Li Fan served as Prime Minister for Emperor Xianzong (778 – 820 AD) during the Tang Dynasty. He was an honest and outspoken prime minister, and the emperor regarded him highly.

Li Fan, courtesy name Shuhan, was from the Zhaojun area. He studied in Yangzhou City when he was young. He was a diligent student and did not seek fame or financial gain. However, by the time he was 30, he was still unable to obtain a government position and lived a poor life. His wife, surnamed Cui, complained about this quite often. Later, he and his wife had to move into his in-laws' home in Luoyang City. He was often given the cold shoulder there. Even the maids and servants were impolite to him.

He developed an ulcer on his foot and it took a long time to heal. Li Fan thought about moving back to Yangzhou City. He was unsure about his future and felt very depressed.

At the time, there was a well-known fortune-teller named Hu Lusheng, who set up a fortune-telling establishment in the Zhongqiao area in Luoyang City. One day, Li Fan's brothers-in-law invited Li Fan to visit Hu Lusheng to ask about their futures. Because of his foot illness, Li Fan couldn't walk normally so his brothers-in-law arrived at Hu Lusheng's place first. When they arrived, Hu Lusheng was taking a nap on a cushion. Although Hu noticed the Cui brothers, he didn't get up. He only signaled to them to sit down. He then said to his servants, "Quickly sweep the floor. A distinguished guest will soon arrive."

Just as Li Fan walked up to the steps to the entrance, Hu Lusheng went out to greet him. He held Li Fan's hand in his hands, smiled, and said, "You are truly an honored person. May I ask what you wish to know?" Li Fan smiled bitterly and said, "I'm poor, sick, and uncertain whether I should move my home hundreds of miles away. Can I be called an honored person?"

Hu Lusheng immediately said, "It doesn't matter how far away you move. You're being protected by two layers of ethereal sarong. Why should you worry about this kind of difficulty?" Li Fan asked him about the "ethereal sarong," but Hu Lusheng would not answer any more questions.

Not long after, Li Fan moved his family back to Yangzhou City, to a location that was close to the Senzuo Bridge. One of his neighbors with the last name of Gao was a wealthy landlord, and the two became friends. One morning while Li Fan was at home resting his foot, Mr. Gao came to see him. To Li Fan's surprise, Mr. Gao returned again that evening.

Immediately after Mr. Gao saw Li Fan, he said, "I have good news for you. After I got home from your place this morning, I took a nap and had a dream. In the dream, somebody asked me to go outside the city, where I ran into an old servant who had died over ten years ago. He walked up to me and said, 'You shouldn't come here. Maybe there is something dangerous ahead. Let me escort you back.' When we walked back to the city gates, I asked him, 'What is it you do outside of the city?'

He told me, 'I work in the underworld. I'm a bodyguard for Li Sanlang.' I asked, 'Who is Li Sanlang?' He told me, 'He lives close to Senzuo Bridge and is your neighbor.' I realized that he was talking about you, so I asked him again, 'Why do you need to protect Li Sanlang?' He answered, 'Li Sanlang is a person protected by ethereal sarong.' I returned just to tell you this."

Li Fan thanked Mr. Gao and smiled. Nevertheless, in his mind, he still didn't understand what it meant to be protected by an ethereal sarong.

Several years later, a general named Zhang Jianfeng was sent to oversee the Xuzhou area. He hired Li Fan to handle all of the military paperwork, a low ranking position in the army. One day a monk from Xinluo (Korea) came to the office. It was said that this monk could tell fortunes by looking at a person's face. After he saw Zhang Jianfeng, he told Zhang that he wouldn't become a prime minister. Zhang was not happy to hear that. He asked the monk to look at his subordinates. The monk looked at all of them and said, "None of them will become a prime minister." Zhang grew more unhappy and said, "I have so many assistants and staff members, are you sure none of them will become prime minister?" He then asked his subordinates, "Is everyone here?" Someone reported that Li Fan was not there. Zhang sent someone to call for Li Fan.

When Li Fan arrived, even before he entered the room, the monk walked outside to greet him. He told Zhang Jianfeng, "This person is protected by an ethereal sarong. Your luck and future won't exceed his." Zhang was happy to hear this and asked what the ethereal sarong was all about. The monk answered, "If a person is destined to be a prime minister, the king of the underworld protects this person with an ethereal sarong so he cannot be harmed. Only Officer Li has such an ethereal sarong covering him. None of your other staff have it." The monk was saying the same thing that Hu Lusheng and Mr. Gao had told Li Fan before. In later years, Li Fan indeed did become a prime minister.

This story is from the book Taiping Guangji, first published during the Song Dynasty.

“纱笼”中人

唐宪宗时宰相李蕃，其在任时知无不言，言而敢谏，深受皇帝器重。

李蕃，字叔翰，赵郡人，年少时读书于扬州，恬淡好学。然年过三十尚未考取功名，以致生活困顿，其妻崔氏颇有微词。后寄居于洛阳妻子娘家，多遭冷遇，婢、仆对其不甚尽礼。

继之又患足疮，久治不愈，李蕃就犹豫著是否要迁回扬州。心情很是郁闷低下，倍感渺茫。

当时有名的卜家胡芦生在洛阳中桥设馆算命。一天，崔氏兄弟邀李蕃共同前去问命，因李蕃有足疾，行动迟缓，崔氏兄弟先到一步。适时胡芦生正倚在蒲团上打盹儿，见到崔氏兄弟并不起来，只是挥手让坐而已，并紧接著吩咐自己的家僮：“赶快扫地，一会儿有贵人来。”

李蕃刚走到台阶下，胡芦生赶紧下迎，扶住李蕃的手，笑著问：“郎君真贵人也，敢问有何事问卜？”李蕃苦笑著说：“我又贫又病，又不知是否要将家迁往千里之外，难道有如此贵人吗？”

胡芦生马上说：“再远也无妨，您在两层纱笼的保护之中，还怕这种困难吗？”李蕃闻言，询问“纱笼”是怎么回事，胡芦生则不予答复了。

随后李蕃将家迁到扬州，住在参佐桥附近，旁边有个邻居高员外，与李蕃很谈得来。一天，李蕃因足疾正在休息，当天上午高员外已来过，到了晚上又来求见，李蕃心中甚感奇怪。

高员外一见面就说：“有一件好事要告诉你。我早上从你这里回家后，打了一个盹儿，梦见有人召我出城，见到了我以前已死亡十几年的一个家仆，迎住我说：『你不应该到这里来，怕是前面要有什么危险，我送你回去吧！』到了城门口的时候，我问他：『你在城外干什么呢？』

他说：『我在阴司当差，给李三郎值班。』我问；『李三郎是谁？』他告诉我：『住参佐桥，是你的邻居。』我已知是你，又问他：『为什么要给李三郎值班呢？』他回答我说：『李三郎是纱笼中人。』所以特来告之。”

李蕃笑著答谢，但心里仍对“纱笼”的说法感到奇怪。

又过几年，张建封镇守徐州，奏请李蕃为巡官校书郎（负责执掌文籍的小官）。一天，衙门内来了一位新罗僧人，说是会为人看相，见了张建封之后言其不能做到宰相，张心中不快；又叫他看看别的大小官员，新罗僧看后说：“全都没有可做到宰相的。”张建封更加不快；因问：“我手下这么多幕宾僚属，难道没有一个可做到宰相的吗？”又问手下人说：“是否有漏掉的人？”查后回复：“有李巡官尚未看。”张便下令让李蕃速来，时尚未进门，新罗僧已走下台阶相迎，并对张建封说：“这位巡官是纱笼中人，以后你也不及他。”张建封听后很是高兴，忙问“纱笼”一事，新罗僧说：“凡命里当为宰相者，冥司必暗以纱笼保护，恐为异物所伤，别的官员都没有。”至此印证了胡芦生与高员外的说法，后来李蕃真的做了宰相。

转载自《太平广记》。