The Golden Hairpin

She had no idea how much time had passed when she turned her head and saw Li Shubai watching her through the window. She couldn’t tell how long he had been standing there, but when their eyes met, he slightly lifted his chin, signaling for her to come inside.

Huang Zixiao quickly tucked away her fan and entered the Jingyu Hall.

The room was quiet, the fragrance of tea already dissipated. Jingyou had lit some ice-dust incense, bringing a refreshing coolness to the small window.

Li Shubai gestured to the chair opposite him, and Huang Zixiao sat down. Through the window, they watched as Jingyou left the courtyard. Without preamble, Huang Zixiao said, "It seems we must resolve this case within three days. Otherwise, once the body leaves the capital for burial, we’ll lose a crucial piece of evidence."

Li Shubai nodded slowly. "Go ahead and investigate as you see fit. If you truly can’t manage, leave it to me. In any case, we can’t let the body be buried."

Huang Zixiao acknowledged his words, then added, "Chen Nianniang came to see me this morning. If nothing unexpected happens, solving the case within three days shouldn’t be a problem."

Li Shubai let out a faint "Oh," his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her. "Is that so? What did Chen Nianniang say today that made such rapid progress possible?"

"First, I suspect the body—" She instinctively reached up to touch the hairpin in her hair. Li Shubai watched from across the table as her hand hovered near her temple before slowly lowering, her expression one of helpless resignation.

The corner of his lips curved almost imperceptibly. He pulled out a slender brocade box from a drawer, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward her with two fingers.

Huang Zixiao looked at him in confusion. "What is this?"

"Take a look," he said.

"Is it related to the case?" she asked as she picked it up.

Li Shubai tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the small red fish swimming leisurely in the glass bowl on the table. His tone was indifferent, almost impatient. "You could say so. It’s to make your investigation easier."

Huang Zixiao opened the box. Nestled in the silk lining was a hairpin. Puzzled, she picked it up to examine it. The pin was about five inches long, with a silver shaft and a jade-carved scroll-leaf pattern at the tip. Aside from its exquisite craftsmanship, it seemed perfectly suited for someone of her station—a young eunuch in the prince’s household.

But as soon as she held it, she noticed its unusual weight. Upon closer inspection, she immediately discovered its secret. Pressing the lowest scroll of the leaf pattern, she heard a soft click—the outer silver casing detached, revealing a slender white jade pin inside, cool and smooth to the touch, its luster subtle yet refined.

She looked up at Li Shubai, hesitating for a long moment before asking, "Is this... for me?"

Li Shubai gave a noncommittal hum, still not meeting her eyes, his voice calm and detached. "You keep reaching for your hairpin but never dare to pull it out. It’s annoying. Besides, if your hair comes loose, it’ll be easier to discover you’re a woman. That would complicate things."

Huang Zixiao, however, seemed unaffected by his cold words or his claim of finding her bothersome. She closed the box and looked at him earnestly. "Thank you, Your Highness. This is exactly what I need right now."

Seeing her about to put the box away, he said, "I’m not sure if the craftsman understood my instructions. You should test whether it’s convenient for daily use."

"I already did. It works perfectly. The craftsman did an excellent job."

Noting her oblivious expression, he could only remind her flatly, "How would you know if you haven’t tried it?""Oh..." Only then did she realize. Since she usually didn't like wearing veiled hats when going out and simply tied her hair in a bun, she pressed down on her hair and first inserted the hairpin Li Shubai had given her, then removed the original one inside—her hairstyle remained perfectly intact.

She then raised her hand to pinch the head of the hairpin, sliding her fingers along the hollow grass pattern before pressing and twisting at the coiled design. The inner jade pin came out while the outer silver pin remained, leaving her hairstyle completely undisturbed.

"Very practical, truly excellent," Huang Zixiang praised. She then raised both hands to feel for the opening of the silver pin and reinserted the jade pin. A soft click sounded as it locked into place.

Huang Zixiang was delighted. Without caring that her sleeves had slipped down, fully revealing her fair wrists as she raised her hands, she simply stroked the hairpin on her head and smiled at Li Shubai: "Thank you, Your Highness! Now I can analyze cases anytime, anywhere."

"You'd better break that bad habit," he said.

Ignoring him, Huang Zixiang pulled out the jade pin again and said, "Based on what Chen Nianniang said, I think two crucial new points have emerged in this case."

"Oh?" Li Shubai poured her a cup of tea and pushed it toward her.

Preoccupied with the case, Huang Zixiang didn't even notice. She took it and drank it all in one gulp before placing the hairpin on the table and staring intently at him. "The female corpse that appeared in Yongchun Hall wasn't Wang Ruo."

"Hmm, you already mentioned doubts about that last time."

"But now it's confirmed—the deceased was likely Jinnu. Your Highness must have seen her too—that pipa courtesan who was quite close to Prince Zhao!"

"Are you certain?"

"Almost certain. I couldn't understand before why there was a thin callus on the corpse's right palm below the little finger—what activity could have caused frequent friction there. Now I realize it's from holding a pipa plectrum, where the tail of the plectrum rests against that part of the palm. Over years of playing, the constant friction formed a thin callus."

"That makes sense, but there are countless pipa players in the world. How can you be sure it's Jinnu?"

"Because Jinnu has disappeared, and the time of her disappearance coincides with when the corpse appeared in Yongchun Hall."

Li Shubai nodded slightly. "Is there any more irrefutable evidence?"

"Yes." Huang Zixiang used the hairpin to draw an arrow on the paper, then wrote "Chongrenfang" beside it. "On the very night Jinnu disappeared, the food Zhou Ziqin took from Zhui Jin Lou poisoned several beggars."

Zhou Ziqin had come specifically about this matter, so Li Shubai remembered it clearly. He nodded slightly. "That time, I recall you said Jinnu was present too."

"Right. The food Zhou Ziqin and I gave the beggars were leftovers from our meal. No one at the banquet fell ill, and we delivered the food directly to the beggars, watching them eat it immediately. There were only two possibilities: either the lotus leaves we used to wrap the food were tainted. But Zhou Ziqin said the sap of the poison arrow tree is extremely potent—even contact with its leaves would turn them black. The lotus leaves we used were freshly washed and all green and tender, making it impossible for poison to have been applied."Li Shubai nodded and said, "The other possibility is that there was poison on your hands at the time."

"Exactly. There were three people involved in handling it. I was unharmed, Zhou Ziqin was also fine, so the only possibility is that the poison came from Jinnu's hands." Huang Zixiao sighed. "She was usually meticulous and composed, yet that day she complained about her hand being pricked by a cherry stem—in reality, it must have been the poison from the Antiaris toxicaria sap taking effect, causing numbness and itching in her hands. Otherwise, no matter how well she cared for her hands or how delicate her skin was, how could she have been pricked by a mere cherry stem?"

"Are you saying the Antiaris toxicaria sap can seep through the skin and kill?"

"Supposedly not. That's why there's one thing I still don't understand—when exactly Jinnu was poisoned. There were no wounds on her hands, and the poison doesn't seem to have entered through her mouth. Besides, she was with us all evening and only showed symptoms when she was about to leave. Given the lethal nature of Antiaris toxicaria, which acts instantly upon contact with blood, it's impossible for someone to have poisoned her right in front of us. So how and when she was poisoned—I still haven't figured that out."

"But at the very least, the body type matches, the hand characteristics match, and the manner of death matches. It should be conclusive." Li Shubai nodded, setting aside the question before asking, "What about the second point you mentioned?"

Huang Zixiao used a jade hairpin to draw a second arrow on the paper, pointing to the words "Xuzhou": "Just as Your Highness previously speculated, this matter might indeed be connected to the two girls you rescued in Xuzhou."

"Oh?" This time, Li Shubai showed genuine surprise.

"That's why Chen Nianniang and I are waiting for someone to arrive in the capital. Once she's here, this case should be easily resolved."

"Who?"

"Cheng Xuese—the girl surnamed Cheng whom you rescued in Xuzhou. I'm waiting for her to bring a painting. I believe she will be the most compelling evidence in this case."

Her expression was grave, her tone resolute, as if she already had everything under control.

Li Shubai sat in the Jingyu Hall, his gaze lifting slightly to rest on Huang Zixiao before him. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, illuminating her figure. For a moment, she seemed radiant, as if her brilliance could pierce through all the hidden filth and darkness in the world.

He slowly leaned back in his chair, exhaling deeply before saying, "Good. I hope the bet I placed on you will prove satisfactory."

"I will not disappoint Your Highness." After all, the overturning of her family's bloody case depended on the man before her, so Huang Zixiao quickly pledged her loyalty.

Unfortunately, her loyalty seemed to hold little weight with Li Shubai, who merely asked, "Where do you plan to start next?"

"Break through from Jinnu's side. While it's still early, I'll investigate her residence in the outer music academy to see if there are any clues."

"Under what pretext will you conduct the search?"

After a brief pause, Huang Zixiao replied, "I'll say I'm a eunuch from a certain prince's household, sent to retrieve an important item my lord entrusted to Jinnu."

Li Shubai said coldly, "Do not use the Prince of Kui's insignia."Huang Ziyao stood up and bowed to take her leave. "Rest assured, Your Highness. As soon as I mention a certain prince's residence, everyone will naturally assume it's Prince Zhao's."

"Hmph." Li Shubai watched as she was already retreating, then asked, "Not staying for dinner?"

"No need. If I delay any longer, I might run into the curfew on my way back." As she spoke, she paused and turned back, adding, "To avoid using the residence's official seal, I request some investigation funds—plus twenty coppers."

Li Shubai was puzzled. "What are the twenty coppers for?"

"Hiring a carriage back to the residence tonight."

Li Shubai gave her a complicated look. "How have you fallen into such dire straits?"

"Because the low-ranking eunuch Yang Chonggu, after following Your Highness, has been left penniless and destitute," she declared without a trace of shame.

"Why not ask Jing Yu to advance you some funds from the treasury?"

"By the time the approval comes through, it'll probably be next month. By then, my salary will have arrived too—distant water can't quench present thirst!"

Li Shubai raised an eyebrow slightly, his perpetually unflappable face finally betraying a mix of exasperation and resignation. He pulled open a drawer, took out a purse, and tossed it to her.

"Many thanks, Your Highness!" Huang Ziyao caught it deftly and immediately dashed off.