Time: 2013-03-24 15:44 Source: 'Stories of a Hundred Families' Author: Tang Benqing
During the Yongtai era of the Tang dynasty, there was a martial student named Tao Kun in Jingling, skilled in both civil and military arts. With the imperial exam approaching, he decided to go to the capital to seek fame and serve the country. In the evening, Tao Kun arrived at Wusheng Pass on the border of Hubei and Henan. Unexpectedly, the gate was already closed, and he saw a tavern at the intersection ahead, so he planned to rest there for the night. Upon closer look, he saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of the tavern. A man who looked like a shop owner and a beggar woman were arguing fiercely. It turned out that the beggar girl had come to beg at the shop, but the owner refused. Taking advantage of her unpreparedness, she grabbed a braised chicken from the storage cabinet and started gnawing on it. The two sides were arguing over it. Tao Kun hurried forward to persuade her, "Shop owner, please calm down. Harmony brings wealth. A single braised chicken is nothing. I'll pay for her!" After persuading the shop owner to leave, Tao Kun led the beggar girl to the table and ordered a large pile of dishes. As they ate, the beggar girl began to cry. Tao Kun asked her why, and she said she had been abandoned since childhood and was used to seeing others' faces. Tao Kun was the first to treat her as a person. ......After the beggar woman left, Tao Kun felt exhausted and went to the guest room to sleep. In a daze, Tao Kun felt a chill. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked! He saw himself lying completely naked on a blood-soaked cutting board. On the ground lay a pile of corpses, all guests who had stayed at the inn the previous night. Each of them had their throats slashed, and beside them lay a basin full of blood, which had already congealed. But to his surprise, several surgeons lay on the ground with drool at the corners of their mouths, their bodies swollen. It seemed they hadn't had time to lay hands on him before they had been ambushed. This was a shady shop! So who would save him? Tao Kun put on his clothes and inspected the entire hotel. Aside from the innkeeper, the servants, and the staff, the owner was nowhere to be seen. Tao Kun had no choice but to report to the authorities. However, to Tao Kun's surprise, the innkeeper had already arrived at the authorities and falsely accused Tao Kun of robbing the inn. As a result, Tao Kun was imprisoned by the Martial Saint Prefect on charges of "colluding with robbers and raiding an inn at night." What made Tao Kun even more anxious was that the exam was approaching day by day, and if he kept locked up, he would miss the exam date......
That night, Tao Kun was so anxious he couldn't sleep, when suddenly a strange smell entered his nose. He was a martial artist and knew it was the scent of incense, so he quickly covered his nose with a cloth.Sure enough, before long, Laozi had been overwhelmed by the smoke. Then, a dark figure entered and rescued him—it was the beggar girl. The two of them left the city under the cover of night. Tao Kun hurriedly asked, “Did you save me at the inn?” The beggar girl nodded. Seeing that the beggar girl, though dressed in rags, was flawless in spirit, Tao Kun gratefully said, “I can never forget your life-saving kindness. If I achieve fame, I will definitely marry you!” The beggar girl looked at him with deep emotion and then cut a lock of her black hair to give to Tao Kun. Tao Kun in turn gave her the protective charm he wore, and the two parted with tears. Tao Kun traveled day and night to the capital, just in time for the imperial examination. Because Tao Kun excelled in both literary talent and martial arts, he was selected as the top martial champion. During the audience with the emperor, the emperor, seeing his talents and appearance, wanted to recruit him as an imperial son-in-law. But by then Tao Kun's heart was with the beggar girl, and he politely declined. At that moment, a fast rider brought news that a foreign nation had invaded, and the border was in urgent need of defense. Grand Tutor Su Hong recommended the chief examiner Xu Jing as the Supreme Commander and the new martial champion Tao Kun as the vanguard to defend the frontier. Su Hong and Xu Jing were political rivals, and the purpose of recommending the two was clearly to use the foreigners to eliminate them. Xu Jing, well aware of Su Hong's intentions, appointed Su Hong's son, the new martial runner-up Su Hua, as the deputy vanguard. Upon arriving at the border, Commander Xu instructed the three units to form a triangular stand and set up camps to support each other, waiting for the right moment to launch a full attack. That night, foreign soldiers suddenly attacked, surrounding Tao Kun's camp completely. Su Hua, still resentful of Tao Kun for taking the martial championship, watched from the sidelines and did not come to help. Just as it seemed Tao Kun's forces couldn't hold out, at the critical moment, the invading soldiers began scratching themselves wildly and rolling on the ground. Tao Kun raised a torch and looked closely from a high position, only to see scorpions crawling over their bodies. He immediately ordered a counterattack, turning defeat into victory. Who could this covert helper be? Tao Kun hurriedly reported the matter to Commander Xu, determined to find this person and thank him in person. The foreign king, hearing that the Tang army used scorpion soldiers, assuming there was a divine being aiding them, dared not linger in battle and hastily retreated. The Tang army pursued, killing the enemy and leaving them scattered and defenseless. The Tang forces achieved a great victory and returned triumphantly. Just as the emperor was about to reward the soldiers, the newly promoted Governor Wusheng of Henan accused Tao Kun of “colluding with bandits and raiding an inn at night.” As a result, Tao Kun not only did not receive the emperor's reward but was also imprisoned in the Imperial Dungeon.Tao Kun's injustice remained unresolved, leaving him both angry and resentful.\At that moment, a dark figure floated over. Before the guarding prison officer could react, he was already beheaded. The person killed all the prison officers and then opened the cell door to rescue Tao Kun. Once outside the city, when that person pulled down the veil, Tao Kun was stunned to see that it was actually Su Hua. Tao Kun asked in confusion: “Why did you save me? Do you realize that what you're doing not only won't save me but will also endanger me…”\Su Hua laughed heartily: “Save you? Don't be dreaming. Today, let me tell you everything. Because you took my Martial Champion title, causing me to lose the chance to become a prince consort, my purpose in doing this is precisely to put you to death!” Tao Kun, upon hearing this, could not help but feel righteous anger and sternly rebuked: “You beastly-hearted man! I will report your deeds to the Emperor!” Su Hua replied: “You are already a prisoner; who will believe your words? This time, you are surely doomed!” Saying this, he clapped his hands, and immediately a large group of people rushed over and captured Tao Kun. As a result, Tao Kun now had an additional charge of “killing prison guards and escaping from prison,” and he would soon be taken to the Meridian Gate to be executed.\On the day of the execution, Marshal Xu came to bid him farewell. Tao Kun sighed: “My death is nothing to regret, but I have two unfulfilled wishes, which are the biggest regrets of my life. One is that after achieving fame, I can no longer fulfill the hope of marrying the beggar girl; the other is that I have not been able to find the expert who helped me at the frontier to thank him in person. I hope my mentor can help me fulfill these two wishes!” Marshal Xu tearfully promised one by one, then added: “I have been sent by Her Highness the Princess with a message for you. The Princess said, if you are willing to marry her, all your crimes will be pardoned. Surely, you agreed, right?”\Tao Kun stubbornly shook his head and said: “I have already sworn that in this life, I will marry no one but the beggar girl. I dare not obey!” Marshal Xu had no choice but to shake his head in regret at his side. Time passed quickly, and the execution hour arrived. The executioner drew his sword and prepared to carry out the sentence. Just then, a cry of “Ouch!” was heard, and the spirit-head blade clanged to the ground. Tao Kun looked closely and saw that countless scorpions had appeared on the executioner's hairy arms, though he did not know when.\It seemed that the expert who had helped him at the frontier had arrived!Tao Kun widened his eyes and looked around but saw no master appear. Instead, he saw a woman descend from the phoenix carriage, wearing a phoenix crown and colorful robes, accompanied by palace maidens, walking into the execution ground—it was the princess. Marshal Xu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, your servant is incompetent…"\As he came closer, the princess picked up the Ghost Head Knife from the ground and cut off the shackles on Tao Kun, asking, "Top Scholar, do you really think I would just dislike you this much?" Tao Kun lowered his head and said nothing. "In that case, I'll return this to you!" she said, throwing a jade piece onto the ground. When Tao Kun looked closely, it was the protective talisman he had given to a beggar girl at the Martial Saint Pass. Then, the princess removed her phoenix robe, revealing tattered clothes underneath. Tao Kun looked up, astonished—it was the beggar girl. Seeing Tao Kun bewildered, Marshal Xu explained the whole story.\It turned out that Grand Tutor Su's daughter, Concubine Su, had been in the palace for many years but had not borne children. Meanwhile, Concubine Fang, who entered the palace later, not only had the emperor's favor but soon gave birth to a princess named De Ning. Out of jealousy, Concubine Su secretly sent people to abduct Princess De Ning and cast her into the wilderness. Fortunately, she was found by the Beggar Gang leader, 'Scorpion King.' The Scorpion King not only raised Princess De Ning to adulthood but also taught her martial arts, especially the 'Scorpion Strike,' which was unparalleled. When Tao Kun stumbled into the black shop at Martial Saint Pass, it was Princess De Ning who used scorpions to defeat the men and saved his life, helping him escape from prison. Later, when he was trapped at the border, Princess De Ning again used scorpions to rescue him. Since the foreign soldiers primarily ate mutton and smelled gamey, the scorpions bit only the foreign soldiers, not the Tang soldiers. Just now, during the execution, it was the princess who used the scorpions to save him again.\Scorpion King had known Marshal Xu for many years. When he found Princess De Ning, he noticed that the jade embroidered cloth she was wrapped in was not ordinary and guessed she was not from a common family, so he took her to see Marshal Xu. At that time, the whole court and capital were in an uproar over the missing Princess De Ning. Marshal Xu realized she must be the long-lost princess. Since the Su family was powerful at the time, if they sent Princess De Ning back to the palace hastily, Concubine Su would certainly harm her and her mother, so he let Scorpion King adopt her. It was only when Concubine Fang was critically ill that Marshal Xu returned Princess De Ning to the palace, reuniting her with her mother.Over the years, Grand Tutor Su gradually showed signs of rebellion. Not only did he form factions at court and eliminate his political rivals, but he also set up secret inns across the country to act as his eyes and ears, attempting to control the entire court. The secret inn at Wusheng Pass was one of these surveillance spots established by him and his son. Since Princess Dening was accustomed to a free and unrestrained life, she often wore her old worn clothes to roam the martial world, and by chance met Tao Kun at the gate of Wusheng Pass. She not only discovered and exposed the Su father and son's plot to rebel, but also played out this story of unwavering and devoted love...
