‘As for me, Minister Wu wants me to look into your case with a special authorization letter, which has probably been approved by Her Majesty. Without any breakthrough, I think I have to tell him what research I have done, and what possible evidence I have found. For instance, the yellow silk underrobe was discovered on Wei’s body, so there’s probably no withholding it. And then the black fox spirit costume. And the peony poem, too. For a celebrated poetess like you, it’s natural for people to study your poems for all the imaginable clues. If I could succeed in getting hold of “The Fading Peony,” it’s only a matter of time before others do so, too.

‘Eventually, the mysterious guest in the yellow silk underrobe who came to the nunnery that evening will also be discovered and dragged into the mire. It’s not inconceivable.

‘So let me repeat it just one more time, Xuanji: the investigation will have to continue the way I have just described, I am afraid, unless you come up with a more convincing confession. A more acceptable one, if you know what I mean.’

Instead of making an immediate response, Xuanji seemed to be tucking the black fox spirit costume tight around her hardly covered groin, as if she had been reincarnated through the posture.

It was absurd of him to think so, he knew. A weird, ominous shroud of silence reigned over the darksome prison cell.

‘I’m overwhelmed, Your Honor,’ she finally said, biting her lower lip so hard that it started bleeding. ‘But you’re an honest and capable judge of the Tang Empire. You surely can do something about the case, can’t you?’

‘I don’t know about that. The way Minister Wu brought me into the case, as it seems to my assistant Yang, could be a devious trap. Not just for me, but for who Minister Wu believes is the one involved in it – in the yellow dragon-embroidered underrobe – in the background. You are an intelligent woman, Xuanji, I believe you know I don’t have to say more.’

What cannot be said has to be passed over in silence.

‘And I don’t think I’m cut out for a judge’s role anymore. I’ve not spent a very long while talking to you here in the cell, but I already feel worn out; my tongue is dry and I’m losing my voice. I’m getting too old.’

She looked puzzled by his abrupt shift to self-pity.

‘So I have to go out for a cup of hot tea, and I’ll bring a cup back for you. You need to have a short break, too, Xuanji. In the meantime, you may think about what I’ve just discussed with you – about the dire consequence for the continuation of the investigation and interrogation.’

He rose, stretched his legs, and made his exit shakily as Xuanji remained in nonplused silence.