuous man and was deeply moved.

“Please do meet the child just once.”

Tingzhang brought that girl along.
The girl kept her face lowered behind her father.

Nan thought that now that he had been introduced like this, obtaining her would be no trouble at all.
Just as Nan tried to speak, the girl briefly showed her blushing face, bowed, and then fled away as if escaping.

Tingzhang’s household consisted of Tingzhang and the girl living together.
Nan was waiting to see the girl’s face again.
Before long, the girl’s face appeared at the entrance to the next room.
Nan smiled with his eyes.
The girl turned her face away and revealed the blue jewel of one earring.
Nan saw the girl’s emotional state in that blue jewel.

Nan was delighted.
Even after that, Nan saw the girl’s blushing profile once more but did not reach the point of speaking.

After about three months, Nan went to Tingzhang’s house again.
The girl entered the room where the two were talking, looking as though she had some business.
Since Nan no longer needed to restrain himself around Tingzhang, he feigned a glare while letting a smile show in his eyes.
The girl pressed both hands tightly against her face and ran out toward the front entrance like a small bird.

“Aren’t you going to greet our guest?”

Tingzhang looked at Nan and laughed.
About an hour later, Nan saw the girl’s face at the entrance of the next room, facing him directly and showing a smile.

“Welcome.”

“No.”

The girl fluttered away and hid.
What he had been waiting for had suddenly drawn near.
Nan went to Tingzhang’s house every three or four days and drew increasingly closer to the girl.

One day, having brought wine and appetizers to Tingzhang’s house, he found Tingzhang had gone out to the fields and was not home.
Nan waited for an opportunity while drinking alone.
The girl came near.
Nan abruptly placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her close.

“No! Let me go!”

“Why do you dislike me so much?”

“But no! Let me go!”

“Oh, just stay still—what’s the harm?”

“No! Even a peasant like me has to marry properly into a family. I won’t do such indecent things!”

Nan found an excuse.

“I don’t intend to toy with you. You may not have heard from your father, but I have no wife. I want you to marry me.”

“Really?”

“It really is.”

“You promise?”

“I absolutely will.”

“Then swear it to me.”

“I swear it.”

Outside the window, a clear sky peered in.
Nan pointed his finger at it.

“Well, I swear to heaven.”

The girl looked in the direction Nan had pointed.

“Swear it properly!”

“I swear I will.”

Having said that, Nan moved to embrace the girl.

From that day onward, Nan began going to Tingzhang’s house when Tingzhang was away.
One day, the girl whispered into Nan’s ear.

“I don’t want to keep doing this forever. Please talk to my father and marry me properly.”

Nan thought it would be troublesome to marry a lowly peasant girl, but not wanting to harden the girl’s feelings and make things unpleasant, he gave a nod.

There was a matchmaker who frequented a certain prominent family in Jinyang, and one day she came to Nan’s house.

“How about marrying the young lady?”

That the woman was beautiful was something Nan had also heard.

“That’s a thought.”

“Because that gentleman over there has been praising you, if you are resolved to marry, it can be arranged immediately.”

“That’s true.”

“The young lady is not only beautiful but also has a great deal of money.”

Indeed, that prominent family possessed immense wealth.
Nan’s heart was swayed.

“In that case, shall we have you arrange it?”

After the matchmaker left, Nan went again to Tingzhang’s house.

The girl said to Nan.

“Hurry up and marry me. There’s something not right with my body.”

The girl was pregnant. From that day onward, Nan ceased visiting her.

The girl abandoned by Nan was suffering alone.
The abnormalities in the girl’s body became visible in her appearance.
Tingzhang was surprised and questioned the girl.
The girl spoke about the relationship with Nan.
Tingzhang, somewhat relieved, tried to send someone to Nan’s place to have the girl taken back.
Nan equivocated and did not give a firm reply.
Before long, the girl gave birth.
Tingzhang tried by all means to have the girl and infant taken in, but Nan still kept his words ambiguous and did not comply.
Tingzhang, in anger, abandoned the infant.

The woman left home that night to search for the infant. The infant was crying under the stars with a sound like a whimpering puppy. The woman carried the infant and went to Nan’s house.

“Please let me see the master.”

The gatekeeper reported the arrival of a young woman holding an infant. Nan did not meet her. That night, Nan heard the cries of the woman and infant outside his gate throughout the entire night, but come dawn, they abruptly ceased.

When morning came, Nan went out to the entrance. At the entrance lay the woman clutching the infant tightly, the two of them now cold.

Tingzhang noticed the woman’s absence and, startled, searched from inside the room to the surroundings of the house, but her figure was nowhere to be seen.
Tingzhang, regretting that his own actions had been too cruel and fearing that something might have happened to the woman, left home with bated breath to search for her.

It was already dawn. As he walked, he began to think that perhaps the woman had gone searching for the abandoned infant, her heart drawn to it. Tingzhang directed his steps toward the spot at the outskirts of the village where he had abandoned the infant. At the spot where he had abandoned the infant, the infant was no longer there. He checked carefully, thinking that perhaps something had happened to the infant, but since there was no sign of any change, he thought that either some kind-hearted people had picked it up and taken it away, or that the woman had taken it with her. If the woman had taken it with her, where could she have gone?

Tingzhang’s feet had turned toward the city of Jinyang before he knew it.
The gates of Jinyang had long since opened.
Swallows darted low over the heads of people passing through the city gate.
Tingzhang entered through the gate.
There lay Jinyang’s main street, shops with golden signboards lining both sides.
Tingzhang walked along that street for some time before turning right.
There stood Nan Sanfu’s house, where a crowd had gathered before its entrance, bathed in morning sunlight.

Tingzhang went into the crowd.
There, a young woman holding an infant lay dead alongside the child as officials from Jinyang’s prefectural office conducted their inquest.
Tingzhang shouted like a madman.

“Yes! They were killed by Nan Sanfu’s demon! Nan Sanfu killed them!”

One of the officials cut him off.

“What are you saying? You mustn’t speak such reckless words! Are this woman and child your acquaintances?”

“This is my daughter. She had relations with Nan Sanfu and gave birth to this child. The two of them were killed by Nan Sanfu.”

The officials scolded again.

“I already told you not to make such claims! The Nan are a renowned family—they aren’t the sort to do such things.”

“No—it is Nan! Nan Sanfu came to my house, deceived my eyes, tricked my daughter into bearing a child—the whole village knows of this!”

“Then come to the prefectural office. We’ll investigate there.”

The officials had the woman and infant’s corpses carried away and withdrew with Tingzhang in tow. However, since Tingzhang’s account was coherent and did not seem to be a false accusation, they decided to summon Nan and sent a summons to his house.
Fearing exposure, Nan Sanfu resorted to bribing key officials—starting with the Magistrate of Jinyang—which muddied the judicial proceedings. Thus Nan remained untouched, while Tingzhang was compelled to retrieve the corpses of the woman and infant, bringing the case to its hollow conclusion.

Nan could now go out with an unruffled countenance.
The matchmaker came to Nan’s residence.

“I had heard such strange rumors and was terribly worried—how fortunate nothing came of it.”

“Bah! Getting involved with that lot brings nothing but trouble. Some local youths fooled around with her, and just because I occasionally stopped by, they tried pinning it all on me—trying to make something of it! As if I’d ever lay hands on some peasant wench!”

“Oh, absolutely! When the other gentleman inquired about those nasty rumors—asking if they were true—I told him exactly that! I said, ‘No matter what, would a master from an esteemed family ever lay hands on some filthy peasant girl?’ What a dreadful ordeal this has been for you!”

“What a disaster! Once, when I went to my villa and got caught in the rain on my way back, I thought to wait it out and stopped by their place. They served me wine and such, so I thought they were decent peasants. On my trips to and from the villa, I’d drop by now and then and give them things—but they’d been scheming from the start, using the woman as a decoy to trap me. I had a terrible time of it!”

“That’s precisely it, sir! This all stems from you not having yet decided upon a wife.”

“Maybe so.”

“That’s precisely why I’m trying to wrap things up quickly as well. You surely have no objections, sir.”

Nan wanted to marry quickly to erase the bad reputation.

“Nah—do you think it’ll actually go through?”

“If this hadn’t happened, it would have been settled long ago. As I always say, the other party praises you highly, and the young lady is eager as well.”

It was that night.
The landlord, who thought it permissible to allow Nan and the woman to marry, was in his room with account books spread open as he calculated, but sensing a presence, he looked up.
A petite woman with her hair undone and hanging down around both shoulders stood before him holding an infant.

“Who are you?”

The woman kept her head bowed, her face hidden.

“I am too lowly for my name to mean anything to you.”

“Why have you come?”

“Since you seek to make your young lady Nan Sanfu’s wife, I have come to beg you: do not permit her to become Nan Sanfu’s wife. If you refuse, I will have no choice but to claim her life.”

The landlord was startled and tried to flee.
The landlord had been leaning on the desk and dozing off.

When morning came, the matchmaker arrived.

“Sir, I met with Mr. Nan yesterday, and just as I told you, he was caught in a peasant’s trap. Some time ago, on his way back from the villa, he was caught in the rain and took shelter there, where they served him wine. Thinking them decent peasants, he occasionally brought them gifts. But they sought to exploit his kindness—that’s how all this came about.”

“Is that so?”

The landlord suddenly recalled the strange dream.

“But surely Mr. Nan did lay hands on her, didn’t he?”

The matchmaker laughed.

“How could such a thing ever be tolerated? Would a master of an esteemed family—out of some base curiosity—lay hands on a filthy peasant girl? He has money to spare! If he wanted women, could he not obtain as many refined ones as he pleases? All this arose solely from his noble character—that he couldn’t bear to leave even those lowly peasants without repaying their trifling kindness!”

The landlord was more drawn to the Nan family’s wealth than to their character.
If there was money, he wouldn’t have to look after things—and the woman would be happy.

“Then, shall we settle it?”

Though the matter was settled, Nan presented a ceremonial gift marked with [obscure character] and inscribed it; however, needing to marry quickly, he pressed the matchmaker to select a date. When the day arrived, he went to fetch the bride according to custom.

The bride, whose parents belonged to one of Jinyang’s most prominent families, had a lavish dowry.
That night, Nan sat facing the bride in a room where red candles flickered dimly.
The bride had a pale, delicate face, yet tears filled both pairs of eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you lonely?”

Nan thought he wanted to embrace her and press his cheek against hers.

The bride’s face grew increasingly sorrowful, tears welling up one after another.

“I miss my mother.”

Nan tried to shift her mood.
The bride finally covered her face with her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

Nan placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s truly nothing at all.”

The bride said faintly.
Nan could not press her for the reason.

That night, Nan shared the bed with a bride as cold as ice.
Nan was unable to experience the mood he had hoped for.

It was after three or four days.
Nan was in the bridal chamber sitting face-to-face with the bride.
The bride still wore a sorrowful expression, yet there was something undeniably alluring about her that caught his eye.
Nan felt jealous of this.
This suspicion arose from his belief that her behavior meant she had been involved with another man and now grieved their separation.

“Why are you acting this way? You want to meet someone else, don’t you?”

“Th-that’s not…”

The bride acted extremely panicked.
It was the kind of panic one might display when a secret had been discovered.
Nan was convinced that it was indeed the case.

“…………”

Just as Nan was about to say something again, a voice came from outside the room.

“A guest has arrived.”

That was an elderly retainer who had long served in Nan’s household.
Rather than considering who this visitor might be, Nan bristled at the guest’s ill-mannered act of intruding unceremoniously into the inner chambers.
Then one of the doors opened and a person from outside stomped in.
That was the bride’s father.

“Is this… Father?”

It was neither the season for father-in-law visits nor had there been any prior notice, so Nan had not anticipated this.
Nan hurriedly stood up to greet him.

“Well, ever since she came here, I’ve been having terrible dreams. I grew worried, but—it seems nothing’s amiss after all.” Having said this, the father shifted his gaze from Nan to the woman—and his eyes widened.
“This isn’t my daughter! Where has my daughter gone?”

Nan, startled, looked toward the bride.
The bride was looking directly at Nan.
It was no longer the sorrowful face of the bride he had been seeing until now, but the face of Tingzhang’s daughter with well-defined features.
Nan’s head rang, and he lost consciousness.
At the same time, the uncanny bride collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud, like a rotten tree falling.

“Something terrible! Something terrible! The mistress—something’s happened to the mistress!”

There was someone who kicked open the door to the room—which the bride’s father had been in the process of closing—and barged in.
It was one of the maids who had accompanied the bride.

“Wh-what happened to the mistress?”

“The mistress is in a terrible state at the peach tree!”

The bride’s father suddenly ran out.

The maid followed after him from behind.
Outside, a mist-like rain was falling.
When he descended into the garden, the maid stepped forward and headed toward the rear garden.
There was a peach orchard there, and on one of its trees—visible amidst the shade of lush green leaves bearing small fruits—someone had hanged themselves with a blue cord.
That was the bride.

Nan was awakened and finally regained consciousness.
Nan sat up and looked ahead as though chasing the fading traces of a dream.
There lay the cold corpse of Dou Tingzhang’s daughter.
Nan fled outside in terror.

“Sir, something terrible has happened to the mistress!”

By Nan’s side was an old woman. In the old woman’s mind was reflected only the bride’s dire misfortune. The old woman dragged Nan toward the rear garden.

In the peach orchard of the rear garden, the father-in-law—who had taken down the woman’s corpse—was in a frenzy, pouring the medicinal broth brought by the maid into her mouth and nostrils.

“Soul summoning! Soul summoning!”

The father-in-law hurled the vessel of reviving potion aside and screamed.
He concluded the woman’s failure to revive meant her soul had already begun roaming the fields.
The maid was dispatched to fetch a shrine maiden from nearby.
The shrine maiden arrived with the maid, laid out a straw mat beside the bride’s lifeless body, and began incantations.
For what felt like hours, her voice rose in eerie, simian-like shrieks—but whether because her soul refused to return or not, the bride remained cold.
Weeping openly now, the father-in-law gathered up his daughter’s corpse and made his way back home.

Nan, who had become like a puppet in his confusion, had to steel his resolve after being admonished by the retainer.
The retainer was an old man who had served since the father’s generation.
The retainer was troubled with disposing of the suspicious corpse.

“Master, about that strange corpse—what should we do?”

“Well…”

Nan too had no idea what to do.

“What on earth is this corpse?”

“That’s definitely Tingzhang’s daughter’s corpse.”

“I see,” said the Elderly Retainer, falling into thought. “It’s possible some villain killed the mistress and brought that corpse here. If this becomes public, who knows what consequences might follow? Let us settle this directly with Tingzhang.”

Nan too thought it would be disastrous should this become public and his own crimes come to light.

“Yes, that’s good.”

The Elderly Retainer took the suspicious corpse and went to Tingzhang’s house.
Tingzhang, half-doubting, opened the coffin of the woman who had been buried in accordance with the local custom of covering her with a shallow layer of earth.
Inside lay only the infant’s corpse; the woman’s body was nowhere to be found.
Tingzhang—trampled upon yet unable to voice his grievances through his tears—became enraged.
Tingzhang refused to heed the Elderly Retainer’s compromise of offering money and filed a lawsuit with the prefectural office.
Even the prefectural office could not determine how to proceed with such a bizarre matter.
Nan, fearing catastrophe should anything go awry, employed bribery once more—and thus the incident was left unresolved.

Even though the incident was left unresolved, the rumors spread like wildfire, so even when Nan thought of marrying, there were none who would give him a bride.
Nan thought it would be impossible to find someone near his home, so he began searching in distant areas.
And after two or three years, he finally managed to marry the daughter of a Jinshi named Cao.

Around that time, a rumor began circulating through Jinyang’s outskirts, spread by nameless whispers.
It claimed women from good families were being chosen for the imperial harem.
In households where daughters awaited their formal betrothal day, panic erupted as each family scrambled to send their girls to their husbands’ homes.

At that moment, two palanquins arrived at Nan’s house.
The gatekeeper went out and inquired.
“Who might you be?”

From the rear palanquin came an elderly woman’s voice.

“I have come from the Cao family. Kindly inform your master.”

Hearing it was from the Cao family, the gatekeeper hurried to Nan’s quarters to relay this. Nan wondered what business had brought them and went out. At the gate stood a slender girl of fifteen or sixteen and an old woman who had just alighted from the palanquins.

“Are you Sir Nan? I have come from the Cao family. You must have heard—this morning, the imperial court began selecting women for the rear palace. Should such misfortune occur, it would bring grave complications. As no ceremony has yet been held, we have urgently brought the young lady here.”

Nan had heard the rumors about the imperial consort selection and was anxious.

“That must have been quite a journey from afar,” he said, though he thought that even in such haste, there should have been five or ten attendants accompanying the woman—where could they be?
“And…the others?”

“They will follow later. Given these circumstances, though we couldn’t prepare it fully, we have still brought a modest dowry.”

Thinking that lingering would invite interference, they had hastened the palanquin along, so both the attendants and dowry must have fallen behind. Nan felt he ought to repay the old woman for her thoughtfulness.

“I see, that must have been quite an ordeal. Please, come in.”

Nan wanted to quickly get the woman into the room.
The woman was looking down shyly.

“Then I shall entrust the young lady to your care. I must return and inform Master and Mistress of her safe delivery, lest they grow anxious,” she said, then turned to the woman: “Now I shall take my leave. Do take care.”

Nan thought that since she had come such a long way after all, perhaps she should rest a little before returning.

"Why don't you have some tea before you go?"

"If I dawdle any longer, my return will be delayed. Now then, I have indeed delivered the young lady."

After saying that, the elderly woman boarded one of the palanquins and returned.

Nan hurried to the woman’s side.

“Let’s go to the room, shall we?”

The woman said something while keeping her face down and nodded.
Nan stepped forward and headed toward the bridal chamber.
The woman fluttered along after him.

Nan sat facing the woman.
The woman was still looking down.
Nan attempted to quickly dispel the woman’s bashfulness and seek his pleasure.

“I don’t want to drink Mother’s milk.”

The woman laughed quietly.

“They say there was someone who brought a doll to her wedding… but that wasn’t you.”

The woman laughed quietly again.

“Since you’ve come from afar, you must be tired. Why don’t you rest a while?”

The woman raised her face then.
A pale, oval face of delicate beauty came into view.
Nan thought that face resembled those of several people he knew.

(Who could it be?)

Nan kept questioning this as he looked again.
Upon looking again, Nan started.
This was because there was a resemblance around the woman’s eyes to Tingzhang’s woman.
The plush comfort that had enveloped Nan vanished completely.

The woman rose and climbed onto the bed.
Nan blankly watched it.
The woman climbed onto the bed and lay down, then took the quilt and covered her face from above.

Nan sat nearby.
Nan tried to imagine situations where he might force himself upon the new bride and erase those unpleasant, ominous memories—but they refused to fade.
Meanwhile, dusk began to fall.
The attendants and dowry that were supposed to follow later never arrived.

The elderly retainer came to the room’s entrance and called Nan.
“Master, please come here for a moment.”

Nan, having been called by the elderly retainer, snapped out of his daze and went outside.
The elderly retainer whispered in a low voice.
“Master, the people from the Cao family haven’t come, have they? What do you suppose has happened?”
When he thought about it, both the attendants and the dowry were indeed taking far too long to arrive.
“What’s going on?”
“Could there have been some mishap along the way?”
“Hmm, that woman arrived at noon, so they should have been here by now. What’s going on?”

“Why don’t you inquire with the young lady?”

“Well, that woman does seem tired and is sleeping, but we should wake her and ask. We can’t afford any mistakes.”

“That’s true, sir. These are dangerous times indeed.”

“Right then—let’s wake her and ask. You come too.”

Nan entered the room with the elderly retainer but, thinking he mustn’t startle her, crept to the bedside and called out softly.

“Still drowsy? My, what a sound sleeper you are.”

The woman remained fast asleep, eyes shut tight.

“You must be utterly exhausted,” he pressed on, voice honeyed with false concern. “How deeply you slumber.”
“Won’t you wake for just a moment?” Nan urged while laying a hand upon her.

The woman’s touch was cold.
Moreover, she did not move at all.
Nan, finding it strange, gently removed the quilt.
The woman had turned cold.
Nan recoiled and fell backward.

The elderly retainer tended to Nan while sending a messenger to the Cao residence.
The Cao household stated they had never sent any woman and turned the messenger away.

At Nan’s house, they were troubled again by how to handle the suspicious corpse.

At that time, there was a Xiaolian named Yao whose daughter had passed away and been laid to rest, but on the very next night, bandits broke open the coffin and stole both the corpse and the treasures that had been buried alongside it.
Yao Xiaolian, in the midst of angrily and sorrowfully investigating the despicable bandits, heard rumors that a suspicious corpse had arrived as a new bride at Nan’s house, so he went to Nan’s house accompanied by several retainers.

“Let me see the suspicious corpse.”

Nan couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Nan guided Xiaolian to the room where the corpse had been placed.
Yao Xiaolian took one look at the corpse and screamed.

“It’s her! It’s her! My daughter! The one who stole my daughter’s corpse is this villain here! Seize him!”

The retainers seized Nan, pinned him down, and bound him with rope.
Yao Xiaolian sent him to the prefectural office.
The prefectural office, having observed the repeated strange occurrences at Nan’s household and deeming them retribution for his wicked deeds, charged him with the crime of grave desecration and sentenced him to death.