Necklace and Calabash

Alarmed, Judge Dee realized that he had barely half a minute to decide. It would take only that long to reach the gold-lacquered door at the end of the passage.

Up to now he had not been concerned about the irregularity of the situation, for the person who had summoned him in this un­usual manner had to be someone of consequence, and fully aware of his true identity, duly reported by the wily Captain Siew. That person wished to keep the real purpose of his visit secret, and would assume full responsibility for his having entered the palace under false pretences. But evidently his unknown sponsor had not reckoned with the Chief Eunuch interfering. During the com­ing interview the judge would either have to lie to one of the highest Court officials, which went against his deepest convictions of his duties to the State, or tell the truth, the consequences of which move he couldn't even guess at. The truth might harm a good cause, but also, perhaps, thwart an evil scheme. He took hold of himself. If a corrupt courtier or a depraved official was intending to use him for a nefarious purpose it meant that he, the judge, had somewhere fallen short of the ideals of honesty and justice he wanted to live by, and hence fully deserved the ignominious death awaiting him if his true identity were dis­covered. This reflection gave him back his inner certainty. While the obese eunuch was knocking at the door, Judge Dee groped in his sleeve for one of the red visiting-cards he had written in the Kingfisher.

He knelt down just inside the door, respectfully raising the card with both hands above his bent head. Someone took the card and he heard a brief, whispered conversation. Then a thin voice spoke petulantly:

'Yes, yes, I know all that! Let me see your face, Doctor Liang!’

As the judge raised his head he saw with surprise that instead of the sumptuous office he had expected, he found himself in what seemed the elegant library of a scholar of fastidious taste. To the right and left stood high bookcases, loaded with brocade-bound volumes and manuscript rolls, and the wide window at the back opened onto a charming garden where a profusion of flowers blossomed among quaintly shaped rocks. On the broad windowsill stood a row of orchids, in coloured bowls of exquisite porcelain. Their subtle fragrance pervaded the quiet room. Beside the rose­wood desk an old man was sitting hunched in an enormous arm­chair of carved ebony. He was enveloped in a wide robe of shimmering stiff brocade that sloped down from his narrow shoul­ders like a tent. The sallow face, with thin grey moustache and wispy chinbeard, seemed small and pinched under the high tiara, lavishly decorated with gold filigree set with glittering jewels. Behind the armchair stood a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed entirely in black. With impassive face he let a red silk noose glide through his large, hairy hands. For a while the old man looked the judge over with heavy-lidded, vacant eyes. Then he said:

'Rise and come nearer!’

The judge hastily came to his feet and advanced three steps. He made a low bow, then raised his hands in his folded sleeves, waiting for the Chief Eunuch to address him. The sound of heavy breathing told him that the obese eunuch was standing close be­hind him.

'Why should the Lady Hydrangea have summoned you?' the old man asked in his querulous voice. 'We have four excellent physicians on our staff.'

'This person,' Judge Dee replied respectfully, 'could, of course, never dare to compete with the great doctors attached to the palace. It so happened, however, that by a mere stroke of good luck I succeeded in alleviating similar symptoms the Honourable Kuo suffered from. In his great kindness, the Honourable Kuo must have given the Lady Hydrangea a much exaggerated impression of this person's poor skill.'

'I see.' The Chief Eunuch slowly rubbed his bony chin, moodily surveying the judge. Suddenly he looked up and ordered crisply:

'Leave us alone!’ The man in black went to the door, followed by the obese eunuch. As the door closed behind them, the old man slowly got up from the armchair. If it hadn't been for his bent shoulders he would have been nearly as tall as the judge. He said in a tired voice: