The Golden Hairpin

Li Shubai led the group into the West Garden and glanced back at those who had followed.

Fan Yingxi surveyed the small garden with curiosity; Zhou Xiang wore a puzzled expression; Monk Mushan, though visibly exhausted, forced a smile; Wang Yun casually plucked a newly sprouted creeping fig to examine it; while Yu Xuan, revisiting the familiar place, remained silent and composed.

Huang Zixiao trailed behind the others, slowly entering the garden and observing the faint glow of lotus leaves in the darkness. The maids lit tall red candles and brightened the thousand-branched candelabrum in the corner, illuminating the hall. After taking his seat, Li Shubai looked up at Zhou Ziqin, who nodded and, though slightly confused, said, "Everything is ready."

On the covered walkway above the lotus pond, two hanging lanterns were taken down, and the thousand-branched candelabrum was moved to the corridor, with a gauze screen placed in front of it.

Following Prince Kui's gesture, everyone sat on the chairs brought by the servants and turned their attention to the screen. Just as they were wondering what was happening, an old performer sat beside the screen and tapped a small drum twice. Under the bright light of the candelabrum, he opened a small booklet and began to sing:

"Chaotic tales of Chang'an old,

Today I'll share a story told.

West of the city, Guangde Lane,

A case to prove what's false or plain."

As he sang, images of Chang'an's neighborhoods appeared on the white gauze screen, swiftly shifting to scenes of blooming flowers and green willows, a small bridge, and a household gate. Then a group of riders clip-clopped across the bridge and stopped at the gate.

The audience suddenly realized this was a shadow puppeteer putting on a show for them.

Fan Yingxi and Zhou Xiang hadn’t expected Prince Kui to enjoy such entertainment, much less invite them to watch it in the middle of the night. They exchanged amused glances but, sensing there might be a deeper purpose, composed themselves to watch carefully.

The gate swung open, and the mounted officers dismounted and entered. The scene flipped to reveal the interior of a house, where the silhouette of a woman hung from a beam.

"A death in Guangde Lane,

A young wife lost her life in vain.

Coroners and officers all agreed,

The evidence was clear—case complete.

But one word sparked a bitter feud,

Her anger left no avenue.

Restless nights led to despair,

A tragic end beyond repair."

A red-robed official strode in with measured steps and took his seat in the hall. Behind him followed a girl of eleven or twelve, dressed in embroidered clothes with twin buns in her hair, utterly adorable.

The old man mimicked a child’s voice with surprising innocence: "Daddy, Daddy, wait for me!"

The red-robed official glanced back and flicked his sleeve. "Little girl, what are you doing here? Your father, the Vice Minister of Justice, is here to hear the closing arguments!"

At this point, Yu Xuan let out a soft gasp.

Wang Yun glanced at him before seeming to realize something and lightly tapped his own forehead. "Ah... so it’s that case."

The puppeteer flipped the pages of his book, reciting the words, while the little girl on the screen twirled around and said, "Daddy, I don’t like staying home to read books or learning embroidery from Mother. If I’m to learn anything, it’ll be the great skill of uncovering life and death, diagnosing the unseen!"

"Hahaha, such big words for a little girl!" The father waved his sleeve three times to the rhythm of the drum. "Go, go, go! Play with the wild children outside! When Daddy finishes this case, I’ll take you home."The old man's skills were truly impressive. In the blink of an eye, several more figures emerged from his hands, each with distinct voices, chattering away as they gathered around.

A merchant holding a bolt of cloth said, "Let me tell you all, this lady didn't buy her wedding dress fabric from my shop when she got married. The color of the dress she wore wasn't proper, and that's what led to this tragedy!"

Another merchant, holding a string of jewelry, asked the bereaved, "Sir, yesterday afternoon, your wife ordered a pair of silver hairpins from my shop. Now that she's passed, do you still want them?"

A fortune-teller clutching a divination banner stroked his goatee and said, "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed! I had already foreseen that your family would have both joyous and sorrowful events this year. It's a pity you didn't come to me sooner—this tragedy was unavoidable..."

Even Zhou Xiang and the others could now see that this was a reenactment of the first case Huang Zixiang had solved when she was just twelve years old.

Sure enough, as the chaotic crowd dispersed, the red-robed official picked up his brush and declared, "It seems this case is settled—it was undoubtedly a suicide—"

Before he could finish, the little girl in the floral-patterned jacket popped up beside him again, shouting, "Father, wait!"

Her father paused, turning to look at her, and asked, "Sweetheart, are you hungry?"

"No."

"Are you thirsty?"

"No."

"Do you want to go home?"

"Not that either."

"Then stop bothering me! Don't disturb your father's official duties!"

"Father, this lady didn't kill herself—she was murdered and made to look like she took her own life!"

The red-robed official trembled dramatically. "Daughter! How can you spout such nonsense at your young age? The twists and turns of solving cases are far beyond what a child like you could understand!"

"But Father, didn't you hear what this man said?" The little girl pointed to the side, where the jewelry merchant reappeared. "Father, you once told your colleagues at home that when people are about to die, their hearts turn to ashes. So tell me, have you ever seen someone with a heart turned to ashes go to a jewelry shop to order silver hairpins before killing themselves? And she only picked out the design—she never even received them!"

"Ah—!" The red-robed official trembled exaggeratedly again behind the gauze screen, and the old man began to sing, "One word awakens the dreamer, one phrase resolves hatred and resentment. Huang Zixiang, the girl of the Huang family, her fame spreads far and wide!"

With a flick of the old man's hand, the little girl grew into a composed young woman, traversing mountains and rivers until she arrived at Chengdu Prefecture, where hibiscus and hollyhocks bloomed.

Amidst the flowers, the story came to an end. The old man set down his shadow puppets and stood to bow to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, the shadow play I performed for you today was popular in Chang'an years ago but has since fallen out of favor for various reasons. Thanks to Constable Zhou's request, I dusted off the script for this performance. Please forgive any rustiness!"

"Excellent, truly excellent," Zhou Xiang said with a smile.

The candelabra was moved back inside, filling the room with light. Li Shubai turned his head, coldly observing the expressions of those around him. No one would dare speak ill of the entertainment personally selected by Prince Kui. Only Yu Xuan remained motionless in his chair, his gaze fixed on the corridor where the white gauze screen had been removed, leaving only an empty, dark passage—deep and unsettling, sending chills down the spine.His face was unnaturally pale, even tinged with a terrifying bluish-gray hue, rendering his handsome features as lifeless as a stone sculpture.

Those around him sensed something was amiss. The monk Mu Shan, who stood closest, rose and patted his shoulder, saying in a low voice, "Benefactor Yu, the shadow play has ended. Why not awaken?"

Yu Xuan looked dazed and bewildered, slowly raising his head to meet the monk's gaze when Huang Zixiang interrupted, "Venerable Monk, the play is not yet over. Why not sit quietly and watch? Why interfere with the additional performance His Highness wishes to see?"

Monk Mu Shan shuddered in alarm, realizing she had seen through his intentions. He softly chanted a Buddhist invocation and had no choice but to step aside.

Li Shubai signaled Huang Zixiang with a slight nod.

Huang Zixiang gazed at Yu Xuan under the bright glow of a thousand candles. The warm golden light flowed like molten gold over his pale, beautiful face, creating an eerie, distorted beauty.

In her chest, a pain as indescribable as that flowing light surged forth, nearly suffocating her. This agony—a mix of fear, confusion, resentment, and melancholy—scorched her heart, leaving her almost too weak to speak.

Yet, in the end, she did speak, summoning all her strength to part her lips.

How strange. Once she opened her mouth, it was as if a river of stars poured from her heart, trickling coldly down her throat. The burning pain in her chest vanished, replaced by an inexplicable exhilaration—a force like a sprout breaking through the earth after an entire winter buried underground. It drove her to face everything laid bare before her, no matter how bloody, as fearlessly as staring into the midday sun, even if it meant blinding herself."Ladies and gentlemen, that was the first case Huang Zixiao ever solved. One case concluded, one criminal punished, yet another story was just beginning." Her voice was slightly hoarse but steady, calm to the point of carrying a hint of coldness. "Had Prince Kui not reviewed the case files and told me the subsequent events, I would never have known—that this newlywed husband, who strangled his wife in a fit of rage, had lost his father in childhood and had a younger brother. His mother, left alone and destitute, carried the younger child on her back while weaving cloth day and night with the elder one by her side. By her thirties, she was already gaunt and frail, her hair prematurely white. The hardships of a widow raising two children need no elaboration. Finally, when her eldest son turned eighteen, fortune seemed to smile upon them. The boy was exceptionally clever, peddling needles and thread to save some capital, then borrowing more to take over a tavern. His business acumen made the tavern thrive, and soon matchmakers arranged for him to marry a beautiful wife. Just as the family seemed to emerge from hardship into better days, a sudden quarrel led to tragedy—the son strangled his wife and staged it as suicide. When the truth came to light, the law showed no mercy, and he was executed in the streets. The tavern was seized by creditors to repay debts, and even their household belongings were stripped bare. The widow, after enduring decades of hardship and briefly tasting happiness, suddenly lost both her son and daughter-in-law in a single night. Unable to bear the blow, on the day her eldest son was executed, she lost her mind..."

At this point, despite her efforts to remain composed, she couldn't help but glance at Yu Xuan.

She saw his body trembling uncontrollably, the veins at his temples throbbing violently—she could almost feel the despair coursing through his veins.

But she clenched her teeth, ruthlessly averted her gaze, and continued with near-brutal resolve: "In her madness, the mother hanged herself one night in the same spot where her daughter-in-law had died. Her younger son, then fourteen, woke the next morning to find his mother's body suspended from the beam in the empty house. Whether from shock or something else, he took down her corpse and sat motionless and silent beside it for three days and nights. Had neighbors not forced their way in upon sensing something amiss, he too would have died there beside her, unnoticed."

Abbot Mu Shan murmured "Amitabha" and rose silently, as if unable to bear listening further and wishing to leave.

Zhou Ziqin, standing nearby, raised a hand to stop him. "Venerable Master, since you're here, you might as well stay. Why not hear the rest?"

With resignation, Abbot Mu Shan lowered his gaze and returned to his seat.

Huang Zixiao paid no heed to the commotion below. Still speaking slowly, almost cruelly, she continued the tale: "The neighbors carried the unconscious boy to a physician and buried his mother in the paupers' grave beside her eldest son. The younger son's life was saved, but after being revived from near-death, he remained dazed and seemingly witless in the clinic. One day, he wandered away and was never seen again—likely becoming one of the thousands of street urchins begging for survival."She paused here, remaining silent for a long while before continuing, "This is what Prince Kui witnessed—all the records in the case files. And yet... after I recently arrived in Chengdu Prefecture, I encountered several other cases. Suddenly, it seemed as though I could piece together the rest of the story behind this."

The room fell utterly silent. Although Fan Yingxi and Zhou Xiang didn’t quite understand why she was recounting this case from years ago, seeing Li Shubai sitting upright in his chair, listening intently, they dared not move either. They simply sat on either side of Li Shubai, listening carefully.

"What I’m about to say next is all speculation, without any solid evidence. So, I ask everyone to take it for what it is." Though Huang Ziyao used words like "speculation" and "take it for what it is," the expression on her face made it clear to everyone that what she was about to say was of immense importance—something gravely significant. Thus, everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

"That youngest son might have, during a famine years ago, followed the starving refugees south. At the time, many people settled in Chengdu Prefecture. As time passed, he gradually regained his senses, but stranded in a foreign land, alone and helpless, a child like him had no means to return to Chang’an. He could only stay in Chengdu Prefecture, begging for survival. However, he was extraordinarily intelligent and eager to learn. Having already received some basic education at home, he picked up a few old books from a school and eavesdropped on the teacher’s lectures from outside the walls. Before long, he surpassed even the students who attended proper classes, astonishing the teachers and earning a reputation as a prodigy—so much so that..." Here, her voice trembled slightly despite herself, "even the newly appointed Governor Huang of Sichuan heard of his fame. After meeting and speaking with him, the governor was so impressed by his genius that he took him in as his adopted son and brought him into his household."

At this point, Zhou Xiang and Fan Yingxi couldn’t help but gasp sharply. Even Zhang Xingying, who had been standing behind Li Shubai like a spear, let out an involuntary exclamation.

Li Shubai listened quietly, his gaze fixed on the dense shadows of lotus flowers outside.

Wang Yun had long since set down his fan, staring intently at Huang Ziyao, almost forgetting to blink.

Only Yu Xuan remained motionless, seated in his chair. The flickering candlelight cast a distorted glow over his face, making him appear ghastly and terrifying in the shifting light and shadow.