It is said that in the Chengfang prefecture of Guizhou, there was a scholar by the name Ding Rizhong. He often read and studied at the monastery in Anfu, where he befriended a monk called Xinghui, and would spend time with him from sunrise ‘till sunset.

One day Xinghui went to visit Rizhong, but when he arrived, he was not home. His wife who was from the Deng family originally heard from his husband that he would often spend awhile at the monastery to read and study, and would often get something hot to drink from Xinghui. On this accord, she invited the visitor in for a drink. Xinghui saw that the face of the lady was gorgeous, and her speech was pure and appropriate. Her heart was overflowing with joy.

But Rizhong has not returned even after a month’s passing, and so in Xinghui’s heart a plot blossomed: He hired two Daoists to pretend to be carriers of a sedan chair and sent them over to Lady Deng and had them say this: “Your husband was reading at the monastery when he exerted his mind so heavily, that he suddenly experienced a stroke. He almost passed on, but thanks to Xinghui, he returned to life. But he’s still confined to bed, and his life hangs by a thread. He sent us to take you to him.”
To which the lady replied: “Why did you not bring him back in that chair instead?”
“Originally, we intended to bring him home, but we were afraid that during a journey that’s over ten li long, he’d catch a cold, and it would further endanger his life. Verily, it’d be better if milady went to visit him instead and decided on the spot whether or not to bring him home or to treat him there. It’d be better for the patient too if there was someone from the family besides his bed.” – replied the two men. After hearing the two mens’ pleas, he got on the sedan chair and departed.

Night has descended by the time they arrived at the monastery. The lady was taken straight to the heart of the monks’ quarters and they offered her food and drinks. She inquired: “Where’s my husband? Let me see him!”
To which came Xinghui’s reply: “Your husband was invited by his friends to a temple outside the city walls, and not long after someone returned with the news of his stroke. My humbleness went to visit him, and luckily, he has already recovered. But the road leading to the temple is five li, and the sky has already turned dark, thus it would be better if you stayed a while and rested before departing early tomorrow. If you would rather depart immediately, at least wait while the sedan chair’s carriers eat. You should take some sweets too, while you wait for the torches to be prepared for the journey.

At this moment, Lady Deng has started to have doubts, but she had no choice but to spend the night there. She drank a few cups of wine and tried to urge the servants to depart, but Xinghui told her: “The servants are unwilling to travel during the night, and they have already returned anyway. Milady can rest freely, there’s no reason to rush.
He then ordered his servants to try and convince her to stay and as she was already tipsy, she was lead back to one of the rooms to sleep.

As she stepped into the room, Lady Deng saw a brocade-covered mattress with rich embroidery, flower-patterned pillows, all hidden behind a thin silk curtain. Every item was exquisite. She examined the room by the lamp’s light and noticed, that every way out was tightly sealed. She left the lamp burning and kept her clothes on. She went to bed, but her anxiety would not let her sleep. The bell tolled, and Xinghui snuck in from behind and as he got to her bed, he embraced her, prompting Lady Deng to shout: “Bandit!”
“You can shout from dusk ‘till dawn, nobody will come to your aid! I took a lot of pains to achieve this. This must’ve been decided in our previous lives, you can’t do otherwise but accept it!” – said Xinghui.
“Have you no shame you wild beast! I’d rather die than bear this shame! – retorted Lady Deng.
“You really could let loose for one night. You can go to your husband afterwards. If you don’t let me have my way with you, I will end your life!”
Lady Deng screamed and sweared until midnight. Xinghui tore off her clothes and tied up her arms and legs, afterwards violently raping her.

They rose at noon the next day. Xinghui told the woman: “It is by my cunning that you came here. Now that it has come to this, you should shave your head and become a nun. Hide in the monastery and you shall have no want of clothing or nourishment. And your husband shall be by your side. If you act stubbornly like last night, I have ropes, razors and poisons. You can choose which way you die!”
She thought it over. Her body was defiled already and if she died, no one would take revenge. Therefore it was better to live with the injustice until she could see her husband. Then they can report this evil deed and can die afterwards. Thus, she submitted to the razorblade.

Over a month has passed, and Ding Rizhong again came to see Xinghui. Lady Deng heard his voice and rushed to see him, but Xinghui followed her closely. Rizhong greeted his wife who in tears told him: “Oh my husband. Maybe you don’t even recognise me any more! Xinghui tricked me into coming here, and since then day and night I’ve been hoping that you would come to my rescue!”
Rizhong was full of rage. He turned towards Xinghui and hit him. Xinghui then shouted for his fellow monks and told them to capture Rizhong. He took out a knife with the intent of killing him, but Lady Deng took out the knife from his hand and said: “Kill me first, only then finish off my husband!”

Xinghui put away the knife and dragged Lady Deng to a room, where he tied her up and got back to finishing Rizhong off, who said to him: “You tricked my wife and you will kill me too. But I will leave you no rest even in the underworld! If you want to kill me, then let me see my wife so that we may die together!”
“With your death also dies the last hope of Lady Deng, after which I can make her my wife forever. How could you possibly think you are going to die together? – Xinghui told him.
“Then have mercy on my body and let me die by my own hand” – replied Rizhong.
“If I have mercy on you that might net me some hidden merit…” – said Xinghui. “Behind the abbot’s quarters there is a large bell, I will hide you under it and you can kill yourself there.”
He followed the orders and hid inside the bell. Lady Deng’s crying showed no signs of stopping. She pleased to the Bodhisattva Guanyin, hoping that someone would come and save her husband.

Three days later, Judge Bao was touring his precinct, when one day the Bodhisattva Guanyin visited him in his dream, and she led him behind the abbot’s quarters behind the monastery, where he saw a black dragon hidden in the bell. At first he didn’t think much of it, but then twice and thrice he dreamed of this, and he started to have doubts. And so he ordered his servants to set off to the temple and investigate the case.

Once they arrived, they settled down behind the abbot’s quarters and indeed, there was a sizeable bell behind it. It was immediately ordered to lift the bell, and under it they immediately found that a man who was visibly on the verge of starving to death, still breathing. Judge Boa knew that this man was kept in captivity. He immediately ordered some gruel be made for him.
After eating, he slowly regained his strength and spoke: “The monk called Xinghui not only tricked my wife to shave her head and become a nun, he also trapped me under this bell!”

Judge Bao ordered Xinghui be arrested, but no matter where they looked, there was no sign of the woman. The judge ordered his servants to thoroughly check the place, after which they found a tunnel hidden by the floorboard. The servants opened the boards and saw a ladder leading down into a room, illuminated by a bright lantern. In it sat a young monk.
They called him up for questioning to Judge Bao. This young monk was none other than Lady Deng. She saw that her husband was free and that Xinghui has been thrown in jail. After this she told the entire story of her kidnapping and the reason for her husband’s suffering under the bell. Xinghui couldn’t say anything to save himself, he just kowtowed and said: “I deserve death!”

Judge Bao at once proclaimed the verdict: “Upon investigating the case, it is clear that the depraved monk by the name of Huixing, whose list of crime is endless, entered into a friendship with Ding Rizhong, and often dined and drank with him. Seeing the beautiful visage of his wife, he hatched a depraved plan, lured her to the monastery and without the knowledge of her husband, raped her! After this, he blackmailed her into shaving her head and becoming a nun.

Even though she was in despair and had to silently endure, her waiting paid off and her husband Rizhong came to the monastery, where Lady Deng recognised his voice. As their glances met, they both cried, but their sorrows were not yet over, for the monks captured them with the intent of mercilessly murdering them. Rizhong, begging for his life had to hide under the bell.

After this, thrice I dreamed of a hidden dragon. Motivated by this, I came to the abbot’s quarters, ordered the bell to be lifted and I have found him starving for five days at that point! Ding Rizhong barely escaped his doom, but it is certain, that he will have an auspicious life after this! Lady Deng, who sought death, ended up finding life, standing by her husband’s side again!”

In accordance with the sentence, Xinghui was beheaded and his head was put on public display. His accomplices were banished to the borderlands for military duty.
But Judge Bao reprimanded Lady Deng too: “If on that day you choose death at the hands of your kidnapper, then you could have saved the virtue of your body, and you also don’t cause your husband to suffer under the bell. Had it not been for the help of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, your husband would be dead because of you!”

“That I have not died is because I had not seen my husband yet, and so the deplorable monk wasn’t reported. My intention was, that I first meet with my husband, and then I die. Now that my husband is safe and sound and the monk has been executed, I am deeply ashamed. I am not fit to live among people, I’m ready to accept death!” – Said Lady Deng and smashed her head against a pillar, covering the floor in blood.
Judge Bao ordered his servants to lift her up, because she fainted due to bloodloss. They gave her medicine, so she was brought back from the cusp of death.

After this, Judge Bao addressed Ding Rizhong: “Based on Lady Deng’s account, she only followed the instructions of her kidnapper because she was forced to. Afterwards, she lived because she wanted to take revenge. Now that she has proven the severity of her intentions by smashing her head against this pillar, would you not please spare her?”

“At first I was mad at her for not choosing death” – Said Ding Rizhong – “I thought her plan of revenge was dishonest. But seeing her smash her head against the pillar proved that she wasn’t just shamelessly clinging onto life. I’m happy she didn’t die. I will treat her like the first day we met, as if fate has brought us back together in a next life!”

Ding Rizhong and Lady Deng respectfully bowed and returned home. There, they carved a wooden statue depicting Judge Bao. Without fail they worshipped it each sunrise and sunset. Later, Ding Rizhong would pass the imperial examinations and become an assistant prefect.

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The translation was based on the following text: 龍圖公案 on the Chinese Text Project
This is not the first translation of the story into English. Only after completing mine have I been made aware of the fact that Leon Comber produced a translation of this in the 1960s.
His book, which contains six stories is titled "The Strange Cases of Magistrate Pao – Chinese Tales of Crime and Detection". I have not read Comber's book, as I have been unable to acquire it, digitally or otherwise.

Otherwise not many stories are awailable in a western language. Besides Comber's translation, Sabine Schommer's monograph "Richter Bao, der chinesische Sherlock Holmes" contains the translation of four stories in the appendix. She relates that one story has also been translated into Polish (Zbikowski, T.T.: Sprawiedliwe wyroki sedziego Paokunga, Warsaw, 1960.).
(This list is probably not exhaustive, but this is what I have managed to track down so far, with some other, early 20th century publications possibly containing selections of Judge Bao stories.)