The Golden Hairpin

Chapter 4: The Four Directions of Bodhi (Part 1)

The people behind pulled Huang Zixia out of the pool, and Li Shubai had already entered the Palace of Jianbi.

Huang Zixia got up from the mud and looked at Li Shubai’s back. She secretly clenched her teeth and couldn’t help but kick her feet in the mud. A few streaks of mud splashed on her cheek. However, her whole body was covered in mud, so she didn’t care.

The people behind quickly reached out to pull her up, and the palace maids took her to take a bath. Looking at her clothes as if they were men’s clothes, an older maiden chuckled and said, “Sir eunuch, please wait a moment, we’ll help you bathe and change clothes later.”

“No need.” She would not take off her clothes and show it to others. If she was found to be a woman, it would be easy to connect her with the wanted fugitive, Huang Zixia.

So, she brushed off the hands of the palace maids, went straight to the well, picked up a bucket of water and poured it directly on her body.

Although it was spring, the weather was still cold. She poured a bucket of water on her head. It was biting cold. The silt on her body was still not removed, and she seemed to be numb. She took another bucketful of water to wash herself mindlessly.

The palace maids beside her were all stunned and stood motionless.

After she washed herself down with two buckets of water, Huang Zixia felt that her mind became clear. She threw away the bucket and stood wet by the well, and took heavy, shuddering breaths.

Because of the cold, her ears were buzzing, and the scenery in front of her was not very clear, only the phantom of Li Shubai’s face and his cold gaze remained.

He had said, “I’m not interested in asking about you, nor am I interested in disclosing your whereabouts to the yamen. You are on your own.”

Not interested in…

The death of her parents, the murder of her relatives, and her being subject to unjust treatment were all things that had nothing to do with him. Of course, he had no interest in asking.

She was just a speck of dust in front of him.

However, she threw the bucket in her hand by the well and clenched her fist secretly. Her nails were deeply digging into her palms, but she did not feel any pain and just clung to them.

‘However, Huang Zixia, he is your greatest hope.’ She said to herself clearly while gritting her teeth.

The man who disliked her at the first sight for not cleaning herself up, the man who kicked her into the mire mercilessly, and the man who clearly showed no interest in her, Li Shubai, the Prince of Kui, was her greatest hope.

Prince of Kui, Li Shubai, was more reliable than the power she had originally wanted to use—the old friends of her father, the relatives of small officials who were 3,000 miles away, and that method had risks of the case being reported. Therefore, no matter how contemptuous he was and how much she was despised, she had already made a decision in her heart the moment when the cold water washed over her.

In the early spring, under the sun, the cold wind was sharp. She shivered, turned back from the well, and slowly walked down the steps. At this moment, she heard the voice in her heart. She heard that voice saying to her in a low voice, ‘Huang Zixia, have you ever thought about a man who is so deep and terrifying, that your best reaction now would be to turn around and flee? Never look back, never get one step closer to him?’

Ignoring her dripping hair and damp clothes, she just walked down the stairs, step by step.

She gave a stiff smile to the palace maids standing there, and forced herself to restrain her shivering cold body: “Please help me get a set of eunuch’s clothes, and I will go to serve Prince Kui.”

She wrapped her chest roughly, put on a single plain yarn, tied a thin silk ribbon, and made a simple double knot.

Huang Zixia stood in front of the bronze mirror and took a look at the person in the mirror – a eunuch with wet hair cascading down her shoulders and chest. She looked like a delicate and slender teenager. Her eyebrows were clear and her face was slightly haggard, but her eyes were as placid as a deep pool; it was not the appearance of a girl (her identity and appearance no longer resembled that of a girl’s).

Taking a deep breath, she casually tucked her half wet hair into the eunuch’s veil, turned to pull the latch, and strode out of the room.

Following the direction of the palace maids, she entered the main road of Jianbi Palace. That day, Jianbi Palace was newly completed. The weather was naturally different. In front of the vast lake, the water was sparkling, and there were countless Tang wooden boats shuttling on the lake. The sing-song girls who were on the podium in the middle of the lake were dancing to their songs. There was a long row of pink gauze palace lanterns hanging on the willow trees beside the lake. The spring breeze was blowing, and the day was warm. It was a blend of scenery.

At the front was the main hall, and a huge screen-wall stood in front of the hall. On it were written four characters “Jian bi mi zhang.*”

[*健弼弥章 jian bi mi zhang, is a verse that carved on a wooden plaque that hung particularly at the entrance/main hall of the house as a praised or appreciation by someone to the owner of the mansion.]

Standing in front of the screen-wall, she looked up at the four big characters, and felt that the strokes of the four characters were relaxed and had a sense of dignity. After hearing someone say: “This is the emperor’s handwriting, as a small eunuch like you can also tell this is something good?”

When she looked back, she saw a man in purple, about twenty years old. His skin was bright and fair, showing a purity that did not commensurate with his age. There was a cinnabar mole in the middle of his forehead, which, against his snow-white skin and dark hair, had an extremely ethereal breath.

Appearing in such a place, at this age, with a cinnabar mole on his forehead, Huang Zixia immediately thought of his identity. She hurriedly bowed to the smiling young man and saluted: “ Paying respects to Prince Hubei.” 

It was Li Run, the Prince of Hubei. He had the best temper among all the royal princes, and he was an amiable and gentle boy.

He smiled and nodded to her, his gaze stayed on her face for a moment, and he asked, “You are from this palace? Which eunuch brought you, how did they send you here?”

As the eunuchs in the palace all know, for those eunuchs who got designated a post in the Imperial Li Palace would have a bleak future, they couldn’t see the emperor or empress all year round. Like the palace maids, they were mostly almost in their old age. Therefore, those sent here were usually the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled.

She looked calm and said, “I came with Prince Kui. I fell into the water when I just got off the carriage. The palace maids took me to change my clothes.”

Li Run said with a smile, “Is that so? I’ll take you in.”

She followed Li Run around the screen wall. The palace maids led the way in front of her. She saw a group of people sitting in the hall listening to a woman playing the pipa* (lute). The sound of pipa was like pearly jade, jumping and flowing. With the bright sun at this time, the ambience was indescribable and comfortable.

Pipa (lute)

 

“What a pity to interrupt such a good pipa recital.” Li Run said, standing outside the hall to listen. Huang Zixia could only stand quietly behind him and wait for the end of the song before entering together.

Li Shubai, the Prince of Kui, Li Rui, the ninth-Prince of Zhao, and Li Wen, the youngest-Prince of Kang, were seated in the hall. A pretty woman dressed in yellow, with a blooming begonia flower on her side, holding a pipa sat opposite them.

The Prince of Zhao was a rich and idle man. He was 18-19-years old,  but he still liked to play like a teenager. He didn’t look like a prince. When he saw Prince Hubei coming, he waved to him happily: “Seventh brother, come on, come on.” I found a wonderful person in the Jiaofang guesthouse. Her pipa skill is unparalleled in the world.” 

“I’ve just heard half of the song from outside, and it’s true that this song should only exist in the sky.” Li Run said, sitting near Li Shubai, asked, “Fourth brother, where is the emperor?”

“The emperor had a head ailment this morning, and is consulting with the imperial doctor. He will come back later.” Li Shubai said, his gaze lifted slightly and gave Huang Zixia’s figure a glance, but did not say anything.

Huang Zixia bit her teeth in secret and walked quickly behind him. She stood with her head bowed; she looked like a loyal eunuch.

Prince of Kang, Li Wen, was curiously looking at her until the Prince of Zhao’s chuckles entered his ears: “Speaking of it, the emperor is still worrying about the fourth brother?” Li Wen immediately turned his attention and asked, “What about?”

Li Shubai had already heard the wind, but he only smiled faintly and said nothing. 

“Look at this man feigning ignorance!” Li Rui looked around the crowd, pointed to Li Shubai and laughed, “What else do you think? It’s natural for you to get married. The prince who is still single after 20 years of age is really rare in this dynasty. Fourth brother, the fact you continue to behave decently and decorously, it’s appalling to the public!”

Li Run also said, “Exactly, it was said that they had chosen a princess consort for fourth brother four years ago, but when Grand Imperial Concubine Wu died, since you had made up your mind to keep filial piety for your mother and mourn for three years, nothing could be done about it. It happened that after the expiration of filial piety, Pang Xun, the traitor, made trouble again. You went to the south to pacify the rebellion and delayed it again. However, fourth elder brother, you are not too young anymore. If you don’t take a princess consort, I’m afraid Imperial Uncle and Grand Imperial Consort Wu will not let you go.”

“That’s right. The emperor and the empress have taken great pains. You can’t escape the marriage this time.” Even Li Wen, the Prince of Kang, also coaxed and offered him wine.

Li Rui’s eyes fell on the pipa girl peeping at Li Shubai’s figure and asked, “Jin Nu, what have you been looking at Prince Kui for a long time for?”

During the banquet, all the princes laughed, and Li Shubai only raised his eyebrows slightly. The Tang dynasty, the Jiaofang guesthouse was a place with open-mindedness in the relationship of a man and woman. The courtesans at Jiaofang guesthouse often played with the bodyguards, and even their romantic affairs were proudly talked about openly. Because the pipa girl Jin Nu was not shy, she just half covered her face with the pipa, and said with a smile:

“May Jin Nu boldly say, I’ve been listening to rumors in the capital city that Prince Kui’s demeanor is beautiful and graceful, like a man from heaven. When I saw him today, he really is worthy of his reputation. No wonder this humble servant has seen in the Jiaofang guesthouse that the hearts of all the sisters are with Prince Kui.”

“It’s a pity that your sisters will be sad.” Li Rui held Jin Nu’s shoulder with one hand and said with a smile, “You go back and tell all the sisters that my fourth brother’s iron heart will disappoint them. It’s better to place your trust in me and have some hope.”

As the laughter of Jin Nu resonated in the hall, servings of wine and food were replenished. The maids of the palace shuttled back and forth, and the sound of music was in full swing.

In this bustling scene, Huang Zixia felt that she was an outsider. She just stood there motionless and her eyes fell on Li Shubai’s back. She seemed to be looking at him, but actually she didn’t look at anything, just thinking about her own affairs.

A group of people chatted when someone suddenly asked Li Shubai, “Fourth brother, I’ve heard that the Emperor intended Lord Zhou Xiang¹ to take over the post of Governor of Shuzhong County. What do you think?”

Li Shubai said casually, “I only heard that Lord Zhou has a good name, besides work, I didn’t have any other dealings with him. However, I find his son Zhou Ziqin worthy of admiration.” Li Shubai said with a smile.

Li Rui laughed amusedly, “Exactly, exactly, Lord Zhou has a good temper, but if he gets angry, every time, it must be caused by Zhou Ziqin. And I also think that he is really worthy of admiration!”

Li Run said: “I have seen Zhou Ziqin before, he didn’t seem disobedient and unfilial to me!”

“He’s not rebellious but brought shame to his family. Lord Zhou has been teaching all his sons very well. The first three or four elder brothers of Zhou Ziqin are capable and Lord Zhou didn’t expect much from his youngest son, even if he turned out to be a rich playboy, it is still passable. But this son, who doesn’t like books, doesn’t have any great skills, even though he doesn’t gamble or cheat.. Every day, he only likes to run to the mortuary, which has become a big joke in the capital city.”  (Please read original translations from cloud manor.)

“Mortuary?” Li Wen, Prince of Kang, paused from laughing.  

Li Rui said with a smile: “Indeed, his first wish in life was to be a post-mortem examiner². With that, he was beaten several times by Lord Zhou, so he had to change his ambition and wanted to become a constable. Everyday he constantly pestering on the head of the constables in the capital city to give him a position 一 isn’t this an insignificant job? The head of the constables did not dare to offend neither Lord Zhou, the Deputy Minister of Justice department nor Zhou Ziqin. When they saw him, they got so scared that they vanished quickly like a ghost!”

Li Wen guffawed and said to Li Shubai, “Fourth brother, it’d be very useful for you to speak up for him in front of the Emperor. When Lord Zhou Xiang takes over the Governor position, the Emperor must personally appoint his son to be a constable, which will make Zhou Ziqin’s obsession a success!”

Moonstone’s note: Zhou Ziqin’s father, Zhou Xiang, is rumoured to take over the post of Governor of Shuzhong County, now vacant since Zixia’s father, Huang Min, was murdered.Hazel’s note: Post-mortem examiner is considered a low morale, shameful and inauspicious kind of profession during ancient China era.