‘Conventionally, if a suspect does not confess,’ Judge Dee said, shaking his head slightly, ‘the mayor or magistrate is justified to have him or her beaten for twenty or thirty blows in the courtroom. In her case, some consideration could have been shown for a young female celebrity like Xuanji. Such humiliation in public. But I don’t see how Mayor Pei could fit into a plot or retaliation scenario. With her rejection of his party invitation known to quite a number of people, it would be easy for them to accuse him of persecuting her for an undisclosed reason. He should have known better. Even after she pleaded guilty in prison, some people would still proclaim that “she was tortured into confession.” It’s a tight spot for him. No matter how unconvincing her confession sounded, he could hardly afford to give her another beating in public for the reasons we’ve just discussed.’

‘But how do you think he is going to proceed?’

‘I don’t know. The scenario of Xuanji being the murderer is not compelling, either. I simply cannot see her motive for the murder of a maidservant. Nor did she have the physical strength for it.’

‘On that I agree with you, Judge Dee. How could a willowy girl like Xuanji have killed and buried someone all by herself? With those questions you’ve mentioned, it may be difficult to close the case simply on the basis of her confession.’

‘Under normal circumstance, the moment a confession was made, the case would have been submitted to the higher authorities for approval, and the criminal would then be punished accordingly. But with her being such a celebrity, and with men of letters making a petition for her …’

‘So that’s how Minister Wu came to you?’

‘Wu wants a quick conclusion to the case, I suppose, but at the same time, it has to be one acceptable to the people. That could mean, among other things, Wu believes there may be something or somebody else involved in the case.’

‘But why should people like Minister Wu have been so anxious about it?’

‘That I don’t know. There are more things in heaven and earth, Han Shan, than are dreamed of in your poetry.’

‘That’s truly beyond me, Judge Dee. Just one more question. What do you think of those tall tales about the black fox spirit?’

‘Again, I don’t know. I can hardly see its connection to the murder case. At least not for the moment. Confucius says, “A gentleman doesn’t talk about ghosts and spirits.” But in the absence of any other possible clue, I may as well take a look into that, too.

‘Now, one of the first questions a judge has to ask himself is “Who could have benefited from the murder?” Surely not a black fox spirit – especially if the spirit and Xuanji are one and the same. But I also have a question for you, Han Shan. Is there anything else unusual you have seen or heard in connection to the nunnery?’