The Golden Hairpin

"The only thing I don't understand is why you brought your own hairpin when you went to see Yunniang. You shouldn't have taken it with you—that's what caused the confusion at the time."

"I... I didn't mean to kill Yunniang. When I caught up with her on the mountain path, I only wanted to beg her to share A'cheng with me, even if... even if I had to be the lesser wife..." Xinniang's voice was hoarse. "I brought my hairpin, thinking we could be the same—we grew up together, had the same dowry. So if she couldn't bear to give him up, then marrying the same man would have been fine, wouldn't it..."

The woman in green let out a long sigh and said softly, "No, it wouldn't."

Xinniang clutched her chest, her breath ragged with pain, but her sobs gradually stilled. The golden hairpin in her hand had already pierced her heart.

"You're right... it wouldn't. She... refused me outright. We struggled, and I didn't know the mountain path had been weakened by the rain... She lost her footing and..."

The constables rushed forward to pull her hands away, but with her heart pierced, her fate was all but sealed. Xinniang stared at the woman in green, as if she still wanted to ask something, but in the end, she collapsed.

Two corpses, one scene of chaos. The couple, carried side by side by the constables, lay head to head, shoulder to shoulder—if not for their wounds, they might have seemed like they were embracing.

The woman in green sighed softly, took the child's hand, and turned to leave.

Xuanzhan still held the lantern in his hand, the stub of the candle nearly burnt out. In the flickering light, he glanced back at the crowd beneath the willow tree in the snow and suddenly remembered something. "Mother," he asked urgently, "there's one more question you haven't answered."

She looked down at him and blinked.

"You said her husband killed himself, but there was no weapon by the body. How did he do it?"

"If the weapon had been there, wouldn't it have been obvious it was suicide? Of course he hid it."

Xuanzhan tugged at her hand. "Where? I didn't see it."

"Of course you didn't. Don't you remember? Xinniang said she and her husband had been setting off lanterns under the tree, but when we arrived, it was dark. Where were the lanterns?"

"Where?" Xuanzhan frowned in thought, then followed her gaze upward as she looked at the sky.

Amid the falling snowflakes, tiny points of light flickered faintly in the sky. They were sky lanterns, released by people, drifting toward the unreachable heavens.

"He was a jeweler. Crafting a thin, lightweight blade would have been effortless for him."

Listening to his mother's words, Xuanzhan widened his eyes, staring blankly at the fading lights.

The falling snow and the ascending lanterns were suddenly blocked by an umbrella. He looked up to see his father's smiling face gazing down at him.

His mother, smiling, took the large umbrella from his father and held it high.

His father lifted him up and gently warmed his icy little hands with his breath.

The family walked toward the brightest lights. Nestled in his father's arms, Xuanzhan murmured, "Father, I want to tattle on Mother—she meddled in other people's business again."

"Hmm, that's fine. Wherever there's a murder, she'll be there. That's how I found you both so easily."

"Father, Mother was amazing today. She solved two murder cases in no time—one from today, and one from years ago."

"She's always been this amazing. Didn't you know, Xuanzhan?""Dad, I'm really amazing too. I recognized the plum blossom seal script you taught me at first glance. So if it weren't for me, today's case wouldn't have been solved!"

"Oh? It seems Xuanzhan is more capable than your mother. Your mother was already twelve when she became famous, but you're only eight."

"That's right! In the future, the whole world will know one name—Li Xuanzhan!"

Extra Chapter: Sunlight Shadows (1)

(1) Dragonflies Alight on Jade Hairpins

Wang Shao entered Prince Yun's mansion on a spring afternoon when rain threatened to fall.

The oppressive, humid air foretold an approaching storm. Wang Lin asked if she needed a personal maid, but she refused. She had long prepared to face her uncertain future alone and didn't need another person knowing her secrets.

Prince Yun's mansion already had four concubines—she would be the fifth.

Among the four concubines, three wore soft, warm hues like apricot, amber, and calamus green. Only one stood out in bright tangerine, strikingly vivid against the others.

Beyond the jade railings, pomegranate flowers bloomed profusely, their fiery red seeming to burn in such weather. The woman in orange stood beneath the trees, as vivid as the blossoms.

Wang Shao bowed to them, thinking to herself—this must be Guo Wan. The famous beauty of Chang'an, with her dazzling youthful looks at the prime of twenty, the concubine who had stayed by Prince Yun's side the longest.

Wang Shao smiled, standing before them with an air of pure docility, allowing Prince Yun to take her hand. Guo Wan, who had illuminated the prince's mansion for years, became yesterday's faded flower the moment Wang Shao appeared.

The long-pent rain finally began to fall. The first drop landed on Guo Wan's cheek as her pupils contracted like a cat's watching its prey.

That instinctive wariness when a woman recognizes a rival.

"That Lady Guo... she's been with Prince Yun for a long time, hasn't she?" Wang Shao asked casually while removing her makeup that evening.

Yong Ling, combing her hair, answered unhurriedly: "Yes, among all the concubines in the mansion, she was the first to be established. Moreover, she grew up with Prince Yun in the palace since childhood and followed him when he left the palace. Their bond remains deep."

"My sister... Lady Wang, when she first married here, I heard she also lived in these quarters?" Wang Shao rose, her long hair loose, and walked to the courtyard to gaze at the small flowing pond.

Yong Ling nodded: "Yes. The prince values you greatly, madam, arranging for you to stay here—a position above all others."

Wang Shao tilted her head slightly, her veiled eyes watching the slow-moving water in the courtyard as she said softly: "I dare not claim such honor. After all, I arrived later and should humbly rank behind the other four ladies. Staying here fills me with shame."