In the third year of Jianyuan (138 BC), Emperor Liu Che was eighteen years old. At the time, his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou, kept him from realizing his ambitions, so he became temporarily obsessed with hunting.
One day, Liu Che went hunting in disguise. That evening, he entered a small inn and called out, “Rice drink!” Seeing that the group carried bows and swords and behaved rudely, the innkeeper decided they looked like no good. He snapped, “We don’t have any! Want some piss instead?” The Martial Emperor was about to lose his temper, but the charming landlady hurriedly smiled and smoothed things over, then pushed her husband into the inner room. Little did she know that her husband was plotting in there to kill Liu Che.
As the men schemed about how to make their move, the landlady came in. She said to her husband, “These people speak with distinction, so they must have some standing. And they’re all armed. We might not be able to take them, so let’s forget it.” Her husband wouldn’t listen. The landlady gave him a beguiling smile and said, “My dear, even if we’re going to make a move, we should wait until the dead of night, when they’re fast asleep. Why don’t I get them drunk first?” Her husband beamed. “You really have thought of everything, my dear.”
Ren Yucheng had seen everything that went on in the inner room, so he reported it to Emperor Liu Che.
After returning to the palace, Liu Che reflected that the landlady had a remarkable eye for people and was no ordinary woman. The innkeeper had also shown no fear of bullies and had intended to “rid the people of a tyrant,” making him a true hero. Liu Che wasn’t angry at all; in fact, he was delighted. He summoned the landlady and rewarded her with a thousand gold pieces, then appointed the innkeeper as a Yulin Guard.
Afterward, to prevent similar incidents from happening again, Liu Che ordered every region to establish “Gengyi” stations (see Zizhi Tongjian), with Ren Yucheng in command. The headquarters was set up at the Risheng Inn, a name personally inscribed by Liu Che.
