On the 3rd day of March in the 14th year of Tianbao, Li Ju returned to his villa by donkey from Luoyang, and the servant accompanying him was left behind. There was a gate beside the road and the donkey walked in on its own, so Li Ju could not stop it. At that time, he met the family of the house, and they brought out the donkey and the horse. Li Ju was asked by the owner of the house, so he went into the house with the servant. The master invited Li Ju to sit in the house, and after Li Ju sat down, the master’s wife came out to meet Li Ju. Li Ju did not know why this was happening and suspected that he had met a demon. Li Ju asked his surname, and the host replied that his surname was Dou. Li Ju secretly sent his servant to the nearby house to confirm that the owner’s surname was indeed Dou. Li Ju asked in detail again and the owner replied that his name was Dou Tingfen and asked Li Ju to stay and stay so that he could continue the conversation. The host replied that his name was Dou Tingfen and asked Li Ju to stay so that he could continue the conversation.
Dou Tingfen said to Li Ju, “There is a fortune teller named Hu Lusheng in Zhongqiao who is very famous for his accurate fortune telling. Yesterday, he told me that in less than three years, our family would be in danger of extinction, and we must find Huang Zhongjun to be spared. I asked him how to find Huang Zhongjun, and he replied, “Go and ask Guiguzi. He also told me that the whole family should go out of town on March 3 to look for you. If we can’t find you, our family will definitely die by then. If we find you, the whole family must come out and pray with all their hearts, then we will surely be saved from disaster. Just now, our whole family went out to look for you, and finally met you. Dou Tingfen treated Li Ju with great hospitality.
The next day, Li Ju said goodbye and said he wanted to go back to Yingyang Village. Dou Tingfen insisted on staying and sent someone to Yinyang to deliver a letter for Li Ju. After receiving his uncle’s reply, Li Ju stayed for more than ten days before he said goodbye and went home. Since then, Ting Fen kept giving gifts to Li Ju.
Later, when An Lushan rebelled, Su Zong recovered the western capital and returned to Chang’an, recaptured the Shaanxi province and captured the assassin Dou Tingfen. Su Zong ordered his whole family to be executed and confiscated the family property to the palace. He also said in anger, “Xuanzong’s foreign relatives worked for the rebels instead, they really should be killed.” Because Li Ju knew the cause and effect of Dou Tingfen’s fate, he sent a man with a memorial he had written to the court to explain the situation to King Su. Su Zong sent someone to investigate and the reply was the same as what Li Ju said. Su Zong was so shocked that he ordered a pardon for Dou Tingfen’s death and asked what Huang Zhongjun and Guiguzi were. Dou Tingfen said he didn’t know, and at that time Hu Lusheng had already died. Su Zong was deeply impressed by this and said, “The affairs of the world have been decided before!
(from the book “Sense of Determination”)
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