the judge stepped up to it.
'Sit down!' a strident voice screeched suddenly.
Judge Dee stumbled backward.
There were shrill sounds of laughter that came from the window. Perplexed, he looked in that direction. Then he smiled. He now saw a small cage of silver wire, suspended by the side of the window. Inside a myna bird was hopping up and down excitedly, fluttering its wings.
The judge went over to it. He tapped on the silver cage and said reprovingly:
'You gave me quite a fright, you naughty bird!'
'Naughty bird!' the myna squeaked. He cocked his small smooth head, and peered shrewdly at the judge with one glittering eye. 'Sit down!' he screeched again.
'Yes, yes!' said the judge. 'But I'll first have a look at those goldfish if I may!'
When he bent over the bowl, half a dozen small black-and-gold fish with long trailing tails and fins came to the surface, and looked solemnly up at him with their large protruding eyes.
'I am sorry I have no food for you!' Judge Dee said. He saw in the middle of the bowl a small statue of the Flower Fairy, raised above the water on a pedestal in the shape of a piece of rock. The statue was delicately molded in colored porcelain; the smiling face of the goddess had daintily rouged cheeks and her straw hat seemed real. Judge Dee stretched out his hand to touch it, but the goldfish started an indignant uproar and splashed around near the surface in great excitement. The judge knew how highly strung these costly, carefully bred small creatures were and was afraid that thrashing about as they were they would damage their long fins. Therefore he quickly went over to the bookshelves.
Then the door opened and Liang Fen came in with an old, bent man leaning on his arm. The judge made a deep bow and stood waiting respectfully while the secretary led his master, step by step, to the armchair. While leaning with his left hand-on the young man's arm, the Councilor supported himself with his right on a long crooked staff of red-lacquered wood. He was clad in a wide robe of stiff brown brocade; on his large head he wore a high cap of black gauze with an inwoven gold-thread pattern. On his forehead he had a black eyeshade in the shape of a moon sickle, so that the judge could not see his eyes. He was impressed by the heavy, gray mustache and long whiskers, and the full white beard that covered the old man's breast in three thick strands. As the old Councilor let himself down slowly into the armchair behind the desk, the myna bird started to flutter in its silver cage. 'Five thousand, cash!' it screeched suddenly. The old man made a move with his head. The secretary quickly hung his handkerchief over the cage.
The Councilor put his elbows on the table and let his large head hang forward. The stiff brocade stood out on both sides of his shoulders like two wings; as the judge saw his hunched shape outlined against the window it resembled that of a huge bird of prey come to roost. But his voice was weak and indistinct as he mumbled:
'Take a seat, Dee! I presume you are the son of my colleague, the late State Councilor Dee, eh?'
'Indeed, Excellency!' the judge answered respectfully. He sat down on the edge of one of the chairs against the wall. Liang Fen remained standing by his master's side.
'I am ninety, Dee!' the Councilor resumed. 'Bad eyes, rheumatism… But what can one expect, at my age?'
His chin sank down deeper on his breast.
'This person,' Judge Dee began, 'offers his humble excuses for daring to disturb Your Excellency. I shall state my business as succinctly as possible. I find myself confronted with two baffling criminal cases. Your Excellency is doubtless aware of the fact that the citizens of Han-yuan are not very communicative. They-'
He saw that Liang Fen frantically shook his head at him. The young man came over to him quickly and whispered:
'The Councilor has fallen asleep! He is often taken that way of late; he will now sleep for hours on end. We'd better go to my study; I'll warn the servants.'
Judge Dee cast a pitying glance at the old man, who was now lying bent over the table, with his head on his arms. He heard his irregular breathing. Then he followed Liang Fen, who brought him to a small study at the back of the house. The door stood open; it gave on a small but well-kept flower garden surrounded by a high fence.
The secretary made Judge Dee sit down in the large armchair by the desk, piled with ledgers and books. 'I'll now call the old couple that looks after His Excellency,' he said hurriedly. 'They'll bring him to his bedroom.'
Left alone in the quiet study, Judge Dee slowly stroked his beard. He reflected dejectedly that his luck was not in that day.
Liang Fen came back and busied himself about the tea table. When he had poured a scalding-hot cup of tea for the judge, he sat down on a tabouret and said unhappily:
'I deeply regret that His Excellency had one of his spells just when Your Honor came to see him! Can I perhaps be of any service?'
'Well, no,' Judge Dee replied. 'Since when has the Councilor had these fits?'
'It began about half a year ago, Your Honor,' Liang Fen said with a sigh. 'It is now eight months since his eldest son in the capital sent me here to act as his father's private secretary. For me it was a godsend to obtain this post, for to tell you the truth I belong to an impoverished branch of the family. Here I found food and shelter, and sufficient spare time to prepare myself for my second literary examination. The first two months everything went well; the Councilor had me come every morning to his library for an hour or so and dictated letters to me, or told me all kinds of interesting anecdotes from his long career when he felt in the mood. He is very nearsighted, so he had nearly all the furniture removed from that room, to avoid bumping himself. He also used to complain of rheumatism; but his mind was wonderfully clear. He himself directed the administration of his extensive landed property, and he did it very well.
'About six months ago, however, he must have had a stroke during the night. He suddenly spoke with difficulty, and often seemed completely dazed. He summoned me only once a week or so, and then would doze off in the middle of our conversation. Also, he will often stay in his bedroom for days on end, feeding only on tea and pine seeds, and drinking infusions of herbs which he prepares himself. The old couple think that he is trying to find the Elixir of Immortality!'
Judge Dee shook his head. He said with a sigh:
'It's not always a blessing to reach such an advanced age!'
'It's a calamity, Your Honor!' the young man exclaimed. 'It's therefore that I felt I had to ask Your Honor's advice! Despite his illness, the Councilor insists on conducting all his own financial affairs. He writes letters which he doesn't show me, and he had long discussions with Wan I-fan, a business promoter whom Mr. Liu Fei-po introduced to him some time ago. I am not allowed to take part in those. But I have to keep the books, and I noticed that of late the Councilor has been engaging in fantastic business transactions. He is selling large lots of good arable land for a ridiculously low price! He is selling out his possessions, Your Honor, at a tremendous loss! The family will hold me responsible, but what can I do? They can't expect me to give unasked-for advice to His Excellency!'
The judge nodded comprehendingly. This was indeed a delicate problem. After a while he said:
'It won't be an easy or agreeable task, Mr. Liang, but you will have to apprise the Councilor's son of the situation. Why don't you propose to him that he come here for a few weeks; then he'll see for himself that his father is in his dotage.'
Liang Fen didn't seem to relish the idea. The judge felt sorry for him; he fully realized how awkward it was for a poor relation of such an illustrious person to communicate to the family the unwelcome news about the head of their clan. He said:
'If you could show me some actual examples of the Councilor's mismanagement, I shall be glad to draw up a note for you that I, the magistrate, have personally convinced myself that the Councilor is not any longer capable of conducting his affairs.'
The young man's face lit up. He said gratefully:
'That would be a tremendous help, Your Honor! I have here a summary of the Councilor's most recent transactions, which I drew up for my own orientation. And here is the ledger with His Excellency's instructions, written by himself, in the margin. The writing is very small, because of his nearsightedness, but the meaning is clear enough! Your Honor'11 see that the offer for that piece of land was far below its actual value. It is true that the buyer paid cash in gold bars, but-'
