The Golden Hairpin

Today was a splendid day, and when Zhou Ziqin was in high spirits, it was as if his joy showered blessings upon all.

"Ah Zhuo! Quickly gather the men who've been working on the recent case. Everyone's worked hard—tonight, my treat! Let's all go for drinks!"

A lively group followed Zhou Ziqin to the street beside the yamen. The moment they saw the jade bracelet he was proudly showing off, each of them exclaimed, "That's right! This is the very bracelet Miss Huang used to wear—her favorite one!"

Behind them, Li Shubai, Huang Ziyao, and Gongsun Yuan couldn't bear Zhou Ziqin's excited chatter any longer and chose to lag two zhang behind.

Once seated, the moment Gongsun Yuan entered, all eyes were riveted on her. The young constables, especially, felt it was an honor just to sit beside her, nearly coming to blows over the seats. When the wine arrived, they eagerly crowded around to toast and fawn over her.

After accepting their toasts, Gongsun Yuan thanked them and said, "The children of my sisters are about your age, but you all are much more well-behaved than them."

The constables' faces turned pale as they scrutinized the beauty before them. "Madam, may we ask your age?"

"Nearly forty," she replied without batting an eye.

Apart from Huang Ziyao and the others, the rest of the group clutched their faces in agony and turned away.

Zhou Ziqin forced a smile and said, "Actually, Gongsun Daniu came here for her younger sister. The female victim in the recent love suicide case you've been investigating—that was her younger sister."

Guo Ming, the former chief constable of Shu Commandery, had been demoted to captain of the mounted patrol after Zhou Ziqin was appointed chief constable by imperial decree. Though his rank had dropped half a level, his salary had increased, making it a decent deal, so he was still quite pleased. "Ah, that woman! Wasn't she from a music household? Truly beautiful! Even after poisoning turned her body blue, she still looked like a jade-carved beauty—that figure, that face..."

At this point, he glanced at Gongsun Yuan and suddenly remembered. He quickly asked, "So, she was your... younger sister?"

Gongsun Yuan nodded, tears already welling in her eyes. She stood and raised a toast to the constables, saying, "My younger sister, A Ruan, was young and lovely, yet her life was cut short so early—how tragic. I know her nature was strong, and she had just begun to see better days. There's no way she would have taken her own life. I beg you, my brothers, to take pity on my sister and seek justice for her!"

Guo Ming and the constables all hurriedly agreed. The bearded Guo Ming, most moved of all, declared, "Madam, rest assured! If your sister was indeed murdered, we brothers will do everything in our power! Now that the young chief constable has enlisted the help of Brother Wang and Young Yang, I believe the case will be solved in no time!"

Ah Zhuo, however, sighed softly and muttered, "If only Miss Huang were here, this case would be no trouble at all. But now... I don’t see any leads..."

Huang Ziyao silently lowered her head and quietly ate her meal.

Zhou Ziqin, who had been fiddling with the bracelet, suddenly brightened. He quickly tucked it back into his robe and asked, "The 'Miss Huang' you're referring to—that must be Huang Ziyao, right?"

Seeing Ah Zhuo remain silent, Guo Ming answered for him, "Of course! She's the revered female detective of Shu Commandery, admired by all...""Quick, tell me all about Miss Huang! What's she like? How does she look? Does she resemble the wanted portrait? What does she like to eat? What's her favorite color? What flowers does she prefer? What does she enjoy playing with or reading?" Zhou Ziqin eagerly pressed the group for answers.

"Miss Huang is incredibly beautiful! Though she may not possess the grace of Gongsun Daniang, her delicate and ethereal beauty makes her an outstanding beauty in her own right!"

"That wanted portrait does bear some resemblance—it's quite flattering." A-Zhuo paused mid-sentence, glancing at Huang Zixia, then froze for a moment before adding, "Come to think of it, Miss Huang and this Brother Yang... vaguely seem somewhat alike."

Huang Zixia knew she was in disguise, but hearing this still made her turn her face away awkwardly, remaining silent.

Li Shubai shot her a glance and couldn't help but smile faintly.

Guo Ming flicked A-Zhuo on the forehead with a knuckle. "Nonsense! Brother Yang is a man, Miss Huang is a woman—one's a renowned detective from the capital, the other is... a fugitive wanted across the land. How could they possibly resemble each other?"

Rubbing his forehead, A-Zhuo shrank back and didn’t dare speak further.

Guo Ming quickly apologized to Huang Zixia, then sighed and silently lowered his head to drink.

The atmosphere at the table grew heavy. No matter how much Zhou Ziqin urged everyone to share more about Huang Zixia’s past, no one spoke up.

None of them could forget that their Miss Huang was now a notorious criminal wanted everywhere. Her crime? Poisoning her entire family.

Li Shubai turned to see Huang Zixia with her head bowed, her lashes veiling her dimmed gaze. He picked up a slice of lotus root from the table and placed it in her bowl, saying, "Even when buried in mud, everyone knows the lotus root is as white as snow and as sweet as a pear. Only when the filth is washed away will the truth be revealed—do you happen to like it?"

Huang Zixia lifted her eyes to meet his and whispered, "Yes. I... do."

The others, puzzled by their exchange about lotus roots, merely drank in silence. Only one constable muttered under his breath, "Speaking of which, I saw Yu Xuan just yesterday."

"That scoundrel! He’s utterly unworthy of Miss Huang’s affection!" A-Zhuo, the youngest and most devoted admirer of Huang Zixia, spat angrily. "Magistrate Huang’s family treated him with immense kindness, and Miss Huang shared years of deep friendship with him. Yet after the magistrate’s family met their tragic fate, he was the first to suspect her and even handed over her love letters to General Fan, the military governor. Since Miss Huang had previously exposed crimes committed by General Fan’s nephews, do you think the governor wouldn’t jump at the chance to pin this on her?"

"A-Zhuo!" Guo Ming cut him off with a sharp look. "You haven’t had much to drink, yet you’re already spouting drunken nonsense! General Fan’s vision is far beyond what us lowly constables can comprehend. We just follow orders and do our jobs!"

A-Zhuo clamped his mouth shut, though his face still burned with resentment.

Zhou Ziqin, however, grew even angrier than A-Zhuo, slamming the table. "Yu Xuan is that kind of person? And that bastard still dares to hide here in Shu Commandery?"

"Him? He’s thriving. He was recently recommended to the Imperial Academy in the capital and even became an instructor. But he’s back now."

Zhou Ziqin froze, murmuring, "Yu Xuan, the instructor at the Imperial Academy?"

"That’s right. Did you meet him in the capital, Constable?""Not only have I met him, but he's practically..." Zhou Ziqin stammered, utterly unable to reconcile the refined, gentle, and kind Yuxuan he had admired with this despicable man who had betrayed Huang Zixiao.

Huang Zixiao, however, asked, "Speaking of which, when Huang Zixiao fled back then, she must have had help from kind-hearted people to escape such a tight dragnet. Otherwise, with all the constables and soldiers in Shu Commandery, how could she have slipped away so easily?"

Guo Ming quickly interjected, "Absolutely not! We all followed orders diligently in the search! Truly! The entire yamen searched day and night for several days!"

"Well, I suppose it was simply not her time to die then." Seeing through his feeble attempt to cover up, Huang Zixiao raised her cup with a smile. "In any case, let me toast everyone first."

The atmosphere at the table was awkward, with everyone eating in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Amidst the quiet, only Zhou Ziqin occasionally muttered, "I need to find that Yuxuan and see for myself what's really going on."

Guo Ming suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Judge Qi, after Yuxuan passed the imperial exams, wasn't the residence assigned to him by the commandery next to yours?"

Qi Teng's smile stiffened slightly as he held his cup. "Yes, Brother Yu lived quite close to me. But... he was aloof and disliked crowds, so we didn't interact much, and I didn't know him well."

His words were undoubtedly true. Huang Zixiao had been close to Yuxuan before, yet she had no recollection of this Qi Teng. Had Yuxuan been acquainted with him, she would surely have known.

Huang Zixiao raised her cup to him with a smile. "With no deputy in the military governor's office now, the judge is second only to one, above ten thousand others. Judge Qi must be exceptionally talented to be entrusted with such responsibility at such a young age, earning General Fan's high regard."

"Not at all, just fortunate," Qi Teng replied modestly.

Zhou Ziqin slung an arm around Qi Teng's shoulders. "Brother Qi, don't be so modest! My father handpicked you as his son-in-law—how could you be anything less than outstanding? If you were ordinary, he wouldn’t have let his daughter marry you!"

Huang Zixiao looked surprised. "So Brother Qi is soon to become the esteemed son-in-law of the governor's household?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention—my sister Ziyan is set to marry Brother Qi by year's end." Zhou Ziqin glanced at Qi Teng and chuckled. "Ah, my elder brother is now my brother-in-law—am I gaining or losing here?"

Guo Ming and the others promptly joined in the teasing, raising their cups in toast, and the table finally livened up again.

By the time the meal ended, the moon hung high in the sky.

Zhou Ziqin and the constables reassured Gongsun Yuan that they would give her answers as soon as possible.

The group dispersed, each heading home.

Zhou Ziqin escorted Huang Zixiao and Li Shubai back to their inn, the three of them walking under the moonlight along the quiet streets.

Huang Zixiao asked, "Ziqin, how old is that Qi Teng?""I'm almost thirty," Zhou Ziqin scratched his head, looking somewhat helpless. "It's really infuriating. My father, newly arrived in Shu, naturally wanted to establish good relations with the military governor. Qi Teng had been married years ago, but his wife passed away long ago. Governor Fan, knowing my sister was still unmarried, said Qi Teng was his right-hand man and was looking for a good match. What could my father do when the military governor spoke like that? So he had their birth dates checked for compatibility, and unexpectedly, they matched perfectly—extremely auspicious! Just like that, the marriage was settled."

Li Shubai seemed lost in thought and murmured softly, "The sword's hilt reversed, helpless indeed."

Huang Zixiang understood his meaning—that the military governor's power was so overwhelming that even the prefect was constrained by it. But Zhou Ziqin didn't grasp the implication and merely blinked before laughing again. "Still, my sister isn't at a disadvantage. After her engagement was broken off, she definitely couldn't find a good match in the capital anymore. That's why my father brought her all the way here—just to find someone unaware of her past to marry her in blissful ignorance."

Huang Zixiang sensed there must be quite a scandal behind this and quickly asked, "Why was her engagement broken off?"

Zhou Ziqin, though the street was utterly deserted, still glanced around furtively to ensure no one was nearby before leaning in to whisper in her ear, "She met a man from the music academy who was an exceptional drummer. She became utterly infatuated, even sewing him a sachet with her own hands. Then someone saw them together, rumors spread... Ah, family shame shouldn't be aired in public—you must keep this secret!"

Huang Zixiang nodded and said, "It's not such a big deal—just a sachet, after all."

"Anyway, my father was nearly driven mad with anger. My elder brothers all hold positions in important government offices now, steadily climbing the ranks. But the family ended up with unfilial children like me and Ziyan—what a disgrace to the family, hahaha..."