During the Zhenyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty, a woman named Hu Mei'er appeared in Yangzhou. She made a living by street performing and begging, and was skilled in illusionary magic. More than ten days later, she drew widespread attention and drew large crowds of onlookers, earning abundant alms each day.
One day, she took out a glass bottle from her bosom, with a capacity of roughly half a sheng, clear and transparent inside and out. Placing the bottle on a rush mat, she said to the crowd, "If anyone can fill this bottle for me, I shall want for nothing."
The bottle’s mouth was tiny, no wider than a reed stem. When a person dropped a hundred copper coins into it, the clink of falling money could be heard, yet the coins only appeared as specks no bigger than millet grains inside the vessel. Later, others offered larger sums; some curious onlookers even gave one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand coins, yet the same strange sight ensued. Some people further tried to send horses and donkeys into the bottle. Men and livestock shrank to the size of flies within, yet moved as freely as normal.
Before long, a convoy transporting tax revenue passed by and halted to watch the performance. The convoy leader asked Hu Mei'er if she could fit all the carts into the bottle. She replied that she could do so if permitted. She then tilted the bottle’s mouth slightly and let out a loud call. One cart after another streamed into the bottle, moving about inside like swarming ants. In a moment, the entire convoy vanished from sight. Immediately after, Hu Mei'er herself leaped into the bottle.
Stunned and alarmed, the leader quickly seized an object and smashed the bottle to pieces, yet nothing was found within. From that day on, Hu Mei'er was never seen again.
Over a month later, she was spotted north of the Qinghe River, leading the very same convoy toward Dongping. At that time, Li Shidao served as the military governor of Dongping.