The Golden Hairpin

Early the next morning, Huang Zixiang had just risen when she found someone from Princess Tongchang's residence already waiting outside her door. The eunuch, named Deng Chunmin, wore a pained expression and pleaded, "Eunuch Yang, please hurry! The princess instructed me yesterday to bring you over. Consider this a mercy for me!"

Glancing at the sky, Huang Zixiang asked in surprise, "Is the princess already inquiring about this so early?"

"The princess hasn't risen yet, but what if she wakes and asks about it immediately? I must bring you in quickly, don't you agree?"

Under Deng Chunmin's imploring gaze, Huang Zixiang had no choice but to wash up swiftly and follow him to Princess Tongchang's residence.

Indeed, Princess Tongchang's residence was a place where gold adorned the railings and jade lined the walls. Though not as grand and majestic as the imperial palace, the gilded ornaments on the eaves, the golden bells among the flowers to ward off birds, and the intricate patterns woven with gold and silver threads on the bamboo curtains—all these minute details of extravagance created a dazzling effect.

Huang Zixiang stood quietly in the front courtyard of Princess Tongchang's residence, awaiting her summons.

The morning dew had yet to dissipate, and birds chirped overhead. As she observed her surroundings, a drowsy, pitiful voice sounded beside her: "Eunuch Yang, you're here too?"

Turning, she saw Cui Chunzhan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Dejected, he greeted her with four clerks from the Court of Judicial Review in tow before slumping into a chair beside her with a mournful expression. "Eunuch Yang, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet," Huang Zixiang replied calmly, eyeing the five-fingered mark on his face.

"Neither have I," he said, noticing her gaze and covering his cheek sorrowfully. "I woke up too early and disturbed my tigress at home, so..."

Recalling his reputation as the most henpecked official in court, Huang Zixiang could only smile without comment.

Feeling awkward, Cui Chunzhan added, "She just worries about me rising early for official duties and wants more time with me—she just doesn’t know how to express it. Don’t you agree, Eunuch Yang?"

"Exactly," Huang Zixiang said solemnly.

Pleased by her affirmation of his wife, Cui Chunzhan brightened. Just then, a graceful maidservant entered carrying a food box, and his mood lifted further. "Wonderful! We can still have breakfast first."

The maidservant smiled faintly and began unpacking the pastries and porridge from the box. Cui Chunzhan invited everyone to sit and eat.

Deng Chunmin hurried over to ladle a small bowl of porridge for each person. Cui Chunzhan studied the delicate-featured maidservant and asked, "Are you one of the princess's attendants?"

"This humble servant is Chui Zhu. I grew up with the princess and later accompanied her when she left the palace." Her crescent-moon eyes and rosy cheeks, though not strikingly beautiful, exuded a gentle charm that was unforgettable. "The princess said Vice Minister Cui and Eunuch Yang might be unfamiliar with the residence, so you may ask me for anything you need."

"That’s excellent! I was just worrying about how to navigate this labyrinth of a residence," Cui Chunzhan said, then turned to Deng Chunmin.

Deng Chunmin quickly added, "This servant is Deng Chunmin. Like Chui Zhu and Wei Ximin, I grew up with the princess in the palace and left with her a year ago."

"How many people are in your household?" Cui Chunzhan asked.Deng Chunmin was immediately at a loss, but Chui Zhu answered fluently, "In reply to Vice Minister Cui, the princess's residence currently has forty-two chief and deputy stewards and accountants of various ranks, seventy-eight eunuchs, one hundred and twenty-eight maidservants, and two hundred and forty-seven kitchen staff, gatekeepers, and miscellaneous laborers."

"How many accompanied the princess when she left the palace?"

"At that time, there were seventy-eight eunuchs and thirty-six maidservants. Most of the others were gradually purchased from the common folk under His Majesty's decree to build the princess's residence. There were also more than ten people, including horse grooms, warehouse keepers, and gardeners, who sought refuge here over the past year."

Seeing how clearly Chui Zhu spoke and acted, Huang Zixiang asked, "Did Wei Ximin usually have any enmity with anyone?"

After a brief thought, Chui Zhu said, "Wei Ximin and I both served closely by the princess's side. He was always diligent in his duties, cautious and loyal."

However, Deng Chunmin beside her seemed hesitant to speak. Huang Zixiang then asked him, "Eunuch Deng, as a fellow inner servant, did you notice anything in your daily interactions?"

Wei Ximin quickly interjected, "Actually... just the day before yesterday, I noticed he had some kind of argument with... Changpu from the inner kitchen."

"Oh?" Cui Chungan immediately put down his chopsticks and asked, "How could he have a dispute with a kitchen maid?"

Deng Chunmin fidgeted nervously, saying, "I... I don't know."

"Changpu isn't just a kitchen maid; she oversees all the kitchens in the residence and manages the seasonal meals. The princess often praises her for her steadiness," Chui Zhu explained on his behalf. "She was a servant from the princess consort's household, brought over when the princess married. She must be around thirty now and still unmarried. As for the content of their argument, we don't know."

"An argument? Between me and Wei Ximin?"

Changpu had a plain appearance, neither ugly nor beautiful, but her unsmiling face and deep nasolabial lines made this thirty-year-old woman seem utterly devoid of charm.

She had been planning the next day's menu when they arrived. Setting aside the paper, she thought carefully and nodded, "Yes, that did happen."

The clerk behind them quickly took out writing materials to record her words.

Seeing this, Changpu's expression changed slightly. "What's this about? Do you think Wei Ximin's death has something to do with me? That was... that was divine retribution!"

Huang Zixiang quickly reassured her, "Please don't worry, sister. This is just routine procedure to understand Wei Ximin's daily affairs. Just answer truthfully."

Changpu still looked uneasy and hesitant. "I don't know... what exactly do you want to know?"

"Could you describe in detail the argument you had with him a few days ago?"

"Oh... that matter." Changpu's voice rose slightly, clearly still resentful. "This servant usually manages all the meals in the residence, while Wei Ximin served closely by the princess's side. We had no particular friendship, nor any enmity. But the day before yesterday, he came to me demanding lingling incense. When I said I didn't have any, he actually scolded me in front of all the kitchen staff. Tell me, this servant has managed over twenty people in the kitchen since coming from the princess consort's household. How dare he humiliate me like that right from the start? But since he was the princess's favorite, I had to endure it at the time. Who would have thought now... ah, the dead are gone, let it be."

Huang Zixiang asked further, "As the person in charge of meals, why would he ask you for lingling incense?""Speaking of this, it's just my bad luck. A few days ago, I happened to... obtain a small amount from somewhere. This incense is quite rare and precious, and I couldn’t bear to use it myself, so I offered it to the princess. Who would have thought the princess wouldn’t care for it, and it ended up in Wei Ximin’s hands. After using it, he assumed I must have more and shamelessly came demanding more. Honestly, I don’t know how someone could be so thick-skinned!"

Huang Ziyao continued digging deeper: "May I ask, sister, where did this lingling incense come from?"

"It was... given to me by someone I know." Changpu lowered her head, visibly uncomfortable and clearly reluctant to discuss the topic. "In any case, that person only gave me this little bit—there was no more. After that, I never saw Wei Ximin again. The next day, I heard he had died—apparently... struck by lightning. I was quite shocked. Could it be that the heavens couldn’t stand his domineering ways?"

Huang Ziyao nodded and asked one final question: "May I ask where you were when Wei Ximin died?"

"That day was the anniversary of Guanyin’s enlightenment, and the household was to observe a vegetarian diet. So I spent the entire morning in the kitchen keeping an eye on the staff to ensure no meat slipped in. If the princess had found out, it would have been a serious matter, don’t you think?"

Cui Chunzhan replied casually, "That’s true."

Just then, a eunuch arrived to announce, "The princess has risen. You may proceed to pay your respects."

Cui Chunzhan and Huang Ziyao left the cook for now and headed toward the princess’s quarters. From a distance, they saw a procession of maids in embroidered silk skirts descending from a high terrace, each holding something that gleamed gold. As they drew closer, they realized the maids were carrying golden trays bearing the princess’s breakfast leftovers.

Huang Ziyao thought to herself that if Zhou Ziqin were here, he’d surely say, "Golden trays are useless—silver ones are far more practical since they can detect poison!"

Princess Tongchang, dressed in a vibrant red ruqun with her hair loosely coiled into a cloud-like bun, received them alone in the pavilion. She sat upright on the divan, wearing only a single hairpin in her hair. Yet the exquisite beauty of this hairpin was such that even Huang Ziyao—who usually paid no attention to jewelry—and Cui Chunzhan—a man—found their eyes drawn to it, unable to look away.

It was a jade hairpin, carved entirely from a single piece of jade with such intricate craftsmanship that it vividly depicted nine phoenixes in flight. What made it truly extraordinary was that the jade itself was a flawless nine-colored stone. It was unclear which master artisan had managed to harness the stone’s natural hues to carve nine phoenixes, each in a different color, their wings spread as if alive with motion.

Huang Ziyao thought to herself, This must be the legendary Nine Phoenix Hairpin—the only one of its kind in the world, hailed as a treasure of the imperial treasury. The current emperor had not given it to Empress Wang but had instead bestowed it upon his daughter, a testament to his deep affection for Princess Tongchang.

There was no sign of the princess’s consort in the pavilion. The princess motioned for them to sit and said, "The consort was injured yesterday. The imperial physician prescribed a medicinal poultice, but I found the smell unpleasant, so I sent him to sleep in the side courtyard."

Cui Chunzhan’s hand unconsciously touched the side of his face where his wife had slapped him that morning, his expression complicated.

It seemed the relationship between the princess and her consort was rather cold.

A fleeting thought crossed Huang Ziyao’s mind—Li Shubai’s words.

He had said that there were many unsavory rumors about Princess Tongchang and Yu Xuan...She forcibly stopped herself from thinking further, gathering her thoughts and striving to keep her voice as calm as before. "May I ask what Your Highness thinks about the matter concerning Wei Ximin? Could you share some insights with us?"

The princess pouted slightly and said, "Of course, I have doubts about this! First of all, Wei Ximin was someone who never believed in ghosts or gods. How could he have squeezed into Jianfu Temple to attend the Dharma assembly that day?"

Huang Zixiang was slightly surprised and asked, "He didn’t believe in ghosts or gods?"

"That’s right." The princess tilted her head thoughtfully and asked one of her maids beside her, "Luopei, isn’t that so?"

Luopei quickly replied, "Indeed! Wei Ximin often suffered from chronic headaches, and whenever the pain struck, he would curse at the heavens and the earth. He even used to say things like, 'If there really are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in this world, then let them first restore my missing flesh...' Oh dear, all sorts of filthy words. Just last night, someone mentioned that Wei Ximin must have suffered retribution for his usual irreverence!"

"The night before last, I heard he had an ugly altercation with Changpu from the kitchen. As you know, Changpu is from the prince consort’s side—how could she let him act so recklessly? I was about to reprimand him, but Chui Zhu searched everywhere in the residence and couldn’t find him. Who would have thought the next day we’d hear he died at Jianfu Temple!" Princess Tongchang frowned. "That’s why I believe there must be something suspicious about this. At the very least, the person who lured him to Jianfu Temple is highly suspect."

Cui Chunzhan said, "Your Highness speaks wisely. We will surely investigate this thoroughly and live up to Your Highness’s expectations!"

His words were nothing more than empty courtesy, and Princess Tongchang turned her gaze directly to Huang Zixiang. "Eunuch Yang, what are your thoughts?"

Huang Zixiang replied, "At present, it’s still unclear. It seems Eunuch Cui and I will first need to inquire with the prince consort."

Princess Tongchang waved her hand. "Eunuch Cui, you may go first. Eunuch Yang, stay a moment."

After Cui Chunzhan and the other five had left the room, Princess Tongchang slowly rose and walked over to Huang Zixiang.

Huang Zixiang stood up and bowed respectfully to her.

Huang Zixiang was tall and slender, while Princess Tongchang was petite, standing about half a head shorter. The princess looked up at her for a long moment before smiling. "I’ve long heard of your reputation, Eunuch Yang. It’s no wonder Prince Kui holds you in such high regard—your demeanor is truly extraordinary."

Huang Zixiang forced a faint smile. "Your Highness flatters me."

"Would my words ever be mere flattery?" She cast her a sidelong glance, smiling, then lazily walked to the window and leaned against it. "Do you see this Nine Phoenix Hairpin I’m wearing?"

Huang Zixiang nodded. "Exquisite beyond compare, a masterpiece of craftsmanship."

"Eunuch Yang, you don’t understand a woman’s heart. Though the rarest jewels in the world would vie to be presented before me at the slightest gesture, my favorite remains this Nine Phoenix Hairpin." She raised her hand to gently touch the hairpin on her head and sighed softly. "A woman’s obsession—she always believes her most cherished possession is connected to her heart..."

Huang Zixiang didn’t know what deeper meaning lay behind her words, but she showed no sign of impatience, listening quietly and respectfully.

"The night before last, the very night before Wei Ximin’s tragic death, I had a dream." The princess placed her hands on the railing and gazed down at the sea of flowers below.It was the seventh month, and the weather was scorching hot. Her residence stood atop a high terrace. A cool breeze drifted by, stirring the pink silk-floss flowers planted below like rippling waves, their subtle fragrance wafting through the air.

A velvety silk-floss blossom, caught by the wind, clung to her temple, trembling delicately. Soft and slender, she reached up to pluck it away, rolling it gently between her fingers as she murmured, "I dreamed of a woman dressed in splendid brocade robes, yet her long hair cascaded unadorned to the ground. She emerged gradually from the darkness, step by step, drawing closer to me. I saw her face—radiant as polished jade. She said to me, 'I am Pan Yuer, Noble Consort of Southern Qi. A beloved treasure of mine has long been by your side. I beg you, Princess, to prepare it and return it to me.'"