‘I see. But you may have a way of getting hold of a copy for me, I believe. I’ll pay you double the price for it.’

‘It’s not for sale,’ Mo said, waving his hand, and eying Yang with a suggestion of suspicion. ‘She took all of them, as I have just told you. It may only be a matter of time, however, before we have a reprint at the conclusion of the sensational case. A much larger print run, perhaps with some profit for me. Then I will be able to sell you a copy.’

Mo must have taken him for another in the publishing business, and he did not like the prospect of a copy of the earlier edition falling into the hand of a potential rival.

‘To tell the truth,’ Yang said, thinking that he had no choice but to play his trump card, ‘I’m here for my bookish master who is not interested in your line of business. He’s simply a fan of her poems, but at the same time, it’s also because of the murder case that he wants to read her poems.’

‘Who is he?’

‘Dee Renjie.’

‘Judge Dee! You should have told me earlier,’ Mo said, rising in a hurry to reach into a black-painted chest behind him and take a folder out of it. ‘I do not have a single copy left, that’s true, but I still have the proof of her poetry collection.’

‘The proof. That’s incredible.’

‘Sure enough, here it is. The very proof. And His Honor may keep it as long as he likes, of course. He is such a noble Confucianist statesman of integrity, unwavering in his support of the Li family in the difficult times. Yes, Judge Dee can have it. No charge for him.’

‘Thank you so much, Mr Mo. My master will truly appreciate it, but you may still need the proof for your reprint edition.’

‘I have another copy – in my own poor handwriting, hardly readable to others. It’s really an honor for Judge Dee to have the proof from me. Let me wrap it for you, Yang.’

‘A different question, Mr Mo. Since you’re familiar with Xuanji, did you happen to notice anything unusual about her in the days before the discovery of the maid’s body in the nunnery backyard?’

‘It’s for the murder investigation, correct? But I was not that familiar with her – except in the matter of book business, as you know.’

‘But you’ve just mentioned that she put the names of her lovers into the poems. What about them?’

‘Yes, Wen and Zi’an particularly. Wen is one of the most prominent contemporary poets, both in shi and ci. A number of masterpieces in the “soft style” – even with a female persona like her. It’s to her credit that she had included her poems written to him in the collection. As for Zi’an, you know the love story between the two. In spite of his success in the capital civil service examination, he’s a mediocre poet with hardly anything readable except for two or three quatrains written in response to hers. But neither Wen nor Zi’an has been here for at least half a year …’