The Three Smiles

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The Three Smiles (San xiao) is a 1969 movie.

[edit] Synopsis

Tang Bo Hu (Ivy Ling Po) was a talented and well-educated scholar. Well-to-do and famous in the Jiangnan region, he cared nothing for fame and fortune but spent his time roaming the country, enjoying leisure, poetry and song.

One day, Tang Bo Hu happened to be at the entrance to a Buddhist Temple when Lady Hua, the wife of a rich, important, high ranking official, arrived with an entourage of attending maids, servants, and porters. Tang heard the whispers of bystanders that Lady Hua's maids were renowned for their beauty. Curious, he stopped to watch. One of the maids, who was extraordinarily pretty, caught his eye. Tang followed the group into the temple and overheard that the maid's name was Autumn Fragrance (Li Ching).

Unable to resist, Tang playfully knelt next to Autumn Fragrance as she prayed. He flirted with her and pinned her skirt with his knee, preventing her from leaving. Another maid came to Autumn Fragrance's aid and together the two women left the temple, with Tang trailing them.

As Autumn Fragrance entered her palanquin, she gave a shy smile to Tang Bo Hu.

Lady Hua's party returned home on a boat. Tang hired the services of a rower and followed them. On the river, Tang got the rower to sing teasing songs to Autumn Fragrance. Annoyed, she threw a basin of water over to the side and got Tang soaked. Feeling sorry, she smiled gently again.

Tang Bo Hu followed Lady Hua's entourage back to their mansion. He tried to make small talk with Autumn Fragrance. She was annoyed and then amused. Then she gave him a third smile.

After the third smile, the scholar fell head over heels in love with Autumn Fragrance. He went to the Hua mansion and tried to figure out a way to make his way inside. Seeing that the Hua's chief butler was kind, Tang pretended to be a poor youth from afar who was just robbed of all his money. The butler took pity upon him and introduced him to the Grand Tutor, who hired him as a pageboy. Tang was now renamed Hua An in the Grand Tutor's household.