Father Clears Unjust Charges, Son Becomes Top Scholar
 
In the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD), there was an upright man named Zhao Xi from Qingzhou, Shandong Province. He was selfless, and courageously upheld justice, but never sought anything in return. When he was a county government official, there was an upright guard commander who had been the victim of a plot and wrongfully imprisoned. Zhao Xi knew this commander well and knew that he had been wrongfully convicted. Zhao was determined to clear his name of the charges. Through various channels, he understood the ins and outs of the case and collected evidence. He repeatedly appealed on behalf of the guard commander. He was finally able to clear the commander of the charges, the injustice was rectified, and the commander was acquitted.
 
The commander was very grateful. He wanted to return the favor but felt that he had nothing to give. He wanted to give Zhao Xi his own daughter as a concubine to repay him for the life-saving grace. Zhao Xi said "No, don't," and when the commander insisted, Zhao Xi kept refusing. Zhao repeated “No, don’t” several times then firmly rejected the offer.
 
Zhao Xi was later appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Rites. Several years later, Zhao Xi's son Zhao Bingzhong set off to take the civil service exam in the nation’s capital. On his way there, he heard a voice from the sky, “'No-don't' will get first place.” The voice repeated this several times. The son did not understand what this meant. The topic on the final exam was the Imperial Governance and the Imperial Mindset. Zhao Bingzhong wrote that whenever there is a thought in line with the heavenly principles, one should act on it immediately, and whenever an incorrect desire surfaces, one must eliminate it right away. The ancient emperors such as Yao and Shun led by example, and thus raised people's moral standards, which in turn brought prosperity and peace to society.
 
The result of the exam was that Zhao Bingzhong indeed placed first and became the top scholar. This was in 1598 AD, when he was only 25 years old. After he returned home, he told his father the interesting voice he heard on his way to the exam. Zhao Xi said, “This was an incident that I experienced twenty years ago and I have never told anyone. One of the deities must have told you.”
 
From this story, it seems that the heavenly principle that “good will be rewarded” is indeed true! People should do more good deeds. Only when you plant seeds of blessings, will you receive blessing fruits.
 
父亲解冤狱　儿子中状元
 
明代万历年间，山东青州的赵僖为人刚正无私、勇于维护正义且不求任何回报。在他任邑掾的时候，有位正直的指挥使因遭人暗算，被冤枉入狱。赵僖对指挥使的为人一清二楚，知道他是被冤枉入狱，决心要为他洗清罪名。他通过各种渠道了解事情的来龙去脉，多方搜集证据，反复向上司提出申诉。最后终于为指挥使洗清了罪名，冤案得以平反昭雪，无罪释放了那位指挥使。
 
事后，这位指挥使非常感恩，觉得无以为报，想把自己的女儿送给赵僖作妾，以报答赵僖的救命之恩。赵僖听后连连摇手说：“使不得！”指挥使坚持想使赵僖接受，赵僖又摇手，连说“使不得！使不得！”义正词严的拒绝了指挥使的请求。
 
赵僖后来官至礼部右侍郎。又过了几年，赵僖的儿子赵秉忠，坐轿去参加应试大考，途中听到空中传来声音说：“‘使不得’的中状元。”连说好几遍，他不解何意。赵秉忠殿试时出的题目是《问帝王之政和帝王之心》，赵秉忠论述了：“人君法天之治……一法之置立，曰吾为天守制，而不私议兴革；一钱之出纳，曰吾为天守财，而不私为盈缩。一官之设，曰吾为天命有德；一奸之锄，曰吾为天讨有罪……”，并提出了只要有一种符合天理的想法萌生了，就要尽快见于行动；一种错误欲望出现了，就要立即清除殆尽；像唐尧、虞舜等古代圣王那样，以身作则，善化民众，提高和规范民众的道德水平，才能招致吉祥世道……
 
大考结束后，赵秉忠果然高中头名状元，时年二十五岁，即万历二十六年时。回家后他把赴京赶考途中遇到的“使不得”的神奇声音这件事讲给了父亲。赵僖感慨的说：“这是我二十年前亲身经历的事情，从来都不曾告诉过别人，不知是哪位神明告诉了你。”
 
由此看来，善有善报的天理真是真实不虚呀！奉劝世人要多行善事，只有种下福因才能结出福果。