After their wedding, Songlin, a small-town doctor, and his new bride, Xiaoxue, settled down to married life. Songlin’s parents and relatives were all opposed to the marriage because Xiaoxue only had the intelligence of a 7-year-old. But Songlin remembered past lives and the past love affairs between the two of them. So he continued to tell her their story.
If you don’t know the first part of their story, read it here.
Love affairs that transcended the centuries
Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan
Wu Sangui was a general of the Ming Dynasty and Lady Chen Yuanyuan was a courtesan belonging to Tian Hong’s household. While visiting his home, the general saw Chen Yuanyuan dance and was smitten by her. He asked Tian Hong if he could take her with him. Tian Hong agreed.
As a general, Wu Sangui had much success in turning back the Manchu invaders. His campaigns against the Qing army so impressed Hong Taiji, the founder of the Manchu people, that he considered General Wu to be the key to conquering the Ming Dynasty. As the tide turned and the Ming army began suffering one defeat after another, Hong Taiji repeatedly tried to persuade General Wu to surrender, but to no avail.
Eventually, a rebel army made up of peasants captured the Ming capital, and General Wu wanted to go to the Qing soldiers to make a deal that would guarantee Chen Yuanyuan’s safety. But in doing so, General Wu would have damaged his reputation by appearing weak. Thus, General Wu agreed to Yuanyuan’s suggestion that he use the men under his command to fight against the Qing forces and this is how General Wu was able to restore the Ming Dynasty as well as keep Chen Yuanyuan by his side.
In the 12th year of Emperor Kangxi, General Wu officially declared war against the Qing Dynasty and triumphed all the way. He declared himself emperor and established the Great Zhou Dynasty. Unfortunately, he died of an illness five years later. Upon hearing the bad news, Chen Yuanyuan was so grief-stricken that she jumped into a lotus pond and drowned herself.
Cai Songpo and Xiao Fengxian
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the subsequent beginning of the Republic of China, China was in a chaotic situation. Xiao Fengxian was a lady who could play the piano competently and sing beautifully. She became a popular hostess. One day, a businessman came to visit. He immediately recognized Xiao Fengxian from his previous life. He said frankly to her: “My name is Cai Wei, and my other name is Songpo.”
Cai Wei told her that he opposed the plan of Yuan Shikai, the first formal President of the Republic of China, to declare himself emperor and that he was currently being watched because of it. Being in such a difficult situation, he needed help to escape and she did not hesitate to offer him her assistance.
On the eve of Yuan Shikai’s inauguration, Xiao Fengxian was able to misdirect the spies so that Cai Wei could board a boat and flee to Japan. From there, he went to Hong Kong, traveled through Vietnam, and re-entered China in Yunnan Province. After Yuan Shikai’s death, Cai Wei became the governor of neighboring Sichuan Province.
Due to illness and overwork, Cai Wei became seriously ill. He wrote to Xiao Fengxian and invited her to accompany him in seeking treatment after things settled down. Sadly, in the end, he died.
Huang Cheng and Xin Yue
Huang Cheng was the director of a factory. He was a 40-year-old single man with a simple life consisting of working all day at the factory and going home and reading books in the evening.
However, one day his life changed because his love appeared in the form of the lady Xin Yue asking for work. This time, God appeared to be playing a joke on him again; their ages were 20 years apart.
The new employee was diligent and well-behaved. Huang Cheng liked her very much, but the age gap made him afraid to express his true feelings.
Later, Xin Yue was diagnosed with cancer of the liver. Before she died, Huang Cheng held her hand tightly and told her about things in their previous lives.
He even told her during her reincarnation not to drink any Meng Po Soup to save her from having her memories of previous reincarnations wiped out by the “waters of oblivion” so that they could be together life after life. Six months after Xin Yue passed away, Huang Chen also left this world.
Songlin and Xiaoxue
After Songlin finished his story, Xiaoxue said softly and suddenly: “Do you know that I took your advice and did not drink the Meng Po soup? I remember everything you just said.”
Songlin was shocked and asked in surprise: “Why do you only have the IQ of a 7-year-old?” Xiaoxue smiled and said: “I recognized you when I was seven years old. Since then, I pretended to be retarded. This way, no one would want me, and I could stay with you forever. ”
Translated by Yi Ming and edited by Helen
