A Deadly Injustice Read online

  ‘Where’ve you been, Nick? Chu-Tsai is looking for you. He says it’s urgent. And why are you out of breath?’

  Gurbesu’s shapely figure was a pleasant sight after the hairy demon that was Mongotai. But her face was distorted into a mask of disapproval. She must have smelled the stink of cheap rice wine on me when I tried to plant a kiss on her full, red lips. She pushed me away, and not for the first time I thought of my lost love in Venice. Caterina Dolfin was fair where Gurbesu was dark, and slim and boyish compared to the Kungurat girl’s rounded voluptuousness. But I had not seen fair Cat in a number of years, and she was a thousand miles and a lifetime away. So I put Cat out of my mind, and grabbed at Gurbesu’s accommodating hips, pulling her to me. This time she didn’t protest so much. That was the attractive thing about her – she could not resist my charms for long.

  ‘So many questions. I am out of breath because I thought of you and ran all the way home. As for Chu-Tsai, he can wait. I have some business far more urgent with you, my dear.’

  The silken surfaces of our Chinee clothes slid enticingly over one another as we embraced. Gurbesu sighed deeply, and gave in to my blandishments.

  Lin Chu-Tsai was becoming impatient. He had asked Gurbesu to find Zhong Kui and bring him to the palace. Zhong Kui was his pet name for the foreigner Nick Zuliani. Nick had won it both by being as tenacious as the legendary demon of that name, and by the bushy beard he wore which resembled the demon’s own. The original Zhong Kui was said to have been a man who committed suicide after failing his palace examinations. Reborn as a demon, he had vowed to rid the world of other mischievous lesser demons. And whereas Lin Chu-Tsai could not conceive of the self-confident Zuliani killing himself over a failed test, he nevertheless thought of him as someone who had become a harrier of bad men. Nick had proved his worth as a hunter of murderers to the Great Khan – Kubilai – and thereby won a place as official Investigator of Crimes. But now Lin Chu-Tsai, Clerk to the Minister of Justice of the Mongol Empire, had need of him himself.

  ‘Where are you, Zhong Kui? We must be on our way today, or suffer the consequences.’

  He looked again at the document he had been handed by Ko’s servant that very morning. It purported to be a command from Kubilai himself to look into a criminal matter in the town of Pianfu. A murder, indeed. But the fact that it came through Ko Su-Tsung – Lin’s arch-enemy in the Khan’s palace – made him deeply suspicious. What was Ko doing referring a case of murder to him? The cadaverous, cold-hearted man was now effectively the head of the Censorate, a terrifying government department that kept an eye on all other government departments and officials. Ostensibly, its role was to eradicate all forms of corruption. But that very grave duty afforded the Censorate, and Ko Su-Tsung, the ultimate corrupting evil. He wielded power over the fate of every single person working for the Great Khan with no one in a position to challenge him. There was no one to watch the watcher, meaning that proof of misdeeds were hardly ever required by Ko – mere suspicion was enough to ruin a man for ever. Lin Chu-Tsai lived by an opposite code that demanded evidence of wrongdoing. Ko needed none.

  Lin put the paper down on his desk, and pushed it away from him. It was as if he were trying to deny its existence. He was sure it was a trap to ensnare him and Zhong Kui both. But he knew he would have to comply with its demands, or fall into the other trap of dereliction of duty. Sighing, he picked up the offending document again, and perused its contents carefully. If he was to avoid the trap, he needed another brain urgently.

  ‘Where are you, Nick Zuliani?’

  TWO

  A good fortune may forebode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune

  While Lin was fretting, I was hurrying through the vast building site that was Kubilai’s new capital, with Gurbesu in tow. Her pleasure at our dalliance was tempered now by her recollection of Lin Chu-Tsai’s sense of urgency. In fact she was getting more and more angry with me for the delay, for which she felt she would be blamed. In fact our current lack of speed was her fault. I would have gone faster, but her tight Chinee robe didn’t allow for rapid progress. Her wooden pattens also slowed her down as they fitted so loosely. Even so, our speed meant they clattered an irate tattoo on the stone cobbles of the streets in the old town.

  Once we were out of Old Yenking and over the Yun-Ho river bridge we were grateful for the stout footwear. We were approaching a building site of massive proportions. This was Kubilai Khan’s latest and grandest project after the Great Enterprise, as Xanadu had been called. But where Xanadu had been a reflection of Kubilai’s Mongol ancestry, this new capital was Kubilai looking forward. It would be all Chinee, and was the first step to the Great Khan establishing a new dynasty. I had heard tell that the architect who was creating this most Chinee of capitals, however, was an Arab by the name of Ikhtiyar al-Din. Lin had told me that he had seen detailed plans drawn up by the Arab for passes and gates, audience halls, roads and residential quarters, reception rooms and administration offices, shrines, guard houses, stores and quarters for officers on duty in the imperial household. In addition to all that practical and domestic architecture there would be pools, ponds, gardens, parks and places of dalliance. The grand astrologer had selected a propitious date and work had begun. A multitude of artisans had already descended on the site, measurements were taken, and the necessary materials assembled. The new city and palace were to be in the form of a series of ramparts nesting pleasantly one within the other like the layers of an onion. At the moment though, it was simply chaotic.

  Thousands of workers scurried like ants across the huge area that was to be the personal palace and administrative centre of Kubilai’s vast empire. They were still building the ramparts that meandered over hills and along three winding rivers. And these ramparts were made of mud beaten down between wooden shuttering until it was solid. The end result of all this feverish activity was that clinging, wet earth filled the whole site. It began to stick to our shoes until they weighed like lead. Finally, Gurbesu’s feet became embedded in a particularly cloying patch. She halted, and cried out.

  ‘You’ll have to pull me out, Nick. I can’t move.’

  I yanked hard with little success and a bunch of curious Chinee workmen began to gather to observe the fun. They grinned at Gurbesu’s predicament making all sorts of suggestions in a language I barely knew. But it was clear from their gestures which part of her anatomy they thought I should grab in order to effect her release. They gawped even more when Gurbesu’s silken robe came open at the top. The buttoned-up bodice beneath barely contained her large breasts, as Chinee undergarments were not designed for such voluptuousness. Her face turning red – with embarrassment or anger I couldn’t tell – she yelled at me to pull harder.

  ‘Get me out of this mess.’

  I pulled. With a deep sucking noise, her feet came free leaving her wooden pattens stuck in the mud. She groaned, but regained her composure and control of her undergarments. Ignoring the gawping workmen, she trotted ahead of me, her white socks quickly turning black with more clinging mud. I hurried after her as we made for the lake that bordered the western edge of the site. This was where Kubilai had his temporary headquarters while the new Tatu was being built.

  When we had arrived some months earlier, the lake was still choked with silt and plants, its margins dotted with the remains of previously rich Chinees’ summer houses. These were by now slowly decaying all around the edges of the lake. Kubilai had quickly had the area cleared, and had selected Jade Island, set in the southern end of the lake, as his temporary home. It was said there was a palace within a palace on the island, and in this second palace Kubilai’s corpulent frame lounged on a vast bed inlaid with jade and gold. From there, he watched as great quantities of wine were dispensed from a huge jade urn. I hoped for a summons to his palace one day, as I wanted to partake of that bounty.

  But Jade Island was not our destination today. So we ploughed through the filth of a city in the making towards one of a scattering of t
he old summer houses that had been left standing. They were positioned close to the new bridge that now linked the southern end of Jade Island with the surrounding land. The summer houses were convenient, if temporary, locations for those who ran the vast and overworked bureaucracy that was needed for Kubilai’s ever burgeoning empire. Inside one of them my boss, Lin Chu-Tsai, was no doubt fretting over my late arrival. I did not want him to know what had caused our delay, and tried to hold Gurbesu back. But before I could get my story straight with her, she was stomping angrily up the wooden steps and into Lin’s summer house; a move that was no mean feat in muddy white socks and no shoes. I strode after her, my boots leaving large black footprints on the steps and tiled floors.

  Inside, everything reflected a picture of calm, except for Lin Chu-Tsai’s face. This was most unusual, as my friend was normally the most even-tempered of men, with a serene mood that he ensured was mirrored in his surroundings. Despite the dilapidated nature of the exterior of the summer house, Lin had quickly created a subtle interior with items he had brought from his residence in Xanadu. Lattice-work wooden screens, deep mahogany in colour, hid the worst of the cracks in the walls, and a fine vase stood where the light from the window of his office lit up its translucent blue porcelain. A low table in the centre of the large room that was Lin’s office and living space was surrounded by deep silken cushions. Each cushion was richly embroidered with a different Chinee pattern ranging from rampant dragons to strangely shaped unicorns. The table top was usually stacked with neat piles of papers on which Lin was working in his capacity as Clerk to the Minister of Justice. For in reality, Lin was the embodiment of justice in Kubilai’s empire, and he did all the work attributed to his master, a Turk by the name of Alawi Kayyal. The Minister held his post because of the quaint and repressive system of hierarchies in the Mongol Empire.

  At the top of the heap sat the small number of people who could call themselves Mongols. I made the mistake of referring to them as Tartars when I first arrived in Xanadu, because this was the name the western world used. Perhaps as a reminder that they were once thought of as the Hounds of Hell – or Tartarus. I was soon told that the actual Tartar tribe was one that Kubilai’s grandfather, Chinghis, had slaughtered for the treacherous murder of his own father. So I quickly learned that it was not Tartars, but Mongols who rule the world in these parts. They were not many in number, but they were the princes and the overlords of everyone else in the empire. Below them, and trusted to run things for their masters, were the Se-mu Jen– non-Chinee foreigners many of whom were Turks and other Easterners. Coming third in the heap were the Han Jenlike Lin, who were Chinees from the conquered North of that vast land of Cathay. Finally, beyond all contempt at the bottom were the Nan Jen– Chinees from the as-yet unconquered South. Lin’s fate was to be the clerk to a drunken Turk who found it difficult even to put his mark on the bottom of the documents Lin wrote for him without smudging it. So the truth was Lin Chu-Tsai was de factothe embodiment of justice in the Mongol Empire. And now I was his right-hand man. It’s a strange world, isn’t it?

  When we entered the summer house, Lin was not seated at his table with its usual stacks of papers, but was standing looking out the window at Jade Island. When we entered, he turned round abruptly. Chu-Tsai was a man of average build with a chubby face that nevertheless was quite pallid due to the necessity of his indoor existence. His jet black hair was pulled back tightly from his face, and hung in a plaited queue down his back. This was still shorter than usual, due to a fire some time earlier that had robbed him of most of his hair. His small hands and slender fingers, normally so graceful, were now clasped tightly round a paper scroll. His tendency to overweight was probably due to the fact that as a child his parents had had him castrated. The hope had been that, as a eunuch, he would stand a greater chance of progressing at the emperor’s court to a position of power. The irony was that the Mongol overlords who grabbed the throne of China in his youth cared little for such Chinee niceties. In the end Lin had made his way by use of his intellect and his not inconsiderable sharp wits, and not because he had no balls. In fact, I would say he had balls a-plenty. Just not between his legs any more. He was a man of decisiveness and a bold one too. Today, he looked nervous and unsure of himself.

  ‘Master Nick. At last.’

  I began to explain what had taken us so long. That is, I lied about what had taken so long, not wishing him to know I had preferred to romp with Gurbesu rather than answer his call immediately. But, as I formed my excuses, he held his slender hand up.

  ‘That is of no importance now. This is.’

  He waved aloft the paper that he held in his other hand. Behind me, Gurbesu sighed and slumped down on to one of the cushions that were arranged around the low table. I glanced down, and watched as she peeled the dirty socks off her feet. Lin looked on disapprovingly at the sight of her bare feet, then took my arm and guided me to the other side of the room. We looked out over the lake towards Jade Island, as he explained the bind he was in. That we were both in. On the surface, it appeared to be a straightforward investigation of a murder case. But for Lin it had darker undertones.

  ‘You see, Master Nick, Ko has no formal reason to be acting for the Great Khan in a simple case of murder. He suggests it is a delicate case concerning a local official who may be corrupt, and that is why he has intervened. He further goes on to say that it requires my attention in particular. That the Great Khan specifically asked for me to go to P’ing-Yang-Fu –’ he gave the town its formal name – ‘and that you should come with me.’

  I shrugged my shoulders, not seeing what the problem was. I was more concerned about the mountain about to land on me that was Mongotai, actually. If we had a reason to leave Khan-balik, I was more than happy to comply.

  ‘Then let’s go.’

  Lin looked at me as though I were a little child who did not understand the world. He could be very obtuse and irritating at times, but I had learned to listen to him. He had been brought up in the convoluted world that made up Cathay, and could see currents under the muddy waters that were invisible to me.

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  A look of distress crossed Lin’s face. He didn’t like openly pointing out my failings, as it offended his sense of politeness. And to have to explain would show up my ignorance. So he carefully phrased his reply.

  ‘The request – which in essence is a command that has its origin with Kubilai – has come through the agency of Ko Su-Tsung. So it is really Ko who has caused the request to land on my doorstep. The apparent purpose is to investigate the ruling of a death sentence made by a prefect on a Chinee woman, who is now languishing in gaol under threat of execution. The prefect acts for his Mongol overlord in P’ing-Yang-Fu, which by the way is a journey of at least two weeks from here, so we have little time. The problem is that we will be in effect arbitrating between a lowly Han Jen woman and a Mongol governor of high status.’

  ‘If she’s guilty, what’s the problem? We can confirm the verdict and get on our way.’

  I could see Lin was distressed by my cavalier approach. He pressed on with his insight into Chinee politics, and the serpentine coils of the civil service that ran Kubilai’s affairs.

  ‘If she were guilty, there would be no point in us being there. Therefore I assume she must be innocent, or Ko would not want us to go. Oh, it will suit him that we are in some forsaken backwater of the Khan’s empire, leaving him free to plot his way back into favour at our expense. But if it were only that, I would not be worried too much. No, I am certain we are being set up to be in an impossible position. We will find her innocent, and have either to suppress the truth, which Ko will use against us, or judge in her favour and embarrass a highly placed Mongol official. We can’t win, Master Nick. Ko has us in a stranglehold.’

  I grimaced, my mind racing.

  ‘You said at the beginning that whether the command originated directly from Kubilai or not, we would have to go, yes?’

  ‘Yes.
Ko must have persuaded him of the importance of the matter.’

  ‘Then we do not have an option. We must go, so let’s get on. There will be time a-plenty to plan our strategy on the journey there, if it takes as long as you say.’

  Lin appeared almost relieved by my apparent fatalism. He gave a short nod of his head that I took as approval.

  ‘As ever, you cut through my indecision like a sword through a watermelon, Nick. We will make ready.’

  I didn’t point out to him that my decision sounded, even to me, more like avoidance than decisiveness, and had been driven by my desire not to have Mongotai’s sword slice through my cheating brain as through the previously mentioned melon. But twas the decision made, so I grabbed the sulky Gurbesu’s arm and pulled her to her feet. Throughout my discussion with Lin, I had failed to consult her, and I knew she would now resent being dragged off to pack for a long journey that she had not agreed to. But I knew she fancied the chance to see more of Cathay, and wouldn’t object for long. I grinned and looked down at her bare feet.

  ‘Come on, Gurbesu. Be good, and I might even buy you some new shoes.’

  I know how to win the heart of a girl, don’t you think?

  THREE

  If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words.

  Gurbesu and I hurried back to Old Yenking in the south of Khan-balik in order to tell the others our new plans. The buildings there still clung to the old grid of streets laid out before Kubilai’s grandfather, Chinghis, had laid waste to the Chinee city. Ironically, this act had assisted Kubilai. Fifty years later, he had fewer buildings to clear away in order to build his new winter capital. Many had already been obliterated. Most still remained to the south, and that is where we were living. Like most of the foreigners in the Great Khan’s empire.