"The Jade Kuanyin" was apparently an older example of the vernacular fiction that would grow so ornate in examples like "The Oil Peddlar" (and "The Pearl-Sewn Shirt," and "The Courtesan's Treasure-Box"). It's about how a Hsiu Hsiu, young girl in imperial service, defies her Prince to marry her lover Tsui Ning, and the two run away, but are caught, with ... ghostly consequences.
It doesn't quite work, at least to the modern cultural context. Hsiu Hsiu was engaged by the Prince as an embroiderer, and promised to Tsui Ning, the jade carver. Her transgression was not to wait for the Prince's consent, but to elope with Tsui Ning and run away. Why did she do that? Why did Tsui agree to her demand? Still, the fantastic element at the end is fun. I'm not sure I'll be able to find the Chinese text to this one so easily, but I'll give it a try, later.
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