Luopei cried out in shock: “But… but if that person only got the hairpin tail, why could the Princess spot the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin among so many people from such a distance? She couldn’t have recognized the broken hairpin tail from so far away!”

Chuizhu shook her head desperately, breaking into tears: “I don’t know… I don’t know! When the Princess called out about the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin, I was so scared my heart nearly jumped out of my throat, thinking… thinking she had discovered what I had done. But unexpectedly, she was pointing at someone in the crowd, and I knew that was impossible because the hairpin head was right there in my bosom… So I strongly urged the Princess not to go over, but who knew that in all that chaos, the Princess still… still…”

She could speak no more, prostrating herself on the ground, crying hysterically.

The people in the hall could wait, but the Emperor could no longer contain himself. Struggling to control his emotions, he gritted his teeth and said: “Get up! Tell me everything in detail!”

Both grieving and frightened, Chuizhu could only press her hands hard against her chest, forcing out the rest of her words, her voice hoarse and almost breaking: “Yes, this servant… when this servant was searching for the Princess with others, I saw that person’s figure in the crowd! Although I still couldn’t see his face clearly, I could never forget that cloak… and I saw him leading the Princess toward the secluded area behind the ward wall. So I desperately pushed through the chaotic, crowded masses,… but it was already too late. When I arrived, I saw the Princess falling…”

As she recounted that day’s scene, her face turned ashen, as if the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin had pierced her chest, extinguishing her life force: “This servant… rushed forward in terror to look and in her chest was… exactly the tail of the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin! This servant… was extremely frightened, knowing that if I came under suspicion, I would certainly be searched, and then the hairpin head in my bosom would become evidence of my plot against the Princess! So I desperately ran to the Princess’s side, and while kneeling to embrace her body, secretly threw the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin head I had been carrying into the nearby grass, trying to make others think… that someone had killed the Princess with the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin, and it had broken due to the Princess’s struggle… But I didn’t kill the Princess! I just made one mistake that led to another, finally reaching today’s outcome…”

Everyone in the hall remained silent, not knowing whether to be shocked or to sigh in regret.

The Emperor let out a long breath, his whole body drained of strength. His gaze turned to Huang Zixa: “Is what she says true?”

Huang Zixa said in a low voice: “It is true. When the Princess fell, Chuizhu had just arrived. She tumbled and crawled to the Princess’s side; she certainly had no opportunity to kill the Princess.”

The Emperor tilted his head back, no longer looking at her, just waving his hand to signal for her to be taken away.

The officials from the Court of Judicial Review came forward, grabbed Chuizhu’s arms, and dragged her out.

Stumbling as they dragged her away, she looked at Qian Guansuo, her voice, previously low from crying, finally breaking into a hoarse shout: “Qian Guansuo, my entire life… from beginning to end, was ruined by you! Even in death… I will never forgive you!”

The Emperor raised his hand slightly, signaling the officials to pause.

Chuizhu collapsed to her knees, extending her hands and crying out: “Look, the birthmark on my wrist is gone, why? Because to protect the Princess, my entire arm from wrist to elbow was burned, the wounds festered with high fever for days and I nearly died, only then did the Princess recognize my loyalty and transfer me to be her maid! When the Princess was young, she had a small porcelain dog from outside the palace, but when she accidentally broke it and cut her finger, the Emperor and Consort Guo decided I hadn’t taken proper care of the Princess, making me kneel among the broken porcelain pieces for an entire night, only forgiving me when I lost consciousness and collapsed… When my knees were streaming with blood, where were you? When I was burned, where were you? When I was burning with fever near death, where were you then? You sold me, used the money from selling your daughter to make your fortune, then because of your guilty conscience, put on an act of looking for me, destroying my last chance at happiness, you—”

Her chest heaved violently, tears rolling down, her breath caught, unable to speak anymore.

“I am your father…” Qian Guansuo looked at his daughter, stammering, and after a very long time, finally spoke, his voice hoarse and bitter. After saying these words, he thought for a moment, then painfully corrected himself, “I… I’m sorry, Xing’er… I’m so sorry…”

He could say no more, breaking into loud sobs. He was originally an ugly, short, fat man, and now crying with his entire face contorted, he looked even more hideous. But no one could bring themselves to mock him, they just watched the father and daughter, the entire hall silent.

The Emperor’s voice broke the silence, saying: “You served Linghui faithfully in life. Now that you have committed a serious crime, I will show special mercy and allow you to follow your mistress.”

Chuizhu bit her lip and closed her eyes, saying nothing more, not looking at anyone in the hall, allowing others to drag her away.

Consort Guo watched her, saying hatefully: “She is one of the main culprits in Tongchang’s death, yet now she can accompany Linghui even after death. Why does Your Majesty grant her such grace!”

No one agreed with her, nor did anyone answer her.

Even Qian Guansuo remained kneeling there in a daze, tears streaming down his ashen face, seemingly endless.

The Emperor gestured for Qian Guansuo to be taken away as well. He turned to look at Huang Zixa, his right hand clenched into a fist so tightly that his veins bulged, matching the twitching muscles on his face, a shocking sight: “Then, who was the person who instigated Chuizhu to steal the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin and killed the Princess?”

Huang Zixa silently bowed to him and said: “With just a hairpin tail, Princess Tongchang certainly couldn’t have recognized it as the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin. However, there happened to be someone skilled at crafting lifelike flowers, birds, dragons, and phoenixes. Creating a fake Nine-Phoenix hairpin head to attach to the broken pin in one night would not have been difficult.”

Zhou Ziqin shook his head and said: “Chonggu, that’s impossible. Even if roughly made, even for the most skilled jade craftsman, carving a jade hairpin would take several days, let alone something as intricate as the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin—moreover, where would he find another piece of nine-colored jade?”

Huang Zixa countered: “Why use jade? Since it was only for the Princess to see from afar in a chaotic crowd, wouldn’t wax dyed to the right color work just as well? She wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference in such a rushed moment. And isn’t one night more than enough time to make a wax hairpin?”

In the silent hall, everyone’s gaze fell on Lü Zhiyuan.

Consort Guo slowly shook her head while lowering her eyelashes, tears of helplessness and sorrow sliding down.

The Emperor stared at Lü Zhiyuan for a long time, then stumbled back two steps and collapsed into his chair. He couldn’t speak, only fixing Lü Zhiyuan with a hateful, venomous gaze.

At this moment, Lü Zhiyuan’s gaze was directed only toward the sky outside the hall, remaining silent.

The wrinkles on his profile were like weathered ravines in rock. He gazed into the distance as if watching his daughter running farther and farther away, finally leaving him, leaving this terrifying Chang’an—while she still didn’t know everything her father had done for her.

Perhaps she would never know what her father, whom she had resented and hated, had done for her.

Huang Zixa looked at Lü Zhiyuan, complex emotions surging in her heart, but she finally spoke: “Elder Lü, I understand your feelings of wanting to avenge your daughter. But you shouldn’t have involved innocent people to cover your tracks.”

Cui Chunzhan quickly and carefully asked the Emperor: “Your Majesty, should we torture Lü Zhiyuan to make him confess?”

“No need, I confess… I killed three people: Wei Ximin, Sun Laizi, and Princess Tongchang, I killed them all,” Lü Zhiyuan interrupted.

The oppressive atmosphere in the hall didn’t clear with his confession but became even heavier.

Huang Zixa sighed and said: “In this case, although Princess Tongchang indirectly harmed your daughter, it was ultimately unintentional, and given her status, why did you insist on killing her?”

“Princess Tongchang… I didn’t intend to kill her. As you said, she wasn’t directly responsible for what happened to Dicui. But I don’t know why, why did Dicui want to confess to the Court of Judicial Review, saying she was the murderer. I couldn’t watch my daughter in mortal danger, and I certainly couldn’t confess myself and bring disaster upon my daughter!” Lü Zhiyuan said, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath before forcing himself to continue, “At this time, I thought of Princess Tongchang. I thought, since everything started because of her, perhaps only she could save my daughter. So I manipulated Chuizhu to steal the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin for me, but who knew she would only give me half? Although I couldn’t trick Chuizhu into giving me the whole hairpin, I had seen what the hairpin head looked like, so I guessed Chuizhu wouldn’t dare give the damaged Nine-Phoenix Hairpin to the Princess, and just as you said, I quickly made a wax copy of the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin that looked almost real from a distance.”

Huang Zixa asked further: “You seem very familiar with the affairs of the Princess’s residence, was it Doucou who told you?”

“Yes, she rarely visited our family, but Dicui’s mother was after all her sister. When I went to Spring Lady’s grave to pay respects this year, she came too. I shared some incense with her, but she said that in the Princess’s residence, all valuable items received from outsiders had to be given to the Princess, and there was a very greedy Wei Ximin by the Princess’s side who had headaches, so he would take the incense, especially the calming kind.”

“But how did you learn about the Princess’s dream of losing the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin?”

“That day when Wei Ximin came to my shop after I drugged him with incense, I tied him up, and he was so delirious he thought he was in the underworld, so he was scared into telling everything. I asked a few questions, and he told me about the Princess’s dream, and also about seeing the Princess secretly meeting with Qian Guansuo. I connected this with how Qian Guansuo had recently been proudly showing off the golden toad his daughter gave him and heard that the Princess’s maid Chuizhu had scars on her hands and was doing a good job impersonating the Princess, so I guessed that Chuizhu might be Qian Guansuo’s real daughter.”