法苑珠林 75.47

75.47

Chong took the child, the bowl, and the poem, and suddenly she vanished. Chong later rode in a carriage to the market to sell the bowl, hoping someone would recognize it. A maidservant recognized the bowl and went back to report to her mistress: 'In the market I saw a man in a carriage selling the golden bowl from Young Mistress Cui's coffin.' The mistress was Lady Cui's maternal aunt. She sent her son to inspect it, and it was indeed as the maid had said. He boarded the carriage, gave his name, and said to Chong: 'Long ago, my elder maternal cousin, the daughter of the Major of the Palace, married and died; the family mourned her deeply and placed a golden bowl in her coffin as a gift. Can you explain the origin of this bowl?' Chong related the matter, and the cousin was also moved to tears. He took the bowl back and informed his mother. The mother immediately ordered Chong's family to bring the boy back; all the five degrees of kin gathered. The child had the features of the Cui clan and also bore a resemblance to Chong. Both child and bowl were verified. The aunt said: 'This is my nephew.' They gave him the courtesy name Wenxiu. 'Wenxiu' means 'wedded in the darkness.' When the child grew up, he became a commandery administrator; his descendants succeeded one another as officials up to the present day. His descendant Lu Zhi, styled Zijian, became famous throughout the realm. (The single verification above is from the *Xu soushen ji*.)