The Golden Hairpin

The Dali Temple had already prepared a new confession and presented it once more to Qian Guansuo.

Qian Guansuo stared at the document, his trembling hand picking up the brush again. His nearly dried-up eyes pleaded silently at Cui Chunzhan.

Cui Chunzhan nodded and said, "If you confess early, you might still save your family."

Despair filled Qian Guansuo's eyes. He clenched his teeth fiercely, closed his eyes, and was about to press the brush down.

"Wait."

A deep, unhurried voice shattered the silence in the hall.

Cui Chunzhan, who had been praying fervently that no complications would arise, realized he could no longer avoid this hurdle. With a bitter expression, he turned to his superior.

Everyone in the hall shifted their gazes toward the source of the voice.

The speaker was naturally Prince Kui, Li Shubai.

Seated calmly in his chair, he mused, "Vice Minister Cui, regarding this case you’ve adjudicated, there are a few points I find unclear. I would appreciate your clarification."

Cui Chunzhan nearly wept—did Prince Kui not realize this matter concerned the lives of everyone in the Dali Temple? And did he not know he himself was the highest authority here?

"Your Highness... please enlighten me."

"If Wei Ximin was initially required to steal the golden toad, why was he later able to steal the Nine Phoenix Hairpin alone? Moreover, I heard that after Princess Tongchang had that dream, she became deeply concerned about the theft of the hairpin and thus kept it securely hidden in her residence. So, without Wei Ximin’s inside assistance, how did the culprit manage to steal it?"

The hall fell into silence as everyone pondered, not daring to speak.

The Emperor turned to Cui Chunzhan. "Vice Minister Cui."

Cui Chunzhan dared not respond. Sweat soaked through his robes. "Your... Your Majesty..."

Seeing his hesitation, the Emperor pointed at Qian Guansuo, who was half-kneeling and half-prostrate. "You speak!"

Qian Guansuo trembled like a leaf, prostrate on the ground, unable to utter a word.

The Emperor gnashed his teeth in fury. "If you do not confess immediately, I will execute your entire clan!"

Qian Guansuo stammered incoherently, "This lowly criminal... once led a group to clean the drainage at the princess’s residence... I infiltrated through the water channels..."

"The princess’s quarters were built on a high platform. All food and water were delivered by maids and eunuchs. How could there be water channels?" the Emperor snapped. "Vice Minister Cui, explain how the culprit stole the murder weapon, the Nine Phoenix Hairpin?"

Cui Chunzhan had no answer. He quickly stood and bowed in apology. "Your Majesty, I was negligent! In my haste to bring the murderer to justice and appease the princess’s spirit, I rushed the investigation day and night, exhausting myself and overlooking this crucial detail! I beg Your Majesty to grant us time to re-examine the case."

The Dali Temple officials immediately summoned several clerks and secretaries for discussion. Jiang Kui, the Censor-in-Chief who had been observing idly, leisurely remarked, "Vice Minister Cui, why must you deliberate over what the criminal has already done?"

Unfazed by his opportunistic jab, Cui Chunzhan replied, "Because the initial interrogation was conducted jointly with the Ministry of Justice. We fear miscommunication may have led to discrepancies."Wang Lin, who had initially intended to stay out of the matter, found himself dragged into it and could only clasp his hands in acknowledgment. "It is true, but I was preoccupied with other duties and could only ensure my department provided the best personnel and exerted our utmost effort. As for the rest, our office primarily focuses on determining guilt and sentencing according to the law, so we couldn't offer much more assistance."

Seeing the three judicial authorities shirking responsibility and muddying the waters, the emperor turned his gaze to Consort Guo. She sat there dazed, appearing years older after the loss of her daughter. A pang of sorrow struck him, realizing that only she truly shared his hardships.

He stood abruptly and bellowed, "Silence, all of you!"

The hall immediately fell quiet.

The emperor's eyes swept over the assembled officials before finally settling on Huang Zixiang. "Yang Chonggu!"

Huang Zixiang promptly responded, "Your servant is here."

"You were personally appointed by Us to assist the Dali Temple in this case. What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Huang Zixiang met his gaze and said, "This matter is entangled with numerous complexities that cannot be explained in just a few words. The princess's death resulted from a chain of interconnected events—some coincidental, some deliberate—that cannot be examined in isolation. With Your Majesty's permission, this servant humbly requests to begin with Wei Ximin's death and recount everything that has transpired from the very beginning."

Suppressing his anger, the emperor coldly replied, "Very well. Since the three judicial authorities cannot provide answers, you shall recount this case in detail, explaining every cause and effect clearly to Us!"

"As you command." Huang Zixiang bowed. "This servant believes the entire case originated from an incident where a woman was violated. However, the thread connecting all the crimes is a painting—an imperial artwork treasured in Zhang Xingying's home, possibly the late emperor's final brushwork."

Huang Zixiang gestured for Zhang Xingying to present the painting and continued, "To this day, we still do not know why the late emperor painted this or what its true meaning is. But one thing is certain: the methods used by the culprit in this case—or rather, the manner of the three deaths—perfectly match the scribbles on this painting."

The emperor studied the painting with a complicated expression. "Is this truly the late emperor's work?"

"Without a doubt," Li Shubai affirmed.

Taking the painting, the emperor examined it carefully for a long while before exhaling deeply. "What could the late emperor have intended by leaving such a painting behind?"

"That remains unclear. However, the three victims in this case align precisely with the images. Wei Ximin corresponds to the first image—struck by heavenly thunder and burned to death. The second image depicts a person trapped in an iron cage, foreshadowing Sun Laizi's demise. The third shows a phoenix swooping down to peck at a person, which should be..." She trailed off, looking at the emperor, who already understood she was referring to his daughter, who had died by the Nine Phoenix Hairpin.

The emperor held the painting for a long time, his voice slightly hoarse. "Why would the late emperor's painting foreshadow this murder case a decade later?""Although the late Emperor was wise and mighty, in my humble opinion, it is absolutely impossible that he could have foreseen these murders ten years in advance, let alone depict them in such scribbles to hint at future generations. I believe the late Emperor's painting must have had another purpose, but in this case, it has been repurposed—the murderer, in the act of committing these crimes, sought to disguise their deeds under the guise of divine retribution. Upon seeing this painting, they deliberately planned three murders to align with it, attempting to use sensationalism to obscure the truth and evade punishment!"

The Emperor nodded slowly and said, "Then, by investigating who knew about this painting and its scribbled shapes, we can essentially narrow down the suspects."

"Exactly. This is one aspect where the murderer's cleverness backfired. On one hand, this method made the three cases appear baffling and elusive; but on the other, it also linked them together, making it clear that the same person committed all three. By combining the intersections of the victims' lives, we can deduce that all those killed by this person are closely connected to Lü Dicui—and that this person has also seen the Zhang family's treasured painting."

The gazes of everyone in the hall immediately turned to Zhang Xingying.

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Zhang Xingying grew extremely nervous and took an involuntary step back. Huang Zixiao, studying him intently, said, "Yes, it seems Zhang Xingying's suspicion is very high. Among those related to Lü Dicui's case, Lü Dicui herself had an alibi for the times of Wei Ximin and Sun Laizi's deaths, but when the Princess passed away, she was detained in the Dali Temple's purification chamber. Escaping to commit murder and returning unnoticed would have been utterly impossible.

"Lü Zhiyuan had an alibi for the Princess's death, but when Wei Ximin was killed, he was exhausted and carried home, with doctors and neighbors attending to him—absolutely no means or time to travel from Fengyi Lane to Jianfu Temple to commit murder. When Sun Laizi died, he was also buried in candle-making at his shop, with many shopkeepers and customers in the West Market as witnesses.

"Only... Zhang Xingying has no alibi for any of the times. Or rather, during all three murders, Zhang Xingying was present at the scene."

All eyes were fixed on Zhang Xingying. Panicked, he took another step back and instinctively defended himself, "No... I, I didn’t kill anyone..."

Zhou Ziqin also grew anxious, grabbing Zhang Xingying's hand and exclaiming, "Chonggu, Second Brother Zhang may have a motive, but I believe he wouldn’t kill the Princess! Even if he wanted to kill, he wouldn’t use such methods—he’s too straightforward to devise such elaborate schemes!"Huang Zixiang nodded to him, then addressed the crowd, saying, "In chronological order, the first murder case is the mystery of Wei Ximin's death at Jianfu Temple. The key enigma of his demise lies in the fact that amidst the massive crowd in the temple, a thunderbolt struck, causing candles to explode. While everyone else fled in panic with only minor flames on their clothes, Wei Ximin alone was burned to death with pinpoint accuracy. Many attribute this to divine retribution, but when has heaven ever truly been moved to act for a single person? In my view, his death was nothing but the killer's meticulous arrangement. Whether or not there was a thunderbolt that day, Wei Ximin was destined to die in flames!"

Li Run widened his clear eyes and asked, "But... aside from gods and buddhas, is there really anyone in this world who can control thunderbolts, ensuring the lightning strikes precisely the person they wish to kill?"

"Indeed, it appears to be a flawless act of divine punishment. Unfortunately, the killer still left behind traces at the scene, allowing us to follow the clues and uncover numerous suspicious points." Huang Zixiang's gaze swept over the faces of everyone in the hall. Even the emperor and Consort Guo, who had come solely to hold someone accountable for Princess Tongchang's death, listened intently with great curiosity.

Huang Zixiang turned and nodded to Zhou Ziqin.

Zhou Ziqin, who had been cooperating with her seamlessly, immediately went to retrieve the iron wire from the storage and handed it to her, asking, "Does this iron wire we found at Jianfu Temple help with the case?"

"Yes, this is both the killer's method of concealing their technique and the means by which they committed the murder." As she spoke, she took the iron wire and pointed to the end that had been burned to a bluish-green hue. "This color clearly wasn't caused by the scattered flames at the scene. Achieving this shade requires prolonged exposure to fire—so, where in Jianfu Temple was there a sustained flame that could burn an iron wire for such a long time? I believe there's only one place: the two giant candles inside the temple. And the only person who could insert something like this into the candle wick would naturally be—" Holding the iron wire, she turned to look at Lü Zhiyuan, who had been standing silently at the back.

"I'd like to ask you, Elder Lü, what was your intention in inserting this iron wire into the candle wick?"