Chronologically, this is the very first story in the Judge Dee series authored by Robert van Gulik, where he meets Ma Joong and Chiao Tai and takes them into his service. It’s somewhat interesting as these two former highwaymen find their feet as assistants to the judge. Judge Dee himself is only in his first posting, and makes his own share of mistakes before coming through and showing his quality as Judge. I feel that the storyline isn’t as strong as some of the other mysteries, however.