My surname is Zheng and that of my late husband is Cui, former Prime Minister who died unfortunately in the capital. We have only this nine-teen-year-old daughter, Yingying, able to sew and embroider, to compose verse, to write a good hand and to make calculations. She was betrothed, when my husband was alive, to my nephew Zheng Heng, eldest son of Minister Zheng; but as the period of mourning has not expired, their marriage has not yet taken place. This little maid, Rose, has been in the service of my daughter since her childhood. This lad, Merry Boy, was adopted by my husband so that he might have a descendant. After my husbands death, I and my daughter wanted to convey his coffin to the burial ground at Boling, but, obstructed on the way we were unable to proceed, so we deposited his coffin temporarily at the Salvation Monastery in the Mid-River Prefecture. This monastery was erected by the imperial favor of Her Majesty the Empress Wu Zetian (A. D. 690-712). The Abbot, Fa Ben, was originally presented for ordination by my husband, so the western bower is reserved for our use. I have written to Zheng Heng at the capital.
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