The Golden Hairpin

Huang Zixiang ignored their reactions and continued, "Indeed, the woman who died among the refugees of Youzhou, with a black mole on her left brow, was Feng Yiniang. That night, Zhou Ziqin and I went to the mass graves and found a jade pendant inside Feng Yiniang’s body—a token exchanged between her and Chen Nianniang. Before succumbing to the poison, she swallowed the jade, unwilling to part with it, which also allowed us to confirm the identity of the female corpse."

Seeing the stunned expressions in the hall, Li Shubai asked, "In your opinion, what was the cause of Feng Yiniang’s death?"

"Naturally, it was because of the daughter of an old friend she was escorting. She died because she knew too much."

Wang Lin lowered his voice but couldn’t suppress the fury in his tone. "Eunuch Yang, our Wang family has no grievances with you, yet you keep alluding to that so-called 'daughter of an old friend' from a Yangzhou songhouse. Are you implying something?"

"Yes, I am referring to Wang Ruo."

Her answer was blunt and merciless, tearing off the veil of pretense without hesitation.

At this, even Empress Wang’s face turned deathly pale. Struggling to steady her trembling hands, she said in a low voice, "Do you know, little eunuch, the consequences of spreading baseless rumors? The Wang family has stood for centuries. Measure your words carefully before you speak!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Since I’ve come forward to unravel this case today, I’ve already resolved to stake my life on it." Huang Zixiang bowed her head to her. "As for why you wanted Wang Ruo to disappear, what I’m about to reveal next may be even more treasonous than exposing her origins."

"Very well, then continue!" Empress Wang snorted angrily, her delicate face losing some of its color, revealing a stubborn and haughty authority.

Huang Zixiang bowed again and said, "During my interactions with Wang Ruo, she once anxiously asked me about Empress Wang Zhi of Emperor Jing of Han—how she had borne a child outside the palace before concealing her marital history to enter the crown prince’s household and eventually become empress dowager. She wondered what disaster would befall if such a deception were uncovered."

Empress Wang slowly raised her face, her petal-like lips paling like withered, fallen blossoms.

She stared at Huang Zixiang for a long, long time before saying, "That child was truly thoughtless. How could she discuss such a topic with others?"

The atmosphere in the hall grew even more oppressive. The emperor leaned back in his chair, his usually gentle face now rigid with tension. Yet he did not interrupt Huang Zixiang. His gaze drifted to the window, as if observing the scene outside or lost in some distant, intangible world.

Amid the suffocating silence, Huang Zixiang’s voice remained cold and unfeeling as she finally laid bare the unbearable truth: "At the time, I wondered if Wang Ruo had once been married and concealed her past to enter the selection for the prince’s consort. But later, I realized she was referring to someone else."

Empress Wang glared at her icily and raised her right hand to stop her. Turning to the emperor beside her, she forced a smile and asked, "Your Majesty, can we truly allow this person to continue spouting such nonsense?"

The emperor’s gaze swept over Huang Zixiang before slowly settling on Empress Wang.The Yanji Hall was enveloped in a deathly silence. Outside the window, the lush foliage of early summer swayed, with cicadas occasionally letting out sparse chirps from amidst the leaves.

The emperor's voice, seeming both distant and near, spoke unhurriedly, "Empress, since we have come this far in our discussion, to stop midway now might only breed suspicion and discord in the future. Why don't we hear the rest first, then decide whether this little eunuch's words hold merit before passing judgment? What do you think?"

Empress Wang's face, once as radiant as a peony, instantly turned ashen, like a flower battered by a night storm, its brilliance dimmed.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, she knew suspicion had already taken root in his heart toward her.

Slowly, she lowered her hand, yet her back remained ramrod straight. She sat in the hall with impeccable poise, still exuding the dignity of one who ruled over the realm, an arrogance unmatched by any.

Wang Lin's gaze toward Huang Zixiang had grown venomous and seething with rage. Clearly, had the decision been his to make, he would have mercilessly eliminated the young eunuch before him without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Wang Yun stood quietly, his fair and refined face flickering with an odd mix of distraction and gloom. His eyes were fixed on the little eunuch before him—who bore a resemblance to his betrothed and shared her talent for unraveling mysteries and striking at the heart of matters—unconsciously pressing his lips tightly together.

Li Shubai's gaze turned to Huang Zixiang. Huang Zixiang nodded slightly to him, signaling that she remained unaffected, then continued, "The fourth issue that needs addressing is why you, Empress, wanted Wang Ruo to disappear. It was because of the appearance of two people and the death of one."

"The first person to appear was Wang Yun, the Capital Guard. His theatrics at the Xianyou Temple were originally intended to make Wang Ruo retreat in fear. Instead, they alarmed you—Wang Yun, unaware of the truth, believed Wang Ruo was merely a woman his father had found to impersonate someone else. Naturally, the fewer who knew of such a matter, the better. Thus, you and Minister Wang kept even Wang Yun in the dark. Meanwhile, Wang Yun took private action, leaving you and Minister Wang equally unaware. You could never have imagined that the first sign of your scheme unraveling would come from within your own Wang family."

Wang Lin let out a hollow laugh but remained silent, while Wang Yun stared blankly at an empty point in the air, listening to her words.

Huang Zixiang then went on, "The second person to appear was Jinnu. Jinnu and I had met privately a few times. She had never forgotten her long-deceased master, Mei Wanzhi. In her heart, that was her greatest pride and dream in life. Yet she never expected that, twelve years later, in Chang'an—far from Yangzhou, in the most prosperous and magnificent place in the world, the Penglai Hall of the Daming Palace—she would once again encounter someone she thought she would never see again: her master, Mei Wanzhi!"

Empress Wang's hand trembled slightly as she stubbornly lifted her chin, remaining silent."She was right beside me at that moment, terrified and panicked, trembling all over. But I mistakenly thought her alarm was due to recognizing Wang Ruo, never realizing the truth she had glimpsed was far more horrifying than anything I could have imagined—she saw our master, who now stands at the pinnacle of the world, revered by all, peerless in grace and beauty. Yet her identity was no longer that of Second Sister Mei Wanzhi from the Yunshao Pavilion in Yangzhou!"

A mocking smile curled at the corners of Empress Wang's lips as she said coldly, "Eunuch Yang, Jinnu is already dead. Dead men tell no tales. If you cannot produce a shred of evidence and persist in these baseless conjectures, then I can only dismiss them as absurd fabrications. I implore His Majesty to cease listening to such deceitful nonsense and punish this eunuch for his grave disrespect according to the law!"

The Emperor noticed the slight tremble in the Empress's back and the fury etched upon her face. He reached out to gently stroke her back but remained silent, his gaze fixed on Huang Zitang as he pondered in silence.

Wang Lin swept his sleeves aside and knelt before the Emperor with a heartbroken expression, his voice quivering as he spoke, "Your Majesty! The Wang family is a noble lineage, flourishing in Langya for centuries, unmatched in prestige by any other in the empire. Moreover, the Empress, as the eldest daughter of our Wang family, has stood by Your Majesty's side for twelve years and now reigns as the mother of the nation, bringing honor to our family name. This insignificant eunuch, for reasons unknown, dares to slander and deceive, insinuating that the Empress's identity is illegitimate. I beseech Your Majesty to disregard such nonsense and punish her severely for her disrespect—by tearing out her tongue and subjecting her to the slow death of a thousand cuts, as a warning to others!"

"Minister Wang, your words are misguided," Li Shubai interjected calmly, idly toying with his fan as he leaned back in his chair with an air of nonchalance. "His Majesty previously stated that if her deductions were flawed, she would be punished accordingly. Yet thus far, everything she has presented is logical, well-founded, and supported by irrefutable evidence. In my opinion, Minister Wang should remain patient. If you find her claims absurd, you may refute them after she has finished speaking. His Majesty, with his divine wisdom, will then judge fairly, discerning truth from falsehood, and mete out rewards and punishments without injustice."

The Emperor nodded at Li Shubai's words and said, "Precisely. Why not let her finish, Minister Wang? Truth or falsehood, We shall discern for Ourselves and will not spare anyone who deserves punishment."

Wang Lin detected a chill in the Emperor's tone, and throughout his speech, the Emperor had not once glanced at Empress Wang. A wave of despairing dread washed over him.

Wang Yun reached out to help him up. As their hands met, father and son both felt the other's icy, tense grip, conveying an unshakable sense of hopelessness and despair."Jinnu had to die because she glimpsed the secrets of heaven. Knowing that revealing them would leave her with nowhere to hide, she chose to conceal them, hoping her devotion and reverence for her master would move her. Yet she failed. That very night, Wang Ruo disappeared. The next day, Jinnu was bestowed a set of pipa maintenance items from the palace—a jade plectrum, pipa strings, and a box of rosin powder. At the time, I found it strange. Your Majesty, you had always shown little interest in music and dance, so how did you know about pipa maintenance? It was even more unexpected for you to suddenly bestow gifts upon Jinnu. But who could have guessed that the box of rosin powder Jinnu joyfully accepted—her master’s long-awaited gift, which she carefully carried in her bosom—was in fact a death sentence!"

Empress Wang's once radiant face paled slightly, yet her smile remained cold and composed. "Absurd! What nonsense about ten years ago or ten years later! I only met that pipa girl once and casually gave her some things. Though I inspected them beforehand as protocol demands, why don’t you consider that someone in the inner court might have held a grudge against her? Or that the music academy was full of spies, or that she mingled with all sorts of unsavory characters outside? Who’s to say the poison wasn’t slipped in by someone else?"

"Gifts from the inner court are always received by at least three people to prevent errors or corruption, with mutual oversight. They are then presented for inspection by the giver before being delivered by three or more people simultaneously. Though cumbersome, this ensures no one else could have tampered with them. Moreover, I believe if His Majesty were to investigate personally, he would confirm whether Your Majesty ever took that box of rosin powder aside for inspection. Additionally, Jinnu treasured your gifts dearly. That day at Embroidered Splendor Pavilion, we all saw her take the powder box and jade plectrum from her bosom, saying she had carried them there ever since receiving them. So tell me, how could anyone else have poisoned them?"

Empress Wang’s jaw tightened, and she only smirked coldly in silence.

Huang Zixiang continued, "These two were the ones who appeared before you. The one who died was Feng Yiniang. Her death exposed Wang Ruo’s true identity and led me to uncover the shadowy figure behind it all—Feng Yiniang’s old acquaintance. The very person who entrusted Feng Yiniang with escorting Wang Ruo to the capital. Who could that be?"

The hall fell silent, the air thick with tension. The answer was on the tip of everyone’s tongue, yet none dared—or feared—to voice it.

"At this point, I need not elaborate further. Feng Yiniang’s old acquaintance must be the one who was said to have died twelve years ago in the Yunshao Troupe—the second sister among the Yunshao Six, Jinnu’s master, the pipa virtuoso Mei Wanzhi, who once married in Yangzhou and bore a daughter. That daughter’s name was Cheng Xuese—or, by another name, Wang Ruo."

Empress Wang sat rigidly on the dais, her expression somber. She stared wordlessly at Huang Zixiang before her, her gaze icy, yet she stubbornly refused to speak."The man at the Immortal Wandering Temple who warned Wang Ruo about her past, the appearance of Jinnu who knew the identities of both Wang Ruo and Your Majesty the Empress, along with Feng Yiniang whom you killed—all these made you realize that Wang Ruo’s unspeakable origins had been discovered. Even if she married into the royal family, she would inevitably fall into danger one day, and her identity might be exposed, leading to a disgraceful end. Therefore, to protect Wang Ruo and the Wang family, she had to disappear. At this time, the rumors of Pang Xun’s vengeful spirit haunting the Immortal Wandering Temple and spreading through the capital became the perfect smokescreen for you to seize the opportunity."

"Hmph! Baseless conjecture!" Empress Wang finally spoke, her voice icy.

Huang Zifang nodded. "Since Your Majesty says so, there’s nothing more I can do. But next, I have another conjecture—one that began twelve years ago and ended the day before yesterday. It is more elusive than all the previous ones, yet far more terrifying. Your Majesty, perhaps you will find it unbearable to hear, but I must tell you the most dreadful consequence of all your schemes."

Empress Wang sneered, not even glancing at her, her expression one of utter disdain.

Unfazed, Huang Zifang spoke slowly, word by word: "Chen Nianniang from the Yunshao Garden once told me a story from twelve years ago. Among the six women who founded the Yunshao Garden, the second sister, Mei Wanzhi, whose pipa skills had stunned the world, vanished overnight. She left behind only a daughter named Cheng Xuese. No matter how much Xuese questioned her, her father—a poor painter—would only say, 'Your mother is dead.' Xuese returned to Liuzhou with her father, and the two struggled through hardship until she turned fourteen, when her father passed away. The orphaned girl had her family property seized and was left to endure abuse from merciless relatives. Three years ago, Lan Dai—the third of the six Yunshao women—was in Xuzhou. By chance, she learned of Xuese’s plight and wrote her a letter, offering help if Xuese ever needed it. After much delay, Xuese, in her desperate state, received the letter. At fourteen, she left Liuzhou alone and set off for Xuzhou."