“My parents came to know my intention and decided to help me.  However, they could do nothing since you married two other girls.  Not until you came here to live alone did my family feel that the match was possible.  Now it has turned out just right, I will be happy all my life and live without regret.  I know that I am hardly good enough to keep your love, so I am relying on your fondness for your first child.”

Surprised, Liu Yi said, “We are destined by fate.  When I first saw you by the river, you were such a pitiful sight that it made my heart bleed.  All that I thought of at that time was to deliver your message as soon as I could, so that you would escape your miserable situation.  The manner of your uncle’s proposition annoyed me: I might be persuaded, but not bullied.  My rejection was motivated by a sense of honor and justice.  But, when the time came to leave, the regret in your eyes made me feel very sorry that I had rejected his offer.

“Once I left the lake, the daily routine of my life kept me too busy to convey my affection and gratitude to you.  Even though I presumed you to be a human being from the Lu family, you constantly reminded me of my original feelings for the dragon king’s daughter.  From now on, I shall be confused no more and love you forever.”

Deeply moved, his wife replied in tears, “It is not human beings alone that know gratitude.  Your great kindness will be repaid.  A dragon’s life lasts for ten thousand years, and I will share my years of life with you.  We can roam on the land and rest in the sea.  Please trust me.”

“It had never occurred to me that you could lure me with immortality,” Liu laughed.

And so they lived on the coast of the south sea for forty years.  Their wealth and perennial youth amazed everyone who knew them.  But, during the Kai Yuan period (A.D. 713-741) of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor became determined to discover the secret of longevity.  He sent his men far and wide in search of alchemists, and Liu Yi and his wife could no longer live in peace.  Finally, they went back to the lake, and no one has seen them since.

Conclusion

For thousands of years the Han Chinese were an agricultural people.  They always wished to maintain a harmonious relationship with whoever held the power to control water and the ability to make rain for their land.