The Chinese Lake Murders

by Robert Van Gulik

  “I demand justice! A foul crime has been committed!”

  Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman. He went to meet the newcomers and led them before the dais.

  Liu Fei-po knelt on the stone flags. A tall, middle-aged gentleman clad in a plain blue robe and wearing a small black skullcap knelt by his side. Four other men remained standing beyond the row of constables. Judge Dee recognized one of them as Guildmaster Wang; the other three he didn’t know.

  “Your Honor!” Liu cried out, “my daughter has been cruelly murdered on her wedding night!”

  Judge Dee lifted his eyebrows. He said curtly:

  “The complainant Liu Fei-po shall report everything in the proper sequence. I learned last night during the banquet that your daughter’s wedding was celebrated the day before yesterday. Why do you come now, two days after the event, to report her death to this tribunal?”

  “It’s all due to the evil scheme of that wicked man here!” Liu cried out, pointing at the gentleman kneeling by his side.

  “State your name and profession!” the judge ordered the middle-aged man.

  “This insignificant person,” the other said calmly, “is named Djang Wen-djang, a Doctor of Literature. A fearful calamity has struck my house, robbing me at the same time of my beloved only son and his young bride. As if that were not enough, this man Liu Fei-po accuses me, their father! I respectfully beg Your Honor to right this terrible wrong!”

  “The impudent rascal!” Liu Fei-po shouted.

  Judge Dee rapped his gavel.

  “The complainant Liu Fei-po,” he said sternly, “shall refrain from using invectives in this court! State your case!”

  Liu Fei-po mastered himself with difficulty. He was evidently completely beside himself from grief and anger; he seemed quite a different man from the one of the evening before. After a few moments he began in a calmer voice.

  LIU FEI-PO ACCUSES DR. DJANG

  “August Heaven had so willed it that I would not be granted male issue. My only child was a daughter, called Moon Fairy. It proved that I was to be compensated for the lack of a son in this one daughter. She was a charming and sweet-tempered girl. To see her develop into a beautiful and intelligent young woman was the great joy of my life; I-”

  He broke off; a sob smothered his voice. He swallowed a few times, then continued with a trembling voice.

  “Last year she asked whether she might follow a private course in classical literature which this professor was giving in his house for a group of young women. I agreed, for till then she had been interested mainly in riding and hunting, and I was glad that now she also felt attracted by the arts and letters. How could I have foreseen what calamity would ensue? Moon Fairy saw in the doctor’s house his son, Candidate Djang Hoo-piao, and fell in love with him. I wanted to inform myself about the Djang family before taking a decision, but Moon Fairy begged me insistently to have the betrothal announced soon, and my First Lady-the stupid woman! -supported her request, though she ought to have known better.

  “When I had given my consent, a matchmaker was chosen, and the marriage contract drawn up. Then, however, my friend the business promoter Wan I-fan warned me that Dr. Djang was a libertine who some time previously had tried in vain to make Wan’s daughter an instrument of his base lusts. I decided to annul the betrothal at once. But then Moon Fairy fell ill, and my First Lady maintained that the girl was lovesick and would certainly die if I didn’t reconsider my decision. Moreover, Dr. Djang, loath to see his prey escape, refused to cancel the marriage contract.”

  Liu shot a venomous look at the professor, then went on.

  “So, although with the greatest reluctance, I allowed the wedding to take place. The day before yesterday the red candles were lighted in the Djang mansion and the marriage solemnized before the soul tablets of the ancestors. The wedding feast was attended by more than thirty prominent citizens, including the guests who were present at the banquet on the flower boat.

  “Now early this morning the professor came rushing to my house in great agitation, reporting that yesterday Moon Fairy had been found dead on the bridal couch. I asked at once why he hadn’t immediately informed me. He replied that since his son, the bridegroom, had disappeared without trace, he had wanted to try to locate him first. I asked what had caused her death, but he just mumbled some unintelligible words. I wanted to go back with him to view my daughter’s body. The man calmly told me that she had been already encoffined and deposited in the Buddhist Temple!”

  Judge Dee sat up. He wanted to interrupt Liu but on second thought decided to hear him to the end.

  “A horrible suspicion arose in me,” Liu went on. “I hurriedly went to consult my neighbor, Guildmaster Wang. He at once agreed with me that my daughter had been the victim of an unspeakable crime. I informed Dr. Djang that I would proceed to the tribunal to file an accusation. Master Wang went to fetch Wan I-fan to act as witness. Now I, Liu Fei-po, am kneeling in front of Your Honor’s bench beseeching you to see to it that the wicked criminal gets his just punishment so that the soul of my poor daughter may rest in peace!”

  Having thus spoken Liu knocked his forehead on the stone floor three times in succession.

  Judge Dee slowly stroked his long beard. After a moment’s thought he asked:

  “Do you mean to say that Candidate Djang murdered his bride and then absconded?”

  “I beg Your Honor’s pardon!” Liu answered hurriedly. “I am quite upset, I don’t express myself clearly. That weak-kneed youngster, Candidate Djang, is innocent. It’s his father, that degenerate lecher, who is the culprit! He coveted Moon Fairy and, excited by the wine, he laid hands on her the very night she was to be his son’s bride. My poor daughter killed herself, and Candidate Djang, horrified at the scandalous behavior of his own father, fled in despair. The next morning, when the wicked professor had slept off his debauch, he found my daughter’s dead body. Afraid of the consequences of his dastardly deed, he had the corpse encoffined immediately, to conceal the fact that she had committed suicide. I therefore accuse Dr. Djang Wen-djang of having ravished and caused the death of my daughter, Moon Fairy.”

  Judge Dee told the senior scribe to read out Liu’s accusation as he had noted it down. Liu agreed that it was correct and affixed his thumbmark to the document. Then the judge spoke.

  “The accused Djang Wen-djang shall now give his version of what happened.”

  “This person,” the professor began in a slightly pedantic voice, “begs Your Honor’s forgiveness for his improper behavior. I wish to state that I fully realize that I have acted foolishly. The quiet life among my books has made me sadly incapable of dealing efficiently with so horrible a crisis as suddenly befell my poor house. But I emphatically deny ever having as much as thought of my son’s bride in an unseemly way, let alone having assaulted her. The following is a complete account of what really happened, true in every detail.”

  The doctor paused a moment to collect his thoughts, then went on:

  “Yesterday morning when I was having breakfast in my garden pavilion, the maidservant Peony came and reported that she had knocked on the door of the bridal room and called out that she was bringing the morning rice, but there had been no answer. I said that the couple should not be disturbed, and ordered her to try again after an hour or so.

  “Later in the morning, when I was watering the flowers, Peony came again and told me there was still no answer from the room. I began to feel somewhat alarmed. I went myself to the separate courtyard assigned to the young couple and vigorously knocked on the door. When there was no response I repeatedly shouted my son’s name, but without result.

  “Then I knew that something untoward must have happened. I hurriedly went to fetch my neighbor and friend, the tea merchant Koong, and asked his advice. He said it was my duty to have the door opened by force. I called my house steward. He took an ax and smashed the lock.”

  Dr. Djang paused. He swallowed, then went on in a toneless voice:

  “The
naked body of Moon Fairy was lying on the couch, covered with blood. My son was nowhere to be seen. I hastily stepped forward and covered her with a quilt. Then I felt her pulse. It had stopped beating and her hand was cold as ice. She was dead.

  “Koong at once went to fetch the learned physician Dr. Hwa, who lives nearby, and he conducted the post-mortem. He reported that the cause of death had been severe hemorrhage resulting from defloration. I then knew that my son, distracted with grief, had fled the scene of his tragic misfortune. I was convinced that he had gone to some lonely place to kill himself, and wanted to go out at once to try to find him and prevent him from executing that desperate deed. When Dr. Hwa remarked that in this hot weather it was better to have the dead body encoffined immediately, I gave orders to call an undertaker for washing the body and placing it in a temporary coffin. Koong suggested to have it deposited in the

  Buddhist Temple, pending the decision regarding the place of interment. I asked all present to keep the matter secret until I would have found my son, dead or alive. Then I went to search for him, accompanied by Koong and my steward.

  “The entire day we roamed through the city and the suburbs, inquiring everywhere, but when dusk was falling we had failed to obtain the slightest clue. When we came back home we found a fisherman waiting for us in front of the gate. He gave me a silk girdle that had caught his hook when he was fishing in the lake. There was no need for me to inspect the name embroidered on the lining. I at once recognized it as that of my poor son. This second shock was too much for me; I fell down in a faint. Koong and my steward put me to bed. Completely exhausted, I slept till this morning.

  “As soon as I had risen I remembered my duty to the bride’s father. I hastened to the Liu mansion and reported the fearful tragedy. Instead of joining me in lamentations over the cruel fate that had robbed us of our children, that heartless man heaped the wildest accusations on my head and threatened me with action in this tribunal. I pray Your Honor to see to it that justice is done to this person, who on one and the same day lost his only son and his young son’s bride, and thus is faced with the terrible prospect that his family line will be broken off!”

  Then the professor knocked his forehead on the floor several times.

  Judge Dee gave a sign to the scribe. He read out his recorded version of Dr. Djang’s statement and the latter affixed his thumb-mark to it. Then the judge spoke.

  “I shall now hear the witnesses of complainant and accused. Let the promoter Wan I-fan come forward!”

  Judge Dee gave him a sharp look. He remembered that his name had also been mentioned in connection with the quarrel of the Kang brothers. Wan I-fan was a man of about forty with a smooth, beardless face, the pallor of which was set off by his short black mustache.

  Wan stated that two years earlier Dr. Djang’s Second Lady had died. Since his First and Third Lady had passed away previously, the professor was then all alone. He had approached Wan with the offer to take Wan’s daughter as concubine. Wan had indignantly refused that proposal done without even a proper matchmaker. Thereupon Dr. Djang, thwarted in the satisfaction of his lust, had spread malicious rumors averring that Wan was an impostor whose transactions couldn’t bear the light of day. Having thus come to know the professor’s wicked character, Wan had thought it his duty to warn Liu Fei-po to what kind of a family he was going to entrust his only daughter. As soon as Wan I-fan had finished Dr. Djang shouted angrily: “I beseech Your Honor not to believe that preposterous mixture of truth and falsehood! It is true that I have often commented unfavorably on Wan I-fan. I don’t hesitate to state here formally that the man is a crook and a swindler. After the demise of my Second Lady, it was he who approached me offering his daughter as a concubine. He said that since his wife had died he was unable to look after his daughter properly. Evidently he wanted to extort money from me, and to prevent my criticizing his questionable business methods any further. It was I who at once refused that impudent proposal!” Judge Dee crashed his fist on the table. He called out: “I, the magistrate, am being trifled with! Evidently one of these two men is telling a brazen lie! Let it be understood that I shall thoroughly investigate this matter and woe to him who has tried to fool me!” Angrily tugging at his beard, the judge ordered Guildmaster Wang to come forward.

  Wang’s statement supported Liu Fei-po as far as the facts were concerned. But he was very diffident in expressing an opinion on Liu’s theory of the crime committed by Dr. Djang. He said he had agreed to it merely to calm down the excited Liu Fei-po, and that he wished to reserve his opinion as to what had actually happened on the wedding night.

  Then Judge Dee heard the two witnesses for the defense. First the tea merchant Koong, who confirmed Dr. Djang’s description of the events, and added that the professor was a man of frugal habits and the most elevated character. When Dr. Hwa was kneeling on the stone flags Judge Dee ordered the headman to call the coroner of the tribunal. Then the judge sternly addressed Dr. Hwa, saying:

  “You, as a professional physician, should have known that in all cases of sudden death the body may not be encoffined before the full circumstances have been reported to this tribunal and before the coroner has examined the corpse. You have offended against the law and you shall be punished accordingly. Now you shall, in the presence of the coroner, describe in what condition you found the body, and how you arrived at your conclusion as to the cause of death!”

  Dr. Hwa quickly embarked on a detailed description of the symptoms found on the dead girl. When he had finished, Judge Dee looked questioningly at the coroner, who said:

  “I respectfully report to Your Honor that although the death of a virgin under the circumstances described is of rare occurrence, our medical books do indeed cite a few instances from the past. There can be no doubt that death occasionally ensues though prolonged unconsciousness is more common. The symptoms described by Dr. Hwa accord in all details with those recorded in authoritative medical treatises.”

  Judge Dee nodded. After he had condemned Dr. Hwa to a heavy fine, he addressed the audience, saying:

  “I had planned this morning to review the case of the courtesan’s murder, but this new case makes an immediate inspection of the scene of the alleged crime imperative.”

  He rapped his gavel and closed the session.

  Sixth Chapter

  JUDGE DEE EXAMINES THE LIBRARY OF A STUDENT; AN AUTOPSY IS CONDUCTED IN A DESERTED TEMPLE

  IN THE CORRIDOR Judge Dee told Ma Joong:

  “Let the constables make my palanquin ready to proceed to Dr. Djang’s house, and tell four of them to go to the Buddhist Temple, to prepare everything there for the autopsy. I’ll go there as soon as I am finished with the professor.”

  Then he entered his private office.

  Sergeant Hoong went to the tea table to make a cup of tea for the judge. Chiao Tai remained standing, waiting till Judge Dee would sit down. But the judge started pacing the floor with his hands on his back, a deep frown creasing his forehead. He stood still only when Hoong offered him a cup of tea. He took a few sips, then spoke.

  “I can’t imagine what made Liu Fei-po proffer that fantastic accusation! I admit that the hurried encoffining of the body seemed suspicious, but any man in his senses would first have insisted on an autopsy, instead of filing such a serious accusation! And last night Liu impressed me as a very calm and self-possessed man.”

  “Just now in the court hall he looked to me as if he was out of his mind, Your Honor,” the sergeant remarked. “I saw that his hands were shaking, and there was foam on his lips!”

  “Liu’s accusation is utterly absurd!” Chiao Tai exclaimed. “If Liu was really convinced that the professor was a man of low character, why then did he consent to the marriage? He hardly seems the kind of man to let himself be tyrannized by his wife and daughter! And he could easily have had the marriage contract canceled unilaterally!”

  Judge Dee nodded pensively.

  “There must be more behind that marriage than meets th
e eye!” he said. “And I must say that Dr. Djang, despite his touching lament about the disaster that hit his house, seemed to take it rather calmly!”

  Ma Joong entered and reported that the palanquin was ready. Judge Dee went out into the courtyard, followed by his three lieutenants.

  Dr. Djang lived in an impressive mansion, built against the mountain slope, to the west of the tribunal.

  The steward opened the heavy double door, and Judge Dee’s palanquin was carried inside.

  The professor assisted the judge respectfully in descending, then led him and Sergeant Hoong to the reception hall. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai stayed behind in the first courtyard with the headman and two constables.

  While the judge was sitting opposite the professor at the tea table, he gave his host a good look. Dr. Djang was a tall, well-built man, with a sharp, intelligent face. He seemed about fifty years old, rather young to have been granted a pension already. He silently poured out a cup of tea for the judge, then sat down again and waited till his distinguished guest would begin the conversation. Hoong remained standing behind Judge Dee’s chair.

  The judge looked at the well-stocked bookshelves and inquired which literary subject had the professor’s special interest. Dr. Djang gave, in well-chosen words, a concise explanation of his research into the critical study of some ancient texts. His answers to Judge Dee’s questions on some details proved that he had completely mastered the subject. He made a few quite original remarks on the authenticity of a disputed passage, freely quoting by heart from lesser-known old commentaries. Although one might question the professor’s moral integrity, there couldn’t be the slightest doubt that he was a great scholar.

  “Why,” the judge asked, “did you when still comparatively young give up your chair in the School of the Temple of Confucius? Many persons retain that honorable position till they are seventy or even older.”