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During the Han dynasty, Dong Yong, a native of Qiancheng, lost his mother while still young. He lived with his father in a market town and labored in the fields, taking his father along in a small handcart. When his father died, he had no means to bury him, so he sold himself into servitude to pay for the funeral. His master, recognizing his worth, gave him ten thousand coins and sent him on his way. After completing the three-year period of mourning, Dong Yong set out to return to his master and fulfill his duties as a servant. On the road he met a woman who said, “I wish to be your wife.” And so they went on together. His master said to him, “I gave you that money outright.” Dong Yong replied, “Through your kindness, I was able to lay my father to rest. Though I am but a humble man, I must work diligently to repay your great generosity.” The master asked, “What can your wife do?” Dong Yong answered, “She can weave.” The master said, “If you insist, then simply have your wife weave a hundred bolts of silk for me.” Dong Yong’s wife accordingly began weaving in the master’s household, and in ten days she had finished. As she stepped out through the gate, she said to Dong Yong, “I am the Weaver Maiden of Heaven. Because of your utmost devotion to your father, the Heavenly Emperor commanded me to help you repay your debt, and nothing more.” With these words, she rose into the sky and vanished, and no one knew where she had gone.