In the Chamber of Bliss

In the early Republican era of China, President YUEN SAI-HOI summons CHOI NGOK, Military Governor of Yunnan to an urgent meeting in Beijing, in an attempt to make him pledge his loyalty to the Republican government. NGOK is not willing to be in league with the ambitious HOI, but to play it safe, he opts to go and set off on his own. NGOK’s wife PAK SZ-TING foresees that there is danger ahead of NGOK but dares not stop him. She used to forbid NGOK to take part in an uprising in the past, which turned out to be the biggest regret of his life. To prevent anything similar from happening again, TING, although overwhelmed with worries, decides to go along with NGOK. MOK YIK-TIN, HOI’s right-hand man and the Chief of Staff, sends the Beiyang Trio – FUNG KWOK-CHEUNG, WONG SZE-CHUN and TUEN KEI-SHUI – to Beijing in order to exert some control over NGOK. YIM-HUNG, a prostitute from Wan Kat Troupe, has offended Police Chief YUE HIN-LUNG.… ...

MEI and SIN are still worried about the dispute between HUNG and LUNG and even pin the blame for the trouble on NGOK and the Beiyang Trio. NGOK and TING who stay next door have overheard their conversation. To prevent SIN from being disturbed by LUNG, NGOK treats TIN and the Beiyang Trio to dinner at Wan Kat Troupe, during which he purposely tries to irritate SIN and looks for humiliation in return. NGOK is actually attempting to win the trust and support of the Beiyang Trio and TIN seems to have seen through him. SIN mocks NGOK and his troops for behaving like bandits while NGOK shows her “The Soldiers’ Ten Commandments” as a reply. NGOK suggests establishing a military academy and the idea earns HOI’s support. TIN does not trust NGOK at all and still keeps a lookout for him. MEI’s younger brother HUNG CHUN returns to Beijing to apply for entry to the military academy.… ...

SIN approaches NGOK and seeks every opportunity to recommend CHUN to him. NGOK, however, clearly points out that CHUN will have to pass the interview to get into the military academy. The Beiyang Trio passes NGOK a list of names of the Beiyang candidates and pressures him to accept them all as the military trainees. SIN secretly adds CHUN’s name to the list. Knowing that NGOK is on bad terms with the Beiyang Trio, TIN means to send the Trio’s munitions to the military academy, in a bid to exacerbate the tensions between them. NGOK pretends to accept all the Beiyang candidates but kicks CHUN out of the academy at the same time. SIN lodges a complaint to the news agency about the unfair military recruitment practices, hoping that this will provoke certain public concern over the issue and eventually make the military academy start the recruitment process all over again.… ...

NGOK finally accepts KWOK and CHUN as the military trainees. It is not KWOK’s wish to become a soldier but NGOK appreciates his patriotic fervor and believes that he will make a contribution to the country someday. KWOK is too arrogant and aloof to blend in with other military trainees. He and his team get punished for lack of cooperation. His classmates put the blame on him and beats him up to vent their anger. After becoming aware of this incident, NGOK gives the lads a lecture explaining the significance of team spirit. KWOK goes for a walk around the market, where he is mistaken for an abductor and gets beaten up by MOK MING-YEE. YEE is TIN’s biological daughter but was abducted to Beijing at a very young age. Luckily she was saved and brought up by “4 Queers”, WONG TIN-BA, TUEN SAM-CHOI, LO TUNG and TAI DEI-LOY as their foster daughter. TIN has been looking for his long-lost daughter all these years.… ...

SIN and MEI talk about what their lives will be like when they grow old alone. Later SIN has an odd dream about NGOK, which scares her out of her wits. TIN has held the funds to be allocated to the military academy, to which HOI has no objection at all. Knowing that there is nobody else he can rely on, NGOK decides to organize a fundraising event for the academy, which turns out to be a great success and has raised massive public concern about the issue. HOI is then left with no choice but to release the funds to the academy. NGOK’s mentor LEUNG KAI-CHIU comes to Beijing to pay NGOK a visit, during which he mentions Japan’s secret plan to invade China. NGOK arranges for CHIU to give a talk to the military trainees, hoping that this will give KWOK some inspiration and point him in the right direction. LUNG is not happy with KWOK’s poor physique. He gives KWOK a severe telling-off and even threatens him with a gun.… ...

SIN is so eager to help her brother settle his debts that she decides to take LUNG’s money. She tricks KWOK into writing a letter of apology to NGOK but NGOK finds the letter a little strange and suspicious when he gets it. NGOK and KWOK have a chess competition. NGOK pretends to have been defeated by KWOK, through which he hopes to make the lad understand that a little failure in the present moment can be replaced by a great success in the future. Believing that SIN has interceded with NGOK for KWOK making it possible for his son to stay in the military academy, LUNG decides to pass the money to SIN as promised. NGOK finds out that it is all a scam by SIN and urges her to get back the money from her brother in Shandong as soon as she can. In the meantime, NGOK is also setting off for Shandong for work. KWOK tells YEE that the 4 Queers have been arrested by TIN’s assistant Adjutant KONG MING-FUNG.… ...

SIN becomes devastated after being abandoned by her family. NGOK gives her a few words of encouragement and promises to stand by her no matter what. SIN is glad to have been accepted as a friend of his. TIN hosts a party to celebrate his reunion with YEE. During the party, LUNG reveals to FUNG how he has bribed NGOK to look out for KWOK in the military academy. TIN takes it as a great chance to defame NGOK and means to spread the rumor around the military academy. The military trainees go on strike to express their anger and dissatisfaction over the matter. Knowing what LUNG has done for him in secret, KWOK decides to quit school but is asked by NGOK to stay. Germany agrees to return Qingdao to China and Japan starts casting its eye on the city soon after that. HOI, nonetheless, has hardly paid any attention to this.… ...

Knowing that HOI is not listening to him, NGOK immediately gets in touch with his assistant Adjutant CHAN BIU and urges CHIU and KWOK to notify all the news agencies and foreign consulates in Beijing. He hopes this will create sufficient public pressure for HOI to face the problem and declare war on Japan. HOI insists that NGOK’s actions are totally pointless while TIN is worried that what NGOK says may be true. NGOK communicates with CHEUNG directly, almost resulting in a military coup which is soon squashed by HOI. The Japanese troops start to attack Qingdao at midnight and HOI is finally awakened to the truth. The Japanese spy has dropped a bomb on the train. SIN who tries to save a little kid from the blast gets injured along with NGOK. Qingdao is eventually taken by Japan due to HOI’s selfishness.… ...