The Golden Hairpin

"If that's the case, how do we explain the 'embroidered ball and butterfly' painting on Fu Xinruan's letter and the line 'send the blooming osmanthus from the courtyard in a pouch'? Do you remember? There just happened to be an osmanthus tree in front of the hall in Judge Qi's residence." Huang Ziyao paused here, silent for a moment before finally adding, "Earlier, when the military governor's office was invited to the pawnshop to purchase items, there was a twin-fish bracelet that was given to someone without being recorded. At that time, Qi Teng had just been appointed as the military governor's judge and would certainly have been present—how could his subordinates dare to ask the pawnshop owner for the bracelet right in front of their superior and then brazenly take it away? I think the one who took it must have been Judge Qi himself."

Mentioning the twin-fish bracelet, she felt a sudden pang in her chest, a dull, knife-like pain slowly spreading through her. Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Yu Xuan, standing at the back of the crowd. Across the lamplight, he was also looking at her from afar, his eyes holding something indistinct, deep and shadowed.

She slowly turned her face away, then picked up the dark blue pouch from the table and said, "The biggest evidence that Qi Teng was Fu Xinruan's lover lies in this pouch."

The old, dark blue pouch looked utterly unremarkable in her hand, even clashing with the delicate poetry scrolls and paintings around it.

"We found this pouch in Qi Teng's study wastebasket, empty at the time." As she spoke, she held up the pouch to indicate someone standing at the back of the crowd. "Tang Sheng, do you remember the pouch your aunt Tang Zhuniang took out from her bag when you met her in Shuangxi Alley that day?"

Tang Sheng had been standing at the very back of the crowd. Thin and unkempt, he had gone entirely unnoticed until Huang Ziyao suddenly called on him. Under everyone's gaze, he immediately became flustered: "Huh? This... this pouch?"

Huang Ziyao nodded. "That day, you said your aunt had started to take a pouch out of her bag to give to you but then put it back, didn't you?"

"Yeah, she pulled it halfway out, then stuffed it back in, saying something like, 'Better take it to the city to make a pair of silver hairpins.' And then? She died on the way—never saw any silver hairpins!" Tang Sheng said bitterly. Upon closer inspection of the pouch in her hand, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! That pouch you're holding... looks just like the one she pulled halfway out that day!"

Huang Ziyao pressed, "Are you sure? Could you be mistaken?"

"No mistake, absolutely not! I thought she was giving me something good, so I stared hard at it. I remember it clearly!""Good, so this pouch found in Magistrate Qi's wastebasket is indeed the very one that went missing from Tang Zhuniang's possession after her death—Tang Zhuniang being the maidservant who attended Fu Xinruan," Huang Zixiao stated, shifting her gaze to Gongsun Yuan. "Madam Gongsun once bribed Tang Zhuniang after Fu Xinruan's death to retrieve a bracelet for her. Similarly, Magistrate Qi could have easily instructed Tang Zhuniang to plant certain items in the Fu residence during the official search and sealing—for instance, the handwritten letters he secretly obtained from Wen Yang. Moreover, since Tang Zhuniang was Fu Xinruan's sole attendant, no matter how reclusive Fu was or how cautious Qi tried to be, their affair couldn't have escaped Tang Zhuniang's notice. Thus, to cover his tracks and stage the apparent love-suicide, Magistrate Qi's first step was to buy Tang Zhuniang's silence. After accepting his bribe, Tang Zhuniang packed her belongings to return to her hometown for a peaceful life. But Magistrate Qi would never allow such a loose end to remain. Naturally, he chose to push her off a cliff on her journey home, eliminating the threat once and for all!"

Fan Yuanlong, who had a decent rapport with Qi Teng, weakly interjected despite the irrefutable evidence: "Eunuch Yang, perhaps... Tang Zhuniang died from an accidental fall? Or maybe she encountered bandits?"

"If it were an accident, why would her pouch end up discarded in Magistrate Qi's wastebasket? If it were bandits, why was her bundle found neatly packed during the autopsy, with only the pouch missing? And let’s not forget, Mr. Fan—those were the very days when Prince Kui encountered danger on the mountain path. The Western Sichuan Army had blocked all access points, permitting only a handful of people entry, and strictly forbade anyone from entering on horseback. Yet, around the same time Tang Zhuniang fell, this very guard of Prince Kui’s—Brother Zhang here—was also pushed off the cliff by a rider! At that time, even the Western Sichuan troops searching the mountains were mostly on foot. As for who could have entered on horseback... I imagine the Judicial Officer of the Western Sichuan Military Command would qualify, wouldn’t he?"

Fan Yingxi’s expression darkened. He hurriedly apologized to Prince Kui before clasping his hands toward Zhang Xingying, who stood behind him.

Zhang Xingying promptly returned the gesture, not daring to accept the courtesy lightly.

"I kept wondering why the killer insisted on taking that pouch when murdering Tang Zhuniang. Later, I recalled something Tang Sheng said, and everything finally made sense." Huang Zixiao turned to Tang Sheng. "At the time, your aunt tucked the pouch back into her bundle and said, 'Let me take it to Hanzhou first and have a pair of silver hairpins made for your future bride,' correct?"

Tang Sheng nodded. "Exactly. Word for word!""First, 'take' it to Hanzhou to 'make' a pair of silver hairpins—what Magistrate Qi gave Tang Zhuniang wasn’t money, but silver." Huang Zixiao pointed at the small pouch. "Such a tiny pouch might not even hold half a string of coins, but because it was silver, it could fit one or two ingots. To bribe Tang Zhuniang, Magistrate Qi naturally needed a considerable sum. Handling various affairs daily in the military governor’s office, he would have access to the treasury silver. Carrying several strings of coins to bribe Tang Zhuniang would have been inconvenient, so he simply gave her silver. However, each silver ingot bears its origin’s inscription. If he didn’t retrieve them, the appearance of a military governor’s silver ingot on the corpse of Fu Xinyuan’s maidservant might bring trouble upon him. Thus, he had to recover them without fail—none could be left behind."

With the evidence irrefutable and Qi Teng’s guilt undeniable, Fan Yingxi finally exhaled deeply and cursed bitterly, "Despicable! Outrageous! This heartless, scheming wretch—he served in my household for years, yet I never realized how cunning and vicious he was! To frame and murder so effortlessly, to silence and erase traces so casually!"

Zhou Ziqin also glanced toward the green gauze cabinet where his sister Zhou Ziyan was and sighed softly, murmuring, "Thankfully, my sister hasn’t married yet."

Everyone was too busy condemning the villain and feeling relieved for the Zhou family, as if they had completely forgotten about Gongsun Yuan and Yin Luyi. Huang Zixiao turned to look at them and saw their ashen faces, yet beneath the fear, there was a faint, twisted satisfaction. She sighed inwardly and said, "Madam Gongsun, the first time I doubted Fu Xinyuan’s suicide was when I saw her wardrobe—filled with countless bright, luxurious dresses, yet she died wearing a faded gray-purple robe... I think any woman, when choosing to drink poison hand in hand with her lover, would want to dress beautifully, not so hastily and carelessly."

"Yes... A-Suan loved vibrant, eye-catching clothes the most," Gongsun Yuan finally spoke, her voice hoarse and choked. Her body trembled slightly, completely devoid of her usual ethereal grace. Pressing a hand to her chest, she took deep breaths before forcing out her words. "A-Suan... was childlike in nature, unrestrained and reckless... She could refuse the best match without hesitation, turn down wealth and status within reach, all because she couldn’t forget someone we’d never even met—someone she herself had only seen a handful of times... Wen Yang... no, Qi Teng. Naive A-Suan thought he was a tender thread of red silk, soft and clinging, never realizing he was a venomous snake coiled around her arm—supple and harmless at first, slithering against her skin, only to bare the deadliest fangs when least expected..."

Huang Zixiao watched her silently without responding. Zhou Ziqin, unable to hold back, asked, "You only met Qi Teng that one time, right? How did you immediately uncover the truth and seek revenge?""Ruan once wrote to me, troubled, saying that Wen Yang had six unsightly moles on the back of his left hand... So I taught her to crush eclipta leaves into juice and apply it to the moles—they would disappear after a few applications. However, the eclipta would leave dark stains on the skin, which would fade after a few days." Gongsun Yuan leaned against the railing, taking deep breaths. Though her voice remained hoarse and her figure still trembled slightly, she had calmed down somewhat. "At the mortuary, I saw Ruan's body and noticed the marks on her hand. But when I secretly checked the autopsy records, I found no mention of Wen Yang having moles on his hand. Later, when I went to the yamen to inquire about the case, I suddenly noticed that Qi Teng, the judge who was about to marry Prefect Zhou's daughter, had six small scars on the back of his left hand—exactly like moles that had just been treated. I discreetly investigated Qi Teng's background and found it matched exactly what Ruan had described in her letters. And in our line of work, we know many men use false names when visiting brothels. So I seized an opportunity to confront him directly..."

At this point, Gongsun Yuan grew agitated again, her chest heaving for a long time before she managed to suppress her fury. She spat out bitterly, "Not only did he admit it, but he also mocked Ruan, calling her a fool. He said he had over a dozen lovers outside, yet she had no idea—she actually believed him when he swore to her that he would change his ways. She never suspected a thing..."

Her voice broke as she banged her head against the pillar, tears streaming down her face. "My little sister Ruan—she was renowned across the land by the age of twelve, unmatched in composing music and choreography. Even the veteran musicians of Chang'an's imperial music bureau would respectfully address her as 'Sixth Lady' when seeking her guidance! How could someone as brilliant and perceptive as Ruan not notice her lover's deceit? Everyone knows why she endured it all... and yet he dared to call her a fool... That bastard deserves to be torn limb from limb..."

Yin Luyi wrapped her arms around Gongsun Yuan, pressing her face against her shoulder in silent grief, her tears quickly soaking through Gongsun Yuan's clothes.

Huang Zixiang said quietly, "Though I understand your feelings, the law does not permit taking justice into one's own hands. The authorities will help clear your names..."

"Hmph... Qi Teng was one of your officials. Even if you uncover the truth, will you really hold him accountable?" Gongsun Yuan lifted her chin, her face pale with rage, yet her voice was resolute. "A life for a life, a debt repaid—that is justice! My sister was murdered by him, so it falls to me, her elder sister, to seek vengeance! Even if it costs me my own life, so be it. Gongsun Yuan lives with a clear conscience and will die without regret!"

Huang Zixiang fell silent, retreating slowly behind Li Shubai. "I only reveal the truth. The rest is beyond my control."

Though the truth was now laid bare, no one spoke.

Prefect Zhou cleared his throat and said, "Though Gongsun Yuan killed Judge Qi... Qi Teng had three lives on his hands, including that of Wen Yang, a scholar, whom he murdered merely to stage a lovers' suicide. The law cannot pardon such crimes."He was secretly relieved that his daughter hadn't married such a heartless scoundrel, so he felt considerable sympathy for Gongsun Yuan.

Wang Yun, knowing that Gongsun Yuan was the elder sister of Empress Wang, naturally smiled and said, "Madam Gongsun is avenging her younger sister after all. Such passionate devotion and heroic generosity truly resemble the ancient chivalrous knights."

While these two spoke in Gongsun Yuan's defense, Fan Yingxi angrily retorted, "Since ancient times, it's true that murder demands life in return—but that life must be claimed by the authorities. If everyone could kill privately to settle personal grudges, indulging in unchecked vengeance, then what use would the law serve? Where would official authority stand?"

His righteous indignation and staunch defense of court law left the surrounding crowd silent, forced to listen to his impassioned speech: "Moreover, Qi Teng was an official in my office. For him to be killed in full public view is nothing less than open contempt for our Western Sichuan Army, bringing unparalleled disgrace upon our forces!"

Though everyone knew half of Fan Yingxi's fury stemmed from Gongsun Yuan wiping her blade on Fan Yuanlong's clothes to frame him, the invocation of the Western Sichuan Army silenced them completely.

Li Shubai remained silent as well, lowering his gaze to the tea in his hand as if hearing nothing.

Seeing the crowd waiting quietly for his decision, Li Shubai set his teacup down on the table and said calmly, "As Military Governor Fan has stated, this matter is of such grave importance that it should first undergo preliminary trial at the Chengdu Prefecture yamen before any verdict is reached. Though I serve as the Minister of Dali Temple to assist His Majesty, I am unfamiliar with local affairs and thus should not interfere."

His flawless reasoning left everyone bowing in agreement.

Gongsun Yuan and Yin Luyi were temporarily taken into custody and removed from the scene. Zhou Ziqin thoughtfully arranged for them to be placed in a cleaner women's cell and had all evidence collected for sealing and storage.

"Today's deductions were truly brilliant—Eunuch Yang, the extraordinary case you've solved here in Chengdu is nothing short of miraculous." Though night had deepened, Li Shubai remained seated by the waterside pavilion, quietly turning to Huang Zitang beside him. "What further entertainment might we expect?"

Zhou Xiang immediately wore a pained expression—it was nearly midnight, the lantern candles had already been replaced once, and two convoluted cases had been solved. Yet Prince Kui showed no intention of retiring and still wanted entertainment?

"This... Please allow me a moment, Your Highness. I will immediately arrange for courtesans to perform music and dance..."

Li Shubai raised a hand to stop Zhou Xiang, standing as he said, "Since my arrival in Chengdu, I've imposed upon Military Governor Fan and Prefect Zhou. As Prefect Zhou has made no preparations tonight, allow me to arrange an entertainment for you all. Please follow me."

The crowd was stunned—no one had expected Prince Kui to prepare a performance for Fan and Zhou. Their surprise only grew when they reached the venue—the location was none other than the West Garden where Zhou Ziqin resided.