Ding had left Judge Dee ordered Sergeant Hoong:
“Search the victim’s clothes!”
The sergeant felt through the sleeves of the robe. He took from the right sleeve a handkerchief and a small set consisting of toothpick and earcleaner in a brocade cover. He found in the left sleeve a large key of intricate design and a cardboard box. Then he felt in the dead man’s girdle but found only another handkerchief.
Judge Dee opened the cardboard box. It contained nine crystallised plums, neatly arranged in three rows of three. These sweet plums are a delicacy for which Lan-fang is famous. The cover of the box bore a strip of red paper with an inscription: “With respectful congratulations”.
The judge sighed and put the box down on the desk. The coroner removed the writing brush from the stiff fingers of the body. Two constables entered, and the dead General was carried away on a stretcher of bamboo poles.
Judge Dee sat down in the victim’s armchair.
“You will all go to the main hall,” he ordered. “I shall stay here for a while.”
When the others had gone the judge leaned back in the chair and looked pensively at the bookshelves loaded with books and documents. The only empty wall space was on both sides of the door. It was flanked by scroll paintings, and above it there hung a horizontal board with the engraved inscription: “Studio of Self-examination”. This evidently was the name that old General Ding had bestowed on his library.
Then Judge Dee looked at the set of writing materials neatly arranged on the desk. The stone slab for rubbing the ink was a beautiful specimen, and the bamboo brush holder by its side was-delicately carved. Next to the ink slab stood a red porcelain water container for moistening it. It was marked in blue letters “Studio of Self-examination”; evidently it had been made specially for General Ding. A cake of ink was lying on a dimunitive stand of carved jade.
On the left the judge saw two bronze paper weights. They too bore an engraved inscription: “The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon”. This poetical couplet was signed: “The Recluse of the Bamboo Grove”. Judge Dee assumed that this was the pen name of one of the General’s friends who had had these paper weights made for him.
He took up the brush that the dead man had been using. It was a very elaborate one with a long tip of wolf’s hair. The shaft was of carved red lacquer and bore the inscription: “Reward of the Evening of Life”. Alongside there was engraved in very small, elegant characters: “With respectful congratulations on the completion of six cycles. The Abode of Tranquillity”. Thus this brush was an anniversary gift from another friend.
The judge laid the brush down and had a closer look at the sheet of paper the dead man had been writing on. There were only two lines, written in a bold hand:
“Preface. Historical records go back till the distant past. Many are the illustrious men who have preserved the events of former dynasties for posterity.”
Judge Dee reflected that this was a complete sentence. Thus the General had not been interrupted in the midst of his writing. Probably he had been pondering over the next sentence when the murderer struck.
The judge took up once more the red lacquer brush and idly looked at its ‘intricate carved design of clouds and dragons. It struck him how quiet this secluded library was. Not a sound from outside penetrated here.
He suddenly felt a vague fear assail him. He was sitting in the dead man’s chair, in exactly the same position as the General had been when he died.
The judge quickly looked up. He noticed with a shock that the scroll painting by the door was hanging askew. He felt a sudden panic. Was it from a secret panel behind that scroll that the murderer had stepped into the room and thrust his dagger into the General’s throat? It flashed through his mind that
“Search the victim’s clothes!”
The sergeant felt through the sleeves of the robe. He took from the right sleeve a handkerchief and a small set consisting of toothpick and earcleaner in a brocade cover. He found in the left sleeve a large key of intricate design and a cardboard box. Then he felt in the dead man’s girdle but found only another handkerchief.
Judge Dee opened the cardboard box. It contained nine crystallised plums, neatly arranged in three rows of three. These sweet plums are a delicacy for which Lan-fang is famous. The cover of the box bore a strip of red paper with an inscription: “With respectful congratulations”.
The judge sighed and put the box down on the desk. The coroner removed the writing brush from the stiff fingers of the body. Two constables entered, and the dead General was carried away on a stretcher of bamboo poles.
Judge Dee sat down in the victim’s armchair.
“You will all go to the main hall,” he ordered. “I shall stay here for a while.”
When the others had gone the judge leaned back in the chair and looked pensively at the bookshelves loaded with books and documents. The only empty wall space was on both sides of the door. It was flanked by scroll paintings, and above it there hung a horizontal board with the engraved inscription: “Studio of Self-examination”. This evidently was the name that old General Ding had bestowed on his library.
Then Judge Dee looked at the set of writing materials neatly arranged on the desk. The stone slab for rubbing the ink was a beautiful specimen, and the bamboo brush holder by its side was-delicately carved. Next to the ink slab stood a red porcelain water container for moistening it. It was marked in blue letters “Studio of Self-examination”; evidently it had been made specially for General Ding. A cake of ink was lying on a dimunitive stand of carved jade.
On the left the judge saw two bronze paper weights. They too bore an engraved inscription: “The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon”. This poetical couplet was signed: “The Recluse of the Bamboo Grove”. Judge Dee assumed that this was the pen name of one of the General’s friends who had had these paper weights made for him.
He took up the brush that the dead man had been using. It was a very elaborate one with a long tip of wolf’s hair. The shaft was of carved red lacquer and bore the inscription: “Reward of the Evening of Life”. Alongside there was engraved in very small, elegant characters: “With respectful congratulations on the completion of six cycles. The Abode of Tranquillity”. Thus this brush was an anniversary gift from another friend.
The judge laid the brush down and had a closer look at the sheet of paper the dead man had been writing on. There were only two lines, written in a bold hand:
“Preface. Historical records go back till the distant past. Many are the illustrious men who have preserved the events of former dynasties for posterity.”
Judge Dee reflected that this was a complete sentence. Thus the General had not been interrupted in the midst of his writing. Probably he had been pondering over the next sentence when the murderer struck.
The judge took up once more the red lacquer brush and idly looked at its ‘intricate carved design of clouds and dragons. It struck him how quiet this secluded library was. Not a sound from outside penetrated here.
He suddenly felt a vague fear assail him. He was sitting in the dead man’s chair, in exactly the same position as the General had been when he died.
The judge quickly looked up. He noticed with a shock that the scroll painting by the door was hanging askew. He felt a sudden panic. Was it from a secret panel behind that scroll that the murderer had stepped into the room and thrust his dagger into the General’s throat? It flashed through his mind that
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