The Phantom of the Temple

After Ma Joong had left, Sergeant Hoong finished his tea and strolled over to Judge Dee's private residence at the back of the tribunal compound. The old housemaster informed him that, after the noon-rice, the judge had gone to the back garden, together with his three ladies. The sergeant nodded and walked on. He was the only male member of the personnel of the tribunal allowed to enter Judge Dee's women's quarters, and he was very proud of that privilege.

It was fairly cool in the garden, for it had been laid out expertly by a previous magistrate whose hobby was landscape gardening. High oak and acacia trees spread their branches over the winding footpath that was paved with smooth black stones of irregular shape. At every turn one heard the murmur of the brook that meandered through the undergrowth, here and there broken by clusters of flowering shrubs of carefully matched colours.

The last turn brought the sergeant to a small clearing, bordered by mossy rocks. The Second and Third Ladies, sitting on a rustic stone bench under high, rustling bam­boos, were gazing at the lotus pond farther down, on the garden's lowest level. Beyond was the outer wall, camouflaged by cleverly spaced pine trees. In the centre of the lotus pond stood a small water-pavilion, its pointed roof with the gracefully upturned eaves supported by six slender, red-lacquered pillars. Judge Dee and his First Lady were inside, bent over the table by the balustrade.

The judge is going to write,' the Second Lady informed Hoong. 'We stayed behind here so as not to disturb him.' She had a pleasant homely face; her hair was done up in a simple coil at the back of her head; and she wore a jacket of violet silk over a white robe. It was her task to supervise the household accounts. The Third Lady, slender in her long-sleeved gown of blue silk, gathered under the bosom by a red sash, wore her hair in an elaborate high chignon which set off to advantage her sensitive, finely chiselled face. Her main interests were painting and calligraphy, while she was also fond of out­door sports, especially horse-riding. She was in charge of the tuition of Judge Dee's children. Sergeant Hoong gave them a friendly nod and descended the stone stairs lead­ing down to the lotus pond.

He went up the curved marble bridge that spanned the pond. The water-pavilion was built on the highest point of the curve. Judge Dee was standing in front of the table, a large writing-brush in his hand. He looked specu­latively at the sheet of red paper spread out on the table top. His First Lady was busily preparing ink on the small side table. She had an oval, regular face, and her hair was done up in three heavy coils, fixed by a narrow, golden hairband. The tailored robe of blue and white embroidered silk showed her fine figure, inclining to portliness now that she was celebrating her thirty-ninth birthday. The judge had married her when she was nineteen and he twenty. She was the eldest daughter of a high official, his father's best friend. Having received an excellent classical educa­tion and being a woman of strong personality, she directed the entire household with a firm hand. Now she stopped rubbing the ink-cake on the stone, and motioned to her husband that it was ready. Judge Dee moistened the brush, pushed his right sleeve back from his wrist, then wrote the character for 'long life', nearly four feet high, in one powerful sweeping movement.

Sergeant Hoong, who had been waiting on the bridge till the judge was ready, now stepped into the pavilion. 'Magnifпcent calligraphy, sir!’ he exclaimed.

'I wanted that auspicious character in the master's own handwriting, Hoong!’ the First Lady said with a satisfied smile. 'Tonight we shall display it on the wall of the dining-room!’

The Second and Third Ladies came rushing towards the pond to admire the writing too. They clapped their hands excitedly.

'Well,' Judge Dee said smiling, 'it couldn't but turn out well, seeing that my First Lady made the ink and you two prepared the red paper and the brush! I must be leaving now, for I have to go and have a look at the deserted temple. Some vagabonds had a scuffle there last night. If there's time, I shall call on the Abbess in the Hermitage and tell her that I am planning to post a regular guardpost on the hill,'

'Please do that!' the Second Lady said eagerly. 'The Abbess is alone in the Hermitage with only one maid­servant,'

'You ought to persuade the Abbess to move into the city,' the First Lady remarked. 'There are two or three empty shrines here where she could settle down. That would save her coming such a long way on the days she teaches us flower arrangement.'

'I'll do my best/ the judge promised. His ladies liked the Abbess, who was one of the few nice friends they had in Lan-fang. 'I may be late,' he added, 'but you'll be busy the whole afternoon anyway, receiving the wives of the notables who come to offer their congratulations. I'll try to be back as early as possible.'

His three ladies conducted him to the entrance of the garden.