Everyone in the capital of the Great Yong knows that Gu Qingzhou, an official in the Ministry of Revenue, is breathtakingly beautiful and aloof, like an immortal descended from heaven. He's praised by all as a heavenly gentleman and the most handsome man in the capital.
Only the old Grand General guarding the nation knows that beneath his son's celestial good looks is a bona fide corrupt official obsessed with money.
His lifelong motto: Everything in the world has a price!
Other corrupt officials squeeze the people dry, but Gu Qingzhou's principles are ironclad: He takes bribes from officials, never from commoners. His favorite target is his own father!
The old general returns victorious from the battlefield with three million taels in military pay, hard-earned money belonging to the border troops. He must hand it all over to the imperial treasury the next day.
On a dark and windy night, Gu Qingzhou sneaks over the wall into his father's study, armed with a versatile gold needle he bought for five hundred taels. He plans to make off with his father's huge stash of military pay and use it to buy himself a mansion and an opera troupe.
But hidden traps foil his plan, and his attempt to steal the money is exposed on the spot!
One moment, Minister Gu is dignified and aloof. The next, his father has him pinned over his knee and is administering family discipline.
The cane flies, his cries fill the house, and the dignified court official loses all semblance of dignity beneath his father's jujube-wood rod.
After taking a savage beating, the teary-eyed, gorgeous corrupt official still refuses to give up. He asks timidly:
“Dad, getting beaten counts as a work injury. Could I get an advance on my medical expenses?”
A hot-tempered, battle-hardened old general and his beautiful, money-grubbing disgrace of a son.
A laugh-out-loud story of a father and son constantly setting each other up. The corrupt official has principles, and the only person he fleeces is his father!
