法苑珠林 49.39

49.39

Furthermore, Dong Yong (Zheng Jizhi's Xiaozi gantong zhuan says Yong was a man of Qiancheng) lost his mother at an early age and lived with his father. He exerted his strength in the fields, carrying his father with him in a small cart. When his father died, he sold himself to Master Fu to provide for the funeral rites. On the road he met a woman who called out and spoke to him, saying, 'I wish to become your wife.' Thereupon they went together to Master Fu. Master Fu said, 'Who is this woman?' Yong replied, 'She is my wife; she wishes to help repay the debt.' The master said, 'If you weave three hundred bolts of silk, I will release you.' In just ten days, it was completed. The woman walked out the door and said to Yong, 'I am a heavenly woman. Heaven ordered me to help you repay your debt to others, that is all.' When she finished speaking, she suddenly vanished, and her whereabouts were unknown. (The above four verifications are taken from Liu Xiang's Xiaozi zhuan.)