The Golden Hairpin

Cui Chunzhan remarked, "Eunuch Yang, your calligraphy and painting skills are quite impressive, and your discerning eye is remarkable."

"Just forced by my father to dabble for a couple of years," Huang Zixiao replied, maintaining the only professional demeanor among the three as she asked, "May I ask if the Imperial Consort was acquainted with Wei Ximin?"

"Oh, you mean the one who met divine retribution?" Wei Baoheng said offhandedly. "I knew him—always trailing behind the princess, short in stature and constantly bowing and scraping like a dog. But he had one merit: he'd bite whoever his master commanded, utterly obedient."

Hearing his dismissive tone, Huang Zixiao pressed further, "From the sound of it, he was competent and capable?"

"Capable indeed, so capable it left nothing to be said," Wei Baoheng sneered. "Just last month, there was an incident—I suppose you’ll hear about it if you inquire, so I might as well tell you now. If I hadn’t rushed around to suppress it across various offices, the princess and her household’s reputation would have been utterly ruined!"

Huang Zixiao and Cui Chunzhan exchanged glances, and Cui quickly asked, "What happened?"

"Well... it doesn’t seem directly related to this case, yet there might be some connection. Unless necessary, I’d ask you both to keep this confidential, as it reflects poorly on the princess’s household." Wei Baoheng frowned slightly before continuing, "The household’s candles have always been supplied by the Lü Family Candle Shop. Last month, the old man Lü had some business and sent his daughter to deliver the candles. But the girl, coming from a humble background, didn’t know proper etiquette and failed to step aside in time for the princess, dirtying her shawl."

Cui Chunzhan remarked casually, "Such a trivial matter—why would the Imperial Consort dwell on it?"

"It was trivial at first, but thanks to Wei Ximin, it became a major incident. The princess ordered him to teach the girl a lesson, but Wei Ximin, eager to please, beat her unconscious and dumped her on a street corner. Then some rogue from the back alleys—what was his name again?" Wei Baoheng hesitated. "Ah, I think people called him Sun the Scabby, a forty-something bachelor covered in sores, universally despised. He found the girl unconscious and... well..."

Wei Baoheng wore a look of sympathy, Cui Chunzhan was stunned, while Huang Zixiao calmly furrowed her brow and asked, "The Lü Family Candle Shop?"

"Yes. Apparently, Old Man Lü always looked down on his daughter. When the scandal spread, he felt the family was disgraced and drove her out. Rumor has it the girl later died in the wilderness. A pity..."

Huang Zixiao frowned slightly. "What about Old Man Lü?"

"Thankfully, he’s a timid man. I rushed around to suppress the matter, gave the Lü family a hundred taels of silver, and had Sun the Scabby beaten. Old Man Lü was so grateful that the whole affair blew over without further trouble."

Cui Chunzhan sighed. "That old man... truly spineless, with no thought of revenge? From what I’ve heard, Wei Ximin was burned to death by candles he personally made, wasn’t he?"

Wei Baoheng spread his hands. "Hence the divine retribution—an eye for an eye. In the end, it was Old Man Lü’s candles that burned Wei Ximin. A fitting outcome, don’t you think?"

Cui Chunzhan grimaced. "If only the princess saw it that way."Leaving the princess's residence, Cui Chunzhan asked Huang Zixiao, "Eunuch Yang, where are you planning to go next?"

"I think we must visit Lü's Incense and Candle Shop."

"Alright, let's go together then," he said.

Huang Zixiao shook her head. "Chief Cui, your official robes will give you away the moment you arrive. It's better if I go first to gather information. If he proves suspicious, we can summon him directly to the Dali Temple for questioning."

"Excellent, excellent." Cui Chunzhan checked the time and quickly added, "My wife mentioned she'd be cooking personally today, so I must hurry back to enjoy her dishes. It's almost time..."

"Safe travels, Chief Cui." Huang Zixiao watched his carriage disappear into the distance before promptly hiring a carriage—thank heavens she still had the funds from the last case investigation that she "hadn't had time" to return to Li Shubai. Otherwise, how could she afford a carriage?

She headed straight to Zhou Ziqin's house, where he was predictably holed up studying his collection of bones. Since he was at home, his outfit was relatively subdued today—lilac paired with pale yellow—though still somewhat eye-searing.

"Chonggu, come quick, quick!" Zhou Ziqin pointed excitedly at the skull he had placed on a shelf. "Come witness my greatest achievement to date!"

Huang Zixiao sighed and said, "I came to discuss that matter with you—"

"Come here, come here!" He grabbed her sleeve and pulled her inside. Stumbling along, she caught sight of a human head mounted on a shelf and nearly jumped in fright.

"Looks real, doesn't it? Hahaha, just like the hand reconstruction last time, but the facial muscles and veins are so complex—it took me until now to complete the first one. Hey, doesn’t it seem... a little familiar?"

How could it not be familiar? The resemblance to Empress Wang was uncanny, Huang Zixiao thought to herself.

"When I first got this skull, I knew it belonged to a beauty, but I didn’t expect her to be this stunning," Zhou Ziqin mused as he caressed the skull.

Huang Zixiao paused, then suddenly asked, "Where did you get this skull?"

"I bought it! I’ve been asking the Ministry of Revenue officials who handle unidentified corpses to keep an eye out for me—shh, this is technically illegal, so you mustn’t breathe a word—then one day, just before we fished that headless corpse out of the canal, someone quietly delivered this to me, saying it was found in the grass. Ugh, it was a bloody mess when I got it, but after cleaning it up, I realized how exquisite it was. Beautiful, isn’t it?"

Huang Zixiao grabbed a nearby bag, stuffed the skull inside, and clutched it to her chest. "Zhou Ziqin, I’m taking this head."

"Wha—? Why?" he pressed urgently.

"Don’t ask." She also shoved the nearly reconstructed head into the bag and said, "I’m taking them. You’ll have to find another one later.""Hey hey, Chonggu, don't be so heartless... This is truly the most beautiful skull I've ever seen in my life... My heart belongs to it alone, don't take it away..." Zhou Ziqin grabbed the bag, tears streaming down his face, "Chonggu, you can't do this to me! Remember during Wang Ruo's case how I ran around for you, retrieving corpses and digging pits? Even if I didn't contribute much, I worked hard, didn't I? And what about you? You still haven't told me the truth about that case! I know the body in the Wang family coffin wasn't Wang Ruo, so why did the Wang family quietly send it back to Langya for burial? And who was the real culprit in that case? How exactly did the murderer commit the crime? I'm completely in the dark! Chonggu, you're so cruel~ Anyway, I don't mind anything else, just leave me this skull I love so much! Please, or I'll trade you my own head for it..."

Listening to his tearful accusations, Huang Zixia finally sighed and said softly, "Ziqin, this skull might belong to the daughter of... an acquaintance of mine. She was separated from her daughter at a very young age and has never seen what her grown-up daughter looked like. Please understand a mother's heart and let her take it back for a proper burial."

"Alright... alright." Zhou Ziqin hesitated for a long time before reluctantly letting go of the bag, then looked at her pitifully, "Then, Chonggu, I heard you're investigating the case at the princess's residence this time. You must take me with you! I want to investigate this case with you from start to finish, and this time I'll definitely solve the mystery before you with my superb skills and astonishing talent!"

"Fine, actually, that's why I came to find you." She gestured to him, "First, tell me, did you examine that fish you took last time? What were the results?"

Zhou Ziqin immediately straightened up, "Of course I examined it! I'm the most responsible coroner in the dynasty! Those fish were indeed poisoned!"

"What kind of poison? And its source?"

"Not sure yet, but it seems like mercury poisoning." He scratched his head uncertainly, frowning, "It's so strange. Who would put mercury in a fish pond? It's not easy to carry, and what's the point of putting it in a pond?"

Huang Zixia frowned in thought, then said, "Let's note that for now. First, find me some clothes, then we'll go to Lü's Incense and Candle Shop."

"Sure, Abi is about your size. I'll get you something right away."

Huang Zixia transformed into Zhou Ziqin's attendant.

The two found Lü's Incense and Candle Shop in the West Market. From afar, they could see the bright signboard with a large "Lü" character.

Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin sat down in a nearby teahouse. Zhou Ziqin, being the wealthy man he was, immediately ordered the finest purple tea along with four types of candied fruits and eight kinds of pastries. He also generously tipped the tea master, who was so delighted that he ignored other customers and focused solely on brewing tea in their private room.

"These crab-eye bubbles are so beautiful, look, look." Zhou Ziqin pulled Huang Zixia over to observe the bubbles in the pot, "Ah... the bubbles are getting denser! Come, Chonggu, look. I once saw blood foam coming out of someone's mouth just like this, exactly the same! Guess which of their internal organs was injured?"Huang Zixiang elbowed him in the waist, successfully cutting off his next words.

The tea master finished brewing the tea and served it to the two of them, smiling as he said, "Young master, you’ve got a good eye—you picked me right away. I’ve been a tea master for over a decade, and no one in this teahouse can match my skill."

Huang Zixiang chuckled. "Only a decade? See that candle shop across the street? I heard they’ve been making candles for four generations—now that’s a family legacy."

"That’s truly unmatched. Four generations over a hundred years of candle-making—no wonder the Jianfu Temple commissioned their giant candles this time."

Zhou Ziqin blinked, still unaware of the details, and obediently picked up his bowl to sip his tea.

"But I heard their lineage ends with this fourth generation. Old Man Lü doesn’t have a son!"

"Exactly, just one daughter—their family line is finished. And then there’s that incident." The tea master’s face lit up with gossip. "Have you two heard? The old man kicked his daughter out of the house! Even if she’s just a daughter, how could he treat her like that? Who’s going to take care of him when he’s old?"

Huang Zixiang feigned interest. "You mean the thing with Sun the Lout?"

"Right! That Sun the Lout is a real piece of work—ugly, sickly, couldn’t find a wife at forty. He saw the girl on the roadside and ruined her! After committing such a vile act, he bragged about it everywhere! The whole capital knows—he was practically pushing that girl to her death!"

Zhou Ziqin hadn’t expected such a scandalous story and nearly dropped his cup. Pointing at the candle shop across the street, he asked, "That… that Old Man Lü?"

Huang Zixiang, however, calmly asked, "Why didn’t Old Man Lü report it to the authorities and demand punishment for Sun the Lout?"

"Don’t even mention it—that’s why everyone curses that old man! He took a hundred taels of silver and kept quiet. Then he called his daughter filthy and threw her out!" Lowering his voice, he added, "A bunch of us saw it with our own eyes. The old man kicked his daughter out, threw a knife and a rope in front of her, and told her to choose how to die—just don’t shame him, and don’t die at home!"