Ming and Qing Historical Romance -- Stone and Gold Bond

Author: Anonymous
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: The book tells the story of Jin Gui from Jin County, Suzhou Prefecture, who travels to the capital for the imperial examination and wins first place, becoming a high official in Shanxi Province's Pucheng County. Jin Gui takes her family along. Jin Gui has a son named Jin Yu, who is both talented and handsome. The wealthy family Lin Wang arranges a marriage between Jin Yu and Lin Wang's eldest daughter, Ai Zhu.
Dr. Shi Daquan, a physician outside Suzhou's Xumei Gate, has a son named Youguang and a daughter named Wuxian. Shi Daquan treats the wife of the county magistrate but is falsely accused and arrested. His daughter Wuxian is sold to Ai Zhu as a maid. An astrologer predicts great wealth and status for Shi Daquan and his son but predicts that Wuxian will not be wealthy, while Ai Zhu's fate is considered bleak.
On Jin Gui's way to her post, she is kidnapped by the mountain bandit Xiao Huailong. Jin Yu escapes and returns home, suffering from leprosy and unable to find a cure. Lin Wang regrets the marriage and arranges for Wuxian to marry Jin Yu in place of Ai Zhu. Shi Daquan devotedly treats Jin Yu, who eventually recovers. Jin Yu studies hard and becomes a top imperial scholar, leading an army to suppress Xiao Huailong. Jin Yu collaborates with Shi Youguang, the brother of Wuxian, and Tie Chungen's son Tie Chungen, a high-ranking official in Xi'an, to defeat the bandits and reunite with their families.
After their victory, Jin Yu and his companions are rewarded, and Wuxian is granted the title of a first-class concubine. Ai Zhu indulges in debauchery and kills her father, leading to her exile. She later settles in Hangzhou, becomes a prostitute, is exiled again, and lives by begging. At the time, Jin Yu and Shi Youguang defeat maritime bandits and return triumphantly to the capital via Hangzhou. Ai Zhu sees Jin Yu's rise to fame and feels remorse and shame, eventually dying by smashing her head against a wall.
Jin Yu and his companions meet their former saviors and the astrologer Iron-Mouth Daquan, who reveals that Jin Yu and his wife are actually immortals and fairies. Jin Yu returns to the capital and receives another imperial decree.