The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee

Despite his attempts at meditation, Judge Dee is unable to clear his mind, as he keeps thinking about the two crimes. Finally, he begins to pace around the temple. Suddenly, he sees a book on a side table. He realizes that it contains the answers to the divination sticks used by people to predict their fortune. He shakes the box containing the sticks and draws out number 24. The answer to that number given in the book is a short poem:

“Dawn never is heralded by the hen instead of the cock.

Why did the king take Lady Lee in his favor?

In women’s hearts many an evil scheme is born.

And many are the intimacies on the shared couch” (81).

While puzzling out the meaning of the quote, the judge falls asleep without noticing. The first sign that he is dreaming is the appearance of an old man “with a flowing white beard” (82) who looks familiar, but whom Judge Dee is unable to place. The newcomer takes the judge to an elegant teahouse, whose interior is decorated with lines of poetry and quotes from the Classics. The judge’s attention is caught by a short poem, which puzzles him greatly:

“Seeking the lost traces of the Child, one descends the couch,

And finds the answer to all past riddles.