The Golden Hairpin

"What's the big event tomorrow? The Prince even gave you special instructions," Zhou Ziqin asked Huang Zixiao curiously as they rode toward Daningfang.

"Oh, just some court matters." Though in truth, it wouldn't matter if I didn't go, she thought silently.

Zhou Ziqin sounded rather envious. "Chonggu, you're truly remarkable. Very few can thrive by Prince Kui's side."

Huang Zixiao nodded. "Prince Kui is exceptionally talented and capable. Working under him naturally comes with immense pressure."

"Exactly! Earlier this year, when he was away for just half a month to pay respects at his mother's tomb, the court nearly fell into chaos. Dozens of officials from various departments couldn't handle his duties, and in the end, even His Majesty had to issue an edict summoning him back to the capital."

Having witnessed Li Shubai managing affairs across ministries, Huang Zixiao silently agreed. She mused to herself: Everyone in this world should have some passion or interest, yet Prince Kui seems capable of everything yet indifferent to all. What in this world could possibly spark his interest?

After much thought, the only constant companion by his side seemed to be that little red fish. What significant matter could this tiny creature be connected to? Even the Emperor himself had explicitly stated he couldn't inquire—it must be a secret so vast it could shake the realm.

Yet what secret could a fragile little fish, kept in a glass bowl and easily crushed between two fingers, possibly hold?

As she urged her horse forward alongside Zhou Ziqin, she suddenly recalled the man she'd seen that day in Taiji Palace.

Beside the man standing inside the window, in that fishbowl, was a small fish as vividly red as blood. Though too distant to discern its shape clearly, it had struck her as somehow... unusual.

She couldn't shake the feeling that Empress Wang's deliberate summoning of her to Taiji Palace was somehow connected to that man watching her from afar.

The Langya Wang family... Wang Yun.

Remembering their last encounter, she felt the weight of her circumstances growing ever more complex and overwhelming, nearly suffocating her.

The burdens pressing upon her now: the wrongful accusations against her family, her fugitive status with warrants across the land, Empress Wang's orders to help her return to Daming Palace, the headless case involving Princess Tongchang...

And then there was Yu Xuan's sudden reappearance, and Wang Yun, who had already uncovered her true identity.

Her head throbbed deeply as she rode, her thoughts scattered, her hands on the reins growing unsteady.

When Zhou Ziqin abruptly halted his horse and said, "Wang Yun," she murmured an absentminded "Hmm," adding unconsciously, "Wang Yun is another problem..."

Only then did she snap back to awareness. Zhou Ziqin was staring at her in bewilderment, while Wang Yun himself was approaching slowly on horseback from the opposite end of the street.

The cool summer night enveloped Chang'an in translucent indigo. As Wang Yun drew near against this dark blue sky, his expression remained calm and gentle—still the refined nobleman resembling tender spring willow branches.

"The night curfew approaches. Where might you two be heading?" His voice carried its usual warmth, the words laced with a hint of smile even before he spoke. His gaze slid past Zhou Ziqin to settle on Huang Zixiao, where his smile visibly deepened, the curve of his lips particularly striking.Huang Zixiang recalled the last time they had met, his final words and actions. Gazing at his bright smile now, clear as the moonlight over Chang'an, she couldn't help but feel a faint resistance and fear rising within her. Yet she couldn't express it, only silently lowering her head to avoid his gaze.

Wang Yun urged his horse closer to hers and asked softly, "Going to investigate another case?"

She bit her lower lip and gave a slight nod.

Zhou Ziqin quickly chimed in from the side, "Prince Kui ordered us to go together. See, he even wrote a personal note—"

Wang Yun glanced at it and smiled. "With such an incident happening in Daning Ward, the area might be unsettled. I'll accompany you."

"Wonderful! I knew Brother Wang would be the most helpful," Zhou Ziqin said excitedly. "Right, Chonggu?"

Huang Zixiang nodded.

Riding side by side with her, Wang Yun casually mentioned, "Tomorrow's an auspicious day. Zhang Xingying will report to our bureau."

Only then did Huang Zixiang quickly respond, "We owe you thanks for this matter, Young Master Wang. Another day... I'll be sure to express my gratitude properly."

Wang Yun smiled. "You could visit our Capital Defense Bureau tomorrow too. Zhang Xingying will surely thrive there, everything going smoothly for him."

"Great! I love dropping by your place for meals!" Zhou Ziqin immediately perked up, becoming animated at the mention of food. "Honestly, I've sampled meals at every yamen in the capital. The worst was the Censorate—they give lectures about imperial edification before every meal, can you believe it? The most unpalatable was the Court of Judicial Review—their kitchen walls are plastered white with legal statutes, all about beheadings, hangings, or exile three thousand li away! But my favorite place to eat is definitely your Defense Bureau. Lots of young people with similar tastes, plenty of familiar faces—it's more fun than eating at home! And that cook of yours is the second-best female chef I've ever seen in the capital!"

Wang Yun laughed. "Who's the first?"

"Zhang Erge's fiancée, of course! She's practically a culinary saint!" Zhou Ziqin exclaimed dramatically.

Wang Yun chuckled. "Really? A young girl outdoing decades-old master chefs from restaurants?"

"It's not just me—Princes Zhao and E both say so too. Chonggu, what do you think?"

"Well, take hibiscus flowers for example. Miss Adi would meticulously remove every calyx and any withered petals, while restaurants might prepare them in advance and just toss in handfuls when needed—many petals likely past their prime. In that regard, Miss Adi's cooking is undoubtedly superior."

Huang Zixiang nodded in agreement, but at that very moment, something suddenly flashed through her mind, startling her into stillness.

She abruptly remembered—that day at Zhang Xingying's home, while they were drinking hibiscus soup, Prince E had seen that strange painting. His peculiar expression at the time now seemed... profoundly unsettling in hindsight.

And as she recalled the painting's contents, her heart pounded violently.

Three smeared figures: the first showed a person struck by lightning and burned to death; the second depicted someone dying trapped within concentric iron cages...

Exactly matching, without deviation, the methods of the two murders in this case—

Could this possibly be just coincidence?As for the third person, the one pecked to death by the descending phoenix—what did that portend?

Phoenix...

For some reason, Huang Zixiao’s mind instantly conjured the image of Princess Tongchang.

Standing atop a high platform, she recounted her dream. She said that Pan Yuer, the Noble Consort of Southern Qi, had come to her in a dream to reclaim her Nine Phoenix Hairpin.

The Nine Phoenix Hairpin... the person who died beneath it.

Seated on horseback, Huang Zixiao felt only a momentary daze, yet a cold sweat had already broken out down her back, making it nearly impossible for her to sit upright.

"Chonggu, what’s wrong?" Wang Yun’s voice sounded beside her. Seeing her swaying figure, he grabbed her horse’s reins to steady Fusha for her.

Huang Zixiao steadied herself, shaking off the ominous thoughts. "It’s nothing... It’s just gotten a bit dark, and I suddenly couldn’t see the road ahead clearly."

She raised her head. Ahead stood the low walls of a residential ward, its entrance hung with two faded lanterns bearing the characters "Da Ning."

The three dismounted at Da Ning Ward. Zhou Ziqin, noticing Wang Yun following them in, asked in surprise, "Brother Wang... aren’t you supposed to be patrolling the wards tonight?"

"Chang’an is such a vast place—if I had to cover it all alone, wouldn’t I be worked to death sooner or later?" Wang Yun laughed. "Truth be told, I usually just make a few rounds before heading back. But since I happened to run into you two today, and I’ve never seen constables investigate a case before, I thought I’d broaden my horizons."

"The body was already moved to the mortuary ages ago. What’s there to see? Next time there’s a chance, I’ll let you watch me examine a corpse," Zhou Ziqin said as he showed the ward guards the note Li Shubai had given them, then led the way to Sun Laizi’s house.

"That scoundrel Sun Laizi’s real name is Sun Fuchang. Because he’s covered in sores and his head’s full of scabies, everyone calls him Sun Laizi. He has no siblings, and his relatives rarely interacted with him. After his parents passed away one after another in recent years, he ended up living alone in a rundown courtyard in the northwest corner of Da Ning Ward."

Zhou Ziqin led them along the ward wall. In the northwest corner stood a row of narrow, small houses, one of which was unlocked but sealed with an official strip.

Zhou Ziqin carefully peeled off the seal—clearly not his first time doing so—removing it intact. He pushed the door open. The room, long shut, reeked of mildew, rot, and a host of other indescribable odors, enough to make one retch.

Zhou Ziqin had come prepared, pulling out two cloth strips soaked in a mixture of ginger, garlic, and vinegar. He handed one each to Huang Zixiao and Wang Yun, pinching his own nose as he said, "What kind of bizarre stench is this... The foulness is one thing, but there’s also this inexplicable, grating odor mixed in—it’s even worse than plain rot!"

Wang Yun, covering his face with the cloth, looked visibly uncomfortable. Clearly unaccustomed to such smells, he removed it and said, "I won’t take up your supplies. This should go to—"

Before he could finish, he paused, hesitated, then put the cloth back on. Muffled through the fabric, he muttered, "Ziqin, Chonggu, you two really have it rough. The stench mixed with fragrance is indeed worse than pure rot."

Zhou Ziqin asked in surprise, "What fragrance?"

"You don’t smell it?" Wang Yun frowned slightly, waving a hand in front of his nose even through the cloth. "Lingling incense."Huang Zixiao asked in astonishment, "In this dilapidated house... there's lingling incense?" She had covered her nose and mouth before entering, so she hadn't smelled it.

"Indeed, lingling incense," he said with absolute certainty. "Though it's very faint and mixed with all sorts of foul odors, I have considerable expertise in the art of incense. I couldn't possibly mistake it."

Zhou Ziqin frowned. "Lingling incense is extremely rare and expensive. How could it appear in such a shabby house?"

"It is strange, but I can't be wrong," Wang Yun affirmed.