The Golden Hairpin

As the final notes faded, the entire hall remained immersed in lingering resonance, unable to break free. Even Wang Ruo took a long time to exhale deeply.

Dowager Consort Zhao smiled at Empress Wang and asked, "What do you think?"

Only then did Huang Zixiao notice that among all present, Empress Wang alone maintained serene composure. Responding to the question, she said, "It was indeed well played, though I cannot discern its excellence."

Huang Zixiao recalled what others had said—that the Emperor adored extravagant banquets and revelries, while Empress Wang possessed a quiet, indifferent nature with no interest in music or festivities. It seemed true indeed.

Jin Nu set down her pipa and rose to bow before the hall. "My master once said my pipa playing contains endless splendor but lacks tranquil resolution. This must be the limit of my skill in this lifetime."

Empress Wang remarked, "In your youth and beauty, amidst the capital's utmost prosperity, it is fortunate you have yet to comprehend such things."

Dowager Consort Zhao laughed. "The Empress speaks wisely. Without experiencing profound sorrow, how could one understand desolate stillness? So it's better this young girl never knows in her lifetime!"

As Jin Nu bowed again to withdraw, Dowager Consort Zhao added, "Since we have leisure today, tell us of your master. Does she still reside in Yangzhou? With such skill, when might she come to the palace to play for me?"

Jin Nu forced a smile. "My master has already passed away."

Dowager Consort Zhao sighed regretfully. "What a pity. I adore the pipa and once summoned descendants of the Cao family to court, but their lineage has declined. From your tone, your master must have possessed extraordinary skill?"

"She did. My master's pipa playing was unmatched in her time. If Your Highness wishes, I could share an elegant anecdote about her."

Empress Wang showed impatience, turning to whisper to Wang Ruo, "Are you well? Do you need rest?"

Wang Ruo shook her head. "I'd only lie down if I returned. I may as well listen."

Princess Qile interjected sarcastically, "Precisely. It's better the Princess Consort remains where there are many people now, lest—"

She left the implication unspoken, but all understood. Even Dowager Consort Zhao shot her a glance, though fortunately she said no more.

Sitting with her pipa, Jin Nu began her tale: "Sixteen years ago, amidst Yangzhou's prosperity, my master and five sisters jointly established the Yunshao Academy, known as the Six Yunshao Maidens. Later, my master married and bore a daughter. When the late Emperor summoned performers to the capital, the other five answered the call, but my master was confined at home in postpartum recovery."

"At that time, Yangzhou had another performance troupe called Jinli Garden, resentful of Yunshao's reputation as 'Yangzhou's crowning glory.' They specifically gathered thirty-six Persian dancers to challenge Yunshao. Every winter solstice, Jiangdu Palace would open its gates, and crowds of all ages would flood in, linking sleeves in communal dance—Yangzhou's grand annual celebration. Before the dancing began, the city's most renowned troupe would perform the opening piece.""That year, as usual, the dancers from the Yunshao Troupe performed in the grand hall of Jiangdu Palace. Before the first dance had even finished, music suddenly rang out from the opposite pavilion. Among thirty-six foreign dancers, twelve played instruments—some the vertical konghou, others pipes and flutes—while twenty-four danced and sang. The Persian dancers, barefoot in sheer gauze, swayed their enchanting waists. With their golden hair, blue eyes, and spinning like the wind, they exuded an alluring charm unlike any other. Immediately, the crowd surged toward them, clamoring to catch a glimpse of these exotic beauties, throwing the scene into chaos and uproar.

"The Yunshao Troupe dancers panicked, standing frozen on stage, unsure what to do. I was only eight at the time, accompanying my master, whose child had just turned a month old, in the back hall. Hearing the commotion ahead, my master handed the baby to me and stepped to the doorway. There, she saw the crowd pushing and shoving, all flocking toward the other side. The thirty-six foreign dancers played their instruments with feverish intensity, their supple waists undulating as they cast flirtatious glances around, drawing cheers from the audience below. The atmosphere grew electric with excitement. Meanwhile, on our side, it was desolate—only a few spectators remained, packing up to join the other side.

"Seeing this, my master strode to a pipa player, took the instrument from her hands, and sat on a chair beside the hall. Following the rhythm of the dance song, she raised her hands and began to play.

"With just the first note, the clear sound of the pipa reverberated through Jiangdu Palace, startling birds into flight, its echoes rolling through mountains and valleys. After a few measures, the twenty-four Persian dancers lost their footing, their swaying hips unable to keep time. Before half the song had passed, the twelve foreign musicians fell out of tune, their konghou and pipes falling silent. The entire palace was filled with nothing but the crystalline notes of the pipa, like a shower of petals, like scattered pearls. Before the song even ended, snow began to fall on the winter solstice, swirling and dancing with the pipa’s melody, as if earthly dust was being lifted to the heavens, reaching the divine above and blanketing the people below. At that moment, the thousands in Jiangdu Palace stood in hushed silence, listening to that pipa song in the snowfall—not a single person dared to breathe too loudly, lest they disturb the music."

As Jin Nu recounted this, the listeners held their breath in awe. Even Imperial Consort Zhao couldn’t help but clap her hands and exclaim, "Such divine skill!"

Huang Zixiang, too, found herself lost in imagining the scene, her heart stirred with longing, the impact lingering within her.

"Yes, for the rest of my life, I may never hear such a pipa song again," Jin Nu said with a smile, her expression full of yearning. "When that dance song ended, its echoes lingering, my master played another piece. This time, the pipa’s tone was no longer soaring and piercing but bright and fluid, as if urging the limbs of every listener, stirring them to move. The Yunshao Troupe dancers on stage snapped out of their daze and quickly formed their ranks, leading the dance song once more. The entire palace, entranced, linked arms and danced through the snow all night long. After that, a legend spread through Yangzhou: Mei Wanzhi’s pipa could outshine a hundred bewitching dancers."

"I don’t believe it," Princess Qile suddenly interrupted. "How could there be such miraculous pipa playing in this world? You must be lying."

Jin Nu smiled, lowering her gaze to the ground, but said nothing."Perhaps time has softened the memories, making them more beautiful," Empress Wang said lightly, then turned to instruct the senior court lady Changling behind her, "Have the Imperial Music Bureau send a palace pipa and bestow it upon Miss Jinnu."

Jinnu hurriedly bowed in gratitude and added, "This pipa of mine is named 'Autumn Dew Traversing Frost,' a gift from my master back in the day. I've grown so accustomed to it over the years that I fear I can no longer replace it."

Empress Wang then said, "Then have the palace send jade plectrums, pipa strings, and rosin powder—these should be useful."

Jinnu bowed in thanks once more. Consort Zhao waved her hand and said, "Well, now that we've met the Princess of Kui, I should return to rest. The Princess should also take good care to replenish her energy. In a few days, it will be your grand wedding day, and I shall send someone to toast you then."

"Thank you, Consort," Wang Ruo replied with a graceful bow.

Consort Zhao departed with her entourage once again. Changling signaled for Jinnu to leave as well, as the palace gifts would be delivered to her later.

Huang Zixiang also rose with Wang Ruo and accompanied her to the side hall to rest.

As they descended the steps, Princess Qile remarked in a voice just loud enough for Wang Ruo to hear, "Beauty is hardly a rarity. I find this pipa player's looks even more striking than some noble ladies'."

Wang Ruo knew the barb was aimed at her but remained composed. Jinnu, who had been lost in thought, suddenly laughed coldly and said, "Your Highness jests. Beauty is not my claim—my master was the true peerless beauty."

"Your master?" Princess Qile dismissed her with a glance. "In this world, aside from Her Majesty the Empress, who dares claim the title 'peerless'?"

"Your Highness speaks truly," Jinnu replied unperturbed, then turned her crescent-moon eyes to Huang Zixiang with a smile. "Eunuch Yang, do you recall what I told you last time? I know many young ladies who admire the Prince of Kui—several sisters from Yangzhou and the music bureau, for instance. If only you could persuade His Highness to visit the bureau more often."

Huang Zixiang merely nodded with a faint smile, offering no reply.

Only after Jinnu had left did Princess Qile explode in fury. "What... what did she mean by bringing up those music bureau sisters admiring... admiring the Prince of Kui?"

Huang Zixiang remained silent, thinking to herself: If you can compare a pipa player to the Princess of Kui, why can't she compare music bureau sisters to you?

Watching Jinnu's graceful figure retreat into the distance, she felt a fleeting satisfaction but also a twinge of worry for the trouble Jinnu might have courted with Princess Qile.

Wang Ruo retired to the side hall to rest. Huang Zixiang, Suqi, Xianyun, Ranyun, and others sat outside, careful not to disturb her.

Suqi and Lady Changling were examining new floral hair ornament designs. On that spring afternoon, Huang Zixiang, having slept poorly the night before, was dozing off when a golden chime rang out from behind the inner hall's screen, followed by a bird's call—and then Wang Ruo's scream from within.

Huang Zixiang jolted awake. By the time she leapt to her feet, Suqi and Changling had already abandoned the ornaments and rushed inside. She hurried after them, only to find Wang Ruo curled up on the couch, trembling, a lock of her hair severed and lying on the bedding.

Changling pointed at the window in panic. "Over there... I saw the assassin escape through that window!"

Huang Zixiang dashed to the window but found only the empty foundation of the hall behind it—not a soul in sight.She immediately inspected the area beneath the windows and the eaves above, searching for any sign of the assassin hiding there. But no one was found. She was stunned—such a vast space with nowhere to hide within sight. If Changling had seen the assassin scaling the wall, they should not have escaped her line of vision.

Yet, in that brief moment, where could the assassin have gone?

Hesitantly, she turned back to look at Wang Ruo, who sat sideways on the bed, clutching the quilt. The dimming twilight cast half-light upon her face. The loose strand of hair at her temple had come undone, hanging unevenly and refusing to stay in place, casting a faint shadow across her cheek, making her delicate features appear even more subdued.

Empress Wang arrived from the main hall and, upon hearing their account, erupted in fury: "In broad daylight, within the Daming Palace, an assassin dares to intrude and threaten the princess consort! What are the palace guards doing?"

The entire group fell silent, not daring to respond.

"I must seek an audience with His Majesty at once—this is no trivial matter," Empress Wang declared. She strode to the hall's entrance but turned back to sweep her gaze over everyone in the side chamber. "If word of this spreads, the already rampant rumors in the capital will only intensify. By my decree, all palace personnel are strictly forbidden to speak of this outside. Yongqing, go immediately to the Prince's residence and inform Prince Kui to come to the palace without delay."

The chief eunuch of Penglai Hall, Yongqing, hastily complied and rushed out.

After the empress departed, the group gathered to comfort Wang Ruo. Xianyun said gratefully, "Her Majesty is truly considerate. With such devoted care for the princess consort, she will surely ensure her safety."

But Wang Ruo seemed utterly shaken, sitting in stunned silence.

Soon, the emperor's edict arrived: Princess Consort Kui was to reside temporarily in Yongchun Hall of the Daming Palace. A hundred guards from the capital's defense force, led by Right Commandant Wang Yun of the Capital Defense Office, would be stationed there, along with another hundred soldiers from Prince Kui's own household guard—two hundred men in total, rotating day and night to protect Yongchun Hall as a precaution.

"This is wonderful! With two hundred guards here and the three thousand imperial guards already patrolling the Daming Palace day and night, no suspicious person could possibly slip through unnoticed," Ran Yun exclaimed joyfully. Wang Ruo managed a faint smile in response.