‘They did in this case,’ Jasmine said. She added resignedly: ‘Nothing can be done; it’s too late.’
‘Yes, since he is to be executed at dawn, there isn’t much we can do about it,’ the judge agreed. He thought for a while, then resumed, ‘But why not tell me about it? You would get my mind off my own worries and perhaps it might help you to pass the time.’
‘Well,’ she said with a shrug, ‘I am feeling too miserable to sleep anyway. Here it is. About a year and a half ago, two captains of the garrison here in Ta-shih-kou used to frequent the licensed quarters. One was called Pan, the other Woo. They had to work together because they belonged to the same branch of the service, but they didn’t get along at all; they were as different as can be. Pan was a milksop with a smooth face, a dandy who looked more like a student than an officer. With all his fine talk he was a nasty piece, and the girls didn’t like him. Woo was just the opposite, a rough-and-ready boy, a good boxer and swordsman, quick with his hands and quick with a joke. They used to say that the soldiers would go through fire and water for him. He wasn’t what you’d call handsome, but I loved him. And he would have no one but me. He paid the owner of the brothel I belong to at regular times so that I didn’t have to sleep with the first comer. He promised to buy and marry me as soon as he got his promotion, that’s why I didn’t mind having his child. Usually we get rid of them when we are pregnant or sell them. But I wanted mine.’ She emptied her cup, pushed a lock away from her forehead, and went on, ‘So far so good. Then, one night about ten months ago, Pan came home and found his wife lying there strangled to death, and Woo standing by her bed, looking dazed. Pan called in a passing patrol of the military police, and accused Woo of having murdered his wife. Both were brought before the military tribunal. Pan said that Woo kept bothering his wife, who wouldn’t have him. The slimy bastard said he warned Woo many times to leave her alone; he hadn’t wanted to report him to the colonel because Woo was his fellow-officer! Well, Pan added that Woo knew that Pan was on night duty in the armoury that evening, so he had gone to Pan’s house and again tried to bed with his wife. She had refused, and Woo had flown into a rage and strangled her. That was all.’
‘What did Woo have to say to that?’ Judge Dee asked.
‘Woo said that Pan was a dirty liar. That he knew that Pan hated him, and that Pan himself had strangled his wife in order to ruin him.’
‘Not a very clever fellow, that captain of yours,’ the judge remarked dryly.
‘Listen, will you? Woo said that when he passed by the armoury that night, Pan hailed him and asked him to go round to his house and see whether his wife needed anything, for she had felt indisposed that afternoon. When Woo got there, the front door was open, the servants gone. No one answered his calls, so he went into the bedroom where he found her dead body. Then Pan came rushing inside and started hollering for the military police.’
‘A queer story,’ Judge Dee said. ‘How did the military judge formulate his verdict? But no, you wouldn’t know that, of course.’
‘I do. I was there myself, sneaked in with the others. Wet all over with fright, I tell you, for if they catch a whore in a military establishment she gets scourged. Well, the colonel said that Woo was guilty of adultery with the wife of a fellow-officer, and sentenced him to have his head chopped off. He said he wouldn’t say too much about murder, for his men had found out that Pan himself had sent his servants away after dinner that night, and as soon as he had gone on duty at the armoury, he had told the military police that he had been warned about thieves in his neighbourhood, and asked them to keep an eye on his house. The colonel said that it was possible Pan had discovered that his wife was carrying on with Woo, and that he had therefore strangled her. That was his right; according to the law, he could have killed Woo too, if he had caught them in the act, as they call it. But maybe Pan had been afraid to tackle Woo, and had chosen this roundabout way of getting at him. Anyway that was neither here nor there, the colonel said. The fact was that Woo had played games with the wife of a fellow-officer, and that was bad for the morale of the army. Therefore he had to be beheaded.’
She fell silent. Judge Dee caressed his sidewhiskers. After a while he said, ‘On the face of it I would say that the colonel was perfectly right. His verdict agrees with the brief character sketch you gave me of the two men concerned. Why are you so sure that Woo didn’t have an affair with Pan’s wife?’
‘Because Woo loved me, and wouldn’t even look at another woman,’ she replied promptly.
Judge Dee thought that this was a typical woman’s argument. To change the subject, he asked: ‘Who flogged you, and why?
‘It’s all such a stupid story!’ she said in a forlorn voice. ‘After the session I was furious with Woo. I had discovered that I was pregnant, and the mean skunk had been carrying on with the Pan woman all the time, behind my back! So I rushed to the jail and got inside by telling the guards I was Woo’s sister. When I saw him I spat in his face, called him a treacherous lecher, and ran off again. But when I was so far gone I couldn’t work any more, I got to thinking things over, and I knew I had been a silly fool, and that Woo loved me. So eight weeks ago, after our child had been born and I was a little better, I again went to the military prison to tell Woo I was sorry. But Woo must have told the guards how I fooled them the time before-and he was right, too, the way I had shouted at him! As soon as I was inside they lashed me to the rack and gave me a flogging. I was in luck, I knew the soldier who handled the scourge; he didn’t hit too hard, else the army would have had to supply a coffin then and there. As it was, my back and shoulders were cut to ribbons and I was bleeding like a pig, but I am no weakling and I made it. As strong as a farmhand, father used to say of me before he had to sell me to pay the rent for our field. Then there came rumours about the Tartars planning an attack. The garrison commander was called to the capital, and the war started. What with one thing and another Woo’s case dragged on. This morning the decision came, and at dawn they’ll chop his head off.’
Suddenly she buried her face in her hands and started to sob. The judge slowly stroked his long black beard, waiting till she had calmed down. Then he asked:
‘Was the Pans’ marriage a happy one?’
‘How do I know? Think I slept under their bed?’
‘Did they have children?’
‘No.’
‘How long had they been married?’
‘Let me see. About a year and a half-I know that. When I first met the two captains, Woo told me that Pan had just been called home by his father to marry the woman his parents had got for him.’
‘Do you happen to know his father’s name?’
‘No. Pan only used to brag that his father was a big noise in Soochow.’
‘That must be Pan Wei-liang, the Prefect,’ Judge Dee said at once. ‘He is a famous man, a great student of ancient history. I have never met him, but I have read many of his books. Quite good. Is his son still here?’
‘Yes, attached to headquarters. If you admire those Pans so much, you’d better go there and make friends with the mean bastard!’ she added contemptuously.
Judge Dee rose. ‘I’ll do that,’ he said, half to himself.
She mouthed an obscene word. ‘You are all the same, all of you!’ she snapped. ‘Am I glad I am just an honest whore! The gentleman is choosy, doesn’t want to sleep with a woman with half a breast gone, eh? Want your money back?’
‘Keep it!’ Judge Dee said calmly.
‘Go to hell!’ she said. She spat on the floor and turned her back on him.
Judge Dee silently put on his fur coat and left.
While he was walking through the main street, still crowded with soldiers, he reflected that things didn’t look too good. Even if he found Captain Pan, and even if he succeeded in extracting from him the fact he needed for the testing of his theory, he would then have to try to obtain an audience with the Marshal, for only he could, at this stage, order a stay of execution. And the Marshal w
as fully occupied by weighty issues, the fate of the Empire was in the balance. Moreover, that fierce soldier was not notorious for his gentle manner. Judge Dee set his teeth. If the Empire had come to such a pass that a judge couldn’t prevent an innocent man from being beheaded …
The Marshal’s headquarters were located in the so-called Hunting Palace, an immense compound that the present Emperor had built for his beloved eldest son, who had died young. The Crown Prince had been fond of hunting on the western frontier. He had died on a hunting expedition there, and it had been his wish to be buried in Ta-shih-kou. His sarcophagus had been placed in a vault there, and later that of his Princess beside it.
Judge Dee had some trouble in getting admitted by the guards, who looked with suspicion on every civilian. But at last he was led to a small, draughty waiting-room, and an orderly took his red visiting-card to Captain Pan. After a long wait a young officer came in. The tight-fitting mail jacket and the broad swordbelt accentuated his slender figure, and the iron helmet set off his handsome but cold face, smooth but for a small black moustache. He saluted stiffly, then stood waiting in haughty silence till the judge addressed him. A district magistrate ranked much higher, of course, than an army captain, but Pan’s attitude suggested that in wartime things were different.
‘Sit down, sit down!’ Judge Dee said jovially. A promise is a promise, I always say! And better late than never!’
Captain Pan sat down on the other side of the tea-table, looking politely astonished.
‘Half a year ago,’ the judge continued, ‘while passing through Soochow on my way to Lan-fang, I had a long conversation with your father. I also am a student of history, you know, in my spare time! When I was taking my leave, he said: “My eldest son is serving in Ta-shih-kou, your neighbour-district. If you should happen to pass by there, do me a favour and have a look how he’s doing. The boy had awfully bad luck.” Well, yesterday the Marshal summoned me, and before returning to Lan-fang I wanted to keep my promise.’
‘That’s most kind of you, sir!’ Pan muttered, confused. ‘Please excuse my rudeness just now. I didn’t know … and I am in a terrible state. The bad situation at the front, you see …’ He shouted an order. A soldier brought a pot of tea. ‘Did … did my father tell you about the tragedy, sir?’
‘Only that your young wife was murdered here last year. Accept my sincere …’
‘He shouldn’t have forced me to marry, sir!’ the captain burst out. ‘I told him … tried to tell him … but he was always too busy, never had time …’ With an effort Pan took a hold of himself, and continued, ‘I thought I was too young to marry, you see. Wanted my father to postpone it. For a few years, till I would’ve been stationed in a large city, for instance. Give me time to … to sort things out.’
‘Were you in love with another girl?’
‘Heaven forbid!’ the young officer exclaimed. ‘No sir, it was simply that I felt I was not the marrying kind. Not yet.’
‘Was she murdered by robbers?’
Captain Pan sombrely shook his head. His face had gone a deadly pale. ‘The murderer was a fellow-officer of mine, sir. One of those disgusting woman-chasers; you could never have a decent, clean conversation with him. Always talking about women, women, always letting himself be caught in their filthy little games …’ The young man spat out those last words. He quickly gulped down the tea, then added in a dull voice, ‘He tried to seduce my wife, and strangled her when she refused. He’ll be beheaded at dawn.’ Suddenly he buried his face in his hands.
Judge Dee silently observed the stricken youngster for a while. Then he said softly: ‘Yes, you had very bad luck indeed.’ He rose and resumed in a businesslike manner, ‘I must see the Marshal again. Please take me there.’
Captain Pan got up quickly. As he conducted the judge down a long corridor where orderlies were rushing to and fro, he said: ‘I can take you only as far as the anteroom, sir. Only members of the High Command are allowed beyond.’
‘That’ll do,’ Judge Dee said.
Captain Pan showed the judge into a hall, crowded with officers, then said he would wait outside to lead the judge back to the main gate. As soon as the judge had entered, the hubbub of voices ceased abruptly. A colonel stepped up to him. After a cursory glance at Judge Dee’s cap he asked coldly: ‘What can I do for you, Magistrate?’
‘I have to see the Marshal on urgent business.’
‘Impossible!’ the colonel said abruptly. ‘The Marshal is in conference. I have strict orders to admit nobody.’
‘A human life is at stake,’ the judge said gravely.
‘A human life, you say!’ the colonel exclaimed with a sneer. “The Marshal is deliberating on two hundred thousand human lives that are at stake, Magistrate! May I lead the way?’
Judge Dee grew pale. He had failed. Piloting the judge politely but firmly to the exit, the colonel said: ‘I trust that you’ll understand, Magistrate… .’
‘Magistrate!’ shouted another colonel who came rushing inside. Despite the cold his face was covered with sweat. ‘Do you happen to know where a colleague of yours is, called Dee?’
‘I am Magistrate Dee,’ the judge replied.
‘Heaven be praised! I have been looking for you for hours! The Marshal wants you!’
He dragged the judge by his sleeve through a door at the back of the anteroom into a semi-dark passage. Thick felt hangings dampened all sound. He opened the heavy door at the end, and let the judge go inside.
It was curiously still in the enormous palace hall. A group of high-ranking officers in resplendent armour stood round a monumental desk, piled with maps and papers. All were looking silently at the giant who was pacing the floor in front of it, his hands clasped behind his back.
He wore an ordinary mail jacket with battered, iron shoulder-plates and the baggy leather trousers of a cavalry man. But on top of his high helmet the golden marshal’s dragon raised its horned head. As the Marshal walked to and fro with heavy tread, he let the point of the broad sword that was dangling from his belt clatter carelessly on the delicately carved, marble floor-tiles.
Judge Dee knelt down. The colonel approached the Marshal. Standing stiffly at attention, he said something in a clipped voice.
‘Dee?’ the Marshal barked. ‘Don’t need the fellow anymore, send him away! No, wait! I still have a couple of hours before I order the retreat.’ Then he shouted at the judge: ‘Hey there, stop crawling on the floor! Come here!’
Judge Dee rose hurriedly, went up to the Marshal and made a deep bow. Then he righted himself. The judge was a tall man, but the Marshal topped him by at least two inches. Hooking his thumbs in his swordbelt, the giant glared at the judge with his fierce right eye. His left eye was covered by a black band-it had been pierced by a barbarian arrow during the northern campaign.
‘You are good at riddles, they say, eh, Dee? Well, I’ll show you a riddle!’ Turning to the desk, he shouted: ‘Lew! Mao!’
Two men wearing generals’ armour hurriedly detached themselves from the group round the table. Judge Dee recognized the lean general in the shining golden armour as Lew, commander of the left wing. The broad-shouldered, squat man wearing a golden cuirass and a silver helmet was Mao, commanding general of the military police. Only Sang, the commander of the right wing, was missing. With the Marshal these three were the highest military leaders; in this national crisis the Emperor had placed the fate of the Chinese people and the dynasty in their hands. The judge made a low bow. The two generals gave him a stony look.
The Marshal strode through the hall and kicked a door open. They silently passed through a number of broad, empty corridors, the iron boots of the three officers resounding hollowly on the marble floor. Then they descended a broad staircase. At the bottom two palace guards sprang to attention. At a sign of the Marshal they slowly pushed open a heavy double-gate.
They entered a colossal vault, dimly ht by tall silver oil lamps, placed at regular intervals in recesses in the high, windowless walls. I
n the centre of the vault stood two enormous coffins, lacquered a bright red, the colour of resurrection. They were of identical size, each measuring about ten by thirty foot, and over fifteen foot high.
The Marshal bowed, and the three others followed his example. Then the Marshal turned to Judge Dee and said, pointing at the coffins, ‘Here is your riddle, Dee! This afternoon, just when I was about to order the offensive, General Sang came and accused Lew here of high treason. Said that Lew had contacted the Tartar Khan and agreed that as soon as we would attack, Lew would join the Tartar dogs with his troops. Later Lew would get the southern half of the Empire as a reward. The proof? Sang said that Lew had concealed in the coffin of the Crown Prince two hundred suits of armour complete with helmets and swords, and marked with the special sign of the traitors. At the right moment Lew’s confederates in the High Command would break the coffin open, don those marked suits of armour and massacre all the staff officers here who aren’t in the plot.’
Judge Dee started and looked quickly at General Lew. The lean man stood there stiffly erect, staring ahead with a white, taut face.
‘I trust Lew as I trust myself,’ the Marshal went on, aggressively thrusting his bearded chin forward, ‘but Sang has a long and honourable career behind him, and I can’t take any chances. I must verify the accusation, and quick. The plans for our counter-offensive are ready. Lew will head a vanguard of fifteen thousand
‘YOU ARE GOOD AT RIDDLES, THEY SAY, EH, DEE?’ THE MARSHAL GROWLED
men and drive a wedge into the Tartar hordes. Then I’ll follow up with a hundred and fifty thousand men and drive the dogs back into their own steppes. But there are signs that the wind is going to shift; if I wait too long we’ll have to fight with snow and hail blowing right into our faces.
‘I have examined the coffin of the Crown Prince for hours, together with Mao’s best men, but we can find no sign that it has been tampered with. Sang maintains they excised a large section of the lacquer coating, made a hole, pushed the stuff inside and replaced the section of coating. According to him, there are experts who can do this without leaving a trace. Maybe there are, but I must have positive proof. But I can’t desecrate the coffin of the Emperor’s beloved son by breaking it open-I may not even scratch it without the special permission of His Majesty- and it’ll take at least six days before I can get word from the capital. On the other hand I can’t open the offensive before I have made sure that Sang’s accusation is false. If I can’t do that in two hours, I shall have to order a general retreat. Set to work, Dee!’
Judge Dee At Work Page 17