The Golden Hairpin

Seeing Zhou Ziqin speak like this, she had no choice but to say, "I think... it's unlikely. After all, how would Princess Tongchang know that Zhang Erge's family had such a painting?"

"Besides, what does it matter even if there was such a painting? The painting was done by the late emperor, not Zhang Erge, right?" Zhou Ziqin slapped the table and stood up indignantly. "No! I have to go reason with Wang Yun!"

Huang Zixiang was almost bowled over by his erratic train of thought. "What does Wang Yun have to do with this?"

"Wang Yun is in charge of the Defense Department! If the Dali Temple is giving his subordinate trouble, how can he not stand up for Zhang Erge? And besides, it's just a missing painting—one from his own family, not the Dali Temple's. Under which law is the Dali Temple forcing Zhang Erge to find it? And on what grounds is the Defense Department making him search his home before reporting for duty?"

Huang Zixiang rolled her eyes helplessly. "When the authorities investigate a case, everyone—whether noble officials or commoners—must cooperate. Zhang Erge's painting might be related to the case, so even if the Dali Temple demands he search for it immediately, it's justified."

Zhou Ziqin slumped onto the table, looking defeated. "I know... I'm just upset on Zhang Erge's behalf! He finally got into the Capital Defense Department, and we haven't even had the chance to show off to that arrogant old medicine-drying guy at Duanrui Hall yet. How did he end up tangled in this mess? Zhang Erge, I think you need to go burn some incense at the temple—you seem to be having a streak of bad luck lately..."

Before he could finish, Huang Zixiang shot him a sharp glare. He caught sight of Dicut's eyes welling up with tears again and promptly slapped himself, shutting his mouth.

Huang Zixiang stood up. "Alright, let's go take a look at the cabinet where you keep your paintings."

Zhang Xingying hurriedly agreed. "Right."

The group stood and made their way to the inner hall, ascending the stairs to the second floor.

The cabinet for storing paintings was right by the stairway, secured with a rusty lock. Zhang Xingying opened a nearby cabinet filled with a jumble of items—wooden boxes, cricket cages, long-stemmed pipes, and more.

He shook a key out from one of the pipes and unlocked the cabinet to show them.

Inside were various items: several bolts of fabric, a couple of strings of coins, and scattered medicinal herbs at the bottom. On top lay a long wooden box meant for scrolls, but it was now empty.

Zhang Xingying pointed at the box. "When the Dali Temple officials came, this is how it looked as soon as I opened the cabinet."

Huang Zixiang examined the neatly arranged contents and asked, "When was the painting stolen? Was anything else missing?"

"I don't know. After showing it to you all that day, I put it away and never opened this cabinet again. Nothing else is missing—even the box was closed properly. Only the painting is gone."

Frowning, Huang Zixiang sighed and motioned for him to lock the cabinet again. Then she said, "Zhang Erge, I understand now."

Zhang Xingying widened his eyes in surprise. "What? You already know where my family's painting went?""I think it might come back on its own this afternoon or tomorrow." Her gaze fell on Dicui, noticing her stiff expression as she avoided eye contact. She then added softly, "I believe, Second Brother Zhang, that someone as kind as you would even take in a distressed woman who fainted on the mountain and bring her home to help. You are honest and generous, never holding the past of those around you against them. You give your all to everyone, so I’m sure those close to you must appreciate your kindness. Heaven will surely favor you and bring that painting back soon—otherwise, the thief might lose something most precious to them and suffer the torment of their conscience."

Zhang Xingying was baffled and only asked, "So you mean I don’t need to look for it, and the painting will return on its own?"

"Yes, I think so."

Huang Zixia said this and turned to go downstairs, adding, "Let’s leave the painting aside for now. There are other matters I still need to ask you about."

Zhou Ziqin grew anxious and quickly asked, "Chonggu, what about Second Brother Zhang’s troubles? What about the Dali Temple? And Wang Yun from the Capital Defense Office—should I go smooth things over, or will you handle it? Are you really just going to stand by and watch as Second Brother Zhang gets tangled in trouble and ends up exploited and oppressed at Duanruitang again?"

Huang Zixia didn’t even glance at him and simply said, "Ziqin, the painting was only one of our reasons for coming. Actually, I have more important matters to ask Second Brother Zhang. Take out your notebook and record everything carefully."

"Alright..." Zhou Ziqin obediently retrieved brush and ink from his horse’s saddlebag.

"Second Brother Zhang, currently, I have three cases related to the Princess’s residence in my hands."

Huang Zixia got straight to the point, sitting across from him, ignoring his uneasy expression. "The first is the case at Jianfu Temple, where the Princess’s eunuch Wei Ximin was burned to death. At the time, you were in the temple, and when the candles exploded and set Wei Ximin ablaze, you were right beside him."

Zhang Xingying clenched his jaw and gave a stiff nod.

"The second case was during the polo match at the Defense Office’s horse grounds. The imperial son-in-law Wei Baoheng fell from his horse and was injured, and you were on the field, competing against him."

Zhang Xingying nodded again, silent.

"The third is the death of Sun Laizi. Based on estimates, his time of death was around noon, and at that time, you were in Daning Ward—just as several elderly women in a corner happened to see you."

Zhou Ziqin, who had been scribbling furiously, finally stopped writing and looked at Zhang Xingying in disbelief.

Zhang Xingying opened his mouth, then finally said, "I... I don’t know why it’s such a coincidence... Actually, when I went to Daning Ward, I didn’t... do anything, really! I heard people in the capital joking that Sun Laizi had locked himself in an iron barrel, so I went to take a look at his house..."

"You braved the scorching midday sun, crossing the entire length of Chang’an from west to east, just to laugh at Sun Laizi’s misfortune?" Huang Zixia retorted coldly.

Zhang Xingying was clearly taken aback by her icy tone, not expecting Huang Zixia to suddenly interrogate him like this. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "At the time... I was carrying a knife."

Zhou Ziqin was at a loss, still clutching his brush in a daze. Huang Zixia glanced at him, and he quickly lowered his head, hastily writing down Zhang Xingying’s words on the paper."I was planning to kill Sun Laizi, but when I arrived at noon, I found his house was indeed tightly secured, like an iron barrel. There was simply no way for me to get in... So, I had no choice but to return without doing anything."

"Why did you go looking for Sun Laizi?"

"Because, during the chaos at Jianfu Temple... when Dìcuì's veil hat was knocked off, I shielded her and was pushed by the crowd all the way to the wall. I raised my arms to protect her in my embrace, and we stayed there like that... But just then, Sun Laizi—he was actually at Jianfu Temple too, and he was also pushed by the crowd until he was right beside us..." Zhang Xingying muttered, his eyes burning with a fire never seen before. At this moment, this man who had always been simple and kind revealed the deep-seated hatred hidden in his heart, making them realize that even the most reticent person could reach a point where they would stop at nothing to destroy their enemy.

Dìcuì's hands were clenched tightly into fists, pressed against her chest as she struggled to breathe. She had shed too many tears; her eyes were already swollen and red. Now, she could only squeeze them shut with all her might, forcing herself to suppress her sobs.

"Sun Laizi... saw A-Di, saw her being shielded in my arms..." Zhang Xingying's chest heaved violently, his anger making it almost impossible to continue. "The way he looked at A-Di was like a venomous snake... He looked at us and suddenly laughed, so smug... He said, he said..."

Zhang Xingying finally couldn't go on. He lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and the lines of his face twisted almost grotesquely.

"He said, 'So someone picked up the shoes this old leper wore out.'"

Dìcuì's voice was extremely low, hoarse and dry, but she finally managed to say it.

Her bloodshot eyes were wide open, veins bulging as if Sun Laizi were standing right before her, and she wished she could pounce on him, tear his flesh from his bones piece by piece while he still lived.

Huang Zixiao felt a scorching fire blaze up to her forehead, setting her entire body aflame in this sweltering heat. She wished she had been at Jianfu Temple then, to grab Sun Laizi by the collar and trample him into the mud.

Zhou Ziqin, beside her, threw his brush onto the table and cursed under his breath, "Bastard! I'll chop him into a thousand pieces!"

Huang Zixiao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury in her chest, and reminded Zhou Ziqin in a low voice, "Ziqin, focus on recording. Don't get distracted."

Zhou Ziqin picked up the brush resentfully and said, "Chonggu, I really admire you. How can you stay so composed?"

"When investigating a case, the worst thing is to let yourself get emotionally involved. Only by maintaining an outsider's perspective can you see the situation clearly." As she spoke, she turned back to Zhang Xingying and Dìcuì. "Both of you, please calm down. This Sun Laizi... is undoubtedly a beast. But Zhang Er-ge, how did you react at the time?"

Zhang Xingying gnashed his teeth. "I wanted to beat him to death right then and there! But the temple was in chaos, and the crowd was so dense I couldn’t even push my way to him. I could only watch as he walked away, laughing smugly!"

Huang Zixiao then asked Dìcuì, "Zhang Er-ge was so furious at the time. Did you notice anything?"Dicu shook her head slowly, pressing her throbbing temples with effort as she spoke with difficulty, "At that time... I only felt like I was dead, couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. Whatever Second Brother Zhang did... I barely felt it. Later, it was Second Brother Zhang who helped me back all the way... I don’t even know how I managed to return..."

"Yet at that time, Second Brother Zhang, you already knew Adi's true identity, what had happened to her, and also knew that the misfortune she suffered wasn’t just because of Sun Laizi, but also because of Wei Ximin, isn’t that right?"

Facing Huang Zixiao’s questioning, Zhang Xingying froze, finding it hard to speak.

Zhou Ziqin then said, "Last time, Second Brother Zhang told me he hadn’t known before that Dicu’s situation also involved the princess’s mansion."

"Second Brother Zhang was lying, wasn’t he?" Huang Zixiao stood up and retrieved a document from the small case on Nafusha, pulling out one sheet to show them.

"Second Brother Zhang, you told Ziqin that when Wei Ximin was burned to death, you didn’t know it was him, and you didn’t see how Wei Ximin caught fire—is that correct?"

Zhang Xingying nodded silently, not uttering a word.

"But unfortunately, the Dali Temple officials happened to uncover a minor detail in the princess’s mansion—a few days before the incident at Jianfu Temple, the princess’s regular medicine was running low, and the imperial pharmacy happened to be missing one ingredient." So, Wei Ximin, the most clever eunuch by the princess’s side, personally went to several major pharmacies in the capital to find that ingredient. Upon returning, he told others that among all the pharmacies in the capital, Duan Rui Tang was undoubtedly the best, with its vast drying grounds and the workers turning the herbs—a sight unmatched by others."

Zhang Xingying sat there motionless, his gaze fixed on the stone table without even a flicker.

"The chief eunuch of Princess Tongchang’s mansion personally came to the drying grounds to look for medicine and watched you turn the herbs. Could you really have forgotten? Wouldn’t you have inquired, or wouldn’t others have told you who he was in the princess’s household?"

Zhou Ziqin stared at Zhang Xingying in shock, his face crumpled like a dried date. "Second Brother Zhang, with your honest and sincere appearance... you lied to me too?"

"Not just that," Huang Zixiao continued, her eyes unwavering on Zhang Xingying. "Second Brother Zhang, you also knew long ago that Wei Ximin was one of the main culprits behind Dicu’s suffering, didn’t you?"