I was the poorest little beggar in the capital, surviving by dancing the Hu Xuan in the snow for a few copper coins. The day I deliberately kicked snow onto a general, I never expected him to take me back to his estate. A young nobleman tossed me some money and told me to be quiet: “Your dancing is so noisy. This silver ingot will buy your silence.” But beneath the moon, a mysterious qin player accompanied me: “Your dance deserves the finest music in the world.” Then, at a palace banquet, I kicked over the empress’s wine cup, and the emperor clapped and laughed: “Well done! I name you a commandery princess!” Years later, standing in the empress’s place, I suddenly noticed a gap in the palace wall
It fit the broken bowl I had used to beg for food back then perfectly.
