Madame Cui agreed and Zheng Heng was sent for. Already in his wedding clothes, Zheng Heng was on the verge of realizing his plan. But when he saw Zhang Sheng and the general, he knew the jig was up.
He forced out an awkward greeting, “The first place scorer in the imperial exam honors us with his presence. Allow me to give you my sincerest congratulations.”
Zhang Sheng asked in a flat voice, “Master Zheng, you said you had witnessed me being married to Minister Wei’s daughter. Allow me to ask, where did you see this happen?”
General Du chimed in, “Yes, tell us the details!”
Zheng Heng had nothing to say and could only lower his head in shame.
General Du declared, “You made the whole thing up! You’ve spread vicious rumors so that you could steal the wife of Zhang Sheng, the prefecture magistrate. I shall report these crimes to His Majesty and you will be punished according to the letter of the law.”
With his lies being exposed, Zheng Heng got on his knees and begged for mercy.
“I’m so sorry! I lost my mind… I planned to trick Madame and Miss Cui so that I might wed the daughter before Zhang Sheng returned. I never thought I’d been exposed so quickly. Please general, have mercy on me. I’ll cancel the wedding and Yingying shall be his.”
It was only by this time that Madame Cui began to realize that it washer own nephew who had played a dirty trick. Regardless, he was still her nephew and General Du’s threat unnerved her.
“Calm your wrath, General. He has admitted his fault and I implore you to allow him his freedom without any punishment” General Du turned to Zheng Heng and snapped, “If it were not for the good Madame’s request, and that today is the honored day of my sworn brother’s wedding, I would make sure you paid the price for your deception, you unscrupulous scoundrel! Now get out of here!”
Zheng Heng ignobly withdrew from the room in disgrace. On his way out of the temple he saw that Hongniang, Huan Lang, and the monks of the temple were all laughing at him. The shame was unbearable – how could a man of noble descent end up like this. He knew his life was already over, and upon exiting the temple he bumped his head to a tree and killed himself.
Madame Cui now realized the extent of her mistakes towards Zhang Sheng. She turned to him and said, “It’s a rare honor for me to have both the general and the abbot to serve as the witness to this wedding. The feast is prepared – I suggest we begin.”
All welcomed her suggestion. Hongniang threw her arms around Yingying in a happy embrace, and then accompanied her back to her quarters to get dressed for the wedding.
Zhang Sheng said to General Du, “If it were not for you, none of this could have happened. Twice you have saved me – I owe you my life!”
“Nonsense, don’t mention it. You can always count on my help. My happiness at this day is exceeded only by your own – I wish you both many happy years together and undying love for each other.”
Madame Cui invited General Du and the abbot to sit at the head of the table. Zhang Sheng and Yingying first bowed to Madame Cui, then to the abbot and General Du, and finally to each other. The assembled crowd then lavished them with wishes for longevity and happiness as they walked hand in hand into the bridal chamber.
The couple married happily thereafter, just like two lovebirds safe in their nest together.
