明朝帝王年号顺序表中淄川山东有一位廪生宋焘
在明朝时期，山东淄川有一位廪生名叫宋焘，他以仁善著称，并且是一位深受人们敬仰的孝子。母亲去世后，宋焘并未过度悲痛，而是料理了丧事后，静静地躺在床上慢慢睡着了。他的岳父住在城西的城隍庙附近，当时他见到宋焘骑着红缨大马、头戴滚珠官帽、身着蟒袍玉带，还有许多车马随从热闹地前往城隍庙。路过家门时，宋焘专程登堂拜别。他一路跟随，看见宋焘进入正殿，“嗖”地一下不见了。他感到惊奇，但路人都说没有看见。岳父赶紧回家发现宋焘衣冠整齐死在床上，这才明白他已经成为了城隍神。
然而，他一直想不明白的是九年前，宋焘已经死过一次，而且尸身还是他亲自装殓的。这次死亡和复活的事迹让他困惑不解。在复活后的九年里，Song Flawlessly served his mother and was respectful to his in-laws and neighbors. Little did he know that nine years ago, Song had indeed passed away. However, he was sent back by the Heavenly Court.
The truth is that nine years ago, after Song's death, his spirit was taken to the underworld by a white-robed official who claimed he needed to take an exam. He saw many officials sitting at a table with two stools outside the hall where he sat down too. The exam paper read "One person one answer, with intention or without" which seemed easy for him as he quickly finished it. The judges were pleased with his answers especially when he wrote "With good intentions but no reward; without intentions but no punishment" which they praised highly.
Song was called up to the main hall where a judge-like figure declared: "You are renowned for your virtues in life and your answers today prove you deserve this title. Now there is a vacancy for City God in Henan Province so I appoint you." Song fell on his knees crying out of joy but also sadness saying: "I am honored beyond words but I have an old mother aged over 70 at home who needs care."
The judges looked through Mother Song's death record and found she still had nine more years left before passing away. The gods hesitated until Guan Yu suggested temporarily assigning Zhang Liang (the other top scorer) as City God instead while giving Song a break of nine years' leave to serve her mother back on earth under divine authority.
Zhang Liang accompanied Song back home introducing himself from Longmen County and gave him farewell poetry including these lines: With flowers & wine spring is always here / Without candles & lamps night shines bright by itself". When awake again, Song found himself inside a coffin box only to be freed by Mother & Father-in-law upon hearing noises coming from within.
Later finding that Zhang Liang indeed died on the same day led people believing their friendship transcended mortality further solidifying their bond before parting ways once more - forever etched in history as an enduring testament of human connection across realms both mortal & divine through stories like those shared within Pu Sung-ling's Chatting Tales Under Moonlight
