The Golden Hairpin

The crowd buzzed with chatter:

"I've heard a little about this. They say the Empress's cousin is extraordinarily beautiful, radiant as a celestial being!"

"Yesterday, when the Kui Prince's carriage escorted her out of the city, I was by the roadside hoping to catch a glimpse. But this future princess consort truly lives up to her reputation—so demure and dignified that she didn’t even lift the carriage curtain a single inch. It only makes one all the more curious!"

"But I’m certain she must be a peerless beauty. Otherwise, how could she have snatched the Kui Prince right from under Princess Qile’s nose?"

"That Princess Qile is now the most pitiable figure in the capital. It just goes to show—women shouldn’t wear their hearts on their sleeves. If their beloved slips away, they become the laughingstock of others."

"Exactly! If not for this Wang family girl, with her noble lineage and looks, wouldn’t she and the Kui Prince have been a perfect match? No doubt Princess Qile is holed up at home these days, cursing the future princess consort day and night. Hahaha..."

Amid the lively discussion, the storyteller merely listened with a grin. When the chatter died down slightly, he finally spoke:

"But do you all know that despite this Wang family girl’s incredible fortune—becoming the Kui Prince’s consort, the envy of the entire capital—this marriage has still been fraught with unexpected twists?"

The room fell silent at once. The storyteller, with his silver tongue, spun the tale of yesterday’s spectacle at the Xianyou Temple, weaving in countless speculations and embellishments. He even described the mysterious figure as "ten feet tall, broad as eight men, with a ghastly face, fanged teeth, and wings sprouting from his ribs." He went on to claim that this monstrous being had attempted to abduct the princess consort, only for Wang Yun to draw his sword and engage in three hundred rounds of fierce combat. When the creature found himself outmatched, he leaped back with a thunderous roar:

"Ten days remain before the Kui Prince’s wedding! Let him beware!"

For it was his intention to snatch the princess consort from the heavily guarded palace, under the eyes of all, before the wedding could take place.

The storyteller grew more animated as he spoke. With a dramatic slap of his wooden clapper, he declared:

"Upon hearing this, Wang Yun was so enraged that smoke practically poured from his seven orifices! He swung his sword—only for the blade to strike empty air with a clang. The monstrous figure had vanished into a wisp of green smoke, leaving behind nothing but a black arrowhead on the ground. And engraved upon it were four characters: 'Great Tang’s Kui Prince'—the very same arrowhead that had once pierced Pang Xun’s throat!"

"Bravo!" The moment the storyteller finished, the audience erupted in thunderous applause. Amid the clamor, only Huang Zixiang shook her head silently.

Li Shubai asked coolly, "Not to your liking?"

Huang Zixiang sighed. "I just don’t understand—if he already had wings, why bother turning into smoke? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just fly away?"

"Where’s the drama in that?"

Huang Zixiang recalled how this same storyteller had once claimed, at a roadside pavilion outside Chang’an, that he was the reincarnation of the White Tiger Star. She massaged her temples briefly to steady herself before asking Li Shubai, "Shouldn’t the Capital Prefect do something about people like this?"

"What’s wrong with adding a little excitement to the common folk’s lives?" His expression remained indifferent, not even a flicker in his lashes.

Outside, the storyteller had already moved on to recounting an old case from years past.In the ninth year of the Xiantong era, Pang Xun of Guilin led a mutiny, advancing with two hundred thousand troops to pressure the court, demanding to be appointed as a military governor. When the court refused, he declared himself king, capturing several prefectures and slaughtering officials and civilians alike. At the time, the military governors held their armies in private, leaving the imperial court powerless to mobilize forces from the provinces. Amidst the chaos, the Li-Tang imperial family was at a loss—only Li Shubai traveled to various strongholds to raise troops, mustering a hundred thousand soldiers. Through persuasion and strategic alliances, he united six military governors, forming a solid defense. By the ninth month of the following year, they crushed the rebel forces and executed Pang Xun.

During the battle, as Pang Xun stood atop the city walls, it was Li Shubai who drew his carved bow and shot an arrow straight through his throat. The rebel army collapsed in disarray, and amid the chaos, Pang Xun plummeted from the tower, trampled into a bloody pulp by the soldiers below. Only the arrow, still smeared with flesh and blood, was preserved—placed in a crystal case and displayed in the drum tower of Xuzhou as a warning to future generations.

It was also at that time that Li Shubai received the talisman inscribed with his birth characters. Years passed, and the once teenage boy became the most powerful prince in the realm, yet he remained trapped in that eerie curse, unable to break free.

Last month, rumors spread that the crystal case in Xuzhou’s drum tower remained untouched, but the arrowhead inside had vanished. The Xuzhou government conducted an urgent search but found no trace—until it mysteriously reappeared at Xianyou Temple, coincidentally on the very day Wang Ruo was offering incense, left behind by an unknown figure.

"Ladies and gentlemen, isn’t this an ominous sign? A strange occurrence bordering on the supernatural?" The storyteller struck his gavel, igniting a flurry of discussion among the crowd.

"Could it be Pang Xun’s vengeful spirit, refusing to disperse, seeking revenge on Prince Kui’s wedding day?"

"Nonsense! Only loyal subjects and filial sons leave behind spirits. What kind of spirit could a rebel like him have?"

"Ah, but Pang Xun slaughtered countless people—perhaps he was a demon reborn. Why couldn’t he have a vengeful spirit?"

The conversation quickly devolved into supernatural speculation. Huang Zixiao could only turn her gaze toward Li Shubai, seated across from her.

Without looking up, he asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking… when you shot that arrow at Pang Xun at nineteen, what were you thinking?" She rested her chin in her hand, studying him.

His expression remained unreadable, like a windless lake without a ripple. "You’d be disappointed if you knew."

"Really? Try me."

"I was thinking… what if a sudden gust of wind blew the arrow off course? That would’ve been embarrassing."

"…" Huang Zixiao was speechless.

"Some things aren’t worth knowing," he said, then gestured outside. "Look, the street performers are setting up. Let’s go."

Her stomach growling, Huang Zixiao glanced regretfully at her barely touched meal before reluctantly standing to follow him.

By midday, street performers had begun trickling out—jugglers, plate-spinners, and acrobats balancing on water jars. But the largest crowd had gathered around a sword swallower.

"Swallowing swords is pretty common. What’s so special about this one?" she asked a middle-aged man squeezing his way forward.

His face lit up with anticipation. "This one’s different! The sword is four feet long, but the dwarf swallowing it is only three feet tall!"Huang Zixiao immediately wished she could squeeze in as well. Li Shubai gave her a disdainful glance before turning and walking away. Huang Zixiao had no choice but to follow silently behind him, thinking to herself, This kind of person seems to have nothing in life that interests or delights him. Does he ever feel happy at all?

But in an instant, another thought struck her— What about me? Both her parents were dead, all her relatives lost, and she bore a deep grievance with no clue how to unravel it. Could she ever truly return to being that carefree, lively girl she once was?

Li Shubai walked ahead, noticing an unusual silence behind him—so quiet that he could barely hear her footsteps. He tilted his head slightly to glance back at Huang Zixiao.

She trailed two steps behind him, but her gaze was fixed on a young couple passing by on the street. They held hands with a little girl between them, who skipped along merrily, sometimes deliberately jumping up to hang from her parents’ arms like a little monkey swinging on a vine.

Li Shubai stopped and waited for her.

She stood there, watching the family of three walk away, silent and still. Sunlight fell across her face, casting faint shadows over her expression.

After a long while, when she finally turned back, Li Shubai said slowly, “Let’s go.”

Another crowd gathered ahead—this time for a proper magic show performed by a husband-and-wife duo, both exuding the rough charm of street performers. They stood in the center, first performing a fish-and-dragon illusion, followed by the common trick of turning water into wine. The woman, however, stole the show by transforming paper flowers into real ones. Though her technique was ordinary, the spectacle of dozens of blossoms being tossed into the air and fluttering down was undeniably impressive.

When the performance ended, the audience dispersed, and the couple began packing up. Catching a glance from Li Shubai, Huang Zixiao approached them. “Brother, sister, your magic is truly amazing! It left me in awe!”

The man grinned and bowed slightly. “Just a humble act. Did you enjoy it, young master?”

“Yes, especially that trick—the paper flowers turning into real ones. I know the real flowers must have been hidden in your sleeves, but where did the paper ones go?”

The man chuckled. “Ah, that’s a trade secret. Our livelihood depends on it.”

Huang Zixiao glanced back at Li Shubai, who tossed her a silver ingot. She placed it in the man’s hand and said earnestly, “Brother, to be honest, my master has a bet with someone. Have you heard the rumor in the capital yesterday? They say someone at the Xianyou Temple flicked their sleeve and made a bird vanish from its cage out of thin air.”

The man’s face lit up as he clutched the silver. “I haven’t heard of that, but making a bird disappear from a cage? That’s something I can definitely do. Just say the word.”

“My master has a friend who insists it’s impossible. So my master bet him that within three days, he’d perform the trick himself. So… could you teach him the method?”"That's just a simple trick," he immediately said. "The bird was trained beforehand. Once its master gives a signal, the bird will perch on a specific part of the cage where a mechanism has been set up. With a press of a lever on the cage with the left hand, that part of the mechanism activates, causing the bird to fall. Then, with a sweep of the right sleeve, the bird is swiftly caught and taken away."

"Oh! So that's how it's done." Huang Zixiang's expression showed sudden understanding. She reached out to Li Shubai again, who tossed her another piece of silver. Holding the silver, she asked, "Brother, since you're so knowledgeable about this mechanism, you must have such a cage and bird here?"

"Well, I did have one," the man replied, looking somewhat regretful at the sight of the silver. "But unfortunately, it was bought by someone a few days ago."

The woman beside him couldn't help but interject, "I told you, those five taels of silver weren't worth it. That bird was passed down from our master, trained so well. Even ten taels would have been a pity to sell it for."

Huang Zixiang pressed further, "Was it a mynah bird? Could one be trained in three days?"

The man said regretfully, "No, it wasn't a mynah. Mine was a white bird, extremely beautiful."

"Oh dear, what a shame," Huang Zixiang said, handing the silver to the man. "Do you know who bought it and how I might find them? I'd like to try my luck and see if they'd be willing to sell it to me."

"I really don't know. The person learned the trick and left. I don't even know their name."

"Then, what did they look like? Do you remember, brother?"

"Hmm... a young master in his twenties, slightly above average height, quite handsome and refined... Oh, and he had a vermilion mole on his forehead!"

The woman added, "The mole was right in the center of his forehead, perfectly placed. He was already good-looking, but with that mole, he had an ethereal air about him, like someone out of a painting."

As they made their way to Prince Kui's residence, neither spoke.

Huang Zixiang pondered the twists and turns of the case, still unable to unravel the mysterious threads. When she looked up, she realized Li Shubai had already left her far behind.

She hurried to catch up. The sky had darkened, and lanterns lit up the streets, their red glow stretching along the lanes. Li Shubai turned to look at her under the lantern light. His usually icy countenance was softened by the warm orange glow, his cold and clear features now bathed in a gentle radiance. His gaze, no longer so aloof and sharp, took on a slightly hazy quality.

She hadn't expected him to care so deeply about that person and found herself at a loss for words. Standing beneath the lanterns, she looked up at him, watching as the lights swayed slightly in the wind, casting flickering, restless shadows.

Struggling for words, she finally managed to say after a long pause, "Actually, this is what I think... I originally thought a man who could recite poetry effortlessly and had such a refined demeanor couldn't possibly be a street performer—he must have learned the trick from someone else in secret. That's why I came to ask... But the person who appeared before us that day couldn't possibly be... that person."

"Hmm, he couldn't have any connection to Pang Xun, nor could he have deceived everyone and entered the Immortal's Temple unnoticed."But he could allow others to enter the Xianyou Temple. As this thought occurred simultaneously in both their minds, he added, "Moreover, he has plenty of subordinates who can act on his behalf. Why trouble himself to learn tricks from street performers?"

The street was brightly lit, ablaze with light. Just as they stood silently by the roadside, a carriage slowly approached, escorted by guards and eunuchs clearing the way ahead and behind, dozens of them moving in orderly formation.

They stepped aside to avoid being seen, yet the person in the carriage happened to have the window open and spotted them with a single glance.

The carriage gradually came to a halt, its door opened, and out stepped Prince E, Li Run.

He was a fair-skinned, delicate, refined, and gentle youth, his face always bearing a smile. Those who had seen him remarked that he possessed an ethereal, otherworldly aura—his features were as exquisite as a painting, and right in the center of his forehead grew a vivid vermilion mark, just like a figure from a portrait.