The Golden Hairpin

As the time passed, Huang Zixia very quickly became close with Madam Chen Nian. And for no particular reason, she suddenly asked her a question, “Madam Chen Nian, if I really want to learn zither, which songs should I begin with?”

“Well, songs such as “Reminisce”; “Longing”; “Chrysanthemum of the East” are good for beginners. The melody is liked by most people yet simple and easy to get started with.

Huang Zixia suddenly thought of something, and then she asked, “How about the song called “Flowing Waters”, is it a good song for beginners?”

“Young Sir Eunuch, you must be joking. “Flowing Waters” (流水-Liu shui）is a very difficult song to play. Even my master, who used to practice it, often lamented that he had not reached the level of perfection and he couldn’t play it well.”

“So, is there any song for early learners that had the title with the character of ‘Liu’ in it?”

Madam Chen Nian thought for a moment and said, “I have been in Jiangnan for a long time, and I have taught countless songs and tunes, but I don’t remember one which starts with the character ‘Liu’.”

“How about characters which are homophones, such as Liǔ(willow); Liú(stay); Liù(six) and so on?”

“There is one called “Liù(six)Yao”, but this is a pipa song. When it comes to Liǔ(willow), there is also a “Zhe Liǔ(willow) ”, which is easy to learn.”

Huang Zixia shook his head and said, “It’s not “Zhe Liǔ(willow)”. It’s the first word with Liǔ(willow).”

After hearing Huang Zixia’s words, Madam Chen Nian began to mull over. She suddenly raised her slender brows and exclaimed, “There is really a song that is easy to learn, but it’s soft and gentle. It’s very popular in Yangzhou and many girls in Yunshao Garden (the ancient nightclub) used to learn it, especially when they just started to learn how to play the zither, and I had taught many of them. The name of the song is “Liǔ mian-Gentle Willow”. But Little Sir Eunuch is from the capital city, moreover you are living in the prince’s mansion, a noble place; you wouldn’t have known it.”

When these words entered Huang Zixia’s ears, she instantly thought of the shy Wang Ruo; she awkwardly smiled and said, “Most probably, it’s not the one.”

“Yeah, as I have thought so. The folk music of the streets, any young girls from proper families eventually wouldn’t learn this kind of music.”

As they were talking, Li Ren finished writing the letter and sealed it. Huang Zixia was familiar with Chang’an, so she went with Madam Chen Nian to retrieve the small portrait that was taken together with her senior sister, Madam Feng Yi. Huang Zixia told Madam Chen Nian not to worry as she will handle the matter on hand. After that, she opened the scroll of the portrait and took a look.

On the portrait were two women, one sitting and one standing. It was Madam Chen Nian who was sitting. The drawings of her in the portrait were surreal and very similar to the person, with clear and beautiful eyes. And the person standing next to Madam Chen Nian, her eyebrows were slightly narrowed like a crescent moon as she smiled; although in her forties, she still had a kind of indescribable charm.

Huang Zixia fixedly stared at the woman in the painting and asked, “This is Madam Feng Yi?”

“Yes, my senior sister is a natural beauty.”

“Indeed, and it’s obvious. As the saying goes, “Regardless of the orchids in spring or the chrysanthemums in autumn, they are all beauties”, Huang Zixia spoke gently.

“She’s a very charming and graceful lady, but it is difficult to be shown in the portrait. When you see her in person, you will understand.” Madam Chen Nian smiled as she said. 

Yes, one must really see it with one’s own eyes to feel her amiable personality. Huang Zixia said it in her heart. But you didn’t know that I just met her a few days ago in the outskirts of Chang’an. She and the future Princess Consort Kui, who were in the same carriage, had invited me for a ride together with them.

The daughter of Langxie Wang’s family and a zither player from Yunshao Garden of Yangzhou, who travel together and have always, said that she was like her family members. Wang Ruo, there seems to be quite a lot of strange occurrences about her.

If that’s the case, the so-called daughter of an old friend should be Wang Ruo? But Wang Ruo, a noble girl from the Langxie family branch of the Wang’s, how did her parents get acquainted with Madam Feng Yi and even entrust their daughter with her to go to Chang’an?

Huang Zixia carefully considered. She decided not to disclose the matter to Madam Chen Nian yet. After all, there are a lot of people who look similar in the world, so for the meantime, she pretended not to know. Maybe there was a personal data of Madam Feng Yi in the Ministry of Finance*, where she could find out what Langxie Wang’s family had written about her identity.

(Ministry of Finance 户部 hubu is mainly in charge for national economy including household registration, taxation, agriculture and business)

Her expression was calm as she rolled up the portrait in her hands before saying goodbye to Madam Chen Nian and got into the carriage.

When Huang Zixia got in the carriage, something came into Madam Chen Nian’s mind and she pointed to the scroll of the painting in Huang Zixia’s hands and said, “Because the portrait is small and the artist is unable to draw on it. There is actually a black mole at the left side of Feng Yi’s eyebrow. Anyone who had seen it should have noticed it.”

Huang Zixia cast her mind back to the scene of that woman who was in the carriage with Wang Ruo that day, but she only remembered that she wore a piece of scarf on her forehead, and it covered her left eyebrow.

She nodded and wrote it down. Immediately after that, the carriage started and headed straight to the Ministry of Finance’s office.

The Three Departments and Six Ministries System in this dynasty were all within the capital city. Very soon, she arrived and entered the governmental buildings and walked towards the Ministry of Finance department. Supervisor Hu, who was on duty on that day, was very enthusiastic and helped her to check the files of women who had entered Chang’an in recent months. In the end, no one matched her age or description of her appearance. She did not find a person named Madam Feng Yi.

After thanking Supervisor Hu, she turned around and wanted to take her leave but something came to mind. Hence, she approached the supervisor again, smiled sheepishly as she lowered her voice and said, “Supervisor Hu, I have a small request and would you be kind enough to help me. I wonder if I….”

“Young Sir Eunuch, if you have any orders, please say directly.” Prince Kui was becoming more and more influential in the imperial court recently. Supervisor Hu did not dare to neglect the people around him, so he quickly bowed and cupped his fists.

“Well you see, His Highness is already engaged to the daughter of the Wang family and will marry soon. I also went to the Wang family’s residence a few days ago. Unfortunately, my memory is too poor. Although all the people around the princess consort-to-be had announced their names to me, I can’t remember any of them. It’s said that those family members arrived in the capital city together with our princess consort-to-be. So, can you do me a little favor and show me the household registrations of the family?”

“Ah, it’s just a small matter.” Supervisor Hu immediately walked to the bookshelves and pulled out a registration book from last month’s archives and said, “I remember very clearly that on the 26th of last month, it was the Langxie Wang family who asked me to register the names of their household. She was the daughter from the fourth family branch of the Wang’s family. Yes, that’s it. There are four people in all.”

Huang Zixia quickly looked at the page and saw the official documents as reported: 

The daughter of the Langxie family, fourth family branch of the Wang’s family named Wang Ruo had entered the capital city with servants, Xian Yun and Ran Yun, who were both 15 years old and housekeeper Lu Yi who was 35 years old.

In the current dynasty, the household registration was strictly controlled, especially in the capital city, which was under the surveillance of the emperor. Even the migrants that stayed temporarily in Chang’an also needed to report to the Ministry of Finance.

“What? Name of these two girls only? It seems that I have no choice but to thicken my face and inquire about the others.” She feigned a look of disappointment and thanked Supervisor Hu, packed her things and ready to leave.

Just as she put away the small portrait, she turned her head and caught sight of a young officer of the Ministry of Finance who was standing nearby. He stared at the portrait and he seemed extremely surprised by what he saw.

She immediately asked, “Sir, have you ever seen the woman in the painting?”

“This…I’ve seen someone similar to her, but not necessarily… ” He hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Huang Zixia’s brows were knitted from anxiety. “May I know where you have seen her?”

The young officer hesitated for a moment and then he finally said, “The city mortuary in the western of Chang’an city.”

‘The mortuary’ as soon as these two words entered Huang Zixia’s ears, she instantly frowned, and an ominous premonition welled up in her heart. In this circumstance, those who appeared in the city morgue and the case were handled by the Ministry of Finance. That means they were nameless corpses.

Right after that, the young officer took out the documents from the cabinet and he said, “There were more than ten refugees that came from Youzhou province to the western of Chang’an. They were infected with disease a few days ago and all died. When I went to register the names this morning, there was a dead person who looked very much like the woman you were looking for.”

He opened the casebook as he explained and then read, “A deceased woman, unknown name and origin, about forty years old was five feet and three inches tall, slender body, fair skin, lush black hair, plump cheeks and has a black mole at the left side of her eyebrow.”

She had a black mole at the left side of the eyebrow.

She jolted upright and hurriedly asked, “Is the corpse still in the mortuary? Can you direct me to the place and check it?”

The young officer put back the book, shook his head and said, “It can’t be done. Those people died of a contagious disease. Therefore, their bodies together with their personal belongings have been burned and deeply buried.”

“In that case… then there’s really no other way,” she carefully rolled up the portrait, thanked the young officer and said, “It appears that my job has not ended here and I still have to go to the city to investigate, see if there is anyone similar to this portrait. If there is no such person, I might have to tell the woman that the person she’s looking for is perhaps already dead.”

She then turned around and walked out of the Ministry of Finance’s office. Along the way back, the road was full of carriages and horses. She closely examined the portrait over and over again, looking at the two smiling women in it, and began contemplating Wang Ruo’s words the other day.

Wang Ruo had said that because she was chosen as the princess consort, the elderly aunt rushed back to Langxie’s residence to get the things which she needed for her daily use.

And she looked slightly uneasy at that time, and then she briskly added on saying that the elderly aunt perhaps will not come back again because she was old, and she would stay in her hometown for good. 

She will not come back. Yes, she’s really not coming back.

Huang Zixia couldn’t help but think of the shallow dimple on Wang Ruo’s cheek. She looked cute and shy. And for some reason, Huang Zixia was slightly absentminded, as if she was enthralled by the purple wisteria in front of the courtyard.

Huang Zixia didn’t go to find Madam Chen Nian, but went back to Prince Kui’s mansion instead.  She put the portrait in front of Li Shubai, and told everything that happened at the Ministry of Finance in detail, and then pointed to her eyebrows. “Madam Feng Yin has a black mole on the left side of her eyebrow and so does the female corpse. But I couldn’t see if there was a mole on her eyebrows when she was with Wang Ruo.”

“Anyway, it’s a good starting point.” Li Shubai showed a rare happy look, and gently placed the glass bottle in his hand on the desk. The little fish in the glass bottle was slightly frightened and swishing its long tail.

“A zither player of an academy in Yangzhou accompanied a woman from a noble family to the capital to attend the event of the princess consort selection, and then died among the Youzhou’s refugees. It sounds like there are a lot of hidden things that are worth studying.” Li Shubai was obviously very satisfied with the information she had brought back. The more chaotic the situation gets, the better it will be. He would be utterly disappointed if it wouldn’t. And then he asked, “What else do you find? Is there anything suspicious?”

Huang Zixia pulled out the hairpin and wrote on the table. “I thought…”

As soon as the word left her lips, she quickly raised her hands to gather her scattered long hair, and then immediately curled it up and fastened it with the hairpin.

Li Shubai stared at her without saying anything but she lowered her head slowly and said, “It has become a habit, I always forget that I’m a eunuch now and my hair tied up with only one hairpin.”

“Such a weird habit, you can’t even remember something as simple as one, two, three, four?” Li Shubai slightly furrowed his brows, and then he pulled a clean sheet of paper from the case and threw it to her.

Huang Zixia picked up the writing brush placed on the side of the table. She contemplated for a moment, and then wrote one, two and three on the paper. 

“Firstly, as mentioned before, she used a fake birth chart and forged the wedding proposal card. Secondly, who is behind Wang Ruo actually? Has Langxie Wang’s family got something to do with this? Thirdly, according to Madam Chen Nian, Madam Feng Yi left Yangzhou escorting the daughter of an old friend to the capital. What’s more, I had a suspicion that they have known each other before and the princess consort is probably taught by Madam Feng Yi. The first song she learned was those popular songs from Yangzhou night courtyard… for instance “Gentle Willow”.”

“The prominent Langxie Wang’s family with a hundred year old of history asked a zither player from Yangzhou academy who taught girls of the night courtyard, to escort their daughter to Chang’an for the princess consort selection. This particular point itself raised the biggest suspicion. And in addition… ” The corners of his eyes crinkled and his cold voice escaped his lips, “The death of Madam Feng Yin may be due to their awareness that she shouldn’t exist in this world, or else it may bring unnecessary trouble.”

“But now the question is whether the dead woman was really Madam Feng Yi? After all, there are many people who look similar in this world. Just a piece of painting can’t be used as proof. Furthermore, I didn’t see the left eyebrow of the lady when she was with the princess consort at that time.”

Li Shubai creased his forehead, tapped his long finger on the desk as he contemplated. For a moment, he then said, “With my understanding of the servants in the Ministry of Finance, they tend to be lazy. Burned and buried the corpses as they said, I don’t think they are competent enough to do it. 

Huang Zixia felt there were ominous black clouds gathering overhead. 

Sure enough, Li Shubai opened the drawer and threw a distinctive token with a shape of a small goldfish to her. “The Zhou’s residence located next to the tomb of Dong Zhongshun in Chongrenfang, go find Zhou Ziqin, the young master of the Zhou family.”

Huang Zixia of course still remembered the ambitious coroner who was the young master of the Zhou family. She felt even more foreboding as she asked, “Your Highness wants me to go for…?”

Li Shubai’s eyes narrowed slightly, his thin lips hooked upwards as he looked at her. Strangely, his smile actually creeped her out, she felt a premonition that she was about to be kicked into the mud pool by the person in front of her.

As Huang Zixia predicted, he said, “Of course, you dig up the corpse together with Zhou Ziqin to examine it.”

Huang Zixia felt like she just got struck by lightning!

”Prince Kui! I’m a girl! I am a girl of seventeen-years-old! You are telling me to take a stranger and dig up a corpse in the middle of the night?”

“Didn’t you often follow your father to investigate cases? I think you’ve seen a lot of corpses.” His face seemed expressionless but he was watching her from the corner of his eye. “Or, in fact, you shouted about things like redressing your parents’ grievances, and you actually didn’t really want to do it?”

“……” Huang Zixia looked at his slightly raised lips and eyebrows as if he was waiting to watch for a good show; her heart was full of resentment.

But when she heard him mention her parents, for that moment, a numbing and penetrating cold seemed to spread through her.

Huang Zixia, hadn’t you made up your mind at that time to put everything in the world aside. Only the blood feud of your family was the reason for your survival?

She clutched her sleeves tightly before grabbing the little goldfish on the table and turned around to leave. (Please read original translation from Cloudmanor)

The next minute he heard the gong signal outside and immediately said, “Hurry up, the first night watch of the day is coming, and soon the capital is going to start the night curfew.”

“Get me a horse!” She yelled as she glanced over her shoulder at him. 

Right after she spoke, he raised his hand gesturing her away, “Two horses and fast!”