The Golden Hairpin

Zhang Xingying went home to fetch bedding and clothes for Dicui, while Huang Zixu and Zhou Ziqin walked out of the Dali Temple together, discussing whether Princess Tongchang had been abducted at the time and why she hadn’t cried for help. Suddenly, they saw Cui Chunzhan riding back on horseback. He dismounted and called out excitedly to them, “Ziqin! Chonggu! You’re here too? Perfect!”

The lanterns at the entrance of the Dali Temple were brightly lit, and the torches held by Cui Chunzhan’s attendants blazed fiercely. In the bright light, they could clearly see the joy on Cui Chunzhan’s face, which immediately struck them as odd. They exchanged glances—they had expected the Deputy Minister Cui to look utterly miserable today!

When a plump figure was dragged out from behind Cui Chunzhan, Huang Zixu and Zhou Ziqin were even more astonished. This short, stout middle-aged man, trussed up with rope like a round zongzi—wasn’t this none other than the shopkeeper, Qian Guansuo?

The moment Qian Guansuo saw them, he wailed, “Young Master Zhou! Eunuch Yang! You must vouch for me! I really didn’t kill anyone! And I could never have killed the princess!”

Zhou Ziqin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Deputy Minister Cui, is he the culprit?”

Cui Chunzhan beamed, looking quite pleased with himself. “Indeed! Today, by His Majesty’s order, I searched the princess’s residence again and just happened to catch him sneaking around to find the princess’s cook. When we questioned him, he actually claimed he was looking for his daughter—what a ridiculous lie!”

Zhou Ziqin watched as Qian Guansuo was dragged inside and asked in surprise, “Huh? Isn’t his daughter a maid in the princess’s household?”

“Yes, he kept insisting his daughter was a maid serving the princess and that he had seen her many times. But recently, he hadn’t heard from her, so he went to the residence to inquire discreetly.” Cui Chunzhan’s face was full of disdain. “Couldn’t even come up with a decent lie. When we asked him to point out his daughter, he couldn’t find her at all. He just said his daughter had a faint blue birthmark on her wrist. But after questioning everyone in the residence—not just the maids, but even the eunuchs—no one had such a birthmark.”

Zhou Ziqin exclaimed, “Huh? But last time we questioned him at his shop, he described his daughter in vivid detail! He even said she gave him a golden toad, studded with jewels, crouching on a jade lotus leaf—it sounded exquisite!”

“Golden toad?” Cui Chunzhan’s eyes lit up instantly. “The one with a crystal bead on the jade lotus leaf? The bead rolls around like a dewdrop whenever the toad moves?”

Zhou Ziqin nodded repeatedly. “Deputy Minister Cui has seen it too?”

“Of course! It was a tribute from a Western Region kingdom two years ago! It was New Year’s Day, and all the court officials saw it—everyone marveled at it! Later, it became part of Princess Tongchang’s dowry.” Cui Chunzhan rubbed his hands together gleefully. “Now we have it—even the motive for the crime! Qian Guansuo, in his greed for the rare treasure, murdered the eunuch in the princess’s household, the princess herself, and even some local named Sun Laizi—though I’m not sure how he got involved. But I’m certain a little torture will make that fat dwarf confess everything!”Cui Chunzhan spoke briskly as he strode swiftly toward the inner hall of the Dali Temple, instructing those around him, "Light the lamps! Convene the court! This official will conduct a night trial of the major criminal!"

Zhou Ziqin was dumbfounded and turned to look at Huang Zixia. She hurried inside, saying, "What are we waiting for? Let's go see how Vice Minister Cui plans to conduct the trial!"

The main hall of the Dali Temple was brightly lit. Three shifts of bailiffs, law enforcement officials, assessors, and temple rectors stood on either side. The Vice Minister of the Dali Temple personally presided over the interrogation, creating an imposing scene.

As they were investigators personally appointed by the emperor, the Dali Temple staff set up two chairs for Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin. The two sat to the side, watching as Qian Guansuo was brought in and knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Huang Zixia quietly asked Zhou Ziqin, "By the way, who is the current Minister of the Dali Temple? Why have I never seen him appear here?"

Zhou Ziqin looked at her with disbelief. "You actually don’t know?"

"How would I know? When I left the capital last time, Minister Xu was in charge, but later I heard he passed away..."

"But you spend every day with the Minister of the Dali Temple and don’t even know who he is!" Zhou Ziqin hissed under his breath.

Huang Zixia pressed a finger to her lips, signaling him to keep quiet. But after a moment’s thought, even she couldn’t contain herself. "The Minister of the Dali Temple is... Prince Kui?"

"Exactly! Didn’t you know how many positions he holds?"

His outburst was too loud, drawing sidelong glances from those nearby. The two quickly pretended nothing had happened and lowered their heads to flip through Zhou Ziqin’s earlier notes.

Cui Chunzhan sat on the dais with an air of authority, solemnly asking, "Who is kneeling below?"

"This lowly one... this lowly one is Qian Guansuo. I run a carriage and horse shop in the capital called Qian’s. For years, my reputation has been spotless, honest and law-abiding... I’m innocent! I absolutely did not—"

"Answer only what this official asks!" Cui Chunzhan rapped the gavel and took the list prepared by the temple rector beside him, proceeding with the interrogation point by point. "In recent years, has your carriage shop expanded into sewer maintenance and had dealings with the Ministry of Works’ water channel laborers?"

"Yes..." He was utterly bewildered.

"The Dali Temple has verified that near the site of Princess Tongchang’s incident, there was a water channel opening. Did you use this as a hiding place to evade the authorities after committing the murder?"

Qian Guansuo was instantly horrified, stammering incoherently, "No! No, no! This lowly one absolutely did not kill anyone! I... I didn’t even know the princess had died!"

"Investigation shows your first entry into the princess’s residence was last year during the water channel repairs. You have no expertise in waterworks, so why did you frequently visit the princess’s residence to monitor the progress?"

"This lowly one... heard the princess’s residence was extravagantly luxurious and wanted to see it for myself. Plus, given the princess’s exalted status, I feared my workers might make mistakes, so... so I often came to supervise. I absolutely had no ill intentions!" Qian Guansuo collapsed on the ground like a lump of lard, pale and trembling.

"You heard the princess’s residence was extravagantly luxurious? So you set your sights on its rare treasures, colluding with the eunuch Wei Ximin to steal the golden toad and the nine-phoenix hairpin from the treasury, didn’t you?""How... how can this be? This humble one only met Wei Ximin once. The golden toad was a gift from my daughter. I've never even seen the Nine Phoenix Hairpin..."

"If you only met Wei Ximin once, why did you give him such expensive lingling incense? Later, Wei Ximin went to your shop to demand more spices, and that very night he disappeared. The next day, he was found dead at Jianfu Temple. Tell me, after he helped you steal the golden toad, did you burn him alive at the temple to silence him?"

Qian Guansuo was now weeping uncontrollably, his throat making hoarse sounds as he frantically defended himself: "No, never... that incense... that incense was meant for the cook..."

"Then why did many people say Wei Ximin was using it? Was the cook one of your spies in the princess's residence?"

"No! No, no! The cook Changpu is a good person. She helped me find my daughter..."

"You keep saying you have a daughter in the princess's residence, yet no one there has the birthmark you described on their wrist. How can you prove this?"

Qian Guansuo knelt there dumbly, his facial muscles twitching as if convulsing. Huang Zixiao found his appearance both pitiful and heartbreaking, sighing inwardly and turning her face away, unable to bear looking any longer.

"But... but I really saw my daughter! She showed me her hand from behind the screen, truly! A pale green birthmark, like a little rabbit. If she's not Xing'er, then who could she be? I really saw my daughter..."

His words—half plea, half defense—were cut off by Cui Chunzhan's gavel strike: "Qian Guansuo! This official asks you: after conspiring with Wei Ximin to steal treasures from the princess's residence, why did you then murder the princess? When the princess saw the Nine Phoenix Hairpin in your hand among the crowd, how did you kill her? Confess truthfully now!"

Qian Guansuo was terrified out of his wits, shaking his head repeatedly: "No! Truly no, I didn't kill anyone. My daughter is in the princess's residence...The Dali Temple judge coughed lightly and said, "The evidence against the prisoner is conclusive, yet he refuses to confess. Vice Minister Cui, it seems torture is necessary to extract the truth!"

"Hmm, take him down and administer twenty strokes first!" Cui Chunzhan declared, throwing down an order tablet.

Zhou Ziqin jumped up, lunging to catch the tablet. But he was too late—the tablet hit the ground, and the bailiffs behind him seized Qian Guansuo and dragged him away.

Zhou Ziqin had lunged so quickly that his heel caught on the chair behind him. He fell to the ground with a thud, the chair toppling over with a crash. The surrounding bailiffs scattered in alarm, creating chaos in the hall.

Cui Chunzhan frowned and asked, "Ziqin, what are you doing?"

"Vice Minister Cui," Huang Zixiao stood up and bowed respectfully. "Although you are presiding over this case, His Majesty instructed Ziqin and me to participate as well. There are a few matters we'd like to discuss with you. Might we speak privately?"

Cui Chunzhan listened to Qian Guansuo's wails coming from nearby, then looked at the disarrayed bailiffs in the hall. "Very well, let's adjourn to the back hall and let them regroup."

The three moved to the back hall and sat down. After servants served tea, Cui Chunzhan immediately asked, "What is it?"Huang Zixiang asked, "Does Vice Minister Cui truly believe Qian Guansuo is the real culprit in this case?"

Cui Chanzhan frowned and replied, "Based on the current evidence, his suspicion is significant, isn't it? He gave Wei Ximin such expensive incense, Wei Ximin went to see him that night and disappeared, only to be burned to death the next day; that Sun Laizi must have been either an accomplice or someone who discovered his crime, so he killed him and later claimed to have coincidentally found the body while drunk. Moreover, since he could steal the golden toad from the princess's treasury, he could certainly have stolen the Nine Phoenix Hairpin from the same treasury—the very hairpin that was the murder weapon used to kill the princess. And there's even a waterway nearby that he could have used to escape. It's said he personally inspected that waterway a few days ago..."

Huang Zixiang countered, "However, if we say Wei Ximin's death was because he and Qian Guansuo stole the golden toad together and Qian killed him to silence him, then the Nine Phoenix Hairpin was stolen after Wei Ximin's death. Without his inside man, how could Qian have stolen it again?"

Cui Chanzhan frowned, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. After a long pause, he ventured, "Perhaps it was that kitchen maid he mentioned?"

Huang Zixiang shook her head helplessly. "Vice Minister Cui, Wei Ximin was close to the princess—it's plausible he could have stolen something. But the kitchen maid spends all day in the kitchen and doesn't even have the chance to go up to Qiyun Pavilion. How could she have stolen the Nine Phoenix Hairpin?"

"But Eunuch Yang can't deny that Qian Guansuo is deeply connected to this case, especially since all three incidents are closely linked—oh, and one more thing! The horse that caused the incident with the imperial son-in-law was one Qian Guansuo sold to the Capital Defense Bureau! With so many suspicious points surrounding one person, how could he possibly be innocent?" Cui Chanzhan sighed, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Besides, you know how much the Emperor dotes on Princess Tongchang—he treasures her like a pearl. Now that the princess is dead, not only the three judicial offices—the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate—but even the Capital Guards, the two yamen, and the ten armies—who can escape blame? Several imperial physicians have already been beaten to death on the spot, and I heard the Emperor intends to punish their hundreds of family members as well. Tell me, if the princess was killed with a single strike, aren't those physicians completely innocent? If we don't quickly apprehend the culprit for the Emperor, which office can withstand this thunderous wrath?"

Huang Zixiang frowned slightly, and Zhou Ziqin quickly asked, "So, in Vice Minister Cui's opinion, between Lü Dicui and Qian Guansuo, who is more suspicious?"

"Ziqin, you must be joking. Compared to Qian Guansuo, Lü Dicui's suspicion is practically negligible. If she hadn't voluntarily confessed and signed the case record, we could release her immediately!"

Zhou Ziqin felt somewhat relieved and added, "Vice Minister Cui, I actually feel that this case involving Boss Qian should be handled with more caution. What do you think? After all, lives are at stake..."

Cui Chanzhan looked troubled but reluctantly nodded. "Don't worry. As the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I know when to be cautious—"

Before he could finish, someone rushed in from behind, shouting, "Vice Minister! Vice Minister Cui!"

Cui Chanzhan frowned at the beaming Court of Judicial Review official who had just entered and asked, "What is it?"

"Just received news—there's a waterway running right beneath Sun Laizi's house!"

"Oh? Really?" Cui Chanzhan immediately stood up in excitement. "Does Qian Guansuo know about this waterway?""I know! Just a few days before the incident, the capital was cleaning its waterways. The laborers under Qian Guansuo's command went to clean that area, and at the time, Qian Guansuo himself went to inspect the site!"

"Truly, the net of heaven is vast, yet it lets nothing slip through. Another piece of evidence!" Cui Chunzhan turned triumphantly to Huang Zitang and Zhou Ziqin. "You see, Qian Guansuo is indeed the murderer! He used that waterway to climb into Sun Laizi's tightly sealed house, committed the murder, and then quietly descended back through the waterway. After gathering a crowd, he led them into the house, creating an alibi for himself!"

Zhou Ziqin frowned and said, "Lord Cui, when Sun Laizi had just died, I went to inspect the scene. The ground in his house was very flat, showing no signs of anyone coming or going through the sewer..."

Cui Chunzhan frowned upon hearing this but quickly dismissed the concern. "Ah, that's precisely why he gathered so many people afterward to witness Sun Laizi's death with him! With so many people, the disturbed soil in Sun Laizi's house could easily be trampled flat, obliterating the evidence! This man's mind is so meticulous, truly cunning to the extreme!"

"But... it still doesn't add up..." Zhou Ziqin wanted to say more, but Cui Chunzhan raised his hand to stop him and walked toward the front hall. "Ziqin, Eunuch Yang, I already have a good grasp of this matter. There's no need for the two of you to worry any further. Leave it to me. Tomorrow, I will bring this case to light!"