Stepmother and Stepdaughter's Loyalty to Each Other

In ancient China, there was a place called Zhuya County, which is today Longtang Town, Haikou City, Hainan Province. A stepmother and stepdaughter offered their life to save the lives of others. The good deed touched the hearts of the officials.

The mayor of the Zhuya County had a daughter who was 13 years old. Her mother passed away. Her father was married again, and had a son who was 9 years old.

Zhuya County was rich in pearls. Therefore a law was enacted – when smuggling pearls, or taking pearls out of town without a permit – people would be given the death penalty.

When the mayor passed away, the family wanted him to be buried in his hometown. The stepmother had a pearl bracelet that she always wore, but could not take it along when leaving town.

The boy did not know about the law. He saw the bracelet, picked it up and put it into his mother’s jewelry box. Nobody noticed it.

When they were at the gate of the town, the official searched the luggage and found the pearl bracelet. He asked: “Who is responsible for this matter?”

The stepdaughter thought that the stepmother was the culprit. To save her stepmother, she said: “My father passed away. My stepmother had thrown the bracelet away. I felt it was a pity so I picked it up and put it into her jewelry box. My stepmother didn't know about it.”

The stepmother thought it was true, but she treasured her stepdaughter a lot. She told the officer: “I always wore this bracelet. Sadly my husband passed away. I took off the bracelet but could not bear to throw it away. I put it in my jewelry box. I should get the death penalty.”

Stepmother and stepdaughter were sobbing and everyone was moved. The officer was at a loss and felt sorrow throughout the day. He just could not sentence any one to death and said: “A stepmother and a stepdaughter showed such great kindness and loyalty towards each other. I can’t sentence either of you to death, even if I will be punished by doing so.”

After the inquiry, they found that it was the boy who unknowingly committed a crime.
Reference: Taiping Imperial Encyclopedia, Vol. 415, Part 56 People&Events, by Li Fang (Song Dynasty)

继母继女互相爱护

中国古时的珠崖县（现海南省海口市琼山区龙塘镇），曾有一对继母继女争著赴死，只为保护对方，俩人的善念感动了官府。

这一对母女是珠崖县令的继妻和前妻生的女儿。

珠崖县令的女儿，十三岁。珠崖县盛产珍珠。她的继母把大珍珠串成串，系在手臂上。

后来，县令去世了，妻女应该把县令的棺材从任职地送还故乡。当时的法律规定，把珍珠藏在箱子里，偷运入关的人，按死罪处罚。

因此，继母丢弃了珍珠手链。继母的亲生儿子九岁，不懂事，取回珍珠手链，放在母亲的梳妆匣里，众人都不知道。

等到关卡的官员搜查时，从梳妆匣中搜出了珍珠手链。小吏说：“谁当为此事负责？”

继女以为是她的继母放进梳妆匣里的，为救继母，就说：“我父亲不幸去世。我继母从手臂上解下珍珠手链丢弃了它。我心里觉的丢弃了可惜，取回、放置在继母梳妆匣中。继母不知道。”

继母信以为真，怜惜继女，就说：“这珍珠，是我系在手臂上的。我夫君不幸去世。我解下珍珠手链，心里不忍丢弃，放置在梳妆匣中。我应当领死罪。”因此哀伤痛哭，旁人都为之动容。关卡的小吏拿著笔，在案卷上，不能写下一个字。关卡的官员默默流泪，整整一天不能下判决书，说：“继母继女有如此恩义，我宁可被连累追究责任，不忍下达判决有罪的公文。”后来查访询问，才知道是九岁的男孩不懂事，悄悄放到梳妆匣里的。

参考资料：《太平御览 卷四百一十五 人事部五十六》宋 李昉