The Gentle Crackdown (2006)

All the officials and constables in Leung Choi County are corrupt except female constable SHAP YEE MUI, who is very good at Kung Fu. SIR WONG’s house has been broken into. MUI has caught the burglar. Much to her annoyance, the governor, LOW CHOW, and his clerk, SZE KEI WONG, blame her for spoiling their chance of making money. KAM YING, MUI’s mother, brings some soup to pacific CHOW, WONG and others. MOK TAI MO, who is also a constable, advises MUI to be wiser and do what the others do. She refuses, claming that she will never do anything that will ruin the name of his father, whose nickname is “Wonder Cop”. WONG has been beaten by SHUI TUNG LAU, who is from somewhere else, in a couplet competition. LAU’s learning has won him the admiration of the educated locals. Hooligan CHAN CHAT has stolen LAU’s wallet. YIU TAI PING, a head constable, nevertheless, points out that CHAT was only picking it up for LAU.… ...

CHOW is vexed that he has offended WAI. WONG suggests him taking an early retirement and returning to his hometown with sickness as his excuse. The constables find MUI and LAU obstacles to their getting rich plan. They decide to set her up so as to force her to quit. MUI helps out at YING’s restaurant but the clumsy her has made a mess instead. To frame LAU up, PING forces CHAT to pretend to be WONG TAI FU, the robber who has stolen the treasured scroll of CHEUNG YUK, who was also known as the Herbal Saint. MUI has destroyed their plot accidentally. What is more, she comes across the real FU later. Fearing that she will arrest FU and bring trouble to them, PING has a plan in mind. PING has found MUI a job, but YING does not like it. On the other hand, she agrees that he be MUI’s matchmaker. YING and PING introduce Master LAW of Chung Yee Kung Fu Hall to MUI. They laugh their hearts out when they know that it is YING that he likes.… ...

A neighbor of MUI’s asks her to look after his child for a while. It annoys her to the core that the child just cannot stop crying. She can do nothing about it but to play a nursery rhyme with the flute, hoping that this can calm it down. LAU finds the rhyme familiar. He asks MUI about the flute when he sees the eagle carved on it. LAU invites YING to teach him Kung Fu, yet she takes him in on behalf of MUI instead so as to pair up the two youngsters. Under the pretext of learning Kung Fu, LAU tries but fails to find out about YING’s identity from MUI. YING, who sees through LAU’s suspicion, removes his doubts with a trick. PING beats LAU up and drives him out of the county. He is frightened when he learns that LAU is the new governor. To his relieve, LAU claims that he will let bygones be bygones. LAU requests a stock taking of the yamen for a smooth handover and also for the reinstatement of MUI.… ...

When he has come round, he makes it clear to WONG that he is not going to repay the money. What is more, he is reporting the case to Chancellor HO. Fearing that he will lost his job, WONG stops him at once. PING vents his anger on MUI and orders her to catch the tiger on the mountain. Seeing that all officials follow WONG’s head, LAU sends his right hand man, SIU CHUEN, to check out about WONG’s background. An old lady, SAM POR, finds her one thousand cash missing she has come out from the toilet. LAU decides to cross-exam the toilet. The constables are talking about this and the villagers flock to see the cross-examination. SAM POR has her money back. LAU goes with the constables to collect levies of grain crops. The constables are displeased that they cannot earn extra money this time. The local gentries bribe LAU and he takes it all. MUI despises him. LAU offers to collect fewer levies from Sister KWAN.… ...

YING lies to LAU that it was in fact her late husband who was the Hero Thief the Eagle. LAU does not quite believe her. A masked burglar has come for the levies. With the furtive help of YING, MUI manages to fight off the burglar. LAU offers a 300% pay rise to the constables, on the condition that they sign a new contract. After deducting the salary tax, LAU gives the rest to yamen, instead of sharing it among the constables like in the past. The constables realize then that they have been cheated by LAU. CHOW YUK, a villager, alleges that LAM TUNG, who is also a villager, has taken away his ancestral property. TUNG, on the other hand, accuses YUK of breaching the contract. LAU decides that TUNG wins as both witnesses and evidence are available. LAU, however, later tricks TUNG into giving the house and money to YUK for free. YUK is grateful to LAU. All the constables except MUI are sick; MUI is exhausted from running around for work.… ...

The letter was written by Mr LEE, the educational commissioner, of Man Chung College. LAU orders WONG and others to resume work. WONG does not have a clue what is going on. LAU accompanies HO to yamen. LAU has no idea at all as to how to celebrate HO’s 60th birthday. WONG points out that CHIN LEE TUNG and CHIU HING, both are governors, have been coveting for the post of prefecture magistrate, and that they will be happy to see him being eliminated. He further tells him that being greedy and knowing how to flatter others are the keys to success. LAU makes HO very happy on his birthday banquet by letting him win on the Mahjong table. TUNG and HING are angry. MA LAP KWONG, the son of MA YUNG, the military governor, flirts with a civilian girl, WAN CHEE. MUI takes KWONG to yamen. Much to her annoyance, PING releases him after he has found out who he is. LAU uses a trick and both TUNG and HING regard him as their friend.… ...

MUI asks CHEE about the incident. CHEE is every excited emotionally. MUI swears to bring her justice. KWONG denies having raped CHEE. He insists that he has only slept with a prostitute, which is only a minor offence, and at the worst, he will pay a penalty for it. Meanwhile, CHEE loses her consciousness because of an unknown bee poison. CHEE therefore cannot testify against KWONG. Though reluctant, LAU has to let him go. KWONG sues MUI for wrongly accusing him. In order to settle the matter, LAU decides to dismiss MUI from the job. People in the neighborhood regard SAU as the Magical Gambler. WONG is not convinced and challenges her to a gambling game. SAI loses everything and have to write an I.O.U. to WONG. MUI finds a dried flower bud in CHEE’s hair. YING loses in a deep thought.… ...

MUI receives an anonymous letter, stating that CHEE has been poisoned by the venom of the Tiger Head Bee, and that the Lion Head grass is the only antidote. Suspecting that PING, who is from Yunnan, is the culprit, MUI decides to go to Sam Sam Shui County in Yunnan for an investigation. PING follows her to Yunnan, trying to stop her from picking the Lion Head grass. His scheme fails though. SAU is heavily in gambling debt. MUI takes PING back to yamen. PING claims that KWONG has bribed him. CHEE has not still come round even though she has taken come Lion Head grass. The doctor says that the poison is so harmful that there’s nothing he can do now. LAU decides to prosecute KWONG. Just then, HO shows up and demands to take over the case. LAU threatens HO with the fact that he has a mistress outside. HO flies into a rage and asks LAU to hand over his official seal. LAU has received an anonymous letter.… ...

KWONG’s father, MA YUNG, comes for the hearing. As soon as PING sees YUNG, he gives a different story. He lies that he has admitted his guilt just because he is under the tortures of LAU. YUNG tells LAU that if he does not let KWONG go, he will bring the case to the palace. LAU passes out as soon as he hears this. WONG points out that as CHEE is still in a coma, it is difficult to convict KWONG. LAU calls the court to order suddenly. In the court, he reveals that CHAN YEE KU, who is a midwife, has confirmed that CHEE is pregnant. Therefore, he suggests KWONG and CHEE’s future baby to have a “drip one by one” test, an ancient Chinese method of verifying blood affinity by dripping blood of son on his parents’ to see if they go together or not, after CHEE has given birth to the baby. YUNG feels helpless. Everybody in yamen suffered from diarrhea. Later, YING has found in a well come poisonous mushrooms.… ...

LAI KWAN, FONG’s daughter, admires LAU. Rather reluctantly, LAU makes an engagement to her. LAU uses the horse given by the emperor as a Mounted Horse for the use of the mounted constables. MUI is promoted mounted countable, which she is very pleased. Believing that LONG DRAGON, who always wears a disguise, is going to steal the Jade Buddha of the Southern Dynasty in Mui Lam Town. MUI goes there to catch him. YING dresses as an old woman to protect her in secret. MUI comes across the escort of the Jade Buddha in Tim Sing Inn. The two decide to work together in catching LONE DRAGON. LONE DRAGON mixes in with the constables. MUI, who does not aware of this, takes YING for LONE DRAGON; the Jade Buddha almost gets stolen. MUI suspects that the new constable is in fact LONE DRAGON. With a trick, MUI makes him disclose his own identity. Later, MUI manages to arrest him with the help of YING, who works in the dark.… ...

PING collaborates with the bandits of the Flying Tiger Citadel. Believing that MUI will not use ten thousand public funds to save LAU, PING plans to kill LAU and MUI and at the same time take the money. From the clues left by LAU, WONG comes to the conclusion that PING is the mastermind of the kidnapping, and that there is an informer in yamen. He therefore decides to turn PING’s trick against him. MUI goes to the Flying Tiger Citadel on her own to save LAU. She nearly gets killed by PING’s man. Fortunately, the masked YING helps her out with her unique Kung Fu, the Cloud Chopper. YING is seriously injured. SUM recognizes that the masked person is none other than the Hero Thief the Eagle. An imperial edict has been issue for the arrest of the Hero Thief the Eagle. MUI swears to arrest the Hero Thief the Eagle; LAU is worried. MUI does not let YING buy medicine for her injury. YING is a bit angry.… ...

On one hand, MUI takes care of YING without sleep or rest. On the other, she refuses to talk to her. YING is heartbroken. LAU sighs that MUI sees things very much in black and white terms. YING gives him a few words of consolation. FONG finds it odd that Hero Thief the Eagle has returned to the martial world so suddenly. Believing that Eagle has something to do with MUI, he decides to use her as a bait to draw Eagle out. LAU is astonished to learn that MUI has been kidnapped by the people of the martial world. FONG, however, does not care at all about MUI’s safety. LAU is thinking hard as to how to remove FONG’s doubts and at the same time rescue MUI. He turns to YING for help. While FONG and others are expecting Eagle to show up, they are surprised to find the person in black is LAW. MUI turns pale when she knows that YING has asked for LAW’s help and that LAW has forced YING to marry him.… ...

YING teaches MUI all her Kung Fu skills so that she can protect herself. Finding it difficult to remember the formulas, MUI turns to LAU for help. He has no choice but to jot down the formulas for her. YING sighs that MUI knows only the formulas but not the skills. LAU and MUI come across a bandit. MUI is about to lose the fight when LAU calls out the relevant formulas. MUI beats the bandit up and puts him into arrest. WONG SING’s wife accuses his younger brother, WONG KWONG, of killing SING. WONG refuses to take the case because she can produce no corpse. With a view to seeing her son, SAU promises her ex-husband, LAI YAN, to help him with his debt, which amounts 200 taels. SAU steals some abalone, seafood and jewelry from YING and sells them out. She gets only 30 taels from it nevertheless. At her wit’s end, she goes to borrow money from LIU. Both WONG and MUI refuse to give her a hand as they presume she is gambling again.… ...

Seeing that LAU and MUI have cracked up cases one after one, the Criminal Department summons them to go to the capital in homely clothes for the investigation of a serial killing of imperial concubines. MUI gives LAU a good telling-off for losing the scroll. He is startled when he later learns from YING that the scroll was meant to be a keepsake. LAU hopes to find the scroll and makes it clear to MUI that he does not love her. However, he is so clumsy that he makes thing even worse. WONG and the constables think that LAU and MUI are lovers. WONG visits a brothel when LAU and MUI are in the capital. There he meets SAU. He looks down on her when he knows that she has become a prostitute for merely 300 taels. Later when he comes to know that YAN has sold SAU to the brothel to repay his debt, WONG gives her 300 taels so that she can get back her son, ON. YAN does not keep his promise. He does not let her take back ON either.… ...

LAI KWAN finds it suspicious that MUI and LAU are making sheep’s eyes to each other. LAU therefore lies to her that MUI’s fiance has just passed away. He also tells her not to mention about the engagement so as not to hurt MUI’s feelings. On the other side, he also tells MUI the same story. LAU finds that all the killings have three things in common. He has arrested NING’s make-up stylist, SAI FUNG, but he still believes that the killings are much more complicated. YAN uses ON again to demand money from SAU. Unwilling to see ON abused by YAN, SAU and WONG decide to give him money again. Meanwhile, they have learnt that ON has gone missing. YAN finds ON lying in a back alley later. According to the doctor, ON has caught a cold and been beaten by some wild dogs. The doctor has also told them that ON will not be able to live to tomorrow. YAN is willing to sell ON at 120 taels.… ...

The Book on a Healthy Life, which was a gift given by India, has been missing for thirty years. The emperor appoints LAU and MUI to look into the case. LAU confesses to FONG that he has fallen in love with MUI and requests an annulment of marriage. KWAN is upset on hearing the news. FONG is leaving the capital on a business trip. KWAN claims that she will do something to harm MUI, and that she is going to hold a wedding banquet herself. MUI goes to FONG’s residence when she hears that LAU is marrying KWAN. KWAN claims that it is a capital crime for one to break into the residence of the official in charge. She forces LAU to cut off with MUI. LAU hurts MUI purposely, making her leave with a broken heart. SIU TIN NAM and KIU CHUN PAK, both are well-known cops, have a discussion with LAU regarding the investigation on The Book on a Healthy Life. They have reached an agreement that the three of them will look into it separately.… ...

Seeing that LAU and MUI are so deeply in love with each other, FONG agrees to let LAU annul his engagement with KWAN. PAK has been killed, and the weapon that led to his death was the Eagle Dart. LAU suspects that someone was trying to frame Eagle. LAU discovers from the scrolls in the palace that a eunuch has gone missing after the disappearance of The Book on a Healthy Life. WONG is being very agitated. He takes his men to a casino on a mop up operation. The constables point out that he has actually fallen in love with SAU. WONG follows SAU and finds out that she has quitted gambling. He goes up and asks why she lied to him. He confesses his love for her; SAU is pleased. LAU finds that two eunuchs were burnt to death on the same day when PAK was killed. Meanwhile, he receives the news that Eagle has killed NAM. He returns to LEUNG CHOI County with MUI at once. LAU and MUI work with YING to ensnare the fake Eagle.… ...

FONG tortures YING, forcing her to hand over The Book on a Healthy Life. LAU scolds him for carrying out a secret trial; he retorts that LAU shows favoritism to MUI. MUI plans to break into the jail to save YING and to run away with LAU. LAU oppose the plan and the two break up. LAU asks the Minister of the Criminal Department, SHIU CHING KONG, to give him a hand by transferring YING to the Criminal Department for trial. KONG agrees. MUI’s fellow constables join her in breaking into the jail. MUI is touched. WONG comes and gives her a suggestion. FONG has received the document from the Criminal Department informing him about the case transferring. FONG reproaches LAU and they fall out. FONG is glad to know that MUI and SUM have succeeded in rescuing YING from the jail. MUI, SUM and YING fight hard against FONG’s subordinates. MUI uses the scroll to save YING in the midst of the chaos.… ...

LAU infers from all the evidence that FONG is the missing small eunuch SIU CHEUN CHI. PO TAI Abbot has not finished the translation of the book yet. WONG suggests going to where the eunuchs were burnt to death for further investigation. LAU suggestion holding a banquet to patch up KONG and FONG; FONG is delighted. LAU is more convinced that there is something suspicious about FONG. He uses but fails to use a “drip one by one” test to find out their relationship. When WONG and YING arrive at the spot where the fire broke out, they are shocked to find eunuch Mr YAN there. Mr YAN confirms that FONG is indeed CHEUNG. They escort YAN, who promises to be their witness, back to the capital. Unfortunately, YAN dies in the middle of the long journey. LAU and others are frustrated but then a bright idea suddenly occurs to LAU.… ...

KWAN hates LAU and MUI to the core. She asks FONG to kill them. However, she discloses accidentally that the two have visited PO TAI. The translation has been finished at last. Looking at it, YING knows at once that it is a book on a supreme KUNG FU, when mastered, one can kill a person in an instance. YING infers from this that FONG is the killer of NAM, PAK and HUNG. In order to bring FONG to justice, LAU decides to burn his boats. With the help of YING’s mother, LAU has finally put FONG to death. The emperor has got back the Book. LAU has been promoted third rank official (first being highest and ninth lowest) and requested to work in the capital. LAU nevertheless decides to go back to Leung Choi County for the sake of MUI; MUI is very pleased. LAU bumps into LAI KWAN in the marketplace and she chases and hits him. CHUEN comes up to give her a lesson. LAU and others receives a warm welcome as they return to Leung Choi County.… ...