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The virtuous
daughter-in-law (1)
An Ta-cheng was a Chung-ching man. His father died early;
and his brother Erh-cheng was a mere boy. He himself had married a wife from the Chen family, whose name was Shan-hu; and
this young lady had much to put up with from the violent and
malicious disposition of her husband's mother. However, she
never complained; and every morning dressed herself smartly,
and went in to pay her respects to the old lady.
Once when Ta-cheng was ill, his mother abused Shan-hu for
dressing so nicely; whereupon Shan-hu went back and changed
her clothes; but even then Mrs. An was not satisfied, and began
to tear her own hair with rage. Ta-cheng, who was a very filial
son, at once gave his wife a beating, and this put an end to the
scene. From that moment his mother hated her more than ever,
and although she was everything that a daughter-in-law could be,
would never exchange a word with her.
Ta-cheng began to treat his wife in much the same way as his
mother treated her. Still the old lady wasn't pleased, and was
always blaming Shan-hu for every trifle that occurred.
"A wife," cried Ta-cheng, "is taken to wait upon her mother-
in-law. This state of things hardly looks like the wife doing her
duty." So he bade Shan-hu begone, and sent an old maid-servant
to see her home: but when Shan-hu got outside the village-gate,
she burst into tears, and said, "How can a girl who -has failed in
her duties as a wife ever dare to look her parents in the face ? I
had better die." Thereupon she drew a pair of scissors and
stabbed herself in the throat, covering herself immediately with
blood. The servant prevented any further mischief, and supported her to the house of her husband's aunt, who was a widow
living by herself, and who made Shan-hu stay with her. The servant went back and told Ta-cheng, and he bade her say nothing
to any one, for fear his mother should hear of it.
In a few days Shan-hu's wound was healed, and Ta-cheng went
off to ask his aunt to send her away. His aunt invited him in, but
he declined, demanding loudly that Shan-hu should be turned
out; and in a few moments Shan-hu herself came forth, and
inquired what she had done. Ta-cheng said she had failed in her
duty towards his mother; whereupon Shan-hu hung her head and
made no answer, while tears of blood trickled from her eyes and
stained her dress all over. Ta-cheng was much touched by this
spectacle, and went away without saying any more; but before
long his mother heard all about it, and, hurrying off to the
aunt's, began abusing her roundly. This the aunt would not
stand, and said it was all the fault of her own bad temper, adding,
"The girl had already left you, and do you still claim to decide
with whom she is to live? Miss Chen is staying with me, not your
daughter-in-law; so you had better mind your own business."
This made Mrs. An furious; but she was at a loss for an answer,
and, seeing that the aunt was firm, she went off home abashed
and in tears.
Shan-hu herself was very much upset, and determined to seek
shelter elsewhere, finally taking up her abode with Mrs. An's
elder sister, a lady of sixty odd years of age, whose son had died,
leaving his wife and child to his mother's care. This Mrs. Yu was
extremely fond of Shan-hu; and when she heard the facts of the
case, said it was all her sister's horrid disposition, and proposed
to send Shan-hu back. The latter, however, would not hear of
this, and they continued to live together like mother and
daughter; neither would Shan-hu accept the invitation of her two
brothers to return home and marry some one else, but remained
there with Mrs. Yu, earning enough to live upon by spinning and
such work.
Ever since Shan-hu had been sent away, Ta-cheng's mother
had been endeavoring to get him another wife; but the fame of
her temper had spread far and wide, and no one would entertain
her proposals.
In three or four years Erh-cheng had grown up, and he had to
be married first. His wife was a young lady named Tsang-ku,
whose temper turned out to be something fearful, and far more
ungovernable even than her mother-in-law's. When the latter
only looked angry, Tsang-ku was already at the shrieking stage;
and Erh-cheng, being of a very meek disposition, dared not side
with either.
Thus it came about that Mrs. An began to be in mortal fear of
Tsang-ku; and whenever her daughter-in-law was in a rage she
would try and turn off her anger with a smile. She seemed never
to be able to please Tsang-ku, who in her turn worked her
mother-in-law like a slave, Ta-cheng himself not venturing to
interfere, but only assisting his mother in washing the dishes and
sweeping the floor. Mother and son would often go to some
secluded spot, and there in secret tell their griefs to one another.
Before long Mrs. An was stretched upon a sick-bed with
nobody to attend to her except Ta-cheng. He watched her day
and night without sleeping, until both eyes were red and inflamed;
and then when he went to summon the younger son to take his
place, Tsang-ku told him to leave the house. Ta-cheng now went
off to inform Mrs. Yu, hoping that she would come and assist;
and he had hardly finished his tale of woe before Shan-hu walked
in. In great confusion at seeing her, he would have left imme-
diately had not Shan-hu held out her arms across the door; where-
upon he bolted underneath them and escaped. He did not dare to
tell his mother.
Shortly afterwards Mrs. Yu arrived, to the great joy of Ta-cheng's mother, who made her stay in the house. Every day
something nice was sent for Mrs. Yu, and even when she told the
servants that there was no occasion for it, she having all she
wanted at her sister's, the things still came as usual. However, she
kept none of them for herself, but gave what came to the invalid,
who gradually began to improve. Mrs. Yu's grandson also used
to come by his mother's orders, and inquire after the sick lady's
health, besides bringing a packet of cakes and so on for her.
"Ah, me!" cried Mrs. An, "what a good daughter-in-law you
have got, to be sure. What have you done to her?"
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