Chen Baoyao, a public official from Qingzhou Road, was from Fujian. One night, he was alone in his study reading a book. A woman entered through the curtain, and Chen Baoyao looked up and didn't recognize her. But she was extraordinarily beautiful, dressed in palace attire. The woman smiled and said to Chen Baoyao, 'Sitting alone in the lonely night, don't you feel lonely?' Chen Baoyao was surprised and asked who she was. The woman said, 'I live nearby, just to your west.' Chen Baoyao thought she might be a ghost, but he liked her very much in his heart, so he walked over and held her hand, inviting her to sit down together. The woman spoke eloquently, and Chen Baoyao appreciated her. They sat next to each other and embraced. The woman looked around and said, 'Is there no one else in the room?' Chen Baoyao quickly closed the door and said, 'There is no one else.' Then he urged the woman to undress and get on the bed, but she was very shy and afraid. Chen Baoyao undressed her, and the woman said, 'Although I am twenty years old, I am still a virgin. It would be unbearable if you were rough.' So they made love, and there were traces of blood on the bed. Then they talked by the pillow, and the woman called herself Lin Siniang. Chen Baoyao asked about her background, and she said, 'I have been faithful all my life. Now that I have been defiled by you, if you love me, let's be together forever. Why ask more?' After a while, when the rooster crowed at dawn, she got up and left.
From then on, the woman came every night. Every time she came, the two of them closed the door and drank together, talking very congenially. When it came to music and rhythm, Lin Siniang was very knowledgeable. Chen Baoyao said, 'You must know how to sing.' Siniang said, 'I learned a little when I was young.' Chen Baoyao asked her to sing a song, and she said, 'It has been a long time since I sang. I have probably forgotten the scales and rhythms. If I sing, I'm afraid it will be a joke to the experts.' Chen Baoyao insisted, and she reluctantly lowered her head and tapped out the rhythm, singing a sad and melodious song. After singing, she burst into tears. Chen Baoyao was also moved and saddened by her, so he comforted her and said, 'Don't sing songs of a fallen nation, it depresses people.' Siniang said, 'Music is the expression of human emotions. Sad people cannot make them happy, just as happy people cannot make them sad.'
Chen Baoyao and Siniang were very intimate, like a couple. As time went by, the family members all knew about it and would eavesdrop outside the room when she sang. Everyone who heard her sing would shed tears. Chen's wife secretly saw Siniang and suspected that there would not be such a beautiful woman in the world. She thought she was either a ghost or a fox. She was afraid that Chen Baoyao would be entangled by a demon, so she advised him to cut off ties with the woman. Chen Baoyao didn't listen and wanted to ask Siniang for a clear answer, so he asked about her background again. Siniang said unhappily, 'I was a palace maid in the Hengwang Mansion back then. I died in a disaster seventeen years ago. It's because you are elegant and righteous that I have a relationship with you. I really dare not harm you. If you suspect or fear me, let's break up.' Chen Baoyao immediately said, 'I don't suspect or fear you. Since we have come this far, I must know your true story.' Chen Baoyao asked about the affairs in the palace at that time. Siniang recalled and described them in detail, logically and movingly. When she talked about the decline of the royal mansion, she choked up and cried, unable to speak.
Siniang didn't sleep much at night. Every night, she would get up and recite the Amitabha Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. Chen Baoyao asked her, 'Can you save yourself under the nine springs?' She replied, 'Yes! I think I have fallen in this life, and I hope to be reborn and be a good person.' Siniang often commented on poetry with Chen Baoyao. She would criticize the bad lines and recite the good ones in a soft voice, with a romantic and affectionate manner that made people forget their fatigue. Chen Baoyao asked her, 'Have you written poetry?' Siniang replied, 'I occasionally wrote some when I was alive.' Chen Baoyao asked her to give him a poem as a gift, and she smiled and said, 'How can I show the work of an amateur to an expert?' After living together for another three years, one night, Siniang came to bid farewell to Chen Baoyao, looking sad. Chen Baoyao was shocked and asked, 'What happened?' Siniang said, 'Because I was innocent in my previous life and didn't forget to recite sutras after death, the King of Hell wants me to be reborn into the Wang family. Today, we have to part forever and can never see each other again.' After speaking, she looked sorrowful. Chen Baoyao also shed tears and immediately set up a feast to bid farewell to Siniang. While drinking, Siniang sang with great emotion. The lyrics and melody were sad and mournful, with twists and turns. When it came to sadness, she choked up and couldn't speak. Finally, she managed to finish the song. Siniang was not in a good mood, and she lost interest in drinking. She got up and wandered, wanting to say goodbye. Chen Baoyao couldn't bear to part with her, so he forcibly held her and sat for a while until the rooster crowed at dawn. Then Siniang said to Chen Baoyao, 'I must not stay any longer! Since you often blame me for not writing poetry, today, when we are about to part forever, I should write a poem to commemorate our farewell.' So she picked up a pen, wrote it in one stroke, and said, 'My heart is sad and confused, I can't ponder over it. The syllables are disordered, don't show it to others.' After speaking, she covered her sleeve and walked away with her head down.
Chen Baoyao saw Siniang off at the door, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone. Chen Baoyao felt melancholy for a long time. He treasured the poem Siniang wrote, with its neat and tidy handwriting. The poem goes: 'Locked in the deep palace for seventeen years, who will ask the heavens about my former country? I leisurely watch the palace seal the tall trees, and tearfully gaze at the king's transformation into a cuckoo. The waves of the sea country slant in the evening glow, and the Han's flute and drum quiet the beacon smoke. The beauty's power is weak, and her virtuous nature is sad, only asking about enlightenment. Reciting the sutras thousands of times, leisurely reading a few leaves of the scripture. Singing the songs of the pear garden to represent mourning, please listen alone, and it will also be touching.' The poem repeats and breaks, and it seems that there may be mistakes.