House of Harmony and Vengeance

Acrobatic performer TAI DOU and his son MING-BUT are heading towards Longzhou to put on a show for the Magistrate. Also in the troupe are DOU’s three adopted children, namely NGON-NAM, NIM-YAN and HO SAU. In the meantime, KIU BO-LUNG, who has recently been appointed the Changan Cheung Lai Yuen Conservatory Director, is on his way to Changan with his father, KIU FUNG. LUNG has an engagement with BIN YUK-YIN, daughter of the Cavalry General, since birth. The Magistrate’s son wants to rape SAU. BUT kills him accidentally as he is trying to save her. Wearing LUNG’s clothes, BUT leaves in the nick of time. As a result, LUNG and his father are burnt to death by the government officers. BUT takes LUNG and his father’s bodies to a charitable coffin home, where he finds a letter of appointment for the post of Cheung Lai Yuen Conservatory Director in LUNG’s body. He goes to Siu Sheung House to see YING GOONG GOONG afterwards. YING GOONG GOONG and the conservatory directors of the eight conservatories of Changan are discussing about the Belle Contest scheduled for three years later. When BUT hears that the conservatory to which the winner belongs will be awarded 100 taels of gold, he decides to stay in Changan. On the other hand, LUNG has woken up but he has lost his memory. A woodcutter he meets called LEI TSOI-SHAN offers to take him to Changan. LUNG bumps into YIN, the principal dancer of Chun Yat Yuen, when he arrives in Changan. He has an intuition that they knew each other. LUNG is so hungry that he cannot help eating the buns he finds in Cheung Lai Yuen’s kitchen. He finds a horsehead fiddle as he wakes up. He plays it so well that CHU LAM-YUET, the dance instructor, takes him for the new conservatory director.

YAN discovers a letter written by FUNG requesting that BIN and LUNG get married. Unwilling to take another guy’s wife, BUT decides to break off the engagement. YIN accuses her elder brother, YUK-LONG, when she sees him dancing. In her opinion, as the son of the Calvary General he should try hard to become a government officer for the sake of family reputation. SHAN runs into LUNG again. She decides to put him up upon learning that he is homeless. Cheung Lai Yuen is recruiting dancers. SHAN’s mother, TING HEUNG-FA, encourages her to have a go when she sees the ad. The Full Moon Feast of the princess is approaching. Three of Changan’s conservatories have been invited by YING GOONG GOONG to put on a command performance. YUET points out frankly that BUT’s music does not appeal to refined taste. BUT invites LUNG to join Cheung Lai Yuen when he hears him play again. As LUNG has lost his memory and cannot remember his name, BUT decides to call him KO YAN.

YAN is a music genius who plays even better after a glass or two of wine. BUT therefore tells DOU to take good care of YAN. LAU CHEUK-LAW, like YIN, is a principal dancer of Chun Yat Yuen, has been bitten by a dog. As a result, she cannot make it to the command performance. She suspects it is a planned accident. YIN’s face gets swollen after she has washed her face. Believing that LAW has done something to her cleanser, she complains to dance instructor YIM MO-CHUN. SHAN goes to Cheung Lai Yuen to sit for the dancer recruitment test but is hired as a servant instead due to a series of mishaps. BUT tells his family how YIN joined Cheung Lai Yuen. According to him, he learned by chance about YING GOONG GOONG’s weakness once when he was dancing in front of YING GOONG GOONG. YIN decides to make BUT fall in love with her so as to take revenge on him.

BUT introduces YIN to the people in Cheung Lai Yuen, requesting YUET to take care of her. BUT and DOU require YAN to finish the second half of the movement but the muse has left him. A drunk stops YIN’s sedan chair. SHAN exposes her identity as a girl when she is helping YIN out. She has become YIN’s trusted servant since the incident. YAN’s music has a western flavor. BUT therefore believes he used to live in the Western frontier. BUT takes YAN to the country. The scenery reminds the musician of how he and FUNG played together once in front of a waterfall. YIN requests to go out to practice when BUT and YUET are discussing about the command performance. Burning with curiosity, BUT follows her. Although she is well aware that he is peeping at her from a distance, she pretends to be ignorant about his presence to make him fall for her eventually.

SHAN is given a severe punishment for beating BUT. KUK YUEN-YUEN helps her out when she sees her being putting on by BUT. HA visits SHAN at Cheung Lai Yuen. YIN helps SHAN dress up as a dancer for fear HA will find out about the truth. YUEN introduces her elder sister, WAN-WAN, to YUET but the latter has no interest in WAN. YIN suggests WAN to give a show. WAN turns out to be a great dancer. BUT invites NGO SUET-CHUNG, who he knew recently and whose father runs a tailor shop, to design the costume for the girls at Cheung Lai Yuen for the command performance. A wasp makes a beeline for the emperor as the dancers of Cheung Lai Yuen are dancing at the command performance. SHAN drives it out but exposes her identity as a girl accidentally. As a result, she is sentenced to an execution for deceiving the emperor. YAN appears suddenly, telling BUT he has recovered his memory.

BUT dashes to the execution ground to plead for SHAN, who was only trying to drive the wasp away and save the emperor. On the other hand, he tells his family YAN remembered seeing him once at a restaurant. He is therefore worried the truth will come to light sooner or later. His family members suggest killing YAN. BUT decides to give SHAN 50 birching as punishment, YIN suggests redeeming SHAN’s sins by good deeds. BUT only agrees to dismiss SHAN. BUT suggests opening up a beauty parlor with CHUNG as they visit a spring. WU FUN-FONG wants to become a dancer at Cheung Lai Yuen but her strong body odor is her obstacle. Her father bribes BUT with gold bars. SHAN sees them. Though unwillingly, BUT agrees to hire SHAN as a dancer. YUET tells SHAN she has no flair for dancing. SHAN swears she will make a great dancer and so YUET agrees to take up the challenge.