Early the next morning, just as Huang Zixia was getting up, she found people from Princess Tongchang’s mansion already waiting outside her door. The eunuch named Deng Chunmin wore a miserable expression as he pleaded, “Eunuch Yang, please hurry! Yesterday the Princess told me to bring you over, please save me!”

Huang Zixia looked at the sky and asked in surprise, “The Princess is inquiring about this matter so early?”

“The Princess hasn’t risen yet, but what if she asks about this when she wakes? I need to bring you in quickly, don’t you agree?”

Under Deng Chunmin’s pleading gaze, Huang Zixia had no choice but to quickly wash up and follow him to Princess Tongchang’s mansion.

Princess Tongchang’s mansion was indeed a place of golden railings and jade walls. Though not as magnificent as the imperial palace, the gold decorations on the eaves, the golden bells among flowers to ward off birds, and the intricate gold and silver thread patterns woven into the bamboo curtains – all these minute details of luxury created a dazzling, mesmerizing effect.

Huang Zixia stood quietly in the front courtyard of Princess Tongchang’s mansion, waiting for her summons.

The morning dew hadn’t yet dispersed, and birds chirped overhead. As she watched, a pitiful voice still heavy with sleep came from beside her: “Eunuch Yang, you’re here too?”

Huang Zixia turned to look and saw it was Cui Chunzhan, the Deputy Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review. He dejectedly led four minor officials from the Court, and after greeting her, sat down miserably in the chair beside her: “Eunuch Yang, have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet,” Huang Zixia said calmly, eyeing the five fingermarks on his face.

“Me neither.” Noticing her gaze, he sadly covered his cheek and said, “I got up too early and disturbed my tigress, so…”

Recalling his reputation as the most henpecked official in court, Huang Zixia could only smile without speaking.

Feeling embarrassed, Cui Chunzhan added, “She just cares about me getting up early for official business and wants to spend more time together, she just doesn’t know how to express it, don’t you think, Eunuch Yang?”

“Indeed,” Huang Zixia said seriously.

Seeing her affirm his wife’s behavior, Cui Chunzhan brightened up, and turning his head to see a maid gracefully bringing in a food box, he became even happier: “Wonderful, we can have breakfast first.”

The maid smiled demurely and opened the food box, taking out pastries and porridge. Cui Chunzhan invited everyone to sit down and eat.

Deng Chunmin hurriedly came forward to ladle a small bowl of porridge for everyone. Cui Chunzhan looked at the pretty maid and asked, “Are you one of the Princess’s attendants?”

“This servant is Chuizhu, I’ve been with the Princess since childhood and later accompanied her when she married out of the palace,” she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, and though her features weren’t exceptionally beautiful, her rosy cheeks and gentle demeanor were unforgettable. “The Princess said Commissioner Cui and Eunuch Yang might not be familiar with the mansion, so you can ask me about anything you need.”

“That’s wonderful! I was just worried about how to navigate this mansion’s countless doors and passages,” Cui Chunzhan said, then looked toward Deng Chunmin.

Deng Chunmin quickly said, “This servant is Deng Chunmin, like Chuizhu and Wei Ximin, I grew up with the Princess in the palace since childhood and left the palace with her a year ago.”

“How many people are there in your mansion?” Cui Chunzhan asked.

Deng Chunmin was immediately stumped, but Chuizhu rattled off like counting family treasures: “Reporting to Commissioner Cui, the Princess’s mansion currently has forty-two stewards and accountants, seventy-eight eunuchs, one hundred and twenty-eight maids, and two hundred and forty-seven kitchen staff, doormen, and miscellaneous workers.”

“How many left the palace with the Princess?”

“At that time there were seventy-eight eunuchs and thirty-six maids. Most of the others were bought from among the common people when His Majesty ordered the construction of the Princess’s mansion, and over ten people, including horse handlers, storekeepers, and gardeners, have gradually sought employment here over the past year.”

Seeing how clear and precise Chuizhu was in speech and action, Huang Zixia asked, “Did Wei Ximin ever make any enemies in his daily life?”

Chuizhu thought briefly and said, “Wei Ximin worked with me attending the Princess closely, he always served her diligently, cautiously, and with unwavering loyalty.”

But Deng Chunmin showed signs of wanting to speak but holding back. So Huang Zixia asked him, “Eunuch Deng, as a fellow inner servant with Wei Ximin, did you notice anything in daily life?”

Deng Chunmin quickly said, “Actually, just the day before yesterday, I discovered he seemed to argue with… Changpu from the inner kitchen.”

“Oh?” Cui Chunzhan quickly put down his chopsticks and asked, “How did he end up arguing with a kitchen maid?”

Deng Chunmin was at a loss and said, “I… I don’t know.”

“Changpu isn’t a kitchen maid but rather manages all the kitchens and seasonal meals in the mansion. The Princess often praises her steadiness,” Chuizhu explained on his behalf. “She was a servant raised in the Prince Consort’s household who came with him when the Princess married. She should be around thirty years old now, still unmarried. As for the content of their argument, we don’t know.”

“Argument? My argument with Wei Ximin?”

Changpu was of average looks, but her unsmiling face and deep lines at the corners of her mouth made this thirty-something woman appear completely charmless.

She was planning tomorrow’s menu for the mansion and seeing them arrive, she put aside her paper and thought carefully before nodding, “Yes, that did happen.”

The clerk behind them quickly took out brush and ink to begin recording.

Seeing this show of force, Changpu’s expression changed slightly as she asked, “What’s this about? Do you think Wei Ximin’s death has something to do with me? That was… that was heaven’s punishment, wasn’t it!”

Huang Zixia hurried to reassure her, “Please don’t worry, sister. This is just routine, trying to understand Wei Ximin’s usual affairs. Just answer freely.”

Changpu still looked confused and nervous as she hesitated, “I’m not sure… what matter?”

“Could you tell us in detail about your argument from a few days ago?”

“Oh… that matter.” Changpu’s voice rose slightly, clearly still dissatisfied, and she said, “This servant manages the meals for everyone in the mansion, while Wei Ximin was a close attendant to the Princess. We originally had no relationship, good or bad. Who knew he would come to me the other day, demanding zero-ling incense from me, and when I said I had none, he cursed at me in front of everyone in the kitchen. Just think, I’ve been managing over twenty kitchen staff since the Prince Consort’s household, how could he shame me like that without reason? But since he was a favorite of the Princess, this servant could only endure his scolding at the time. Who knew now… ah, the dead are gone, let it be.”

Huang Zixia asked further, “You manage the meals, why would he ask you for zero-ling incense?”

“Speaking of this, it was just my bad luck. A few days ago… I happened to get a little from somewhere. This incense is quite precious, and this servant was reluctant to use it, so I presented it to the Princess, she didn’t care for it, so it fell into Wei Ximin’s hands. After he used it up, he assumed this servant must still have more and brazenly came to demand it. I don’t know how he could be so thick-skinned!”

Huang Zixia continued to probe, “May I ask where sister got this zero-ling incense?”

“It was… sent by someone this servant knows.” Changpu lowered her head, looking embarrassed and resistant to this topic. “Anyway, that person only sent me that much, no more, and after that, this servant never saw Wei Ximin again. The next day I heard he was dead, supposedly… struck by lightning. This servant was also very surprised, wondering if it was heaven’s punishment for his bullying ways?”

Huang Zixia nodded and asked one final question: “May I ask where you were when Wei Ximin died?”

“That day was the anniversary of Guanyin’s enlightenment, and the mansion was to eat vegetarian food. So all morning this servant was in the kitchen watching those people, making sure no meat got mixed in. If the Princess discovered any, it would be a serious matter, wouldn’t you agree?”

Cui Chunzhan casually agreed, “That’s true.”

A eunuch had already come to report: “The Princess has risen, you may all go for your audience.”

Cui Chunzhan and Huang Zixia left the kitchen matter behind and headed toward the Princess’s quarters. From afar they saw a group of maids in brocade and gauze dresses descending the elevated platform, each carrying something golden. Only when they got closer did they realize the maids were carrying golden trays containing the remains of Princess Tongchang’s breakfast.

Huang Zixia thought to herself that if Zhou Ziqian were here, he would say how useless golden plates were, and that silver plates would be much more practical as they could detect poison!

Princess Tongchang wore a bright red jacket and skirt, her beautiful hair loosely arranged in a cloud-like bun, sitting alone in the pavilion to receive them. She sat properly on the couch with only a single hairpin in her hair. But the exquisite beauty of this hairpin drew the attention of even Huang Zixia, who never cared for ornaments, and even a man like Cui Chunzhan, making them unable to look away.

It was a jade hairpin, carved entirely from a single piece of jade with such fine craftsmanship that it clearly showed nine phoenixes soaring. Most remarkably, this piece of jade was genuinely nine-colored, and some masterful jade craftsman had somehow managed to use the jade’s natural colors to carve nine phoenixes of different colors, their wings spread in flight, creating an extraordinarily vivid effect.

Huang Zixia thought this must be the legendary Nine Phoenix Hairpin, the only one of its kind in the world, called a treasure of the imperial storehouse. That the current Emperor hadn’t given it to Empress Wang but instead bestowed it on his daughter showed his precious love for Princess Tongchang.

The Prince Consort was nowhere to be seen in the pavilion. The Princess motioned for them to sit, then said, “The Prince Consort was injured yesterday, and the Imperial Physician said he needs to apply medicine. I found the medicine smell unpleasant, so I sent him to sleep in the side quarters.”

Cui Chunzhan’s hand unconsciously touched the cheek his wife had slapped that morning, his expression complex.

The Princess and Prince Consort’s relationship appeared quite cold.

Li Shubai’s words flashed through Huang Zixia’s mind.

He had said there were many marketplace rumors about Princess Tongchang and Yu Xuan…

She forcibly stopped herself from thinking further, collected her thoughts, and struggled to keep her voice as calm as before: “May I ask the Princess’s thoughts on Wei Ximin’s matter? Could you tell us something about it?”

The Princess slightly pursed her lips and said, “Of course, I have doubts about this matter! First of all, Wei Ximin was someone who never believed in ghosts or gods, so how would he have squeezed into Jianfu Temple that day to attend the ceremony?”

Huang Zixia was slightly surprised and asked, “He didn’t believe in ghosts or gods?”

“That’s right.” The Princess turned her face to think and asked a maid beside her: “Luopei, isn’t that so?”

Luopei quickly said: “Indeed! Wei Ximin usually had chronic headaches, and when they hurt he would curse heaven and earth, often saying if there were Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the world, they should first grow back his two ounces of flesh… oh my, anyway, all sorts of filthy talk. Just last night someone was saying that Wei Ximin met his retribution precisely because he had committed such great disrespect!”

“The night before last, I heard he had an ugly dispute with Changpu from the kitchen. You know, Changpu is from the Prince Consort’s side, how could she let him have his way? I was about to discipline him when Chuizhu searched the entire mansion but couldn’t find any trace of him. Who would have thought the next day we’d hear he died at Jianfu Temple!” Princess Tongchang frowned and said, “Therefore I think this matter must be suspicious. At the very least, whoever led him to Jianfu Temple must be highly suspect.”

Cui Chunzhan said, “The Princess makes a good point. We will investigate until the truth comes to light, not failing the Princess’s expectations!”

His perfunctory diplomatic response showed no sincerity at all, and Princess Tongchang directly turned her gaze to Huang Zixia: “Eunuch Yang, what are your thoughts?”

Huang Zixia said: “At present it’s still unknown. It seems Commissioner Cui and this servant should first question the Prince Consort to know more.”

Princess Tongchang waved her hand and said: “Commissioner Cui may go first, Eunuch Yang please wait.”

After Cui Chunzhan and his five men left, Princess Tongchang slowly stood up and walked to Huang Zixia’s side.

Huang Zixia stood and respectfully bowed her head to her.

Huang Zixia was tall and slender, while Princess Tongchang was petite, about half a head shorter. She raised her eyes to gaze at Huang Zixia for a while before smiling and saying: “I’ve long heard of your reputation, and indeed someone who could gain Prince Kui’s such favor must be extraordinary in bearing.”

Huang Zixia forced a smile and said: “The Princess flatters me.”

“Would my words ever be mere flattery?” She glanced at her, then walked to the window full of smiles, leaning there lazily as she asked, “Did you see the Nine Phoenix Hairpin I’m wearing?”

Huang Zixia nodded and said: “It’s exceptionally exquisite, a triumph of craftsmanship.”

“Eunuch, you don’t understand a woman’s heart. Although I need only lift a finger for all the world’s rare treasures to compete to appear before me, what I love most is still this Nine Phoenix Hairpin.” She raised her hand to lightly touch the hairpin in her hair, sighing softly, “A woman’s obsession is always feeling that her most cherished things are connected to her heart…”

Huang Zixia didn’t know what deeper meaning she had in telling her these things, but she showed no sign of impatience, just quietly and respectfully listening.

“The night before last, the night before Wei Ximin’s tragic death, I had a dream.” The Princess placed both hands on the railing, looking down at the sea of flowers below.

It was July, and the weather was hot. Her quarters were on an elevated platform. The cool breeze came gently, making the pink silk trees planted below undulate like waves, their subtle fragrance rising.

A velvet-like silk tree flower was caught by the wind and stuck to her temple, trembling lightly, delicate, and soft. She raised her hand to take it down, rolling it gently between her fingers as she murmured: “I dreamed of a woman wearing rich brocade clothes, but her long hair was completely unadorned, flowing to the ground. She gradually appeared from the darkness, walking toward me step by step, and I saw her face, radiant as jade—she told me, ‘I am Noble Consort Pan Yuer of Southern Qi. A cherished object has been by your side for a long, please prepare early to return it to me.'”