Photo: CTV /CVN In the time of Le Thai To (1385-1433), Princess Lieu Hanh, daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, was exiled from the heavens and came to settle in a mountainous gorge in the region of Ninh Binh (North ) where she built a three-story tower. On its four sides were iron nets with which birds were taken and caged. In the gardens there were multiple species of trees, ornamental plants and rockeries. In front of the door was a lake hollowed out where myriads of fish lived.
Awesome mother
The princess had taken the form of a very beautiful young girl. She sold fruits and drinks to travelers, but also statuettes, drawings of landscapes, birds, fish, dragons, tigers, and distributed the proceeds from the sales to the poor. All the passers-by who crossed the gorge and saw this beautiful pavilion entered it to cool off and see the items on sale. To those who did nothing but eat, drink and buy, let alone love the girl, nothing happened. Those, on the contrary, who, seeing her so pretty, had wanted to try their luck with her, whatever their rank and their fortune, if they found happiness, remained continually drunk and dazed, sometimes even died.
The princess had lived there for three years without anyone knowing who she was. She had given birth to a boy who had six fingers on each hand. The princess took him to the pagoda on Hong Linh mountain to have him instructed by the superior. She said to him: “I think I made a king there or at least a Trang (first winner of the Royal Doctorate competition). When he grew up, he would bear the name of Trang Quynh ”.
After handing over her son to the bonze, the princess set fire to her palace and flew into the smoke with her maids. It was then known that we had been dealing with a genius and the number of deaths caused by it was explained. A temple was subsequently erected to him on the road that separates the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An (Center), on a high mountain known as the Palace of Love. The deity of this temple was very powerful, so people came from all sides to present their wishes and bring him gifts, but the people of the country did not dare to touch it and left all the proceeds to the guardian of the temple to buy the items. of worship.
Clever son
From the age of 10 Trang Quynh showed himself to be extraordinarily intelligent, knowing all things heavenly and earthly. Going to sit for the exams, he walked past the temple dedicated to his mother, and entered to give her homework and ask for money. He also said to him: “Make me succeed in my exams and I will sacrifice three oxen to you”. The money appeared on the altar, and Trang Quynh took it and spent it having fun.
Once in the hall of the contest, he made about fifty lines and on the rest of his notebook drew elephants and horses. He was naturally refused. Another time he made a composition in which he spoke only of loves and pleasures. Turning around, he entered his mother's temple and said to her, “You didn't protect me, I was refused all my exams, but whatever! I will give you my three oxen ”.
Photo: CTV /CVN The guardian of the temple, hearing him talk about sacrificing three oxen, soon set about making all the preparations for incense, candles, golden papers, wine and tea, but Trang Quynh did not. did not hear so. He stripped himself naked and three times crawled in front of the altar, saying, "Isn't that what I promised." Trang Quynh had played on words! In Vietnamese, bœuf is said bò, con bò, but bò also means to crawl, to drag oneself on the knees and the hands…
While walking, Trang Quynh used to go through a certain ferry, but he never paid the ferryman. This one naturally always made complaints to him. One day, Trang Quynh said to him, “It's okay, don't complain anymore! I'll give you a way to make a fortune ”. When he got home, he had a well-closed, lacquered cupboard built, covered with pretty designs. Anyone who wanted to see what was inside had to pay fifty sapeque. He then had his wardrobe taken to the bin. The crowd gathered and everyone donated fifty sappeques to see what was inside. An inscription placed inside read: "If anyone wants to see, Trang Quynh allows it, but the devil take away whoever reports what he sees."
After seeing, they understood that they had been played, but they dared not say anything, for fear of falling under the curse of Trang Quynh. In this way, the ferryman made his fortune. He went to thank Trang Quynh and bring him presents. He was still laughing, glad he had played the trick.
Trang Quynh once invited the mandarins of the court to come to his home. He received them wonderfully, offered them a drink. Meanwhile, his servants in his courtyard were banging on logs, thus appearing to be hashings and a great feast. Using this ploy, he kept the mandarins all day without eating, but, on the other hand, made them drink so much that they fell under the tables. He then had them brought back, taking care to send them each to a house other than his own and recommending the carriers to carry them to their beds, lest, being drunk, some misfortune should happen to them. Thanks to this precaution, the mandarins woke up in their colleagues' beds.
See you next week to laugh at Trang Quynh's pranks again…
Ông Ngoai /CVN
