Kidnapping
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The fifteenth day after the Chinese New Year is the Lantern Festival. Red lanterns are lit everywhere to celebrate the advent of spring, and a sweet dumpling stuffed with ground sesame is the specialty of the occasion. In the Song dynasty, the festival began on the thirteenth day after the New Year and reached its climax on the fifteenth day.
On that day, there were musical and theatrical performances in the city square of the capital, Kaifeng. In the evening, the emperor would ascend the city tower to watch fireworks. Like most people, Lord Wang Shao’s family went to the city square that evening to join the celebration.
His youngest son Nan Gai was carried by a servant named Wang Ji on his shoulders. Nan Gai was dressed in his festival best. His hat, studded with pearls and precious stones, was particularly eye-catching.
The city square was crowded. Leaning over the railings of the city tower, Emperor Shenzong was waving to the crowd. Wang Ji jostled his way into the crowd trying to get a better view. Caught in the excitement of the scene, he did not realize anything wrong when the burden on his shoulders was lifted.
As he was moving in the crowd, suddenly it occurred to him that Nan Gai should be on his shoulders. He looked around, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Seized with panic, Wang Ji pushed his way out of the crowd. He ran into other servants of the family. But no one had seen the boy. They shouted his name only to have their voices drowned by the noise of the crowd. They set out in different directions to look for him, yet there was no trace of the boy.
The disappearance of Nan Gai shocked his mother. Lady Wang rushed to her husband, asking him to report to the police. But Lord Wang Shao seemed not so anxious.
“Don’t panic,” he said. “Nan Gai will come back by himself.”
Sitting on Wang Ji’s shoulders, Nan Gai was absorbed in the activities in the square. He did not notice when he was carried off by a stranger until the man started to elbow his way out of the crowd.
When he discovered that he was on a stranger’s shoulders, Nan Gai’s first instinct was to shout for help, but he did not see any familiar faces around him. Suspecting the man was after his hat, he took it off and hid it in his sleeve. The man was walking at a brisk pace. Nan Gai kept his silence, pretending that he knew nothing had gone wrong.
When they got to the East Gate of the city not far from the palace, Nan Gai saw some sedan-chairs carried by people in official uniform approaching from the other direction.
As soon as the first sedan-chair moved to his side, he shot out his hand and grabbed the carrying pole of the sedan.
“Help! Help!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Stunned, his kidnapper threw him down and fled. The passenger in the sedan chair was a eunuch. He and his colleagues were on their way back to the palace from the square. He took Nai Gai into his sedan and went to the palace with him.
The next morning Nan Gai was brought before the emperor. Nobody had told him how to conduct himself, but Nan Gai put on his hat and bowed to the emperor politely.
“My name is Wang Nan Gai. I am the youngest son of Your Majesty’s minister Wang Shao.”
The emperor was pleased. “How old are you?”
“Five.”
“I’ll send you home today. Your parents must be anxious. But your kidnapper has not been caught yet.”
“It wouldn’t be too difficult to find him, Your Majesty,” Nan Gai said.
“Why?”
“My mother had attached a needle with silk thread to my hat because she said it would ward off evil. When I was sitting on the man’s shoulders, I used the needle to make a stitch under the collar of his coat. I left a bit of thread there so that he could be identified. If Your Majesty sends out some detectives, they may be able to find him.”
The emperor was surprised. “What a clever boy! Stay here until the kidnapper is caught.”
Plainclothes policemen were dispatched to local bars and restaurants and other public places as the police believed that the kidnapper probably belonged to some gang in the city.
The following day Detective Li Yun was making inquiries in a restaurant when he saw a dozen suspicious-looking men having dinner. His attention was caught by a tiny colored thread dangling from the collar of a man’s coat. It must be the identification tag left by Nan Gai on his kidnapper.
Police quickly rounded up these men. Interrogation revealed that they were a gang of criminals. Nan Gai’s kidnapper was their ringleader. They stole many valuables on the night of the Lantern Festival—gold, silver, jewels, jade, fur coats and what not. It was the gang’s practice to get together in a restaurant everyday and one of them would treat the rest by turn.
As a result of their arrest, many stolen goods were recovered. The emperor ordered Nan Gai’s kidnapper to be executed.
Meanwhile Nan Gai was having a good time in the palace. Clever and sweet, he became the darling boy of everyone. Gifts were showered upon him. The empress regarded Nan Gai’s presence in the palace an auspicious sign as she was expecting.
It was time to send him home. A royal carriage arrived at the gate of Lord Wang Shao’s mansion. When Nan Gai came out, the entire household cheered. Tears of joy were streaming down his mother’s cheeks. The eunuch told them that the royal family had enjoyed Nan Gai’s company and presented them costly gifts as a token of their appreciation of the boy’s intelligence.
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Wise Proverbs
- To face danger fearlessly.
- 临危不惧。
- In a crisis people grow wisdom.
- 危难时候见智慧。
- Experience is the father of wisdom and memory the mother.
- 经验是智慧之父，记忆是智慧之母。
Editor Says:
Intelligence is endowed by nature; knowledge is acquired by learning; and experience is gained through mistakes. They are different things but often get confused. With intelligence, a little experience goes a long way. Without intelligence, diligence goes a long way in making up for the gap.