The Golden Hairpin

At the Zhou residence in Chongren Lane, Huang Zixiang went to knock on the door. The gatekeeper answered and came out.

"Uncle, could you please inform your young master that someone surnamed Yang is here to see him?"

The gatekeeper hurried off, while others invited Huang Zixiang to sit and served her tea. She sipped the tea and listened to their conversation.

"Have all the belongings been packed?"

"Yes, with only one month left before the master's scheduled departure from the capital, everything must be properly prepared."

"But the young master doesn't seem very cheerful lately."

"Indeed. Earlier, when the emperor appointed him as the constable of Sichuan, he was overjoyed and excited. Why has he suddenly become so withdrawn, staying in his room all the time?"

As they were talking, the young master they mentioned, Zhou Ziqin, who had been quiet for a long time, came running out excitedly: "Chonggu, you're finally here!"

"Young master!" The gatekeepers quickly stood up to greet him.

"Go about your business," Zhou Ziqin waved them off casually, grabbing Huang Zixiang's hand eagerly. "Is there any new progress in the case? Is there? Is there?"

Huang Zixiang shook her head and said, "I just came to discuss it with you."

"Come in, come in." He pulled her inside eagerly. "I heard that because the weather is getting hotter, the corpse is becoming too unbearable, and even storing it in an ice cellar can't prevent it from starting to rot. So the empress has personally decreed that the Wang family should proceed with the funeral in three days, without waiting for the seventh-day mourning period."

"Hmm." Huang Zixiang sat down with him inside and said quietly, "So it's best if we uncover the truth within these three days. Once the body is buried, investigating will become even more difficult."

"So, there's still no clue about those beggars who died because of me..." Zhou Ziqin said dejectedly. "But how can such a complicated case be solved in three days? Even if the Huang Zixiang I admire most were here, she might not be able to crack this case..."

The corner of Huang Zixiang's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She coughed lightly and said, "However, Prince Kui said that if we really can't uncover the truth in three days, we'll have to reveal first that the corpse isn't Wang Ruo. As long as the coffin isn't sealed, the case won't be closed, and we can still buy time to continue investigating."

"Investigate... how? Where do we start? What's the first clue? I have no idea..." Zhou Ziqin grabbed his hair in frustration and slumped onto the table. "Ah... if only Huang Zixiang were here now. She'd definitely find the most valuable lead quickly..."

Huang Zixiang felt her lips twitching again. With great effort, she controlled her expression and tapped the corner of the table lightly. "Alright, Prince Kui and I have already reviewed the case and identified a direction we urgently need to pursue."

"What direction?" Zhou Ziqin looked up.

"Jing Yi has gone to Xuzhou to investigate the disappearance of Pang Xun's arrowhead. If we can find out why the arrowhead Prince Kui used to kill Pang Xun ended up in Xianyou Temple, it might become a crucial clue in this case." As she spoke, she took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table. "And this is the lead I'll be following.""Silver ingot? And only half of one?" Zhou Ziqin held the silver ingot, turning it over to examine the inscription. "Are you short on money? I can lend you some!"

Huang Zixu gave him a look of exasperation and pointed to the characters on the back. "Look at this."

"Deputy Envoy Liang Weidong... Treasury Commissioner Zhang Junyi, cast silver two taels." He read aloud, puzzled. "What's the issue here?"

"But in all the treasury records of silver ingots cast over the years, neither of these names appears."

"Privately cast? Or counterfeit?"

"If privately cast, they would stamp the owner's name—why impersonate the treasury? And it's not counterfeit—this is definitely real silver." Huang Zixu pinched the ingot, looking at him seriously. "Most importantly, this half-ingot was found by Prince Kui and me in the Eastern Pavilion when Wang Ruo disappeared. At the time, it was placed on the table, covered by an overturned teacup. Prince Kui discovered it while drinking tea."

Zhou Ziqin grinned. "Prince Kui truly is one of us—able to drink tea so leisurely beside a corpse oozing pus and blood. He’s clearly seen it all."

"That was before the female corpse appeared. Wang Ruo had only just vanished." Huang Zixu couldn’t help but remind him.

Zhou Ziqin brushed off the details, cradling the silver ingot in his hands. "So, where do we go next, according to your thinking?"

"Of course, we go to the Ministry of Personnel to check the historical records of officials and see if these two names appear in the archives."

The clerk on duty at the Ministry of Personnel that day held the slip Huang Zixu handed him, staring at the names "Liang Weidong, Zhang Junyi" with a face so bitter it might as well have been dripping with wormwood juice. "Gentlemen, I suggest you don’t hold your breath. If you find anything within ten days to half a month, consider yourselves lucky."

"Ten days to half a month?" Zhou Ziqin was stunned. "It’ll take that long?"

The clerk gestured toward a two-story, seven-room building ahead. "See that? That’s where the historical records of officials are stored. From the founding of this dynasty to now, though some records have been lost, what remains fills this much space—and that’s just the first row of archives. Because it wasn’t enough, three more identical rows were built behind it."

"..." The two stood there, realizing the task was indeed hopeless.

"What do we do? How can we quickly sift through all this to find the people we’re looking for?" Zhou Ziqin asked.

Huang Zixu thought for a moment, then walked up to the clerk. "Could you help us look up the official records of Xuzhou over the past ten years?"

"Xuzhou? Local official records like that probably aren’t too extensive." The clerk summoned a minor official, who led them to the fourth room in the second row and opened the door. "These are the historical records of Xuzhou officials."

Zhou Ziqin gaped at the rows upon rows of shelves inside, packed so tightly there was barely room to walk between them. He murmured, "Still feels... like a monumental task..."

"Thank you. I’ll start looking." Huang Zixu tossed the words over her shoulder as she stepped into the room.

Zhou Ziqin watched her head straight for the records from the ninth year of Xiantong, pulling down the thick stack of documents from the early Dazhong era and flipping rapidly to the section on officials appointed by Pang Xun and the court’s subsequent actions.The room was dim, with dust motes dancing gently in the slanting sunlight from the window. Zhou Ziqin turned to look at her. The yellow powder on her face was softened by the light, appearing flawless as jade amidst the dust. Her long, thick lashes, like butterfly wings, rested over eyes as clear as spring dew.

For a moment, he was stunned, thinking to himself, Yang Chonggu must have been castrated at a very young age—otherwise, how could he be so delicate, with a softness that seemed to emanate from his very bones? Over the years, he had seen many eunuchs as delicate as beautiful women, but based on his study of human skeletons, he felt there was something distinctly different about Yang Chonggu. He studied the rounded chin, the slender neck, the delicate shoulders, and thought, if one day Yang Chonggu were reduced to just a skeleton, he would surely mistake the remains for a woman’s.

No wonder the rumors in the capital claimed Yang Chonggu was the new favorite by Prince Kui’s side, sharing his carriage when they went out and his chambers when they returned...

Then, he quickly forced himself to stop imagining anything between this young eunuch and Prince Kui, hastily picking up the stack of records from the Dazhong era and flipping through them.

The room fell silent, save for the rustling of pages. In the quiet, Zhou Ziqin couldn’t help but glance at Huang Zitao again. Her fingers skimmed swiftly to the right, scanning names and entries at a glance, until they finally stopped at one spot. She read the surrounding lines, exhaled softly, and handed the book to him, saying, "Look."

Zhou Ziqin leaned in and saw the following entry:

The inner treasury established by Pang Xun appointed false officials: one chief treasurer, Zhang Junyi, and five deputy treasurers—Lu Yuxin, Deng Yunxi, Liang Weidong, Song Kuo, and Ni Chufa. Prince Kui dismissed them all, melting down all privately minted gold and silver ingots and returning them to the inner treasury.

Huang Zitao looked up at him and said, "It seems those silver ingots were privately minted when Pang Xun attempted to declare himself king."

Zhou Ziqin slapped the book, ignoring the cloud of dust he stirred up, and exclaimed in shock and delight, "So this is another scheme by Pang Xun’s remnants!"

"But even if they are Pang Xun’s remnants, why leave behind silver ingots of all things?"

"Could it be a bribe to spare their lives?" Zhou Ziqin mused, stroking his chin. "But how could a princess consort be worth only ten taels of silver?"

Huang Zitao ignored him, borrowing paper and brush to copy the passage. "Regardless, it’s still a lead. We should report back to His Highness first."

As they left the Ministry of Personnel together, the sun was nearing its zenith. Zhou Ziqin rubbed his stomach and said, "Ah, I’m starving! Chonggu, let me treat you to a meal!"

Huang Zitao hesitated slightly. "I should report to His Highness as soon as possible...""The prince holds multiple positions and is extremely busy every day. It's not even time to leave the office yet—how could he possibly be waiting for you at his residence?" Zhou Ziqin said, grabbing her hand without hesitation and pulling her toward the West Market. "Come on, come on! I know this amazing restaurant where the owner makes the most delicious beef! Do you know why? Because he cuts the beef strictly against the grain, meticulously slicing it crosswise—that's why the flavor comes out so rich when it's cooked! Speaking of meat, I think butchering livestock is just like killing people—the way you wield the knife matters a lot. If you cut across the muscle fibers, the wound will split open like a begonia flower, but if you slice along the grain, the wound will be smooth, and the blood will flow cleanly without splattering everywhere..."

"Whether blood splatters or not mainly depends on whether you hit the meridians," Huang Zixia interrupted, adding, "If you mention flesh, blood, or bones even one more time, I'm not eating."

"What about internal organs?"

Huang Zixia immediately turned to leave, but Zhou Ziqin quickly grabbed her shoulders and turned her back, saying, "Alright, alright! I swear I won't mention them!"