The Lacquer Screen

by Robert Van Gulik

  He went down the bridge and followed the river-bank for a while. At one moment he again thought he had the eery feeling that someone was following him. But this wasn’t possible, because Kunshan was now their ally. He turned into a side street which led south.

  There his attention was drawn by the open window of a large house, standing back from the street behind a bamboo fence. Raising himself on tiptoe he looked over the fence, curious to see who was still up and about at that late hour. He saw a corner of a richly furnished room, brilliantly lit by two silver candles on a dressing-table. A woman clad only in a single dress of thin white silk was standing before the mirror, combing her hair.

  Since of course no decent woman would thus expose herself, Chiao Tai deduced that she was a courtesan who had her own establishment. He eyed her with approval. She was a well-developed woman of about thirty, with a handsome oval face. She seemed the mature, knowing type that always appealed to him. Pensively pulling at his short moustache, he reflected again that he could do with a really nice woman, he was in the right mood for it. On the other hand, this was a high-class courtesan, and, if she would grant him her favours at all, there still was the problem of money. He had only two strings of coppers in his sleeve, and he estimated that he would need at least five, if not a silver piece. However, he could at least make her acquaintance, and maybe make an appointment for the next evening. It was worth trying anyway.

  He pushed the bamboo gate open, crossed the small but elegant flower garden, and knocked on the plain, black-lacquered door. It was opened by the woman herself. She uttered an astonished cry, then quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve, looking very confused.

  Chiao Tai made a bow and said politely:

  ‘I am sorry to disturb you so late at night, younger sister! Passing by I happened to see you doing your hair by the window, and was deeply impressed by your charm. I wondered whether a lonely traveller might not rest awhile here and profit by your conversation.’

  The woman hesitated. She looked him up and down, a slight frown creasing her white forehead. Suddenly she smiled and said in a soft, cultured voice:

  ‘I was expecting someone else.…But, since it is long past the appointed time, you might as well come in.’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of interfering with other appointments, I’ll come back tomorrow!’ Chiao Tai said hastily. ‘Your guest might yet turn up—he’d be a fool if he didn’t!’

  The woman laughed. He thought she was really very attractive.

  ‘Do come in!’ she said. ‘I rather like your looks, you know!’

  She stepped back, and Chiao Tai followed her inside.

  ‘Sit down,’ she said coyly, ‘I’ll just fix my hair.’

  Seated on a tabouret of coloured porcelain, Chiao Tai reflected ruefully that he would be lucky if he could persuade her to make an appointment for some other night, for this was clearly a courtesan of the most expensive class. A thick blue carpet covered the floor, the walls were decorated with heavy brocade hangings, and the broad couch was made of blackwood inlaid with small figures of mother of pearl. The fragrant smoke of some expensive incense curled up from the gilded burner on the dressing-table. He twirled his moustache, looking with appreciation at her shapely back and rounded hips. He followed for a while the graceful movement of her white arm as she combed her long, glossy tresses. Then he said:

  ‘I am sure that a lovely lady like you has a charming name!’

  ‘My name?’ she asked, smiling at him in the round mirror. ‘Oh, you may call me Autumn Rose.’

  ‘It sounds well,’ he said, ‘but of course no name could ever do justice to your exquisite beauty!’

  She turned round with a pleased smile and sat down on the edge of the couch. Taking a fan from the side table she leisurely fanned herself, looking at him appraisingly. After a while she said:

  ‘You are strong and not too bad-looking, though a bit austere. And your robe is plain though of good material, but you don’t know how to wear it to advantage. Shall I guess what you are? I think you are an army officer on leave!’

  ‘Very near!’ Chiao Tai said. ‘And it is indeed true, as I told you just now, that I am a stranger in town.’

  She looked at him intently with her large, luminous eyes. Then she asked:

  ‘Do you plan to stay long in Wei-ping?’

  ‘I have only a few days. Now I have met you, I wish I could live here for ever!’

  She playfully tapped his knee with the fan and asked:

  ‘Does the army teach its officers such nice things nowadays?‘She gave him a sidelong look and carelessly let her robe come apart in front, revealing her perfect breasts. ‘Oh, isn’t it hot, even at night!’

  Chiao Tai shifted on his tabouret. Why didn’t the old duenna appear with the customary tea? Since the courtesan had clearly indicated that he was acceptable, according to the etiquette of the ‘world of wind and willows’, he could now discuss the price with her duenna. She looked at him expectantly. Chiao Tai cleared his throat, then asked awkwardly:

  ‘Where could I find your eh…duenna?’

  ‘Why would you want my duenna?’she asked with lifted eyebrows.

  ‘Well, I wanted to talk with her a bit, you know…’

  ‘Talk with her? What about? Don’t you like my conversation?’

  ‘Stop your teasing!’ Chiao Tai said with a smile. ‘About…the practical aspects, of course!’

  ‘Now, what on earth would you mean by that?’ she asked, pouting.

  ‘Holy Heaven!’ Chiao Tai exclaimed impatiently. ‘We are neither of us children any more, are we? There’s the matter of how much I am expected to pay, how long I can stay, and so on.’

  She burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her fan. Chiao Tai joined her, rather embarrassed. When she had recovered, she said primly:

  ‘I regret to inform you that my duenna is ill. So you’ll have to discuss the “practical aspects”, as you so delicately put it, directly with me. Well, speak up, sir, at how much do you value my favour?’

  ‘Ten thousand gold pieces!’ Chiao Tai replied gallantly.

  ‘You are a dear!’ she said gratified. ‘And a strong animal to boot. You lead your wives at home quite a strenuous life, I am sure. Well, today is a special day. You can stay with me for a while and we shall forget about those hateful practical aspects of yours. It so happens that I’ll be leaving town shortly, and a second visit from you would not be convenient. So you must promise that after tonight you’ll not come back here again.’

  ‘You break my heart, but I promise!’ Chiao Tai said. He envied the wealthy patron who would be taking this delightful woman along on a trip. He rose, and sitting down by her side he put his arm round her shoulders. While giving her a long kiss he began to loosen the sash of her robe.

  Chapter 8

  Chiao Tai walked to the Phoenix Inn, humming a tune. He found the taproom deserted but for Carnation, looking sullen. She was sweeping the floor with a bamboo broom. She asked:

  ‘Where is the Student?’

  ‘Around!’ he replied, letting himself down carefully in the old rattan armchair, the easiest he saw about. ‘Make a large pot of tea, will you? Not for me, but for my mate, he’s a great tea-bibber! Didn’t Kunshan come?’

  Carnation made a face.

  ‘He did, that mean bastard! I told him both of you were out, and he said he would be coming back later. I can tell you that I have put up with all kinds of men, but with that Kunshan I wouldn’t sleep for ten gold pieces!’

  ‘You can always keep your eyes shut, can’t you?’ Chiao Tai asked.

  ‘No, it isn’t his ugly mug. He’s the vicious kind that likes to hurt. I might find myself with my throat slit, and what do I do then with ten gold pieces?’

  ‘Use them for bribing the Black Judge of the Nether World! But let’s not talk about Kunshan. What about me, dear, eh?’

  The girl stepped up to him and gave him a good look. She sniffed contemptuously.

  ‘You? Next wee
k perhaps, when you’ve recovered! That smug smirk of yours tells me that you just got as thorough a treatment as you’ll ever be likely to get. And expensive too, judging by that smell! No, I wager that you haven’t even the strength left to lift my skirt!’ She went to the kitchen.

  Chiao Tai guffawed. He leaned back in the chair, put his feet on the table and soon was snoring loudly. The girl came back and put a large teapot on the table. Then she yawned, walked over to the counter, and started to pick her teeth.

  It was she who opened the door for Judge Dee. She asked anxiously: ‘Why hasn’t the Student come back with you?’

  The judge shot her a shrewd look, then replied:

  ‘I sent him out on another job.’

  ‘He won’t get himself into trouble, will he?’

  ‘Nothing I can’t get him out of. You look tired, my wench. Better go up to sleep. We’ll be here for some time.’

  She went up the narrow staircase, and Judge Dee woke Chiao Tai.

  Chiao Tai’s face fell when he saw how haggard and tired the judge looked. He quickly offered him a cup of hot tea and asked anxiously: ‘What happened?’

  Judge Dee told him about the dead body, and his conversation with Magistrate Teng. He hadn’t quite finished when there came a soft knock on the door. Chiao Tai went to open it and found himself face to face with Kunshan. ‘Holy Heaven!’ he grunted. ‘There’s that ugly snout again!’

  ‘You might at least say thank you!’ Kunshan remarked coldly. ‘Good evening, Mr Shen! I trust you find your new quarters comfortable?’

  ‘Sit down!’ Judge Dee said. ‘I admit that you did us a good turn. Now explain the reason!’

  ‘To tell you the truth,’ Kunshan replied, ‘I don’t care a tinker’s curse whether they catch you and your mate and chop off your heads on the execution ground. But I happen to need you, and I need you in a hurry. Listen! I am the most skilful and most experienced burglar in this province, I have been at this job more than thirty years and I have never once been caught. However, I lack bodily strength, and I’ve never tried to acquire it either, because I think violence is vulgar. Now I happen to have a job in mind that probably will need a dose of violence for its successful completion. I’ve observed you two carefully, and I think you’ll do. Much to my disgust, I’ll have to let you share in the profit. Since I did all the difficult preliminary work, and since the risk involved is insignificant, I take it that you’ll be satisfied with a very modest amount.’

  ‘Plainly put,’ Chiao Tai interrupted. ‘We’ll have to do the dangerous work and you’ll walk off with the prize. Modest share, you say? It’ll cost you plenty, you dirty coward!’

  At the last word Kunshan’s face grew pale, it had evidently touched a raw spot. He said venomously:

  ‘It’s easy to play the hero when you are strong! And you think you are quite a man with the ladies too, don’t you? Tonight I thought that solid couch would collapse under your capers! As the poet says: “The torrential rain crushes the autumn rose”.’

  Chiao Tai jumped up, gripped Kunshan by his neck and threw him on the floor. Placing his knee on his breast and encircling his throat with his large hands, he growled:

  ‘You dirty swine, you spied on me! I’ll break your neck for that!’

  Judge Dee quickly leaned over and grabbed Chiao Tai’s shoulder. ‘Let him go!’ he said sharply. ‘I want to hear his proposal!’

  Chiao Tai rose and let Kunshan’s head fall on the floor with a dull thud. He lay still, his breath rattling in his bruised throat.

  Chiao Tai’s face was livid with rage. He sat down heavily and said curtly:

  ‘Tonight I was with a courtesan. This rat spied on us.’

  ‘Well,’ Judge Dee said coldly, ‘I would have thought that you’d manage your amorous affairs more discreetly. Anyway, I won’t have them interfere with my investigation. Douse the rascal’s head!’

  Chiao Tai went over to the counter. He took the large basin of washing-up water, and threw it over Kunshan’s head. ‘It’ll take some time before the son of a dog wakes up,’ he muttered.

  ‘Sit down! I’ll tell you the rest about Teng,’ the judge said impatiently.

  By the time Judge Dee had finished his account of the lacquer screen, Chiao Tai’s anger had passed. He said eagerly:

  ‘What an astounding story, Magistrate!’

  Judge Dee nodded.

  ‘I didn’t feel like telling my colleague my strongest reason for suspecting that an outsider had killed his wife. And that is that I found she had been raped. I didn’t wish to distress the poor fellow further.’

  ‘But didn’t you say that her face looked peaceful?’ Chiao Tai asked. ‘I can’t say I have any experience in raping a sleeping woman, but I suppose she’d wake up and make it known that she was annoyed, wouldn’t she?’

  ‘That is only one of the many puzzling aspects of this strange case’ Judge Dee said. ‘Be careful! I think Kunshan is coming to!’

  Chiao Tai dragged the ugly man up and made him sit down in the rattan chair. Kunshan swallowed with difficulty. He groped for the teacup and drank slowly. Then he croaked at Chiao Tai: ‘I’ll make you pay for that, bastard!’

  ‘Present the bill any time you like!’ Chiao Tai said.

  Kunshan fixed him with a malicious glare from his one eye. He sneered:

  ‘You don’t even know the merry widow pulled your leg, you fool!’

  ‘Widow?’ Chiao Tai shouted.

  ‘Certainly a widow, and a brand-new one too! You came to the side door of the residence of the late Ko Chih-yuan, you blockhead, the silk merchant who killed himself only yesterday! His widow had moved from the common bedroom to her small boudoir in the left wing, in order to nurse her grief in solitude. But you, experienced ladies’ man, stupidly mistook her for a courtesan!’

  Chiao Tai’s face went scarlet with shame and mortification. He wanted to speak, but managed only some unintelligible sounds. Judge Dee took pity on him and said quickly:

  ‘Well, perhaps his wife’s morals had something to do with Ko’s suicide.’

  Kunshan tenderly felt his throat. He gulped down a cup of tea, then said nastily:

  ‘Women have no morals, and Mrs Ko is no exception. However, my business with you concerns the merchant Ko too, strangely enough. Listen to me carefully, I’ll be brief. There came into my hands a notebook belonging to Leng Chien, a well-known banker of this city who was Ko Chih-yuan’s associate and financial adviser. I am versed in financial matters, and I soon saw that the notebook contained Leng Chien’s secret records of how he has been swindling old Ko during the past two years by faking accounts. He made a considerable amount of money that way, about one thousand gold, I would say.’

  ‘How did you get that notebook?’ Judge Dee asked. ‘It isn’t the kind of record a banker would leave lying about!’

  ‘None of your business!’ Kunshan snapped. ‘Now look here, I…’

  ‘Wait a moment!’ the judge interrupted him. ‘I too happen to be interested in financial matters—that’s why I had to leave my post as headman in a bit of a hurry. You must be a real wizard to be able to derive all that information from annotations on complicated financial transactions, and secret too! You had better think up a more probable story, my friend!’

  Kunshan gave the judge a suspicious look.

  ‘You are a cunning scoundrel, aren’t you? Well, since you insist on knowing the ins and outs, let me tell you that I have visited Ko’s residence a few times—without him knowing it, of course. I have examined the contents of his safe and found there an emergency fund of two hundred gold pieces—which is now my emergency fund—and also his papers, which I studied with considerable interest. Those papers gave me the background for Leng Chien’s notebook, so to speak.’

  ‘I see’ Judge Dee said. ‘Proceed!’

  Kunshan took from his sleeve a small sheet of paper, which he carefully smoothed out on the table. Tapping it with his spidery forefinger, he resumed:

  ‘This is a page I
tore from the notebook. You two will visit our friend Leng Chien tomorrow morning, show him this page, and tell him that you know everything. You’ll ask him to write out two drafts, one for six hundred and fifty gold pieces, and the other for fifty, leaving the name of the payee blank. That little blood-letting will leave him with three hundred in gold—which is not to be sneezed at. I would much prefer to take the whole lot, but the secret of successful blackmail is that you give your man an out, so as not to make him desperate. The draft of six hundred and fifty you give to me. You two keep the one of fifty. Fifty good pieces of gold. Is it a deal?’

  Judge Dee fixed the ugly man with his piercing eyes, leisurely caressing his sidewhiskers. Then he said slowly:

  ‘My mate here put it a bit bluntly, Kunshan, but he hit the nail on the head. I fully believe that you are a past master in stealing and breaking in, but you lack the courage for a man-to-man encounter. You know very well you could never in your life muster the courage to face that banker and blackmail him, could you?’

  Kunshan shifted uneasily in his chair. ‘Is it a deal or not?’ he asked surlily. The judge took the sheet of notepaper and put it in his sleeve.

  ‘It is,’ he said, ‘but share and share alike. Remember that, with the paper you so kindly gave me, I don’t need you and your notebook for blackmailing Leng Chien. Why shouldn’t I keep all the money for myself?’