Nie Xiaoqian (I)
BackNing Caichen, a native of Zhejiang, was generous, straightforward, and upright in character. He often said, "In my life, I've never been involved with a second woman." Once, he went to Jinhua and arrived at a temple in the northern suburbs, where he rested after unpacking. The temple's halls and towers were magnificent, but the weeds grew taller than a person, indicating that it hadn't been visited for a long time. The monk's quarters on the east and west sides had doors that were ajar, except for a small room on the south side, which had a new-looking lock. In the corner of the hall, there were clumps of bamboo as thick as a fist, and below the steps was a large pond filled with wild lotus flowers. Ning was fond of the tranquility there. At that time, an examination was being held by the academic authority, and the city’s accommodation prices were high, so Ning wanted to stay there and waited for the monks to return. At sunset, a scholar arrived and opened the door to the south room. Ning Caichen approached him, greeted him, and expressed his desire to stay there. The scholar said, "These rooms have no owner, and I am also temporarily staying here. If you wish to stay in this desolate place, I would be delighted to have your company and learn from you." Ning was pleased, gathered straw to make a bed, set up a wooden board as a table, and planned to stay there long-term. That night, the moon was bright and clear, its light like water. Ning and the scholar sat under the temple corridor, talking intimately and exchanging names. The scholar said, "My surname is Yan, courtesy name Chixia." Ning assumed he was also a scholar preparing for exams, but his accent didn’t sound like a Zhejiang native, so he asked where he was from. The scholar replied, "I'm from Shaanxi," with a sincere and honest tone. After a while, they ran out of things to say, bid each other farewell with cupped hands, and returned to their rooms to sleep.
Because Ning Caichen was staying in a new place, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Suddenly, he heard low voices coming from the north side of the house, as if there were people there. Ning got up and lay down under the stone window on the north wall, secretly observing. He saw a small courtyard outside the short wall, with a woman in her forties and an old lady. The old lady wore dark red clothes, had silver comb-shaped ornaments in her hair, was hunchbacked, and looked very old. The two were talking under the moonlight. The woman said, "Why hasn't Xiaoqian come for so long?" The old lady replied, "She should be here soon!" The woman asked, "Does she hold any grudge against grandma?" The old lady said, "I haven’t heard of anything. But she seems a bit uneasy." The woman said, "That girl is not easy to get along with!" Before she finished speaking, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old arrived, looking very pretty. The old lady laughed and said, "Don’t talk about people behind their backs. We were just talking, and the little demon quietly came without a sound; luckily, we didn’t speak ill of you." She added, "Young lady, you are as beautiful as a picture. If I were a man, I would have been enchanted by you." The girl said, "If grandma doesn't praise me, who else will?" The woman and the girl continued talking about something. Ning thought they were the neighbors' family members, so he lay down and went to sleep, no longer listening. After a while, the courtyard finally became silent.
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