The Golden Hairpin

"Yes, when he learned that Sun Laizi had hired people to reinforce his house, Lü Zhiyuan had already planned everything. He first obtained an iron forehead piece from Qian's shop—after all, the batch ordered at the time all had the same pattern—modified its interior, resealed it as before, and then went over with his toolbox. He deliberately pretended to only then realize it was for installing Sun Laizi's lamp bracket, made a fuss, and left. None of the workers rushing to finish inside noticed that he had actually swapped out the originally prepared iron forehead piece. The craftsmen worked swiftly, simply fitting the piece into the prepared gap without a second glance."

"However, if that's the case, then all the craftsmen present at the time could have been suspects in swapping that iron forehead piece, correct?" Cui Chunzhan immediately pointed out. "Moreover, if we could find the poisoned iron fragment on his body, we could determine the murder weapon based on the angle. Yet, neither Zi Qin nor the coroner from the Dali Temple found any trace of iron fragments on Sun Laizi's body!"

"Exactly. The poisoned iron fragment would have completely exposed the secret of Sun Laizi's death in a locked room, making it impossible to pass off as divine retribution. So the killer had to go to Daning Ward that afternoon. He needed to stage a scene to publicize Sun Laizi's death and ensure he was the first to approach the corpse. That afternoon, at a tavern near Sun Laizi's home, Qian Guansuo, who was on his way to settle accounts, ran into Lü Zhiyuan, who was also there to collect a debt. The two of them together broke down Sun Laizi's door—Lü Zhiyuan brought a small axe, and Qian Guansuo was the one who forced the door open. They barged in ahead of everyone else. The drunken Qian Guansuo pushed the corpse straight to the ground, while Lü Zhiyuan, feigning ignorance, took the opportunity to turn the body over. Yet no one saw that, at this moment, one of the two closest to the corpse pulled out the murder weapon lodged in Sun Laizi's body, then pretended to be frightened and retreated to the doorway with the other. Amid the chaos of reporting to the authorities and examining the body, the killer could then seize the chance to retrieve the mechanism from the iron forehead piece." Huang Zixia spoke, her clear gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall. "Therefore, the first person to approach Sun Laizi's body after his death was the killer."

She turned, her eyes settling on Qian Guansuo, who was still kneeling there. His face was a mix of complex emotions—perhaps shock, perhaps relief—as he stared at Lü Zhiyuan, his plump cheeks trembling slightly.

Li Run asked, "Both Qian Guansuo and Lü Zhiyuan were the first to approach Sun Laizi's corpse. You're right—only they had the opportunity to remove the murder weapon from the body. But why do you believe the killer is Lü Zhiyuan, not Qian Guansuo?"

"Isn't it simple? First, Qian Guansuo never had the chance to see that painting, so he couldn’t have committed the murder based on the second doodle. Second, at the time, only those two were closest to the body. Between them, Lü Zhiyuan was sober—if Qian Guansuo had taken the weapon, he would have noticed. But if it was Lü Zhiyuan who took it, Qian Guansuo, in his state, might not have realized."

Lü Zhiyuan remained standing there, hunched, head bowed, motionless. Only his eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the green bricks beneath his feet.There was a damp mark there—whether it was sweat dripping from his cheek or a tear from his eye, no one could tell.

The summer sun blazed in from outside the hall. Though everyone stood in the shadows, the scorching heat still tormented them all, leaving their hearts restless and their tempers frayed.

Amid the heavy silence, Lü Zhiyuan finally spoke. Though his expression was weary and ashen, when he lifted his head, his eyes were unexpectedly sharp.

"Yes. I killed Wei Ximin, and I killed Sun Laizi. They all deserved to die, didn't they?" His voice was hoarse, his tone eerily calm. "Sometimes, I find it strange how smoothly everything went. In truth, after making the hollow candle, I also prepared the inner candle. Just before Wei Ximin came to me, I had already given up hope and decided to insert the inner candle, abandoning the plan... But then, as the sky darkened, he arrived. Heaven, in the end, granted my wish! I wondered if it was because the heavens also pitied my daughter, blessing me so that I could kill without hindrance, without a single hitch..."

"Yet when you killed the princess, it seemed particularly rushed. I suspect she wasn't part of your plan, was she?" Huang Zixiang looked at him and asked softly.

The moment these words were spoken, the hall fell deathly silent. Everyone's breath seemed to stop.

The emperor's face twisted violently. Unable to restrain himself, he slammed his hands on the table and stood abruptly.

He glared at Lü Zhiyuan, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "Tongchang... Tongchang was also your doing!"

Lü Zhiyuan remained motionless, his head bowed, his voice obscure. "I have never set foot in the princess's residence. I have never even seen the princess's face."

Wang Lin, the Minister of Justice, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. "Eunuch Yang, I also have doubts about this matter. You must not forget—the princess died by the Nine Phoenix Hairpin, and before her death, the hairpin mysteriously vanished. I find it hard to believe that a mere candle shop owner could infiltrate the princess's residence and steal a hairpin locked away under such heavy security."

Imperial Consort Guo nodded, her voice choked with sobs. "Tongchang treasured that hairpin dearly. This time, she had even hidden it away carefully because of her dream. Who would have thought... who would have thought someone could devise such a method to steal it after all..."

Huang Zixiang shook her head. "No. I believe that even under heavy security, the Nine Phoenix Hairpin could have been stolen using a very simple method."

The emperor pointed at her and barked, "Speak quickly!"

"Words alone may not suffice. I request the Dali Temple to prepare a box and two locks—one large, one small—so I can recreate the circumstances under which the Nine Phoenix Hairpin vanished."

Cui Zhuhan immediately ordered someone to bring a box. Huang Zixiang had it placed against the wall, then borrowed the cotton paper box from Prince E, Li Run. She pressed the hollowed grass pattern on her hairpin, removed the jade pin inside, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and placed it in the box.

After showing the items to everyone, she had Li Run lock the box himself. Once he placed it inside the larger box, she asked him to lock that with the second key and keep it secure.

Pointing at the box, she asked Chui Zhu and the others, "When the princess stored the Nine Phoenix Hairpin in the warehouse, was the situation like this?"

The maidservants wept and replied, "Exactly like this. It was identical."Huang Zixiao nodded and addressed the crowd, "As you can all see, I haven't laid a single finger on the items in this box, yet I've already stolen something from it."

Li Run exclaimed in astonishment, "Impossible! You've been standing two steps away from me the whole time. How could you have stolen anything?"

"If you don't believe me, Prince E, please give me the key, and I'll open it for you to see. Just like when the princess gave the key to her maids to fetch something," she said, turning to the terrified maids with a smile. "Of course, several people must go together to supervise each other."

She walked to the box and gestured for the four maids to stand behind her. "The warehouse is lined with shelves. Where did you stand at that time?" she asked.

After some thought, the maids positioned themselves behind her accordingly.

"Because of the surrounding shelves blocking the view, you could only stand behind me, seeing my back but not what my hands were doing, isn't that right?" she said, facing the wall as she opened the box. She then took out the small case inside, placed it on the closed lid of the box, and opened the case. "The item is gone!" she announced loudly.

At her declaration, not only the maids but everyone in the hall gathered around. They saw Huang Zixiao standing before the open, empty box, holding the opened empty case, looking back at them.

Zhuiyu turned pale with fright. "Yes! This is exactly how it mysteriously disappeared! Chuizhu, isn't it?" she cried.

Chuizhu stood motionless, offering no response.

Huang Zixiao said coldly, "This is a method that can only be executed by the person who opens the box with their own hands."

Zhou Ziqin suddenly understood. "So, you're saying that while opening the box, the person slipped the item into their sleeve or bosom, pretending the box was already empty?" he asked.

"That's impossible!" Luopei immediately interjected. "As soon as the item was found missing, the princess ordered everyone to be searched. Not only Chuizhu and the rest of us who went to fetch the item, but every maid in the Qiyun Pavilion was searched—their persons and their rooms. The Nine Phoenix Hairpin is so large; if Chuizhu had hidden it, it would have been discovered immediately!"

"Of course, it couldn't have been hidden on her person," Huang Zixiao said, rolling up her sleeves to show there was nothing inside. "I merely took advantage of the moment when the box was opened again to send the item to a place no one would notice."

She pulled the empty box backward, revealing the gap between the box and the corner of the wall. There, wrapped in a handkerchief she had personally placed inside the case locked by Prince E, lay the hairpin on the ground.

Amidst the astonished gasps of the crowd, Huang Zixiao unfolded the handkerchief, took out the jade hairpin, and inserted it back into the silver hairpin on her head. She then handed the case back to Prince E, saying, "While everyone was being searched and their rooms inspected, no one thought to pull that box from the bottom shelf and check the space behind it for hidden items. In the Qiyun Pavilion's warehouse, only that box had scraps of cloth beneath it. Presumably, Chuizhu had planned this in advance, fearing the Nine Phoenix Hairpin would make a sound when she lifted the box and the hairpin slipped out, so she laid cloth strips beforehand to muffle the noise, didn't she?"Chuizhu listened in a daze, her knees giving way as she collapsed to the ground, kneeling in a heap.

Imperial Consort Guo sprang to her feet, roaring, "Chuizhu! So it was you! You... the princess treated you so well, and yet you... you dared to murder her!"

"No! This servant only... this servant only concealed the Nine Phoenix Hairpin, I... I had no choice..." Chuizhu sobbed, shaking her head repeatedly. "How would this servant dare to lay a hand on the princess? Even if you gave me ten thousand times the courage, I would never dare!"

Imperial Son-in-Law Wei Baoheng, whose face had already been haggard and lifeless, now looked even worse, his complexion nearly ashen. He staggered to his feet, lips parting, but no words came out.

"Confess the truth to Us this instant!" The emperor strode up to her, pointing at Chuizhu and demanding, "You were Linghui's closest attendant, the one she trusted most. Why did you deliberately steal the Nine Phoenix Hairpin, driving the princess to illness with anxiety?"

"Because... because..." Chuizhu trembled as she spoke, too afraid to continue, only weeping bitterly as she prostrated on the ground, nearly fainting.

Huang Zixiang turned to look at Qian Guansuo, who was kneeling blankly at the side of the hall, trembling uncontrollably, and said slowly, "Of course, it was because of your father, Qian Guansuo."

Chuizhu remained sobbing on the ground, unable to lift her head.

Qian Guansuo shuddered violently, his fat and flabby neck turning inch by inch to look at Chuizhu, whose body seemed to convulse from crying too hard. His lips trembled fiercely, but no matter how hard he tried, not a single word escaped.