The Golden Hairpin

Behind them, Jing You had already set up a folding stool under the distant shade of a locust tree. Li Shubai walked back and sat down, washing his hands before settling in.

Jing Yu laid out four types of tea snacks and opened an ice bucket to prepare chilled drinks.

Huang Zixiao sipped on a bowl of iced cheese while watching Zhang Liu'er and a group of others frantically jumping up and down near the water channel entrance. Load after load of sludge was being hauled out from the channel, piling up like a small mountain. Fortunately, they were far enough away not to smell the stench.

Chief Clerk Jiang approached Li Shubai with a delighted expression, exclaiming excitedly, "With this new regulation in place, the capital's flooding problems will be eradicated for good!"

"Where one law is made, ten ways to circumvent it are found. It won't be long before they figure out a workaround—and I suspect they'll start by targeting you, Chief Clerk Jiang."

Chief Clerk Jiang immediately broke into a cold sweat and hastily replied, "I will absolutely uphold justice in my duties and would never seek personal gain!"

"That wasn't my implication. I'm merely concerned that you might ease up on supervision when you see how hard they're working. After all, this issue has already caused the ruin of many households in Chang'an."

"Understood. I know my responsibilities well and will remain vigilant without fail!"

As noon approached, Zhang Liu'er, now covered in mud like a drowned rat, finally steeled himself and approached Li Shubai, stammering, "Your Highness, it... it should be about done now."

Li Shubai nodded and stood up, walking over to the water channel.

Zhang Liu'er grabbed a bucket of water nearby and doused himself, washing off the mud from his clothes and face before squeezing into the channel.

This time, he was truly determined. By the time Li Shubai had leisurely walked halfway along the channel, Zhang Liu'er had already emerged from the exit, surprisingly not too covered in mud.

"Good. If everyone could perform like this, would there be any need for me to personally oversee things?" Li Shubai expressed his satisfaction.

The crowd of onlookers buzzed with chatter, their faces filled with joy. Someone shouted at Zhang Liu'er, "Liu'er, you ran through pretty fast! Prince Kui should have you crawl through all the city's water channels, hahaha!"

Another added, "What's so impressive about Liu'er crawling through? Boss Qian should be the one to try it, right!"

Amid the crowd's cheers, a short, stout man stood with his head bowed, looking utterly miserable and unlucky.

Li Shubai spotted him immediately and signaled to Huang Zixiao.

Chief Clerk Jiang was busy calling a group of people to collect their wages. Huang Zixiao noticed Zhang Liu'er, after receiving his pay, walk over to the stout man, exchanging bitter smiles.

She approached the stout man and clasped her hands in greeting. "Excuse me, sir. May I ask your name?"

The stout man, seeing a eunuch from Prince Kui's entourage approach, quickly put on an ingratiating smile. "Greetings, Your Excellency! Your Excellency, this humble one is flustered... May I ask what brings you to me?"

Huang Zixiao asked, "Are you the well-known Boss Qian Guansuo of the capital?"

"Oh, no, no! This humble one merely owns a few shops to scrape by, just scraping by." He bowed repeatedly, treating her as if she were some grand figure. His short, rotund frame managed to bend into a near-perfect semicircle, which was quite a feat.

Huang Zixiao had met all sorts of people, but someone who groveled and kowtowed so obsequiously to a eunuch was rare. She couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated. "Boss Qian, I just have a few questions. There's no need for such formalities."

"Yes, yes, Your Excellency, please ask away! This humble one will speak without reservation!"

She gestured toward the water channel ahead. "Are you acquainted with Zhang Liu'er?""To be honest with you, sir, I... own a carriage and horse inn, and I hired a group of masons to help people with their houses. Later, I... took on some jobs and coordinated with these brothers who work on the capital's waterways, so..."

Seeing his hesitation, Zhang Liur bluntly spoke for him: "Apologies, sir. It's just that we laborers sometimes take private jobs outside the yamen, and occasionally help Boss Qian with some work."

Although the yamen employed these men, it was no secret that they took side jobs. Everyone turned a blind eye, so Huang Zixiao didn’t mind. But Qian Guansuo was terrified and quickly said, "I am guilty! I beg for your punishment, sir! Please have mercy and spare my life..."

"Boss Qian, this matter has nothing to do with me. I’m not here to investigate that." Huang Zixiao was truly exasperated and motioned for him to step aside for a private word.

The two walked to a low wall nearby, and Huang Zixiao asked, "Boss Qian, do you know Sun Laizi?"

"N-no... I don’t." At the mention of this, the fat on Boss Qian’s face seemed to sag, making him look utterly wretched. "Sir, spare me... I really just acted impulsively after drinking and went to chop down his door... Everyone present can testify that when I entered, he was already dead and rotting!"

"I know that. What I want to ask is, where were you at noon yesterday?"

"Yesterday at noon... I was collecting debts in Jing'an Ward! Many people can vouch for me!" His jowls trembled with agitation. The Dali Temple officials already checked, it’s true! Sir, I’ve had such terrible luck! Yesterday I even... even touched a corpse! They say this kind of bad luck lasts three years! What will happen to my business? I couldn’t sleep all night..."

"Then, have you ever met Princess Tongchang’s consort, Wei Baoheng?" Huang Zixiao interrupted his lament.

He froze, his pitiful expression stuck on his plump face, looking almost comical.

You lied to the Dali Temple officials. In truth, you’ve met Consort Wei Baoheng before, haven’t you?"

Qian Guansuo finally panicked, shakily pulling out two silver ingots from his sleeve and pressing them into her hands, pleading, "Sir, have mercy... I only met the consort a few times, I... I didn’t even speak to him!"

"How many times exactly?" Huang Zixiao didn’t even blink, pushing the silver back.

"T-two... two times, I swear!"Boss Qian, do you know the penalty for deceiving officials, especially lying to the Dali Temple officers?""

"Th-three times! Really! Once was just at the gate of his residence—I only caught a glimpse from afar and left immediately... so I only counted it as two!" He was on the verge of tears, adding another ingot to her sleeve.

Huang Zixiao tossed the silver back to him and smiled. "Enough, Boss Qian. I know you’re wealthy, carrying so much silver around. As a eunuch, what use do I have for this? Just tell me in detail about each time you met the consort.""They reportedly met three times in total. The first was at the Defense Bureau's horse testing grounds in the capital—the same place Your Highness mentioned to me before. The second was inside the princess's residence when his men went to repair the drainage system, and he went to inspect the work. The imperial son-in-law told his group of foul-smelling workers not to disturb the princess. The third time was outside the princess's residence. He happened to see the imperial son-in-law's carriage approaching and quickly hid at a street corner, not daring to approach."

Li Shubai listened but said nothing, only asking, "Do you believe it?"

"Of course not. A scheming merchant like Qian Guansuo would seize any opportunity to get close to the imperial son-in-law. Why would he hide instead?"

Li Shubai neither agreed nor disagreed and asked again, "How did he explain lying to the Dali Temple?"

"He said he knew the imperial son-in-law was in trouble, and it was related to the horses he had procured for the Defense Bureau. Since the imperial son-in-law had criticized his horses before, he feared being implicated and simply claimed they'd never met."

"Sounds plausible enough," he said, standing up. "It's almost noon. Let's return to the residence. Tell the kitchen to serve lunch at the Pillow Stream Pavilion."

Huang Zixia hesitated but didn't dare speak up.

His gaze swept over her face. "What is it?"

"Zhou Ziqin and I agreed... to meet at noon today to go to... the Defense Bureau in the capital," she forced herself to say, prickling with discomfort as she unnecessarily added, "We might also look for... clues about the imperial son-in-law's case."

Li Shubai's eyes narrowed slightly, fixing on her for a moment.

Even the midday summer sun hadn't made her sweat, but his single glance seemed to wring every drop of perspiration from her body. She didn't dare lift her eyes.

Fortunately, it lasted only a moment before Li Shubai turned away, looking coldly at the sky as he said, "A mere palace eunuch, freeloading meals everywhere."

She silently wept inside, thinking, Isn't it because... Your Highness has left me penniless? Even freeloading at government offices requires connections!

"Yes... this servant knows her offense. I'll go cancel with Zhou Ziqin right away..."

"No need. Otherwise, you'll be physically here but mentally elsewhere, still fantasizing about how delicious the Defense Bureau's food must be." He left her behind without another glance.

She felt... she hadn't done anything wrong!

Huang Zixia was utterly aggrieved. She had, after all, saved the Prince's household a meal. She had no idea why His Highness was giving her such a look.

"Chonggu, what are you thinking about?"

Zhou Ziqin eagerly placed a pork knuckle in her bowl, beaming. "Look at this knuckle—half fat, half lean, precisely two inches from the tip of the trotter. This is the most exquisite part of the entire pig's leg! Only someone as talented as me could snatch the best piece among so many people!"

"In the middle of summer..." And yet they were eating pork knuckles, with Zhou Ziqin even fighting to give her the best piece.

She stared at the spread before her. The Defense Bureau's meals were indeed lavish—chicken, duck, fish, and meat were all present. Today, to welcome the newly recruited Zhang Xingying, they had even roasted a suckling pig.

"That said, Brother Zhang's horsemanship is truly impressive. On his very first day, he could already control his mount with ease. In a few more days, once he's familiar with his horse, he'll be one of the best in the Defense Bureau!" Zhou Ziqin lowered his voice to discuss the earlier training session with Huang Zixia.

Huang Zixia nodded but barely had time to take a few bites before a line of Defense Bureau officials came over to toast them."Eunuch Yang, that polo match last time truly opened our eyes!"

"Indeed, your skills were divine! We're in awe!"

"Come, come, Eunuch Yang, let me toast you!"

"Brother Liu, don't cut in! I was here first! Eunuch Yang, please~"

Huang Ziyao stared helplessly at the crowd of men waiting to drink with her when Wang Yun stepped in and scolded, "Couldn't beat Eunuch Yang on the field, so now you're trying to get even at the table? Eunuch Yang is a busy man—he has a case to investigate this afternoon. If you get him drunk, don’t think the Dali Temple won’t come after you!"

The men immediately straightened up in respect. "Oh? Eunuch Yang solves cases too?"

Zhou Ziqin patted Huang Ziyao’s shoulder, prouder than if he had cracked the case himself. "The sensational Four Directions Case in the capital earlier this year, and last month’s case where two maids of the Langya Wang family plotted against Princess Kui—both were solved by this very Eunuch Yang."

"Ah! Our deepest apologies!" The simple-minded men were instantly awestruck, their gazes brimming with admiration. "What major case is it this time that requires your personal attention?"

"Here, Eunuch Yang, another toast to your heroic deeds..."

"Get lost, all of you!" Wang Yun laughed and shooed them away before turning to Huang Ziyao with an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. The Defense Bureau is full of rough men—what can you do?"

"Not at all, this is quite nice." It reminded her of her days in Shu Commandery, working alongside a group of equally boisterous, carefree constables who loved nothing more than a rowdy meal.

Huang Ziyao then glanced at Zhang Xingying, who should have been the center of attention today. Though he wore a smile, his expression was distant, his gaze unfocused.

She sat down beside him and asked, "What’s wrong? Still missing A-Di’s cooking?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, no, this is delicious, really delicious..." As if to prove his point, he stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth.

Huang Ziyao pretended not to notice, picking up her bowl and digging into the greasy pork knuckle while wistfully recalling the dishes from Prince Kui’s residence.