Ji Xiaolan tells stories about cause and effect #20 – The Law of Heaven is Clear 天理昭然

(English subtitles) Ji Xiaolan (紀曉嵐1724-1805) was an influential philosopher, politician, and writer in the Qing Dynasty of China.
Subtitles:
In Shangheya Village, south of Cangzhou City, there lived a rascal named Lu Si. He was cruel and violent, and dared to do anything bad. The villagers were afraid of him as if he was a tiger or wolf. One evening, Lu Si and a few hooligans went to the riverbank outside the village to cool off. Suddenly, bursts of thunder were heard faintly, and it seemed that a storm was coming.
1:00
At this time, Lu Si saw a young woman in the distance who suddenly hid in an ancient temple by the river to take shelter from the rain. With malicious intention, Lu Shao said to his accomplices: "Let's go over and play with that woman."
It was already evening, with dark clouds covering the sky. Lu Si suddenly rushed into the ancient temple and first covered the young woman's mouth. The rest of the evil youths stripped the young woman naked and then teased and insulted her.
At this moment, there was a sudden clap of thunder, and a flash of lightning came through the window. With the help of the lightning, Lu Si could see the young woman's appearance clearly.
2:00
She seemed to be his wife, so he quickly let go. After investigating, it turned out to be true. Instantly, Lu Si was so upset that he wanted to throw his wife into the river.
Lu Si's wife burst into tears and said, "You wanted to rape someone's wife, but ended up having someone rape me instead. This is Heaven's retribution for you, but you actually wanted to drown me."
Lu Si was speechless instantly and hurriedly searched for his wife's clothes and pants, but they had long been blown into the river by the wind. Lu Si was at a loss as to what to do, so he had to carry his naked wife piggyback back home.
By this time, the rain had stopped, the sky was clear, the clouds had dispersed, and the moon was bright.
3:00
The whole villagers couldn't help laughing when at the sight of him.
When someone deliberately came forward to ask, Lu Si was speechless and could not bear the humiliation. After silently sending his wife home, he actually committed suicide by jumping into the river.
In fact, Lu Si's wife has gone back to her maternal home and had an agreement with Lu Si that she would come back in a month. Unexpectedly, a fire broke out at her maternal house. She had no place to stay and had to return home early. Lu Si was unaware of this incident, which led to this tragedy.
Later, his wife dreamed that Lu Si said to her: "I committed grave sins in my lifetime and should have been slammed into the eighteenth level of hell. But the Lord of hell recognizes that I was able to fulfill my filial duties to my mother at that time. After checking my record, the judge sentenced me to be reborn as a snake in my next life.
4:00
I am about to be reincarnated, and you will remarry soon. You must serve your new in-laws well. The laws of the underworld impose extremely severe penalties for unfilial crimes. Don't walk into the boiling water hell of the underworld by yourself!”
On the day when Mrs. Lu remarried, there was indeed a red-banded snake crawling on the roof beam, looking down repeatedly, as if it was reluctant to leave. Mrs. Lu recalled her previous dream and was about to ask for clarification when she suddenly heard the drums and music for the wedding procession outside the door, so she had to get up and prepare. Then the red-banded snake rolled on the beam several times before leaving in sadness.