The Golden Hairpin

Li Shubai finally couldn't hold back any longer. His smiling gaze rested gently on her as he changed the subject: "I wonder if he's been discovered yet. With such severe injuries, he probably won't last long in these mountains."

Huang Zixiang knew he was referring to the captive. She countered: "Is Your Highness familiar with him?"

Li Shubai glanced at her again but didn't speak, merely giving a faint "Hmm" in response.

Huang Zixiang thought to herself—for someone with a photographic memory, of course there was no one in the capital's ten departments he wouldn't recognize. Even if that person had tried hard to disguise his voice, Li Shubai should have been able to identify him by it.

Since he knew the man's identity and background, he must have already deduced the mastermind behind this and the reasons. But after waiting a long time and seeing that Li Shubai said nothing more, she could only set the matter aside for now.

"How are you feeling?" she asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch his forehead. The heat that met her hand was scalding—his fever was severe, and it seemed the wet cloth compresses weren't having much effect.

But in these desolate mountains, there was truly nothing to be done except rely on his own strength. Her only use, perhaps, was to go outside and find food.

The mountain forest was barren, with a few untended fruit trees listlessly bearing unripe fruits. She picked some, then gathered a large handful of purslane from the mountainside. When she returned to the small courtyard, she found Li Shubai already sitting in the shade waiting for her—and he'd even tossed her a plump wild rabbit.

"Ah... no way! Others wait by a tree stump hoping a rabbit will dash itself to death, but you just sit in the courtyard and one comes to you?" She had already washed two pears outside and handed one to him first.

Li Shubai accepted it, saying, "I had nothing to do sitting here. When the rabbit came by, I just took a shot with the bow and arrows we got from the captive."

Delighted, she picked up the rabbit. "How wonderful—Your Highness doesn't even need to move to outperform me."

Having gone through life-and-death situations together, they had forgotten the distinctions of master and servant in these wild outskirts, speaking much more casually.

Li Shubai watched her beaming expression and said, "Indeed. In the future, I'll hunt and you'll cook. Sometimes we'll have raw fish slices, other times roast rabbit or stewed taro—seems quite nice."

"That sounds wonderful. I'm just afraid Your Highness won't be able to set aside the important affairs of court." Holding up the rabbit to examine it, she said, "The aim was good, but the strength seems lacking—it didn't even pierce through the neck. Your Highness still needs to recover properly."

"I wasn't aiming for the neck," Li Shubai said mildly. "I aimed for the eye. My hand is already unsteady."

"The eye..." She felt a pang in her chest. Those hands that had once shot Pang Xun dead from a hundred paces away now lacked not only strength but even accuracy.

Li Shubai looked up at the sky and said softly in an utterly calm yet hoarse voice, "Perhaps it's truly... coming to fulfill that word."

That composed tone made Huang Zixiang's eyelashes tremble violently, as if a needle had stabbed deep into her chest, abruptly stopping her heartbeat. She hurriedly held up the arrow and said, "No! Look, Your Highness—this arrow's shaft is too rough and not straight enough. With such poorly made bow and arrows, how could it not affect the shot? Even Hou Yi would be helpless with a bow like this!"

Li Shubai lowered his lashes and remained silent, staring at the pear in his hand for a long time before unconsciously raising it to take a bite.Then, an unusually intense sourness made Prince Kui Li Shubai, who never changed his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, frown and gasp, nearly bringing tears to his eyes. Huang Zixiao stared at him in disbelief, clutching the pear in her hand, utterly dumbfounded.

Li Shubai tossed the pear aside, staggered to the small spring behind the house, and scooped up a handful of water to drink hastily. Huang Zixiao stood behind him, her expression complicated.

He straightened up, looked at the sky, and asked, "What's that look for?"

She sighed and said, "To accidentally discover Prince Kui's weakness—I'm feeling rather conflicted."

He glanced at her expression irritably and turned his face away. "I'm hungry."

Huang Zixiao hurried outside to prepare the rabbit.

The items confiscated from the captives proved useful—a complete set of flint and tinder wrapped in oiled paper ignited easily.

Metalware was valuable, so the pot inside the house had long been taken. Fortunately, she found an earthenware jar. After washing it and the rabbit, she stuffed half the rabbit inside to make soup and roasted the other half in the stove.

The aroma soon wafted out, and even Li Shubai couldn't resist, moving from the side room to the doorway.

The two, who had been starving for so long, practically had green eyes as they hastily rubbed some salt on the rabbit meat and tore into it. Li Shubai, with his fastidiousness, scraped off the smoked outer layer first, while Huang Zixiao was tempted to lick her greasy fingers clean. By the time the soup was ready, they had calmed down a bit. They picked and washed some purslane, tossed it into the boiling soup, then quickly ladled it into two wooden bowls they had found in the kitchen.

The cicadas buzzed in the midsummer heat, the distant mountains lush and green, the towering trees above blocking most of the sunlight. Sitting in the dilapidated house, sharing steaming rabbit soup with purslane, they looked up at each other's disheveled appearances and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of themselves.

Huang Zixiao inhaled the fragrant aroma of the soup and sighed deeply. "Actually, when I think about it, living like this in the wilderness might not be so bad. No tangled worldly affairs, no courtly intrigues..."

Li Shubai nodded silently, lost in thought as he turned to look at her, unconsciously repeating her words: "We?"

Only then did Huang Zixiao realize the unintended intimacy in her phrasing. Flustered and embarrassed, she quickly raised the bowl to hide her face and hastily changed the subject. "For the next while, our good days will depend entirely on your hunting skills."

Noticing her blush, he followed her lead with a smile. "No, I think it'll depend entirely on your cooking."

"You hunt, I cook—that works too," she said.

Li Shubai looked up at her, his smile deepening.

Before Huang Zixiao could process it—or fully grasp the deeper implication of her words about "the man handling outside matters and the woman managing the home"—Li Shubai remarked, "You've been by my side for almost half a year now. This is the first time, isn't it?"

Huang Zixiao paused before realizing he meant her speaking so freely and laughing so openly in front of him.

Holding the wooden bowl, she smiled at him and said, "Yes, it's been half a year since we met... time flies."He finally lowered his lashes, the thick, long strands veiling his bright eyes, yet unable to conceal the faint, distant trace of a smile at the corners of his lips.

Huang Zixiang gazed at his face and thought—if she were to tell others in the future that she had seen Prince Kui smile, and moreover, witnessed it several times in such a short span, surely no one would believe her. That brilliance, like sunlight breaking through clouds after a sudden rain, that indescribable feeling, would forever remain buried in her heart. She simply lacked the ability to convey it to others.

"Actually, you..." She heard Li Shubai's voice, hesitant and measured, but he spoke nonetheless, "look very beautiful when you smile."

Surprised and flustered, she looked up at him in astonishment, thinking—wasn’t that exactly what she had wanted to say?

"Once... your family’s wrongful case is resolved, I believe you’ll be able to live happily again. By then, I hope you can smile like this every day, free from the quiet worry that weighs on you now." His tone was firm and certain as he added, "For that day, I will do my utmost to help you."

She had never expected him to say such words to her. Stunned, she could only stare blankly, countless thoughts surging through her mind, yet none making it past her lips. After a long silence, she finally murmured softly, "Thank you... Your Highness."

By the time they finished the lavish meal, the sky had already darkened. Having gone two days and nights without proper rest, Huang Zixiang soon slumped beside Li Shubai and fell into a deep sleep.

She had no idea how long she slept when the person beside her seemed to stir. Startled awake, she opened her eyes to the piercing sunlight—it was already broad daylight. Her first instinct was to reach out and touch Li Shubai’s forehead, but the moment her fingers brushed his skin, she realized something was amiss—

Because Li Shubai was already awake, watching her quietly.

Her hand recoiled as if scalded, quickly retreating to clutch at her chest.

Li Shubai lifted the corner of his lips, offering her a faint, elusive smile. "Seems much better."

Huang Zixiang couldn’t recall whether she had felt any fever when she touched his forehead earlier and could only echo his words, "Yes... seems much better..."

His gaze, perhaps softened by his weakened state, lingered on her. Seeing her awkwardness as she sat before him, he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight filtering in and said, "Rest a while longer. I’ll get up and move around."

He sat up slowly in bed and, supporting himself against the wall, made his way out to wash. Huang Zixiang hurriedly stood to assist him, guiding him to the spring at the back where he cupped water to rinse his face.

The clear spring splashed against his skin, dampening his cheeks and lashes. Sunlight glinted off the droplets, making them sparkle brilliantly. When he turned to look at her, his eyes beneath the wet lashes shimmered like rippling water.

Dazzled by those glimmering reflections, Huang Zixiang’s face flushed crimson under his gaze. Flustered, she scrambled to her feet and stammered, "I... I’ll go see what we can eat for breakfast."

She rushed through the courtyard toward the nearby garden. As she passed Di’e, the horse snorted, as if mocking her.

Annoyed and embarrassed, she shot it a glare.Though it was early morning, the late summer sun was already scorching. Fortunately, the dense green canopy overhead provided ample shade as Huang Zixiang walked through the grove to the fields behind. She surveyed the spot where the monk had been buried—the pit was still there, now overgrown with wild grass.

Approaching the edge of the pit, she noticed that the gourds planted in the garden back then had sprawled across the wasteland, bearing melons of varying sizes. She briefly pondered whether produce grown in soil where someone had died would taste good, then decisively plucked one anyway.

Nearby, she spotted the vines of a few yam plants. She pulled one up, only to find it disappointingly small. Sighing, she murmured to herself, "Small is fine too. Yam boosts vitality—eating this will surely help him recover faster."

Clutching the yam, she stood up and suddenly noticed that the cicadas' chorus had grown much quieter. Sensing something amiss, she turned to look behind her.

Beneath a distant emerald-green tree stood a figure—his faintly discernible features, his unmistakably familiar silhouette, and that transcendent aura unmatched by anyone else.

Huang Zixiang, still holding the small yam, slowly rose to her feet.

A long wind swept in, brushing past his ear before grazing hers, then rushing onward toward some faraway, unknown destination.