In the early Ming Dynasty, there was a custom in Wanli County, Yongzhou, that men under the age of 23 were required to wear "soul-tethered shoes" when they went away. The style of these shoes was the same as that of ordinary shoes, except that the upper of the two shoes was embroidered with the same irregular pattern, and the inner sides of the left and right shoes were also embroidered with the man's name. This highly recognizable shoe also caused a strange case.

One shoe at the bottom of the bed

There is Pingpo Town in the southeast of Wanli County. There is a family surnamed Liu in the town. Owner Liu Bogong lost his wife early and left a daughter named Liu Ying. This woman is outstanding in appearance, and she is a famous local talented woman.

Through the matchmaker's matchmaking, Liu Ying made an appointment with a local scholar named Qiao Zheng. Because of Liu Ying's outstanding talent and appearance, Qiao Zheng was always wary of Liu Ying after the engagement, fearing that Liu Ying would behave inappropriately. Liu Ying was also reasonable and did not care about it. The two had similar interests, so they became relatives soon after the engagement.

A year later, before the Dragon Boat Festival, Qiao Zheng went out and returned. When they were cleaning the house with Liu Ying, they swept out a shoe from under the bed. They picked it up and took a closer look.

Liu Ying was startled, looked at the shoe in surprise, and even said, "I don't know!"

"I don't know?" Qiao Zheng was furious, "Hmph! I'm on guard against you everywhere, and I'm always on guard against you, but I still can't! You say, when I entered the city, who were you hanging out with?"

When Liu Ying heard this, all kinds of grievances welled up in her heart, but she still tried to hold back her tears and explained. But Qiao Zheng ignored it, took out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and shouted while writing. After a while, she threw the book to Liu Ying and rushed out the door.

At this time, many people had gathered outside the door, and they were all pointing at Liu Ying and the shoe on the ground, saying anything. Liu Ying picked up the letter with trembling hands, tore it to pieces, stood blankly for a while, then picked up the shoe and staggered to his mother's house. Uncle Liu had already heard the news and was so angry that he relapsed. When Liu Ying returned to her mother's house, her father had already collapsed on the bed with only one breath left. As soon as Liu Ying entered the house, when she saw her father like this, she couldn't help but burst into tears and sobbed, "Father, my daughter didn't do anything! Father, you believe in my daughter!"

Uncle Liu stared at his daughter and finally said the word "shoe." He wanted to say something, but he didn't say it. His slightly raised head slowly lowered.

"Father!"   Liu Ying shouted, "Oh my God! How could this be?" As she shouted, she fainted.

When Liu Ying woke up, it was already dawn, and with the help of her neighbors, she buried her father. By this time, Joe Zheng had long since disappeared.

On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, every family was immersed in the festive atmosphere. Liu Ying dragged her heavy steps and climbed to the peak of West Mountain. Standing on the edge of the cliff, looking at the gurgling water under the mountain and facing the cold wind, she was desperate. Liu Ying took out the shoe and said to herself to the shoe: "Shoe, shoe, it is you who brought me the desolation in front of me. Master of the shoe, I will find you even if I become a ghost, and I will cut you into thousands!" After saying that, I jumped into the rapids below the cliff.

Second, the owner of the shoes

There is a river in southeast Wanli County. Queen Mother and her son Wang Qiming live by the river.

On the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Liu Ying, who had been lying in a coma for a day and night in the Wang family, woke up and realized that she had been saved by the family. Liu Ying was full of grievances and had nowhere to tell. When she saw her benefactor, the queen mother, she couldn't help but burst into tears and told her what had happened.

After hearing this, the Queen Mother was quite sympathetic, so she let Liu Ying live in her house first. In this way, Liu Ying recognized the Queen Mother as the godmother and Wang Qiming as the godbrother, and lived in the Wang family. The family of three lived in harmony.

A few months passed in the blink of an eye. One day Liu Ying tidied up her house and accidentally dug out a shoe. Liu Ying was shocked – this shoe was just the right match for the shoe that brought disaster to Liu Ying! This shoe was embroidered with the word "Qi", while that shoe was embroidered with the word "Ming", Qiming?

Liu Ying rushed into the yard like crazy and scolded the Queen Mother and Wang Qiming: "You people with human faces and beast hearts, it turns out that you are the villains who wronged me!"

Hearing this, the Queen Mother was very strange and asked, "Ying'er, what happened?"

Liu Ying gritted her teeth and said, "You are still pretending to be crazy! Look at this shoe, is it yours?" Saying that, she raised the shoe in her hand and asked.

"Yes!"  Wang Qiming replied after seeing it clearly.

"Then why only one?" Liu Ying continued to ask.

Wang Qiming smiled and said, "I accidentally fell into the river and washed it away."

"You lied!"   Liu Ying said bitterly, "Isn't that the shoe with the word 'Ming 'embroidered on it?" Liu Ying took the shoe out of her arms and continued, "Wang Qiming, Wang Qiming, it turns out that you were the one who suffered a thousand knives!"

The Queen Mother and Wang Qiming were also stunned. They couldn't figure out why the shoe that brought injustice to Liu Ying was the one Wang Qiming had lost.

At that time, Liu Ying was extremely angry. She dragged Wang Qiming and said, "You go to the yamen with me, and I will sue you."

Queen Mother Wang Qiming and Liu Ying knelt in the courtroom, and Liu Ying told the county magistrate, Lord Li, what had happened. The mother and son of the Wang family were called "wronged." The Queen Mother said: "I made these shoes when my son went out the year before last. A year ago, my son fell into the river and washed one away when he went to fetch water. How did this shoe appear under the bed of the Liu Ying family, we don't know! Please be clear!"

After hearing this, Lord Li asked sharply, "Did the shoes fly to Liu Ying's house by themselves? Why did others suspect Liu Ying's behavior after learning about the shoes, but you not only did not suspect her, but also kept her at home and treated her so well?"

"My lord, it was because she was so pitiful that I felt pity for her!" The Queen Mother replied.

"You are talking nonsense!" Liu Ying said from the side, "You are clearly ashamed! Lord, you must make the decision for the women of the people, the injustice of the women of the people is too deep!"

Lord Li pondered for a moment, then he was shocked and said, "Come on, hit Wang Qiming's forty boards again, see if you can still recruit!"

"Wronged, wronged!" The mother and son of the Wang family shouted, but it was of no avail. Wang Qiming was hit by forty slabs, and his skin was blown open and bloody, and he fainted to death. Seeing this, the royal mother threw herself on her son and cried aloud.

Lord Li did not expect Wang Qiming to be so undefeated, so he temporarily withdrew from the hall and chose a day for retrial.

III. Coincidentally

"My lord, wait a minute!" As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man dragged a person to his knees in the hall. The middle-aged man said, "My lord, the villain Zhao Ming caught the habitual thief Zhang Ji, please judge me."

Just as Lord Li was about to leave the hall, seeing that there was another case, he could only say: "Liu Ying, Queen Mother, step aside. Zhao Ming first told this county what happened."

Just as Zhao Ming was about to speak, he suddenly saw the shoes in Liu Ying's hand and said suspiciously, "Aren't those my shoes?"

The speaker had no intention of listening to the listener. The Queen Mother immediately rushed over and pointed at Zhao Ming and said, "So it was you tricked my son!"

Seeing that the hall was going to be chaotic again, Lord Li hurriedly patted the hallwood, and then asked: "Zhao Ming, why did you say that the shoe is yours, tell the truth!"

"Yes, my lord," Zhao Ming said. "Last year, my mother found a shoe by the river. Seeing that it was well done and embroidered with the word'Ming ', she made me another one embroidered with the word'Zhao' to make a pair. Later, the people here said that it was a'soul shoe ', and other people's shoes could not be worn, so I took them off and left them at home. But unfortunately, my family has been burglarized again and again this year, and the pair of shoes has also been stolen. Today, the villain caught the thief Zhang Ji, please check it out."

Lord Li asked, "Zhang Ji, is Zhao Ming telling the truth? Did you steal his shoes?"

Zhang Ji said, "Master Hui, it was the villain who stole it. The villain lost it a few days after stealing it."

It turned out that in April, Zhang Ji was wandering around Pingpo Town wearing these shoes and took the opportunity to break into Liu Ying's house. He wanted to steal something valuable, but before he looked carefully, he saw the owner come back. Hidden under the bed in a hurry, he slipped out while the owner was not paying attention. Who knew that he lost a shoe in a hurry and didn't bother to pick it up, so he simply threw the other shoe away.

After listening to Zhang Ji's confession, everything came to light. Zhang Ji was also imprisoned.

Only then did Liu Ying realize that she had wrongfully blamed a good person and felt very guilty. The Queen Mother also calmed down at this time, and in turn appeased Liu Ying and said, "Ying'er, you are a poor person. Auntie doesn't blame you, but only that hateful thief. Now that the truth has come to light, I will go to your husband Qiao Zheng and ask him to take you home."

Liu Ying heard this, sobbing, and after a long time, she said, "My daughter doesn't want to go back. Qiao Zheng is very suspicious, and since he has divorced me, I will no longer look for him. Now that Brother Qiming has been beaten because of me, I have to take good care of him. If Auntie doesn't dislike it, I am willing to treat Auntie as my mother and send her to death."

When Lord Li heard this, he laughed with his palms: "Stop it, a soul-tethered shoe has removed a period of evil, and it has become a good story. Well, Liu Ying, listen, you are not only responsible for recuperating Wang Qiming's injury, but also responsible to the end. The county has betrothed you to Wang Qiming and served the queen mother with him, what do you think?"

The Queen Mother had long liked this virtuous Liu Ying from the bottom of her heart, and she also noticed her son Qiming's love and admiration for her. However, seeing that Liu Ying had been she was too embarrassed to mention it. Hearing what Lord Li said, she was naturally 100% willing, so she took Liu Ying's hand: "Ying'er, don't help me take Qiming home soon."

A year later, Wanli County southeast of the river came from the baby's loud cry. The Wang family liked to add a male named Wang En.