'Well,' Chiao Tai said uncertainly, 'I may seem just a bruiser, but I...'
'Save your trouble! I have learned to take men for what they seem to be. What do I care for what they think they are? If you want a real long and cosy talk about yourself, you'd better hire a nursemaid. So, let's get down to business. I went for you because you happen to be a colonel of the Imperial Guard, and according to Mansur the right-hand man of the President of the Metropolitan Court. That means that you could arrange that I get Chinese citizenship. You realize that I am legally a pariah, don't you? A Tanka woman, not allowed to marry a Chinese, not allowed even to dwell on Chinese soil?'
'So that's why your patron established you on this boat!’
'You certainly have an alert mind!’ she scoffed. 'Of course he could not give me a house ashore. He is rolling in money, but he has no official position. But you are from the capital, and your boss is the highest judge in the land. Take me with you to the capital, see to it that I get Chinese citizenship, then introduce me to some really important men. The rest you can leave to me.' She half-closed her eyes and went on with a slow smile, 'To be a real Chinese lady, wear brocade dresses, have my own Chinese chambermaids, my own garden...' Suddenly she added in an impersonal voice, 'In the meantime, as a reward, I shall serve you as well as I can. And after our bout behind the curtains just now you'll agree that I know my job, I trust. Well, is it a deal?'
Her cold, frank words cut Chiao Tai to the quick. But he managed to answer in a steady voice:
'It's a deal!'
He told himself that he would succeed in making this woman fall in love with him. He must.
'Good. We'll have another meeting soon, to fix the details. My patron has a small house where he passes the afternoon with me when he's too busy to come here to the boat. It's to the south of the Kwang-siao Temple, in the west city. I'll send you a message as soon as the coast is clear. For you can't approach my patron, you see. Not yet. He wouldn't let me go, and he has an awful hold over me, could ruin me, if he chose to. Once you have spirited me away to the capital, however, I'll tell you who he is, so that you can let him have back the money he paid for me — in case your conscience should bother you!’
'You didn't commit a crime, did you?' Chiao Tai asked anxiously.
'I made an awful mistake, once.' She rose, pulled the thin robe close to her voluptuous body and said, 'Now you must really go, else there might be trouble. Where can I reach you?'
He told her the name of his inn, kissed her and left the cabin.
On deck he saw that the stern of the largest ship in the next row was within jumping reach. He sprang on board, then made the long journey back to the quay.
He re-entered the city by the Kuei-te Gate, and strolled to the Inn of the Five Immortals. In front of the gate stood a small litter. He asked the bearers whether it had been sent by Captain Nee. They came to their feet, shouting in unison that it had. He stepped inside and was swiftly carried away.
X
Judge Dee had slept badly. He had dozed off, after having tossed about for a long time, and now that he had awakened after a fitful slumber, he found he had a dull headache. It was one hour before daybreak, but he knew he could not sleep any more, and stepped down from the broad bedstead. Clad only in his nightrobe, he stood for a while in front of the arched window, looking out over the palace roofs silhouetted against the grey morning sky. Inhaling the fresh air, he decided that a walk before breakfast would do him good.
He put on a gown of grey cotton, placed his skull-cap on his head and went downstairs. In the anteroom the majordomo was issuing the day's instructions to half a dozen heavy-eyed servants. Judge Dee told him to lead him to the park.
They walked through the dim corridors where the nightlamps had just been doused, on to the rear of the extensive palace compound. All along the back of the main building ran a broad marble terrace; below it was a beautifully laid out landscape garden, with paved pathways winding among the flowery shrubs.
'You need not wait,' he told the majordomo. Til find my way back all right.'
He descended the dew-covered steps, and took a path leading to a large lotus pond. Through the thin morning haze that hung over the still water, he saw on the opposite bank a small pavilion and decided to stroll over there. He walked slowly round the pond, admiring the graceful lotus flowers that were just now opening their pink and red petals.
Approaching the pavilion, he saw through the window the back of a tall man, hunched over a table. He thought he recognized those round shoulders. As he climbed the steps, he noticed that the man was peering intently into a small pot of green porcelain which stood in front of him. Apparently he had heard Judge Dee's footsteps, for he said, still staring into the pot:
'So there you are, at last! Have a look at this tall fellow here!’
'Good morning,' Judge Dee said.
The Governor looked up with a startled frown. Seeing who his visitor was, he quickly rose and stammered:
'Excuse me, sir! I ... I really didn't ...'
'It's too early in the day for formalities!’ the judge interrupted wearily. 'I didn't sleep too well, and came out for a morning stroll.' Taking the other chair, he added, 'Sit down, please! What have you got in that pot there?'
'My best fighter, sir! See those strong, sturdy legs! Isn't he a beauty?'
Judge Dee leaned forward. He thought the large cricket resembled a particularly nasty black spider.
'Fine specimen!' he commented, sitting back again. 'I must confess, however, that I am an outsider. The Imperial Censor who came to Canton a few weeks ago — there is a real enthusiast!'
'I had the honour to show him my collection,' the other said proudly. Then his face fell. He gave the judge a diffident look and resumed, 'He came back here, incognito, you know. I reported to the capital that he had been seen here, and I was ordered to establish contact with him. But shortly after I had sent out my men to make a search for him, the order was suddenly cancelled.' He hesitated for a while, nervously tugging at his moustache. 'Of course, I would never be so bold as to meddle with the affairs of the central government, but since Canton is my territory after all, I thought that a few words of explanation.. .' He did not finish his sentence and gave the judge an expectant look.
'Yes!' Judge Dee said eagerly, 'that's true! The Censor wasn't present at the meeting of the Grand Council I attended just before I left. Well, since you have been ordered to cease your efforts, the Censor has presumably gone back to the capital and resumed his duties.'
He leaned back in his chair, slowly stroking his beard. The Governor took a round cover of woven bamboo and carefully put it over the green pot. Then he said with a wan smile:
'My physician has informed me that you discovered a second murder yesterday. And the victim was one of your own men! I do hope that the Prefect isn't getting too old for his job. It's a large city, and...'
'It doesn't matter,' the judge said affably. 'Both affairs had their roots in the capital, and my men made awkward mistakes. It's I who should apologize!’
'Most considerate of you, sir. I hope you are satisfied with the progress of your investigation concerning the foreign trade here?'
'Oh yes. But it's a complicated subject. I think we must devise a better system for keeping all those various kinds of foreigners under control, you know. In due time I shall show you a draft-proposal to confine them severally to special quarters. I have just begun to look into Arab affairs. Then I shall go on to the others too, such as the Persians, and...'