The Deer and The Cauldron

[smurf120]

Not really WXB's proudest moments - but a 6 ft wide bed is no larger than a King size bed - that is quite a mystery for so many people.

[CNProf]

...

thanks foxs

Clearly, Jin Yong needs to take lessons from Huang Yi.

[athlonkmf]

such a cliffhanger....

[Drak17]

Clearly, Jin Yong needs to take lessons from Huang Yi.

Ahhh...I wouldn't go that far, my friend. Maybe JY didn't described clearly but I don't think he needs any lesson from anybody, lol.

@foxs. I guess the bed somehow magically stretch so 7 people could fit there! Loool. The part that Zheng, Xiaobao and Ah Ke was talking, were taking out of the adaptation. Probably because of the China censorship thingy with bed scenes.

Thanks foxs!

[lorrycai]

Hmmmm......twisted logic to justify rape.

[crazee]

woooo.....hooooo.....imagine the scene in an uncut movie.....errr minus the blanket & with a bit of light...wow.
Now I puzzled with Foxs' true meaning of "WeiXiaoBao" him.......err err err....

Thanks Foxs....only sigh, JY was not too explicit in the bed tale....heh heh heh

[crazee]

Ahhh...I wouldn't go that far, my friend. Maybe JY didn't described clearly but I don't think he needs any lesson from anybody, lol.

@foxs. I guess the bed somehow magically stretch so 7 people could fit there! Loool. The part that Zheng, Xiaobao and Ah Ke was talking, were taking out of the adaptation. Probably because of the China censorship thingy with bed scenes.

Thanks foxs!

Well, well I suppose some scenes are best left to one's imagination.....7 + 1 ladies lying side by side where can our hero be ??? definitely not by the side.....right ???

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs My internet is back. Now I am also reading Lu Xaiofeng book 4.

[ToastedRossi]

Thanks foxs for all your hard work!

Do you have an illustrated version of the book? It shows how everyone managed to fit in one bed. Although the word "fit" is stretching things a bit... The picture would fit very well with the next part.

Ahhh...I wouldn't go that far, my friend. Maybe JY didn't described clearly but I don't think he needs any lesson from anybody, lol.

Pretty much. Everyone should also keep in mind that the scene hasn't completely played out.

@foxs. I guess the bed somehow magically stretch so 7 people could fit there! Loool. The part that Zheng, Xiaobao and Ah Ke was talking, were taking out of the adaptation. Probably because of the China censorship thingy with bed scenes.

If you're thinking of the 2008 series, you're quite right. Tons of scenes were chopped up in editing, and this part (predictably) suffered the most. The other versions were left intact, but there's an unwritten rule that costume dramas aren't going to be explicit, so they don't show very much either.

Hmmmm......twisted logic to justify rape.

Question for everyone: is this more disturbing than all the times Xiaobao justified murder? Bear in mind that he has personally killed a lot of people, and has indirectly killed even more.

Thanks Foxs....only sigh, JY was not too explicit in the bed tale....heh heh heh

This book is already Jin Yong at his most explicit. Bear in mind that this novel was written around 1970; this is already the most controversial scene in wuxia; being more would have ruined the tone of both the scene and really the whole book.

[crydee]

hahaha...if I were to pay somebody to kill WXB I must ensure he is deaf or I'll be dead meat.. instead...

I nearly lost count how many person on bed and who is being **** ..so do a bit of data

WXB Victim on bed
1) Ah Ke (about damn time)
2) Shuang’er (he should handle her nicely!)
3) Madame Hong (wahahahaha)
4) Fang Yi (about damn time two)
5) Mu Jiangping (about damn time three)
6) Zeng Rou (about damn time four)

Not Victim
1) Fake Empress (too old?)
2) Ah Qi (due to Price)

[9Dragons]

May need to reread chapter because it sounds like I'm missing something. Didn't three separate groups come to the brothel to either capture or assassinate Xiaobao? Not only does he escape, but he somehow ends up living every man's fantasy.

[crazee]

he somehow ends up living every man's fantasy.

No No no......I'm no Weixiaobao.....not my idea of fantasy....err funtasy, 1 wife is more than I can handle....sigh....

[foxs]

Subudai, Anh, you are welcome. Smurf, Toasted, not sure what you mean by illustrated, my book has the picture at the beginning of each chapter, but in the picture they were fighting, some of the women were up. (I am planning on saving this novel in pdf someday, and will try to include all the drawings) CNprof, Drak, I agree, open interpretation is better. Athlon, thanks for stopping by. Lorrycai, twisted logic is recurring theme in this novel. 9Dragons, I am with Crazee in this, not sure about 'every man' part. Crydee, pretty much, you got everything. I just don't know about Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou though. I think you should categorize these two with Shuang'er.

---

“Zheng Gongzi, what happened to you?” Ah Ke cried out in alarm, but she heard no response.

Wei Xiaobao said, “He went to disturb the bridal chamber; he has crawled under the bed.”

Crying, Ah Ke said, “He did not. Quickly let me go!”

“Don’t move, don’t move!” Wei Xiaobao said.

Ah Ke struck with her elbow and happened to hit his throat. Feeling severe pain, Wei Xiaobao threw his head backward. Ah Ke struggled free and hastily wanted to get off the bed. As soon as she rolled around, her body pressed the pit of Mao Dongzhu’s stomach. Mao Dongzhu screamed from the pain and reached out to wrap her arms tightly around Ah Ke’s body. In the darkness, Ah Ke did not have any idea who was holding her; in her abject terror, she lost all the strength in her body. Suddenly she felt that someone got hold of her right foot. She was so scared that her body was drenched in cold sweats, “There are so many men on the bed!” she thought.

Wei Xiaobao could not find Ah Ke in the darkness. “Ah Ke,” he called, “Quickly make some noise, where are you?”

Ah Ke said in her heart, “Even if you chop my head, I won’t make any noise.”

“Alright,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You won’t make any noise, I will touch one, I will touch two, I will touch everywhere, in the end I will touch you.” He suddenly sang the folksong, “One touch, two touches, touching the beautiful woman. The beauty’s face is like melon seed, could it be that you are the old wh0re?” [The original rhymes: melon seed – guazi, wh0re – biaozi.] While his mouth was singing the folk song, his hands were busy groping.

Suddenly they heard the clamor of voices outside the courtyard, some people shouted orders, a large number of troops had several brothels surrounded; and then there were footsteps, some people were entering the Lovely Spring Courtyard. Wei Xiaobao knew that these people must be either his own troops or Yangzhou’s local officials; he was very happy. He was about to crawl out from underneath the quilt, but unexpectedly the incoming people were very fast; he saw torches and very soon those people had already entered the Sweet Nectar Hall. He heard Priest Xuanzhen’s voice calling out, “Wei Daren, are you in here?” His voice was filled with anxiety.

Before he could even think, Wei Xiaobao blurted out, “I am here!”

As soon as Tian Di Hui warriors found out that Wei Xiaobao had disappeared, for fear that he might be in danger, they came out to look for him. They knew that he took several personal guards toward the Ming Yu Lane area, hence they investigated that area and found out that there was a fight in the Lovely Spring Courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw several dead personal guards lying on the ground and were greatly shocked. It was not until they heard his voice replying that they felt relieved.

Wei Xiaobao heard people shouting and calling, and then everybody seemed to throng this way. He hastily stood up to let the mosquito net down, in the process his feet were stepping on several bodies, but he could not care less on whose bodies.

The mosquito net had just come down, Priest Xuanzhen and the others already entered the room. Each person had a torch in his hand; in one glance they all saw Zheng Keshuang fainted in front of the bed, and were very surprised. Someone called out, “Wei Daren, Wei Daren!”

Wei Xiaobao called back, “I am in here. Don’t open the mosquito net.”

Hearing his voice, they all cheered. Everybody ‘you look at me, I look at you’, with smiling expression on their faces; they all thought, “Everybody was worried, you are actually here to have fun.”

Under the torch light Wei Xiaobao put on his clothes, found his hat and wore it, and then crawled out of the bed. While putting on his shoes he said, “I used some trick to capture quite a few offenders, they are all on the bed. This time everybody’s merit is not small.”

They all felt very strange, but they knew for some time that the way he worked was like ‘gods appear and devils vanish’; for the time being it was inconvenient to ask too much.

Wei Xiaobao ordered the men to have Zheng Keshuang bound, and have Ah Qi carried to the field headquarters on a sedan chair. He also had the edges of the mosquito net squeezed firmly underneath the bedding, and then asked for ten personal guards and ordered them to take the big bed back to the Imperial Envoy Field Headquarters. The captain of the personal guards said, “Reporting to Daren: the door is too small, we cannot lift the bed out.”

“Idiot,” Wei Xiaobao cursed, “Can’t you tear the wall open?”

The captain understood immediately, he repeatedly said ‘yes’, and shouted his order. The personal guards set to work immediately, tearing the three walls of Lovely Spring Courtyard open. About a dozen personal guards fetched six or seven sedan chair poles and set the poles at the bottom of the bed, and then they lifted up the big bed, level and steady, and brought it out of the room.

By this time it was already daylight, the big bed was paraded through the main streets and marketplace of Yangzhou. The personal guards carried the ‘do not panic’ and ‘step back’ signs, with a gong and herald to clear the way, while the rest of the party marched behind the bed. When the common people of Yangzhou saw it, none of them did not click their tongue in amazement.

The big bed arrived at the He Garden, the gate was still too small. Learning from experience, this time the captain of the personal guards did not wait of the Imperial Envoy Daren’s instruction, he immediately ordered his men to tear the wall open and brought the big bed into the reception pavilion, and set it down in the middle of the hall. Wei Xiaobao passed on his order: the captured offenders on the bed were not a small matter, he ordered several dozen higher-rank military officers to lead the troops with bows strung, with sabers unsheathed, to form a tight perimeter around the garden. He also had Xu Tianchuan and the others guarding outside the room, to prevent Thin Toutuo and the others from coming in and seizing the prisoners by force.

Although there were multitude men guarding all around the reception pavilion, in the hall itself Wei Xiaobao was left alone with the big bed. He thought, “In the Lovely Spring Courtyard a moment ago, it was such a good opportunity, but out of seven beauties, apparently I only embraced less than half. Besides, in the darkness I did not know which one I already embraced, and which one I have not embraced. I’d better start anew, from the first line of ‘one touch’.” Thereupon he hummed softly, “One touch, two touches, touching Meimei …” pulling the mosquito net open, he threw himself onto the bed.

Suddenly his braid tightened, followed by a sharp pain on his throat; someone pulled his braid and lifted it up, the person’s left hand fingers were wrapped around his neck. It was none other than Madame Hong. After all these time, the effect of Mi Chun wine had disappeared. Madame Hong, Mao Dongzhu, Fang Yi, and Mu Jianping, four women, had already awakened; while the acupoints on Shuang’er and Zeng Rou’s body had gradually unsealed. It’s just that the bed was carried along Yangzhou’s streets, the bed was surrounded by numerous officers and soldiers, so that the seven women on the bed did not dare to move, did not dare to make noise. This moment Wei Xiaobao wanted to enjoy tender, amorous good fortune, as soon as he climbed onto the bed he was grabbed by Madame Hong.

Madame Hong had a ‘smile, yet not a smile’ look on her face; she sternly said in low voice, “Little demon, you have the nerve to amuse yourself even with me!”

Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul flew to the outer space; with a forced laugh he said, “Madame, I … I did not amuse myself; this … this …”

“What song did you sing?” Madame Hong asked.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “That was something that I heard randomly in the brothel, you must not take it seriously.”

Madame Hong said in a low voice, “Do you want to live, or do you want to die?”

Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, “Subordinate White Dragon Envoy respectfully wishes Madame and Jiaozhu to enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven’s. Madame’s order, subordinate will receive and obey without delay.”

Madame Hong noticed that he was speaking those words frivolously, without any respect or sincerity. She spat and said, “You must remove the officers and soldiers around the hall first.”

“Very well,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Won’t that be easy? Let me go, I will issue the order.”

Madame Hong said, “Issue the order from here.”

Wei Xiaobao had no choice, he loudly called out, “Everybody outside, Zongdu [governor general], Xunfu [inspector general], Ministry of War Shangshu [department head], Minister of Revenue Shangshu, listen up: all officers and soldiers must withdraw, no one is allowed to remain here.”

Madame Hong pulled his braid and shouted, “What Ministry of War Shangshu, Minister of Revenue Shangshu? Rubbish!” While saying that, she pulled his braid again, hard.

“Aiyo!” Wei Xiaobao screamed, “I am dying!”

When the officers and soldiers outside heard him calling Zongdu, Shangshu, and so on, they were already suspicious, as soon as they heard him crying in pain, several dozen men with sabers and spears in their hands immediately rushed into the hall. “Imperial Envoy Daren,” they asked, “What is it?”

Wei Xiaobao called out, “No … nothing! Aiyo, Mama!”

The officers looked at each other in dismay, they were at a loss of what to do.

Madame Hong was furious; she raised her hand, ‘slap!’ she heavily struck Wei Xiaobao’s face. Wei Xiaobao cried out again, “Mama! Don’t hit your son!”

Although Madame Hong did not know that when Wei Xiaobao called someone his mother, he was actually cursing her as a prostitute, yet seeing his mischief, she raised her palm again to strike. Suddenly the ‘tian zong’ [heaven reservoir] and ‘shen tang’ [divine hall] two acupoints behind her shoulder went numb, her right arm went limp and dropped down. Madame Hong was startled; she quickly turned her head around to see who had sealed her acupoints. But the person closest to her back was Fang Yi.

“Miss Fang,” she said with a cold laugh, “Your martial art skill is not bad at all!” Her left hand swiftly moved toward Fang Yi’s eyes.

“It wasn’t me!” Fang Yi cried out, while leaning her head sideways to evade.

Madame Hong was about to attack again, suddenly two hands behind her back reached out and grabbed her left arm; it was Mu Jianping. “Madame,” she called out, “It was not my Shijie who sealed your acupoints!” She saw that it was Shuang’er who sealed Madame Hong’s acupoints.

Mao Dongzhu raised her hand to strike Mu Jianping, fortunately she lost her internal energy that Mu Jianping did not suffer any injury. Mao Dongzhu’s second palm strike came, Fang Yi stretched out her hand to block.

Seeing the four women were fighting each other, she turned around, wanted to get down of the bed. Her right foot had just stepped out of the quilt, “Ah!” she cried, and immediately pulled her foot back. Wei Xiaobao was pulling her left foot. “Don’t go!” he said.

Ah Ke struggled hard and cried out, “Let me go!”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “You guess: will I or will I not let you go?”

Ah Ke panicked; she turned around and sent out a punch. Wei Xiaobao ducked, ‘Bang!’ her fist landed on Zeng Rou’s left cheek. “What did you hit me for?” Zeng Rou shouted.

“I … I’m sorry … Aiyo!” Ah Ke said, but she was hit by Fang Yi’s palm.

In an instant the bed was in great confusion, seven women beating and twisting randomly. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he mused, “This is called ‘the whole country in rebellion, the heroes …’ no, ‘the heroines[13] fight each other in muddled battle!’”

While he was thinking to fish in troubled water, suddenly ‘crack, crash!’, the big bed collapsed. Eight people ‘you press on my hand, I push down your leg’. Seven women screamed together. Witnessing this scene, the officers and soldiers were dumbstruck. Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter while crawling out from among the crowd. But someone grabbed his left leg and twisted it. “Everybody, let go!” he shouted, “Officers, arrest all my wives, young and old!”

The officers stood in circle, but nobody dared to make any move. Wei Xiaobao pointed to Mao Dongzhu and said, “This old wh0re is a criminal, you must never let her escape.”

The officers felt strange, “You said these women are all your wives, young and old, how come one of them is a criminal, and two of them dressed as personal guards?” Immediately some of them pointed their sabers and spears to Mao Dongzhu, while some others dragged her out. ‘Click, click!’ the put manacles on her hands.

Wei Xiaobao pointed to Madame Hong and said, “This Madame is my superior, but we’d better put her in shackles as well.”

The officers were even more surprised, but they put manacles on Madame Hong’s hands anyway. Madame Hong’s martial art skill was high, but her acupoints were sealed by Shuang’er, half of her body was numb and aching, it would be difficult for her to resist.

By this time Shuang’er and Zeng Rou managed to extricate themselves from the crowd. Recalling last night’s experience, they were blushing, but also found it very amusing.

Wei Xiaobao pointed to Fang Yi and said, “She is my first concubine!” Pointing to Mu Jianping he said, “And she is my second concubine. First concubine needs to be put in shackles, second concubine does not need.”

The officers put manacles on Fang Yi’s hands. The Imperial Envoy Minister’s strange words and weird speech came out one after another, but by this time the officers had heard a lot, hence nobody thought it strange.

By this time, only Ah Ke was left sitting on the floor. They saw her hair was in a mess, her clothes was in disorder, she was wearing men’s clothes, nevertheless her countenance was bright and outstandingly beautiful; her hands were holding down the hem of her long gown tightly to cover her naked legs. Her head was hung low, her cheeks were blushing. The officers and soldiers all thought, “Of all Imperial Envoy Daren’s wives, young and old, this wife is the most beautiful.”

They heard Wei Xiaobao said, “She is my officially wedded wife, let me help her up.” He took two steps forward and said, “Niangzi [wife (formal)], please rise!” while extending his hand to help her up.

Suddenly there was a ‘Slap!’ sharp and clear, the Imperial Envoy Daren’s face was heavily slapped. With head hung low, Ah Ke cried and said, “All you can do is bully me. Just kill me. I … even if I die I don’t want to marry you.”

---

[13] Hero and Heroines: Orig. ‘qun xiong’ and ‘qun ci’, with the word ‘xiong’ and ‘ci’ refer to ‘male’ and ‘female’ species, usually used to describe animals.

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs

[tweety365]

The infamous rape scene. Definitely the defining moment where WXB has totally become everything that is antihero. There was a discussion in the Wuxia Fiction threads where it was mentioned that if JY had taken out the rape incident, WXB will be definitely more likeable. However, that was not JY's original intent in writing the character.

Thank you, foxs.

[athlonkmf]

Strangely, this infamous scene is poorly written. As it's hard to tell when what happened... Some of them were raped, but are still wearing clothes, while wxb was only singing...

[crazee]

The infamous rape scene. Definitely the defining moment where WXB has totally become everything that is antihero. There was a discussion in the Wuxia Fiction threads where it was mentioned that if JY had taken out the rape incident, WXB will be definitely more likeable. However, that was not JY's original intent in writing the character.

Thank you, foxs.

Yep.... I'm a bit disappointed. Such an important moment and it's only a short passage.....sigh....makes it seem like a heavily censored movie.... So I supposed this scene was up played by other story interpreters....ie scrip writers and story tellers....

Thanks Foxs....looking forward to the conclusion of this episode....thought he had tamed Ah Ke.....

[smurf120]

Somehow this scene is much more confusing and comical, than scintillating. Have to conceded Huang Yi has the better bed scenes and Jin Yong.

Thanks Foxs!

[tweety365]

I think the lack of details is a wise move on JY's part. It's already a controversial scene. To add more details to the crime would probably turn WXB into a more hateful character. Hence the vagueness of what is truly happening.

In A Step Into The Past, all the women in the story lusts after XSL, so HY can elaborate all he wants.

[crazee]

In A Step Into The Past, all the women in the story lusts after XSL, so HY can elaborate all he wants.

Yep.... A step into the past seems more like a category III or R21 movie....real steamy.
However in DOMD, it's different, the hero lusts for the women.. direct opposite....