The Golden Hairpin

The evening was late, and the deep hues of dusk had already enveloped the entire Chengdu Prefecture. Yet, at the command of Prince Kui, all relevant individuals had gathered here before the lanterns were lit.

Though no one yet knew what had happened, even Fan Yingxi, the Military Governor of Xichuan, hurriedly brought his son to the prefectural office.

Wang Yun arrived with them, dressed in a snow-blue silk outer robe. When he saw Huang Zixiao, though his face still bore his usual gentle smile, his complexion appeared somewhat unwell.

Prefect Zhou Xiang had long since arranged seats at his waterside pavilion dock and had his daughter conceal her face behind a fan before entering the green gauze cabinet.

Gongsun Yuan and Yin Luyi arrived together. Seeing that everyone present at the time of Qi Teng’s death had gathered, they nodded to Huang Zixiao and Zhou Ziqin before taking their seats in the pavilion.

Yu Xuan arrived shortly after, dressed in a sky-blue scholar’s robe. He silently took a seat by the pavilion, as low-key as ever.

To everyone’s confusion, the monk Mushi from Guangdu Temple, who had not been present that day, was also summoned and given a meditation cushion outside the pavilion.

All the musicians present in Chengdu that day, the prefect’s household servants, Zhou Ziyan’s maids, and even Tang Sheng—the ne'er-do-well nephew of Tang Zhuniang—were tracked down and brought here.

Once everyone had either taken their seats or stood in place, Li Shubai glanced at Huang Zixiao and nodded to her. Huang Zixiao stood and addressed the crowd, “Today, we have gathered you all here because of a murder that occurred in the prefectural office a few days ago—the killing of Qi Teng, the Military Governor’s administrative officer.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd fell into solemn silence. Fan Yingxi stroked his beard without speaking, Zhou Xiang frowned in contemplation, Gongsun Yuan gently embraced Yin Luyi’s shoulder in comfort, while Fan Yuanlong immediately exclaimed, “What? The Qi Teng case? Does Eunuch Yang already have a lead?”

“I already know who the culprit is, as well as how the murderer killed Judge Qi in full view of everyone and where the weapon was hidden.”

Fan Yingxi looked at Li Shubai and, seeing that he remained seated behind Huang Zixiao without speaking, understood that he was already aware of the matter. He promptly added, “Eunuch Yang, this is no trivial matter! Whoever targeted my administrative officer may bear a grudge against me, or perhaps harbors resentment toward the prefect, His Highness, or even the imperial court. They must be severely punished!”

“Governor Fan’s concern for the court and His Highness is commendable, but the root of this matter has nothing to do with affairs of state. The sole cause was nothing more than a matter of the heart,” Huang Zixiao said calmly.

At these words, Fan Yingxi’s face registered shock, though Li Shubai noticed the tension in his gaze easing slightly. After all, if this had nothing to do with the court or Prince Kui, then he, as Military Governor, bore no responsibility—and the death of his subordinate officer was of little concern to him.

“At the time of Judge Qi’s death, everyone here was present—except for Monk Mushi.” Huang Zixiao’s gaze swept over each face in the crowd, noting expressions of tension, focus, astonishment, and confusion. Ignoring their reactions, she slowly pointed to the waterside pavilion and continued, “In this case, there are two key obstacles that hindered us from solving the mystery and apprehending the culprit. The first is time.”

The crowd nodded involuntarily, clearly in deep agreement."The murderer struck and killed Magistrate Qi during that brief dance. Because before the dance began, as we were taking our seats, Magistrate Qi was still carrying a round stool over to the green gauze cabinet to speak with Miss Zhou. Even after the performance started, he continued talking to her—until Fan Gongzi vomited by the bushes. That was when he stopped speaking, and could never speak again."

Zhou Ziqin nodded. "So his time of death was either when Fan Gongzi vomited or shortly after—right when the petals were fluttering, Lady Gongsun entered the gauze curtain, and the butterflies were released."

"Yet at that time, everyone had an alibi. Nearly every person was under someone else's gaze—Prince Kui, Governor Fan, Prefect Zhou... even the maids and servants in the mansion couldn't have slipped away unnoticed to commit murder. And the evidence at the scene showed no signs of an outsider's intrusion. Meaning, the killer was among us on the pavilion dock—one of us."

Fan Yuanlong, ever vindictive, said coldly, "I initially suspected Yu Xuan, but now I think Miss Zhou is also a possibility. After all, the two of them were alone behind the crowd. The only one who could have acted without being seen was her."

Zhou Xiang's face darkened instantly. He glared at Fan Yuanlong but, in the presence of Prince Kui and Fan Yingxi, couldn't lash out, his face purpling with suppressed anger.

Zhou Ziqin, unfazed, fired back, "Do you think we wouldn't have considered such an idiotic theory? Unfortunately, this hypothesis was already disproven by evidence! The killer covered Magistrate Qi's mouth with one hand and stabbed him in the chest with the other. At that moment, fingernail marks were left on his face. Based on those marks, if my sister had made such a move, she would have fallen out of the green gauze cabinet—she couldn't have maintained her balance!"

"But your sister could have stepped out and circled behind him to kill him!"

"Sure, she could have. But if she had, first, Magistrate Qi wouldn't have remained seated motionless while his fiancée moved behind him. Second, though her maid had stepped away, she still glanced over occasionally in case Miss Zhou needed anything. So, unless she was completely brainless, she wouldn't have left the cabinet and circled behind him to kill."

Fan Yuanlong snorted resentfully, earning an eye-roll from Zhou Ziqin and a sharp rebuke from Fan Yingxi. Deflated, he shrank into his seat and stayed silent.

Li Shubai, seeing the others either deep in thought or frozen in fear, broke the silence. "So, in your opinion, who could have found a way to kill under everyone's noses at such an impossible moment, completely undetected?"

Huang Zixiang nodded to him. "Yes, everyone was in a place unseen by others. And at the time, there should have been a consensus among all present—that the least suspicious, the least likely to kill, was Lady Gongsun, who was performing in the pavilion. Isn't that right?"Everyone nodded in agreement. Fan Yuanlong was already impatiently urging, "Just skip her. Tell us how the people below found an opportunity?"

"No, I cannot skip Gongsun Yi." Huang Zitang said calmly, turning her gaze to Gongsun Yuan, who was sitting on the railing of the waterside pavilion. "I wonder if any of you have heard of the phrase 'the darkest place is under the candlestick'?"

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Everyone looked at Huang Zitang with disbelief, then turned their eyes to Gongsun Yuan.

Gongsun Yuan remained silent, slowly standing up.

Huang Zitang lowered her voice and said, "In this case, the one least likely to commit murder could have orchestrated the perfect opportunity. By seizing that fleeting moment, even when all eyes were fixed here, one could calmly move from the front to the back to kill, then effortlessly escape."

Amidst the murmurs, Gongsun Yuan stood under the lanterns of the pavilion. The glow of dozens of lanterns illuminated her entire figure, casting a warm, orange-yellow light that enveloped her in a hazy radiance. Her slender silhouette, like the trembling shadow of a flower beneath the lantern, was so graceful it seemed almost indistinct.

She looked at the crowd before her, her expression sorrowful yet her eyes clear and pure. With an almost innocent demeanor, she faced Huang Zitang and spoke in a voice so soft yet audible to everyone now silent: "Eunuch Yang, from your words, it seems you suspect me?"

"No, not suspicion. I mean to say, Madam Gongsun, you killed Qi Teng." Huang Zitang spoke slowly, her tone grave but unmistakably clear. "The evidence is irrefutable."

Gongsun Yuan lowered her eyes but said nothing. Yin Luyi stepped forward first, standing behind her with visible distress. "Eunuch Yang, you know us. You once promised to help investigate A'Ruan's death. But now... how can you pin Qi Teng's murder on us just because you can't find the culprit?"

"Exactly. I'd like to know, what is this so-called irrefutable evidence? And how is it that there's no room for defense?" Gongsun Yuan met Huang Zitang's gaze steadily, her voice unwavering. "Eunuch Yang claims Qi Teng was killed while I was dancing. But I was in the pavilion, under everyone's watch, never leaving for even a moment. How could I possibly have killed Qi Teng, who was at the very back of the crowd?"

Zhou Ziqin, who was always most concerned about beautiful women, couldn't help but whisper to Huang Zitang despite his usual deference to her. "Surely not, Chonggu... I was staring at the stage the whole time. I swear, Madam Gongsun and her sister never left for even a second!"

"Indeed, it seemed she never left. But there was a moment when only her faint silhouette remained, wasn't there?" Huang Zitang asked.

The crowd suddenly understood. Fan Yuanlong was the first to exclaim, "Are you referring to when she disappeared behind the gauze curtain to release the butterflies?"Zhou Xiang saw Huang Zixiang nod and noticed that Prince Kui beside him remained silent, merely sipping tea without offering any opinion. Unable to hold back any longer, he tentatively asked, "Eunuch, didn’t you see her shadow cast on the gauze curtain at the time? Though the curtain was vividly colored and embroidered with countless floral branches, its sheer fabric was light enough for all of us to discern the silhouette passing through it. Indeed, she never left."

Zhou Ziqin nodded in agreement. "Absolutely! At that time, Fourth Lady was entangled with Young Master Fan outside the waterside pavilion, and no one inside could have replaced Lady Gongsun. I guarantee she was always outside the pavilion!"

"No, this was the first instance of the golden cicada shedding its shell in this case. Fourth Lady is skilled in illusions and naturally knew how to make someone vanish from the scene in an instant—using nothing more than a gauze curtain and an embroidered robe, that’s all."

As Huang Zixiang spoke, her gaze shifted to Zhou Ziqin. "I wonder if Lady Gongsun and Fourth Lady Yin have brought all the items from that day, as we requested?"

Yin Luyi glanced covertly at Gongsun Yuan, who calmly nodded and stood up. She opened the chest she had brought and took out the twin swords, gauze curtain, and dance costume, saying, "Please examine them, Eunuch."

During the murder, all the tables and chairs had been removed to make space for Gongsun Yuan’s dance. Zhou Ziqin quickly called for a high-legged table to be brought over, and all the items were placed on it.

Huang Zixiang gestured for Zhou Ziqin to spread out the gauze curtain. Under the lamplight, the semi-transparent fabric revealed embroidered flowering trees with gracefully outstretched branches. The main trunk twisted upward like a vine, with two branches extending symmetrically every half-foot, curving slightly downward and covered in blossoms—utterly delicate.

Huang Zixiang signaled Zhou Ziqin to let the curtain hang naturally to the ground, then indicated the position of her shoulders. She was tall, similar in height to Gongsun Yuan, and right at that level on the embroidered branches, she found two stitched twigs aligned with her shoulders.

She carefully examined the area around the branches and, as expected, discovered what she had anticipated—three tiny needle holes, evenly spaced in a straight line. Clearly, something had been sewn there and later removed. Though someone had tried to smooth the marks with a fingernail, faint traces remained.

Huang Zixiang had Zhou Ziqin show this to everyone and explained, "Based on these marks, there should have been a long, narrow object sewn onto the embroidered branches here, perfectly concealed—I suspect it was something used to hang clothing."

Zhou Ziqin immediately asked, "Are you suggesting that after Lady Gongsun stepped behind the curtain, she quietly removed her outer robe and hung it there, creating the illusion that she was still behind it, while she herself... secretly slipped away through the shrubs beside the pavilion to kill Magistrate Qi?"

Amid the murmurs of astonishment, Gongsun Yuan stood silently without a word.

Huang Zixiang pointed to the items on the table and said, "To execute this method, three conditions were necessary. First, a thick garment that light cannot penetrate."Her hand rested on the heavy brocade robe that Gongsun Yuan had worn at the beginning of the performance, and she said slowly, "At the time, we privately discussed how this robe was truly inferior to the later lightweight, translucent dance costume. Clearly, it would hinder movement, even affecting some delicate motions and obscuring certain intricate details. So why did Gongsun Daye choose to wear this robe at the very start, only removing it after releasing the butterflies?"

Yin Luyi's face gradually paled. Her hand slowly slipped around Gongsun Yuan's arm, and though Gongsun Yuan felt the chill in her palm, she merely rested her own hand lightly atop Yin Luyi's, standing motionless as she watched Huang Zixiang.

Huang Zixiang's hand then moved to the collar of the brocade robe. "The second condition," she said, "was the black cloth cut into the exact silhouette of Gongsun Daye's head, which was drawn from the robe. This must have already been removed from the collar, but traces of it might still be found if we search carefully later."

She set the robe down and continued, "As for the third condition—it was the sudden dimming of the lights just as Gongsun Daye entered the embroidered curtain. The person in charge of the lighting was none other than Yin Siniang. She provided the perfect moment for Gongsun Daye to swiftly remove the robe, hang it up, set up the head silhouette, and leave immediately. And to divert attention from the motionless figure of Gongsun Daye, Yin Siniang released the petals from the cages at that very moment, drawing everyone's gaze to the pavilion and ensuring no one noticed the faint movements behind the shrubs. At this point, Young Master Fan unwittingly aided them—drunk, he took the opportunity to harass Yin Siniang amid the petals, further scattering the crowd's attention and ensuring Gongsun Daye's complete safety."

A faint, mocking smile touched Gongsun Yuan's lips. "Eunuch Yang," she said, "if it truly happened as you described—if I had indeed slipped through the shrubs back and forth—then let me ask you this: how long did I remain motionless after entering the embroidered curtain? Surely no longer than the time it took for a few cages of petals to fall. Could that brief span really have been enough for me to make the round trip, locate Judge Qi, and kill him?"