“You may not. I eat and drink only what has been prepared by my own men.”
He resumed his reading. The judge remained standing, his arms straight at his sides, as prescribed by Court rules. He never knew how long he stood there. His initial feeling of relief when he knew that the Imperial Government had taken instant and adequate measures against the rebellion now made place for an increasing anxiety about the correctness of his theories. With feverish haste he tried again to survey all possibilities, searching for a clue that he might have overlooked, for a conclusion that was not completely justified.
A DANGEROUS CRIMINAL IS ARRESTED
A dry cough roused him from his thoughts. The Censor put the documents back in his sleeve, stood up and said:
“It’s time, Dee. How far is the Liang mansion from here?”
“Only a short walk, Your Excellency.”
“Then we shall go there on foot so as not to attract attention,” the Censor decided.
Outside in the corridor Ma Joong and Chiao Tai gave the judge an unhappy look. The judge smiled at them reassuringly and said quickly:
“I am going out. You two will guard the front gate, and Hoong and Tao Gan shall keep an eye on the back door. Don’t let anybody go in or out until I am back.”
In the street there was the usual bustle of the crowd going about its business. Judge Dee was not astonished. He knew the terrible efficiency of the secret service; no one would have noticed that the town was in their hands. He strode along quickly, the Censor close behind him. No one paid any attention to these two men in their plain blue robes.
The door of the Liang mansion was opened by a thin man with an impassive face. The judge had not seen him before; evidently the Inquisitor’s men had taken over the house. The man said respectfully to the Censor:
“The members of this household have been arrested. The two guests have arrived; they are with the Councilor in his library.”
Then he led them silently through the semiobscure corridors.
When Judge Dee entered the dim library he saw the old Councilor sitting in the armchair behind the red-lacquered desk in front of the window. In the armchairs against the wall opposite he saw Han Yung-han and Kang Choong, sitting very straight.
The old Councilor lifted his heavy head. Pushing his eyeshade up a little, he looked in the direction of the door.
“More visitors!” he mumbled.
Judge Dee stepped up to the desk and made a deep bow. The Censor remained standing by the door.
“I am the magistrate, Excellency,” the judge said. “Please excuse this abrupt visit. By Your Excellency’s leave I only wanted-”
“Be brief, Dee!” The old man spoke wearily. “It’s time that I retire for taking my medicine.” His heavy head sagged forward.
The judge had put his hand in the goldfish basin. He quickly felt under the water the pedestal of the small statue. The goldfish swam round excitedly, their cool, small bodies slipping past his hand. He felt that the upper part of the pedestal could be turned round. It was a lid; the statue of the Flower Fairy was its handle. He lifted it up; a copper cylinder became visible, its rim just above the water. He put his hand inside, and took from it a small document roll, its protecting flap consisted of purple brocade.
The Councilor, Han and Kang Choong sat very still. “Sit down!” the myna bird in the silver cage screeched suddenly.
Judge Dee went over to the door and handed the roll to the Censor. He whispered:
“This is the key document!”
The Grand Inquisitor unrolled it, and quickly read through the be ginning. Judge Dee turned round and surveyed the room. The old Councilor sat still as a graven image, looking at the goldfish basin. Han and Kang Choong stared at the tall men by the door.
The Censor gave a sign with his hand. Suddenly the corridor was crowded with Imperial Guards in their shining gold armor. He pointed at Han Yung-han and Kang Choong, saying:
“Seize me those men!” As the soldiers poured inside, the Censor continued to Judge Dee: “Han Yung-han does not occur on this list, but we’ll arrest him anyway. Follow me; I shall offer our apologies to His Excellency.”
The judge held him back. He quickly went up to the desk himself. Bending over the table, he ripped the eyeshade from the Councilor’s forehead. Then he said sternly:
“Rise, Liu Fei-po! I accuse you of having foully murdered the Imperial Councilor Liang Meng-kwang!”
The man behind the table slowly got up. He righted himself and squared his broad shoulders. Despite the false beard and whiskers, and the paint, it was easy to recognize the imperious face of Liu Fei-po. He didn’t look at his accuser; his burning eyes were fixed on Han Yung-han, who was being put in chains by the soldiers.
“I have killed your paramour, Han!” Liu called out to him in a sneering voice. With his left hand he lifted up his beard in a taunting gesture.
“Arrest the man!” the Censor barked at the soldiers.
Judge Dee stood aside as four men came to the table, the one in front swinging a rope. Liu stepped up to them with folded arms.
Suddenly Liu Fei-po’s right hand shot from his sleeve. There was a flash of a knife, then blood spurted from his throat. He swayed on his feet; then his tall shape collapsed on the floor.
The leader of the White Lotus, the pretender to the Dragon Throne, had himself put an end to his life.
Twentieth Chapter
THE JUDGE GOES OUT FISHING WITH HIS ASSISTANTS; HE REVEALS THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE OF HAN-YUAN
DURING THE ENSUING DAYS the Emperor’s hand was heavy on the White Lotus Society.
In the capital and in the provinces numerous higher and lower officials and several wealthy civilians were apprehended, heard and summarily executed. With the sudden arrest of the central and local leaders, the backbone of the revolt had been broken; there was nowhere any organized attempt at large-scale rebellion. There were minor uprisings in some distant districts, but those were quelled by the local troops with little losses.
In Han-yuan the men of the Grand Inquisitor had temporarily taken over the entire administration from Judge Dee. The Censor himself had hurried back to the capital directly after Liu Fei-po’s suicide. The sardonic man with the black beard was in charge; he employed Judge Dee as handyman and general adviser. The district was cleaned thoroughly of subversive elements. Kang Choong confessed, and informed against the clerk who had been the agent of the White Lotus inside the tribunal. Besides, there were also some henchmen of Guildmaster Wang, and a dozen or so ruffians whom Liu Fei-po had employed to do the rough work for him. All these criminals were forwarded to the capital.
Since Judge Dee had been suspended from his duties, to his relief he did not have to be present at the execution of Mao Loo. The higher authorities had originally decided that Mao was to be flogged to death. But the judge succeeded in having the sentence mitigated to simple decapitation, pointing out that Mao Loo had not raped Mrs. Djang, and had even defended her when the two robbers on Three Oaks Island wanted to ravish her. The monk was sentenced to ten years’ hard labor on the northern frontier.
On the morning that Mao Loo was beheaded there fell a torrential rain. The citizens of Han-yuan said that their tutelary deity wished to wash away the blood that had been shed in his territory. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun and the afternoon was cool and sunny.
That evening all executive powers would be officially restored to Judge Dee. Therefore this was his last free afternoon. He decided to go out fishing on the lake.
Ma Joong and Chiao Tai went down to the quay and rented a small, flat-bottomed boat. When they had brought it along the landing stage, Judge Dee arrived on foot, wearing a large round sun hat on his head. He was accompanied by Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan; the latter carried the fishing tackle.
When all had entered the boat, Ma Joong stood himself in the stern and took hold of the oar. Slowly the boat moved out over the rippling waves. They all silently enjoyed for some time the fresh breeze ov
er the water.
Suddenly Judge Dee spoke.
“I found it quite interesting this last week to watch how our secret service men operate. That fellow with the short beard-I still don’t know who or what he really is!-was rather reserved at first, but later he thawed somewhat, and allowed me to see the more important documents. He is an excellent investigator, thorough and systematic. I have learned much from him. But he has been keeping me so busy that now is the first time that I can have a quiet chat with all of you!”
The judge let his hand hang into the cool water. He pursued:
JUDGE DEE GOES FISHING WITH HIS LIEUTENANTS
“Yesterday I went to see Han Yung-han; he was still upset about the severe questioning he underwent, but even more about the fact that Han-yuan, his own city, had been the center of a treacherous plot! He never knew about the crypt his ancestor had built under the house, but our bearded friend refused to believe that. He questioned Han two days in succession and was becoming quite nasty over it. At last, however, Han was set free because I pointed out that he had immediately reported to me his having been abducted by the White Lotus, despite their dire threats. Han was very grateful and I therefore took the opportunity of informing him that Liang Fen and his daughter were in love with each other. First Han said indignantly that Liang Fen was not good enough for his daughter, but later he gave in and said he would not object to their betrothal. Liang Fen is an honest, serious young fellow, and Willow Down a charming girl, so I think that it’ll be a successful marriage.”
“But didn’t Han have an affair with the courtesan Almond Blossom?” the sergeant asked.
Judge Dee smiled ruefully.
“I must frankly confess,” he said, “that I have judged Han wrongly all through. He is a very old-fashioned, slightly bigoted and rather narrow-minded man, good at heart but not too bright. In fact, not a very impressive personality. No, he never had an affair with the dead dancer. She, however, was a great personality! Great in her love-and in her hate. Look; you can just see in the distance over there, among the green trees of the Willow Quarter, the white marble pillars of the memorial arch that they are erecting there on His Majesty’s august command. The inscription will read: ‘Example of loyalty to State and Family.’”
They were well out on the lake now. The judge cast out his line. Suddenly he quickly drew it in again. Ma Joong cursed. He also had seen the large, dark shadow that passed through the green water, just underneath the boat. There was a flash of two small, glowing eyes.
“Here we shan’t catch anything!” Judge Dee remarked testily. “Those brutes will have chased away all the fish! Look, there goes another one!” Noticing the frightened look of his four companions, he went on: “I had surmised all along that it was those huge tortoises that explained the disappearance of the bodies of those unfortunate people who drowned in the lake. Once those animals have acquired a taste for human flesh … But don’t be afraid, they’ll never attack live people. Take her farther out, Ma Joong; ahead we’ll have a better chance.”
Ma Joong started to scull vigorously. The judge folded his arms in his sleeves, and looked pensively at the town on the distant bank.
“When did Your Honor discover that Liu Fei-po had murdered the old Councilor and usurped his place?” Sergeant Hoong asked.
“Only at the very last moment,” Judge Dee replied. “I mean that night I passed without sleep at my desk, after I had sent Ma Joong and Chiao Tai to the capital. The case of the spendthrift Councilor, however, was but a side issue; the central problem was that of the dead dancer. And that case really started several years back, with Liu Fei-po’s thwarted ambitions. But during the last phase, which we witnessed here in Han-yuan, the political plans of Liu were relegated to the background by his emotional relation to two women, namely his daughter, Moon Fairy, and his paramour, Almond Blossom. That relation is the kernel of this case: when I had understood that point, all the rest at once became crystal clear.
“Liu Fei-po was a man of extraordinary talents, courageous, resourceful, energetic, a born leader. But his failing to pass the literary examination wounded his pride, and his subsequent great success in the business world could never heal that wound. It festered on, and culminated in a bitter resentment against our government.
“An accidental occurrence roused his ambition to revive the old White Lotus movement, in order to overthrow our Imperial House and found himself a new dynasty. Once he happened to purchase in a curio shop in the capital and old manuscript, written by Hermit Han, which contained his plan for the secret crypt. The Grand Inquisitor discovered this manuscript among Liu’s papers, in his residence in the capital. Hermit Han states there that he planned to build such a crypt, as a haven of refuge for his descendants in turbulent times. He says he planned to hide there his entire treasure, twenty boxes with gold bars; to dig there a well, and to store there dried foodstuffs. The manuscript ends with a design for the letter lock of the entrance to the crypt, in the altar in the Buddhist Chapel. And the Hermit appended a note to the effect that the secret should be transmitted in the Han family, from father to eldest son.
“When he had read this, Liu probably began by assuming it only represented the vagaries of an old man’s mind. But he decided that it might be worthwhile to visit Han-yuan, in order to verify whether Hermit Han perhaps actually executed his plan. Liu arranged for Han Yung-han to invite him to stay in his house for a week or so. Then Liu found out that Han knew nothing about his ancestor’s plans. Han only knew about Hermit Han’s instruction that the Buddhist Chapel should never be closed, and that a lamp should be kept burning there always. Han thought that this was a proof of his ancestor’s piety, but of course the Hermit’s real intention was that his descendants should have access to the secret entrance at all times of day and night, to cope with any sudden emergency. One night Liu must have paid a secret visit to the chapel. Then he found that the crypt and everything else really existed, just as the Hermit had described. Liu must have realized that the sudden demise of the old Hermit had prevented him from divulging the secret to his eldest son, Han Yung-han’s grandfather. But the printer of the chess handbook published the manuscript exactly according to Hermit Han’s draft, including the last page with the enigmatical chess problem. No one except Liu Fei-po, and probably the dead dancer, ever knew that the problem was nothing but the key to the letter lock in the Buddhist Chapel.”
“The Hermit was an exceedingly clever man!” Tao Gan exclaimed. “The fact that the chess problem was published guaranteed that this key would never be lost; yet no uninitiated person could ever guess its real meaning!”
“Indeed,” Judge Dee said, ‘Hermit Han was a wise and very learned man, a man I would have liked to have met! But to continue. Now Liu Fei-po had in the Han treasure the enormous capital needed for organizing a nationwide conspiracy, and at the same time he had at his disposal an ideal place to serve as secret headquarters and council room of the movement. He built a villa on the empty lot in between the Han mansion and the residence of Councilor Liang, and had four workmen make the subterranean passage connecting the crypt with his own garden. I assume that thereafter Liu himself killed the four unfortunate workmen, since we found the bones of four men in the secret passage.
“However, as the plot expanded, Liu’s expenses increased. He had to send substantial bribes to corrupt officials; he had to pay bandit leaders and supply them and their men with arms. Liu’s own capital and the Hermit’s treasure melted away, and he had to look for other sources of income. Then he conceived the plan to appropriate the wealth of Councilor Liang. He used to walk with the old man in his garden, and it was easy for Liu to make himself familiar with the Councilor’s habits and those of his small household. About half a year ago he must have lured the old man into the secret passage, and there murdered him. He placed the body in a coffin there, where Tao Gan and I found it. From that time on the ‘Councilor’ became ill, his eyes grew worse, he became forgetful, and began to pass the greater part of
his time in his bedroom. All this camouflage enabled Liu Fei-po to play his double role. He must have disguised himself in the crypt, then crept through his own garden into the Councilor’s house. The rooms occupied by the secretary, Liang Fen, were located at the other end of the compound, and the old couple who acted as servants were really in their dotage; thus everything was favorable for his impersonation. Sometimes, however, unforeseen circumstances obliged him to act his part longer than anticipated. This, together with Liu’s attending meetings of the White Lotus council in the crypt, explain his ‘vanishing tricks,’ which began to attract the attention of the members of his household-as related by the palanquin bearer to Sergeant Hoong.
“Together with his henchman Wan I-fan, Liu made a careful study of the Councilor’s properties, and then they began to sell out his estates. In this manner Liu obtained the funds he needed for completing the preparations for the insurrection. Everything went well. He began to consult with his confederates about a suitable time for action. Just then, however, there came trouble. It started in Liu’s private life. This brings us to the courtesan Almond Blossom, or, to call her by her real name, Miss Fan Ho-i.”
The boat was lying still now. Ma Joong had seated himself, cross-legged, in the stern. He and the three others listened intently to the judge. Judge Dee pushed the sun hat back from his forehead. Then he spoke.
“The conspiracy had spread also to Shansi Province. A landowner in Ping-yang, called Fan, became a member. But later he repented, and decided to denounce the plot to the authorities. The White Lotus came to know about his plan. He was forced to commit suicide, after they had compelled him to sign a forged document in which he confessed to having commited a crime against the State. All his possessions fell into the hands of the White Lotus; his widow, his daughter, Ho-i, and his infant son were reduced to the state of beggars. His daughter thereupon sold herself as a courtesan. With the money thus obtained her mother could purchase a small farm in Ping-yang, and later Almond Blossom sent her regularly the greater part of her earnings, for the education of her small brother. These data I found in the report which the secret agents sent in yesterday from Ping-yang, after they had apprehended and questioned the local leaders of the White Lotus.
The Chinese Lake Murders Page 22