The Golden Hairpin

That afternoon, news arrived from the palace. Empress Wang, stricken with grief over the death of her cousin, had fallen ill and was moved to the Taiji Palace to recuperate. Palace affairs were temporarily handled by Consort Zhao and Consort Guo in her stead.

"Ever since Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu moved to the Daming Palace, the Taiji Palace has been mostly vacant, with only a few elderly imperial consorts residing there. Now that Empress Wang has been sent to live alone in the Taiji Palace, it's said that Wang Ruo's death was inauspicious, which is why the emperor sent the empress away—effectively banishing her to the cold palace."

The young eunuch Lu Yunzhong from Prince Kui's household remained as keen as ever on palace gossip. During dinner with the other eunuchs, he enthusiastically commented on the latest developments.

"A reigning empress being secluded in another palace—such a thing has never happened before!"

"Well, don't forget Emperor Wu of Han and Empress Chen Jiao—that's a ready precedent."

"In my opinion, the Wang family is truly in trouble this time!"

Huang Zixiang mechanically cleared the dishes and stood up to take them to the kitchen.

"Hey, hey, Chonggu! Weren't you with His Highness when he went to pay respects to that Wang Ruo girl at the Wang residence? Tell us quickly—is it true that the empress wept so hard her hair came loose and her face turned deathly pale?"

Huang Zixiang let out an "ah" and slowly replied, "Yes, Empress Wang was deeply grieved."

"I heard you even put a bracelet on the corpse in the mourning hall? Wow... you really are someone to be admired!"

"Mmm." She ignored the awed looks from the others and nodded indifferently, then suddenly remembered something. "Did the Wang family servants say anything else? What are the rumors in the capital?"

"Nothing much. Isn't this the case you uncovered? Those two maidservants of Miss Wang colluded with remnants of Pang Xun's forces and killed her—hey, isn't it said that you solved this case? Hurry up and give us the details!"

"...That's pretty much it. Nothing more to say." She quickly turned away with the dishes. What a joke—she wasn't a deity; how could she fabricate a complete story about Xian Yun and Ran Yun killing Wang Ruo in such a short time?

After delivering the dishes to the kitchen, she was just stepping out when the gatekeeper called her over.

Eunuch Changqing, who had recently followed Empress Wang to the Taiji Palace, had arrived.

Though relegated to the Taiji Palace, Changqing still carried the air of a top-ranking palace eunuch, his brow slightly furrowed with hidden worries as he looked down his nose at others. "Eunuch Yang, Her Majesty summons you. She says someone wishes to speak with you."

"Oh, certainly. Please wait a moment, Eunuch." Not daring to delay, Huang Zixiang hurried back to her room to change clothes. On the way, she paused, then detoured to inform Li Shubai first.

As summer grew warmer, Li Shubai often stayed by the lakeside in the Pillow Stream Pavilion.

When Huang Zixiang arrived, he was gazing alone at the small lake. The early summer water was dotted with lotus leaves of varying heights, their surfaces shimmering under the newly lit palace lanterns like a layer of crystalline silver—as if dusted with light snow or veiled in mist, hazy and distant.

She stood on the opposite side, watching him from afar, wondering whether she should approach to inform him. But then he turned his head and looked directly at her.

So she bowed to him across the lake and prepared to leave, only to see him raise his right hand slightly, gesturing for her to come over.Huang Zixiao hesitated for a moment, but considering she still relied on him for her salary, she quickly ran over.

"It's getting late. Where are you going?"

"The Empress sent Changqing to summon me, saying someone wants to see me."

"Oh," he responded flatly, waving his hand to dismiss her. But just as she turned to leave, she suddenly felt a sharp kick behind her knee. Her right leg went numb and buckled, throwing her off balance completely. With a loud splash, she plunged headfirst into the lotus pond.

Fortunately, the pond wasn’t deep, and Huang Zixiao was a good swimmer. She struggled to her feet, standing amidst the lotus leaves as she glared up at Li Shubai on the shore and asked indignantly, "Why?"

He didn’t answer, merely standing with his hands behind his back, silently watching her.

Grumbling, Huang Zixiao wiped the muddy water from her face and climbed ashore using the Taihu rocks at the pond’s edge. Wringing out her dripping sleeves, she muttered, "What’s the meaning of this, Your Highness? Now I have to bathe and change before heading to the palace. How much longer will this delay me—"

Before she could finish, she caught movement from the corner of her eye—Li Shubai’s robe fluttering again. She immediately jumped aside to dodge, but this time, his kick came in a sweeping motion. Her evasion was futile, and with another splash, she was sent tumbling back into the pond.

The water churned violently, the splash from her fall drenching the surrounding lotus leaves. The leaves swayed under the weight of the droplets, and under the glow of the palace lanterns, the scattered reflections on the water’s surface shimmered dazzlingly before Huang Zixiao’s eyes.

Amidst the rippling light, she saw Li Shubai standing on the shore, a faint smile on his lips. The evening breeze lightly lifted the hem of his pale green silk robe, his refined and noble bearing almost mesmerizing.

But Huang Zixiao could only think of him as utterly malicious. Standing amidst the broken lotus leaves and murky water, she didn’t even bother to pick off the duckweed clinging to her hair and face. Instead, she waded straight to the shore, not bothering to climb up, and glared up at him. "Why?"

Li Shubai leaned down to look at her, as if her disheveled state amused him greatly. Even the corners of his eyes held a rare hint of amusement. "Why what?"

"Kicking me into the water twice—is this fun for you?"

"Fun," Li Shubai admitted shamelessly, nodding once. "After days of puzzling over a mystery, finally solving it today naturally calls for some celebration."

Huang Zixiao felt her anger boiling over. "So Your Highness’s idea of celebration is watching me make a fool of myself by falling into the water twice?"

Li Shubai’s smile faded. "Of course not."

He crooked a finger, signaling for her to climb up. Huffing, Huang Zixiao grabbed onto the Taihu rocks and hauled herself ashore once more. Before she could even speak—before she could even steady herself—a rush of wind whistled past her ears. The world spun before her eyes, and in an instant, her body was submerged in icy water again. The loud splash, the spray of water, and her own involuntary gasp told her—she was back in the pond.

"Three times makes it complete."

Furious, Huang Zixiao grabbed onto a lotus leaf to steady herself. She wiped the muddy water from her face with her dripping sleeve, shot him one last glare, and without another word, trudged toward the opposite side of the pond.She staggered through the mud, struggling step by step until she reached the shore, then climbed up the stone steps.

The early summer air was still chilly. She shivered, thinking she should hurry to take a hot bath, or she’d surely catch a cold.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Li Shubai walking toward her along the lotus pond. But her heart was filled with anger and resentment, so she pretended not to notice and quickened her pace to leave.

Then she heard Li Shubai’s voice, calm and unhurried: “Xianyun and Ranyun are already dead.”

Her steps halted abruptly. She froze for a moment before whipping her head around to look at him.

Li Shubai stood behind her, as composed as ever.

“So, a minor eunuch like you—even if you were to disappear from the Taiwei Palace tonight, it would be nothing more than a speck of dust, blown away with a single breath.”

Huang Zixiao stood rigidly before the lotus pond. The breeze rippling across the water sent chills creeping through her body. But she didn’t turn to look at him. She merely lowered her head, staring motionlessly at the uneven green lotus leaves on the pond’s surface.

“Jingyu,” Li Shubai called, raising his voice.

Jingyu entered through the moon gate and, seeing Huang Zixiao dripping with mud, couldn’t help but shoot her a surprised glance. “Your Highness.”

“Go inform Changqing that Yang Chonggu accidentally fell into the water. It’s already late, and by the time he tidies up, it’ll be too late to disturb the Empress.”

Jingyu acknowledged the order and swiftly departed.

Huang Zixiao bit her lower lip and asked, “What about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? After falling into the water, wouldn’t you catch a cold? How could you possibly enter the palace and risk infecting Empress Wang?” Li Shubai said indifferently. “By the time you recover, it’ll likely be a month or two later. By then, the Emperor and Empress will know you’re someone who keeps secrets, and their interest will have faded.”

Huang Zixiao hesitated for a long moment before awkwardly murmuring, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Yet even as she spoke, a wave of bitterness washed over her—what kind of world was this, where she had to thank the very man who had kicked her into the water three times?

Li Shubai turned to look at her, taking in her disheveled, dripping state. He couldn’t help but call out, “You…”

She lifted her eyes to him, awaiting his instructions.

But after a pause, he merely turned his gaze back to the lotus leaves in the pond and gestured for her to leave.

Huang Zixiao exhaled in relief, hastily bowed, and retreated.

Covered in mud, she fetched two large buckets of hot water from the kitchen, scrubbed herself clean, and haphazardly towel-dried her freshly washed hair before collapsing onto the bed.

The past few months of running around for this case had left her utterly exhausted. The moment her head touched the pillow, she began sinking into a deep slumber.

She didn’t know how long she had slept when she heard a soft knock at her door.

Months of hardship had sharpened her alertness. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up halfway, scanning the room—only to find it pitch dark, the night already deep.

She threw on a robe and opened the door to find Li Shubai standing outside, holding a small lantern in his left hand and a tiny food box in his right. The lantern cast a warm amber glow, softening the usually jade-carved, icy perfection of his features with an inexplicable gentleness.

Seeing her dazed expression, he paid no mind and simply placed the food box on the table. “Good. I didn’t need to wake you.”Though startled, it was merely an instinctive physical reaction. Huang Zixiang's mind was still foggy as she drowsily looked at him, grabbing a handful of her own sleep-tangled hair. Glancing at the dim darkness outside, she asked, "What time is it now?"

"The second quarter of the midnight hour." He opened a food box and handed her a cup of dark brown liquid. "Ginger tea. Drink it."

With barely awakened eyes, she frowned at him for a long while before finally grasping the oddity in her consciousness: "Prince Kui, in the dead of night, you came personally to find me... just to bring me ginger tea?"

"Of course not," he said, turning to leave and casually closing the door behind him. "Get dressed. We have a visitor."

Someone who could make Prince Kui personally summon Huang Zixiang in the middle of the night was certainly no ordinary person.

Under the lamplight, a beauty stood before them, radiant as peach blossoms.

A young woman dressed in ordinary palace maid attire stood before them. Yet the peach and plum blossoms, eroded by sorrow and grief, had already begun to show signs of withering. She lifted her gaze to them, the dew-gathering leaf-vein hairpin at her temple gleaming faintly in the lamplight.

Wang Ruo—or rather, Xiao Shi.