The Golden Hairpin

by Qinghan CeCe

  In the quiet of Yanji Hall, everyone could see she’d been defeated by two simple sentences from Huang Zixia.

  “Xuese, who the Prince of Kui saved in Xuzhou, was so stubborn, she waited for the Prince of Kui. When the mother she thought was dead asked Feng Yi to take her to the capital to arrange a good life for her, she still didn’t want to leave,” Huang Zixia said.

  The Empress slowly shook her head, realizing what she had done.

  Huang Zixia continued. “She and Little Shi agreed that since her mother hadn’t seen her in twelve years, she definitely wouldn’t know what she looked like and that Little Shi would go in her place. They didn’t know her mother was the Empress, or that it would lead them back to the Prince of Kui.”

  Silence. Silence like death.

  Huang Zixia raised her voice to peel off the last layer. “Empress Wang, the woman you ordered murdered in the night and thrown in the channel to look like Jin Nu was your own daughter, Cheng Xuese!”

  Empress Wang sat motionless for a long time. Then her dazed eyes filled with tears. When she finally spoke, it was in a faint hiss. “You’re lying . . . you’re . . . lying.”

  Huang Zixia felt a mixture of compassion and anger.

  Empress Wang kept murmuring, “Lying . . . lying!”

  The Emperor was clutching the arm of his chair with such fury, his knuckles turned white.

  Wang Lin looked terribly anxious. He gestured for Xian Yun and Ran Yun to go take Empress Wang, while pleading with the Emperor. “Your Majesty, it seems this eunuch Yang Chonggu has terrified the Empress with his nonsense! She’s a child of the illustrious Wang family, not some court musician.”

  “Wang Lin,” the Emperor said, turning his eyes coldly from the Empress to him, “tell the truth. Tell the truth about what happened twelve years ago! If one word is proven false, your whole family line will end!”

  Wang Lin looked desperately at the Empress, who seemed completely defeated. He kneeled and wailed, “Your Majesty, I deserve the ultimate punishment. I don’t ask for forgiveness for myself, but please forgive my family! I was behind all of this. I even manipulated the Empress!”

  “Don’t make excuses for others,” the Emperor said. “Just speak the truth!”

  “Yes,” he said desperately, pressing his forehead to the ground. “Your Majesty, after the uprising, the Wang family was in bad shape, having lost many heirs. Twelve years ago, we only had four or five male children. The only promising child was a woman, your Wang Fu.”

  The Emperor thought a moment. “I remember. Bad fate. She died a little over half a year with me in the palace.”

  “At that time, Your Majesty was still the Prince of Yun, placed in the Sixteen Houses by the Emperor. After Wang Fu died, we were so sad and didn’t want to lose our Princess, so we thought you might be interested in one of her sisters. We invited Your Majesty to meet some girls.”

  The Emperor nodded slightly, then looked at the Empress. She was still as a statue, eyes wide open and tearful, pleading.

  “When we brought the girls before you, none of them caught your eye. So someone introduced us to the Empress, saying she was a poor woman, teaching pipa to some girls. I thought her skills were amazing and asked her to come play for you to close out the banquet,” Wang Lin said bitterly. “Who knew Your Majesty would fall in love and ask me what family she was from? I had a moment of weakness, and I lied.”

  “But when she joined the palace, her documents looked real,” the Emperor said coolly.

  “We switched her identity with a girl who’d died. It wasn’t a big deal. So I talked about it with her and she . . . she agreed.”

  “Not a big deal?” the Emperor said, turning to the Empress with a sneer. “You didn’t expect me to really love her so much. Over these twelve years, she joined me in the palace, gave birth to a Prince, and after I ascended the throne, became Empress Wang!”

  Wang Yun couldn’t hide his shock.

  Huang Zixia stood silently behind Li Shubai and watched the Empress.

  Wang Lin stood up with tears in his eyes. “I should die! I really never thought it would end up like this! After you took the throne I couldn’t sleep. And once she became Empress I was even more restless. Your Highness, I deserve to die, but please, forgive the Empress. I coerced her.”

  “Stop,” the Emperor said, raising his hand. “If you were so conflicted, why did you put on this elaborate show twelve years later? You really thought it’d be so easy to fool everyone?”

  Wang Lin straightened up with a shiver and didn’t dare to speak.

  Empress Wang finally spoke quietly and slowly. “Meeting Your Highness was the luckiest day of this woman’s life. For twelve years, I’ve worried that if Your Highness found out the truth, he’d reject me, but why did I unconsciously rejoice in the deception?” She choked up and looked at the Emperor, sobbing, tears like crystal beads rolling over her cheeks. “Your Highness, I felt so lucky. I wanted to give my estranged daughter what I had.”

  Huang Zixia and Li Shubai gave each other a look. Her calling her daughter to the capital was her way of reconnecting to her previous life.

  But they were just onlookers.

  In a flash, the woman who’d killed her own daughter disappeared. Empress Wang “the warrior” was back: cold, calculated, efficient.

  The Emperor looked uncomfortable and overwhelmed at the sight of his tearful wife. For years, they’d shared the burden of leading millions of people. He would remember her smile when they first met, her smile when she took the throne, her smile when she first held their son. She was part of his life, and without her, he’d be incomplete.

  He stood up and walked heavily toward her. “You lost yourself.”

  Sadness came over her face. She bowed. “Yes.”

  “You’re a common woman from Shu and have been my Empress for many years. You’ve always been strong and dignified. After the funeral of your daughter’s best friend, you need rest.” He was forgiving her.

  Empress Wang was stunned. Big tears slowly slid down her face. Her mighty air was gone. She looked weak and helpless as she kneeled and clutched the Emperor’s legs, crying.

  The Emperor pulled her up sharply. She was pale and trembling, but he finally got her to stand. Despite her tears, she couldn’t help but regain some of the haughtiness she’d obtained from ruling over people for so long.

  The scene made Huang Zixia feel a touch of tenderness for the cunning schemer—but only for a moment.

  The Emperor took her hand stiffly.

  He looked from Wang Yun to Wang Lin, Li Shubai, and Huang Zixia. “If anyone speaks of this again, you’ll be disobeying imperial orders and disrupting the court!”

  No one in the hall dared to speak.

  The Emperor tucked a tuft of hair behind the Empress’s ear. He tugged on her hand and said, “Go get some rest. Let the doctor have a look at you. You’re sick with grief.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. The Emperor led the Empress, who was visibly shaken, away.

  Before they reached the exit, the Emperor glanced at Xian Yun and Ran Yun and gestured to Wang Yun.

  Huang Zixia felt a sense of melancholy at the resolution of the case.

  Li Shubai looked back at her and began to leave. Huang Zixia followed him out of the hall.

  As they passed Wang Yun, she heard him speak softly in her ear. “Why?”

  Her heart jumped, and she turned and looked at him. The usually warm Wang Yun now stared at her motionlessly.

  His voice was soft but clear. “What did our Wang family do to offend you? Why push me again and again?”

  Huang Zixia felt a coldness in her chest under his intense gaze.

  She clenched her teeth. “I don’t know what you mean. All I know is fairness and justice are innate to the human heart. Whether the victim is a musician or a beggar, whether the murderer is the Emperor or a minister, I have to find out the truth to be at peace with myself.”

  Then she turned away quickly and left.

&n
bsp; She suddenly thought of that “again and again.”

  Was he counting her refusing to marry him and turning him into the city laughingstock?

  She broke out in a cold sweat. Then she immediately rejected the idea. She’d embarrassed Wang Yun so much. If he knew she was Huang Zixia, he would’ve exposed her.

  That body, despite being Jin Nu’s, was buried with great ceremony, according to the original plan.

  Huang Zixia stopped under the tall trees at the gate and gazed back at the black coffin.

  Li Shubai turned. “What’s wrong?”

  She hesitated. “I’m thinking about Jin Nu.” She paused. “Does this outcome resolve anything?”

  “Why wouldn’t it? Telling the killer she murdered her own daughter and forcing her to live with that guilt is the greatest punishment.” He shook his head. “Empress Wang is a woman after all, no? No matter how powerful, she can’t help but be heartbroken over the loss of her daughter.”

  “And Chen Nian, though she brought about her own murder, succeeded in getting revenge on Empress Wang, who will have to live with a guilty conscience for the rest of her life,” Huang Zixia said softly.

  The sun shone intermittently through the trees’ green branches. The soft sunlight made Huang Zixia think of the Emperor, who was known for his warmth and goodness. Even if the Empress didn’t lose face and no one else found out, the Emperor now knew and would discipline the Empress.

  Li Shubai glanced at Huang Zixia. “You’re still not satisfied?”

  Huang Zixia just looked at him.

  “The Empress is tough. She’s often abused her powers over these years, having people hung and so on. The Emperor couldn’t stop her. You helping the Emperor, punishing the Empress like this, makes you a good servant,” Li Shubai said.

  “If he believed me, does that mean he’ll help with the Huang family matter?”

  “It doesn’t matter if he believed you or not; when the time comes, I’ll personally take you to Shu.”

  Huang Zixia suddenly felt short of breath listening to his calm voice.

  Shu, where her parents were buried.

  Now she was about to go back there, break the ironclad case, and seek justice for the murdered.

  She felt some mix of bitterness and joy that made her dizzy in the early summer weather.

  She didn’t know if it was joy or sorrow.

  Seventeen

  WIND OVER THE WATER

  News came to the palace that afternoon that due to the sorrow over her cousin’s death, Empress Wang had gone to Taiji Palace to recuperate. Lady Zhao and Lady Gao would take care of palace affairs.

  The Empress’s eunuch Zhang Qing had come. Though he’d been reduced to working at Taiji Palace and looked a little vexed, Zhang Qing hadn’t lost his bossy style. He held his chin high and said, “Mr. Yang, the Empress has summoned you to have a chat with someone.”

  Someone . . . it must be Wang Ruo—no. Little Shi.

  Though she hadn’t spent much time with Little Shi, they liked each other, and she had some things to ask her, things she still didn’t know about the case.

  “Hold on a moment, please.” Huang Zixia had to go back to her room to change.

  When she was halfway there, she stopped to think a moment and decided to speak with Li Shubai first. He had been spending a lot of time in the pavilion by the lake because of the heat. When Huang Zixia got there, he was alone, looking over the lake with his hands behind his back. Lotus leaves broke through the water’s surface at various heights. In the lantern light, a silver layer on the surface made them seem hazy and distant.

  He turned and saw her.

  She bowed to him from across the lake and he waved her over.

  “It’s getting late. Where are you going?”

  “The Empress sent Zhang Qing. Someone wants to speak with me.”

  “Oh,” he said, motioning for her to go. But as she turned, she felt a foot on the back of her knee. She stumbled and fell headlong into the pond, just like she had the day they’d met.

  She pulled herself out and faced Li Shubai. “Why?”

  He just looked at her.

  Huang Zixia wiped the mud off her face and wrung out her sleeves. “Why, my Prince? Now I have to go bathe before I go to the palace. I’ll be late.” Her eyes caught movement from the hem of Li Shubai’s clothing. She jumped aside to avoid his foot, but his sweeping motion tripped her back into the pond again. Water splashed on the lotus leaves near her, and the drops rolled back onto her body. The surface shimmered in the lamplight, making Huang Zixia’s vision blurry. She saw a faint, sinister smile on Li Shubai’s face, and the wind gently blew his thin clothing.

  She took a few steps forward and looked up at him. “Why?”

  Li Shubai leaned forward and smiled. “Why what?”

  “Why are you kicking me into the water? Is it fun for you?”

  “Yes.” He nodded shamelessly. “We finally solved this terrible mystery, so I wanted to celebrate.”

  Huang Zixia was furious. “So you decided to kick me in the water twice?”

  Li Shubai restrained his smile a little. “Of course.” He waved her up. Huang Zixia angrily climbed out, but before she had time to speak, a splash hit her ear and she fell back into the water. “Third time’s the charm.”

  Huang Zixia pulled herself up, wiped the mud off her face, and started walking toward the opposite bank. She waded unsteadily through the mud and got back out, then went up the stairs. It wasn’t very hot out. She shivered, thinking she’d better get in a hot bath before she got sick. She caught a glimpse of Li Shubai on her way out, but she was too angry to look at him.

  She heard his voice call calmly, “Xian Yun and Ran Yun are already dead.”

  She suddenly stopped, shocked, and turned around.

  Li Shubai was behind her, his smile gone. “So if a little eunuch like you disappeared in Taiji Palace tonight, no one would make anything of it.”

  She stared at the water’s surface. She realized Li Shubai was doing her a favor. She could be killed if she went.

  “Jing Yu,” Li Shubai called.

  Jing Yu came through the gate, glanced at Huang Zixia, and said, “My Prince.”

  “Go tell Zhang Qing that Yang Chonggu fell in the water and it’s too late for him to get ready in time to reach the palace without disturbing the Empress.”

  Jing Yu agreed and left.

  Huang Zixia bit her lip. “What about tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow? You fell into the water; won’t you catch a cold? Would you go in the palace and risk infecting Empress Wang?” Li Shubai said. “A month or two from now, once you recover, the Emperor and Empress will know you can keep a secret and won’t bother you anymore.”

  Huang Zixia hesitated. “Thank you, my Prince.”

  Li Shubai seemed embarrassed to see her dripping with water. “You . . .”

  She looked up at him, awaiting orders. He paused and turned toward the lotus pond, then indicated for her to leave.

  Huang Zixia felt relieved. She quickly bowed and left. Covered in mud, she went to the kitchen and ordered two barrels of hot water. After giving herself a thorough cleaning, she dried off quickly and fell into bed.

  Sometime after she fell asleep, she heard a gentle knock on the door.

  She got up and threw on clothes, then opened the door and saw Li Shubai standing there with a small lantern in his left hand and a small box of food in his right. The lamplight was a warm orange, which softened his typically stony expression. He put the food box on the table and said, “Good. I don’t have to call you.”

  She gazed up at him and tugged on her tangled hair, then noticed it was dark out. “What time is it?”

  “Eleven thirty.” He opened the box of food and took a bowl filled with dark-brown liquid out and offered it to her. “Drink it.”

  She frowned. “My Prince, you came here in the middle of the night just to bring me soup?”

  “Of course not,” he said as he turned to leave.
“Get dressed when you’re done. We have guests.”

  Of course, not just anyone would make the Prince of Kui go wake up Huang Zixia in the middle of the night.

  It was a young woman as beautiful as a peach blossom. She wore plain clothing, and unfortunately, the peach blossom had withered from grief and suffering. She looked at them, and the leafy golden hairpin by her temple glimmered in the lamplight. It was Wang Ruo—or Little Shi.

  Huang Zixia was stunned. Little Shi quietly kneeled and bowed. Her soft skirt silently brushed the ground like a flower petal falling to the ground. “I would like to thank the Prince of Kui for saving my life that year.”

  Li Shubai nodded.

  When she finally spoke, her voice was hoarse. “I’ve been staying in Taiji Palace. Until today, Empress Wang came and told me if it weren’t for me, Xuese wouldn’t have died.” Little Shi paused and was so quiet, it was as if she wasn’t even breathing.

  Huang Zixia couldn’t bear it. “It was all a terrible accident. You didn’t kill her.”

  Little Shi’s face went pale. She looked at her with blank eyes. “But I think Her Highness is right,” she whispered. “If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have died.”

  “And if it weren’t for you, Xuese would have been gone three years ago,” Huang Zixia said.

  Little Shi felt no relief. Her head went lower and lower until it pressed the back of her hand, which was on the ground. “If it weren’t for Xuese, I wouldn’t be alive. We helped each other through the turmoil and went to Yangzhou together and Puzhou together. Auntie Lan Dai treated us as her own. She taught us music and dance. Those three years were good. If Feng Yi didn’t show up, our lives would still be that good now.”

  Li Shubai looked on coldly.

  “The Empress said I was greedy and vain to impersonate Xuese. We didn’t know she’d become the Empress. Feng Yi didn’t even know.” Little Shi gripped her face, trembling and unable to hold back tears. When Feng Yi came to take her to the capital to get married, Xuese told me she wasn’t ready. Xuese grabbed my hand and told me I should go instead. That no one would know the difference. She took the ingot the Prince of Kui gave us that day and gave half to me. She told me to use it as proof of my identity and find out what that man was up to.