Judge Dee's Cases · chapter 1 of 8
The New Magistrate
新来的县官
A new magistrate finds thirty unsolved cases, and coins that will not lie. Then the court drum booms in the night, and two guests are dead.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 狄仁杰来到这个县的第一天，早上的县衙里，安静得像一座空庙。
Dí Rénjié láidào zhège xiàn de dìyī tiān, zǎoshang de xiànyá lǐ, ānjìng de xiàng yí zuò kōngmiào.
On Di Renjie's first day in the county, the court hall was as silent as an empty temple.
- Hong Liang 大人，桌子上的灰有一寸厚！上一个县官，走了半年了。
Dàren, zhuōzi shàng de huī yǒu yí cùn hòu! Shàng yí gè xiànguān, zǒu le bànnián le.
My lord, the dust on this desk is an inch thick! The last magistrate left half a year ago.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 灰可以擦掉，案子不能不管。洪亮，有多少案子没有破？
Huī kěyǐ cādiào, ànzi bùnéng bùguǎn. Hóng Liàng, yǒu duōshao ànzi méiyǒu pò?
Dust can be wiped away, but cases cannot be ignored. Hong Liang, how many cases are unsolved?
- Hong Liang 三十多件！有人偷东西，有人打架，连一头牛丢了，也是一个案子！
Sānshí duō jiàn! Yǒurén tōu dōngxi, yǒurén dǎjià, lián yì tóu niú diū le, yě shì yí gè ànzi!
More than thirty! Thefts, fights, even a lost ox is a case!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 丢了牛的人，心里也很难过。我们一件一件地来。
Diū le niú de rén, xīnlǐ yě hěn nánguò. Wǒmen yí jiàn yí jiàn de lái.
A man who lost his ox is heartbroken too. We will take them one at a time.
- Hong Liang 大人真是好脾气。可是这里的人，已经不相信县官了。
Dàren zhēnshì hǎo píqi. Kěshì zhèlǐ de rén, yǐjīng bù xiāngxìn xiànguān le.
You are so patient, my lord. But people here no longer trust magistrates.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 那就让他们看看，我们是怎么做事的。
Nà jiù ràng tāmen kànkan, wǒmen shì zěnme zuòshì de.
Then let them see how we work.
- Hong Liang 那我出去看看，今天有没有人来找大人。
Nà wǒ chūqu kànkan, jīntiān yǒu méi yǒu rénlái zhǎo dàren.
I'll go outside and see if anyone has come to see you today.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 不用去了。你听，门口已经有人吵起来了。
Búyòng qù le. Nǐ tīng, ménkǒu yǐjīng yǒurén chǎo qǐlai le.
No need. Listen, an argument has already started at the door.
- The Oil Seller 大人！大人！有人偷了我的钱！我卖了一整天的油，就赚了这些！
Dàren! Dàren! Yǒurén tōu le wǒ de qián! Wǒ mài le yì zhěngtiān de yóu, jiù zhuàn le zhèxiē!
My lord! My lord! Someone stole my money! I sold oil all day for those coins!
- The Thief 大人，他说谎！这些钱是我的，我天天都带在身上，怎么会是他的？
Dàren, tā shuō huǎng! Zhèxiē qián shì wǒ de, wǒ tiāntiān dōu dài zài shēnshàng, zěnme huì shì tā de?
He's lying, my lord! This money is mine. I carry it every day, so how could it be his?
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 一个人说是他的，另一个人也说是他的。洪亮，拿一碗清水来。
Yí gè rén shuō shì tā de, lìng yí gè rén yě shuō shì tā de. Hóng Liàng, ná yì wǎn qīngshuǐ lái.
One says it's his, the other says it's his too. Hong Liang, bring a bowl of clear water.
- Hong Liang 清水？大人渴了吗？
Qīngshuǐ? Dàren kě le ma?
Clear water? Are you thirsty, my lord?
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 不渴。我只是想请这些钱，在大家面前，自己说说话。
Bù kě. Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng qǐng zhèxiē qián, zài dàjiā miànqián, zìjǐ shuōshuo huà.
Not at all. I just want to ask these coins to speak for themselves.
- The Thief 钱怎么会说话？大人是在开玩笑吧？
Qián zěnme huì shuōhuà? Dàren shì zài kāiwánxiào ba?
Coins that talk? You must be joking, my lord.
- The Oil Seller 大人，我从早到晚卖油，我的手，我的钱袋，都是油！
Dàren, wǒ cóng zǎo dào wǎn màiyóu, wǒ de shǒu, wǒ de qiándài, dōu shì yóu!
My lord, I sell oil from dawn to dusk. My hands, my pouch, everything is oily!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 很好。我把钱放进水里，大家看着。
Hěn hǎo. Wǒ bǎ qián fàngjìn shuǐ lǐ, dàjiā kànzhe.
Good. I'll drop the coins into the water. Everyone watch.
- Hong Liang 哇！水上有好多小油花，圆圆的，亮亮的！
Wā! Shuǐshàng yǒu hǎoduō xiǎo yóuhuā, yuányuán de, liàngliàng de!
Wow! The water is covered with little oil rings, round and shiny!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 钱说话了：这些钱，是一个卖油人的钱。
Qián shuōhuà le: zhèxiē qián, shì yí gè màiyóu rén de qián.
The coins have spoken: this is an oil seller's money.
- The Thief 我……我只是拿来看一看……
Wǒ… wǒ zhǐshì nálái kàn yi kàn…
I... I only took it to have a look...
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 看一看，就看到你的口袋里去了？
Kàn yi kàn, jiù kàndào nǐ de kǒudai lǐ qù le?
A look that ended up in your own pocket?
- The Oil Seller 谢谢大人！我还以为，新来的县官和以前的一样，什么事都不管呢！
Xièxie dàren! Wǒ hái yǐwéi, xīnlái de xiànguān hé yǐqián de yíyàng, shénme shì dōu bùguǎn ne!
Thank you, my lord! I thought the new magistrate wouldn't do anything either!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 洪亮，罚他给这位油贩挑三天油，桶要装满，一滴都不许洒。
Hóng Liàng, fá tā gěi zhè wèi yóufàn tiāo sān tiān yóu, tǒng yào zhuāng mǎn, yì dī dōu bùxǔ sǎ.
Hong Liang, make him carry this man's oil for three days.
- The Thief 挑油？那会累死我的！
Tiāo yóu? Nà huì lèi sǐ wǒ de!
Carry oil? That will kill me!
- The Oil Seller 哈哈！你慢慢挑，明天天一亮就开始！
Hāhā! Nǐ mànman tiāo, míngtiān tiān yí liàng jiù kāishǐ!
Ha ha! Take your time. We start at first light tomorrow!
- Narrator 晚上，县衙的大门外，有人敲响了那面大鼓。
Wǎnshang, xiànyá de dà ménwài, yǒurén qiāoxiǎng le nàmiàn dàgǔ.
That night, someone pounded the big drum at the court gate.
- Hong Liang 这么晚了，谁在敲鼓？
Zhème wǎn le, shuí zài qiāo gǔ?
So late! Who is beating the drum?
- The Innkeeper 大人！救命啊！我的客店里，出事了！
Dàren! Jiù mìng a! Wǒ de kèdiàn lǐ, chū shì le!
My lord, help! Something terrible has happened at my inn!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 掌柜，慢慢说。出了什么事？
Zhǎngguì, mànman shuō. Chū le shénme shì?
Innkeeper, slowly now. What happened?
- The Innkeeper 昨天晚上，客店里来了两位客人。今天早上我去叫他们，发现他们……都死了！
Zuótiān wǎnshang, kèdiàn lǐ lái le liǎng wèi kèren. Jīntiān zǎoshang wǒ qù jiào tāmen, fāxiàn tāmen… dōu sǐ le!
Two guests came last night. This morning I found them... both dead!
- Hong Liang 两个人？！
Liǎng gè rén?!
Two people?!
- The Innkeeper 房间的门，是从里面闩上的！我叫了很久，没有人答应，最后我们把门撞开了！
Fángjiān de mén, shì cóng lǐmiàn shuān shàng de! Wǒ jiào le hěn jiǔ, méiyǒu rén dāying, zuìhòu wǒmen bǎ mén zhuàngkāi le!
The door was bolted from the inside! I called and called, no answer, so we broke it down!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 从里面闩上的门……好。掌柜，你先回去守着，谁也不许进那个房间，一根针也不许动。
Cóng lǐmiàn shuān shàng de mén… hǎo. Zhǎngguì, nǐ xiān huíqu shǒu zhe, shuí yě bùxǔ jìn nàge fángjiān, yì gēn zhēn yě bùxǔ dòng.
A door bolted from inside... Good. Innkeeper, go back and guard it. Nobody enters that room.
- Hong Liang 大人，才来第一天，就有两条人命的大案子。这个县，真是不太平啊。
Dàren, cái lái dìyī tiān, jiù yǒu liǎng tiáo rénmìng de dà ànzi. Zhège xiàn, zhēnshì bú tàipíng a.
Your very first day, my lord, and already a case with two lives lost.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 是啊。洪亮，你看见了吗？掌柜说话的时候，他的手一直在发抖。
Shì a. Hóng Liàng, nǐ kànjiàn le ma? Zhǎngguì shuōhuà de shíhou, tā de shǒu yìzhí zài fādǒu.
Yes. Did you see, Hong Liang? The innkeeper's hands shook the whole time he spoke.
What changed in the story?
- How does Judge Di prove whose coins they are?
“我把钱放进水里，大家看着。”……“水上有好多小油花”
- Why is the oil on the water important?
“这些钱，是一个卖油人的钱。”
- What punishment does the thief get?
“罚他给这位油贩挑三天油。”
- What does the innkeeper report at night?
“发现他们……都死了！”
- What does Judge Di notice about the innkeeper?
“掌柜说话的时候，他的手一直在发抖。”