THREE IMPOSSIBLE TASKS
While restoring the artwork in the temple of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, Pei, a poor young artist, sees the daughter of the new governor general, Yu-lan. Struck by Yu-lan’s beauty, Pei secretly sketches her portrait and composes a short love poem alongside it. A sudden breeze blows the sheet of paper across the room to where Yu-lan finds it.
Pei and Yu-lan fall in love, but Pei is just a commoner, an unknown artist who has yet to pass more than the first level of imperial examinations. To win her hand, Pei must accomplish three tasks devised by Yu-lan’s father, who is intent on seeing Pei fail. Pei’s first task is to defeat a massive wrestler in “a fair fight.” Pei’s wit saves the day—and any broken bones—when he fulfills the task by proposing a fight of crickets.
“YOU WON THE day with crickets,” said the governor general. “But what about pearls? You wrote in your poem that you wished to be a pearl against my daughter’s throat. Bring her a large one then, fresh from an oyster at the bottom of the sea. My men
