The Golden Hairpin

The next day dawned clear and bright, the early summer sky a dazzling azure, vast and high.

When Huang Zixiang arrived at the stables as agreed to meet Li Shubai, he was already astride a powerful black horse, trotting in small circles to warm up.

Standing by the wall, she watched him. He wore a gray-purple robe of delicate silk, its surface subtly woven with dark blue and purple pearl patterns that shimmered when the light caught them. Against the hazy blue sky, he appeared distant and ethereal.

Noticing her arrival, he gathered the reins and gestured toward the stables with his riding crop. "Pick one."

Huang Zixiang glanced around and untied the white horse she had ridden before, swinging herself into the saddle. The last time she had gone to find Zhou Ziqin, she had taken another horse, leaving this white one behind. Gentle and obedient, with a swift gait, it had followed her steadily all the way to the Zhou residence without a single misstep—truly a horse after her own heart.

Li Shubai seemed to approve of her choice. As they rode out together, he remarked, "This horse is a good one. I used to ride it often—its name is Nafusha."

"An odd name," Huang Zixiang said.

"They say 'Nafusha' means 'noble and gentle' in Dayuan. It’s always been very obedient, but that also makes it easy to approach and tame—so much so that it sometimes forgets who it truly belongs to." Li Shubai frowned slightly, as if recalling some distant memory, but then patted the proud and spirited black horse beneath him. "Compared to this one, Di’e is much better."

"Di’e?"

"In Dayuan, it means 'daylight,' though given its temperament, 'Di’e'—'cleansing evil'—fits just as well." Keeping half a horse’s length between them, they rode up the steps and out of the estate. Without asking their destination, Huang Zixiang simply followed him westward.

"Di’e has a far worse temper. When I first tamed it, it took three days and four nights. By dawn on the fourth night, it finally couldn’t take it anymore and bent its forelegs to me." Li Shubai spoke as if it were nothing. "No one else in this world can ride it."

Huang Zixiang studied Di’e, considering whether she might be able to mount it. But the horse’s long-lashed eyes flicked sideways, and its right hind hoof lashed out with startling precision, striking Nafusha squarely in the flank. With a pained whinny, Nafusha bolted forward, nearly unseating Huang Zixiang. Furious, she kicked Di’e hard in return.

The black horse, enraged by the blow to its neck, was about to erupt when Li Shubai tightened the reins. To her surprise, Di’e immediately settled, though it still snorted angrily, clearly aggrieved.

Watching Di’e’s sulky expression, Huang Zixiang couldn’t help but point at it with her riding crop and burst into laughter.

Since her life had been upended, she had rarely smiled so freely. This was the first time she had laughed so unrestrainedly in front of him, and Li Shubai found himself staring at her in quiet astonishment.

Her laughter, radiant under the early summer sun, seemed to gather all the brilliance of the sky into the arch of her brows, dazzling to behold.

As if afraid of being burned by the light, he turned his face away, no longer daring to look at her.

Unaware of his reaction, Huang Zixiang blinked at him in confusion. Clearing his throat, he said, "Let’s go—to Prince E’s residence."Prince E, Li Run, still met them in the meticulously arranged tearoom that bordered on being overly deliberate. When Li Shubai mentioned wanting to see Chen Nianniang, he looked surprised and asked, "Fourth Brother, why are you asking about her today?"

"There are a few minor matters I need to ask her."

Li Run sighed helplessly, "What unfortunate timing. Chen Nianniang has already left."

"What? Chen Nianniang left?" Huang Zixia was stunned. Li Shubai glanced back at her before asking Li Run, "When did she leave?"

"Yesterday. She packed her things and left Prince E's residence without saying goodbye, leaving only a letter behind. I'll have someone fetch it for you to see."

Chen Nianniang's letter was promptly delivered. Though called a letter, it was merely a plain sheet of paper with a few sparse words written on it:

To His Highness Prince E,

Since receiving Your Highness's kindness in taking me in, I have often reflected on this great favor, unforgettable for eternity. However, this old woman's wish has now been fulfilled, and I shall leave the capital never to return. In the days to come, though mountains and rivers may separate us, I shall forever pray for Your Highness's boundless fortune and longevity.

With deepest respect,

Chen Nianniang.

The handwriting was delicate and refined, yet carried a hurried and somewhat careless quality, as if written in haste. Li Shubai skimmed through the letter before passing it to Huang Zixia.

Huang Zixia's gaze lingered on the words "wish has now been fulfilled." After a long moment of contemplation, she returned the letter to Prince E and said, "In that case, it seems the chance to see Nianniang again is slim. What a pity—I had hoped to continue learning from her, as my qin skills are still lacking."

Prince E Li Run smiled faintly. "That's no trouble. The inner and outer music academies have many qin masters, some of whom are truly exceptional. By the way, yesterday was the full moon, and as per custom, I went to the palace to pay respects to the Grand Imperial Concubine. Chen Nianniang had asked me to mention that the Grand Imperial Concubine is fond of the pipa. There was once a portrait of the Six Yunshao Maidens from Yangzhou's Yunshao Pavilion, said to capture the essence of the pipa. If the Grand Imperial Concubine was interested, Nianniang would present it to her in a few days. But when I mentioned it to the Grand Imperial Concubine today, she merely laughed and said, 'What's so special about a painting?' and declined."

Li Shubai asked, "And then, when you returned from the palace, Chen Nianniang had already left?"

"Yes, so even if the Grand Imperial Concubine had been interested, I wouldn't have been able to produce the painting." Li Run chuckled. His temperament was indeed mild, his expression relaxed and carefree, showing no trace of resentment over Chen Nianniang's departure.

Li Shubai nodded. "Since she's already gone, there's no point in searching for her. Thank you again for preparing tea for us today, Seventh Brother."

"Not at all. I would have been delighted to have Third Brother visit anytime."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Li Shubai left with Huang Zixia.

Only when Li Run, who had seen them off, was far behind them did Li Shubai rein in his horse. He and Huang Zixia stood together on a street in Chang'an, pausing for a long while.

Both saw in each other's eyes their shared speculation about the matter.

Li Shubai asked, "Where was it you said you wanted to investigate yesterday?"

"The canal outside Guangzhai Ward. It's still early now—there might be people drawing water. It would be better to go in the afternoon."

Li Shubai nodded. After a moment of thought, he turned his horse westward and said, "Let's go to the Western Market."

Huang Zixia lightly flicked her whip, lazily brushing it against Nafusha's hindquarters. "Oh? Are we going to watch another magic show this time?"

He didn't answer, only asked, "What do you think is the biggest mystery and challenge in this case at the moment?"Huang Zixiang replied without hesitation, "Although this entire case is shrouded in mystery, the biggest question in my view is how Wang Ruo suddenly vanished from the supposedly impregnable Yongchun Hall, from under the watch of two hundred guards. In just the blink of an eye, entering the eastern chamber made someone disappear—what kind of method could achieve this?"

"Indeed, Wang Ruo's disappearance is likely the key to the entire case. If we can solve this mystery, we might grasp the main thread and strike at the heart of the matter," Li Shubai said, loosely holding the reins as the two horses ambled along. "I've been pondering this recently. Perhaps our thinking has been too influenced by that magic trick we saw last time at the West Market. Because the birdcage had a mechanism that made the bird vanish, we've been fixated on whether Yongchun Hall might have hidden passages or mechanisms."

"But human thought tends to follow such patterns. A living person, in a nearly empty room—how many possible exits could there be? Above, there's the caisson ceiling with hanging palace lanterns—no skylight, not even beams. The four walls: two are solid earthen walls without gaps, one has a door leading to the main hall. At the time, the hall doors were wide open, and if anyone had exited, not only would the guards at the door have noticed, but the eunuchs inside the hall would surely have seen them. The last wall had a window, guarded by sentries who confirmed no one exited that way. Then there's below—secret tunnels or cellars—but we found nothing."

Li Shubai concluded, "In a room tightly enclosed like a birdcage, a person simply vanished into thin air."

"Mm. And days later, a disfigured corpse appeared—but it wasn't the missing person."

Their quiet discussion continued until they reached the West Market.

After tethering their horses at the market supervision office, they merged into the bustling crowds, slowly moving with the flow.

The West Market was as lively and prosperous as ever, with countless trades and exotic goods gathered together—fine wines from Lanling, green-eyed foreign dancers. The extravagant trends encouraged by the current emperor were spreading throughout Chang'an.

The aquarium shop owner still sat idly playing with his fish, barely acknowledging customers. Li Shubai bought the same fish food as last time. Noticing Huang Zixiang's complicated expression, he initially ignored it but finally said at the door, "That fish likes this food. Seems to have gotten fatter recently."

Huang Zixiang felt her lips twitch slightly. "Let's go see that couple who perform magic tricks," she suggested.

The couple was indeed still performing street magic, this time transforming an egg into a chick. Though Huang Zixiang immediately recognized it as simple sleight of hand, she still found the fluffy chicks scrambling about rather endearing and helped gather them into their crate.

As the crowd dispersed, the wife smiled knowingly at Huang Zixiang, glancing at Li Shubai. "Here to learn another trick this time?"

Huang Zixiang replied, "We never got to use that vanishing bird trick you taught us last time—couldn't train the birds properly. Do you have anything simpler and more convenient than that one?"The woman smiled and turned to call her husband, "Bring that birdcage, and the cloth—yes, the black one."

She shook out the black cloth to show it was indeed just a light piece of hemp with nothing hidden inside, then draped it over the empty birdcage. Looking up at Huang Zixiao, she stood still without speaking, only smiling.

Huang Zixiao knew this was the secret to the trick and naturally couldn’t be revealed so easily. So she reached out toward Li Shubai—of course, a low-ranking eunuch like her hadn’t even received this month’s salary yet.

With just a glance, Li Shubai understood her meaning and casually took out a small silver ingot from his purse to hand to her.

The trickster woman’s face lit up at the sight of the money. With her right hand, she picked up a chick from the crate and brought it close to the cloth-covered birdcage. With her left, she gently lifted the cloth, and under the watchful eyes of Huang Zixiao and Li Shubai, she stuffed the yellow chick into the cage. Then, with fingers splayed as if plucking a lute, she withdrew both hands, showing they were now empty.

Behind her, the black cloth twitched twice—proof that the chick had truly entered the cage.

The trickster smiled at them, then lifted the cloth to reveal the cage was now completely empty.

Huang Zixiao instinctively picked up the cage, examining it closely, but there was truly nothing inside. The cage was crudely made, with no apparent hidden mechanisms or tricks.

The trickster chuckled. "This is an untouched cage, and the chick was just hatched—no training whatsoever. And the trick itself is very simple. Anyone who learns the secret can do it."

Huang Zixiao and Li Shubai exchanged glances, their eyes simultaneously falling on the cloth in the woman’s hand. Something inside it was wriggling faintly.

The trickster smiled faintly, shaking out the cloth to reveal a small pocket sewn inside. The yellow chick poked its head out, blinking innocently at them.

So simple. Huang Zixiao couldn’t help but laugh softly, murmuring, "So that’s how it is..."

Before she could finish, countless fragments flashed through her mind—

The prophecy of the man who suddenly appeared at Xianyou Temple; the assassin who vanished without a trace in Penglai Hall; the golden hairpin with leaf veins that fell by the rockery; the heavily guarded Yongchun Hall... All of them were threaded together by an invisible line, twisting and turning, rapidly connecting in her mind.

The sudden clarity of it all made her inhale sharply, as if overwhelmed by the revelation, her entire body sinking into a daze.

Li Shubai, seeing her standing frozen in place, lightly tapped her shoulder. When she still didn’t react, he took her hand and tugged at her sleeve, leading her away.

Her hand was slender and soft, like a tiny fledgling resting quietly in his palm.

For some reason, he felt his palm grow slightly damp with sweat.

Huang Zixiao followed him in a daze until they reached an elm tree, where she finally exhaled deeply and said, "I need to find Zhou Ziqin."

Li Shubai slowly released her hand, frowning slightly. "What did you think of?""I need to verify my conjecture, so I require Zhou Ziqin's assistance," she said, then looked up at him and asked, "Are you planning to return to your residence first?"

Li Shubai snorted, responding to her bridge-burning behavior with just two words: "Not returning."

"Then does Your Highness want to accompany me to find Zhou Ziqin?"

With an indifferent expression, he turned to find his horse: "Since I have nothing else to do, I might as well go."