Poets and Murder by Robert van Gulik

Author:Robert van Gulik [Gulik, Robert van]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: General, Mystery & Detective, Fiction
ISBN: 9780684125602
Google: ChdDYCc2smwC
Amazon: 0684125609
Publisher: charles scribner's sons
Published: 1968-12-14T00:00:00+00:00

JUDGE DEE CONSULTS THE ARCHIVES

concubine. Judge Dee put his forefinger on the item and said : 'Please find out in this year's Population Register whether Mr Soong is still alive.'

The old clerk went to the shelves on the side wall and came shuffling back with an armful of thick rolls. He unrolled a few and peered at the closely written entries, mumbling in his beard, 'Soong Wen-ta . . . Soong Wen-ta . . .' At last he looked up and shook his head. 'He and his wife must have died without male issue, sir, for no one of that particular Soong family is listed any more. Do you wish to know in what year they died, sir?'

'No, that's not necessary. Give me the list of members of the Guild of Hardware Dealers!' The judge got up from his chair. This was the last chance.

The greybeard opened a large box marked 'Minor Guilds'. He selected a thin booklet and handed it to the judge. While the old man gathered up again the rolls of the Population Register, Judge Dee leafed through the booklet. Yes, there was a hardware dealer called Hwang, married to a woman of the surname Soong. The item was marked by a small circle in the margin, meaning that Hwang was in arrears with the payment of his membership fees. He was living in an alley near the East Gate. Judge Dee memorized the address, then he threw the booklet on the table with a satisfied smile.

Bending over the dossier of the Mo household, he verified that after the execution of the general the family had scattered. The dead concubine's son, Soong I-wen, had been adopted by a distant uncle in the capital. The judge detached from the file the copy of the anonymous letter accusing the general and put it into his sleeve. He thanked the old clerk, and told him he could replace all the files. Then he walked over to the residence.

On approaching the fourth courtyard, the judge was greeted by the shouts and laughter of children. It was a charming scene. About two dozen children, all dressed up in gaudy costumes, were romping about the man-high Moon Altar, which had been erected in the centre of the paved yard. On top of it was the white figure of the long-eared Moon Rabbit, fashioned out of dough and standing on a pile of Moon Cakes -round flour-cakes stuffed with sweet beans. At the base was a profusion of platters and bowls heaped with fresh fruit and sweetmeats, and at the corners high red candles and bronze incense burners; these would be lit after dark.

Judge Dee crossed the yard to the broad marble terrace where a small group of people stood watching : the Court Poet and Sexton Loo at the marble balustrade, Lo, the Academician and the poetess behind them, beside a capacious armchair of carved ebony, set on a low dais. In the armchair sat a frail old lady in a long black dress, her snow-white hair combed back straight from her forehead.

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