Tags:
Fiction,
General,
Historical,
Mystery & Detective,
Crime,
Detective and Mystery Stories,
Mystery Fiction,
Murder,
china,
Investigation,
Murder - Investigation,
Mongols,
China - History - Song dynasty; 960-1279,
Zuliani; Nick (Fictitious Character)
could she possibly be the killer?â
I nodded, agreeing with him as far as it went.
âYou are right. There is something that stinks in this whole case. Not least the involvement of Ko Su-Tsung in its being brought to our attention. We will tread cautiously, but we will find out the truth.â
I marvelled at how, under Linâs tutelage, I had become so enamoured of the truth. Maybe such an obsession came with being in your thirties and no longer a youth. Before being appointed Investigator of Crimes by Kubilai Khan, I was more concerned with what gave me the most profit; whether it was within the law or not. In fact I much preferred sailing close to the wind, and then on beyond the boundaries of legality. It made for greater excitement and a lot more pleasure when the enterprise came off. I looked at Tadeusz, who had once more leaned forward into the lamplight. The side of his face burned in the fire set by marauding Mongols was red and shiny, but his eyes were cool and impassive. I slapped his back.
âNow pass me the wine before I start crying like a baby at my own softness.â
The girl wiped a tear from her eye, and looked through the bars at the boy who stood outside.
âThank you, Wenbo. You have saved my life. I owe you everything, and I will show you my gratitude when I am released.â
She accompanied the final sentence of her outpouring with a modest, but meaningful look. After all, it did not harm to promise, when the chances of having to repay that promise were so slim. Still, she had taken the first step, and the flow of yun was moving in the right direction. The boy had come with the news that very morning that an investigator had been appointed in Tatu, which some called Khan-balik, and that he was on his way. The executionerâs sword had been stayed, and that was what mattered. It was no good to her if she were exonerated after her death. Some may think her soul would be saved, and her reputation restored. But what good was that to her if she was dead and buried?
The spotty face of Wenbo swam before her eyes, and she once again wiped away the tears of joy. She fixed a smile on her face, and glanced modestly down at the ground.
âI thank you, Geng Wenbo.â
The boy seemed transfixed, unclear as to what he should do next. He was already beginning to irritate the girl, and, without raising her eyes, she hinted that she would like to be alone now.
âMy fate is still uncertain, and I wish to compose myself should the wheel of fortune not turn in my favour in the end.â
The boy stammered an apology for intruding on her contemplations and slouched away. She waited a moment and gave a cautious look up. He was walking down the unlucky road that led to her cell. When he was far enough away, she breathed a sigh of relief, and hugged herself. She hoped the next person she would see coming towards her cell along the road would be the investigator. In her mind, she began to marshal her thoughts. If he was as clever as she imagined, it would not do to get her story all mixed up. Let the others be tripped up by him, she would play her part well.
âThat play we saw made me think.â
As the light from the lamp got lower, we had moved closer to each other to stay in its beam. Alberoni rubbed his smooth jaw and yawned.
âI didnât follow all of it, as I couldnât hear Linâs explanation. What was it about the play that got you thinking?â
Gurbesu stared into my eyes with those big brown orbs of hers.
âWas it the wife, Yu-Niang, confessing under torture? Just like this case of ours?â
I shook my head.
âNo. I liked that chief clerk, Chang Ting, best. He reminded me of myself.â
Tadeusz threw his head back and laughed. I wanted to know what he found so funny in what I said.
âI understand some Chinee, you know, and followed a few of the lines. The clerk said he hated those who â how did he put it? â who
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