‘No. No one could tell why, but she’s finished, no question about it.’ Nameless paused to chopstick up a plump and shiny red date fruit from a cold dish. ‘Oh, it’s our chef’s special today, called the soft heart. With the kernel removed, the fruit is filled with sticky white rice and steamed in a bamboo steamer. Sweet, soft, and date-flavored.’

‘Another interesting name,’ Han Shan commented reflectively. ‘The appearance of things in this world – you call it soft or hard.’

‘Alas, I don’t think our mayor has such a soft heart for a beauty like Xuanji. People do not believe he will ever let her off the hook so easily.’

‘Why?’

‘The mayor had invited her to a party at his residence, but she said no,’ Nameless said, shaking his head again. ‘At least, that’s the story several people have told me. What a huge loss of face for the mayor! And what an opportunity for him to retaliate in the courtroom!’

‘Come on. Declining a party invitation is not a big deal. How could the mayor have stooped to such a low level? It would not have helped his official reputation at all.’ Judge Dee added after a pause, ‘His name is Pei?’

‘Yes, his name is Pei Changhong. And people are also speculating about the real reason behind it.’

‘The real reason?’

‘The mayor is also a man – a man rejected by a woman.’

‘Rejected – you mean he fell for her?’

‘He wanted her to come to the party not just as his guest, but as his woman. Everyone knows about it. Whether as his woman or his guest, however, it’s very uncommon for a mayor to invite a courtesan home. And it appeared to be an extraordinary favor he was trying to do for her. But far from appreciating it, she gave a flat no to the invitation without any pretext. A loud slap on the face for him.’

‘You’re certainly very well informed, Nameless.’

‘Our temple is frequented by celebrities, Your Honor, and they tell us things like that. Anyway, guess what happened then? Just a couple of days after the trial, she abruptly pleaded guilty in prison, coming up with an equally preposterous statement, which no one would buy. She insisted that she had been drunk that day, but not in a totally unconscious stupor as she had described in the courtroom. In the new version, later that afternoon, when her maid Ning talked back to her for something she could no longer remember, she flew into an uncontrollable rage. She beat Ning up with all her strength – without really knowing what she was doing – until to her horror, the maidservant suddenly dropped dead to the floor. Panic-stricken, Xuanji managed to dig a large hole in the backyard and buried Ning there in a hurry under the cover of night.’

‘That’s strange,’ Judge Dee said reflectively. ‘Such a statement still spells the death sentence for her. Manslaughter. In other words, she suffered the brutal bludgeon beatings at the courtroom for nothing?’