The old woman tells Judge Dee that she is a widow and that her only son, who would have been 28 years old, died a year ago right after the Dragon Boat Festival from a stomach ache in the middle of the night. Looking at his bulging eyes had caused her great emotional pain, which Judge Dee claims has turned into a chronic ache in the chest. The son’s death seems suspicious because of the bulging eyes and the suddenness of his passing, so Judge Dee decides to investigate further.

The judge contrives to go back with the woman to her home. The woman’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter live with her. The granddaughter is seven years old and lost the power of speech two months after the death of her father, Bee Hsun. The daughter-in-law has become a “constant widow,” or someone who refuses to remarry, and does not leave the house or entertain guests. She is a “voluptuous beauty” with a “snow-white and beautifully shaped” (36) forehead and rosy cheeks. However, her outer appearance does not match her behavior, as she scolds her mother-in-law for bringing a strange man into the house and behaves rudely toward Judge Dee. The judge concludes that despite her beauty “this young woman must be a bad person” (36).