Story: Bao Si was a slave girl from southern China. She was given as a present to the Zhou emperor. From the start, the monarch was intrigued by her look of cold indifference. He deposed his empress, and made Bao Si the new empress. Through the years, she never smiled for him. He had heard the ladies-in-waiting speak of her alluring smile, which conveyed a wide range of emotions, and he was determined to see it for himself.
In the capital city was a beacon to be lit only upon enemy attack. One night, the emperor gave the command to light the beacon. From far and wide the generals and army came flooding into the capital to defend the kingdom. The people living in the city were fine, but those living outside the city walls were thrown into a huge uproar. When Bao Si saw this commotion, she smiled in amusement. The emperor then told everyone, "Go home, go home. No enemy attack tonight. I just wanted to make Bao Si smile." Miffed, the people returned home grumbling. Over the next months, emperor repeated his ruse. Finally, the people got tired of being made fools of, and stopped responding. That was when the father of the deposed empress raised an army and attacked the capital. The beacon was lit, but no one came. The emperor was overthrown, and that was the end of the Zhou dynasty.
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