The Golden Hairpin

Seeing the object in his hand, it was a letter.

The paper was a faint pink, with occasional glints of sunlight reflecting off it. At the corners, delicate golden patterns shimmered, exquisitely beautiful—clearly an item from a woman's private chambers. However, Huang Ziyao was too far away to make out what was written on it.

When he reached the Xingtang Temple in Daning Ward, he finally stopped before an incense burner and opened the letter in his hand, glancing at it briefly.

After just one look, his lips—perfectly shaped and colored—pressed together tightly as he slowly raised his hand and tore the letter to pieces.

Then, he dropped the shredded fragments into the incense burner and stood there, watching until every last scrap had turned to ash. Only then did he turn and walk away, heading toward Wuben Ward where the Imperial Academy was located, never looking back.

Once Yu Xuan disappeared around the corner, Huang Ziyao rushed to the incense burner on the empty street and peered inside. The letter paper had been thick and heavy, adorned with gilded patterns, so even as ashes, they weren’t light enough to scatter easily, merely drifting slightly with the rising incense smoke.

For some reason, Huang Ziyao raised her hands, as if catching a butterfly, and gently cupped the largest remaining fragment in her palms.

The scrap was still faintly warm. Carefully, she pulled down her sleeves to cover her hands, shielding the fragile ash from her skin’s moisture, then closed her hands together, the fabric acting as a protective barrier.

Cradling this warm secret within the thin crimson gauze of her sleeves, she dared not move her hands, afraid even the slightest shift might destroy the delicate remnants.

Clutching the hidden mystery, she sprinted through the streets toward Chongren Ward.

The gatekeeper at the Zhou residence was already familiar with her and let her in without question.

Zhou Ziqin, who was still holed up in a quiet courtyard tinkering with bones, was startled when he saw Huang Ziyao running toward him with her hands clasped together. "Chonggu, what’s wrong with your hands? Did someone nail them shut?"

She carefully opened her palms to reveal the fragment inside. "I need your help with something."

"...Paper ashes?" Zhou Ziqin frowned in confusion. "Where did this come from?"

"The incense burner at Xingtang Temple."

Zhou Ziqin’s expression turned serious. "Chonggu, let me tell you something. If you’re sick, you should see a doctor. You’ve never believed in superstitions, right? Drinking incense ashes mixed with water or any other nonsense—don’t you dare do that! If you do, I’ll absolutely despise you!"

"This was a letter," Huang Ziyao said helplessly, holding the ash closer to him. "It contains a clue I desperately need. If you can reveal the writing on it, I’ll... treat you to a meal."

"Like I’ve never had a meal before," Zhou Ziqin scoffed. He slid a sheet of paper between her hands and the ash, then gently lifted it to transfer the fragment onto the paper.

"Then name your price."

"From now on, you can’t ditch me like you did at noon today and go investigate alone!" he declared.

Huang Ziyao explained, "At noon, I went to the princess’s residence. Without her permission, how could I bring someone else along?"

"Hmph, couldn’t you have said I was your assistant from the Dali Temple?" He glared at her.

Huang Ziyao sighed. "Fine... Unless there’s a special circumstance, I’ll always bring you along.""Great!" Zhou Ziqin immediately beamed with joy, vigorously patting Huang Ziguang's shoulder. "I love following you the most, Chonggu! With you around, there are always corpses!"

Huang Ziguang pretended not to hear: "The characters on the paper ashes..."

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Zhou Ziqin fetched a basin of water, gently placed the paper on the surface, and then carefully pulled the underlying paper out from beneath with the lightest touch.

The paper ashes floated softly on the water. Zhou Ziqin rummaged through a nearby shelf for a while before pulling out a small bottle. He carefully poured a faint green liquid along the edges of the ashes and said, "This is something I refined according to ancient methods, boiling and filtering hundreds of pounds of spinach repeatedly. I usually can't bear to use it."

The liquid slowly spread and seeped into the ashes. Under its influence, faint traces of writing gradually appeared on the blackened ashes—the remnants of ink disappearing faster than the ashes themselves, leaving behind a lighter imprint.

The characters vanished in an instant, like a fleeting gray shadow over black text. Though unclear, they were barely discernible.

"Moon... Radiance... Wasteland... Shine... Yin..."

Zhou Ziqin scrutinized the characters, straining to decipher them: "What does this mean?"

Huang Ziguang stared blankly as the five pale characters on the ashes swiftly disappeared, the entire sheet finally dissolving into the water.

Slowly, with difficulty, she murmured, "I think... the third character is 'flow' torn in half, and the fifth character is 'lord' torn in half..."

"'Moonlight flows to shine upon you'..." Zhou Ziqin suddenly realized, "A line from Zhang Ruoxu's poem!"

Now we gaze but hear no sound, as moonlight flows to shine upon you.

He looked up at her and asked, "A love letter?"

Huang Ziguang nodded, then shook her head. She couldn't speak, only sitting down in a daze, staring at the remnants of ash.

Under the erosion of the green liquid, the entire sheet had turned to cinders, half-sunken and half-floating, scattered apart.

The remaining characters had, at last, vanished forever.

Zhou Ziqin was still gloating: "Pretty neat, huh? I discovered spinach juice can remove ink stains from clothes, then found a method in ancient texts to extract the juice. After applying this special solution, the ink on the ashes fades just a split second before the ashes dissolve—though the time difference is minuscule, it's enough for us to see the characters. I'm just brilliant, aren't I?"

Huang Ziguang forced a nod. "Yes."

Only then did Zhou Ziqin notice her distress. "Chonggu, what's wrong? You look... terrible."

"It's... nothing," she whispered, casting a glance at the basin of now grayish-green murky water. Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady herself.

Zhou Ziqin continued to watch her with concern. Avoiding his gaze, she checked the sky outside and stood up. "Thank you for your help. I... should go now."

"At least have a meal before you leave. With all your running around, have you been eating properly?"

"No time. I need to hurry back and check that painting from Zhang Xingying's house. I remember His Highness mentioned borrowing it from the Dali Temple."

Returning to Prince Kui's residence, Huang Ziguang felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.She forced herself to gather her spirits and, as usual, went to see Li Shubai first to inform him of the contents of that letter.

Li Shubai listened absentmindedly, toying with the glass cup in his hand. Inside the cup, a small fish drifted aimlessly with the gently swirling water, powerless to resist, its tail flicking in vain to maintain balance.

"So the rumors circulating among the people are confirmed, aren’t they?" Li Shubai gazed at the fish in the water, his voice as calm as the ripples in the cup, barely stirring the surface.

"Yes..." she replied softly.

Finally, he turned his gaze to her. For the first time, hesitation and contemplation flickered in his eyes, as if he wanted to say something. But after a long pause, he averted his gaze again, speaking as if to console her—or perhaps to himself: "Rumors often reflect only a part of the truth, or are outright false smokescreens."

Huang Zixiao didn’t understand the meaning behind his words. She stood before him for a long time, unable to make sense of it, and could only change the subject. "Has the Dali Temple managed to retrieve that painting from Zhang Xingying?"

"No."

She looked up at Li Shubai in surprise.

"When the Dali Temple officials went to investigate, Zhang Xingying opened the cabinet only to find that the painting had disappeared."

"Disappeared?" She frowned slightly, recalling the scene when Zhang Xingying had carefully stored the scroll away. "Zhang’s father treasured that painting greatly. He would only take it out for important occasions to hang and worship, keeping it locked in the cabinet the rest of the time... How could it suddenly go missing?"

"The Dali Temple suspects he deliberately refused to hand it over, obstructing the investigation. They searched his home but found nothing." Li Shubai spoke indifferently. "At first, it might have been dismissed as a coincidence, but now, it seems there might truly be a problem."

A ripple of unease passed through Huang Zixiao’s heart. "What does the Dali Temple plan to do?"

Li Shubai glanced at her. "Today, the Dali Temple directly summoned Zhang Xingying from the Capital Defense Office. Being called away on his first day of duty will surely stir up talk. The Capital Defense Office has already stated that he must first find the painting before returning to his post. In my opinion, if he fails to produce it soon, he might be in some trouble."

Huang Zixiao sighed inwardly. "Understood. I’ll keep an eye on this matter."

Li Shubai then picked up a stack of papers beside him and handed them to her. "This is from the Dali Temple—the investigation you requested last time."

Huang Zixiao took them, knowing immediately that they concerned the matter she had discussed with Zhou Ziqin: when Zhang Xingying had learned about Diciu’s connection to the Princess’s residence.

At the time, Zhang Xingying had claimed he knew nothing of it and didn’t even recognize Wei Ximin.

But the Dali Temple’s investigation, in black and white, completely contradicted his statement.

Huang Zixiao pressed her lips tightly together, tucking the report away. "In that case, I should probably make a trip to the Zhang residence right away."

Li Shubai waved his hand. "Go ahead. By now, the Capital Defense Office likely recognizes you—no need for my written order."

"If all else fails, there’s still the Prince’s seal." She forced a faint smile. But as she stood to leave, a sudden wave of dizziness struck her, and she collapsed back into her seat.

Li Shubai, seated across from her, reacted swiftly. With one hand, he pushed aside the low table in front of him, and with the other, he caught her as she fainted, steadying her as she half-collapsed onto the carpeted floor to prevent her from hitting the table.Huang Zixiang waited until the darkness before her eyes gradually faded. Looking at Li Shubai, who was supporting her, she moved slightly, wanting to stand up from his embrace. But her body had no strength left, and she had no choice but to whisper, "Thank you, Your Highness... I might just be tired. I'll be fine after resting for a while."

Li Shubai looked down at her pale yet stubborn face and, without a word, scooped her up into his arms. He strode to the couch and gently laid her down.

Huang Zixiang noticed he kept his gaze fixed on her—those deep, penetrating eyes made her feel tense and awkward. She could only avert her own eyes and murmur, "I'm truly sorry... for being so improper in front of Your Highness..."

"It's my fault," he said in a somber tone, cutting her off.

Huang Zixiang detected something in his voice she couldn't quite decipher and looked up at him in surprise.

His voice softened as he said quietly, "I forgot... that you're a woman."

She stared at him in astonishment. After a long pause, she finally whispered, "It's alright. Even I had long forgotten about it myself."