Dream Edge

"The Fate of Dreams" is a chapter-length novel written by Li Xiuxing, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. The book has a total of twelve chapters and about 92,000 words. It uses the model of a talented man and a beautiful lady as the framework to tell a story about a tortuous marriage caused by a dream omen. Wu Ruisheng, a scholar in Yidu, Shandong Province, and his father Wu Jue had a strange dream, which predicted that his marriage would be in the south and related to "plum blossoms". Wu Ruisheng followed his father's orders and went south to Hangzhou to study and lived in the Temple of Heaven in West Lake. He successively met the famous prostitute Zhu Duiqiong and Jin Cuijuan, the daughter of Jin Yushi, a high-ranking official from the same town. Wu Ruisheng fell in love with Zhu Duiqiong, but was kidnapped and trafficked by profiteers; he and Jin Cuijuan swore an oath for life, but when bandits made trouble, Jin Cuijuan was robbed and disappeared. At the same time, Shui Lanying, the daughter of the Nankang magistrate, was also separated from her mother due to the war and was moved around. During this period, she also had a secret relationship with Wu Ruisheng. The novel focuses on Wu Ruisheng's pursuit of the marriage in his dream, intertwined with the rough fate of three women, Jin Cuijuan, Shui Lanying, and Zhu Duiqiong. Wu Ruisheng experienced robbers in the river, twists and turns in his career (he once changed his name to take the exam), and ups and downs in officialdom; the three women suffered from separation, persecution by power, and wandering in troubled times. The plot is full of ups and downs, full of coincidences and adventures, showing the social scene and the sophistication of people in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, especially the imperial examinations, officialdom, market life and the impact of war. The book is interspersed with a large number of poems and lyrics, with elegant writing style and delicate emotional expression. The author uses the words of the characters in the book to express his feelings about the harsh world and the unpredictable fate, and also promotes the traditional concept of a talented man matching a beautiful woman and a marriage destined to be destined. In the end, Wu Ruisheng became successful and famous (Jinshi in high school, awarded the title of prefect), and the three women who fell in love with him - Jin Cuijuan, Shui Lanying, and Zhu Duiqiong - were reunited after going through hardships, achieving a happy ending of one husband and three wives, confirming the fateful prophecy of "the fate of the dream".