The Golden Hairpin

The Zhijin Garden was enveloped in silence, with a gentle breeze rippling across the water, the lush greenery of plantains and calamus exuding a refreshing aura.

Wei Baoheng's gaze slowly settled on Huang Zixiao as he said, "Eunuch Yang, since your arrival at the estate to conduct the investigation, have you discovered that beneath the exquisite and unparalleled beauty of this princess's residence lie many hidden, terrifying secrets?"

Huang Zixiao frowned slightly, swiftly reviewing in her mind all she had witnessed in the princess's estate over the past days.

"I originally intended to stir up this matter, even at the cost of my own injury, to involve the authorities in the investigation—to uncover why Doukou died and to drag down the person who was about to ascend to the pinnacle of the Daming Palace... But I never imagined things would turn out this way, that the princess... would also leave me."

Unable to hold back, Huang Zixiao asked, "Did you know about the relationship between Dicui and Doukou?"

"Not at first. After hearing that the princess felt uneasy upon seeing her, I went to settle the matter and met her a few times. Only later did I learn she was Doukou's niece. In truth, they only bore a slight resemblance in their eyes and brows, but seeing her always reminded me of Doukou." Wei Baoheng lowered his eyes, speaking with difficulty. "I also knew she wanted to kill Sun Laizi, so I secretly followed her, intending to lend a hand if necessary... I just didn’t expect to be discovered by you. In fact, I even thought that if possible, I could kill Sun Laizi for her—if only because she was Doukou's niece, if only because... she looked a little like Doukou..."

Huang Zixiao sighed inwardly and fell silent.

Wei Baoheng bowed absently to Li Shubai and said, "Now that both the princess and Doukou are dead, the truth seems irrelevant... If Prince Kui and Eunuch Yang have any questions, feel free to inspect the estate. For now, I must attend to the princess's vigil. Otherwise, if His Majesty learns I have not been diligent, his wrath will be terrible."

Li Shubai nodded slightly, signaling his dismissal.

As Wei Baoheng straightened up, he murmured almost inaudibly, "When the princess ordered the garden gate sealed... I was in the pavilion and accidentally kicked something under the pillar."

Both Huang Zixiao and Li Shubai heard him, but he acted as though he had merely spoken to himself and turned to leave.

The secrets of the princess's estate.

Hidden, terrifying secrets.

After Wei Baoheng departed, Li Shubai and Huang Zixiao walked slowly along the waterside corridor of Zhijin Garden toward the central pavilion.

Amidst the sheltering plantains, the small window cast an emerald glow. Inside the hastily sealed garden, a thin layer of dust covered everything.

Li Shubai stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the grassy pond outside the pavilion, while Huang Zixiao knelt on the ground, meticulously examining each pillar. It was only when she reached the corner formed by the door and one of the pillars that she discovered a small, dust-covered lump in the shadowy recess.

Beneath the layer of dust, it would have gone unnoticed had she not been searching so carefully.

She reached for it—soft to the touch—and found it was a crumpled piece of paper. Slowly unfolding it, she saw two unfinished lines of poetry written on a small sheet of stationery:

"Generations pass without end,

While the river moon remains the same."

The final stroke of the character "same" was left incomplete, as though the writer had abruptly stopped. The crumpled snow-white paper and the scattered dust made the words appear faint and indistinct.Huang Zixiao's eyes caught a sudden flicker—the same fleeting words that had appeared and vanished on the charred paper ashes, with Zhou Ziqin's help.

Perhaps it was the illusory, indistinct sensation, but the script before her now seemed almost identical to the burned line of text.

"Not Tongchang's handwriting," Li Shubai said decisively, examining the two lines. "Every year on the Emperor's birthday, Tongchang would personally write congratulatory verses for his gifts. I've seen them."

Huang Zixiang lightly lifted a corner of the paper, blowing away the dust.

The delicate, graceful strokes, unmistakably a woman’s hand, carried a stiffness that betrayed long disuse—evidence of the writer’s hesitation and turmoil.

Li Shubai turned to leave. "Let’s go. If there’s anything else you need to know, we’ll have to ask the household now."

As one of the princess’s personal maids, Chui Zhu had been kneeling before the princess’s spirit tablet since the incident, weeping until she fainted multiple times, only to resume crying upon waking. By the time Huang Zixiao arrived, her eyes were so swollen and raw that no more tears could fall, leaving her kneeling in a daze.

Huang Zixiao knelt beside Chui Zhu, offering incense in reverence to Princess Tongchang before turning her gaze to the maid’s wrist.

Clad in mourning hemp, the sleeve of Chui Zhu’s robe slipped back, revealing the left arm—a patchwork of raised, uneven burn scars stretching from wrist to elbow, a testament to the severity of the injury.

"Miss Chui Zhu," Huang Zixiao asked softly, "how did you get these scars?"

Chui Zhu silently tugged her sleeve back over the marks, bowing her head without a word.

Beside her, Luo Pei, also kneeling, answered tearfully, "A few years ago, the princess was playing with fire out of curiosity and nearly got burned. Chui Zhu saved her and was injured instead."

Though Luo Pei, Zhui Yu, Qing Bi, and the others were also tear-streaked, they seemed far more composed compared to Chui Zhu’s swollen eyes. Several maids chimed in, "Yes, Chui Zhu was utterly devoted to the princess. Even the Emperor praised her for it."

Huang Zixiao asked casually, "Speaking of which, I just remembered—the other day, a man surnamed Qian claimed his daughter had a birthmark on her wrist and was somewhere in the princess’s household. Have any of you seen her?"

Chui Zhu shook her head silently, and the others replied, "We’ve heard about it, but no one in the household seems to have such a birthmark."

Qing Bi curled her lip. "Probably just another social climber. Who in the capital doesn’t want to claim ties to the princess’s household? Having a relative work here would be bragging rights for them."

"Qing Bi," Chui Zhu murmured in warning. Qing Bi huffed but shut her mouth, adding, "I wasn’t saying anything wrong. Oh, well… the Prince of Kui’s household is respectable too."

It seemed Chui Zhu held a leading position among the princess’s maids—no wonder the princess had called her the most capable of her attendants.

Chui Zhu remained silent, still covering her arm with her sleeve, her head bowed so deeply it was clear she had no intention of speaking further.

Yet Huang Zixiao pressed on, "Miss Chui Zhu, I’d like to ask—what was your usual relationship with Wei Ximin?"

Chui Zhu replied softly, "We served the princess together, so we were familiar. But there was nothing beyond that. After all, if a maid and a eunuch were too close… it would invite gossip."When she mentioned this, it reminded Huang Zixiao of another matter. She asked, "I heard the princess betrothed you to someone else, and you're to be married soon?"

Chuizhu nodded silently but then shook her head. "Originally, it was set for the latter half of the year. Though the groom's family isn't from a prominent clan, he holds a position in the Court of State Ceremonial, an official household. Without the princess, I could never have married into such a good family. But now... it seems hopeless."

Huang Zixiao understood. The groom's family had only agreed to marry a maid because of the princess's influence. After all, even a servant from a powerful household could rise in status, and with the princess's support, Chuizhu could have had a decent future. But now that the princess was dead, how could a mere maid expect the groom's family to honor their promise? Chuizhu's path forward was uncertain, even to herself.

Huang Zixiao comforted her, "I believe an official family would keep their word and not break the engagement over this."

"Thank you for your kind words, Eunuch," she replied, though her frown remained.

Qingbi sighed beside her. "If not for Eunuch Yang speaking up for us, we might have followed the princess in death. Surviving is already a blessing from heaven. As for the rest... who knows if we’re fated for it..."

Qingbi, young and naive, spoke without thinking. Huang Zixiao noticed Chuizhu and Zhuiyu's expressions darken further, as if another weight had been added to the burden on their hearts.

Luopei stared blankly at the curling incense smoke and murmured, "But... what can we do? After the princess had that dream, she kept saying Consort Pan would come for her Nine Phoenix Hairpin. And then... the hairpin vanished from the heavily guarded treasury. Isn’t that bizarre? The princess locked it away herself, and we were the ones who placed the box inside and later retrieved it. How could it just disappear... only to reappear in Pingkang Ward and kill the princess?"

Qingbi, overwhelmed with grief and fear, sobbed, "Luopei, stop... please stop..."

Their voices were drowned out by the surrounding chants and cries, just as the Nine Phoenix Hairpin had vanished without a trace from its locked chest.

Huang Zixiao could only sigh inwardly before bowing to them and taking her leave.

With the princess's death, chaos reigned in the mansion.

In contrast, the attendants brought by the princess consort's family remained composed. After all, they had a home to return to.

So when Huang Zixiao arrived at the kitchen, the cook Changpu was still seated there, planning the next day's meals, though her face was clouded with worry.

"Eunuch Yang," she said upon seeing Huang Zixiao, tapping the ledger in her hand self-deprecatingly. "No matter what, the household still needs to eat, right?"

Huang Zixiao motioned for her to continue and sat across from her. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Please go ahead, Eunuch," she replied, her abacus clicking as she checked the ledger entries, lips pressed tightly.

"Qian Guansuo has been detained by the Court of Judicial Review. Did you know?"

Changpu's hands paused briefly before she answered softly, "Yes, I know. Last night, he came to ask me about his daughter, and the officers happened to catch him. I saw him being taken away myself.""I heard that he kept insisting his daughter was in the princess's residence, even producing a golden toad as proof, yet no trace of his daughter could be found there." Huang Zixiang fixed her gaze on Changpu, not missing the slightest shift in her expression. "I recall you once told me, Auntie, that Qian Laoban's daughter was Chui Zhu."

Changpu remained utterly composed, not even a flicker in her brow as she continued tallying her abacus at a steady pace. "Yes, I was quite startled when I found out last night. It turns out Chui Zhu wasn’t his daughter after all. His daughter had a birthmark on her wrist, not a scar. I had mistaken it all along."

Huang Zixiang frowned slightly. "So it was your mistake?"

"Indeed. At first, Qian Laoban mentioned his daughter had a mark on her wrist. When I noticed a scar on Chui Zhu’s hand, I assumed it was her and mentioned it. As for whether Chui Zhu later arranged to meet him, I wouldn’t know—you know how busy I am in the kitchen all day. I hardly have time to inquire about such matters. Later, when Qian Laoban brought me lingling incense as thanks, I thought to myself, 'It must be Chui Zhu.'" Here, Changpu finally sighed, pressing her hand against the abacus as she murmured distractedly, "But when he was arrested and questioned by the Dali Temple, he claimed his daughter had a pinkish-blue birthmark. They searched the entire princess’s residence but found no one matching that description. I later asked Chui Zhu privately, and she swore it wasn’t her. Even the princess’s maids confirmed Chui Zhu had never met Qian Laoban in secret... Isn’t it strange? Did Qian Laoban ever find his daughter? Who did he secretly meet? Could it really be, as the Dali Temple suggests, that he was never searching for his daughter at all, but colluding with Wei Ximin to steal from the princess’s household?"

Huang Zixiang studied her expression closely. "So, Auntie, you claim to know nothing about this and have no involvement whatsoever, is that correct?"

"Of course! Otherwise... are you suspecting me, Eunuch Yang?" Changpu pressed a hand to her chest, looking at her in shock and distress. "Eunuch Yang! I’ve never even been to the princess’s quarters! I’ve never seen that Nine Phoenix Hairpin or the golden toad! Even the princess—though I serve in the household, I’m just a kitchen worker. I hardly ever see her..."

"Yes, I believe you. I believe you have no connection to this case. I absolutely believe in your innocence." Huang Zixiang’s piercing gaze seemed to bore straight through her. "However, what I don’t believe is your claim that you don’t know who Qian Guansuo’s daughter is."

"I don’t know! I truly don’t!" Changpu cried out in panic.

Huang Zixiang remained silent, merely watching her reaction with quiet amusement.

Under such scrutiny, Changpu finally crumbled. She slumped onto a low stool, pressing a hand to her forehead as she muttered, "I can’t say... I really can’t say..."

Her expression was a mix of terror and confusion, yet also resolute—as if she would rather die, even be torn limb from limb, than reveal the secret she held.

Realizing she wouldn’t pry the truth from her, Huang Zixiang sighed softly. "It doesn’t matter. I already know who that daughter is."Calamus watched as she stood up and walked out the door without hesitation. Unable to hold back, Calamus stumbled after her, leaning against the doorframe to ask, "You... you know who it is?"

"What do you think?" Huang Zixiang turned back with a faint smile at Calamus. The summer sunlight cast blazing shadows around her, making her face appear slightly indistinct.

Yet her voice remained calm and resolute, carrying an undeniable certainty—

"In this princess's residence, who else could it be?"