The Corpse Reader (56 page)

As they walked, Cí did his best to avoid speaking to or even looking at Feng. He had to maintain his composure, but one more false
smile from the old man and Cí didn’t know if he’d be able to stop himself from pouncing on Feng and tearing his heart from his chest.

They arrived at the court and Feng took his place alongside the other members of the High Tribune, on the prosecution side. Cí came and stood beside Gray Fox. He wasn’t surprised by his adversary’s exaggerated look of triumph; he’d succeeded in having Cí arrested, and their colleagues in the judiciary were all there to see the humiliation. Cí was made to kneel before the empty throne. He was trembling as he touched his forehead to the floor. Then a gong signaled Ningzong’s entrance. The emperor, dressed in a red tunic inlaid with golden dragons, came forward flanked by a large retinue, the Supreme Councilor for Rites and the new Councilor for Punishments foremost among them. Cí, still prostrate, waited to be told what to do.

Once the emperor was seated, an elder with a bonnet pulled down over his eyebrows and an oiled mustache came forward to announce the Celestial Majesty and outline the accusations.

“As the Official of Ancient Justice at the palace, and by consent of our most honorable and magnanimous monarch, Ningzong, Heaven’s Son and Lord of Earth, thirteenth Tsong Emperor, on the eighth moon of the month of the pomegranate and the first year of the Jiading era, nineteenth of his dignified and wise reign, I hereby declare the initiation of the trial against Cí Song. He is accused of conspiracy, treachery, and the murder of Imperial Councilor Kan Chou, which—and this element is not open to appeal—entails the charge of treachery and an attempt against the emperor.” The man paused, looking around the room. “In accordance with the laws set out in the
Songxingtong
, the accused has the right to defend himself. He may not have the assistance of any other person. And he may not be condemned until he confesses.”

Cí, still prostrate, listened in silence and tried to weigh the allegations.

Next, the floor was given to Gray Fox. Cí’s rival, after complimenting the emperor and obtaining his blessing, took out a number of sheets of paper and laid them out in an orderly fashion on the table he was sharing with Feng. Then, with a self-satisfied attitude, he presented Cí’s personal details and outlined the numerous pieces of evidence that, in his opinion, demonstrated Cí’s guilt.

“Before I go into detail,” he said, “please allow me to give you an idea of the character of this con man we see here before us. I had the misfortune of studying at the Ming Academy at the same time as the accused. There he demonstrated, not once but repeatedly, his inability to respect rules and regulations. This led to his condemnation and expulsion. The only thing that slowed down this process was his defense by the director, a well-known homosexual.”

Cí cursed under his breath. Gray Fox had decided to attack him by undermining the integrity of anyone who might stand up for him. He thought of a comeback but knew he’d have to wait a while until the floor was given to him.

“Cí Song has rebellion and hate deep in his soul. The professors who sought to expel him confirmed the meanness of his conduct. It was they who had been so kind in allowing an urchin like him into the academy in the first place. He repaid their generosity by biting the hand that fed him.” Gray Fox’s face hardened. “I want to illustrate for everyone present the true character of a young man possessed by egoism and evil, who used diabolical tricks and barefaced scheming to hook Councilor Kan and even cloud our emperor’s mind. Who convinced the former to put him in charge of a very sensitive investigation and the latter to offer him a place in the judiciary if he solved it.”

Cí began to have serious concerns that Gray Fox might turn the emperor fully against him. If Ningzong was convinced, it would be even harder for Cí to make his own case. But now came his turn to speak. He had kept his forehead to the floor throughout Gray Fox’s diatribe, and he spoke his first word in that position.

“Majesty,” he said, and was invited to stand. “Majesty,” he said again, getting to his feet, “Gray Fox has seen fit to attack my person with unfounded conjecture that furthermore has nothing to do with the present case. This trial isn’t about my academic record or where I might have learned my forensic skills. The only thing being judged here today is my innocence or guilt in the murder of Councilor Kan. No matter what Gray Fox may think, I never came up with a self-serving plan, nor did I lie to, trick, or cloud anyone’s mind. Various people will be able to confirm that I was brought to the palace by Your Majesty’s soldiers; my intention that day had been to leave Lin’an. You yourself were present that day, Majesty, when I was given the task of investigating these murders, so you know better than anyone that I had no choice in the matter. And I ask: Why would a man as wise as Councilor Kan, and the Heaven’s Son himself, place their trust in an undesirable such as myself? Why, when they had the pick of so many magistrates, would they oblige a plain student who lacked anything like the appropriate qualifications?”

Cí knelt and touched his forehead to the floor again, allowing his last statement to settle. He knew it was important to be measured and calm, just as Gray Fox had been. He had to sow doubt in the minds of everyone present and allow them space to provide the answers. All he had to do was pose the questions.

The emperor was stone-faced; his pale eyes and his severe expression seemed to place him on a plane of existence above and beyond good and evil. With a gesture of his hand, he indicated to the official to give the floor back to Gray Fox.

Gray Fox looked over his notes before proceeding.

“Majesty,” he said, bowing until he received authorization to speak again. “I am more than happy to keep to the subject at hand.” He smiled, taking one of the sheets of paper and placing it on top of the others. “I see in my notes that on the day of Kan’s murder, mere
hours before the act, the accused brandished a knife at him. He did it in plain sight. Furthermore, he also appropriated and brutally stabbed Soft Dolphin’s corpse, splitting it in two.”

“A dead body,” Cí whispered, but loudly enough that everyone in the room could hear. This won him a blow from one of the guards.

“Yes,” said Gray Fox, “a dead body, but just as sacred as a living one! Or perhaps the accused has forgotten the Confucian precepts that rule over our society?” Gray Fox’s voice grew louder. “No, obviously he can’t have forgotten, because something we also know about the accused is that he has a powerful memory. He knew the Confucian precepts very well, but simply chose to disobey them. He knows that to cut up a body is to attack the soul that still resides in it until the moment of burial, and I would say that anyone capable of treating a defenseless spirit in such a manner would be more than capable of attacking an emperor’s councilor as well.”

Cí gnawed his lower lip. He felt he was being corralled by Gray Fox’s argument, and his destination was like an abyss with only two bridges: one represented death, the other, damnation.

“I’m no killer,” Cí muttered through gritted teeth.

“No killer, really? On that note, I’d like to ask His Majesty’s permission to bring in a witness.”

The emperor again signaled agreement via the official.

A graying, wrinkled old man came in flanked by two sentries. His sloppy gait belied the richness of his robes, suggesting the latter had been borrowed for the day. Cí recognized the fortune-teller Xu, the man he’d worked for at the cemetery.

Gray Fox invited Xu to come nearer, read out his name, and swear to be truthful in his answers. Then Gray Fox turned to glance at Cí. Xu, though, was unable to look Cí in the eye.

“Before his testimony,” said Gray Fox, “so that we can all understand the irrefutability of the accused’s criminal nature, I feel obliged
to read out the reports that followed Cí Song to Lin’an. These facts will leave us in no doubt of the accused’s familiarity with crime.

“Two years ago, in the village of his birth, which is in Jianyang, the accused’s older brother was found guilty of beheading a farmer. Cí, being possessed of the same infected, criminal blood as his brother, went on to steal three hundred thousand
qián
from a local landowner, an honorable man. Next, he fled with his younger sister to Lin’an, not knowing that he was pursued by a sheriff named Kao. I will skip the various crimes committed during his flight to Lin’an and merely go on to state that, in spite of the large amount of money they had with them initially, the pair soon fell into poverty. And it was then that this poor but generous man,” he continued, pointing at Xu, “took pity on the vagrant brother and sister, giving the accused a job alongside him in the city cemetery.

“And, as Xu will confirm, soon after taking the accused on, a Sheriff Kao turned up at the cemetery asking after a fugitive named Cí. Xu, knowing nothing of his employee’s crimes, and having been tricked as to his identity, protected him. As is his way, Cí responded to someone who had been good to him with betrayal. He abandoned his rescuer when he was most needed.

“A number of months later, Xu thought the episode over again and decided to see justice done. He went and told Sheriff Kao that Cí was at the Ming Academy. But Cí found Kao first and murdered him.”

Now Gray Fox invited the fortune-teller to speak. Xu prostrated himself before the emperor.

“It is exactly as the most honorable magistrate says. This sheriff, Kao, asked me to show him where the academy was. Said he’d take Cí down if it was the last thing he did. I said I didn’t want to get caught up in anything, but he talked me around. The night before he died, after I showed him where the academy was, I saw him
come out with Cí. The two of them were walking together toward the canal. I noticed the sheriff was carrying a jar of drink. To begin with they seemed to be talking normally, but suddenly the discussion got heated. When the sheriff wasn’t looking, Cí came up behind him, cracked him on the head, pushed him in the canal, and ran off. I ran to try and drag Kao out, but when I got there he was already under.”

Hundreds of accusing eyes turned on Cí, and an indignant murmur went around. Cí tried to think of ways to counter these claims.

“This fortune-teller is lying!” he cried. “Majesty, with your permission, I shall demonstrate that this is not only slander but a wholesale attempt to trick
everyone
in this room.”

The official looked to his sovereign in search of a gesture of disapproval for Cí’s having spoken out of turn. But just as Cí had hoped, his suggestion that the emperor himself could be duped prompted Ningzong to make a sign for Cí to carry on.

Touching his forehead to the floor once more, Cí glanced at Gray Fox.

“I can’t prove it alone,” he said. “I call on Professor Ming to testify.”

The pause in the proceedings while Ming was summoned felt to Cí like a brief victory. Making the emperor feel as though he was implicated, sowing doubt in his mind, not only meant Cí would now have Ming alongside him for advice and his testimony, but also that he could initiate the second part of his plan. This involved Bo’s also taking the stand. With Feng against Cí, Ming ill, and Blue Iris nowhere to be seen, his hopes now hinged on Bo, who had been with him for the entirety of the investigation.

While they were waiting for Ming to arrive, Cí took Bo aside. Bo, though surprised to be asked for help, agreed to do what he could. Cí outlined his case, telling Bo everything he now suspected. Ming was brought in, and Bo disappeared.

Cí quickly filled Ming in on the proceedings; this was the first Ming had heard of the charges against Cí, and he was clearly struggling to take it all in. Again Cí prostrated himself before the emperor.

“Majesty, as you well know, Ming has for years been director at the academy. Its prestige is on par with that of the university. In fact, Gray Fox studied there…though I think I’m right in saying it took him six years to obtain the title most people get in two.”

Ningzong frowned, apparently troubled that the prosecution wasn’t as competent as he’d been led to believe—precisely Cí’s intent.

“Ming is the epitome of trustworthiness,” said Cí, still with his forehead to the floor. “He always conducts himself uprightly and honestly, and has done a great deal to add to the wisdom of many of Your Majesty’s subjects. He is a man who cannot be doubted.”

“And your questions?” prompted the official.

“Apologies,” said Cí, turning to face his old master. “Master Ming, do you remember the day when several of us, your students, inspected the body of a sheriff found drowned in Lin’an?”

“Of course,” said Ming. “It was a very unusual case, and the one that formed the basis of Gray Fox’s elevation to his place at court. Two days before the end-of-term exams.”

“And in the week leading up to exams, are students allowed to leave the academy at all?”

“Absolutely not. It is expressly forbidden. If special circumstances obliged someone to have to leave, the guard would note it down, and I happen to remember there was no such case that week.”

“I see. And tell me, how do your students tend to go about preparing for these exams?”