The Golden Hairpin

Zhou Ziqin had excellent daily habits, going to bed early and rising early, and today was no exception.

However, after getting up and looking in the mirror, he found his complexion rather ghastly. He sighed, "It's all Chonggu's fault. Yesterday, something so major happened with Prince Kui, and as soon as I heard the news, I rushed to Yongchang Ward to find her—only to discover she wasn't there! What on earth is going on? I've been racking my brains all night, nearly driving myself mad!"

Because he hadn’t slept well, when he opened the door to leave, his body swayed unsteadily, and his eyes were only half-open. But the voice of the person standing under the eaves—calling out "Ziqin"—startled him so much he nearly jumped. "Chong... Chonggu?"

Huang Ziguang stood outside his door, wrapped in a sable cloak. Seeing him pressed rigidly against the door in fright, she asked, "What’s wrong?"

"You, you, you... Usually, when there's something, I'm the one who goes to find you. Why are you coming to me today?" Zhou Ziqin stammered. Then, taking a closer look at her face, his shock deepened. "What’s going on? I thought my complexion was bad enough, but yours is even worse!"

Huang Ziguang didn’t answer. Instead, she cut straight to the point. "I need to talk to you—about Prince Kui."

"I was looking for you yesterday to ask about this very thing! I waited for you until the end of You hour, but you never came back!"

"I had some matters to investigate last night, so I returned late. I was almost stopped and questioned by the night patrol."

Zhou Ziqin ushered her into his family’s reception hall and then hurried to the kitchen to fetch some food, first offering her a bowl of barley porridge.

"I’ve already eaten," Huang Ziguang declined.

"Have a little more. Look at you. Let me tell you, you can’t get anything done on an empty stomach, let alone something this serious."

Hearing this, Huang Ziguang took the bowl he handed her and ate a few spoonfuls.

"Quick, tell me—what happened yesterday? The whole capital is buzzing with the news that on New Year’s Day, Prince Kui killed Prince E! When I heard it, I was stunned. How could that possibly be?" Zhou Ziqin was so agitated he scratched his head and ears, then even clawed at the table, nearly leaving marks on the black-lacquered surface. "Hurry up and tell me!"

Huang Ziguang held the porridge bowl, frowning as she asked, "The whole capital knows?"

"Yes! I heard Prince Kui has been handed over to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and Prince E’s body has been returned to his residence!" Zhou Ziqin was so frantic he couldn’t even eat, words tumbling out of his mouth. "They say over a hundred soldiers from the Divine Strategy Army witnessed it! Prince Kui stabbed Prince E straight through the heart, and while Prince E still had breath, he grabbed Prince Kui’s lapel and screamed to the people rushing over, 'Prince Kui killed me!'"

Huang Ziguang nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Yes. That’s exactly what Prince E said."

Zhou Ziqin truly leaped to his feet, not even noticing the chopsticks clattering onto his instep. "Prince Kui killed someone? Did Prince E slander him, so in a fit of rage, he killed Prince E? That can’t be! Prince Kui has always been so composed—how could he possibly..."

Huang Ziguang set down the porridge bowl and looked up at him. "Sit down and listen to me properly."

"O-okay..." Zhou Ziqin, nearly bursting with impatience, could only obediently sit back down, craning his neck toward her as if he wanted to pluck the words straight from her stomach."Prince Kui was framed," Huang Zixiao considered that Zhou Ziqin would not easily accept the fact that Prince E committed suicide to frame Li Shubai, so to avoid shocking him too much, she only briefly mentioned the most crucial point. "Although the murder weapon was indeed Prince Kui's Fish Intestine Sword."

The utterly stunned Zhou Ziqin finally snapped back to reality. "You mean there's a mole in Prince Kui's household who dared to steal the Fish Intestine Sword to frame him?"

"Exactly, and it must be someone very close to His Highness."

"Jing Yi? Or Jing Heng? I think Jing Xiang got separated in Shu—has he returned?" While Zhou Ziqin was still pondering, Huang Zixiao asked, "Do you remember the mark Di Cui left for us at the end of the alley the last time we met her?"

Zhou Ziqin nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! But I still can't figure out what it meant..."Huang Zixiao took a chopstick, dipped it in the barley porridge, and wrote the character for 'north' on the table, then drew a border on its left and bottom sides."

Zhou Ziqin stared at the symbol and said, "Right, that's exactly it. But what does it mean? Was she telling us she was in the northern part of the city and wanted us to find her?"

Huang Zixiao shook her head and added a dot above the vertical stroke of the ∟ shape with the chopstick.

Zhou Ziqin's jaw dropped wider and wider as he looked at the modified symbol, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Escape!" (Escape)

Huang Zixiao nodded. "Yes, this was the message Di Cui left for us—'escape.' But she knew very few characters, so her writing was irregular, and the dot might have been too small for us to notice, turning it into this strange symbol."

"Then why didn't she just say it?" Zhou Ziqin asked.

"I think there must have been a reason, but we’ll have to find Di Cui to ask her."

Zhou Ziqin frowned thoughtfully. "Wait, Chonggu, Di Cui is just an ordinary commoner, and she’s even a fugitive. How could she have known such a terrible thing was about to happen and warned us in advance?"

"Exactly. The current Emperor even vented his anger on the imperial physicians and their families—how would he spare her, the daughter of the murderer?" Huang Zixiao sighed deeply. "For someone like her to foresee what was coming, to know the situation we’d face, and to leave us a warning—where do you think she got this information?"

Zhou Ziqin pondered, his expression growing increasingly grim. He looked at Huang Zixiao, hesitating for a long time before finally asking in a trembling voice, "Zhang... Second Brother Zhang?"

"Mmm, the only possibility, right?" Huang Zixiao's voice was calm but laced with exhaustion.

Zhou Ziqin was completely stunned. Sitting cross-legged in front of her, his eyes glazed over, his lips twitched several times as if to speak, but no words came out.

"I know... neither of us wants to believe it could be Second Brother Zhang," Huang Zixiao said, her voice wavering slightly, her emotions in turmoil, her breath uneven. "If it’s not him, that would be best. But if it is..."

"How could it possibly be Second Brother Zhang?" Zhou Ziqin interrupted her angrily. "Chonggu, he’s Second Brother Zhang! He—he’s fought alongside us through life and death, he’s saved us more than once! He’s always loved Di Cui deeply... How can you suspect him? How can you suspect our Second Brother Zhang?"Huang Ziyao bit her lower lip, struggling to suppress her rapid breathing. She turned her face away, unable to bear the sight of Zhou Ziqin's nearly tearful expression, and choked out, "Ziqin, Zhang Xingying is also my Zhang Er-ge. I... feel just as devastated as you do."

Seeing her distress, Zhou Ziqin was at a loss for words. Eventually, he managed a quiet reassurance: "At least... at least it's not confirmed yet, right? Maybe Zhang Er-ge isn't..."

Huang Ziyao nodded firmly. The two fell into a long silence, neither knowing what else to say.

Taking deep breaths, Huang Ziyao forced herself to calm down before speaking again: "Ziqin, look at the situation I and Prince Kui are in now. There are almost no trustworthy or reliable people left around us..."

Zhou Ziqin responded in a low but resolute voice, "Don't worry, at the very least, I will always stand by your side!"

"Yes, we truly need your help now," Huang Ziyao nodded, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Given your unique position, you might have the opportunity to examine Prince E's remains. I hope you can uncover any clues that might assist us."

Her words struck Zhou Ziqin like a sudden awakening. He nodded blankly, still visibly shaken: "Alright, if I'm called upon, I'll conduct a thorough examination..."

Before he could finish, someone rushed in from outside, calling, "Young Master, Young Master!"

Zhou Ziqin turned to look, his expression still stiff: "What is it?"

"Liu Zhushi from the Ministry of Justice is here, along with a Eunuch Wu from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. They're requesting your presence at Prince E's residence."

Zhou Ziqin glanced at Huang Ziyao, stunned and dazed by her foresight: "Alright, I'll go immediately."

As he stood to leave, Huang Ziyao said from behind him, "Ziqin, I'm counting on you."

He nodded and hurried out.

"Examining a corpse..."

Zhou Ziqin's reaction took both the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices by surprise. The man whose greatest passion in life was examining corpses had suddenly changed his tune. Sitting cross-legged against a backrest, he wore a troubled expression: "The Ministry of Justice has so many coroners—why come to me?"

"Eh..." Liu Zhushi almost had the urge to check if the sun outside had turned green. "Young Master Zhou, your expertise in autopsy is unparalleled. At the very least, in the capital, if you claim second place, no one dares claim first..."

"Let me be honest with you. I've found a fiancée, and she dislikes my work with corpses. To avoid lifelong bachelorhood, I've even abandoned my position as Chief Constable of Chengdu and returned to seek a more respectable occupation." Zhou Ziqin spoke with such seriousness it almost seemed true.

Liu Zhushi's face fell. "Young Master Zhou, without you, this matter truly can't proceed... The body in question isn't an ordinary person's..."

Zhou Ziqin raised an eyebrow arrogantly: "How many non-ordinary corpses have I examined before? Princess Tongchang, the Wang family's clan daughter, eunuchs from the princess's residence..."

"It's the remains of His Highness Prince E," Liu Zhushi had no choice but to clarify. "You know how our Ministry of Justice's coroners are—clumsy and rough-handed, treating every examination like butchering a pig. But can Prince E's remains be handled like that? Moreover, setting aside the imperial implications, how could those people even be allowed to lay eyes on His Highness's body?"Zhou Ziqin thought to himself, Chonggu was indeed right—they had come to him now. The hot potato had finally been tossed his way.

Knowing they were about to ask him to examine Prince E’s remains, he put on an exaggerated look of shock, widening his eyes and mouth to express both deep mourning and flattered surprise. "What? His Highness Prince E?"

"Indeed. We were wondering if Young Master Zhou..."

"His Highness and I were quite close. His sudden passing has left me utterly heartbroken—" Zhou Ziqin sighed dramatically, then declared he needed to fetch his tools. "In any case, I absolutely cannot allow His Highness’s body to be desecrated. I will take this duty upon myself without hesitation!"

He rushed to his room to pack his kit. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a slender youth standing nearby and asked, "Where’s my toolbox?"

The youth picked up a case beside him and handed it over. "Let’s go."

The moment he heard that voice, he froze. That slightly hoarse, low-pitched tone was unmistakably familiar—it belonged to that person. When he turned to look, however, he was met with the unfamiliar face of a sallow-skinned boy with slightly drooping eyes. Stunned, he blurted, "You... who are you?"

"Yang Chonggu," Huang Zicao replied calmly, straightening the borrowed clothes she wore. "I borrowed these from A’bi. Do they fit well enough?"

Zhou Ziqin’s lips twitched. "Who did your disguise?"

"Myself. Your room is full of random things—I found what I needed." Without waiting for a response, she strode out.

Zhou Ziqin hastily slung the case over his shoulder and hurried after her. "Where are you going?"

"You’re packing your tools, aren’t you? To Prince E’s residence for the autopsy, right?"

He nodded quickly. "Then... you’ll still be my assistant?"

She nodded. "Of course. Same as before, smooth as ever."

"Since when did Young Master Zhou have an assistant?"

As the carriage rolled forward, Officer Liu studied the gloomy-looking boy with drooping eyes, hesitating over whether to allow him near the case.

Zhou Ziqin thumped his chest proudly. "Obviously! I’m now the Chief Constable of Chengdu—do you think someone of my status wouldn’t have an assistant? Besides, Chong—er, Xiao Chong here is incredibly skilled. Though young, he’s already mastered all my techniques!"

The official from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs frowned. "If Young Master Zhou has an assistant, why is he still carrying his own case?"

Zhou Ziqin stiffened, staring at the box in his arms in dismay. "Uh... this..."

"I would carry it for the young master," Huang Zicao said in her raspy voice, "but his case is full of secret techniques. He’s afraid I’ll learn them and steal his title as Chang’an’s top coroner."

The other two found this reasoning sound and nodded thoughtfully, though their gazes toward Zhou Ziqin now carried a hint of disdain.

"Ridiculous! Do you think my skills could be mastered in just twenty or thirty years? What’s a mere case?" Zhou Ziqin protested, secretly giving Huang Zicao a thumbs-up.

Huang Zicao kept her eyes downcast, her expression as lifeless as ever.

The journey wasn’t long, and soon they arrived at Prince E’s residence.Huang Zixiao had visited this place many times before, but today, the Prince E's residence was unlike any of her previous visits. The household was setting up a mourning hall. The people of Prince E's mansion, already weighed down with anxiety during her last visit, now faced the confirmed news of the prince's death with utter despair and helplessness. The sound of wailing filled every corner of the estate.

In a single day, two princely households had suffered devastating blows, and everyone now stood on the brink of ruin.

Lowering her gaze, Huang Zixiao followed Zhou Ziqin straight into the inner hall without glancing sideways.

Prince E's body lay there in silence. She had already examined the corpse once; now, all she needed to confirm was the wound—a task for which, as a woman, she was far less suited than Zhou Ziqin.

Zhou Ziqin pulled on a pair of thin gloves and began inspecting Li Run's body while casually dictating: "Examination—"

Huang Zixiao, who had already prepared brush and ink, swiftly recorded his words on paper.

The deceased Prince E's countenance remains relatively peaceful, with slight muscular contortions. Eyes and lips are closed. The body measures approximately six chi in length, with a lean build and evenly pale skin. A bloody wound at the heart is preliminarily identified as the cause of death. Dressed in gray cotton robes and black silk shoes, the body lies flat and relaxed. Livor mortis appears slightly bluish on the back and joints, fading under pressure, with parchment-like marks beginning to show. Eyes show initial clouding, and oral mucosa shows slight dissolution.

Preliminary estimation of time of death: around the hour of Shen yesterday.

Preliminary cause of death: sharp weapon piercing the heart, leading to fatal damage to cardiac vessels.

Wound characteristics...

At this point, Zhou Ziqin hesitated and fell silent, staring thoughtfully at the wound.

Huang Zixiao held her notebook and looked at the wound. "Well?" she asked.

His gaze shifted to Chief Clerk Liu and Eunuch Wu standing nearby, noting their concerned expressions, then returned to Huang Zixiao. He opened his mouth, his face full of hesitation.

Huang Zixiao dipped her brush fully in the inkstone and looked calmly at him, giving a slight nod.

Only when he saw her expression remain unchanged did Zhou Ziqin speak gravely: "The wound is narrow and elongated, likely caused by a short sword or dagger. The direction... from our perspective, angles slightly downward to the left."

Without changing her expression, Huang Zixiao recorded his exact words verbatim, then set down her brush and gently blew on the ink to dry it.

Chief Clerk Liu stood and approached, looking at the notes. "Is there anything unusual?"

"Chief Clerk Liu, look at this wound, it's..." Just as Zhou Ziqin began speaking, he felt a slight tug on his sleeve. Turning his head slightly, he saw Huang Zixiao beside him. Though she pretended to be tidying the items on the table and only glanced up at him briefly, the worry and gravity in her eyes made him immediately fall silent.

He saw her lips part slightly as she whispered, barely audibly: "Self-preservation first. Don't say too much."

Zhou Ziqin turned these words over in his mind and suddenly understood in an instant.

If even Prince Kui couldn't withstand these forces, how could he possibly speak the truth outright now? The moment this truth left his lips, both he and Huang Zixiao would be signing their death warrants.

So after only a brief hesitation, Zhou Ziqin continued: "Judging from this wound, it must have been made by an extremely sharp blade. Chief Clerk Liu, look—the cut is so clean, so perfect. Have you ever seen anything like this before...?"

Chief Clerk Liu watched as Zhou Ziqin ran his fingers over the bloody wound with the tenderness one might show caressing a blooming flower. A shiver ran down his spine, and he quickly took a step back. "How would I know? You know I handle clerical work at the Ministry of Justice—when would I ever deal with such things?""Indeed, Chief Liu is a scholar, and I've heard his poetry is among the finest in the Ministry of Justice," Zhou Ziqin forced a smile, offering flattery.

Chief Liu shook his head with false modesty: "You flatter me. When your esteemed father served in the ministry, I barely ranked second in poetic skill."

Zhou Ziqin felt his hands tremble slightly and quickly feigned excitement, gesturing for Huang Zixia to present the autopsy report. "Chief Liu, do you have any doubts about these findings?"

After reviewing the document—which matched Zhou Ziqin's account word for word—Chief Liu praised the "excellent calligraphy" and motioned for Zhou Ziqin to sign first. He then added his signature on the right, followed by the official from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs who countersigned beside them.

After handing the copied report to Chief Liu, Huang Zixia returned the original to the case box. Zhou Ziqin shouldered the box once more as they departed Prince E's residence.

Being well-acquainted with the Ministry staff, the coachman seeing them home even pressed a handful of chestnuts into Zhou Ziqin's hands, asking, "Young Master Zhou, how fares your honorable father in Shu? When might he visit his old colleagues at the Ministry? Everyone misses him dearly."

"Oh, he... he's only just arrived in Shu and is overwhelmed with work. It may be some time," Zhou Ziqin replied, ducking into the carriage as if fleeing the cold wind.

When Huang Zixia entered the carriage, she found him sitting stiffly on the low stool, lost in thought.

"Ziqin," she called.

With a start, his hands jerked, scattering chestnuts across the carriage floor. Meeting his gaze, she knelt to gather them one by one. In the cramped space, she noticed his hands still shaking violently.

She opened his palm and replaced the chestnuts.

After listening intently for any eavesdroppers outside, Zhou Ziqin whispered urgently, "What's happening? Why... why would Prince E take his own life?"

Nodding, she replied, "That's why I withheld details earlier. This matter is unspeakable, but I knew you'd understand at a glance."

"Nonsense! The wound angles slightly left—that leaves only two possibilities: either the killer was left-handed, or the prince stabbed himself with his right hand!"

Calmly, Huang Zixia countered, "There's a third option: someone could have embraced Prince E from behind, reaching around with their right hand to strike."

"True, that would also create a left-leaning wound. But Prince E still cried 'Prince Kui killed me!' to the arriving crowd—meaning he had strength to struggle! Had someone restrained him, there'd be defensive wounds from resisting. Yet Prince E's body shows no such marks, ruling that out!"

As his agitated voice rose, Huang Zixia pressed a finger to her lips.

Biting his tongue, Zhou Ziqin fell silent, eyes wide with unspoken questions. But Huang Zixia merely leaned against the carriage wall and closed her eyes.

The frantic Zhou Ziqin leaped from the carriage the moment they reached his residence and dashed inside.Huang Zizang followed him to the backyard. He slammed the door shut, firmly bolted it, then grabbed her sleeve urgently and asked, "Tell me quickly! Why did Prince E commit suicide? Why did Prince Kui become the murderer? Why did Prince E still tell everyone before his death that it was Prince Kui who killed him?"

Huang Zixiao brushed his hand aside and sat before the mirror in his room. As she washed off the disguise from her face with water, she recounted the events of the previous day in detail, then asked, "What do you think could drive Prince E to disregard his own life, willing to die just to ruin Prince Kui and push him into utter despair?"

Zhou Ziqin sat dumbfounded before her, his face ashen. After a long silence, he finally parted his lips and asked, "Soul-stealing sorcery?"

Huang Zixiao nodded but said nothing.

"But... soul-stealing sorcery can't be cast out of thin air, can it? Without reason, how could Prince E suddenly hate Prince Kui enough to trade his life for his ruin? Besides, wasn't it said that Prince E hadn't left his residence for months? Who could have cast the spell on him?"

"And how did he vanish into thin air after jumping from Xiangluan Pavilion..." Huang Zixiao closed her eyes, shaking her head softly. "This case... it's so terrifying, so bizarre. Right now... I truly don't know how to take the next step..."

Zhou Ziqin was equally at a loss, his mind consumed by the horrifying case. He stared blankly at Huang Zixiao, as if seeing behind her a massive whirlpool slowly churning. Like the maw of a monstrous beast, blood and darkness seeped from it, countless thorny vines creeping forth. Before she could even realize it, she was already tightly bound, inch by inch dragged into its depths, unable to escape.

Cold sweat dripped from Zhou Ziqin's forehead. He stood up involuntarily, calling out to her in a trembling voice, "Chonggu..."

She finished washing her hands and turned to look at him.

"Run... let's run away..." he stammered.

Huang Zixiao lowered her gaze, staring at the droplets of water lingering on her hands, thinking of the single word "escape" that Dici had left for them. At this moment, even someone as carefree as Zhou Ziqin understood—faced with such terrifying power, the only way out was to flee.

But she closed her eyes and slowly, painfully shook her head.

"Ziqin, thank you. But if I run, what will happen to Prince Kui? Hiding in the shadows, barely clinging to life—that's not the life I want."

When her loved ones had died and she was framed as the murderer, she had chosen to head north to Chang'an, risking everything for a sliver of hope, rather than accept such a fate.

And now, she made the same choice.

"What I want is to live under the sun with the one I love, to walk hand in hand, going wherever we please. If I can't have that life... then even if I die, what is there to regret?"

Zhou Ziqin looked at the unwavering resolve on her pale face and felt his chest tighten. He couldn't speak, only nodding firmly.

She, too, was overwhelmed with emotion, unable to speak for a long while. Silently, she held his gaze for a moment before retreating inside to change back into her own clothes. She draped the sable cloak she had removed earlier over her shoulders and prepared to leave.

He escorted her to the courtyard, watching as she passed through the gates and disappeared. The howling winter wind outside made her tighten the cloak around her. Even wrapped in such thick fur, her figure remained slender and graceful, like a fragile aster swaying yet blooming defiantly in the biting wind, unafraid.

Staring blankly at her retreating figure, he suddenly understood in his heart—she was Huang Zixiao, not Yang Chonggu.She was a young girl, a woman with well-proportioned limbs, a lovely face, and delicate beauty from the tips of her hair to her fingertips—Huang Zixiao.

He would never again have that little eunuch Yang Chonggu, the one he could call brother.

Was it regret, or joy? No one could tell.