The doors and windows in the room were tightly shut, creating an uncomfortable stuffiness in the summer heat due to the lack of ventilation. Inside were rows of shelves holding various chests, cases, and boxes, clearly a storage room for the Princess’s personal belongings.
Luopei went to the shelves in the corner, crouched down, and pulled out a chest from the bottom shelf, then used the key she had just been given to open the cabinet.
Inside was a small box measuring one-foot square, which Luopei carefully lifted out and opened.
It had a purple velvet lining, and now, it was empty.
“The other day, because the Princess had that inauspicious dream, she placed the Nine Phoenix Hairpin in this box, and watched us put the box in the chest, lock it, and put the key in the drawer by her bed, then ordered us to place it here,” Luopei spoke with an anxious and angry expression, saying, “Chuizhu and I carried the chest here. We thought the bottom corner would be the safest place, so we put the chest here. Zuiyu and others were with us at the time, everyone saw us carry the chest in and place it in this spot. After we placed the chest, everyone withdrew. But this morning, the Princess said she felt uneasy, so she took out the key from beside her pillow and gave it to us, asking us to bring the Nine Phoenix Hairpin to her. When Chuizhu, Zuiyu, and I came here and Chuizhu opened the chest and took out the box, she immediately cried out in shock—it was empty inside!”
Huang Zixia and Li Shubai exchanged glances, slightly furrowing their brows.
“The guards came immediately, and everyone in Qiyun Pavilion was searched, and all the rooms in the wing, pavilion, and mansion were thoroughly searched, but the Nine Phoenix Hairpin couldn’t be found anywhere, just as if… it had been… taken back by Noble Consort Pan…” Luopei said anxiously, “Isn’t this eerily supernatural? The Nine Phoenix Hairpin isn’t just some small hairpin, it’s a large pin carved with nine phoenixes—how could anyone take it silently through both the chest and the box?”
Huang Zixia and Li Shubai saw the same thought in each other’s eyes—that strange talisman. That talisman from Xuzhou, similarly placed within two layers of precise locks.
Could there be methods in this world to take things through barriers and cast spells through objects?
Luopei hadn’t noticed their exchanged glances and continued speaking anxiously: “When the Princess heard this news, she immediately fell ill. Your Highness knows that the Princess has been unable to handle shock or extreme emotions since childhood, or else she gets chest pains. The death of Wei Ximin had already affected her health, and when the Prince Consort was injured during polo, she received another shock, and then last night… when she heard the news…”
At this point, Luopei suddenly seemed to come to her senses and quickly looked up to observe their expressions.
Huang Zixia said: “Last night? You mean Sun Laizi’s death? We all know about this, no need to be indirect.”
“Yes… it was hearing the news that Sun Laizi had died… and people on the streets are saying he died because of the ghost of that Dicui,” Luopei said uneasily, “I don’t know why the Princess fell ill as soon as she saw that Dicui that day… She, who told her not to avoid the Princess early enough, causing the Princess to become angry and say she was inauspicious, ordering us to beat her and drive her out, never allowing her to enter the mansion again…”
Huang Zixia asked: “She didn’t offend the Princess?”
“No, we were all there at the time. She and the Princess crossed paths, and as soon as the Princess saw her, she somehow fell ill, leaning against Chuizhu with chest pains,” Luopei recalled the situation, saying somewhat sympathetically, “The Princess only said to drive this woman out, but who knew Wei Ximin would do that to her…”
Huang Zixia slightly furrowed her brows. Prince Consort Wei had said at the time that it was because she had accidentally stepped on the Princess’s shawl that the Princess became angry…
Whose version of events was more credible?
Luopei continued: “So actually, that woman’s matter had nothing to do with the Princess… but after all, two people connected to her died mysteriously and inexplicably. I think the Princess might have become greatly troubled because of this, and then with the Nine Phoenix Hairpin going missing, the Princess became ill from anger. And this time it’s truly a severe illness—even Noble Consort brought several imperial physicians from the palace to examine her, but still there’s no improvement. Now everyone in our Princess’s mansion is extremely worried…”
Listening to this, Huang Zixia asked: “Have you investigated who entered and left this storeroom yesterday?”
“After the Nine Phoenix Hairpin was placed in the storeroom yesterday, no one entered or left.”
“Then, have the two eunuchs guarding the door been checked?”
“Yes, their bodies and rooms were searched immediately, with no findings. Although they could have conspired to steal what they were guarding, because the Princess hadn’t been sleeping well lately, additional personnel were posted outside the door. The eunuchs at the wing’s entrance were constantly under the watch of nearby guards, eunuchs, and maids, and had no opportunity to enter.”
Huang Zixia pondered briefly, then crouched down to examine the chest.
It was an ordinary camphor wood chest, painted red on the outside with auspicious patterns in black lacquer. The inside was natural wood; she knocked on every corner of the chest’s interior but found nothing unusual.
Then she took the box and opened it for careful examination. It was a sandalwood box with intricate carvings depicting the four seasons’ flowers and plants, clearly suggesting that its contents must have been extraordinary.
She carefully checked the box inside and out but found nothing unusual either.
“This key? Has the Princess kept it by her side the whole time?”
“Yes, it’s always been in the drawer by the Princess’s bed. The Princess hasn’t been sleeping well these past few days, and we’ve been keeping watch outside the hall, with several people on duty during both the first and second half of the night. If anyone had entered the Princess’s room, they would have had to pass by us.”
“What about outside the window?” Huang Zixia asked.
“Master Yang must be joking. Qiyun Pavilion is on a high platform—the windows of the Princess’s chambers, the wing rooms, and the storeroom are several zhang high. Who could climb up such a high platform and enter through a window to steal something?”
Hearing this, Huang Zixia walked to the window and pushed it open to look down.
The high platform rose into the air, offering a view of the entire Princess’s mansion and even half of Yongjia District. Below the platform were silk trees with flowers like rippling water, layers of pink spreading outward like waves. Qiyun Pavilion was like Mount Penglai rising from these pink waves, its high pavilion reaching into the clouds, magnificent.
On such a high platform, the only way up was the external steps, which zigzagged up the platform’s side with three turns.
Li Shubai asked: “Tongchang has been physically delicate since childhood, why does she live in such a high place? Isn’t it tiring to climb up?”
“The Princess is sensitive to both heat and cold. This area has strong winds in summer and sunlight all day in winter, and being far from the ground means less humidity—the Princess fell in love with it at first sight. As for the steps, if the Princess gets tired, she can be carried up in a small sedan chair.”
Huang Zixia nodded, gesturing for Luopei to put everything away, and the three of them left the wing.
Li Shubai stood in the open space before the pavilion, looking down at the scene below, while Huang Zixia went in to visit Princess Tongchang, only to find she was already resting in bed. Layer upon layer of gauze curtains hung down, decorated with ruyi knots woven with gold and silver threads, and the four corners of the ivory mat were weighted down with carved figures of flying celestial musicians and white jade paperweights.
Chuizhu stood up to bow to her and led her to the outer room, then lowered her voice to say: “The Princess didn’t sleep last night and is tired today. Before sleeping, she instructed that Master Yang may investigate freely in the mansion, but must find the Nine Phoenix Hairpin…”
At this point, Chuizhu’s eyelashes lowered, her eyes moist with tears: “The Princess is too concerned about this. Even though the Nine Phoenix Hairpin is a rare treasure, it’s still just a hairpin after all. But no matter how we try to persuade her, she keeps feeling that this hairpin is tied to her fate, insisting that if Noble Consort Pan has taken the hairpin, she… she will also follow Noble Consort Pan…”
Huang Zixia nodded and said: “I understand. You all need to be very careful these days, after all…”
After all, she still remembered the painting she had seen at Zhang Xingying’s house—besides the first two sketches that had already come true, only the third remained.
If Princess Tongchang became the final victim of the swooping phoenix’s peck, given the Emperor’s fondness for her, it would likely cause huge waves throughout Chang’an that would not easily be calmed.
Chuizhu turned back to guard the Princess inside the pavilion, while Huang Zixia walked to Li Shubai’s side, only to find him staring at a particular spot in the silk tree grove.
Just as she glanced over, Li Shubai had already turned and started walking down.
In her glance, she only saw Yu Xuan standing beneath the silk trees, holding something in his hand, motionless. But they were too far away—she couldn’t make out his expression or what he was holding.
Li Shubai had already started down the steps, and Huang Zixia forced herself to turn back, following behind him down from Qiyun Pavilion.
As they descended the platform’s steps, at occasional turns she could see Li Shubai’s profile, solemn and calm.
She didn’t know who this was for, and while still hesitating, Li Shubai suddenly spoke: “From what we’ve seen, it seems practically impossible to enter the storeroom to steal, and open this chest to take things away without a trace?”
Huang Zixia nodded and said: “There must be a way, we just haven’t discovered it yet.”
“This method might also work for my talisman?” Li Shubai said, stopping and turning to look at her.
On the steps, a strong wind flowed past them. His gaze fixed on her, examining her for a long while before saying: “You’re hiding something from me.”
Huang Zixia looked at him in surprise, not understanding which aspect he was referring to.
“For instance, when Princess Tongchang’s Nine Phoenix Hairpin was stolen, you seemed more concerned about her safety—is there something that makes you think her premonition is correct, that the Nine Phoenix Hairpin is connected to her life?”
Realizing what he was referring to, Huang Zixia secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said: “About this matter, I was just about to ask Your Highness if we should pay a visit to Prince E.”
Li Shubai raised an eyebrow slightly: “What does this have to do with him?”
“After that polo match—the one where Prince Consort Wei was injured—because Prince Zhao wanted to eat ancient tower cakes, we went together to Zhang Xingying’s home, where we saw a painting enshrined in his hall. It was said to be bestowed by the late Emperor when Zhang Xingying’s father went to the palace to check his pulse. Prince E showed an extremely strong reaction to this painting at the time, and his behavior was unusual afterward.”
“What connection does this painting have to this case?”
“On this painting, supposedly from the imperial brush, there were three unevenly distributed sketches. The first showed a man struck by lightning and burned to death; the second showed someone dying in an iron cage; and the third showed a phoenix swooping down from the sky to peck someone to death.”
Li Shubai slightly furrowed his brows: “So, based on the deaths of the first two people, you think Princess Tongchang might be… the third?”
“Yes. When I first saw it, I didn’t pay much attention, but thinking about it now, this painting might have a great connection to this case.”
Li Shubai turned to continue walking down, pondering as he asked: “Is that painting truly from the imperial brush?”
“I don’t know. But looking at the painting’s material, it’s Shu Prefecture yellow hemp paper, flat and thick, looking indeed like what would be used in the palace, but I have limited exposure to palace items and don’t know for certain.”
“Shu Prefecture yellow hemp paper is used for writing in the palace. For painting, the late Emperor usually preferred Xuan paper or white hemp paper—why would he use yellow hemp paper?”
Huang Zixia shook her head and said: “That painting is more like a sketch, three ink marks—who knows whose hand it came from. Moreover, it seems the person who drew it was just randomly drawing; these so-called three ways of death are just our conjecture after looking at it for too long.”
“Stay at the Princess’s mansion to investigate further. I’ll have the Court of Judicial Review’s people retrieve that painting to see if it is Father Emperor’s brush,” Li Shubai said, turning to leave.
They heard the song of an oriole nearby, round and clear like jade beads.
Li Shubai slightly raised his head to look at the treetops. Two orioles were singing to each other on the branches, occasionally rubbing their wings together. As they hopped about, clusters of silk tree flowers fell like velvet, creating a romantic scene.
His gaze followed the trajectory of the falling silk tree flowers, landing on her face. Seeing her catch one of the flowers, lost in thought, he asked: “What are you thinking about?”
Huang Zixia pondered: “These three cases we’ve encountered so far all have connections to the Princess’s mansion, some distant, some close. Now two people are dead, and the Prince Consort is injured, but so far we have no leads… I’m worried that if we don’t solve the case soon if something happens to the Princess, the situation might become uncontrollable…”
Li Shubai said calmly: “I know. You don’t need to be anxious. If worst comes to worst, Cui Chunzhan will help you clean up the aftermath.”
Huang Zixia felt sympathy for Young Lord Cui in her heart and nodded.