[The Monkey King giving a toast to his generals in the Hill of Flowers and Fruits, from Journey to the West]楚莊王賜群臣酒，日暮酒酣，燈燭滅，乃有人引美人之衣者，美人援絕其冠纓，告王曰：「今者燭滅，有引妾衣者，妾援得其冠纓持之，趣火來上，視絕纓者。」王 曰：「賜人酒，使醉失禮，奈何欲顯婦人之節而辱士乎？」乃命左右曰：「今日與寡人飲，不絕冠纓者不歡。」群臣百有餘人皆絕去其冠纓而上火，卒盡歡而罷。居 三年，晉與楚戰，有一臣常在前，五合五奮，首卻敵，卒得勝之，莊王怪而問曰：「寡人德薄，又未嘗異子，子何故出死不疑如是？」對曰：「臣當死，往者醉失 禮，王隱忍不加誅也；臣終不敢以蔭蔽之德而不顯報王也，常願肝腦塗地，用頸血湔敵久矣，臣乃夜絕纓者。」遂敗晉軍，楚得以強，此有陰德者必有陽報也。
~~劉向．《說苑》卷六
The King Zhuang of Chu invited his generals to a banquet to celebrate victories. Everybody were elated as the night started falling in near the end. Suddenly the light ran out and the room was left in pitch black. Madame Hui, the beloved concubine of King Zhuang, was squeezed by someone in the dark. Still, Madame Hui managed to rend the tassel off from the armour wore by the culprit. "Someone groped me when the light is off," she piqued to King Zhuang, "and I have his tassel in my hand. Hurry, relight the candles to see who did it." However, the King repudiated: "My guests are carried away by the wine I gave in the first place. How can I humiliate a warrior for the chastity of a woman?" "Tonight, we shall tear off our tassel to show how happy we are," the King announced right the way. Candles were not lighted up until all the hundred-odd warriors obeyed joyfully to this decree. And so the banquet ended with all in high spirits.
Three years on, a war broke out between Chu and Jin. There was a vice marshal who repeatedly guarded King Zhuang at the risk of his life. He contended the opponents in five rounds of battle so daringly as though he knew nothing about death, and the troops won in a large part because of his endeavor. Later, King Zhuang asked the officer out of curiosity, "I cannot remember I have ever treated you with any favorite, why did you fight so bravely for me" "I should have been a dead man," confessed his vice marshal, "I was drunk and lost my manner but your highness forgave my fault and spared my life. But I shall not let the generosity fade away simply because of your bountiful forgiveness. I have vowed for long to repay this by scattering my guts and brain in the batterfield and shooting the enemy with the blood from my neck. Your servant, is the one whose tassel got rent at the banquet."
Before long, King Zhuang's force triumphed, and his kingdom grown stronger day by day ever since -- this proves the saying about you reap what your saw.
~~Liu Xiang, Garden of Sayings, Chapter Six (trans. Cxb)
2,500 years forward, chance for a tassel-rending feast in HK can be booked here, forgiveness not guaranteed.
