The Lacquer Screen

Chiao Tai looked round. When he saw the ugly man he quickly averted his gaze and said to the judge in an under­tone:

'Do you see that fellow sitting alone at that corner table behind me? He looks like some loathsome insect that has just crawled out of its shell!' Judge Dee looked and said :

'Yes, he doesn't look very prepossessing. Now, what are you reading there? '

'It's a guide-book of Wei-ping that the waiter lent me. It was an excellent idea to break our journey here!' Pushing the open book over to the judge, he continued: 'Look, it says here that in the Temple of the War God there's a set of life-size statues of a dozen of our famous ancient generals, done by a great sculptor of olden times. Then there is a magnifi­cent hot spring that ...'

'The magistrate's counsellor told me all about it just now!' the judge interrupted him with a smile. 'We'll be quite busy here seeing the sights.' He sipped from his tea, then added: 'My colleague here, Teng, disappointed me a bit, you know. Since he is such a famous poet, I had im­agined him as a jovial fellow and a brilliant causeur. But he seems a bit of an old stick, and rather a martinet. He looked ill and worried.'

'Well, what can you expect?' Chiao Tai asked. 'Didn't you tell me that he has only one wife? That's rather strange, for a man in his position!'

'You shouldn't call it strange,' Judge Dee said reprovingly. 'Magistrate Teng and his wife are an example of conjugal love. Although they have been married eight years and have no children, Teng has never taken secondary wives or con­cubines. Literary circles in the capital have nicknamed them the Eternal Lovers — not without envy, I presume. His wife, Silver Lotus, is also known for her poetical talent, and that common interest forms a strong bond.'

'She may be good at poetry,' Chiao Tai observed, 'but I still think her husband had better add two or three nice young girls to his bedroom furniture, just to get inspiration from, so to speak.'

Judge Dee had not heard him. His attention had been caught by the conversation going on at the table next to theirs. A fat man with a double chin was saying:

'I still maintain that our magistrate made a mistake during the session this morning. Why should he refuse to register old Ko's suicide?'

'Well,' a thin man with a foxy face who sat opposite him said, 'the body hasn't been found, you know! No body, no registration! That's the official mind for you!'

'It stands to reason there's no body!' the fat man said crossly. 'He jumped into the river, didn't he? And the current is uncommonly fast. Don't forget the amount of slope it has, the hilly part of the city is quite high. I don't say anything against our magistrate, mind you, he is one of the best we have had these last years. I only say that, being an official who gets his pay on the dot every month, he doesn't know a thing about the financial worries of us business people. He doesn't realize that as long as the suicide hasn't been registered, Ko's banker can't wind up his busi­ness. Since old Ko had many affairs outstanding, that delay may mean big losses for the family.'

The other nodded sagely. Then he asked:

'Do you have any idea why Ko should have killed him­self? No financial worries, I hope? '

'Certainly not!' the fat man said quickly. 'Sound busi­ness, that silk firm of his, the largest in the province, I'd say. He's had trouble with his health lately, though. That'll have been the cause. Do you remember that suicide last year of Wang, the tea dealer who always complained of headaches?'

Judge Dee lost interest. He poured out another cup of tea. Chiao Tai, who had been listening also, whispered:

'Remember that you are on a holiday, Magistrate! And all the dead bodies that may be drifting around here are the exclusive property of your colleague Teng!'

'You are quite right, Chiao Tai! Does that guide-book give a list of jewellers here? I must purchase a few trinkets for my wives back in Peng-lai, as souvenirs.'

'A list as long as my arm!' Chiao Tai replied. Hastily leafing through the book he showed the judge a page. Judge Dee nodded and said:

'That's good, I'll have plenty to choose from.' He got up and called the waiter. 'Let's go, I got the address of a good hostel, not far from here.'

The ugly man at the comer table waited till they had paid and gone down into the street. Then he quickly got up and sauntered over to the table they had just left. He casually picked up the guide-book and glanced at the page it lay open at. An evil glint came into his one eye. He threw the book down and hurriedly descended from the terrace. He saw the judge and Chiao Tai standing farther on, apparently inquir­ing the way from a street vendor.