As they were walking down the main street Sergeant Hoong burst out:
'That insolent yokel would talk quite differently if he was lying in the screws before Your Honour's dais!'
The judge smiled.
'Woo is an extremely clever young man', he commented, 'but he has already made his first bad mistake!'
Tao Gan and Chiao Tai were waiting in the judge's private office.
They had spent the afternoon in Chien's mansion and collected evidence relating to a few cases of extortion. Tao Gan confirmed Liu Wan-fang's statement in court that Chien Mow had personally directed most affairs; his two counsellors seemed to be just hangers-on who said 'Yes!' to their master whenever required.
Judge Dee drank the cup of tea that Sergeant Hoong offered him.
Then he unrolled Woo's picture and said:
'Let us now start our artistic studies! Tao Gan, hang this picture on the wall, next to Governor Yoo's landscape!'
The judge settled back in his armchair and looked for some time at the two paintings.
'These two pictures', he said at last, 'contain the key-to the Governor's last will, and to the murder of General Ding!'
Sergeant Hoong, Tao Gan and Chiao Tai turned their footstools round so that they faced the paintings.
Ma Joong came in. He looked astonished at this unusual scene.
'Sit down, Ma Joong!', the judge ordered, 'and join this gathering of connoisseurs!'
Tao Gan rose and stood himself with his hands on his back in front of the Governor's landscape. After a while he turned round and shook his head.
'For a moment', he said, 'I thought that some inscription in very small letters might be hidden among the leaves of the trees or in the outlines of the rocks. But I cannot discover as much as one single character!'
Judge Dee pensively tugged at his whiskers.
'Last night', he spoke, 'I have pondered over that landscape for several hours and early this morning I again scrutinized it inch by inch. I must confess that this painting baffles me.'
Tao Gan stroked his ragged moustache. He asked:
'Could not it be, Your Honour, that a sheet of paper has been concealed at the back of the picture, between the lining?'
'I had thought of that possibility too', the judge answered, 'and therefore I examined the picture against a strong light. If a sheet of paper had been pasted between the lining it should have shown.'
'When I was living in Canton ', Tao Gan said, 'I learned the art of mounting pictures. Shall I remove the lining entirely and investigate also the space covered by the brocade frame? At the same time I could verify whether the wooden rollers at top and bottom of the scroll are solid; it is not unthinkable that the old Governor concealed a tightly rolled piece of paper inside.'
'If thereafter you can restore the scroll again to its original form', the judge answered, 'by all means try. Although I must confess that such a hiding place seems rather crude to me and unworthy of the Governor's brilliant mind. But we can not afford to pass over the slightest chance for solving this riddle.
This Buddhist picture by our friend Woo is quite another proposition. It contains a definite clue.'
Sergeant Hoong asked astonished:
'How can that be, Your Honour? Woo selected that picture for you himself!'
Judge Dee smiled his thin smile.
'That is because Woo did not realize how he had betrayed himself', he answered. 'Woo may have no high opinion of my artistic sense, but I saw something in his picture that he himself had overlooked.'
Judge Dee sipped his tea. Then he ordered Ma Joong to call Headman Fang.
When Fang was standing in front of the desk Judge Dee looked at him gravely for a while. Then he said kindly:
'Your daughter Dark Orchid is doing well, my First Lady informs me that she is an industrious and intelligent worker.'
The headman bowed deeply.
'I am rather reluctant', the judge continued, 'to take your daughter from her present safe surroundings, all the more so since there is as yet no news about the fate of your eldest daughter White Orchid. On the other hand Dark Orchid is the most suitable person to gather information for me in the Ding household. With the impending funeral of the General the house will be in great confusion and they will need extra-servants. If Dark Orchid could get herself a position there as temporary maid, she could find out much inside information from the other servants. I do not wish to do anything, however, without the consent of you, her father.'
'Your Honour', the headman answered quietly, 'I and my family consider ourselves your slaves. Moreover my youngest daughter is an independent and enterprising girl, she would enjoy executing such an order.'
Ma Joong had been shifting uneasily on his chair. Now he interrupted:
'Is that not rather a job for Tao Gan, Your Honour?' The judge shot a shrewd glance at Ma Joong. He replied: 'There is no better source of information on what is going on in a household than the tittle-tattle of the maids. Instruct your daughter, Headman, to go to the Ding mansion straight away!
As to our friend Woo, I want a double watch on him. You, Ma Joong, will go there tonight as the open watcher. You should make it appear as if you try to remain unobserved but in such a way that Woo realizes that you are a man from the tribunal sent to watch him. You will give him every opportunity to leave the house unobserved. Put all your skill and experience in this job, Ma Joong. This Woo is an extraordinarily clever young fellow!
Tao Gan will be the real watcher, he should take good care to remain hidden. As soon as Woo has eluded Ma Joong, Tao Gan will follow Woo secretly and find out where he goes and what he does. If he tries to leave the city you can come out in the open and arrest him.' Tao Gan looked pleased. He said: 'Ma Joong and I have practised this trick of the double watch before, Your Honour! I shall now first take the Governor's painting and moisten it so that the lining can soak loose during the night. Then I shall start out with Ma Joong.'
When Tao Gan and Ma Joong had taken their leave, the judge consulted with Chiao Tai and Headman Fang about the affairs of the Chien mansion.
He decided that Chien Mow's wives and concubines could be sent back to their respective families. The house servants should be released with one month salary advanced by the tribunal. Only the steward was to be detained for further questioning.
Chiao Tai reported that he was very satisfied with the discipline of the soldiers. Every morning and afternoon he took them through a strenuous military drill. He added that they stood in deadly fear of Corporal Ling.
When the headman and Chiao Tai had left, Judge Dee leaned back in his armchair.
He reflected that after all these years of working together he really knew very little about Chiao Tai. He had been Ma Joong's companion in 'the green woods', but about his earlier life the judge knew nothing. Judge Dee had heard Ma Joong's entire story, and several episodes of it even twice. But Chiao Tai had always been very reticent. He seemed to take so much pleasure in his military duties in Lan-fang that Judge Dee wondered whether Chiao Tai had not been originally a career officer. He promised himself that he would try to find out in the near future.
But there were many other more pressing affairs. With a sigh the judge started to study the documents relating to Chien Mow's misdeeds that Tao Gan had placed on his desk.
Eleventh Chapter
Ma Joong thought it unnecessary to disguise himself. He only changed the black cap that marked him as an officer of the tribunal for a pointed bonnet such as is worn by people of the working class. Tao Gan replaced his cap by a collapsible one of black, thin gauze.
Before leaving, the two held a brief consultation in the quarters of the guards.
'It is easy enough', Ma Joong remarked, 'to make myself conspicuous and give Woo to understand that I am
