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Ma Shilin was a person who loved reading from a young age. He lived in Changzhou City, and across from his house, there was an old man named Wang who sold chrysanthemums. Wang loved the chrysanthemums he grew and would water them on the stage every day, not allowing anyone else to touch them. Ma Shilin often saw him busy on the stage when he was a child.
One morning, as Ma Shilin had just woken up, he saw Wang watering the chrysanthemums. Suddenly, a man carrying two buckets of manure climbed onto the stage, wanting to help Wang fertilize the flowers. Wang was unhappy and said he didn't need his help. However, the man insisted on going up, and they started pushing each other on the stage. It happened to rain, and the stage became slippery. Wang accidentally pushed the man off, and he fell heavily with both buckets of manure crushing him, rendering him motionless. Wang was terrified and quickly dragged him to the riverbank and disposed of the body, then returned home as if nothing had happened.
Ma Shilin witnessed this scene, felt frightened but dared not say anything. After a while, someone found the body by the river and reported it to the authorities. When the county official arrived and examined the body and the scene, they concluded that the man had accidentally fallen and died, without suspecting Wang. The body was placed in a coffin, and a notice was posted to find the relatives.
Ma Shilin found this incident strange but didn't dwell on it. As he grew up, he passed the scholar's exam and started his own private school at home. Wang continued to water his chrysanthemums every day, as if nothing had ever happened.
Nine years later, one morning, Ma Shilin was revising his books when he opened the window and saw a man carrying two buckets of manure approaching in the distance. To his shock, it was the same man who had died! He trembled with fear, thinking the man had come to seek revenge on Wang. However, the man didn't go to Wang's house; instead, he went to the neighboring Li family's house.
The Li family was one of the wealthiest families in Changzhou City. Ma Shilin was curious why the man had gone to the Li family. He followed and heard an old man at the Li family's gate say, "My wife is about to give birth; I'm going to fetch the midwife." Ma Shilin asked him, "Did a man carrying two buckets of manure just enter?" The old man said, "No." Before he could finish speaking, a maid rushed out and said, "There's no need to fetch the midwife; the mistress has already given birth to a baby boy."
Ma Shilin finally understood that the man had come to act as a substitute for childbirth for the Li family, not seeking revenge. He found it peculiar that the wealthy Li family would hire a manure carrier for such a purpose and began to observe the behavior of the Li family's baby boy.
Seven years later, the Li family's boy had grown a bit but had no interest in studying and only liked raising pigeons. Wang continued to water his chrysanthemums every day, though he was older now and in good health. One morning, as Ma Shilin got up and leaned against the window, he saw Wang watering the chrysanthemums, and the Li family's boy was upstairs with his pigeons. Suddenly, more than a dozen pigeons landed on Wang's flower stand. The boy was afraid they would fly away and kept calling them back, but the pigeons ignored him. Helpless, the boy picked up a stone and threw it, trying to scare them away. Unfortunately, he missed the pigeons and hit Wang instead. Wang was startled and, once again, lost his balance and fell off the stage. After a while, he didn't get up, and his legs were raised just like the manure carrier from years ago. The boy was terrified, quickly closed the window, and pretended not to know anything.
After some time, Wang's descendants came to find him and discovered that he had passed away. They thought it was just an accident due to his old age and mournfully prepared his body for burial.
This incident reached the ears of a government official named Liu Sheng'an. He remarked, "Those directly involved in the events often don't know the truth, but observers like Ma Shilin can see it clearly. Therefore, the ups and downs, blessings and misfortunes in life all have their karmic relationships and are never without reason. It's just a pity that there are too few people who can calmly observe from the sidelines!"