Hoong official status, the judge had appointed him Sergeant of the tribunal, hence everybody always addressed him as 'Sergeant Hoong.'
Glancing through a bundle of documents Sergeant Hoong thought about the busy day Judge Dee had behind him. In the morning, when the judge and his suite consisting of his wives, children and servants had arrived in Poo-yang, the judge had gone immediately to the reception hall in the compound of the tribunal, while the rest of his suite went on to the magistrate's official residence in the northern part of the compound. There Judge Dee's First Lady, assisted by the house steward, had supervised the unloading of the luggage carts, and started to arrange their new quarters. Judge Dee had had no time to see the house. He had to take over the seals of the tribunal from Judge Feng, his predecessor. 'When that ceremony was over he had mustered the permanent personnel of the tribunal, from the senior scribe and the headman of the constables down to the keeper of the jail and the guards. At noon he had presided over a sumptuous repast in honour of the departing magistrate, and he had accompanied Judge Feng and his suite till outside the city gate, as prescribed by custom. Returned to the tribunal, Judge Dee had to receive the visits of the leading citizens of Poo-yang who came to bid him welcome to the district.
After a hurried evening meal taken in his private office Judge Dee had settled down there with the files of the tribunal, keeping the clerks busy hauling leather document boxes from the archives. After a couple of hours he had finally dismissed the clerks, but he himself did not seem to think of retiring.
At last, however, Judge Dee pushed away the ledger in front of him, and leaned back in his chair. Looking at Sergeant Hoong from under his bushy eyebrows he said with a smile:
'Well, Sergeant, what about a cup of hot tea?'
Sergeant Hoong rose quickly and brought the teapot from the side table. While he was pouring the tea Judge Dee said:
'Heaven has conferred its blessings on this district of Poo-yang. I see from the files that the land is fertile, there have been neither floods nor droughts, and the farmers prosper. Being situated on the Grand Canal that crosses our Empire from north to south Poo-yang derives much profit from the busy traffic. Both government and private ships always stay over in the excellent harbour outside the western city gate, there is a constant coming and going of travellers, so that the large merchant houses do a thriving business. The canal and the river that flows into it here abound in fish which provides a living for the poor, and there is a fairly large garrison stationed here, good custom for the small restaurants and shops. Thus the people of this district are prosperous and content, and taxes are paid on time.
'Finally, my predecessor, Judge Feng, evidently is a man of great zeal and ability, he has seen to it that all the records are brought up to date and the registers in perfect order.'
The Sergeant's face lit up as he said:
'This, Your Honour, is a most gratifying state of affairs. The last post Han-yuan was such a difficult one that I often worried about Your Honour's health!'* (* See 'The Chinese Lake Murders '.)
Tugging at his thin goatee he continued:
'I have been going through the court records and found that crimes have been very rare here in Poo-yang. And those that occurred have been adequately dealt with. There is but one case pending in the tribunal. It is a rather vulgar rape murder, which His Excellency Feng solved in a few days. When tomorrow Your Honour peruses the pertaining documents, you will see that only a few loose ends remain to be gathered.' Judge Dee raised his eyebrows.
'Sometimes, Sergeant, those loose ends pose quite a problem! Tell me about that case!'
Shrugging his shoulders Sergeant Hoong said:
'This is really a very straightforward case. The daughter of a small shopkeeper, a butcher called Hsiao, was found raped and murdered in her room. It turned out that she had had a lover, a degenerate student called Wang. Butcher Hsiao filed an accusation against him. When Judge Feng had verified the evidence and heard the witnesses, it was proved that Wang was indeed the murderer, but he refused to confess. Judge Feng then put the question to Wang under torture, but the man lost consciousness before he could confess. Judge Feng had to leave the case at that point because of his impending departure.
'Since the murderer has been found and sufficient evidence collected against him to warrant questioning under torture, the case is practically finished.'
For a few moments Judge Dee remained silent, pensively stroking his beard. Then he said:
'I would like to hear the complete case, Sergeant.'
Sergeant Hoong's face fell.
'Midnight is approaching, Your Honour,' he said hesitantly, 'would it not be better if Your Honour retired now for a good night's rest? Tomorrow we shall have ample time for reviewing this case!'
Judge Dee shook his head.
'Even the bare outline you just gave me shows a curious inconsistency. After reading all those administrative documents, a criminal problem is just what I need to clear my brain! Have a cup of tea yourself, Sergeant, sit down comfortably and give me a summary of the facts!'
Sergeant Hoong knew the signs. Resignedly he returned to his desk and consulted a few papers. Then he began:
'Just ten days ago, on the seventeenth day of this month, a butcher called Hsiao Foo-han, who owns a small shop in Half Moon Street in the south-west corner of the city, came rushing in tears to the noon session of this tribunal. He was accompanied by three witnesses, namely Gao the warden of the southern quarter, Loong a tailor who lives opposite Hsiao's shop, and the master of the Butchers' Guild.
'Butcher Hsiao presented a written accusation against Wang Hsien-djoong, a Candidate of Literature; this Wang is a poor student who also lives near the butcher's shop. Hsiao claimed that Wang had strangled his only daughter Pure Jade in her bedroom and made off with a pair of golden hairpins. Butcher Hsiao mentioned that Candidate Wang had been having an illicit love affair with his daughter for six months already. The murder was not discovered until she failed to appear that morning for her usual household duties.'
'That Butcher Hsiao,' Judge Dee interrupted, 'must be either a complete fool or a greedy rogue! How could he permit his young daughter to conduct a love affair under his own roof, degrading his house to a brothel? No wonder that violence and murder took place there!'
Sergeant Hoong shook his head.
'No, Your Honour,' he said, 'Butcher Hsiao's explanation placed the crime in quite another light!'
Second Chapter:
Judge Dee folded his hands in his wide sleeves.
'Proceed!' he said briskly.
'Until that very morning,' Sergeant Hoong continued, 'Butcher Hsiao had been completely ignorant of the fact that Pure Jade had a lover. She slept in a garret that served as laundry and sewing-room, and built over the godown that stands somewhat apart from the shop. They have no servants, all the housework there is done by the wife and the daughter. Experiments made on the orders of Judge Feng showed that even a loud voice in the girl's garret could not be heard either in the butcher's bedroom, or by the neighbours.
'As to Candidate Wang, he is a member of a well-known clan in the capital. But both his parents are dead and owing to a family quarrel he is penniless. While preparing for the second degree literary examination he has been eking out a meagre living by teaching the children of the shopkeepers in Half Moon Street. He rents a small attic over the shop of Loong, an aged tailor, directly opposite Butcher Hsiao.'
'When did the love affair start?' Judge Dee asked.
'About half a year ago,' Sergeant Hoong answered, 'Candidate Wang fell in love with Pure Jade and the two arranged secret meetings in the girl's room. Wang would go there towards midnight, slip in through the window, and steal back to his own quarters before dawn. Tailor Loong testified that he had discovered Wang's secret after
