Judge Dee's Cases · chapter 7 of 8
The Night Watch
夜里的等待
Judge Di sets a trap in the old woman's kitchen. Ma Rong must stay silent all night, and the cousin walks in carrying a cup of tea.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 天黑了。县衙后面的小房间里，只有一支蜡烛在亮着。
Tiānhēi le. Xiànyá hòumiàn de xiǎo fángjiān lǐ, zhǐyǒu yì zhī làzhú zài liàng zhe.
Night fell. In the small room behind the court, only one candle was burning.
- Hong Liang 大人，为什么不直接抓那个表哥？我们已经知道，药是他买的。
Dàren, wèishénme bù zhíjiē zhuā nàge biǎogē? Wǒmen yǐjīng zhīdao, yào shì tā mǎi de.
Why not simply arrest the cousin, my lord? We already know he bought the poison.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 一包药，一个戒指，还不够。他可以说，那是为了杀老鼠。
Yì bāo yào, yí gè jièzhi, hái bú gòu. Tā kěyǐ shuō, nà shì wèile shā lǎoshǔ.
A packet and a ring are not enough. He can say it was for killing mice.
Chapter 7 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.
- Ma Rong 老鼠？那他家的老鼠一定很大，大得像我一样！
Lǎoshǔ? Nà tā jiā de lǎoshǔ yídìng hěn dà, dà de xiàng wǒ yíyàng!
Mice? His mice must be huge, as big as me!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 我们要在他下手的时候，当场把他抓住。这样，他就没有话说了。
Wǒmen yào zài tā xiàshǒu de shíhou, dāngchǎng bǎ tā zhuāzhù. Zhèyàng, tā jiù méiyǒu huà shuō le.
We must catch him at the very moment he tries. Then he'll have nothing to say.
- Hong Liang 那位老太太最危险。她一个人在家，要是我们失败了……
Nà wèi lǎotàitai zuì wēixiǎn. Tā yí gè rén zài jiā, yàoshi wǒmen shībài le…
The old lady is in the most danger. Alone in that house, if we fail...
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 傍晚我已经去看过她了。她很聪明，也很勇敢，她愿意帮忙。
Bàngwǎn wǒ yǐjīng qù kànguò tā le. Tā hěn cōngming, yě hěn yǒnggǎn, tā yuànyì bāngmáng.
I visited her this evening. She is clever and brave, and she is willing to help.
- Ma Rong 那我呢？我做什么？我可以打人吗？
Nà wǒ ne? Wǒ zuò shénme? Wǒ kěyǐ dǎrén ma?
And me? What do I do? Can I hit someone?
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 你和乔泰躲在院子的树后面，不能出声，也不能动。
Nǐ hé Qiáo Tài duǒ zài yuànzi de shù hòumiàn, bùnéng chū shēng, yě bùnéng dòng.
You and Qiao Tai hide behind the trees in the yard. Not a sound, and not a step.
- Ma Rong 不能出声，也不能动？这比打架还难！
Bùnéng chū shēng, yě bùnéng dòng? Zhè bǐ dǎjià hái nán!
No sound and no moving? That's harder than fighting!
- Hong Liang 马荣，你要是打呼噜，我就用茶杯砸你。
Mǎ Róng, nǐ yàoshi dǎ hūlu, wǒ jiù yòng chábēi zá nǐ.
Ma Rong, if you snore, I'll throw a teacup at you.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 好了，我们各就各位。天一亮，就一切清楚了。今天晚上，谁也不许睡着。
Hǎo le, wǒmen gè jiù gè wèi. Tiān yí liàng, jiù yíqiè qīngchu le. Jīntiān wǎnshang, shuí yě bùxǔ shuìzháo.
Enough. By dawn everything will be clear. Tonight nobody is allowed to fall asleep.
- Narrator 半夜，老太太坐在厨房的小炉子旁边，好像睡着了。
Bànyè, lǎotàitai zuò zài chúfáng de xiǎo lúzi pángbiān, hǎoxiàng shuìzháo le.
At midnight the old woman sat by the small stove in her kitchen, seeming to doze.
- The Cousin 只要她喝了这杯茶，一切就好了。钱，房子，都是我的……
Zhǐyào tā hē le zhèbēi chá, yíqiè jiù hǎo le. Qián, fángzi, dōu shì wǒ de…
Once she drinks this tea, everything will be fine. The money, the house, all mine...
- The Cousin 伯母，伯母？您睡着了吗？是我啊。
Bómǔ, bómǔ? Nín shuìzháo le ma? Shì wǒ a.
Auntie? Auntie? Are you asleep? It's me.
- The Old Mother 啊？谁呀？是你啊，孩子。
A? Shuí ya? Shì nǐ a, háizi.
Huh? Who is it? Oh, it's you, child.
- The Cousin 伯母，天气冷了，我给您煮了一杯热茶，喝了好睡觉。
Bómǔ, tiānqì lěng le, wǒ gěi nín zhǔ le yì bēi rèchá, hē le hǎo shuìjiào.
Auntie, it's getting cold. I made you a cup of hot tea to help you sleep.
- The Old Mother 你真是个好孩子。可是我年纪大了，睡觉以前不喝茶。
Nǐ zhēnshì gè hǎo háizi. Kěshì wǒ niánjì dà le, shuìjiào yǐqián bù hē chá.
What a good boy you are. But I'm old, and I don't drink tea before bed.
- The Cousin 喝一口吧，伯母，一口就好。
Hē yì kǒu ba, bómǔ, yì kǒu jiù hǎo.
Just a sip, Auntie. One sip is enough.
- The Old Mother 我的手在发抖……不怕，不怕。我的儿子，在天上看着我呢。
Wǒ de shǒu zài fādǒu… bú pà, bú pà. Wǒ de érzi, zài tiānshàng kànzhe wǒ ne.
My hands are shaking... Don't be afraid. My son is watching me from heaven.
- The Old Mother 那你先喝一口，我在这儿看着你喝。
Nà nǐ xiān hē yì kǒu, wǒ zài zhèr kànzhe nǐ hē.
Then you drink a sip first, and I'll watch you.
- The Cousin 我……我不渴。
Wǒ… wǒ bù kě.
I... I'm not thirsty.
- The Old Mother 你不渴？那就是茶有问题了。孩子们，可以出来了！
Nǐ bù kě? Nà jiùshì chá yǒu wèntí le. Háizimen, kěyǐ chūlai le!
Not thirsty? Then something is wrong with the tea. Boys, you may come out now!
- Ma Rong 终于！我憋了一个晚上了！我的腿都麻了，我的肚子还在叫！
Zhōngyú! Wǒ biē le yí gè wǎnshang le! Wǒ de tuǐ dōu má le, wǒ de dǔzi hái zài jiào!
Finally! I've been holding it in all night! My legs are numb and my stomach is growling!
- The Cousin 放开我！你们这是做什么？你们是谁？我只是给伯母送一杯茶！
Fàngkāi wǒ! Nǐmen zhè shì zuò shénme? Nǐmen shì shuí? Wǒ zhǐshì gěi bómǔ sòng yì bēi chá!
Let go of me! I was only bringing my aunt some tea!
- Qiao Tai 送茶？那你手里，为什么有一包药？
Sòng chá? Nà nǐ shǒulǐ, wèishénme yǒu yì bāo yào?
Tea? Then why do you have a packet of powder in your hand?
- The Cousin 那是……那是治老鼠的药！我家的老鼠太多了！
Nà shì… nà shì zhì lǎoshǔ de yào! Wǒ jiā de lǎoshǔ tài duō le!
That's... that's for mice!
- Ma Rong 你家的老鼠，也喝茶吗？
Nǐ jiā de lǎoshǔ, yě hē chá ma?
Do your mice drink tea too?
- Qiao Tai 马荣，你别那么用力，他的手快断了。
Mǎ Róng, nǐ bié nàme yòng lì, tā de shǒu kuài duàn le.
Ma Rong, not so hard. His arm is about to snap.
- Ma Rong 我没有用力！我只是……稍微抱紧了一点儿。
Wǒ méiyǒu yòng lì! Wǒ zhǐshì… shāowēi bàojǐn le yìdiǎnr.
I'm not using force! I'm just... hugging a little tightly.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 是不是治老鼠的药，我们可以问药铺，也可以试一试。你愿意先喝一口茶吗？
Shì bú shì zhì lǎoshǔ de yào, wǒmen kěyǐ wèn yàopù, yě kěyǐ shì yi shì. Nǐ yuànyì xiān hē yì kǒu chá ma?
Whether it's for mice, we can ask the medicine shop, or we can test it. Will you drink the tea first?
- The Cousin 不！我不喝！这茶……这茶不能喝！
Bù! Wǒ bù hē! Zhè chá… zhè chá bùnéng hē!
No! I won't drink it!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 你刚才说，你不渴。现在怎么又怕喝了？
Nǐ gāngcái shuō, nǐ bù kě. Xiànzài zěnme yòu pà hē le?
You said you weren't thirsty.
- The Cousin 大人饶命！我不是一个人！这不是我一个人的主意！
Dàren ráo mìng! Wǒ búshì yí gè rén! Zhè búshì wǒ yí gè rén de zhǔyì!
Mercy, my lord! I am not alone! This wasn't only my idea!
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 那么，是谁的主意？
Nàme, shì shuí de zhǔyì?
Then whose idea was it?
- The Cousin 是她！是我表妹！她说，先是她丈夫，再是老太太，这个家的钱，就都是我们的了！
Shì tā! Shì wǒ biǎomèi! Tā shuō, xiān shì tā zhàngfu, zài shì lǎotàitai, zhège jiā de qián, jiù dōu shì wǒmen de le!
It was her! My cousin! She said first her husband, then the old lady, and then all the money in this house would be ours!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't the cousin be arrested right away?
“一包药，一个戒指，还不够。”
- What is Ma Rong told to do?
“你和乔泰躲在院子的树后面，不能出声，也不能动。”
- How does the old woman test the cousin?
“那你先喝一口，我在这儿看着你喝。”
- What is the cousin's excuse for the powder?
“那是……那是治老鼠的药！我家的老鼠太多了！”
- Whose idea does the cousin say it was?
“是她！是我表妹！”