The Lacquer Screen

by Robert Van Gulik

  He vaguely heard the wooden gong of the nightwatch passing through the street outside the tribunal. In a few hours it would be dawn. He didn’t think he could sleep.

  His eye fell on the elegant small book-rack of polished bamboo standing in the corner. He got up and selected a volume bound in costly brocade. He opened it and found it was a special edition of Magistrate Teng’s poetry, printed on the most expensive paper, glossy as white jade. With an angry exclamation he pushed it back among the other books. He took another volume at random, and sat down with it. It was a Buddhist text. Slowly he read the beginning aloud:

  ‘To be born means suffering and sorrow,

  To live means sneering and sorrow,

  To die, and never be reborn, is the only deliverance

  Of all suffering and sorrow.’

  He dosed the book. As a follower of Confucius he was not partial to Buddhist teachings. But the lines he had just read accorded surprisingly well with his present mood.

  He fell asleep as he was sitting there, with the book in his lap.

  Chapter 16

  Chiao Tai came to report shortly after dawn, when Judge Dee was making his toilet. He said, while the judge was combing his beard:

  ‘The Corporal and the Student are under lock and key, in the jail here. At one moment it looked as if there was going to be a bad fight. The bald man and the others drew their knives and wanted to defend the Corporal. But he barked at them: “Didn’t I tell you I want no knife fighting? I am through, Baldy takes over!” Then he let the constables put the chains on him.’

  Judge Dee nodded. He said:

  ‘I have one more task for you. Borrow a horse from the guards and go to the country house of Mrs Teng’s elder sister, outside the north gate. Find out where Mrs Teng’s two other sisters are living. Then, on your way back, buy two bolts of superior silk, as used for ladies’ dresses, in a good silk shop. Here is some money.’ He gave Chiao Tai ten silver pieces, and added: ‘If you are back before the session of the tribunal is over, you can join me behind the bench and follow the proceedings!’

  Chiao Tai hastily took his leave, for he was eager to attend the session. Judge Dee drank a cup of hot tea, then walked over to Pan Yoo-te’s office.

  The old counsellor told him that Magistrate Teng had left it to Judge Dee to prepare the morning session. The judge asked:

  ‘Did you draw up the report of our discovering Ko’s body?’

  Pan gave him a few sheets of paper. The judge read them through carefully. He corrected a few sentences in such a manner that all the credit for the discovery went to Pan, then signed and sealed the documents. Handing the papers back, he said:

  ‘After I have been installed as Assessor, Magistrate Teng will hear Kunshan. I shall interfere only if the accused should try to prevaricate. Then I myself shall hear Mrs Ko, and finally the magistrate and I together shall hear the banker Leng Chien. Here you have two drafts, each for three hundred and fifty gold pieces. They represent about two thirds of the money Leng Chien stole from Ko Chili-yuan. Fill in the Ko estate as payee; the money rightfully belongs to them.’ He took from his sleeve the heavy package that Chiao Tai had found in Kunshan’s sleeve. Opening it, he continued: ‘Here are four gold bars, to the value of two hundred gold pieces. It was Ko’s emergency fund, but Kunshan stole it from Ko’s safe. Transfer this gold to the Ko estate too. There remain three hundred gold pieces which Leng deposited with the Heavenly Rain gold shop. Have it confiscated, to be restored to the Ko family also, in due time.’

  Pan wrote out receipts for the drafts and the gold. Handing the documents to the judge, he said with a grateful smile:

  ‘You found the culprit and recovered all the money, sir! How is it possible that you achieved all that in such a short time?’

  ‘There were helpful circumstances,’ Judge Dee said vaguely. ‘Could you lend me a decent robe and cap to wear in court?’

  The counsellor called a clerk. He came back with a long robe of blue damask and a black velvet cap with gold braid. Judge Dee put the robe on over his own, stuffed his worn cap in his sleeve and placed the gold-rimmed one on his head. In this dignified attire he walked back to the guest quarters and ordered a simple breakfast from the steward.

  When he had laid down his chopsticks he went out into the small rock garden behind his bedroom and walked round it, his hands behind his back. He felt tired and restless. At last three loud beats on the bronze gong at the main gate announced that the morning session of the tribunal was about to begin.

  He found Magistrate Teng waiting for him in his private office behind the court hall. Teng wore his green official robe, and the winged black judge’s cap. Together they passed through the unicorn screen-curtain and ascended the dais. Teng insisted that Judge Dee sit on his right.

  The news of the night’s commotion in Ko Chih-yuan’s residence, and the arrest of Mrs Ko and the others, had spread through the entire city. The court hall was packed with a dense crowd. Many more spectators who had not been able to obtain a place inside jostled each other just outside the entrance of the hall.

  When Magistrate Teng had called the roll, he started filling out the forms which made Judge Dee Assessor of the court. Pausing with lifted writing-brush, he asked:

  ‘How many days shall I put in for the term of your assignment, Dee?’

  ‘One,’ the judge replied. ‘Today only.’

  Teng signed and sealed the forms, and passed them on to Judge Dee, who did the same. Then Magistrate Teng wrote out a slip for the warden of the jail, and Kunshan was led before the bench. Two constables had to support him by his arms. His ankle had been put in a splint. The thin man looked more dead than alive. Judge Dee remembered Chiao Tai’s description when they had seen Kunshan for the first time, on the terrace of the teahouse: a loathsome insect that has just crawled out of its shell.

  After the formal questions about his name and profession, Teng stated that the court accused Kunshan of murder and robbery. Kunshan recited his confession, exactly as Judge Dee had instructed him. Once he lost the thread of his narrative, but the magistrate brought him onto the right track again with a few skilful questions.

  Kunshan heard his confession read out by the senior scribe, agreed that it was correct and affixed his thumb-mark to it. Magistrate Teng pronounced him guilty of the two crimes cited, and condemned him to death by decapitation. Kunshan was led back to the jail. There he would wait for the final sentence, which in due time would be forthcoming from the metropolitan court in the capital, which had to ratify all capital punishments. A confused noise rose from the audience. Some shouted invectives at the criminal, others protested their sympathy and admiration for Magistrate Teng.

  Teng rapped his gavel. Judge Dee whispered to him:

  ‘I would like to have Mrs Ko called now.’

  Teng filled out a slip, and presently the matron of the jail led Mrs Ko before the bench. She had pulled her hair straight back and done it up in a simple chignon, with a green jade comb as her only ornament. She had not powdered or rouged her face, and in the straight white robe she looked like a sedate housewife. As she slowly knelt down on the stone floor, Judge Dee asked himself worriedly whether he had made a mistake after all.

  After Teng had put the routine questions to her, he stated that the Assessor would now conduct the questioning. Judge Dee spoke:

  ‘Last night, Mrs Ko, the dead body of your husband was discovered under the floor of his bedroom, in your presence. Pan Yoo-te, counsellor of this tribunal, and I myself are prepared to testify that you gave proof of knowing that the body had been buried there. Before this court formulates its case against you, you shall give a circumstantial account of what happened on the night of the fifteenth, after your husband had left the dinner in the pavilion and entered the house.’

  Mrs Ko raised her head and began in a soft but clear voice:

  ‘This person pleads guilty. She is guilty because she did not at once report to this tribunal the terrible truth. I can only hope tha
t the court will deign to remember that I am only a weak and ignorant woman who has always led a secluded life, and therefore view my case with leniency.’

  She paused a moment. A murmur of sympathy rose from the audience. Magistrate Teng rapped his gavel and called for order. Mrs Ko went on:

  ‘How many times have I lived through again, in my feverish nightmares, those agonizing moments! I had gone from my boudoir to my husband’s bedroom, to see whether the servants hadn’t forgotten to lay out his bed-robe. When I was standing near the table, I suddenly felt that I was not alone. When I turned round, the bed-curtains opened and a man sprang into the room. I wanted to shout for help, but he raised a long, evil-looking knife, and I could only moan, frozen with fright. He stepped up to me and———’

  ‘Describe that man, madam!’ Judge Dee interrupted her.

  ‘He had wound a thin blue veil all around his head, Your Honour. He was tall and thin and he was wearing—I can hardly remember, I was so frightened—yes, I believe he wore a blue jacket and trousers, as workmen do…’

  The judge nodded and she continued:

  ‘Standing very close to me, he hissed: “One sound and…” He pressed the point of the knife against my breast. “Soon your husband will come in,” he went on in that horrible, muffled voice. “Talk to him, do whatever he says.” Just then I heard footsteps in the passageway that leads to the terrace. The man quickly jumped towards the door and pressed his back against the wall next to it. My husband entered, saw me, opened his mouth to speak…Then the man suddenly struck him down from behind…’

  She buried her face in her hands and began to sob. On Judge Dee’s sign the headman gave her a bowl of strong tea. She greedily drank it. Then she went on:

  ‘I must have fainted. When I came to, my husband wasn’t there, I saw only his robe and cap lying on a chair. The man put them on. That face, that terrible masked face, above the familiar robe of my husband…And the blood, the veil was soaked with blood…The man whispered: “Your husband is dead, he killed himself, you understand? If you ever open your mouth, I’ll cut your throat!” He pushed me roughly towards the door. I stumbled through the empty corridor to my boudoir. I had barely sunk down on my couch when I heard loud cries in the garden outside. The servants were shouting that my husband had drowned himself, thrown himself into the river. I wanted to tell the truth, Your Honour, I swear I wanted to! But, just as I had made up my mind to go to this tribunal, I saw again that fearful mask, covered with blood…and I dared not. I know I am guilty, Your Honour, but I didn’t dare…’

  Again she burst out sobbing.

  ‘You may rise and stand back, madam!’ Judge Dee spoke. The matron helped Mrs Ko up. She remained standing against the desk of the clerk, to the left of the bench, staring vacantly ahead. Judge Dee bent over to Magistrate Teng and said:

  ‘Have Hsia Liang called now, please.’

  Two constables brought a young man before the bench. He was clad in a jacket, open at the neck, and blue baggy trousers. Judge Dee thought he looked as sullen as when he had seen him first, in the taproom of the Phoenix Inn. When the Student saw the judge he stiffened. Then his eye fell on Mrs Ko, who gave him a cold stare. Slowly he knelt down.

  ‘State your name and profession!’ the judge ordered.

  ‘This person is called Hsia, named Liang,’ the young man replied in a steady voice. ‘Graduate of the town school.’

  ‘Dare you announce your literary grade?’ Judge Dee barked at him. ‘You who have brought shame on the literary class and committed the sordid crime you stand accused of? That woman has just made a full confession!’

  ‘This person,’ the Student said calmly, ‘doesn’t know what crime Your Honour refers to. And he never saw that woman before.’

  Judge Dee was vexed. He had counted on the Student breaking down when he saw him sitting behind the bench, and was confronted unexpectedly with Mrs Ko. Apparently he had underrated the youngster’s presence of mind. He said curtly:

  ‘Rise, Hsia Liang, and face that woman!’ Then he asked Mrs Ko: ‘Do you recognize this man as the murderer of your husband?’

  Mrs Ko looked steadily at the Student. For one brief moment their eyes met. Then she said, slowly and very clearly:

  ‘How could I? I told Your Honour that the intruder wore a mask!’

  ‘In deference to your late husband,’ Judge Dee spoke, ‘this court wished to give you full opportunity for clearing yourself. Although it is up to the accused to prove his innocence, this court even brought forward a suspect for you to identify. Since the explanation you gave is evidently a false story, the court now formulates its case. You stand accused of having murdered your husband, Mrs Ko, together with an accomplice as yet unknown. Headman, you can release the witness Hsia Liang!’

  ‘Wait! Let me think, please!’ Mrs Ko cried out. She again looked at the Student, biting her lips. After some hesitation she went on: ‘Yes, the build seems similar…. But I can’t tell about the face, of course….”

  ‘That is not enough, madam!’ the judge said quickly. ‘You must supply concrete proof!’

  ‘Yes,’ Mrs Ko said in a faltering voice, ‘since there was all that blood, on the veil…’ Suddenly she looked up at the judge and said: ‘If he is the murderer, he must have a wound on his head!’

  Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman. He grabbed the young man by his shoulders and roughly pulled his head back. The forelock fell away, and a badly healed cut became visible at the root of his hair.

  ‘It is he,’ Mrs Ko said, very softly. She buried her face in her hands.

  The Student tried to wrench himself loose. His face scarlet with rage, he shouted:

  ‘You treacherous slut!’

  ‘The man is crazy!’ Mrs Ko cried out. ‘Make that mean beggar stop his foul language. Your Honour!’

  ‘Beggar?’ the Student screamed. ‘It was you who begged me, begged me to love you! But, fool that I was, I didn’t see what you were after! You only wanted to use me to kill your husband, eh, so that you could get hold of his money and then get rid of me! And it was you who took those two hundred gold pieces, of course!’

  Mrs Ko began to protest, but he shouted at her:

  ‘Of course you did! And I, who can get any young girl I want, I forced myself to make love to you, you who are years older than me! Heaven, I hated it, but, fool that I was, I———’

  ‘Don’t say that, Liang!’ Mrs Ko cried out She gripped the edge of the table behind her to steady herself, and repeated forlornly: ‘Liang, you should not have said that! I loved you…’ Her voice trailed off. She spoke very softly when she resumed: ‘Yes, perhaps I knew it, though…knew it all the time. But I didn’t want to know it, I thought that, perhaps, you really…’ Suddenly she burst into shrill laughter and cried: ‘Just now I even thought that you would sacrifice yourself for me!’ The laughter changed into sobbing. Then she wiped her face. Raising her head she looked steadily at the judge and said in a clear voice: ‘That man was my lover. He killed my husband, and I was his accomplice!’ Turning again to the Student, who was staring at her, dumbfounded, she said softly: ‘Now we’ll go together, Liang…together…at last.’

  She leaned back against the table with closed eyes, panting heavily.

  ‘Hsia Liang, make your confession!’ Judge Dee spoke.

  The Student slowly shook his head, half-dazed. He muttered:

  ‘That woman…she’s ruined me, the crazy fool!’

  The headman pressed him down roughly on his knees. The Student resumed in a hoarse voice:

  ‘Yes, I murdered the merchant Ko, but I tell you that she made me do it! I only wanted to rob the place. The men in the inn were always taunting me, saying that I couldn’t do the simplest job. I knew there was a tree outside the wall of Ko’s house, I decided it would be easy to break in. I would show the men what I could do! Show them real gold! About two months ago I heard from the servants that Ko would be away for a few days. To climb over the wall was child’s play. I enter a room, an
d feel about in the dark. I suddenly bump into a woman. Heaven, was I frightened! My first job, and then such dirty luck! They had told me no one lived in that wing when the master was away. What if she starts to shout? I grab her and clasp my hand over her mouth. The moon comes out, and we look at each other. I growl nervously: “Where’s the money?” I feel her lips moving under my hand. I take it away. She is not afraid, not she! She laughs! Well, I stay there that night—she lets me go only when dawn is breaking. She gives me some money.’

  As he paused and rubbed his hand over his face, Judge Dee said:

  ‘If you remain silent, Mrs Ko, the court assumes that you agree with this man’s statement. Have you any remarks?’

  Mrs Ko, who had been looking fixedly at the Student, now shook her head listlessly.

  ‘Proceed!’ Judge Dee ordered the Student.

  ‘Well, after that I went to visit her regularly. She told me a lot about how rich her husband was, but that he was very stingy, and never let her have enough money. She said he kept all the keys, and therefore she couldn’t give me more. I said I didn’t care about such chicken-feed. Then she said her husband always kept two hundred gold pieces in his safe. If he were out of the way, we could take those and flee to some distant place together. Well, two hundred in gold is good money, but murder isn’t a small matter. If we do it at all, I said, we must do it well, there’s no hurry. But she kept urging me, she said she hated the life she was leading. Then I worked out a good plan. I gave her a box with arsenic and taught her how she could give her husband a small dose in his morning tea every other day, just enough to cause a stomach ache. I also gave her a powder to make the pain subside. Wasn’t the old fool grateful to her, that she looked after him so well! All his own fault! He shouldn’t have married a lewd woman!’