During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a wealthy family in a certain place in the south of the Yangtze River, surnamed Li and named Li Wenda. He has a wife and a daughter, whose daughter is named Li Wan'er, who is the pearl of his palm. Li Wenda ran a cloth shop, and his business was prosperous and his family was wealthy. He rarely goes home, does business abroad all the year round, and only comes back to accompany his wife and daughter during the Spring Festival every year.
Li Wan'er has been smart and clever since she was a child, and she is also very beautiful. She likes to read and write poetry, and is also good at painting and embroidery. Her mother was a virtuous woman, who loved her very much and taught her to be all kinds of female celebrities. They live in a large mansion with three wells in the yard, each with different water. The first well is drinking water, the second is washing water, and the third well is water for watering flowers and plants. Li Wan'er likes the third well the most because the water is clear and sweet, and the well is full of flowers. She often paints and writes poems there, or works with her mother to water the flowers.
When Li Wan'er was sixteen years old, her father Li Wenda came back for the New Year. He was very relieved to see that his daughter had grown into a slim girl. He wanted to find a good home for his daughter, so he inquired in the local area, and heard that there was a wealthy merchant surnamed Wang who had a twenty-year-old only son named Wang Ziang, who was also a young man with both talents and appearances. He sent someone to propose marriage, and when the Wang family saw the wealth of the Li family and the beauty of their daughter, they immediately agreed. The two families made a marriage contract and agreed to hold the wedding shortly after the Spring Festival.
Li Wenda happily told his daughter the news, but he didn't expect her daughter to be unhappy. It turned out that Li Wan'er already had a place in her heart, and what she liked was a scholar surnamed Lin, named Lin Wenbin. Lin Wenbin was a poor talent who lived in a dilapidated house near Li's house and made a living by selling poetry. He and Li Wan'er met at the third well. Li Wan'er was painting and writing poems there that day, and Lin Wenbin was attracted by her beauty and talent when she passed by, so she stepped forward to talk to her. The two hit it off at first sight, and they often met there ever since. They gave each other poems and paintings, and talked about poetry and book ideals. They fell in love.
Li Wan'er heard that her father had set a marriage contract for her, and she was very unwilling, she didn't want to marry someone she didn't know, she just wanted to be with Lin Wenbin. She secretly ran to the third well and met Lin Wenbin. She told Lin Wenbin what happened to her, and Lin Wenbin was also very sad. He knew that he had a low status and was not qualified to match Li Wan'er, let alone the ability to compete with the Li family. He could only comfort Li Wan'er and say that she should obey her parents and not embarrass herself. He said he would always love her and bless her forever.
Li Wan'er listened to Lin Wenbin's words, and her heart was even more sad. She felt that she and Lin Wenbin were a natural pair, but they were ruthlessly separated by fate. She didn't want to give up on him, and she didn't want to betray him. She decided to elope with Lin Wenbin to escape this unfair world. She agreed on a time and place with Lin Wenbin and said that she would go with him. Although Lin Wenbin was worried about the Li family's pursuit, he couldn't bear to refuse Li Wan'er's request. And he said yes.
The next night, while her family was asleep, Li Wan'er secretly climbed out of the window, took some clothes and gold and silver jewelry, and came to the third well. Lin Wenbin has been waiting there for a long time. When he saw Li Wan'er coming, he was very excited. He took Li Wan'er's hand and said that he would take her to a distant place to start a new life. Li Wan'er nodded and followed him closely.
Just as they were about to leave, they suddenly heard a commotion. It turned out that it was the servants of the Li family who found out about Li Wan'er's disappearance, which immediately alarmed the whole family. Li Wenda was shocked when he saw that his daughter was gone. He hurriedly asked the servant what had happened, and the servant said that he had seen a man take Miss Li away from the third well. As soon as Li Wenda heard it, he knew that Lin Wenbin did it, and he was so angry that he smoked. He immediately called a few of his servants, took his sword and torches, and chased him along the path by the third well.
Lin Wenbin and Li Wan'er had just taken a few steps when they saw a group of people chasing after them from behind. When they saw that it was someone from the Li family, they were shocked. They knew they had no way to escape but to fight to the death. Lin Wenbin protected Li Wan'er, pulled out the short knife on his waist, and shouted at the pursuers: "What do you want?"Why do you want to interfere with our love?Why are you forcing us to separate?We just want to love each other freely, what's wrong with that?”
Li Wenda rushed to Lin Wenbin's face, grabbed Li Wan'er's hair, slapped her hard, and scolded: "You unfilial and unrighteous scumbag, you dare to elope with a poor scholar, do you know how much face you have lost me?"Do you know how much money you've cut off for me?Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?Are you still not my daughter?Do you still have a conscience?”
Li Wan'er was beaten so much that her eyes were full of gold stars and the corners of her mouth were bleeding, but she was not afraid, she looked at her father bravely and said, "Dad, I am your daughter, and I also have a conscience." But I love Lin Wenbin more, he is my life. You can hit me, scold me, kill me, but you can't let me marry someone I don't love. You can't let me betray my love. You can't let me live without dignity. ”
Li Wenda listened to his daughter's words and trembled with anger. He felt that his daughter was incorrigible and had become a madman. He sneered and said, "Okay, since you are so shameless, then I will fulfill you." Since you want to live and die with this poor sour book, then I will let you go to hell together. After speaking, he was about to stab at Lin Wenbin.
Seeing this, Lin Wenbin hurriedly blocked in front of Li Wan'er and used a short knife to confront Li Wenda. Although his martial arts skills are not high, he has the courage not to be afraid of death. While fighting with Li Wenda, he said to Li Wan'er: "Wan'er, you run quickly, leave me alone." As long as you live, I'll be satisfied. ”
Li Wan'er listened to Lin Wenbin's words and was very moved in her heart. She hugged Lin Wenbin's waist tightly and said, "Wenbin, I won't leave you." We are one, we are going to live and die together. If we can't love each other in this world, then let's go to another world. ”
After speaking, she pulled Lin Wenbin and ran to the third well. Seeing this, Li Wenda and his family members also chased after him. They tried to stop them from jumping into a well, but it was too late. Lin Wenbin and Li Wan'er hugged each other and jumped into the well and disappeared into the water.
When Li Wenda and his family rushed to the well, they only saw a few blood flowers on the water. They looked into the well in horror, but saw nothing. All they heard was a burst of mournful cries and calls from the well: "Daddy......."Daddy......It's so cold......It's so cold......”
When Li Wenda heard his daughter's voice, his heart was like a knife. He knelt by the well in remorse and shouted loudly, "Wan'er......."Wan'er ......Sorry ......Sorry ......Daddy was wrong......Daddy was wrong......”
From then on, in the dead of night, Li Wan'er's voice would come from the third well, crying, "Dad......Daddy......It's so cold......It's so cold......”
Every time Li Wenda heard his daughter's voice, he would cry bitterly and couldn't help himself. He regretted that he was too greedy and selfish at the beginning, and did not respect his daughter's feelings and choices. He wants to save his daughter, but he can't. He could only pray at the well every day, hoping that his daughter would rest in peace.
Soon after, Lee's wife also fell seriously ill due to excessive grief. Before she died, she said to Li Wenda: "You must live well and stop hurting others for money and fame." You have to remember that our daughter is innocent and she only sacrificed herself for love. You have to respect her choice and stop bothering her. You want her and her beloved to live happily in another world. ”
Li Wenda listened to his wife's words and felt very sad in his heart. He felt that he had lost everything and was left with nothing but emptiness and remorse. He decided to follow his wife's last wish and stop going to the well to pray and cry. He wanted his daughter to die quietly and not be disturbed again.
So he ordered the men to fill up the third well and not allow anyone to go near it again. He himself shut himself up, shut himself in the house, and no longer paid attention to what was going on outside.
Since then, Li Wan'er's voice has not been heard from the third well. Some say it's because she finally got her rest.