The Wisteria Princess — Obscure Fairy Tales

This story begins in Lu-lung, a small chinese city afoot a tall mountain. There, the houses were so close together that they gave the impression of hugging each other. A poor widow lived with her only son, called Wang, in one of these tiny houses. Wang was so courageous and strong that he was admired by everyone in the neighbourhood. His mother was also very proud of him.

The only person who disliked him was their next-door neighbour Yu, an old and bitter loan shark. He was so jealous of Wang, he constantly made disingenuous comments to the boy an his mother.

One day, he made a comment to Wang’s mother again.

“Why is your boy still at home? All the young men his age are married. What is he waiting for? Do none of the local ladies want him, or is he just waiting for a miracle? A princess, perhaps?” snarked the old man.

“Why not?” responded Wang’s mother. “Maybe he deserves to marry a princess!”

The widow then went back inside her house and saw her son waiting for her. Having heard the previous exchange with the neighbour, Wang told his mother he could not marry a princess, for there were none in the region and they only had a tiny house to welcome her in. His mother reassured him there may not be one here and now, but he sure deserved to marry one!

Years passed. Wang grew into a fine young man, getting stronger, handsomer and more courageous with each passing around the sun! Still, he remained at home with his mother. He had not once talked about marriage. The widow started wondering if the young man was perhaps really waiting on a princess to marry. The woman looked at her son with sad eyes. She only wished for him to live a good life.

One night, as Wang was studying in his room, he saw his small Buddha statue shaking on his desk and looked towards his door, which was opening with a creak. A strong scent of wisteria enveloped the room, so much so that any scent of incense and tea vanished instantly.

In the doorframe, Wang saw a beautiful young woman with purple eyes wearing a mauve kimono. Her long black hair was help up with long ribbons in an intriquate hairdo. She was wearing a necklace made of bright white pearls. On her fair hands were sparkling saphires and diamonds. She was stunning to say the least, thought Wang.

The young man wondered if he was dreaming.

“This is not a dream,” said the woman, as if she could read his mind. “I am the princess of the wisteria forest and have been eyeing you for a long time. I would love to marry you, if you’ll have me.”

The man felt so small, as his room was very modest and he had no gift to welcome the princess. He looked around, trying to find anything to give to her, but his only decent possession was his ivory domino set. He picked it up and bowed down to place the set at the princess’ feet.

“Oh, you play domino as well? Let’s play a round!” she said while clapping hr hands in excitement.

Thus, the princess and Wang played a game of domino. Despite being a skilled player, Wang could not concentrate on the game, as the princess’ looks kept reigning his mind in. The princess was just as skillful but nowhere near as distracted, so she won their first game easily.

“I had heard you were a great player, but your mind seemed elsewhere,” said the maiden, puzzled. “But don’t worry, when we’ll be married, we’ll play a game everyday. You’ll have the chance to beat me then!” the princess added with a flirtaceous wink.

As they picked up the set, Wang admitted to the princess that he didn’t know if they could truly get married, as he didn’t have any money to buy a house for them to live in. The princess snapped her fingers and a servant appeared in the doorway before dropping a chest full of gold and silver coins at the young man’s feet.

“Here, take these gold coins and build us a house to live in together. Just make sure you wait until the next full moon before you start!” said the princess. “Then we’ll get married.”

Wang was staring at the chest full of coins so hard he missed the departure of the wisteria maiden and her servant, who took the domino set with them.

The next day, Wang woke up excited to tell his mother about the princess and the domino set and the gold and silver coins and the house and the wedding…

His mother was full of excitement as well, eager to meet the maiden that would become her daughter-in-law in no time. Still, she warned her son about the house, not to start building before the next full moon.

But Wang was too eager of a young man for his own good and couldn’t understand the harm in starting the construction early, so he went to the city carpenter and a local mason to start planning the construction right away.

Yu, their loan shark neighbour, had heard about Wang’s newfound wealth and was green with envy. He doubted the wisteria maiden story and went on to assume Wang had acquired the money in a dishonest way.

A few days later, a traveller wearing imperial colours visited Lu-Lung. While in town, he had heard about Wang’s talents at playing domino and wanted to share a game with him. Thus, he seeked Wang out and invited him to play domino at the inn he was staying at while in town. Wang accepted the challenge and played domino with the traveller, called Yang.

Turns out, the two men agreed wonderfully well with each other and Wang became great friends with Yang. For four consecutive nights, they met and played at the inn, talking and laughing all night long. On the fifth night, Yang welcomed Wang with a sad expression; he was leaving Lu-Lung the next morning. They played one last game before Yan gave Wang a goodbye gift. It was a cedar box containing a silver cup, ivory chopsticks and a small but splendid jade figurine. The two men said farewell with a warm hug and bows, and Yang left the next day.

On the following days, Wang was distraught to have lost such a great new friend and missed their time together deeply. The only news that took his mind off things was that of a rich lord who was in town at the time, staying at the same inn Yang had.

One morning, Wang was awoken by a commotion outside his residence.

“The lord has been robbed!” said one voice.

“Who could have done it?” said another.

“I know of someone who very recently became rich under quite suspicious circonstances,” added a third voice, which Wang recognized as his neighbour’s.

Then, Wang couldn’t distinguish the rest of the conversation and heard a knock on his door.

“Hello sir, we must conduct a search of you home in the context of an investigation about a robbery,” said the man at the door. “We were told you were close to Mr. Yang, is that so?”

“Yes, he is a friend,” answered Wang truthfully.

The man and his colleagues enteredt Wang and his mother’s home and searched for anything of value. All they found was Yang’s gift. They thought the content of the box was suspicious. Thus, they arrested and imprisoned Wang on the suspicion that he be Yang’s accomplice in the robbery. Wang was to be transferred to the capital the next day by four guards, so he could be placed in front of a judge.

Wang pleaded that Yang could not be a thief, as he was wearing imperial colours and had a great heart. Yu still maintained his accusation towards Wang, despite the authorities warning him that he would be punished, were he to have falsely accused the young man.

As Yu learned about Wang’s transfer, he took the opportunity to get rid of the man he despised. He paid the four guards a few gold coins so they would stage an accident in the treacherous road to the capital and get rid of Wang.

Despite his innocence, Wang was on his way to the capital the next day, surrounded by four guards. The journey from Lu-Lung was quite dangerous, as they needed to cross mountains and pass by steep ravines to leave the region. As they neared a cliff, the two guards in fron ot the prisoner stopped in their tracks, while the two guards in the back held onto their sword menacingly. Wang could feel something was off and got anxious he would be pushed into the river below.

Suddenly, a giant tiger with purple eyes appeared, seemingly out of the blue, and pushed the front guards towards the ravine. In the meantime, the two extra guards had taken a hold of Wang’s arms. However, as soon as they saw their colleagues fall down the cliffside and heard the tiger growling at them, they let go and ran for their lives.

Wang was pushed aside and fell on the ground, hitting his head violently on a large rock. He fainted. He didn’t see the mysterious tiger grabbing him by the belt and carrying him into the depths of a nearby forest.

When Wang woke up, he found himself lying on a moss bed in front of a palace made out of porcelain. He blinked twice. The wisteria princess was watching over him. When he looked into her eyes, he recognized the peculiar purple eyes he had also seen on the tiger. The feline was lying at her feet, licking its paws like a lovely housecat.

Glancing around, he realized his surroundings were filled with fragrant corollas in a purple hue. It looked as if he had entered a wisteria paradise.

Wang was brought back to reality when the princess started scolding him.

“I told you not to start building our house before the next full moon and now misfortune is following you.”

Wang apologized to the wisteria maiden, explaining he only wished to build it sooner because he couldn’t wait to get married to her! The lady smiled, all previous anger leaving her purple eyes.

“I know, me too…” she said coyly. “But you must go to the capital and prove your innocence in front of the judge, or your mother will surely die from sorrow!”

Wang thought about his poor mother who must be worried sick at home! He was her greatest pride in life and couldn’t bear to disappoint her. Wang nodded at the princess’ words and got up to be on his way.

“Before you leave, let me give you a token of my love, a talisman.”

The princess took a long thin rope and wraped it around the man’s waist, tying it in special knots. She explained to him that he could use the knots to save himself from danger when needed. Wang only had to untie a knot to activate the protection spell.

The couple bowed goodbye and Wang set out to finish his lengthy journey to the capital. He had a long treacherous path ahead of him. The tiger guided him outside the firest towards the cliffside he was carried from and the young man continued his journey alone.

Once the mountains were behind him, Wang walked through lush meadows under heavy rain. With those behind him, he reached a desolate area with barely any vegetation and not a single tree in sight. The heat made him miss the heavy rainfalls in the meadows!

As he walked on this lonely road, Wang noticed a cloud of dust ahead. A sandstorm? A herd of animals? He couldn’t make out what was causing the commotion in the distance.

Soon enough, Wang noticed the cloud of dust getting rapidly closer and heard the sound of hooves. He looked around, but could hide nowhere but in plain sight. Suddenly, Wang realized the front cavalier was wearing familiar patterns. The imperial colours… it must be Yang!

Wang waved his arms at his friend, whose horse reached him at full speed. Yang stopped his ride and came to hug his friend on the ground. He gestured to his troop to halt the journey for the time-being. His soldiers unmounted their horses as well.

The two friends shared how they both got to be there. Yang explained that he had indeed stolen goods from the rich lord visiting Lu-Lung. He said he used to work in the imperial court and soon realized no one in there had acquired their wealth in an honest way. It was full of corrupt ministers who uised large fines and hefty taxes to crush the peoples’ spirit and lift themselves up.

Yang also explained that he had seen rich ministers refuse clemency on farmers affected by drought of flood. They also retaliated on those daring to speak up in the court about the issue. Wang agreed he had seen similar situations happen in Lu-Lung.

Thus, Yang took it upon himself and his men to steal from those who took advantage of the common people, and give back to those who were wronged. That’s how Wang’s friend justified his means, including the recent robbery in Lu-Lung.

Wang understood the situation well and agreed with his friend’s methods, yet he wondered how he would defend himself before the judge. Yang told him not to worry, as he had taken no part in this robbery and the truth would resurface at some point.

Yang also added that he knew his loan shark neighbour had accused him without proof. He would be the next victim on the list for the predatory financial pratices he had been using for years. Wang understood and thanked Yang.

The latter’s troops brought Wang to the capital. Before leaving, the two friends each wished the other well and hoped to cross paths again soon.

Before the judge, Wang explained his story. The judge seemed to doubt the situation, but as Wang fiddled with his belt in anxiety, he undid a knot on it. The court official reflected and said that only an innocent man would show up to the imperial palace after losing his guards on the dangerous journey from Lu-Lung. He celebrated him for his honesty and granted him his freedom. The decree from the judge in hand, Wang made his way back home to his mother.

When he entered their house, he noticed right away that his mother had lost weight since his departure. He sat her down and reassured her everything was alright by showing her the decree.

That same night, as the widow and her son were asleep, a man in black infiltrated the neighbouring house. Yu was switfly awaken in the dark and threatened with his life if he didn’t give the key to his safe box to the thief.

In the morning, Wang learned that every coin in his neighbour’s house had been taken during the night. He ignored the shouts and insults old Yu screamed at passerbys in the street, blaming everyone but himself for his misfortune.

When Wang came back inside, the wisteria maiden was waiting for hom with his mother.

“The full moon was last night. We can get married today!” the young woman said joyfully.

The three people organized a small ceremony for the afternoon and the happy couple was soon married. As quickly as their house was finished buidling, the couple moved into it and lived happily for many years.

From this union were born two beautiful and healthy children, two girls, who both had their mother’s purple irises. One night, as Wang was coming home to his family, he saw his wife standing by their house with their children. She had a sad look on her face.

Wang knew something was wrong, not only because of her expression, but because she was wearing the same mauve kimono she had been wearing on their first meeting.

“My life here on Earth must come to an end, as I must return back to my original home,” said the woman. “Know that I’ll always love you and be with you.”

Wang was unsure how to process the information, but chose to simply hug his family in a tight and loving embrace.

Within a few moments, the princess and their children had disappeared, leaving him alone outside. Then, a familiar scent filled his nostrils. He looked up.

A plethora of wisteria flowers were blooming around his house, hitting him with a fragrant floral wave. Wang smiled. He knew the wisteria princess had spoken true. Her and their children would always be with him.

The serie Obscure Fairy Tales encompasses an array of tales, myths and legends from around the world. To read more, visit this page dedicated to fiction writing.