The Deer and The Cauldron

[athlonkmf]

Thanks for the update!

I was interested in the Kang, so searched a bit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_bed-stove

[foxs]

Sky, while your area is still deep in snow, it is time for spring cleaning here. So I was busy the whole weekend. OwlHoot, Athlon, thanks for dropping by.

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Tao Gong’e said, "I heard them talking among themselves in low voice in the kitchen, one man said, 'The Empress Dowager's imperial order, it is best to capture this little demon alive, otherwise we can kill him with a slash of the saber; but the thing he has in his possession, we must bring it back at all cost, not a single one must be missed.' Another man said, 'This little demon dares to steal the Buddhist scripture the Empress Dowager reads every day, truly he is bored of living. No wonder the Empress Dowager is so angry. Empress Dowager instructed us that those several copies of scripture are the most important.' Xiao Xiongdi, did you really steal the Empress Dowager's Buddhist scripture? Your Zongduozhu ordered you to steal it, didn't he?" Saying that, she fixed her gaze on him without blinking.

Wei Xiaobao suddenly understood, "That's right, the object she was looking for in the Empress Dowager's bedroom must be those several copies of 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'." But on his face he feigned a perplexed expression, "What Buddhist scripture?" he asked, "Our Zongduozhu does not worship Bodhisattva, I have never seen him reading any scripture."

Although Tao Gong’e's martial art skill was high, but since childhood she had lived in the Palace, toward the ways of the world she knew very little. Although both of them were of the same Palace, day in and day out Wei Xiaobao intermingled with the Emperor, Empress Dowager, princes and dukes, high-ranking ministers, Imperial Bodyguards and court eunuchs, he was always swaying back and forth among treacherous plots, so he had enough practice to be quick-witted; practically his entire body was his weapon. Tao Gong’e, on the other hand, only worked together with a couple of old palace maids, she did not even talk more than a couple of dozen sentences in a year, and she barely saw anybody else. In term of craftiness and resourcefulness, the difference between these two people was simply too far, it was even greater than the disparity between their respective martial art skill levels.

Seeing Wei Xiaobao's innocent expression, Tao Gong’e thought, "I have just saved his life, he must be very grateful to me, how can a little child like him tell a lie? Much less I have personally searched his belongings?" She nodded and said, "I saw them opening up your bundle and searched through it. They found a lot of jewels and several hundred thousand taels of banknotes, and were green with envy, so they talked it over how to share the booty. Upon hearing it, I was angry, so I came in and took care of them."

"Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "The old wh0re Empress Dowager knew about my wealth and sent some Imperial Bodyguards to murder me for my money, using the knockout drug and opening a black inn. That old wh0re is doing some lowly shady business, she not a good thing."

"I don't think it was her idea," Tao Gong’e said, "What the Empress Dowager wants is Buddhist scripture, not jewels or money. Those several copies of Buddhist scripture concern a matter of great importance. I was thinking, could it be possible that you gave those books to Xu Tianchuan and the two ladies to be brought to Shijiazhuang? Since the enemy has been eliminated, I thought I would let you rest for a while, so I rushed on horseback to the south to catch them up. I found their carriage outside an inn. I was thinking of searching quietly, but that man Eight-Armed Ape was very vigilant. As soon as I set my feet on the roof, he had already detected my presence. I can't tell him anything, so without any better option I fought him one more time."

"He is not your match," Wei Xiaobao said.

"I really did not want to offend your Tian Di Hui," Tao Gong’e said, "But I had no choice. After sealing his acupoint, I apologize to him profusely, I asked him not to be angry with me. Xiao Xiongdi, next time you see him, please tell him again that I am really sorry and had no choice. I went through those three people's luggage, I even searched through their carriage, but did not find anything, so I unsealed their acupoints and riding a horse, I rushed back here."

"Turns out while I was muddleheaded and did not know anything, you have done these many matters," Wei Xiaobao said, "Tao Gugu, how did you know I belong to Tian Di Hui?"

Tao Gong’e smiled and said, "I drove the carriage with you for half a day, how could I not hear what you were talking about? You are this young, yet have become the Green Wood Hall's Xiangzhu, in Tian Di Hui you are in charge of a very big responsibility, aren't you?"

Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He laughed and said, "Indeed, it can't be considered small."

Tao Gong’e was lost in thought for half a day, then she asked, "You have been with the Emperor for a long time, have you ever heard him mentioning some Buddhist scripture?"

"He did," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The Emperor and Empress Dowager seem to hold this annoying Buddhist scripture in a very high regard. Actually, damn it, what's the use? The Empress Dowager is so bad that even if she chanted 'Amitabha Buddha' ten thousand times a day, Bodhisattva won't possibly bless her ..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Tao Gong’e busily asked, "What did they say, exactly?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "The Emperor sent me and Songgotu Daren to Oboi's mansion to take inventory of that criminal's confiscated property, he told me repeatedly that I must find two copies of some 'four' sutra. I think there is a 'two' character and perhaps a 'ten' character."

Tao Gong’e looked very excited. "Right, right!" she said, "It must be the 'Forty-two[8]-chapter Sutra'. Did you find it?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "I am totally illiterate, how would I know if it is 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra' or 'Fifty-three-chapter Sutra'? Later on Songgotu Daren found it and I gave both copies to the Empress Dowager. She was very happy, she rewarded me with many candy, cakes and pastries. Damn it, the old wh0re is really stingy. Instead of giving me gold or silver, she treated me as a child and deceived me, and only gave me candy, cakes and pastries. If I knew she was that bad, I would have thrown those two copies of sutra into the kitchen stove of the Catering Department, to be used as fuel to cook ..."

"Don't burn, don't burn!" Tao Gong’e hastily said.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I know I must not burn it; if the Emperor ask Songgotu Daren, my trickery would be exposed immediately."

Tao Gong’e muttered to herself, "If that's the case, the Empress Dowager has at least two copies of the 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'?"

"Perhaps she has four," Wei Xiaobao said.

"She has four?" Tao Gong’e said, "How ... how do you know?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "When I was hiding under her bed the other night, I overheard she mentioned to that man who was disguised as a woman that originally she had one copy, from Oboi's residence she got two copies, and then she sent the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards Rui Dong to get another copy from some banner commander's office."

"That's correct," Tao Gong’e said, "It was from the Bordered Blue Banner's Banner Commander's office. So she has a total of four copies in her hand; perhaps she has more ... five, or six." She stood up and paced back and forth several paces before saying, "Those sutra are extremely important. Xiao Xiongdi, I do hope you can help me to steal those several copies of 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra' from the Empress Dowager."

Wei Xiaobao hesitated; he said, "In the event that the old wh0re's injury is heavy, eventually she won't live. I am afraid she might bring those sutra along in her coffin."

"That is unlikely to happen," Tao Gong’e said, "I am worried that the Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] of the Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult] would make a move by acting swiftly and get there first, then it would be really bad."

It was the first time Wei Xiaobao had ever heard about the Cult Leader of the Divine Dragon Cult. "Who is that?" he asked.

Tao Gong’e did not answer. She was pacing around the room several times. The window paper gradually turned bright, soon the sun would shine. She turned around and said, "It's not convenient to talk in here, I am afraid the walls have ears. Let us go!" She carried the three dead bodies outside the inn and dumped them onto the carriage.

She killed those three men with a jolt of her heavy hand, they did not shed any blood at all, the corpses were clean. She said, "They tied the innkeeper and your cart driver, let them struggle free on their own." Sitting together with Wei Xiaobao on the driver seat, she drove the carriage westward.

Seven or eight li later, the sky had already brightened. Tao Gong’e tossed the corpses on a graveyard and piled large piece of rocks to cover them. Returning to the carriage, she said, "Riding on the carriage, we can talk while hastening on our journey, no need to fear someone is listening."

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I wonder if someone is listening under the carriage."

Tao Gong’e was startled. "Right," she said, "Your thought is more thorough than mine." Brandishing the whip, she coiled the whip, 'Shua!' and struck the bottom of the carriage. Repeatedly she struck three times before she was convinced nobody was hiding underneath the carriage. She laughed and said, "I don't know anything about guarding against the bad act of the Jianghu people."

"Then I am worse than you are," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are always a step ahead of me, otherwise you wouldn't be able to save me last night."

By this time the carriage was traveling along a main road, all around them were quiet open space. Tao Gong’e slowly said, "You have saved my life, I have also saved your life. The two of us can be considered friends in times of tribulation, in life and death. Xiao Xiongdi, based on our age, I can be your mother, I can look after you and won’t abandon you, just call me your Gugu. Are you willing to consider me as your Gugu, you be my nephew?”

Wei Xiaobao thought, “I won’t lose anything by being a nephew, besides, I have already called Gugu anyway.” Thereupon he hurriedly said, “That’s wonderful, but I have something really bad I need to tell you. I am afraid after you find out, you won’t want me to be your nephew anymore.”

“What is it?” Tao Gong’e asked.

Wei Xiaobao said, “I don’t have a dad, my mom is a wh0re in a pleasure house.”

Tao Gong’e was startled, but instantly a happy smile appeared across her face as she said delightedly, “Good nephew, a hero is not worried over low family background. Our Taizu Huangdi was a monk, was a hoodlum riff-raff, yet it was irrelevant. You do not even conceal this kind of fact from me, it goes to show that you are being sincere to your Gugu, naturally I won’t conceal anything from you either.”

Wei Xiaobao thought, “My mom is a wh0re, Mao Shiba Dage is already aware, eventually I cannot conceal it from anybody. If you want to swindle someone else, the most hidden secret in your heart must be shaken out first.” He jumped down at once and kneeled and kowtowed, saying, “Nephew Wei Xiaobao pays his respect to Gugu.”

For decades Tao Gong’e lived deep within the Palace, she had no relatives no family members, she had even less friendship and heard less friendly talk; hearing how affectionate Wei Xiaobao called her, she could not help but was very touched. Hastily she also got down from the carriage and said, “Good nephew, from now on I have a close relative in the world …” Speaking to this point, she could not refrain from shedding some tears. She was smiling and wiping her tears at the same time, saying, “Look at me, this is a very happy occasion, yet your Gugu is crying.”

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[8] In Chinese, 'forty-two' is written as 'four', 'ten' and 'two'.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the nice update foxs. Sounds like you got a busy weekend with the Spring cleaning. At least it's better than shoveling snow!

[tweety365]

Thank you, foxs. Much appreciate you taking time out to translate with your busy schedule.

[Han Solo]

Thanks foxs.

I promise to read this when life is less hectic.


Han Solo

[athlonkmf]

thanks fox.

Tao Gong’e is another weird character IMO too. She's in the palace her whole life, hardly any contact. Yet she's able to fight off experienced fighters. I don't know if that's even possible. Even if you have great martial arts, if you've never used it in practice, would it be off any help against experienced fighters?
Funny to read that JY suggested that WXB had a hard one, while Milford changed it to that he was "touching himself" (hmm... which one is worse?)

Also strange that WXB seems conscious of her mom working as a prostitute is a bad thing, while in other occasions, he doesn't seem to care at all.
As I recall, near the end

click to show/hide spoilers

he even dreamt about opening his own pleasure house and have his wives serving customers....

[CFT]

Tao Gong’e is another weird character IMO too. She's in the palace her whole life, hardly any contact. Yet she's able to fight off experienced fighters. I don't know if that's even possible. Even if you have great martial arts, if you've never used it in practice, would it be off any help against experienced fighters?

There is much about her that doesn't add up. She seems to show a lot of jianghu smarts yet is naive in many ways. JY being a bit inconsistent with this character IMO.

I don't remember her at all from the TVB Tony Leung/Andy Lau version. Did she get cut out?

[athlonkmf]

There is much about her that doesn't add up. She seems to show a lot of jianghu smarts yet is naive in many ways. JY being a bit inconsistent with this character IMO.

I don't remember her at all from the TVB Tony Leung/Andy Lau version. Did she get cut out?

No, she was there. I particularly remember her, because the actress is a veteran and kinda plump, so it's funny to see her body double being slender :P

Searched around at the wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duk...4_TV_series%29
She's played by 蘇杏璇, also known as the mother of Gwok Jing in the Wong Yat Wah-version of LOCH
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[CFT]

Darn! Still don't remember her character though of course I remember the actress.

[foxs]

Sky, I went to school in Midwest, so I know Midwestern winters. Tweety, it's people like you who help motivating me. I wish I have more time, but reading and translating wuxia is my 'escape' from the busy-ness of life. Han, welcome back. I don't care if you'll read this or not, I know you have Minford's book anyway. I am just happy to see your name again. You used to hang around the forum a lot. Athlon, CFT, thanks for the info. I promised myself that I will watch that series someday ...

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The two of them climbed back onto the carriage. Tao Gong’e held the reins with her right hand, and held Wei Xiaobao’s right hand with her left, letting the mule walked step by step slowly. She said, “Good nephew, my surname is Tao, it’s my real surname, my humble given name is Hongying; I entered the Palace when I was twelve. By my second year I was already serving the Princess.”

“Princess?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“Yes, Princess,” Tao Hongying replied, “Our Great Ming’s His Majesty Emperor Chongzhen’s own princess.”

“Ah,” Wei Xiaobao said, “So Gugu entered the Palace during our Great Ming’s Emperor Chongzhen.”

“Exactly,” Tao Hongying replied, “When the Emperor Chongzhen left the Palace, he swung his sword to cut off Princess’ arm. When I heard that Princess had run into misfortune, I rushed out, thinking to save her. In my panic, I fell heavily and my forehead hit the stone steps and I fainted. By the time I came to, His Majesty and the Princess had already gone, the Palace was in total chaos, nobody cared about me. Not too long afterwards, that Chuang [lit. rushing] thief[9] entered the Palace, and then the Manchurian Qing Tatars drove away the Chuang thief and took possession of the Imperial Palace. Ay, that was many, many years ago.”

“Wasn’t the Princess the Emperor Chongzhen’s own daughter?” Wei Xiaobao asked, “Why did he want to hack her to death?”

Tao Hongying sighed and said, “Princess was Emperor Chongzhen’s own daughter, she was the daughter he most doted on. By that time the Capital had already fallen, the evil troops had already entered the city, His Majesty was determined to sacrifice himself, he was afraid the Princess would be disgraced by the traitors; therefore, he wanted to kill the Princess first.”

“So that’s what happened,” Wei Xiaobao said, “To kill one’s own daughter is really not easy. I heard Emperor Chongzhen later hung himself on the Coal Hill, is that right?”

“Afterwards I heard people say so,” Tao Hongying replied, “The Manchurian Qing Tatars were led through the pass by Wu Sangui, they defeated the Chuang thief and occupied our Great Ming’s rivers and mountains. From all the eunuchs and palace maids in the Palace, eight or nine out of ten were let go, they said they were afraid those people would be unreliable. At that time I was still very young, plus my injury from the fall was quite heavy that I was lying down in a dark room, nobody cared about me. It was more than three years later that I met my Shifu.”

“Gugu,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Your martial art skill is this high, your Shifu, the Senior’s martial art skill was naturally even more amazing.”

“My Shifu said that there are a lot of capable people in the world,” Tao Gong’e replied, “Our martial art skill cannot be considered anything special. My Shifu had received my Tai Shifu’s[10] order to enter the Palace and become a palace maid.” Brandishing the whip in the air, she made a ‘crack!’ noise before continuing, “The reason my Shifu entered the Palace was exactly those eight copies of the 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'.”

“Altogether there are eight?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“Altogether there are eight,” Tao Hongying replied, “The Manchus have eight banners: yellow, white, red, and blue, four plain banners, and four bordered banners. Each banner’s commander has one copy, altogether there are eight copies.”

“That’s exactly right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “The two copies of sutra we got from Oboi’s house have different colored envelopes, one has yellow envelope with red border, the other has plain white envelope.”

Tao Hongying said, “Turns out the color of the eight sutra envelopes are identical to the eight banners’ color; I have never seen any copy.”

Wei Xiaobao pondered in his heart, “I have five copies in my possession, that means there are three more. In the end, what is so strange about these eight sutras? I am sure Gugu knows. I must find a way to sound her out.” Feigning ignorance, he said, “Turns out your Tai Shifu, the Senior, was also a devout worshipper of Bodhisattva. The Buddhist scriptures of the Palace are naturally precious; some people said that those scriptures are written using golden ink.”

“That’s not it,” Tao Hongying said, “Good nephew, what I am going to tell you today, you must never divulge it to anybody else. Please make an oath.”

To Wei Xiaobao, ‘making an oath’ was extremely trivial and ordinary; he could make an oath in the morning, and had totally forgotten about it in the afternoon, he could make an oath in the afternoon, and had totally forgotten about it by the time he went to bed. Much less out of eight copies of sutra, he had already had five, how could he easily tell the secret to other people? He hastily said, “By the Emperor of Heaven and Empress of Earth, if Wei Xiaobao leaks the secret of the 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra', may he suffer the most terrible fate, may he die just like that turtle Shixiong of the old wh0re who dress in drag.” While in his heart he said, “I will never dress in drag and sleep with that old wh0re, so I can’t possibly die like that turtle Shixiong of hers.” He did believe that when he made an oath, he would have to answer to it someday; consequently, when he made an oath, he would always leave a room to maneuver.

Tao Hongying laughed. “This oath is actually very fresh and weird,” she said. “Let me tell you: When the Manchurian Qing Tatars entered the pass, they did not expect to obtain our Great Ming’s rivers and mountains. Manchu people are very few, their soldiers are not many; they would be perfectly contented if they could occupy the area outside the pass for a long time. Therefore, when they entered the pass, whenever the eight banners’ soldiers saw gold, silver and jewels, they would immediately snatch away. They moved all these money and valuables to outside the pass. At that time the one wielding power was Emperor Shunzi’s father’s younger brother the Regent Prince, but each of the Manchu’s Eight Banners also have some power. That time the Eight Banners’ commanders got together to draw the secret location where the treasure was collected, and each commander of the Eight Banners held one piece of the map …”

Wei Xiaobao sprang up. “Ah!” he exclaimed loudly, “I know it!” Unable to contain his joy, the carriage shook. He sat back down and said, “These eight pieces of the map are hidden in those eight copies of the 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'.”

Tao Hongying said, “It appears that it’s not entirely like that, but only those Eight Banners’ commanders knew clearly. Let’s not say about no one among us, Han people, knows, I am afraid even among Manchu princes and dukes, and high-level ministers, only a few know about it. My Shifu said that the mountain on which the Manchu hid those jewels is the location of their dragon’s vein[11]. That the Tatars can occupy our Great Ming’s rivers and mountains, ascend the throne and become the Emperor, it is entirely dependent upon this mountain’s dragon vein.”

“What is a dragon’s vein?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Tao Hongying replied, “That is an extremely good place according to feng shui; the Manchu Tatars ancestors were buried on that mountain, their descendants prospered greatly, they came to China and became the Emperor. Shifu said that if we can find that treasured mountain and cut off the dragon’s vein, plus dig out their graves, not only the Manchurian Tatars would fail to be the Emperor, everything they have would die inside the pass. This treasured mountain is that important, and that was the reason my Tai Shifu and my Shifu spent their hearts and blood to find the location of this mountain range. This great secret is hidden inside those eight copies of 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'.”

“Gugu,” Wei Xiaobao asked, “How did your Tai Shifu know this Manchu people’s matter?”

“This matter is complicated and not easy to express succinctly,” Tao Hongying replied, “My Tai Shifu was originally a Han woman of Jinzhou[12], who was captured by the Tatars. That Tatar was the Bordered Blue Banner Commander. My Tai Shifu said that after the Tatars entered the pass, they saw how big our China is, how many people we have, they were both delighted and afraid. The commanders of the Eight Banners successively held several meetings for many days, there were heated arguments during the meetings, they could not settle on any single idea.”

“What were they arguing for?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Tao Hongying said, “Some banner commanders wanted to occupy the whole China, some others said that Han people were this many, if they rose in rebellion, a hundred Han people could fight one banner man, how could the banner man live? It would be better if they loot the whole place and return to outside the pass; it would be much safer. Finally the Regent Prince made a decision; he said that while plundering and transporting the gold, silver and jewels outside the pass, they would establish an emperor in China. If he Han people rebelled and the situation became critical, the banner men would withdraw to the Shanhai Pass.”

“Turns out the Manchurian Qing Tatars at that time were really afraid of us, Han people,” Wei Xiaobao said.

“Why not?” Tao Hongying said, “Even now they are still afraid. It’s just that we are not of one mind. Good nephew, the Tatars’ young emperor is very fond of you, if you can search out the location of those eight sutras, we could steal those sutras and break the Tatars’ dragon’s vein, then those gold, silver and jewels could be used to cover the expense of raising a militia[13]. So long as we raise arms, the Qing troops would be frightened and flee outside the pass.”

Wei Xiaobao did not have any zeal to breaking the dragon’s vein or raising militia, but thinking about that mountain hid an innumerable wealth, he could not help but palpitating with eagerness. “Gugu,” he asked, “Is the secret of this treasured mountain really hidden inside those eight sutras?”

Tao Hongying replied, “My Tai Shifu told my Shifu that one day the Bordered Blue Banner Commander got drunk and told his young Manchurian wife that when he died, he wanted to pass on a copy of sutra to the young wife’s son, and not giving it to his first wife’s son. The young wife was really not happy, saying what’s so rare about a Buddhist scripture. The Banner Commander said that it was their Eight Banners’ lifeblood; it was more important than anything, and roughly mentioned the origin of the Buddhist scripture. Tai Shifu was eavesdropping outside the window, only then did she understand the fact. Afterwards Tai Shifu trained martial arts, my Shifu also learned from her, Senior, for many years. Tai Shifu attempted to steal the sutra, as a result, she was beaten and was seriously hurt. Before her death, she told Shifu to infiltrate the Palace and become a palace maid, to find a way to steal the scripture. There were martial art experts in the Bordered Blue Banner Commander’s mansion, she thought her effort of stealing the scripture in the Palace would likely go smoothly. Who would have known that not long after Shifu entered the Palace, she found out that the imperial ground was even more strictly guarded, palace maids cannot carelessly wander around, so stealing the scripture became extremely difficult. When she was talking to me, she found out about the Great Ming’s Princess, her heart remembered her old ruler with fondness, and thus she accepted me as her disciple.”

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[9] Li Zicheng, the leader of peasant rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he called himself Chuang Wang - 'The Roaming King'. The character ‘Chuang’ (闖) means to rush / to charge / to dash / to break through / to temper oneself (through battling hardships).

[10] Lit. ‘great’ shifu, in this case, ‘grand master’, shifu of shifu.

[11] My dictionary has an additional definition: terrain that looks like a dragon.

[12] Jinzhou prefecture level city in Liaoning province.

[13] Orig. ‘righteous army’ – volunteer army.

[athlonkmf]

thanks fox. The explanation on the treasure and the manchu's plan is much more elaborate and logical than any adaption or translation (heh).
It sounds more logical now, I've been wondering why they'd put a treasure there, if they could just take it out within their empire afterwards.
Seems like it's more like a safety guard for them when the Han really drove them out. Quite smart.

“I will never dress in drag and sleep with that old wh0re

Uhoh.. WXB shouldn't had said that... Knowing that both came true (well, almost)

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for another great update foxs.

[smurf120]

Thanks for great translation Foxs! Where in the midwest are you from? We are facing Snowmageddon Part II this weekend.

I'm a little lost about Tao Gugu's age and the fall of the Ming empire. Her Tai Shifu must've heard about the secret long before Wu Sangui allowed the Manchu's to gate crash. Could they have acquired that much wealth by then?

[pannonian]

I've been watching the 2008 series, and a number of things strike me, such as the different relationship between Wei Xiaobao and Kangxi from the 1986 version, how much less heroic Wei Xiaobao is, and so on. But the thing that most strikes me is, how hot the 2008 version of Su Quan (Madame Hong) is. Smoking.

[Ace High]

"Tai Shifu attempted to steal the sutra, as a result, she was beaten and was seriously hurt. Before her death, she told Shifu to infiltrate the Palace and become a palace maid, to find a way to steal the scripture. There were martial art experts in the Bordered Blue Banner Commander’s mansion, she thought her effort of stealing the scripture in the Palace would likely go smoothly. Who would have known that not long after Shifu entered the Palace, she found out that the imperial ground was even more strictly guarded, palace maids cannot carelessly wander around, so stealing the scripture became extremely difficult.”

What kind of reasoning is this? She thought an emperor's palace would have fewer martial art experts than an official's mansion?

[athlonkmf]

What kind of reasoning is this? She thought an emperor's palace would have fewer martial art experts than an official's mansion?

It's not that bad reasoning. An official mansion is more in the wild, the palace is a city on it's own with a huge amount of soldiers. Even strong martial artists would have a problem there, which we'll find out later

[athlonkmf]

What kind of reasoning is this? She thought an emperor's palace would have fewer martial art experts than an official's mansion?

It's not that bad reasoning. An official mansion is more in the wild, the palace is a city on it's own with a huge amount of soldiers. Even strong martial artists would have a problem there, which we'll find out later

[foxs]

Smurf, Ames, Iowa. Not too far from where you are right now. Sky, you are welcome. Pannonian, that hot, huh? Athlon, Ace, I think those Shifu and Tai Shifu were just naive people. Smurf, I have similar thought about Li Zicheng, but I'll need to do some research first. Short update today, been very busy, will try to catch up this weekend.

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Wei Xiaobao said, “No wonder with thousand ways, a hundred plans the old wh0re is trying to get hold of the scripture. She is a Manchurian, she can’t possibly want to break the dragon’s vein, presumably she wants to obtain the treasured mountain’s gold, silver and jewels. But she is the Empress Dowager, she could have anything she wants, what does she needs the treasure for?” He also thought, “Then why did the old turtle Hai kept this matter constantly in his mind? Why did he always want me to go to the Upper Study Room to steal the book? Hmm, perhaps he did not really want the scripture, he only wanted to trick me into revealing who was the mastermind who sent me to poison blind his eyes, or perhaps to investigate who the real assassin who murdered Empress Duan Jing. He must be thinking that the mastermind and the assassin was the same person. I am afraid I do not have the ability to deceive the old turtle Hai into revealing his mind; perhaps even Yan Luo Wang do not have that ability.”

How could Tao Hongying guess that Wei Xiaobao’s thought had turned toward Hai Dafu? She said, “Perhaps there is something else, something strange in the treasured mountain, which even Tai Shifu did not know. Not long after Shifu entered the Palace, she fell ill and died. At the death’s door, the Senior imploring me over and over again, telling me to find a way to steal the scripture. She warned me that stealing the scripture is extremely difficult, based on my own strength, I might not succeed, so she wanted me to take a reliable disciple inside the Palace and pass the secret of the sutra onto her. This generation failed, the next generation would try again, never to let this secret to be buried and forgotten.”

“Yes, yes!” Wei Xiaobao said, “If this great secret is lost in transmission, those countless gold, silver and jewels would be … it would be a great pity.”

“The gold, silver and treasure is not important,” Tao Hongying said, “But to let generation after generation of the Tatars occupying our Han people’s rivers and mountains would be the greatest regret.”

“Gugu is right,” Wei Xiaobao said. But in his heart he was thinking, “It would be the greatest regret indeed if those gold, silver and jewels by the thousands and tens of thousands are not taken out and being spent.” He was still very young; about the massacre of Han people by the Manchu soldiers, he only heard it from others, he had never personally experienced it. Among the Manchu people in the Palace at that time, only the Empress Dowager was hateful to him. Although Hai Dafu also conspired against him, in the end he did more harm to Hai Dafu than Hai Dafu did harm to him. The rest of the people, from the Emperor down, had all treated him very well, so he had never thought the Manchus were fiendish, bloody and cruel people. He was also aware however, that if he did not receive the Emperor’s favor, those Manchurian nobilities and ministers could not possibly show that kind of warmth or flatter him like that. But when all is said and done, he saw more kindness and less brutality from those Manchus; therefore, the enmity between the races, the hatred of his nation, was rather dull in his heart.

“These past few years,” Tao Hongying continued, “I haven’t received any disciple. The number of palace maids I saw is not many, the ones I met were either stupid and muddleheaded, or flirtatious and narrow-minded, all they think about daily was how to be lucky to have the Emperor’s visit so that they could rise from the palace maid to imperial concubine. How can we tell this great secret of ours to this kind of people? In recent years I often worried that if this situation continues, not only I could not obtain the slightest clue of the scriptures’ whereabouts, I could not get a good disciple either. When I die later, I would bring this secret to my grave, then the Manchu Tatars would sit steadily on our rivers and mountains. The fact that I would wrong Tai Shifu and Shifu needs not be mentioned, worse yet, I would become great sinner toward our Han people. Good nephew, I came across you inadvertently and could tell you all about this matter, in my heart I am really happy.”

“I am also very happy,” Wei Xiaobao said, “But not because of the sutra or whatever, I don’t even think about it in my heart.”

“Then what makes you happy?” Tao Hongying asked.

“I don’t have any relative,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “My mama is like that, I seldom see my Shifu, but now I have an aunt, a good aunt. Naturally I am very happy.” His mouth was sweet, he knew how to coax Tao Hongying and made her happy.

Indeed she was very happy; she smiled and said, “And I get a good nephew, so I am also very happy.” After a short pause, she asked, “Who is your Shifu?”

Wei Xiaobao replied, “My Shifu is the Zongduozhu of Tian Di Hui, surnamed Chen, given name Jin at the top and Nan at the bottom.”

Even such a famous personality like Chen Jinnan, Tao Hongying seemed to hear it only for the first time. She simply nodded and said, “So your Shifu is Tian Di Hui’s Zongduozhu, his martial art must be superb.”

“It’s just that the time I follow my Shifu is too short,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I haven’t learned any skill. Good Gugu, how about you teach me some?”

Tao Hongying hesitated before saying, “If you have never learned any martial art, naturally I would be happy to pass on everything I learned to you. But most likely your Shifu’s martial art is completely different to my martial art school, I am afraid it would be harmful if you learned it. In your opinion, your Shifu and I, whose martial art skill is stronger?”

When Wei Xiaobao asked Tao Hongying to teach him martial art, his intention was only to make her happy. Supposing that Tao Hongying really agreed to teach him, he would have tried to make other excuses instead. Once he started martial art training, his would not be able to go to Wutai Mountain, much less naturally he only loved to loaf around and play, without any patience to learn martial art. Hearing her saying that, he seized the chance by saying, "Gugu, in front of you, I can't tell a lie."

"Naturally it is better for a little child to be honest," Tao Hongying said.

Wei Xiaobao said, "I have seen Shifu fought with someone with very good martial art, in only three moves he managed to subdue him; that man lost miserably. Gugu, I am afraid you are still inferior to Shifu."

Tao Hongying smiled and said, "That's right. I also believe I am inferior to him by far. When I struggled against that man disguised as a palace maid, if you did not stab him in the back, I would have been finished early on. I am sure your Shifu can't be that useless."

Wei Xiaobao said, "But that fake palace maid was really formidable; even now, when I remember him, I am still afraid."

Suddenly the muscles on Tao Hongying's face were twitching, her eyes revealed a frightened look, she stared straight ahead with blank expression on her face. "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you feeling ill?"

Tao Hongying did not reply, as if she did not hear him. Wei Xiaobao asked her again. Tao Hongying's body shivered, she said, "No ... I am not." 'Splat!' suddenly the whip in her hand fell to the ground. Wei Xiaobao leaped down the carriage to pick it up, and then he jumped back onto the carriage; his movement was very neat and nimble. He was feeling very proud of himself, hoping that Tao Hongying would utter some words of praise. But he saw she shook her head and said, "Child, after you made a decision, you should painstakingly train before you can succeed. With your martial art level right now, to deal with the eunuchs in the Palace, it is too good; but if you want to roam the Jianghu, it is too bad, you are actually inferior to people who do not know martial art at all."

Wei Xiaobao's face blushed deep red, "Yes!" he replied. But in his heart he wondered, "Although my martial art is not that good, why am I inferior to people who do not know martial art at all?"

Tao Hongying said, "If you do not know martial art at all, people would not easily kill you. But since you know martial art, your opponent will guard against your counterattack, when they make their move, they won't easily spare you; won't it be bad instead?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "What if I meet small bandits who beat randomly with some stick?"

Tao Hongying was taken aback, momentarily she was at a loss of what to say. A moment later she said, "That's true, perhaps there are more small bandits in Jianghu than martial art experts." She looked disturbed; pointing to a large tree on the right ahead of them, she said, "Let us take a rest before continuing our journey, let the mule eat some grass." She drove toward the tree. The two of them jumped down the carriage and sat side by side on the tree root.

Tao Hongying was lost in thought again. Suddenly she mumbled, "Did he say it? Did he say something?"

[athlonkmf]

Thanks fox, we're getting close to the true start of wxb's adventures

Methinks typo's: what does the treasure for? Should be what does she needs the treasure for?

[tweety365]

Yeah, I also agree that martial art experts are not that large in numbers. Plus, if not provoked, why would they randomly get into fights. Even if WXB trained hard day and night, he still would not be able to fight and win the Empress Dowager, his current #1 enemy. Best to outsmart her instead, which he has been doing a great job.

Thanks foxs!