Perhaps intrigued with their Zen-spirited talk, Nameless remained standing by the table, nodding respectfully like a private-room waiter in attendance, instead of immediately excusing himself.

‘Our temple is known for its vegetarian meals,’ he went on with another broad grin, ‘much better known than the exotic dishes at Xuanji’s wild parties.’

It was an unexpected comment from the young monk, who might have heard Xuanji’s name mentioned earlier in the talk between Han Shan and Judge Dee. But why was he bringing it up?

While Han Shan might have told the judge what he knew about her life as a poetess, a young monk in the temple not too far from the nunnery could have known more about the case, particularly about the trial under the local mayor.

‘You know what, Nameless, Han Shan and I were talking about poetry, but also about things happening here. And about Xuanji’s murder case, too. She’s an excellent poetess. Both Han Shan and I have read her poems. Her murder trial was so sensational that we cannot help feeling curious about it. You must have heard or seen a thing or two about it.’

‘Oh, it’s such a spectacular trial. I was lucky enough to be in the audience that succeeded in squeezing into the courtroom that morning.’

‘You’re lucky, indeed,’ Judge Dee said, pulling out a chair for him. ‘Sit at the table and tell us about it.’

Judge Dee had a feeling that, sitting across the table, Han Shan began to suspect the real motive of the judge’s visit to the temple, but the poet monk was a wise man, simply nodding in encouragement, picking a slice of the vegetarian rice paddy eel, and sipping at his tea, without saying anything.

So Nameless seated himself at the table, poured out a cup of tea for himself, and launched into a vivid account of the trial with great gusto.

‘That morning, when Xuanji was brought into the courtroom from prison, pale and disheveled and barefoot in black iron chains, what a shock it was to all of us at the courtroom! Not at all the beauty we had imagined.’

‘What did she say to the mayor?’

‘Instead of pleading guilty, she kept on saying that she did not know anything.’

‘Did you know anything about the murder case before the trial, Nameless?’

‘No, not really, except that the body of her maid Ning was discovered in the nunnery backyard on the third day of the month. According to Xuanji’s statement, the day before, Ning had mentioned to her about going back home for a day or two, so Xuanji did not suspect anything about Ning’s absence when she came back from shopping that afternoon. Being all alone in the nunnery, she started drinking by herself, tossing down one cup after another until she fell straight into a drunken stupor.