Judge Dee's Cases · chapter 2 of 8

The Bolted Room

从里面闩上的门

Two guests lie dead behind a bolted door, and the innkeeper blames a ghost. Judge Di finds a fresh window, a thread mark and a boy who heard digging.

Read what you hear

Narrator 天刚亮，狄公和洪亮来到路边的客店。院子里静静的，连一只鸟都没有叫。
Tiān gāng liàng, Dí Gōng hé Hóng Liàng láidào lùbiān de kèdiàn. Yuànzi lǐ jìngjìng de, lián yì zhī niǎo dōu méiyǒu jiào.
At first light, Judge Di and Hong Liang reached the roadside inn. The yard was quiet, not even a bird calling.
The Innkeeper 大人，您可来了！我一夜没睡，一直在门口守着，谁也没有进去！
Dàren, nín kělái le! Wǒ yíyè méi shuì, yìzhí zài ménkǒu shǒu zhe, shuí yě méiyǒu jìnqu!
My lord, you've come! I haven't slept, I stood guard at the door all night and nobody went in!
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 辛苦你了。带我去看看那个房间。
Xīnkǔ nǐ le. Dài wǒ qù kànkan nàge fángjiān.
Thank you for your trouble. Take me to the room.

Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Judge Dee's Cases is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.

Hong Liang 掌柜，你的鞋上怎么有这么多泥？昨天晚上又没有下雨。
Zhǎngguì, nǐ de xié shàng zěnme yǒu zhème duō ní? Zuótiān wǎnshang yòu méiyǒu xiàyǔ.
Innkeeper, why are your shoes so muddy? It didn't rain last night.
The Innkeeper 我……我昨天晚上去后院喂马了。马饿了，叫得很大声，我睡不着。
Wǒ… wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang qù hòuyuàn wèi mǎ le. Mǎ è le, jiào de hěn dàshēng, wǒ shuì bù zháo.
I... I went to feed the horses in the back yard last night. They were hungry and so loud I couldn't sleep.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 喂马……好。房间在哪里？
Wèi mǎ… hǎo. Fángjiān zài nǎlǐ?
Feeding horses... good. Where is the room?
The Innkeeper 在楼上，最里面那间。大人小心，我看那个房间闹鬼！
Zài lóushàng, zuì lǐmiàn nà jiān. Dàren xiǎoxīn, wǒ kàn nàge fángjiān nàoguǐ!
Upstairs, the last room. Be careful, my lord, I think that room is haunted!
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 鬼会用门闩吗？门闩在哪儿？
Guǐ huì yòng ménshuān ma? Ménshuān zài nǎr?
Do ghosts use door bolts? Where is the bolt?
The Innkeeper 在门后面，是一根很粗的木头。我们好几个人一起，才把门撞开。
Zài mén hòumiàn, shì yì gēn hěn cū de mùtou. Wǒmen hǎo jǐ gè rén yìqǐ, cái bǎ mén zhuàngkāi.
Behind the door, a thick piece of wood. It took several of us together to break the door open.
Hong Liang 窗户呢？会不会有人从外面把窗户打开？
Chuānghu ne? Huì búhuì yǒurén cóng wàimiàn bǎ chuānghu dǎkāi?
And the window? Could someone open it from outside?
The Innkeeper 不可能！窗户也关得很紧，谁也进不去，谁也出不来！
Bù kěnéng! Chuānghu yě guān de hěn jǐn, shuí yě jìn bu qù, shuí yě chū bu lái!
Impossible! The window was shut tight. Nobody could get in or out!
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 你怎么这么清楚？你不是说，你一直站在门外叫他们吗？
Nǐ zěnme zhème qīngchu? Nǐ búshì shuō, nǐ yìzhí zhàn zài ménwài jiào tāmen ma?
How do you know so well? Didn't you say you stood outside the door calling them?
The Innkeeper 我……我后来进去看过！大家都看见了！
Wǒ… wǒ hòulái jìnqu kànguò! Dàjiā dōu kànjiàn le!
I... I went in afterwards! Everyone saw me!
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 好，那我也进去看看。洪亮，你在门口陪掌柜喝杯茶，慢慢聊。
Hǎo, nà wǒ yě jìnqu kànkan. Hóng Liàng, nǐ zài ménkǒu péi zhǎngguì hēbēi chá, mànman liáo.
Fine, then I'll go and look too. Hong Liang, have a cup of tea with the innkeeper at the door and chat slowly.
Hong Liang 是，大人。掌柜，来来来，坐下。我这个人啊，最喜欢聊天。
Shì, dàren. Zhǎngguì, lái lái lái, zuòxià. Wǒ zhège rén a, zuì xǐhuan liáotiān.
Yes, my lord. Innkeeper, come, come, sit down. I'm a man who loves to talk.
Narrator 房间里很安静。两张床上，都盖着白布。
Fángjiān lǐ hěn ānjìng. Liǎng zhāng chuángshàng, dōu gài zhe báibù.
The room was quiet. White cloths covered both beds.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 这里有一个炭盆。可是现在是八月，天气这么热，为什么要烧炭呢？
Zhèlǐ yǒu yí gè tànpén. Kěshì xiànzài shì bāyuè, tiānqì zhème rè, wèishénme yào shāotàn ne?
There's a charcoal brazier. But it's the eighth month and hot. Why burn charcoal?
The Inn Boy 大人……那个炭盆，不是客人要的。
Dàren… nàge tànpén, búshì kèren yào de.
My lord... the guests didn't ask for that brazier.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 你是谁？别怕，慢慢说。
Nǐ shì shuí? Biépà, mànman shuō.
Who are you? Don't be afraid, take your time.
The Inn Boy 我是这里的小二。我给两位客人送过热水。他们说房间很热，还叫我把窗户打开。
Wǒ shì zhèlǐ de xiǎo'èr. Wǒ gěi liǎng wèi kèren sòngguò rèshuǐ. Tāmen shuō fángjiān hěn rè, hái jiào wǒ bǎ chuānghu dǎkāi.
I'm the inn boy. I brought the two guests hot water. They said the room was hot and told me to open the window.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 又热，又开着窗，谁会想烧炭呢？后来呢？
Yòu rè, yòu kāi zhe chuāng, shuí huì xiǎng shāotàn ne? Hòulái ne?
Hot, and the window open, who would want charcoal? Then what?
The Inn Boy 后来，是掌柜自己端着炭盆上楼的。他还叫我，早点儿去睡觉。
Hòulái, shì zhǎngguì zìjǐ duān zhe tànpén shànglóu de. Tā hái jiào wǒ, zǎodiǎnr qù shuìjiào.
Later the innkeeper carried the brazier upstairs himself. And he told me to go to bed early.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 窗户上的纸为什么这么新？
Chuānghu shàng de zhǐ wèishénme zhème xīn?
And why is the paper on this window so new?
The Inn Boy 昨天下午，它还是旧的，上面有一个洞。今天早上，就变成新的了。
Zuótiān xiàwǔ, tā hái shi jiù de, shàngmiàn yǒu yí gè dòng. Jīntiān zǎoshang, jiù biànchéng xīn de le.
Yesterday afternoon it was old, with a hole in it. This morning it was new.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 再看这个门闩。上面有一道很细的线印。有人站在门外，用线把门闩拉上了！
Zài kàn zhège ménshuān. Shàngmiàn yǒu yí dào hěn xì de xiàn yìn. Yǒurén zhàn zài ménwài, yòng xiàn bǎ ménshuān lāshàng le!
Now look at this bolt. A thin thread mark. Someone stood outside and pulled it shut with a thread!
The Inn Boy 那……那不是鬼，是人！
Nà… nà búshì guǐ, shì rén!
Then... it's not a ghost. It's a person!
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 对，是人。而且这个人，不想让别人知道，客人是怎么死的。
Duì, shì rén. Érqiě zhège rén, bù xiǎng ràng biérén zhīdao, kèren shì zěnme sǐ de.
Yes, a person. And this person didn't want anyone to know how the guests died.
The Inn Boy 大人，我还有一件事。掌柜说，如果我告诉别人，就不给我饭吃。
Dàren, wǒ háiyǒu yí jiàn shì. Zhǎngguì shuō, rúguǒ wǒ gàosu biérén, jiù bù gěi wǒ fàn chī.
My lord, there's one more thing. The innkeeper said if I told anyone, he wouldn't feed me.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 有我在这里，你不会没有饭吃。说吧，不要怕。
Yǒu wǒ zài zhèlǐ, nǐ búhuì méiyǒu fàn chī. Shuō ba, búyào pà.
With me here, you won't go hungry. Speak.
The Inn Boy 昨天夜里，天还黑着的时候，我听见后院有人在挖土。
Zuótiān yè lǐ, tiān hái hēi zhe de shíhou, wǒ tīngjiàn hòuyuàn yǒurén zài wā tǔ.
Last night while it was still dark, I heard someone digging in the back yard.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 他挖了多久？你听了多久？
Tā wā le duō jiǔ? Nǐ tīng le duō jiǔ?
For how long?
The Inn Boy 很久很久。后来我看见掌柜回来，手里拿着铁锹，鞋子上都是新泥。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ. Hòulái wǒ kànjiàn zhǎngguì huílai, shǒulǐ ná zhe tiěqiāo, xiézi shàng dōu shì xīn ní.
A long, long time. Then I saw the innkeeper come back with a shovel and fresh mud all over his shoes.
Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 好孩子，你帮了大忙。今天晚上，我要亲眼看一看，那个坑里到底埋着什么。
Hǎo háizi, nǐ bāng le dàmáng. Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ yào qīnyǎn kàn yi kàn, nàge kēng lǐ dàodǐ mái zhe shénme.
Good boy. Tonight I want to see what is really buried in that hole.

Hear the chapter

What changed in the story?

Why does Judge Di find the charcoal brazier strange?
“现在是八月，天气这么热，为什么要烧炭呢？”
Who really carried the brazier upstairs?
“是掌柜自己端着炭盆上楼的。”
What does the mark on the door bolt show?
“有人站在门外，用线把门闩拉上了！”
What was strange about the window paper?
“昨天下午，它还是旧的……今天早上，就变成新的了。”
What did the inn boy hear in the night?
“我听见后院有人在挖土。”

All chapters in Judge Dee's Cases.