The Golden Hairpin

Huang Zixiao stepped out of the princess's residence and walked toward the carriage of the Prince of Kui.

She saw two people standing by the carriage—one was the Prince of Kui, Li Shubai, as elegant and poised as a jade tree in the wind, and the other was the radiant and luminous Princess Qile.

Her footsteps slowed slightly as she wondered whether she should approach.

Would it be appropriate to walk over and disturb the atmosphere between these two?

Princess Qile, gazing up at Li Shubai with a smile, had a faint blush on her cheeks. The gentle breeze under the trees lifted a few strands of her hair, which drifted like mist around her entrancing eyes—a sight most captivating.

This princess, destined not to live long in this world, would soon lose her delicate beauty—no matter how exquisite it was now. And so, Li Shubai, standing before her, looked at her with an especially tender gaze, his usually somber expression softening slightly.

Huang Zixiao silently retreated a few steps and sat down in the shade behind the screen wall of the princess's residence. Above her, the pomegranate tree had already borne fruit the size of a baby's fist, its branches weighed so low that one dangled right before her. She reached out and gently held one, staring at it in a daze.

Princess Qile, along with Princess Tongchang—these noble women, raised in the most splendid and luxurious corners of the world, were like a tree of blazing flowers, blooming and withering, yet ultimately unable to bear fruit.

Three unfortunate women: Princess Tongchang, who died young; Xing'er, sold by her own father in childhood; and Dicui, who endured the greatest humiliation in the world.

Three women, each with a different father.

The emperor, who had offered the finest things in the world to Princess Tongchang since her childhood, could not bring his daughter back to life—even after venting his fury by executing the imperial physician and implicating hundreds of others—when she was pierced to death by the Nine Phoenix Hairpin.

Qian Guansuo, who had sold Xing'er in desperate times and built his fortune from it, finally found traces of his daughter years later—only to end up imprisoned without ever hearing her call him "Father."

Lü Zhiyuan, who had dreamed of having a son and drove his daughter Dicui out of the house at her most wretched moment, would rather live out his days alone than part with the money he gained from selling her.

There were also three victims, each of different status. The only connection between them was that they had all wronged Lü Dicui.

The most perplexing victim was Princess Tongchang. Though she had ordered Dicui's punishment, she had not intended for Dicui to suffer such misfortune, nor was she the direct perpetrator. Yet the killer, deviating from his previous meticulous schemes, had struck the princess down in full public view—as if she were the one he hated most...

Lost in thought, she unconsciously pulled out her jade hairpin and began sketching on the stone slab beneath her.

Three fathers, three daughters, the princess's consort, Zhang Xingying, Sun the Scar, Wei Ximin, Doukou...

A voice sounded behind her, asking, "What are you drawing?"

She looked up to see Li Shubai bending slightly toward her. Under the blazing sun, the faint green shade of the trees enveloped them, his face mere inches from hers. His deep, pool-like gaze made her feel as though she might drown in that abyss of darkness in an instant.

She tucked the hairpin back into her silver clasp, forcing herself to avert her eyes as she murmured, "I saw you speaking with Princess Qile earlier and didn’t dare interrupt, so I stayed here to sort through the case."He glanced at her, sat down beside her, and said, "Qile came to pay respects to Tongchang. We happened to meet by chance."

"The princess consort seems... in good spirits. Her health must have been stable recently?"

"I don't know. Perhaps Tongchang's death will make her reflect on her own mortality, adding to her sorrow." As he spoke, he absentmindedly picked up a small pomegranate and examined it, changing the subject. "Did you uncover any leads just now?"

Huang Ziyao paused before replying, "I remember when the princess's Nine Phoenix Hairpin was stolen, Your Highness took me to visit her. At her bedside table, you seemed particularly interested in a small porcelain dog."

"That's true." He released the pomegranate, letting it sway gently between them. "Because I recall when Tongchang was six or seven, she once cut her finger on a broken porcelain plate. The Emperor subsequently decreed that no ceramic items were allowed in Tongchang's palace. Even after she married Wei Baoheng and moved into the princess's residence, most of her belongings were gold or silverware. Yet there was that small porcelain dog—something so common it could be found in any market. Don't you find it strange that such an item appeared in the opulent princess's residence?"

Huang Ziyao nodded silently, then asked, "Can we take a closer look at it?"

Without hesitation, he stood up. "Let's go."

The Qiyun Pavilion was empty. All of the princess's belongings had been sealed away, leaving only an empty bed and locked cabinets.

Deng Chunmin, the princess's personal eunuch, led them inside. Li Shubai walked to the small bedside cabinet and instructed Deng to open the drawer.

Inside were various trinkets—rosewater, incense balls, sandalwood boxes—all neatly arranged by the maids who regularly tended to them. Despite the number of items, everything was in perfect order, except for a fist-sized empty space on the right.

Just the right size for a small porcelain dog.

Noticing their unsuccessful search, Deng Chunmin said, "Some items were packed and moved to the adjacent storeroom. Let me take you there."

The storeroom where the Nine Phoenix Hairpin had mysteriously vanished remained tightly sealed, exuding an eerie, dust-laden chill as if completely cut off from the outside world.

Rows of shelves held boxes and small chests, some covered with cloth. From a distance, they resembled strange, shadowy figures crouching in the dim light.

"These two chests contain the princess's daily belongings. They've all been placed here," Deng Chunmin said, unlocking two of them with a key.

Huang Ziyao lifted the lid of one chest and paused thoughtfully.

Li Shubai asked, "What is it?"

She tapped the lid lightly and looked up at him. "Has Your Highness thought of anything?"

Li Shubai studied her hand resting on the lid and frowned slightly. "Are you referring to the inexplicable disappearance of the Nine Phoenix Hairpin?"

Huang Ziyao nodded and immediately inspected the surroundings of the chest. She noticed that all the chests on the bottom shelf were placed directly on the brick floor—except for the empty chest that had held the Nine Phoenix Hairpin, which had strips of cloth beneath it, as if to cushion it from vibrations.

Li Shubai glanced at it and nodded. "Let's check inside first. If the small porcelain dog isn't there, we may have our answer."Having spent so much time together, they no longer needed words to understand each other's thoughts. Huang Zixiang rummaged through the contents of the two chests but indeed found no trace of the small porcelain dog.

They stood up and left the storeroom, returning to the Qiyun Pavilion to examine the empty spot on the bedside drawer where something was missing.

"It would fit the small porcelain dog perfectly, wouldn't it?" Huang Zixiang gestured to indicate the size.

Li Shubai nodded, scanning the surroundings before saying, "And making it disappear would be quite simple..."

Simultaneously, they both moved toward the window and looked down.

Below the high platform, the silk tree flowers were still in full bloom, clusters of them covering the ground like velvet.

"Let's go."

Descending the steps from the platform, they inspected the base directly beneath the Qiyun Pavilion's window. Soon, they noticed a small pile of fallen silk tree flowers and leaves, which at first glance might have seemed merely gathered there by the wind.

Huang Zixiang picked up a branch and brushed aside the pile, revealing beneath it a collection of porcelain fragments trampled into the grass.

Prince Kui Li Shubai, known for his fastidiousness, stood by with his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching.

Carefully, Huang Zixiang dug out the broken pieces—twenty-eight fragments in total, large and small. She wrapped them in a handkerchief and tucked them into her sleeve.

By noon, on their way back in the carriage, Li Shubai instructed, "Fetch Ziqin and let's have lunch at the Embroidered Tower."

Huang Zixiang quickly relayed to the coachman, Afar Bo, "To Minister Zhou's residence."

Li Shubai pointed to the cabinet below and asked, "Are those two skulls still in there?"

Huang Zixiang nodded silently. "We can't return them to Ziqin. If he reconstructs the skulls completely, he might notice the resemblance to Empress Wang. But if we don't return them to Empress Wang, where should they go..."

Li Shubai shot her a cold glance. "Trouble of your own making."

She ducked her head, not daring to meet his gaze, and admitted her fault. "Yes, this servant knows her mistake. This servant meddles too much, this servant stirs up trouble. So, in Your Highness's opinion, what should be done?"

"Find some wasteland in the outskirts, dig a hole, and bury them."

"..." Huang Zixiang silently turned her face toward the window, pretending she hadn't heard him.

The carriage curtains fluttered gently as they moved. Seeing they had arrived at Zhou Ziqin's home, she jumped out and called to the gatekeeper, "Uncle Yu, is your young master at home today?"

"Eunuch Yang! What a coincidence! My young master had just stepped out but turned back, saying he was afraid you might come looking for him and not find him, so he went back to his courtyard."

Huang Zixiang quickly said, "Then please, Uncle Yu, could you call your young master for me? Tell him the prince is waiting to have lunch with him."

"Oh? Right away!" Uncle Yu immediately scurried inside.

Huang Zixiang stood beneath the privet tree at the gate, waiting.

Above her, the dense clusters of tiny flowers weighed down the branches. She reached up, wanting to touch them, but even the lowest blossoms were out of reach. She could only stand beneath the tree, gazing quietly.

Then, someone behind her reached out, broke off the branch she had longed to touch, and handed it to her.She turned around in surprise to see Wang Yun standing behind her, holding a flower in full bloom with a gentle smile. Gazing at her, he said softly, "I just saw Prince Kui's carriage passing by on the street, and then noticed you getting off. So I came over to say hello."