The Golden Hairpin

It’s already past noon, street performers came out and they were everywhere on the street performing their special acts to the passers-by. But most of them were just ordinary stunt performances, such as spinning bowls, juggling with heavy pots and spinning it on the head. There’s also a sword swallower that was surrounded by a lot of people.

“Swallowing swords is nothing new, what’s so interesting about it?” She asked the middle-aged man next to her who was trying to pushed his way through the crowds.

The middle-aged man said expectantly, “This one is different! This sword is four feet long but the dwarf who swallows the sword is only three feet tall!”

Hearing that, Huang Zixia also wanted to push her way through, but Li Shubai gave her a disdainful look, then he turned away and left. She had no choice but silently turned around and followed behind him; she looked at his tall figure and began to wondered, ‘even though this person was living in this world; but he wasn’t interested in anything at all. Does he ever feel happy being himself?’

She seemed a little lost in thoughts; she asked herself, ‘what about me? My both parents died; all relatives were gone; I had a mission to fulfill and there was a grievance too; however, I didn’t even have a clue to solve it. In my life, is there a way for me to be happy and return to where I was before?‘

Li Shubai was walking in the front and then he realized that there was a sudden silence behind him as if Huang Zixia’s footsteps had disappeared; he turned his head and glanced sideways at her.

She was only two steps behind him, but her eyes fixed on a young couple passing by on the street. Two of them were holding the hands of a little girl from left and right. The little girl was jumping up and down happily; hanging and swaying in her parent’s arms; like a little monkey playing a swing.

Li Shubai deliberately stopped and waited for her.

She stood there watching the family of three walked away and slowly disappeared from her sight; she was silent and deeply absorbed in her thoughts; the sun shone on her face, casting a faint shadow on the proportion of her features.

After a long time, Huang Zixia finally pulled herself back to reality; she turned around and saw Li Shubai looking at her and he said in a gentle voice, “Come on, and let’s go.”

As they walked a little bit further, there was another group of people in front of them, and this time they were the real magic performer. It was a married couple; the man and woman were believed to be from the Jianghu (world of martial art); it can be seen by the way they dressed. Two of them stood in the crowd and watched the performers performing the magic tricks such as changing a glass of water into wine, and for the woman; she changed the paper flowers into real flowers; threw it up into the sky and the petals fell down like rain of flowers; the effects of the show were pretty good.

When the show was over and all the audiences dispersed, the man and woman were ready to pack up their things and wanted to leave. Seeing Li Shubai’s commanding eyes staring at her, Huang Zixia could only go forward to inquire the information from them; she cupped her fists and saluted them with a bow, “Big brother and sister, what you have showed us a while ago was really amazing, only when one who has seen it will believe it!”

The man bowed in return with a smile, and humbly said, “That’s was nothing. So this little brother, do you enjoy the show?”

“Yes, I really do, especially that…that changing the paper flowers into real flowers, and I know the real flowers were hidden inside the sleeves beforehand, but where do the paper flowers go?”

The man chuckled and said, “This, we can’t tell you; it’s our secret to make a living.”

Huang Zixia cast a glanced at Li Shubai and he immediately understood, he threw a piece of silver ingot to her. She placed the silver ingot into the man’s hand, lowered her voice and said in a serious tone, “Big brother, to tell you the truth, my young master is betting with someone. Have you heard of the rumor yesterday that a mysterious man could make the little bird in the cage disappears?”

The man held his silver ingot and he smiled broadly as he replied, “I haven’t heard about it, but I surely have a way to make a bird disappears in a cage, carry on and tell me more.”

“My young master has a friend who insists that this is impossible; however, my young master made a bet with him and took up the challenge to show him this disappearing bird magic act within three days, and as you see… if it’s fit or not to teach my young master?”

“That’s easy, it’s a simple illusion trick,” he unhesitant said, “The bird has been trained in advance, once the owner gave the signal, the bird will stood in a certain part of the cage. Beforehand, there was a mechanism built inside the birdcage, he only needed to press the pole on top of the cage with his left hand, and it triggered a mechanism that moved and opened up a hole at the bottom where’s the bird will fell through, and that was when he motioned his right sleeve and took the bird away.

“Oh! That’s how it was,” her whole face lit up and she reached out to Li Shubai again; Li Shubai threw her another piece of silver ingot. She immediately held up the silver ingot and asked him, “Big brother, since you know so much about it, then you must have such a bird and the birdcage with you?”

“I used to have it,” the big brother’s smile suddenly faded and when he saw the silver ingot, he felt even more miserable, “It’s a pity; it was bought by someone a few days ago.”

The woman at the side couldn’t help it but felt annoyed, and she nagged, “See, I told you so, what’s the use of the five taels of silver? The little bird was passed down from the master, and it was trained so well. It’s a pity to sell it even if it’s for ten taels of silver.”

Huang Zixia quickly asked another question, “Is it a crested myna that you trained? Would you be able to train it in three days?”

“It’s not a crested myna, mine was a white bird; a very beautiful bird,” he grumbled.

“Iyo, that’s such a pity,” she feigned a disappointed expression and handed the silver ingot to his hand, “Do you know who has bought it, and how can I find him? I want to try my luck and see if I can buy it over from him.”

“That I really don’t know. He came to me, learned it, mastered it and then left, I don’t even know the name.”

“Then, what does he look like? Big brother, do you still remember?”

“Hmm… a young master in his twenties with a medium body height; he looked quite good; elegant and cultured… oh yes, there is a cinnabar mole on his forehead!”

Right after the husband’s spoke, the woman added, “The cinnabar mole grows in the middle of the forehead. He was already a good looking man, but it made him look ethereal, just like a person in the painting.”

(source:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/24910604182593406/)

When they walked their way back to the prince’s manor, none of them spoke. 

Huang Zixia was trying to figure out the connection of the whole thing, and the mysterious clues that were still unclear, as she looked up to find him, Li Shubai’s tall figure already had left her far behind.

She quickened her pace to keep up with him, the sky was dark, the street lamps had been brightly lit up, and the two rows of lanterns beside the road were lined up along the streets and alleys, illuminating the whole street with a red halo. Li Shubai suddenly halted in his tracks, on the street where he stood under the lantern, his usual cold face was softened by the warm orange light; but the creased between his eyebrows remain.

She didn’t expect that he would care so much about that person; she felt a little awkward, and didn’t know what to say. She just stood there under the lamp, silently looked up at him.

The lanterns in the street fluctuated slightly in the wind, just like a stream of lights, swaying and casting restless light.

She was a bit at a loss for words, and it took a long time before she said with difficulty, “Actually, my initial thought was, he seemed like a cultured and an elegant man, and he might not have come from the Jianghu; therefore, he must have learned the acts from others secretly. That’s why I came here to find out… but the person that we saw that day absolutely… is not him.”

“Hmm, it’s not possible that he was connected with Pang Xun, and furthermore, it’s not even possible that he could enter Xianyou Temple without being noticed.”

However, he can let someone other than himself enter Xianyou Temple, when both of them thought of this same possibility, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, “In the view of the fact that he could actually let his subordinates to do the work; yet, he took the troubles to go on the streets and learned the acts himself.”

The lanterns lit up the street brightly just like daylight; it cast brilliant lights illuminated the scene. When they were in the middle of thoughts by the side of the road, not far ahead, there was a carriage coming slowly in their way. There were guards and eunuchs clearing the way in front and behind of the carriage; with almost a dozen or more people in all together.

They quickly stood aside and hid themselves, didn’t want to be seen by others; however, when the carriage almost approached them, the person in the carriage lifted up the curtains and saw them.

The carriage slowed down and stopped, the door opened and the one who got off the wagon was Prince of Hubei, Li Ren.

He has fair skin and a handsome face; he was an amiable and gentle boy, always with a smile on his face. People who have seen him said he has a visage of an ethereal celestial, because he has slender eyebrows, and a bright cinnabar mole grows right in the middle of his forehead, as if he was a person who walked out from a beautiful painting.

A few seconds later, Li Ren walked up to them, and he asked smilingly, “Fourth elder brother, why are you here?”

Li Shubai looked at him, slightly nodded and answered, “Seventh younger brother.”

It was obvious enough for him to see that Li Shubai was accompanied by Huang Zixia alone, he turned his head and nodded to her, still with the smile on his face and he said to Li Shubai, “It’s a good weather today, the sky is clear and the street lights are like stars, no wonder my fourth elder brother come out and wants to take a walk; however, bringing along a little eunuch only it seems unacceptable. You should’ve took a few more guards with you.”

Li Shubai raised his hand to touch the tassel hanging from the street lantern and said, “If there are more people following, would it still be a quiet night like right now?”

And with that, Li Ren looked around and saw the street full of lights and few pedestrians. He nodded and said, “That’s true, we grew up living in a grandeur place and surrounded by many people, and we have never experienced such casual and carefree surroundings before.”

Li Shubai was unwilling to further the conversation with him, and he said, “The curfew is starting soon, you should go back early.”

Li Ren bowed his head as a yes, and then he remembered something and said, “Fourth elder brother, if you are free on any of the coming days, you can come to my place to get together. To let you know, Madam Chen Nian, and also referred as the Master Dong Tinglan’s reincarnated disciple is now residing in my residence; she’s serving as a musical teacher.”

“Isn’t she going back to Yangzhou?” Li Shubai asked.

“Ninth younger brother had previously brought her into the palace to perform for Dowager Consort Zhao, the emperor and empress was also there. Dowager Consort Zhao likes the pipa very much, whereas the emperor, he was a lively person and wouldn’t mind even if he has no liking for pipa. As for the empress, she has always been pure-hearted and self-absorbed; she wouldn’t have any interest in singing, dancing and feasting, and not to mention that she would have a slightest interest in her. I have asked her what she’s going to do in the future, and she said that she wanted to stay in the capital for a while, and maybe she is still looking for Madam Feng Yi.”

[Dowager consort is the consorts of predecessor emperor]

Huang Zixia and Li Shubai; they looked at each other; there was a sense of tacit understanding between them. It was beyond their expectation that Madam Chen Nian would agree to stay at Li Ren’s residence; somehow it’s like a series of events were directed by a force and it slowly came together.

Li Shubai was calm and he said casually to Li Ren, “So that’s the case. When I have the time in the next few days, I will go to your place.”

“That’s great. This younger brother shall make the wines ready and welcome you.”

After Li Ren’s carriage had left, Li Shubai turned his gaze to the lantern in front of him; his deep and low voice left his lips, “What do you think of the Prince of Hubei?”

She paused for a while before speaking, “If a person wants to disguise a self-identity, the best way is to pretend to be someone with obvious characteristics. I think this may be the reason why the Prince of Hubei has chosen this method to confuse us.”

“And what was the other possibility?”

“Another possibility was that the Prince of Hubei had a childish outburst, personally went to the western city to learn the tricks, then taught it to another person and frightened the prince consort,” she spoke very naturally and then leaned on the willow tree behind her, playing a twig in her hand, as if she was casually chattering to herself, “No matter how I think about it, I still feel that the first possibility is more plausible.”

“I know he is not that person because I knew him too well that he wouldn’t dare to play any tricks in front of me,” Li Shubai’s cold voice became slower and lower as he said, “I wanted to know, who is that person out there; the one who put the Prince of Hubei in front of me, and makes me think he was the one behind it.”

***

On the ninth day of May, seven more days before the Prince of Kui’s wedding.

A drizzle hit overnight, and the entire capital was immersed in misty rain.

On the way to Wang’s house, through the thin bamboo curtain on the carriage window, Huang Zixia saw the rain-soaked flower outside.

The peach and plum blossoms have already bloomed, but the Sophora japonica flowers in Chang’an were blooming one after another, and the whole city had enveloped in a faint fragrance. Strings of pure white flowers hang from the branches, the color was so light that you hardly see it, and sometimes with one or two flowers falling down to the window, she heard the light and soft drumming sound outside the carriage and it turned out to be fallen flowers instead of rain drops.

The servants of the Wang’s family were already waiting at the door with umbrellas. When they saw her coming, they hurried over to help her hold the umbrella, and said, “Eunuch Yang, you are finally here. The empress has summoned our Lady to the palace for an audience, and allows you and Senior Maid Suqi to go along.”

“Yes, I know.” Huang Zixia nodded in response. The rumors in the capital had been going viral, and already reached the ears of the emperor and empress who lived deep inside the ancient palace. If she was right, the purpose of them going to the palace today, the empress must have many matters to order them.

After contemplating for a moment, she took over the umbrella from the servant and then she walked to the front building that led to a long corridor, passed through two gates before she make a left turn to the west courtyard, the place where Wang Ruo lived.

(source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/4785143348799654/)

The west courtyard was full of lavender, and the plantains in the front yard have newly sprouted long leaves, covering the leaky flower windows, and the landscapes showing coldness and lack of warmth on a rainy day.

(Plantains is actually a type of banana tree)

Huang Zixia gently put away the umbrella and stood outside the window. There was a plantain planted beside the corridor, and under it was a large Chinese garden pot, in which there were three or four koi carp with bright colors of red and white, swimming in the water.

She stood there watching the rain fell on the plantains, and then it splashed on the floor. Inside the quiet west courtyard, she heard a faint voice coming out from the room, it sounded like someone was whimpering.

Huang Zixia turned her head and looked behind; she looked through the leaky window and saw a padauk bed that was placed in front of the window. It was Wang Ruo who was lying on the bed, sleeping restlessly. In her sleep, she furrowed her brows, her face was contorted with fear and the hands were tightly grasping the quilt, her head was covered with sweat beads as if she is enduring a terrible torture.

She was still standing outside the window, staring at her for a while, thinking about whether to wake her up or not, and shortly after, she heard her murmuring in fright, “Red blood…red blood…”

Huang Zixia raised a brow, she tilted her head and tried to listen, Wang Ruo’s voice suddenly changed to a pleading tone, “Madam Feng, don’t blame me, you shouldn’t…”

All in a sudden, a strong wind and heavy rain blew towards her, and wet half of her body. She flinched from the rain and at that time inside the room, there was a voice of a woman screamed, “ah!” Wang Ruo already snapped out from the dream.

Huang Zixia calmly brushed off the water droplets on her clothes, walked to the door and gently knocked on it, she said in her soft voice, “Your Highness.”

There were two maids sitting in the room, one named Xianyun was very clever; she immediately came over and opened the door; she nervously said, “Eunuch Yang, you are finally here, Her Highness just had a nightmare.”

“Hmm, I just heard it from outside the room.” Huang Zixia brushed off the raindrops on her body; she turned around and walked into the room. Wang Ruo was awake; she sat up slowly from the bed and her face paled with fear when she looked up at Huang Zixia as if she’s yet extricated herself from the nightmare just now.

Huang Zixia walked to the side of the bed, and asked in a low voice, “What did Your Highness dreamed about?”

“Chonggu…” Her pair of autumn-like eyes was wet, and she looked at her with the threat of tears. She wanted to speak for a long time before she turned away and stuttered in fright, “I, I dreamed that I really…..really disappears from this world…”

Huang Zixia sat down on the bedside, and cajoled her in a soft voice, “Dreams are the thoughts of one’s heart. Your Highness has been incessantly thinking about it for days and nights, and as long as Your Highness stopped thinking about that person’s words, you definitely wouldn’t have such a dream.”

“Really?” her voice trembled. She was weak and holding on Huang Zixia’s sleeve tightly; her body shuddered, “Chonggu, His Highness would protect me, won’t he?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation, even though she remembered Li Shubai had said the other day. — “No matter what the reason is, if she brings out the fake geng tie, she is deceiving the emperor; she will end up with nothing but doom.”  

When Wang Ruo heard the answer, she felt a great relief; it’s as if she lifted a big stone down from her heart. She drew in a long breath, leaned against the soft cushions on the bed, and then sank in her thoughts. 

Huang Zixia saw the corners of her mouth turned up, slowly bloomed into a dreamy smile, and then Wang Ruo looked up into the empty air, it seemed that she could see something ineradicable as she murmured, “That’s right. Prince Kui will keep me safe. Why should I be afraid?”