Flirting Scholar - Plot

Plot

In the Ming Dynasty, there exists a legendary group of four scholars, whose literary and artistic skills are unmatched in China. Out of the four scholars, Tong Pak Fu (Stephen Chow) is most famous, for having eight wives in addition to his expertise as an artist, poet, and calligrapher. However, Tong's eight wives are actually complete gambling addicts, and in general, unappreciative of Tong's artistic skills. This leads to Tong's quest for a woman who truly understands him and appreciates his strengths.

There is also a familial secret within the Tong Family: they have been generations of martial arts masters. The Tong Family has two major enemies: the Evil Scholar, a notorious swordsman known for The Deadly Scholastic Sword (書生奪命劍), who killed Tong Pak Fu's father during a melee, and a love rival of Tong Pak Fu's mother, Chissy. Due to these rivalries, Tong Pak Fu is forbidden by his mother to use any form of martial arts.

During an outing with the other scholars, Tong stumbles upon the convoy of the House of Wah, an aristocratic family with much political power in the Ming Dynasty government. Tong also meets Chow Heung (Gong Li), one of the four maids in the House of Wah, who is renowned for her legendary beauty. This chance encounter convinces Tong that he has finally found his true love, and he decides to actively woo Chow Heung. On the advice of a boat driver, Tong pretends to be a lowly servant in order to gain employment in the House of Wah.

Tong finds life as a servant very difficult, until he is caught helping a friend who sells Tong's paintings as a living. This results in Madame Wah (Cheng Pei-pei) discovering that Tong is actually educated, through an impromptu rap Tong made up on the spot claiming that his life was ruined by Tong Pak Fu. After some persuasion by Chow Heung, Tong is hired as an assistant tutor for Madame Wah's two young sons, both of whom are presumed mentally challenged.

After the sudden (and quite comical) death of the main tutor of the House of Wah, Tong is hired as the main tutor, and as a result, Tong manages to get closer to Chow Heung. The good times do not last, however, as the House of Wah is suddenly visited by Chancellor Wah's political rival, Prince Ning, who has hired the Evil Scholar (Gordon Liu) as his bodyguard and general counsel. Prince Ning, who is planning a coup, brings a painting by Tong Pak Fu for Chancellor Wah to enjoy, but this is a ruse, as the Prince wants the Evil Scholar to injure and kill members of the Wah Family, especially Chancellor Wah and Madame Wah, an accomplished martial artist.

In the subsequent "viewing" of the painting (in actuality, a fierce martial arts melee), Madame Wah is injured, and Tong steps in to finish the battle in the House of Wah's favor. He succeeds, but the painting is destroyed in the process. Prince Ning seizes the opportunity to blame the House of Wah for insulting him by destroying the painting. To save the House of Wah from being possibly executed by the Emperor, Tong claims that the destroyed painting is actually a counterfeit, and that there is a copy of the genuine painting inside the Wah compounds.

Tong leaves with Chow Heung to fetch the painting. However, Chow Heung is fearful of repercussions, as the House of Wah is not allowed to have any of Tong Pak Fu's works. While Chow Heung frets, Tong reproduces the painting in record time, and presents the painting to Prince Ning. Embarrassed at being utterly defeated at the hands of a tutor, Prince Ning leaves hastily, vowing revenge. In reproducing the painting, Tong unintentionally reveals his real identity to Madame Wah, who, as the former love rival of Tong's mother, is one of the enemies of the Tong Family. In a seemingly polite exchange, Madame Wah and Tong poison each other.

Several days after Prince Ning's embarrassment, the Evil Scholar returns to annihilate the entire House of Wah. Once again, Madame Wah attempts to defend the family, but is almost killed in the process. Tong appears seconds before Madame Wah and Chow Heung (who was protecting the injured Madame Wah) would be killed by the Evil Scholar. After a fierce battle, Tong kills the Evil Scholar and earns Chow Heung's hand in marriage as a reward. Madame Wah puts on a game to test Tong's love for Chow Heung, which Tong passes. Tong and Chow Heung eventually marry each other in a ceremony where he discovers, to his dismay, that Chow Heung is just as much a gambling addict as his previous eight wives.