Prevod

Fei Xiaoxian of Western Sichuan was skilled in divination, and his name was known far and wide. A man from Daruo named Wang Min came to Chengdu on business and asked him to tell his fortune. Xiaoxian said, “When told to stay, do not stay. When told to wash, do not wash. One shi of grain, when pounded, yields three dou of rice. Meet with light and you will live; meet with darkness and you will die.” He repeated his warnings several times, telling Wang Min that he need only commit these words to memory. Wang Min took them to heart. On his journey home, he encountered a heavy downpour and took shelter beneath a roof, where travelers were crowded together. Then he thought, “‘When told to stay, do not stay’—could this be what he meant?” He went on through the rain. Before long, the building collapsed, and he alone escaped unharmed. Meanwhile, Wang Min’s wife had taken a neighbor as her lover. Wishing to spend their lives together, they were waiting for her husband’s return to carry out a murderous plot. When Wang Min arrived, his wife told her lover, “The one freshly bathed tonight will be my husband.” Toward evening, she called on Wang Min to bathe and change into fresh clothes. Wang Min suddenly understood. “‘When told to wash, do not wash’—could this be what he meant?” He steadfastly refused. His wife grew angry and, giving the matter no further thought, bathed herself. At midnight, it was she who was murdered instead. When Wang Min discovered what had happened, he cried out in alarm and called the neighbors to look, but no one could fathom the reason for her death. He was imprisoned and interrogated. The case against him was made, and he could find no way to establish his innocence. When the prefect reviewed the proceedings, Wang Min said through his tears, “If I must die, then die I must. Only Xiaoxian’s words will have proved false after all.” The attendants reported this remark to the prefect, who ordered that Wang Min’s execution be stayed. He asked, “Who is your neighbor?” “Kang the Seventh,” Wang Min replied. The prefect immediately sent men to arrest him. “The man who killed your wife must be this fellow.” Before long, this proved to be true. The prefect then said to his staff, “‘One shi of grain, when pounded, yields three dou of rice’—does that not signify Kang the Seventh?” Thus Wang Min’s innocence was established—a true fulfillment of the prediction, “Meet with light and you will live.”