The Golden Hairpin

She involuntarily raised her hand, pushing Li Shubai away and freeing herself from his embrace.

Li Shubai pressed his thin lips together. After a long pause, he slowly lowered his rejected arm and gazed at her with deep, shadowed eyes.

She herself was momentarily stunned. Before she could regain her composure, the distorted wail of the person being burned alive reached her ears—a sound so piercing and despairing it made one’s heart tremble. She tugged at Li Shubai’s sleeve and asked in panic, “Can we get through to save them?”

Li Shubai frowned at the surging, chaotic crowd before them. “Impossible,” he replied.

Inside Jianfu Temple, the uproar was deafening. Master Liaozhen had long ceased his sermon, while the temple’s disciples struggled to maintain order. The yamen officers shouted themselves hoarse, but to little effect.

Amid the surrounding chaos of ghostly wails and howls, Jianfu Temple had turned into a veritable battlefield. Countless people suffered broken limbs or injured joints in the stampede.

Even if someone had fetched water to douse the flames, it would have been impossible to push through the fleeing crowd to reach the burning man. Everyone could only watch helplessly as his convulsions and rolling on the ground grew weaker, his cries fainter, until finally, he let out a twisted, inhuman shriek—and then fell silent.

The frenzied crowd in Jianfu Temple gradually dispersed. Those who had fled to the main hall, corridors, or fish ponds groaned over their injured legs, cursed while clutching dislocated arms, or pointed at the still-smoldering corpse with trembling voices, their faces bleeding. “Is this… divine retribution?” one muttered.

A man nearby, his teeth knocked out and mouth full of blood, spat angrily and said, “I’d say it’s exactly the punishment Master Liaozhen warned about—struck by lightning!”

“Who knows what evil this person committed in life? And now we’ve been caught up in this disaster for no reason—what rotten luck!”

The surrounding crowd lamented, buzzing with speculation about the sudden calamity.

“I’m going to check on that person,” Huang Zixiao said, turning toward the burned corpse now that the chaos had subsided and space had cleared.

A wide-open area had formed around the still-burning body.

The scattered wax blocks from the explosion had mostly burned away, leaving only fragments and embers—mostly bright red—strewn across the ground like splattered blood.

Temple monks arrived with buckets of water, dousing the flames, but the victim was already charred beyond recognition, motionless.

Under the gloomy, ash-gray sky, only a giant gilded and flower-patterned candle remained standing. A charred corpse and the remnants of wax lay scattered, a scene of utter desolation.

Zhou Ziqin, who had been lost in the crowd, finally stumbled back. Without a word, he crouched beside Huang Zixiao to examine the drenched, blackened body. “Initial assessment: male. Too badly burned to determine height, age, skin tone, or distinguishing features…”

Huang Zixiao cut him off. “Victim is male, relatively short and thin, with fairer-than-average skin, likely under thirty. Wearing vermilion eunuch robes with black silk sashes—likely a palace eunuch.”Zhou Ziqin stared at the charred corpse before him, looking at her in disbelief. "Chonggu, you're truly amazing! From a half-burned corpse like this, you can actually discern so much? Forget everything else—his clothes were completely burned away long ago!"

Huang Zixiang gave him a speechless glance. "Didn't we all see it with our own eyes when the fire first started? Didn’t you notice his height, build, age, or clothing?"

Zhou Ziqin silently shook his head. "I was too busy worrying about my fish."

"And his voice—though hoarse and agonized—was unusually shrill, nothing like an ordinary man’s. Did you hear that?"

Zhou Ziqin shook his head again. "It was so noisy all around, I was completely drowned out."

Li Shubai had somehow appeared behind them, frowning slightly as he said, "Indeed, when he caught fire, I saw it too. His physique, appearance, and clothing were exactly as Chonggu described—no discrepancies."

Zhou Ziqin muttered dejectedly, "So I’m the only one who didn’t see anything..."

As if to console him, Li Shubai added, "But before he caught fire, I didn’t see him either. I didn’t notice him standing there at the time."

"Among thousands of people, he was just one in the crowd, and so thin and small—of course no one noticed," Zhou Ziqin said.

Huang Zixiang, however, frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then reached out and picked up a token lying beside the corpse.

The token was made of bronze, its perforated holes still holding traces of the silk cord that had once hung around the victim’s neck. Blackened by the fire, Huang Zixiang turned it over in her hand and immediately recognized the five characters inscribed on it: "Princess Tongchang’s Residence."

"Princess Tongchang’s Residence?"

Li Shubai glanced at the token in Huang Zixiang’s hand and frowned. "Could this be one of Princess Tongchang’s eunuchs?"

Huang Zixiang turned the damp token over in her hand, examining its intricate patterns. "This token looks genuine."

"Naturally. The craftsmanship of the inner court, with gold-inlaid and silver-embossed characters—no one outside could forge this," Li Shubai said.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ziqin remained crouched beside the corpse, staring expectantly at its lower half and muttering to himself, "What should I do...?"

Huang Zixiang asked, "Do about what?"

"It’s my first time examining a eunuch’s corpse—I’m a little nervous. What should I do?"

Huang Zixiang and Li Shubai both turned their heads away in exasperation.

The rain finally began to fall—sparse at first, but each drop was as large as a bean, striking the skin with a sharp sting.

The three of them took shelter under the eaves of Jianfu Temple’s main hall. The preaching platform ahead was still standing, but the altar, incense tables, and prayer mats had all been overturned, leaving a scene of utter disarray. Nearby, the rain had extinguished the incense burner, and of the two massive candles beside it, one had burned out completely while the other was reduced to a mere foot of reed wick, surrounded by scattered chunks of wax.

The grand Buddhist ceremony at Jianfu Temple had ended in chaos, its once-vivid dragon-and-phoenix motifs now shattered and buried in dust.

Someone hurried into the temple grounds—it was Cui Chunzhan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. A servant held a large umbrella over him, but Cui Chunzhan paid no heed, his face grim as he strode swiftly to Li Shubai and bowed in greeting, forcing a smile. "Prince Kui."

"Vice Minister Cui, you’ve arrived quickly," Li Shubai replied with a courteous nod."Exactly. I had just finished official business and was on my way to listen to Master Liaozhen's sermon when I heard something had happened at Jianfu Temple—apparently, a thunderbolt struck and killed a man?" Cui Chunzhan said while motioning for the coroner to follow Zhou Ziqin to examine the body.

Huang Zixiao replied, "Yes. Around the end of the Chen hour, when Master Liaozhen was speaking about retribution, a thunderbolt struck and shattered the giant candle on the left. Many people nearby were hit by fragments of the wax, which had been dyed with highly flammable pigments like cinnabar, realgar, and black oil. Unfortunately, it was these flammable materials that caused the entire candle to explode into countless fiery fragments, and the man was struck by them, burning to death."

"Is that so? Sounds like divine retribution—perhaps he committed some evil deed and was struck down by lightning," Cui Chunzhan remarked with interest.

Huang Zixiao felt somewhat helpless toward this Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review who never seemed concerned about cases. She could only look up silently at the light drizzle falling beyond the eaves.

Zhou Ziqin pulled Cui Chunzhan outside, gesturing animatedly as he recounted the incident. Someone held a large umbrella over Cui Chunzhan, but Zhou Ziqin paid no mind, continuing his explanation in the rain while dragging a few coroners along to discuss how to examine a charred corpse.

Li Shubai stood beside Huang Zixiao under the eaves. Turning his head, he noticed the fine droplets of rain splashing up in the wind, dampening a few stray strands of hair on her forehead. They glistened like tiny pearls against her jade-like skin, casting a faint, mesmerizing glow.

Casually, he raised his sleeve and brushed it lightly over her hair, saying, "Don't stand too close to the edge. The rain is getting heavier."

Only then did Huang Zixiao snap out of her daze, realizing she had been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him—a breach of propriety.

She quickly took a step back, though her gaze remained fixed on Zhou Ziqin outside.

Meanwhile, Cui Chunzhan had returned, pressing a hand to his forehead in dismay. "What a ghastly sight, truly ghastly... How could he have burned like that?"

Li Shubai said, "Indeed. The court has been assisting Jianfu Temple with this event since last year, and now it's ended in such a tragedy."

"Exactly. And who was this poor soul struck by lightning?"

Li Shubai replied coolly, "He appears to have been a eunuch from Tongchang's household."

"What?" Cui Chunzhan's expression turned to shock. "Your Highness means... Princess Tongchang?"

"Yes," Li Shubai nodded slightly.

Cui Chunzhan's face grew even more distressed.

Li Shubai turned and signaled to Huang Zixiao, who promptly presented the charred token to Cui Chunzhan.

At the sight of the burned insignia, Cui Chunzhan's face fell. "So it really was a eunuch from the princess's household? What if he was one of her close attendants? What are we to do then?"

"Just handle the case impartially. Princess Tongchang cannot hold it against you," Li Shubai said.

"Understood..." Cui Chunzhan nodded reluctantly, though his expression remained troubled.The rain grew heavier. The officials from the Dali Temple had set up oilcloth canopies to shield the corpse, but the water on the ground had already risen above the body. They had no choice but to borrow a bamboo bed from the monks, place the corpse on it, and then all hurried back to take shelter under the temple eaves.

Zhou Ziqin was drenched from head to toe, his bright apricot-yellow robes plastered to his body like a wilted pumpkin flower after the downpour.

Yet he paid no mind to his sorry state, eagerly leaning toward Huang Ziguang as he exclaimed, "Hey, Chonggu! It turns out he really was a eunuch! I examined him with the coroner!"

Huang Ziguang's face darkened. "Did that really require examination? It was obvious at a glance, wasn't it?"

"Not necessarily! Someone missing that part might not be a eunuch—could've been a woman, right?"

Li Shubai, hearing their conversation grow increasingly inappropriate, gave a light cough nearby.

Zhou Ziqin immediately hunched his shoulders and stuck out his tongue sheepishly, though his expression remained cheerful.

Huang Ziguang turned her head away, unwilling to continue this discussion. "Were there any suspicious findings on the body?"

"Nothing. The victim had no beard or hair and was undoubtedly burned alive. As for whether he was struck by lightning because he did something evil or just by coincidence—who knows? But if he was from Princess Tongchang's household, this might blow up into a huge scandal. After all, the Emperor dotes on that princess—it's common knowledge."

Huang Ziguang replied, "Even if Princess Tongchang stirs up a storm, it shouldn't concern us, should it?"

"Exactly! If the heavens want rain and lightning wants to strike someone, what can we do about it?" Zhou Ziqin spread his hands. "Besides, my father's 'Tail-Burning Banquet' is the day after tomorrow. Soon after, I'll be accompanying him to Shu. Ah, Shu is wonderful! The legendary Huang Ziguang left behind so many tales of solving bizarre cases there. If you ever have time, come visit me—I'll show you around Chengdu!"

Li Shubai glanced at Huang Ziguang, who had already tuned out Zhou Ziqin's words, and remarked, "No need to trouble yourself. I was already planning to go to Shu—might even set off before you."

"Eh, really? Then we can travel together!" Zhou Ziqin exclaimed excitedly.

Huang Ziguang interjected coolly, "That won't be necessary. His Highness and you each have official business. It's best not to travel together to avoid inconveniencing one another."

"Ah... That makes sense, but Chonggu, you're so cold! You could've just politely declined..."

Huang Ziguang ignored him.