Poets and Murder

II

'The smoked duck was excellent,' Magistrate Lo announced, folding his hands over his paunch. 'But there was too much vinegar on the pig's trotters. Too much to suit my taste, at least.'

Judge Dee leaned back in the soft upholstery of his col­league's comfortable palankeen that was carrying them from the government hostel back to the tribunal. Stroking his long black beard, the judge said:

'You may be right about the pig's trotters, Lo, but there were plenty of other delicacies, truly a sumptuous repast. And the Prefect seemed to me a capable man, with a quick grasp of current events. I found his summing-up of the results of our conference most instructive.'

Magistrate Lo suppressed a small belch, delicately covering his mouth with his podgy hand. Then he turned up the points of the tiny moustache that adorned his round face.

'Instructive, yes. Rather boring, though. Heavens, isn't it hot in here?' He pushed his winged magistrate's cap of black velvet back from his moist brow. Both he and Judge Dee wore their full ceremonial dress of green brocade, as required in the presence of the Prefect, their direct chief. It had been a crisp and cool autumn morning, but now the strong rays of the midday sun were beating on the palankeen's roof.

Lo yawned. 'Well, now that the conference is over and done with, Dee, we can turn our minds to more pleasant subjects! I have drawn up a detailed programme for the two days you'll be honouring me with your presence, elder brother! Rather a nice programme, though I say so myself!’

'I hate to impose on your hospitality, Lo! Please don't go to any trouble on my account. If I can read a bit in your fine library, I...'

'You won't have much time for reading, my dear fellow!’ Lo drew the window curtain open. The palankeen was passing through the main street. Magistrate Lo pointed at the shop fronts, gaily decorated with coloured lampions of all shapes and sizes. Tomorrow is the Mid-autumn Festival! We'll start celebrating this very night! With a dinner party. Small but select!'

Judge Dee smiled politely, but his colleague's mentioning the Mid-autumn Festival had given him a sudden pang of regret. More than any of the many calendar feasts this one was a household affair, presided over by one's womenfolk, and in which the children also took a large part. The judge had been looking forward to celebrating this feast in Poo-yang in the intimacy of his own family circle. But the Prefect had ordered him to stay on for two days in Chin-hwa, so as to be on hand if the Prefect, who was going back to the provincial capital the next week, should want to summon him again. Judge Dee sighed. He would have much preferred to return to Poo-yang at once, not only because of the festival, but also because a complicated case of fraud was pending in his tribu­nal and he wanted to attend to it personally. Because of this case he had decided to travel to Chin-hwa alone, leaving his trusted adviser Sergeant Hoong and his three lieutenants in Poo-yang so that they could gather all the data for the final indictment. 'Eh, who did you say?'

'The Academician Shao, my dear fellow! He has consented to honour my poor dwelling with his presence!’

'You don't mean the former President of the Academy? The man who until recently drafted all the more important imperial edicts?'

Magistrate Lo smiled broadly.

'Yes indeed! One of the greatest writers of our time, both in poetry and prose. Then the Court Poet, the honourable Chang Lan-po, will also be staying with us.'

'Heavens, another illustrious name! You really shouldn't call yourself an amateur, Lo! That these famous poets come to stay with you proves that you ...'

His portly colleague quickly raised his hand.

'Oh no, Dee, no such luck! Mere accident! The Academi­cian happened to be passing through here on his way back to the capital. And Chang, having been born and bred here in Chin-hwa, has come to worship at his ancestral shrine. Now, as you know, the tribunal here, including my official resi­dence, is a former princely summer palace; it used to belong to the notorious Ninth Prince, who planned to usurp the throne, twenty years ago. There are many separate court­yards, and nice gardens too. The two distinguished gentle­men accepted my invitation only because they thought they'd be more comfortable with me than in a hostel!’

'You're much too modest, Lo! Both Shao and Chang are men of fastidious taste, they'd never have accepted your invi­tation to stay with you if they hadn't been impressed by your elegant poetry. When will they arrive?'

They should be there right now, elder brother! Told my housemaster to serve them the noon meal in the main hall, my counsellor deputizing for me as host. I think we'll be there soon.' He drew the window curtain aside. 'Heavens, what is Kao doing there?' Poking his head out of the window, he shouted at the foreman of the palankeen bearers: 'Stop!'

While the palankeen was being lowered to the ground in front of the main gate of the tribunal, Judge Dee saw through the window an uneasy group of people standing close to­gether on the broad steps. The neat man in the black coat and blue gown he recognized as Lo's counsellor, Kao. The lean fellow, wearing a black-bordered brown jacket and trousers and a black-lacquered helmet with a long red tassel, had to be the headman of the constables. The two others seemed ordinary citizens. Three constables stood somewhat apart. They wore the same uniform as their headman, but their helmets lacked the red tassel. They had thin chains round their waists, from which dangled thumbscrews and manacles. Kao came quickly down the stairs and made a low bow in front of the palankeen window. Magistrate Lo asked curtly:

'What's up, Kao?'

'Half an hour ago the steward of Mr Meng the tea-merchant came to report a murder, sir. Mr Soong, the student who is renting the back courtyard of Meng's residence, was found with his throat cut. All his money has been stolen. Seems to have happened very early this morning, sir.'

'A murder on the eve of the festival! Of all the bad luck!’ Lo muttered to Judge Dee. Then he asked Kao with a worried look, 'What about my guests?'

'His Excellency the Academician Shao arrived just after you had left, sir, followed by the Honourable Chang. I showed the gentlemen their quarters, apologizing for Your Honour's absence. Just when they were sitting down to the noon meal, Sexton Loo made his appearance. After the meal the three gentlemen retired for their siesta.'

'Good. That means that I can go at once to inspect the scene of the crime. Plenty of time to welcome my guests after the siesta. Send the headman and a couple of constables ahead on horseback, Kao. Let them see to it that nobody messes things up, eh. Did you warn the coroner?'

'Yes, sir. I also took from our files the papers relating to the victim, and to his landlord, Merchant Meng.' He pulled a sheaf of official documents from his sleeve and handed them respectfully to his chief.

'Good work! You stay here in the tribunal, Kao. See whether any important papers have come in and deal with the routine matters!’ He barked at the foreman of the bearers who had been listening avidly, 'You know Mr Meng's place? Near the East Gate, you say? All right, get a move on!'

As the palankeen was being carried away, Lo laid his hand on Judge Dee's arm and said quickly:

'Hope you don't mind missing your siesta, Dee! Need your help and advice, you know. Couldn't possibly deal with a murder all alone on a full stomach. Should've gone easy on the wine. Had just that one cup too many, I fear!’ He wiped the perspiration from his face and asked again with an anxi­ous look, 'You really don't mind, do you, Dee?'

'Of course not. I'll be glad to do what I can.' The judge stroked his moustache, then added dryly, 'Especially since I'll be on the spot with you, Lo. So that you can't pull the wool over my eyes, as you did on Paradise Island recently!’

'Well, you weren't too communicative either, elder brother! Last year, I mean. When you came to snatch those two nice girls away from here!’ * (* See the novels The Red Pavilion and The Chinese Bell Murders.)

Judge Dee smiled bleakly.

'All right, let's say we're quits! I expect this'll be just a routine case, though. Most murders for robbery are. Let's see exactly who the victim was.'

Lo quickly pushed the sheaf of papers into his colleague's hands. 'You have a look first, elder brother! I'll just shut my eyes for a moment or two. To concentrate my thoughts, you see. It's quite a long way to the East Gate.' He pushed his cap well forward over his eyes and leaned back in the cushions with a contented sigh.

The judge drew open the window curtain on his side to get a better light to read by. Before starting, however, he bestowed a thoughtful look on the flushed face of his colleague. It would be interesting to see how Lo would go about a murder investi­gation. He reflected that a magistrate, not being allowed to leave his own district without express orders from the Prefect, had but rarely an opportunity to see a colleague at work. Besides, Lo was quite an unusual person. He possessed ample private means, and rumour had it that he had accepted the magistracy of Chin-hwa only because it gave him an indepen­dent official position, and opportunity for indulging in his hobbies of wine, women and poetry. Chin-hwa was always a difficult post to fill, because only a magistrate with a large private income could properly keep up the palatial residence, and it was whispered in official circles that it was chiefly for that reason that Lo was maintained in the post. But Judge Dee often suspected that Lo's air of being a bon viveur, with out interest in official duties, was largely assumed and care­fully cultivated, and that in fact he administered his district rather well. And just now he had been favourably impressed by his colleague's decision to proceed to the scene of the crime himself. Many a magistrate would have left the routine examination on the spot to his underlings. The judge un­rolled the documents. On top was a paper giving the official particulars about the murdered student.

His full name was Soong I-wen; twenty-three years of age and unmarried. Having passed the second literary examina­tion with honours, he had been granted a scholarship, so as to enable him to edit a section of an old dynastic history. Soong had come to Chin-hwa two weeks previously, and he had registered at once in the tribunal, applying for permission to stay one month. He had explained to Counsellor Kao that the purpose of his visit was to consult the local historical records. A few centuries before, exactly in the period Soong was studying, there had occurred a peasant revolt in Chin-hwa, and Soong hoped to find additional data on that event in the old archives. The counsellor had issued a permit allowing him to consult the files in the chancery. From the list of visits appended, it appeared that Soong had passed every afternoon in the tribunal's library. That was all.

The other papers related to the student's landlord, the tea-merchant Meng Su-chai. Meng had taken over the old-established tea firm from his father. Eighteen years ago he had married the daughter of a colleague called Hwang, who had borne him a daughter, now sixteen, and a son, fourteen. He had one officially registered concubine. Marriage and birth certificates were attached. Judge Dee nodded with satisfaction; Counsellor Kao was evidently a diligent officer. Merchant Meng was forty now; he paid his taxes on time and supported a few charitable organizations. He was evidently a Buddhist, for he was a patron of the Temple of Subtle Insight, one of the many sanctuaries in Temple Street. Thinking of Buddhism reminded the judge of something. He nudged his companion who was snoring softly and asked, 'What did your counsellor say about a sexton?'

A MERCHANT WELCOMES TWO MAGISTRATES

'A sexton?' Lo stared at him with sleep-heavy eyes.

'Didn't I hear Kao mention that a sexton took part in to­day's noon meal in your residence?'

'Of course! You must have heard of Sexton Loo, haven't you?'

'No, I haven't. I don't mix much with the Buddhist crowd.' As a staunch Confucianist, Judge Dee disapproved of Budd­hism, and the scandalous behaviour of the monks in the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom in his own district had further fortified him in this antagonistic attitude.

Magistrate Lo chuckled.

'Sexton Loo doesn't belong to any crowd, Dee. Will be a real treat for you to meet him, elder brother! You'll positively enjoy talking with him. My head feels a bit better now. Let me have a look at those documents!’

Judge Dee handed him the sheaf of papers, and sat back in silence for the remainder of the journey.