The Golden Hairpin

After leaving Daning Ward, Zhou Ziqin headed southwest while Huang Zixiang went southeast, the two parting ways to return to their respective destinations.

As Huang Zixiang reached Xingning Ward, she suddenly saw many people running frantically down the street, some shouting, "Hurry to the Sixteen Princes' Residence! If we're late, there'll be nothing left!"

Puzzled and bewildered, Huang Zixiang was still trying to make sense of the commotion when an elderly woman running with the crowd was knocked to the ground, crying out in pain. Huang Zixiang quickly helped her up and asked, "Grandmother, where is everyone rushing to?"

"Ah, they say the Emperor and Consort Guo are scattering money all over the place near the princess's residence in the Sixteen Princes' Residence! We're all going to pick it up!"

Utterly confused, Huang Zixiang followed the crowd at a brisk pace toward the area.

Upon arrival, she saw a throng of people gathered at the entrance of the residence, all bending over to search for something on the ground. She approached a man clutching something in his hand and asked, "Sir, is it true that the Emperor and Consort Guo are scattering money?"

"Scattering money? How vulgar!" The man, who appeared to be a scholar, opened his palm to show her. In it lay a silver hairpin adorned with pearls, exquisitely crafted and clearly a palace ornament.

"Just now, the Emperor and Consort Guo visited the princess's residence to watch the newly choreographed dance by Li Keji. Brocade was laid from the Daming Palace all the way here, with hundreds of people singing and dancing along the route. These hairpins fell along the way, and everyone's here to pick them up."

Suddenly understanding, Huang Zixiang listened carefully. Amid the surrounding clamor, she could faintly hear the sound of music and singing coming from inside.

Avoiding the main gate, she walked to a less crowded area and indeed heard the voices of hundreds singing in unison. The melody was mournful and plaintive, stirring a deep melancholy within her as she stood listening from afar, her heart heavy with sorrow.

Leaning against the wall, she quietly looked up at the sky. On that windless summer afternoon, the distant, sorrowful tune seemed to weave countless threads of grief, piercing her heart and drawing tears that fell unbidden.

Feeling the wet trails on her cheeks, she reached for her handkerchief, only to remember it held the incense ashes she had collected earlier and was now unusable.

Clutching the remnants of the incense, she stood lost in thought when someone silently handed her a pure white handkerchief from behind.

She turned, blinking through her tears to see him.

Yu Xuan.

Dressed in a pale blue robe, he stood in the grayish-blue alley, his plain attire contrasting with his striking beauty.

Slowly, she raised her hand and took the handkerchief, pressing it to her face.

All the scalding, burning tears were absorbed by the soft linen, leaving no trace behind.

As if drained of strength, she leaned against the wall in the deserted alley, burying her face in the handkerchief he had given her, unable to lift her head for a long while.

It carried his scent—light, ethereal, like lotus blossoms blooming on a summer night or plum petals withering in winter, the fire and ice of her dreams.

"I saw you at the entrance of the Dali Temple," his voice whispered softly in her ear, slightly distant yet unmistakably clear. "I saw you hiding behind that tree, avoiding me. I thought as much—even if we met, what could we possibly say to each other?"His voice was so slow that Huang Zixiang could clearly sense the hesitation and sorrow in his mood.

He must have been thinking, just like her, of the days they had spent together, of the many things that could neither be forgotten nor erased.

"I saw that girl. She must be the one you rescued from the Dali Temple," he said, lifting his head to gaze at the blindingly white clouds in the vast sky, his tone slow and distant. "On my way back, I thought a lot. I remembered how, back then, you would travel thousands of miles day and night just for a single questionable line in a case file, rushing to overturn the verdict for someone you didn’t even know. Even now, burdened with infamy, you still strive to help others despite your own predicament. In comparison, I—who should have been the closest to you in this world—stubbornly believed you were the murderer. It’s truly... a waste of all the years we shared."

Huang Zixiang bit her lower lip, not uttering a word. Only her violently trembling shoulders betrayed her.

Yu Xuan let out a long sigh and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

They had once been far more intimate. But this first touch after their long separation made Huang Zixiang instinctively lean away, leaving his hand hanging in the air.

After a long silence, he quietly withdrew his hand and said softly, "You shouldn’t have said those things to me, shouldn’t have done those things. Otherwise, I would never have believed you capable of such an act—never, under any circumstances."

Huang Zixiang removed the handkerchief from her face, her expression now calm. Apart from her slightly reddened eyes, there was no trace of her earlier distress.

She asked, "What did I... say to you? What did I do?"

His eyes fixed on her unwaveringly, his voice low but crystal clear: "The night before your family was murdered, you returned from Longzhou. When I went to see you... I saw you staring at a packet of arsenic in your hand, with a strange expression on your face."

Huang Zixiang’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at him blankly, murmuring, "What?"

"That day was when you came back from Longzhou. I still remember the letter you had just written to me. In it, you said the case in Longzhou involved a daughter who, thwarted in love, had poisoned her entire family with heartbreak grass. You also wrote, if we were in such a situation, would we too abandon our families and take the path of no return?" Yu Xuan’s gaze was filled with anguish. "Those words in the letter worried me deeply. When I saw you take out the arsenic as soon as you returned, I immediately told you to throw it away. But instead, you tossed it into a drawer, locked it, and said, 'Perhaps this is something that can help us be together.'"

Huang Zixiang looked at him in bewilderment, as if he were a complete stranger. "I remember Longzhou, I remember what was in that letter... but I don’t remember ever taking out arsenic to look at it. And I certainly don’t remember saying those words!"

Yu Xuan’s sharp gaze bore into her like a knife, but her face showed only grief and confusion, revealing no trace of deceit.

His face paled slightly as he pressed his fingers to his temples, his breathing heavy from the intensity of his emotions.He struggled to say, "A Xia, it seems I truly misunderstood your actions back then... But the look on your face when you were holding that arsenic was too terrifying, and that night, your entire family died from arsenic poisoning... How could I possibly trust you again?"

"Impossible!" Huang Zixiang interrupted him with a trembling voice. "After buying that arsenic, I left for Longzhou. It was untouched when I returned! How could you have seen me holding it?"

Yu Xuan stared at her intently, his usually composed and elegant face now filled with shock and fear. He barely managed to mutter, "Impossible? Impossible..."

The entire world seemed to stand still, leaving only the two of them beneath an unreachable sky, gazing at each other—so close yet separated by an eternity.

Heat and cold, blood and silence, the unknowable fate and elusive will of heaven—all poured down upon them.

"Yang Chonggu."

A cold, almost emotionless voice came from behind, shattering the deathly silence that had frozen between them.

Huang Zixiang turned to see Li Shubai standing at the mouth of the alley, watching them motionlessly. The backlight from behind him obscured his expression, leaving only his silhouette, which carried an inescapable sense of oppression.

His clear, deep eyes snapped her out of her daze, bringing her back to the reality of standing in this deserted, cold alley. The distant sound of a sorrowful song still lingered in the air, its mournful melody bringing tears to one's eyes, echoing faintly in the sky. The drifting clouds seemed to halt, as if restrained by the music.

Across from her, Yu Xuan also seemed to regain his composure. Though a thin layer of cold sweat still clung to his forehead, his expression had calmed.

He bowed to Li Shubai, then turned to leave—only to pause and look back at Huang Zixiang.

She met his gaze silently, countless complex thoughts flashing across her pale face, leaving her at a loss for words.

In a low voice, he asked, "Last time, you told me you were returning to Shu to uncover the truth?"

Huang Zixiang nodded. "I will go back."

"Then, I'll wait for you in Yizhou."

His gaze bore deeply into her eyes, just like years ago when she, still ignorant of love, had first met him and seen her own reflection in his eyes.

No one in this world knew that in that moment, she had grown from a little girl into a young woman.

When Li Shubai and Huang Zixiang entered Princess Tongchang's residence, the "Lament for a Century" dance troupe had already dispersed.

The sunlit stone pavement was strewn with scattered pearls and jade ornaments, glaringly out of place. Princess Tongchang's body had already been placed in a coffin, but the room was still filled with blocks of ice of varying sizes.

Beside it lay a smaller coffin containing the princess's wet nurse, Yunniang, whose neck still bore the marks of strangulation. Her twisted expression accompanied the princess in eternal slumber.

The Emperor and Consort Guo sat at the front of the hall, surrounded by weeping palace maids and eunuchs. The Emperor's face was dark with fury—a ruthless intensity born of despair with no outlet.

The moment Li Shubai entered with Huang Zixiang, the eunuchs and maids around the Emperor visibly relaxed. Noticing Li Shubai's gaze on Yunniang, the Emperor said, "The princess would be too lonely down there alone. I sent Yunniang to continue caring for her."Li Shubai saw that the person had already died and could only remain silent, sitting by the emperor's side.

Consort Guo covered her face and sobbed, "And those maids and eunuchs—forget the others, but the ones who served her closely—they share the blame for the princess's misfortune!"

The emperor pondered for a long while before speaking slowly, "Last time, Eunuch Yang pleaded for leniency on their behalf. I thought it reasonable, so let's hold off for now."

"Your Majesty is merciful toward them, but I can't bear the thought of Linghui being alone in the underworld!" Consort Guo's breath quickened, her weeping growing more sorrowful. "Linghui was always afraid of being alone since childhood, always needing someone by her side. Now she's gone all by herself, with no one to attend to her. How can I, as her mother, rest easy..."

Her grief was palpable, but Huang Zixiao only felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet, creeping up her spine until it numbed the top of her head.

Li Shubai's gaze turned to her, and in each other's eyes, they saw the same realization—Consort Guo's true intent.

"Consort, please stop. This pains me deeply," the emperor sighed heavily, though he did not oppose her. Instead, he turned to Li Shubai and added, "Earlier, I also summoned that academician from the Imperial Academy, Yu Xuan, whom the princess favored in life."

Consort Guo's expression flickered uneasily beside him, and she gently placed her hand over the emperor's. The emperor seemed not to notice and continued, "I've heard the rumors in the capital—Linghui once invited Yu Xuan to lecture for her but was repeatedly refused. Later, she personally went to the Imperial Academy and had the chancellor intervene before he agreed to teach her the Rites of Zhou at the princess's residence. At the time, I dismissed it as trivial. But now, thinking of Linghui in the prime of her life, lying alone forever underground... Since she enjoyed listening to Yu Xuan's lectures on the Rites of Zhou, how could I deny her this final wish?"