The Golden Hairpin

At the Zhuque Gate of Chang'an.

A bustling crowd streamed in and out of the city gate—men and women, old and young, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, an endless flow.

Dicu lowered her head and hurriedly exited the gate amidst the throng.

Just as she stepped outside, galloping hooves approached from behind, and a voice shouted, "Attention, gate guards! By official decree, we are to search immediately for a young woman named Dicu, approximately five feet two inches tall, wearing a light green ruqun. If found, bring her to the Dali Temple at once!"

The guards quickly acknowledged the order, and one asked, "What crime has she committed to warrant being sent to the Dali Temple?"

Dicu lifted the hem of her skirt and walked swiftly forward, hoping to disappear into the crowd unnoticed.

The messenger on horseback replied, "The Dali Temple? This is a direct verbal decree from His Majesty! It's said her father is implicated in the death of Princess Tongchang. His Majesty has ordered the execution of her entire family!"

Someone blurted out foolishly, "So His Majesty lost his daughter and won't let the culprit's daughter live either?"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? How dare you say such things?" another hissed in warning.

The speaker shrank back, too afraid to say another word.

Standing in the crowd, Dicu listened to the surrounding murmurs, her mind blank with panic as she thought of her father.

The man who had always resented her for being a girl. When she was very young, he had told her, "What use is a girl like you? One day you'll leave with some man, and your father will be left alone."

The man who, when she came home crying after being bullied by other children, would sneer, "Women are useless—can't even fight back." Yet days later, those children would avoid her, though she never understood why.

She had no mother and had stood on stools since childhood to cook for him and herself. He ate her meals daily but never praised them. Once, she returned from a temple visit with friends to find him refusing to eat the cakes their neighbor Aunt Wu had brought. "I'm not used to them," he'd said.

He had wanted a son, and she was the unwanted burden. Yet compared to her friends, she had never lacked for clothes, food, or accessories. He often said, "A daughter should dress well to fetch a higher bride price." But sometimes she wondered—could these years of hardship ever be repaid?

Her father—harsh-tempered, stubborn, incapable of a kind word or gentle deed, clueless about how to build a warm home.

This was how she grew up. She had grieved her lack of a mother, envied others their doting fathers. All she inherited from him was his obstinacy.

After her disgrace, he had tried relentlessly to drive her away, refusing all her pleas.

Yet when Yang Chonggu whispered the word "escape" in her ear, she almost hallucinated her father's voice—the moment he threw her a rope and forced her out with the command, "Go!"

That word, which once made her wish to die at his feet, now brought uncontrollable tears.

Suddenly, she thought—perhaps even then, her father had already decided she must flee far away, while he would avenge her, slaughtering all who had harmed his daughter.She walked aimlessly under the sunlight, tears streaming down her face.

Uncertain of the future, unsure if she would ever reunite with her beloved, and fearful of what might become of her father.

Noise erupted behind her. Through the crowd, she saw a group of city gate guards chasing after her. The leader shouted, "You there, the one in green—stop!"

She knew she had been discovered. Ahead lay the vast wilderness; behind, the pursuing soldiers. Alone and helpless, where could she go?

The world seemed to spin, and despair overwhelmed her.

Dicu stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face them.

"What's your name?" they demanded.

Her face still wet with tears, Dicu stared at them in terror, too afraid to speak.

"Whatever her name is, a lone girl of seventeen or eighteen dressed in green—take her in first!"

The guards surged forward, reaching out to seize her.

Dicu closed her eyes, feeling only an endless tide of desolation and sorrow, the world plunging into darkness.

Just as the guards grabbed her arms, a clear, gentle voice rang out: "You've got the wrong person."

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. There stood a young man as elegant as bamboo and orchids, mounted on a yellow horse. He wore a simple sky-blue narrow-sleeved robe, the most ordinary attire, the most ordinary horse—yet the moment anyone laid eyes on him, the world seemed to brighten, as if touched by the first light of dawn.

Dicu's lips trembled involuntarily.

It was him...

Though they had met only once, who could forget such an extraordinary person? Especially since he was the benefactor of Zhang Xingying's family—the kind soul who had carried A'bao through the streets of the capital for two days, searching every district of Chang'an until he finally reunited the child with his family in the vast sea of people.

The guard captain recognized him too and quickly clasped his hands in respect. "Isn't this Academician Yu? Do you know this girl?"

A soldier nearby whispered, "Who's this Academician Yu?"

"Weren't you here last time? This is Yu Xuan, the academician from the Imperial Academy who once accompanied Consort Guo and Princess Tongchang on their spring outing! When we stopped their carriage for inspection, it was Academician Yu who spoke up for us. If Consort Guo and Princess Tongchang had gotten angry, none of us at the gate would've escaped punishment!"

"Oh! I’ve heard of Yu Xuan..."

The captain shot him a glare, cutting off the gossip before it could spill out, and turned back to Yu Xuan with a composed expression.

Yu Xuan dismounted and returned the gesture. "I know this young lady. She’s a maid from the princess’s household. Now that the princess has passed, she’s been dismissed from service."

He then turned to Dicu and asked, "Though your home is in the outskirts, it’s still quite a distance. Why wasn’t anyone sent to escort you?"

Meeting his clear, steady gaze, Dicu suddenly realized—he was saving her.

Summoning unexpected courage, she stammered, "Y-yes... Now that the princess... the princess is gone, the household is in chaos. Who would bother arranging an escort for me?"

"I’m heading the same way. Let me accompany you for a while," he said, bidding farewell to the soldiers with a clasped hand and gesturing for her to mount the horse.

The captain hesitated. "Academician Yu, this..."

"What’s the matter, Captain Cha? Worried I can’t make the journey and want to lend me a horse?" Yu Xuan chuckled. "But this time, I’m returning to Yizhou. If you lend me this horse, it won’t be coming back."His smile was clear and transparent, so pure it made one feel ashamed of their own impurity. The lead soldier suddenly felt it was wrong to doubt him and quickly laughed it off, saying, "Scholar Yu has close ties with the Princess's residence... ahem, very close indeed, so of course what you say is absolutely unquestionable. But borrowing a horse is out of the question—these horses are all branded by the Military Horse Bureau. Even if I dared to lend one, Scholar Yu, you wouldn’t dare ride it, haha!"

Yu Xuan smiled faintly and patted the horse’s neck. "In that case, I’ll take my leave."

Dicuí numbly climbed onto the horse. It wasn’t until they had traveled a mile or so and the soldiers were completely out of sight that she realized her back was drenched in cold sweat.

When they reached a ferry, several people were loading goods onto a boat. Yu Xuan stopped the horse and asked, "What are your plans from here?"

She froze for a moment, then silently shook her head.

He motioned for her to dismount, took out two strings of coins and a set of clothes from his bundle, and handed them to her. "The clothes are just a temporary measure—you can’t keep wearing this green dress. I don’t have much money on me, so I’ll give you half. If you stay with me, you’ll be easily found by the authorities. It’s better to take this boat and go wherever it takes you."

Hesitating, she saw him holding the items out to her patiently. She could only accept them and murmured, "Thank you... my benefactor."

Without another word, he packed up his belongings, mounted the horse, and said, "Be careful on your journey. Farewell."

Clutching the items, she stood at the ferry, watching him ride away without a backward glance. Finally, she couldn’t hold back and called out, "Benefactor, I want to know... why did you save me?"

He halted the horse and turned to look at her. In those clear, bright eyes, a faint trace of melancholy and distraction flickered.

But in the end, he concealed all his sorrow, offering only a slight smile. "Once, outside the Dali Temple, I saw you holding A’bao with such gentleness and care. I thought, a woman like this couldn’t possibly be a bad person. I hope that one day, you’ll hold your own child the same way and live a good life."

She stared up at him, her throat tight with emotion. "But I... I don’t know if I’ll ever have such a day..."

"You will. Heaven doesn’t wrong good people."

With that, he gave her a gentle nod, turned his horse, and rode away.

She watched him go, fighting back tears. Amidst the bamboo grove, she draped his oversized clothes over herself and boarded the boat.

The boatmaster urged passengers to embark. Merchants, clutching their goods, sat haphazardly on the deck, while a kind-faced old woman warmly gestured for her to sit beside her.

The heavily laden boat sank deep into the water, swaying as it moved forward through the reeds.

Yu Xuan’s clothes were far too big for Dicuí. She struggled to gather the sleeves and hem as she sat inside the cabin, resting her head against the bamboo-woven window.

The boat glided over the water, its surface like shimmering silk. Dicuí gazed blankly at the ripples, replaying in her mind the faces of those who mattered and the moments that had shaped her.

But no matter what, those who had hurt her had already faced punishment, and the shadows that had shrouded her were slowly lifting. She resolved then—she would live on, live well.

For Second Brother Zhang, and for her father.Like every ordinary woman, one day she would reunite with her beloved, holding their child in the sunlight—serene and composed, having forgotten all the sorrows that once consumed her.