"When I had given my consent, a matchmaker was chosen, and the marriage contract drawn up. Then, however, my friend the business promoter Wan I-fan warned me that Dr. Djang was a libertine who some time previously had tried in vain to make Wan's daughter an instrument of his base lusts. I decided to annul the betrothal at once. But then Moon Fairy fell ill, and my First Lady maintained that the girl was lovesick and would certainly die if I didn't reconsider my decision. Moreover, Dr. Djang, loath to see his prey escape, refused to cancel the marriage contract."

Liu shot a venomous look at the professor, then went on.

"So, although with the greatest reluctance, I allowed the wedding to take place. The day before yesterday the red candles were lighted in the Djang mansion and the marriage solemnized before the soul tablets of the ancestors. The wedding feast was attended by more than thirty prominent citizens, including the guests who were present at the banquet on the flower boat.

"Now early this morning the professor came rushing to my house in great agitation, reporting that yesterday Moon Fairy had been found dead on the bridal couch. I asked at once why he hadn't immediately informed me. He replied that since his son, the bridegroom, had disappeared without trace, he had wanted to try to locate him first. I asked what had caused her death, but he just mumbled some unintelligible words. I wanted to go back with him to view my daughter's body. The man calmly told me that she had been already encoffined and deposited in the Buddhist Temple!"

Judge Dee sat up. He wanted to interrupt Liu but on second thought decided to hear him to the end.

"A horrible suspicion arose in me," Liu went on. "I hurriedly went to consult my neighbor, Guildmaster Wang. He at once agreed with me that my daughter had been the victim of an unspeakable crime. I informed Dr. Djang that I would proceed to the tribunal to file an accusation. Master Wang went to fetch Wan I-fan to act as witness. Now I, Liu Fei-po, am kneeling in front of Your Honor's bench beseeching you to see to it that the wicked criminal gets his just punishment so that the soul of my poor daughter may rest in peace!"

Having thus spoken Liu knocked his forehead on the stone floor three times in succession.

Judge Dee slowly stroked his long beard. After a moment's thought he asked:

"Do you mean to say that Candidate Djang murdered his bride and then absconded?"

"I beg Your Honor's pardon!" Liu answered hurriedly. "I am quite upset, I don't express myself clearly. That weak-kneed youngster, Candidate Djang, is innocent. It's his father, that degenerate lecher, who is the culprit! He coveted Moon Fairy and, excited by the wine, he laid hands on her the very night she was to be his son's bride. My poor daughter killed herself, and Candidate Djang, horrified at the scandalous behavior of his own father, fled in despair. The next morning, when the wicked professor had slept off his debauch, he found my daughter's dead body. Afraid of the consequences of his dastardly deed, he had the corpse encoffined immediately, to conceal the fact that she had committed suicide. I therefore accuse Dr. Djang Wen-djang of having ravished and caused the death of my daughter, Moon Fairy."

Judge Dee told the senior scribe to read out Liu's accusation as he had noted it down. Liu agreed that it was correct and affixed his thumbmark to the document. Then the judge spoke.

"The accused Djang Wen-djang shall now give his version of what happened."

"This person," the professor began in a slightly pedantic voice, "begs Your Honor's forgiveness for his improper behavior. I wish to state that I fully realize that I have acted foolishly. The quiet life among my books has made me sadly incapable of dealing efficiently with so horrible a crisis as suddenly befell my poor house. But I emphatically deny ever having as much as thought of my son's bride in an unseemly way, let alone having assaulted her. The following is a complete account of what really happened, true in every detail."

The doctor paused a moment to collect his thoughts, then went on:

"Yesterday morning when I was having breakfast in my garden pavilion, the maidservant Peony came and reported that she had knocked on the door of the bridal room and called out that she was bringing the morning rice, but there had been no answer. I said that the couple should not be disturbed, and ordered her to try again after an hour or so.

"Later in the morning, when I was watering the flowers, Peony came again and told me there was still no answer from the room. I began to feel somewhat alarmed. I went myself to the separate courtyard assigned to the young couple and vigorously knocked on the door. When there was no response I repeatedly shouted my son's name, but without result.

"Then I knew that something untoward must have happened. I hurriedly went to fetch my neighbor and friend, the tea merchant Koong, and asked his advice. He said it was my duty to have the door opened by force. I called my house steward. He took an ax and smashed the lock."

Dr. Djang paused. He swallowed, then went on in a toneless voice:

"The naked body of Moon Fairy was lying on the couch, covered with blood. My son was nowhere to be seen. I hastily stepped forward and covered her with a quilt. Then I felt her pulse. It had stopped beating and her hand was cold as ice. She was dead.

"Koong at once went to fetch the learned physican Dr. Hwa, who lives nearby, and he conducted the post-mortem. He reported that the cause of death had been severe hemorrhage resulting from defloration. I then knew that my son, distracted with grief, had fled the scene of his tragic misfortune. I was convinced that he had gone to some lonely place to kill himself, and wanted to go out at once to try to find him and prevent him from executing that desperate deed. When Dr. Hwa remarked that in this hot weather it was better to have the dead body encoffined immediately, I gave orders to call an undertaker for washing the body and placing it in a temporary coffin. Koong suggested to have it deposited in the

Buddhist Temple, pending the decision regarding the place of interment. I asked all present to keep the matter secret until I would have found my son, dead or alive. Then I went to search for him, accompanied by Koong and my steward.

"The entire day we roamed through the city and the suburbs, inquiring everywhere, but when dusk was falling we had failed to obtain the slightest clue. When we came back home we found a fisherman waiting for us in front of the gate. He gave me a silk girdle that had caught his hook when he was fishing in the lake. There was no need for me to inspect the name embroidered on the lining. I at once recognized it as that of my poor son. This second shock was too much for me; I fell down in a faint. Koong and my steward put me to bed. Completely exhausted, I slept till this morning.

"As soon as I had risen I remembered my duty to the bride's father. I hastened to the Liu mansion and reported the fearful tragedy. Instead of joining me in lamentations over the cruel fate that had robbed us of our children, that heartless man heaped the wildest accusations on my head and threatened me with action in this tribunal. I pray Your Honor to see to it that justice is done to this person, who on one and the same day lost his only son and his young son's bride, and thus is faced with the terrible prospect that his family line will be broken off!"

Then the professor knocked his forehead on the floor several times.

Judge Dee gave a sign to the scribe. He read out his recorded version of Dr. Djang's statement and the latter affixed his thumb-mark to it. Then the judge spoke.

"I shall now hear the witnesses of complainant and accused. Let the promoter Wan I-fan come forward!"

Judge Dee gave him a sharp look. He remembered that his name had also been mentioned in connection with the quarrel of the Kang brothers. Wan I-fan was a man of about forty with a smooth, beardless face, the pallor of which was set off by his short black mustache.