Not to mention the fact that Minister Wu had long considered Judge Dee as one of his arch-opponents at the court. His recent memorial to the empress was commonly seen as a deliberate effort to thwart the minister’s attempt to change the dynasty of the Li family to that of the Wu family. They both knew this only too well. In fact, Dee’s latest appointment was suspected by many to have been a result of the conspiracy pushed by Minister Wu. It was a well-calculated removal of the obstacle in his path to the supreme power of the Tang Empire.

‘Her Majesty wants me to take over the new post as soon as possible, so I set out early this morning,’ Dee said slowly without pulling out the case report. ‘I’m sorry, I’m afraid I cannot afford to tarry around here.’

‘The minister says that the case is becoming such a sensational one, involving not only a celebrated poetess, but a number of well-known men of letters, too. And people are talking about it as a case symbolic of the moral decline in today’s empire. Your help will be crucial in ensuring a quick conclusion of the case in the interest of maintaining political stability for the Empire. You may need to spend just a couple of days taking a quick look into the case. It won’t interfere at all with your reporting to the new post on time.’

So saying, the messenger remained kneeling on the ground. Apparently, Minister Wu had been well informed of Judge Dee’s whereabouts, and of the deadline for him to report to his new official post, too.

‘Minister Wu may have a point, I think. It is a sensational case indeed. So I’ll spend a couple of days more here, but no longer, and not as a judge – I have to make that clear. I’ll see what I can do as a sort of a private consultant, and I’ll keep your master informed.’

‘Thank you so much, Your Excellency.’

Much relieved, the messenger kowtowed, rose, and left like the wind.

‘Who is Xuanji?’ Yang asked the moment the messenger vanished out of sight.

‘I’ve heard something about the Xuanji case. She is a young, beautiful, and talented poetess and courtesan – in her early or mid-twenties. If I’m interested at all in her case, to tell the truth, it’s because I’ve read a lot of poems written by her. Much better than my own, that I have to admit, but with so much political trouble on my hands of late, I have not paid any serious attention to the murder case.’

‘What kind of a murder case, Master?’

‘About ten days ago, on the third day of the month, as a well-known poetess and a much-sought-after courtesan, Xuanji was entertaining several guests at a lunch party in the Xianyi Nunnery—’