The two red beans dangling from the golden thread gently struck against the pulse in her wrist, causing all strength to leave her body. She could only lower her hand, allowing him to hold it.

After searching the palace hall again, Huang Zixia carefully examined the twelve characters that had been carved on Consort Chen’s dressing table where she had discovered them earlier. However, they had been scraped away, leaving only traces of new wood with no characters remaining.

Leaving the rear hall, they said to the palace servants waiting outside, “We apologize, while searching for items, we accidentally knocked over the incense burner.”

“Oh my, please go in and clean it up right away,” an elderly palace servant quickly instructed the maids.

Huang Zixia bowed to her and asked, “Elder Sister, are you a female official here?”

The palace servant curtsied and replied, “This servant is Yueling. I’ve served the Imperial Consort for over ten years. When the Imperial Consort moved to Prince E’s residence due to illness, I followed.”

Huang Zixia quickly said, “So you’re Sister Yueling. I met Sisters Changling and Yanling at the palace before, and they mentioned you.”

“Yes, we entered the palace together and were quite close then,” she nodded.

Huang Zixia asked further, “Sister, did you serve Consort Chen as soon as you entered the palace?”

“This servant originally served in Consort Zhao’s palace. At that time, Consort Chen was short-staffed, so I was transferred to her palace. Consort Chen had a good temperament and personality, and we got along very well, so I became one of her close attendants.”

Huang Zixia nodded and said, “I’d like to ask you some questions about the Imperial Consort. Do you have time?”

Yueling nodded and led them to a small hall nearby. She personally served them tea before asking, “What would you like to know? This servant will tell you everything without reservation.”

“Over ten years ago, Consort Chen fell ill suddenly. Were you by her side then?”

Yueling nodded and sighed, “Years ago, Emperor Taizong’s Consort Xu refused medicine after Emperor Taizong passed away, eventually following him in death. I always thought she was foolish. But who would have thought that Consort Chen, whom I served, would be even more devoted and stubborn than Consort Xu? After the late emperor passed away, she was overwhelmed with grief and became… deranged. It’s both touching and admirable.”

“So Consort Chen indeed fell ill when the late emperor passed away?”

“Yes, I witnessed it myself, and many elderly palace servants know this. That morning she was fine, even brewing medicine as usual to deliver it. I remember following the Imperial Consort into the hall that day and seeing many unfamiliar faces in the palace. When the Imperial Consort saw Wang Gong-gong there, she asked him if there were any important matters that day.”

Upon hearing “Wang Gong-gong,” Huang Zixia quickly asked, “Was that Wang Zongshi, the Deputy Commander of the Shence Army?”

“That’s right. He was quite young then, not yet thirty. After the late emperor eliminated Ma Yuanzi, the palace staff was replaced, and he was most favored by the late emperor. That’s why he was entrusted with such important duties at a young age – quite remarkable, especially given the late emperor’s general wariness of eunuchs.”

Huang Zixia nodded and asked, “How did Wang Gong-gong respond?”

“Wang Gong-gong said that His Majesty was gravely ill, and the Inner Court had summoned Buddhist monks from various regions to pray for blessings. Among them was Master Mushan, a highly virtuous monk who was currently praying for His Majesty. The Imperial Consort held the medicine bowl, quite uncertain whether she should interrupt the ceremony…” Yueling recounted the events of that day clearly, without hesitation, as if they had happened yesterday. “Wang Gong-gong then said he was about to enter and worried the Imperial Consort might not know about the prayer ceremony, and it would be unfortunate to disturb it. Looking at the medicine bowl in her hands, he said that other famous doctors were now treating His Majesty, so this medicine wasn’t necessary anymore.”

Huang Zixia thoughtfully asked, “So… the emperor didn’t drink that bowl of medicine?”

“No, the Imperial Consort shook her head and said she had always been in charge of His Majesty’s illness, and he had been taking this medicine all along. Even with new doctors, he should still finish this bowl of medicine. Wang Gong-gong then said, ‘If that’s the case, this servant won’t say more.'”

Huang Zixia frowned slightly and asked, “So the Imperial Consort went in and fed the emperor that bowl of medicine?”

“Yes, I followed her into the outer hall but couldn’t enter the inner chamber. Sadly, the emperor’s illness was too severe to be cured by medicine… And the Imperial Consort was ultimately too attached, leading to her losing her mind…” Her voice choked with emotion as she spoke, wiping away tears and unable to continue.

Huang Zixia poured her a cup of hot tea, urging her not to be too sad.

After drinking the tea and sitting quietly for a while until her breathing steadied, Yueling asked, “Have the two of you made any discoveries? Is there any progress in our prince’s case?”

Zhou Ziqin held his tea in one hand while rubbing his head with the other, saying mysteriously, “Of course! We’ve made a major discovery!”

Yueling quickly asked, “Does it have to do with Prince Kui?”

“Uh… this is confidential, we need to report to the Court of Justice first,” Zhou Ziqin cleverly changed his response after catching Huang Zixia’s eye signal.

While Yueling was still hesitating, Huang Zixia asked, “Sister, I heard from the maids and eunuchs that after Prince Kui’s visit to return that bracelet, Prince E didn’t leave his residence before the Winter Solstice?”

“That’s right, he truly didn’t go out. I tried to persuade him, but the prince was deeply troubled and depressed, not listening to anyone…” Yueling sighed deeply, lifting her sleeve to wipe tears from her eyes.

“Since the prince didn’t go out, were there any visitors to the residence?”

“No. There were some casual visitors who came to invite him out, but the prince refused to see any of them.”

Huang Zixia nodded thoughtfully, pondered for a moment, then asked, “Did anyone send anything to the residence?”

Yueling slightly furrowed her brow, but before she could speak, a eunuch behind her said, “Speaking of that, there was something. Just a few days before the Winter Solstice, someone delivered something.”

“This is Jia’nan from the prince’s chambers,” Yueling introduced. “Since I usually stay in the rear hall, you might get better answers about these matters from him.”

Jia’nan was a very quick-witted young eunuch who spoke rapidly but clearly, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube. He said, “About three or four days before the Winter Solstice, I was chatting with others by the fire at the gate when an unfamiliar eunuch came by. He gave us this box with a calling card saying he was from Prince Kui’s residence, asking us to deliver it to the prince. Since we didn’t recognize him, we didn’t dare deliver it directly, so we opened the box to check. Inside was a heart-shaped knot made of red silk thread, bright in color, with tassels attached – very beautiful.”

Zhou Ziqin thoughtfully touched the burnt and broken silk threads in his pocket and asked, “What did it mean for Prince Kui to send Prince E a heart-shaped knot?”

Jia’nan scratched his head, completely puzzled, and said, “Of course we servants don’t know about matters between princes, so after checking that the box had nothing else, we put the box and the heart-shaped knot back as they were. I presented the box to the prince, and after he saw the heart-shaped knot, he was also quite confused. When he heard it was from Prince Kui’s residence, he just casually put it away without saying anything.”

Huang Zixia nodded and asked, “Was that the only time?”

“There was another time, the day before the Winter Solstice. The prince was in a bad mood, sitting sullenly in his chamber all day, and had driven us all out. I should have been on duty inside, but that day I could only sit in the corridor and endure the cold wind, freezing terribly. Just then, the gatehouse brought another box, saying it was from the same person as before. I asked if it was another heart-shaped knot, but he shook his head and said it was a dagger.” At this point, Jia’nan lifted his chin and nodded toward another young eunuch nearby, “Chen’tan loves playing with weapons, so when he heard it was a dagger, he quickly opened it to look. Our prince has always been kind and never scolded us, and besides, it was a dagger – a weapon – so we had to check it first…”

Chen’tan turned pale with fright and glared at Jia’nan several times, but Jia’nan was too excited recounting the events to notice his expression: “Then we opened the box in the corridor and saw a dagger on purple velvet. It was really impressive, gleaming so brightly it hurt your eyes! I stepped back twice, my legs shaking…”

Chen’tan had no choice but to add, “Yes, that dagger was truly a rare treasure. At the time, I thought Prince Kui and our prince must truly have deep brotherly affection for him to send such a peerless weapon to our prince.”

Zhou Ziqin scratched his head and said, “Sending a peerless dagger makes sense. But what was the meaning of sending a heart-shaped knot?”

“Yes, we couldn’t figure it out either.”

Huang Zixia bowed to everyone to bid farewell, saying, “Ziqin, let’s go.”

Zhou Ziqin quickly joined her in saying goodbye to everyone, and they mounted their horses to leave, riding back along Chang’an’s streets.

When they reached a quiet, deserted place, Huang Zixia said to Zhou Ziqin, “That’s it then, I’m heading back to Yongchang District.”

Zhou Ziqin was suddenly stunned and asked, “What? You’re going back alone? We’ve made a major discovery, we should hurry to see Prince Kui!”

Huang Zixia’s heart suddenly jumped, and she turned her face away, saying softly, “I… I won’t go.”

“Hey…” Zhou Ziqin saw her expression and became very suspicious, asking, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you blushing?”

“…No, I’m not,” she raised her hand somewhat frantically to cover her face, but felt her cheeks burning even hotter. Under Zhou Ziqin’s intense stare, she had to say embarrassedly, “Maybe it’s from the wind…”

“Just put on more face cream – oh right, how was the face cream I made for you last time?” Zhou Ziqin asked her.

She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject: “It’s very good, much better than what you can buy outside.”

“Next time I’ll make you one with orchid fragrance, Wang Yun likes orchids. Ah… I wonder if the second young lady likes osmanthus scent, I didn’t get to ask her before she left…” Zhou Ziqin said, seeing her cheeks still flushed, radiant like peach blossoms in the sunlight, and unconsciously said, “Chonggu, if you were a woman… oh oh, you are a woman…”

This fact that she was a woman seemed to make him very dejected. He pouted before saying, “Alright, let’s go.”

Before Huang Zixia could react, she asked, “Where?”

Zhou Ziqin had already leaned over from his horse and grabbed her reins: “To Prince Kui’s residence!”

Huang Zixia bit her lower lip and pulled back on her reins: “I’m not going…”

“Why won’t you go? Didn’t you say your mission was to solve the world’s mysterious cases? How come after investigating all day, you won’t go discuss it with Prince Kui? We’ve made important discoveries today, haven’t we?”

Huang Zixia looked at him helplessly, her gaze even carrying a hint of pleading: “Ziqin, don’t ask anymore, I… I can’t go see Prince Kui…”

After their argument, their separation, and that sudden kiss, she truly didn’t know how to face Li Shubai now. She had solved countless mysterious cases, and everyone called her incomparably clever, but now she had no idea what expression to wear when facing Li Shubai, what should be her first words, what should be her first action…

Her mind was in chaos, both hands clutching the reins, not knowing what to do.

“Oh come on, we’re all so familiar with each other, what do you mean you can’t go see him? Let’s hurry!” Zhou Ziqin insisted, pulling her horse over and even giving it a whip on the rear: “Let’s go, let’s go!”

The horse, stung by pain, immediately galloped forward. Huang Zixia lay flat on the horse’s back, shouting angrily: “Zhou Ziqin, what are you doing?!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t fall off,” he said while laughing heartily, “Look, look, we’re already here!”

Huang Zixia looked up and indeed, they had arrived at Prince Kui’s residence. She dismounted and turned to flee, but suddenly someone called out to her: “Huang Zixia.”

Hearing this cool, detached voice, her body instantly froze, and her feet could no longer move forward.

She slowly turned her head and saw Li Shubai’s carriage stopped at the gate. He pushed open the door and stepped out, standing on the carriage looking down at her, backlit against the light, his expression momentarily unclear.

She stood rooted to the spot for a long while before softly calling out, “Your Highness…”

The guards had already laid out the steps, and he descended from the carriage wearing clothes of a bright lotus blue color, more vibrant than his usual attire. She found herself gazing up at him involuntarily, as if he were a brilliant rising sun before her, making it impossible to look away.

He walked toward her step by step, his hand slightly raised as if wanting to touch her cheek. But after a moment’s hesitation, he slowly lowered it again, simply looking at her in silence before finally saying, “Come.”

Huang Zixia lowered her head and silently followed him into the prince’s residence.

Zhou Ziqin followed them inside, saying, “Look at you, earlier you kept insisting on running away, but now you’re so obedient.”

Huang Zixia shot him a weary glare and continued walking with her head down.

As soon as they reached the Jingyu Hall and the servants had served tea, Zhou Ziqin immediately looked around, then closed the door and began pulling items from his chest to place on the table: “A dagger, silk threads, broken jade…”

Li Shubai drank his tea, watching silently.

Zhou Ziqin said, “We just found these in Prince E’s residence. Your Highness, can you guess where we found them?”

Li Shubai looked at the ash marks on them and asked, “Did Prince E burn them in Consort Chen’s memorial incense burner?”

Huang Zixia held her teacup, looking down at the three items, and said, “Yes, and if he had done it at any other time, it probably would have been discovered quickly. They say that on the Winter Solstice, before going out, Prince E spent a long time alone at the memorial. I think… that must have been when he destroyed these three items.”

“The dagger, is it Gongsun Niang’s?” Li Shubai asked.

Huang Zixia shook her head: “We don’t know, because we don’t know if the other twenty-three cold iron daggers were the same as Gongsun Niang’s. If they were identical, it could be one of those twenty-three.”

“When we return to Shu territory to investigate, we can check if the dagger in the evidence storage is still there, then we might know,” Zhou Ziqin said, sighing frustratedly, “but it takes many days to travel back and forth from Shu territory.”

“I will send someone to check as soon as possible,” Li Shubai said, finally putting down his teacup and carefully examining the items on the table. “This bracelet should be the one we delivered to Prince E’s residence, the one we got from Fu Xinruan.”

Zhou Ziqin said: “Yes, I find it very strange. Why would Prince E break Fu Xinruan’s item at his mother’s memorial and bury it in the incense ashes? No, no, I should ask, why did Your Highness give this bracelet to Prince E in the first place?”

Huang Zixia glanced silently at Li Shubai without answering. Li Shubai casually said, “It was Prince E’s mother’s treasured possession, which Prince E gave to Fu Xinruan after his mother’s death.”

Zhou Ziqin was immediately tongue-tied, wearing an expression of having discovered an enormous secret.

Huang Zixia’s gaze moved from the dagger to the jade bracelet to the heart-shaped knot, then said: “There’s also the heart-shaped knot, which was delivered to Prince E’s residence a few days before the Winter Solstice by someone claiming to be from Prince Kui’s household. The person delivering it didn’t seem concerned about others examining it, so the box wasn’t even sealed. The gatekeepers checked it, confirmed it wasn’t dangerous, and then passed it on to Prince E.”

“It wasn’t me,” Li Shubai said flatly.

Zhou Ziqin nodded vigorously: “Of course, it wasn’t Your Highness, but who was impersonating you, and what was their purpose in sending these items?”

“Especially the heart-shaped knot… what was the meaning behind that?” Huang Zixia pondered.

Li Shubai contemplated for a moment, then turned to Huang Zixia and asked, “Besides this, what else did you discover at Prince E’s residence today?”

Huang Zixia didn’t dare look at him, only raising her hand to touch the hairpin holding up her hair. She drew out the white jade hairpin and lightly drew a circle on the table, saying: “Everyone in Prince E’s residence says that after Prince Kui came to return the bracelet, Prince E shut himself away and didn’t see anyone. But when Your Highness took me there, I know for certain that Prince E had no grievances with us, and even asked us to investigate his mother’s illness. I believe that at that time, Prince E hadn’t been subjected to soul-controlling magic—yet during the time he shut himself away, he developed a grudge against Prince Kui, and was willing to die to bring the greatest shame upon Your Highness, seeking to plunge you into an inescapable situation.”

Li Shubai nodded slightly but said nothing. Zhou Ziqin, however, asked with wide eyes: “Chonggu, so you’re saying that since Prince E didn’t leave his residence, he couldn’t have been soul-controlled? Everything he did was of his own will?”

Huang Zixia drew another line on the table, barely touching the first circle: “Unless someone used soul-controlling magic on him during the time between when he left his residence and the Winter Solstice ceremony. If that’s the case, we need to investigate everyone he could have contacted during that half-day period.”

She drew a second line connecting to the circle: “Or perhaps there was someone in Prince E’s residence, someone who had been lurking by his side for a long time, skilled in soul-controlling magic.”

Li Shubai shook his head, reaching out to erase that line, saying: “Impossible. If such a person existed, they wouldn’t have been planted in Prince E’s residence—after all, my seventh brother’s influence on politics was truly minimal. Using such a person on someone else would certainly have been much more effective.”

“Then there’s another possibility,” Huang Zixia drew another line from the circle, saying, “Prince E had already been subjected to soul-controlling magic long ago, but it remained dormant, never activating. Perhaps the dagger and the heart-shaped knot were some kind of trigger, and when he received these two items, the soul-controlling magic activated, controlling him to act against Prince Kui according to someone else’s will.”

Li Shubai frowned slightly, and after a long while, said: “Does such a mystical technique truly exist in this world? If there was such a master, why would they need to specifically seek out Master Mushan to come to the capital?”

“Hmm… the possibility is extremely small, but it’s still a possibility,” Huang Zixia said, then frowned, “And the biggest mystery in this case should be how Prince E’s body could vanish in mid-air that night.”

Zhou Ziqin asked: “Is it possible that the first person who ran to the base of the city tower hid the body?”

“The first person to reach the base of Xiangluan Tower was Wang Yun,” Huang Zixia said flatly. “He wasn’t alone at the time, he was followed by a squad of Imperial Guards. When they reached the bottom, they found no traces in the snow whatsoever, absolutely no sign of anything having fallen, and no footprints of anyone coming or going.”

Zhou Ziqin frowned in thought for a long while, then slapped the table, saying: “I know! I know why Prince E jumped from the other side of Xiangluan Tower instead of jumping from the front in front of you all!”

Huang Zixia looked at him questioningly.

“Because, he had set up a frame below the tower, or hung some kind of soft cloth sack on the wall. While it looked to you like he jumped from the railing, he jumped onto the frame or into the cloth sack, so he was unharmed,” Zhou Ziqin said proudly, wearing an expression of having figured out everything. “And after the jump, while Qifeng Tower was in chaos, during the time you were running around Hanyuan Hall to chase him, he packed up the frame or cloth sack and quietly escaped!”

Huang Zixia said: “That would be a possible theory, but it had just snowed lightly that day. His Highness and I were among the first to arrive. I had already examined the railing then, and the snow on it was undisturbed, completely even, with absolutely no signs of anything having been hung there.”

“Then… what about the frame set up outside?”

“Later we went down to investigate, and at the spot where Prince E jumped, there was nothing on the wall, and the snow stuck to the wall was perfectly even, untouched by anything.”

“Alright, let me think some more…” Zhou Ziqin said dejectedly, then looked at Huang Zixia, “Did you make any other discoveries, Chonggu?”

Huang Zixia shook her head and said: “Perhaps we could track down the person who delivered the heart-shaped knot and dagger, but since they were impersonating someone, they were likely in disguise, so it probably won’t be easy to find them.”

“Why don’t we investigate the box?” Zhou Ziqin thought for a moment and said, “I remember seeing the character ‘Liang’ in the corner of the box, it should have been made by Liang’s Woodworking Shop.”

Huang Zixia nodded: “We can ask about that.”

Seeing that his suggestion had gained her approval, Zhou Ziqin immediately became excited and jumped up, saying: “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Huang Zixia made a sound of agreement and stood up to leave with him, but she couldn’t help turning back to look at Li Shubai one more time.

Li Shubai gazed at her, placing his teacup on the table, and said: “I suddenly remembered, my nine-square box was also bought from Liang’s shop.”

Huang Zixia asked: “Does Your Highness suspect there might be something that could have been tampered with in that box?”

Li Shubai nodded slightly.

Zhou Ziqin immediately asked: “What? What nine-square box?”

“You’ll know soon enough, I’ll go with you,” Li Shubai stood up and said, “Wait a moment.”

Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin sat there, not even finishing one cup of tea before Li Shubai returned, having changed into a pearl-gray robe with dark purple mirror flower patterns embroidered on it, trying to be less conspicuous.

The three of them went together to Liang’s Woodworking Shop. With the New Year approaching, the East Market was crowded with people, and Liang’s shop front was particularly lively. Although their prices were higher than other shops, the East Market was close to where officials and nobles lived, and their craftsmanship was exquisite. Many common households would come during the festival season to buy items like dressing tables or powder boxes, so the entrance was extremely crowded, with customers coming like clouds.

They walked into the shop and saw boxes on the counter that were the same size and shape as the one from Prince E’s residence. Zhou Ziqin asked: “Shopkeeper, who has bought this kind of box recently?”

The shopkeeper gave him an “idiot” look and said: “We’ve sold over fifty of these today alone, how would I know who those fifty people are?”

Zhou Ziqin immediately slumped powerlessly onto the counter, muttering: “Over fifty…”

Li Shubai patted his back, gesturing for him to get up, then said: “Shopkeeper, I previously bought a nine-square wooden box here, made by Master Huo. I’d like to order another one now, is that craftsman still here?”

The shopkeeper shook his head: “Master Huo passed away almost four years ago. However, his apprentice is now with us, having inherited his master’s skills. He’s quite good and should be able to make something similar. Would you like that, sir?”

“Please take us to see him, I’d like to discuss the characters to be carved on the box.”

“Oh, please come this way.” The shopkeeper immediately called over a young assistant, and his animated expression led Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin to guess that the box must bring him considerable profit.

While Liang’s Woodworking Shop’s storefront was in the East Market, their items were made in a courtyard in the south of the city. Li Shubai had been there once before, so this time he followed the young assistant with familiarity, heading directly to a small room at the east end of the courtyard.

Though called an apprentice, he was already a middle-aged man in his thirties, listlessly bent over planing wood.

The assistant knocked on the open door and said: “Master Sun, someone’s here to order a nine-square box.”

Master Sun immediately perked up, his face breaking into a smile: “Oh my, it’s been a long time since anyone ordered this kind of box. Are the three of you here to order one?”

Li Shubai said: “Yes, we want to make a nine-by-nine, eighty-one-compartment nine-square puzzle box.”

Master Sun’s eyes immediately narrowed with joy: “Nine-by-nine, eighty-one compartments? That won’t be cheap. One hundred coins per compartment, plus the puzzle box mechanism, comes to… ten thousand coins.”

Li Shubai nodded and said, “That’s fine. When can I come to set the secret code characters?”

Seeing his quick agreement, Master Sun immediately became eager to please, quickly getting up to fetch a nine-square box from the back cabinet, saying: “I have one ready here. After my master passed away, I did this in my spare time according to his methods. It took over half a year to complete. However, since it’s expensive and can only deter gentlemen but not thieves—anyone could just see or axe it open—there haven’t been any customers since I made it… Haha, only a refined person like yourself can appreciate this.”

Li Shubai’s lips curved slightly as he said, “It’s nothing, I’m just seeing if anyone might be interested in such a thing.”

The nine-square box had all its framework completed, with only the holes for inlaying the character pieces still empty, waiting for the eighty code characters to be inserted.

Zhou Ziqin had never seen a nine-square box before, so he quietly asked Huang Zixia, “What is this? How does it work?”

Master Sun overheard and said loudly: “This was my master’s supreme skill! My master had two specialties: the lotus box and this nine-square box. Look, sir, this nine-square box has eighty-one small spaces the size of fingernails, with holes beneath each space. These eighty-one spaces match with eighty wooden pieces, each with copper pins of varying lengths underneath. Only when these eighty copper pins match the original set lengths can the box be opened—in other words, it’s a password box with eighty characters.”

Zhou Ziqin stared in amazement: “Eighty characters… it must take quite an effort just to arrange them!”

“No worries, with eighty-one spaces and eighty wooden pieces, these unlocking pieces can be moved along the tracks within the spaces. Just randomly push them around a few times to completely scramble the order. It’s very convenient to lock, though opening it is a bit challenging.”

“But isn’t it difficult to remember the sequence of eighty characters?” Zhou Ziqin asked.

“That’s why people usually set up nine spaces, twelve spaces, or at most thirty-six spaces. With eighty-one spaces, unless it’s a passage you’ve memorized from classics, or simply setting up a picture to piece together later, it would be quite challenging.” As he spoke, he smiled and asked Li Shubai, “What would you like to set up?”

Li Shubai said casually, “No matter, whatever characters you have pre-carved, I’ll arrange them myself.”

“Then sir must use a poem, or write it down somewhere. Otherwise, if you forget, you’ll have to destroy the box,” saying this, he brought out a pile of fingernail-sized character pieces and placed them before him. “Fortunately, I still have these character pieces from when I was learning to carve, otherwise, sir would have to wait half a month for me to carve the characters.”

Li Shubai casually picked up the characters and began placing them on the box. Master Sun saw him placing seemingly random characters like “home encounter household double air if only for bamboo shoot…” and quickly reached out to stop him, saying: “Sir, please write this down quickly, otherwise if you forget, you’ll have wasted these ten thousand coins!”

Zhou Ziqin pulled back his hand and said, “Don’t worry, he has a photographic memory, he can remember it in one go.”

“Really…?” Master Sun asked incredulously, “I heard that ability was unique to Prince Kui in our dynasty.”

Zhou Ziqin smiled proudly and patted his back: “Don’t worry.”

Soon, eighty characters were in place, leaving only one space in the lower left corner.

Master Sun asked, “Is this final?”

Li Shubai glanced at the characters and said, “Yes.”

Master Sun took a piece of oilcloth and covered the box’s surface tightly, then turned the box over with all the characters facing down, fixed in the sliding tracks. He then took a handful of thin copper pins and nailed them to the back of the character pieces.

All eighty-one copper pins were nailed in, some high, some low, some crooked, some straight, some nailed in the upper left corner of characters, some in the lower right, some in the middle, like a field of grass of varying heights, completely random. He looked at Li Shubai again: “Sir, I hammered these copper pins randomly. I’ll set the lock core according to these heights and spacings, guaranteeing you the only one in the world—there’s no way eighty lock cores could have the same lengths and distances, right? If you don’t trust me, you can adjust the lengths yourself.”

“Let me! Let me!” Zhou Ziqin grabbed the hammer and randomly hammered a few small copper pins, asking Li Shubai, “How’s that?”

Li Shubai nodded once, and Master Sun swung his arm to embed a steel plate into the box. Following the varying lengths and densities of the copper pins, he began setting up the lock cores. Each crisscrossing copper rod was connected, with each intersection point corresponding to a thin copper pin behind a character piece. The eighty points converged in one place, pulling sixteen steel bars from all sides, and with a click, the box was completely locked.

He turned the nine-square box over, removed the oilcloth, and presented it to Li Shubai with both hands: “Sir, please scramble the character sequence. Now you’re the only one in the world who can open this box.”

Zhou Ziqin said skeptically: “Honestly, it’s just eighty character pieces. If I tried one by one, I’m sure I could figure it out eventually.”

“Sir must be joking. With these eighty character pieces, if the first character is uncertain, there are eighty possibilities, seventy-nine for the second, seventy-eight for the third, seventy-seven for the fourth…”

Zhou Ziqin immediately gave up: “Alright, alright, stop, I’m getting dizzy… Fine, this is quite challenging. Might as well just take an axe to it.”

Huang Zixia took the box from Li Shubai’s hands, examined it for a long while, and asked him: “Was your previous box made the same way?”

“Yes, I set the code, also with eighty unrelated characters, and scrambled the sequence immediately after it was made. No one else ever touched it.”

“So…” she contemplated the box in her hands, the random eighty characters, the eighty copper pins nailed completely at random, matched with the impossible-to-duplicate lock cores inside. This should be a puzzle box impossible for anyone in the world to crack, yet somehow the contents inside kept changing. Where exactly was the vulnerability that allowed someone to tamper with it?

She tapped her fingers on the puzzle box, hearing a dull sound. Master Sun immediately said: “Such thick solid wood, such hard rosewood, such smooth lacquer—this workmanship is truly worth ten thousand coins!”

Huang Zixia nodded, no wonder it felt so heavy in her hands.

Her gaze swept across Master Sun’s workbench. Besides the scattered tools, there was a layer of wood blocks and sawdust strewn about. The oilcloth that had wrapped the box lay discarded on top, along with many leftover character pieces scattered about.

Finding nothing noteworthy, Huang Zixia felt the box was heavy and casually handed it to Zhou Ziqin, who obediently took it.

Li Shubai naturally hadn’t brought that much money with him, but he took out a silver ingot. Although Master Sun had to get it exchanged, the calculation showed extra money, which made him beam with joy as he repeatedly thanked them while seeing them out.

Zhou Ziqin held the nine-square box and marveled: “Such a messy and slovenly uncle, yet he makes such exquisite things. This box is nice.”

“It’s yours then,” Li Shubai said casually.

“…Can I change the characters? These eighty characters have no connection, how can I remember them?” Zhou Ziqin asked with a troubled face. “And it seems like you can’t change the characters in this box?”

“Of course not, once the lock core is fixed, it can never be changed.”

“So there’s only one in the world, the characters can’t be changed, forever unique?”

“Yes,” Li Shubai said softly, turning his gaze toward Huang Zixia.

Huang Zixia was also looking at him, and as their eyes met, she blushed and quickly turned away.

Li Shubai felt a gentle rippling in his heart, like waves on a lake. He slowed his pace, and they fell behind Zhou Ziqin, creating some distance.

Neither spoke, each looking at the trees along the road. After the snow, the sky had cleared, and snow fell softly from the branches. The azure sky framed the bare branches and white snow, with the fragrance of wintersweet flowers crisp in the air.

They walked side by side, and occasionally her left hand would lightly brush against his right hand as they walked, the warmth of each other’s skin seemingly perceptible through their brocaded sleeves.

He finally couldn’t resist and softly called out to her: “Zixia…”

She heard him call her name but buried her face even deeper, her cheeks as brilliant as roses.

After that moment in the Taiqing Temple, they were still the same people, the same situation, yet somehow everything seemed completely different.

Li Shubai gazed at her downturned, flushed face, feeling unable to contain his emotions, and reached out to firmly grasp her wrist in his palm.

Huang Zixia’s heart suddenly jumped, and she tried to pull her hand back. But his warm palm pressed against her cool wrist, and the two red beans dangling from the golden thread gently struck against the pulse in her wrist, causing all strength to leave her body. She could only lower her hand, allowing him to hold it.

But it was only for a moment, as Zhou Ziqin quickly noticed they had fallen behind. He turned his head to look at them and asked, “Why are you walking so slowly?”

She embarrassedly pulled her hand away from Li Shubai, their sleeves suddenly parting as if they had merely brushed against each other while walking.

After Zhou Ziqin turned back around, Huang Zixia wrung her hands and asked softly, “Should we tell Ziqin about your talisman?”

Li Shubai watched Zhou Ziqin’s youthful, bouncing figure and silently shook his head, saying, “Never mind, what good would it do to drag another person into this?”

She nodded and said, “This nine-square box, from what we can see, seems to have no way to tamper with it, especially since inside this box is another lotus box. Opening these two boxes and tampering with the talisman inside would be nearly impossible.”

“The lotus box is just incidental—twenty-four points lined up and it opens, what secrets could it hold? The crucial part must lie with the nine-square box,” Li Shubai said quietly. “Last time you verified that removing bloodlike cinnabar marks would take considerable time. And I sometimes intentionally check the talisman multiple times a day—how would they dare use a method that takes two or three days to take effect? Moreover, when my left arm was injured and nearly crippled, the red circle around the character for ‘cripple’ gradually faded and disappeared along with my injury. I think they wouldn’t be so bold as to frequently take out my talisman to remove a bit of color, would they?”

Huang Zixia let out a light sigh, her breath forming a faint white mist that surrounded her face, showing a trace of melancholy: “It seems we still have a long way to go before this case is resolved.”

Seeing her furrowed brows, Li Shubai couldn’t help but reach out to smooth her forehead, comforting her: “It’s nothing, whatever happens, I believe we’ll eventually see the light through the clouds.”

Seeing his determined expression and fearless gaze, Huang Zixia felt her suspended heart settle back into place. She gazed at him, curved her lips into a smile, and slowly stepped back, saying, “We made some progress today, I’ll organize everything carefully when I get back… Please let me know if Your Highness thinks of anything.”

Li Shubai frowned slightly and asked, “You’re still going back there?”

“Yes, I can’t let all my previous efforts go to waste. After all, the Wang family is now helping me investigate this matter, and I’ve gained quite a lot—this is a rare opportunity,” she said, taking another step back, though her gaze remained fixed on him. “If you discover anything… you can have someone send me a message. The servants at the Wang residence are all deaf-mutes, so you’ll need to write ‘For Huang Zixia’s Eyes Only’ on the envelope.”

Li Shubai nodded without speaking.

She took another step back, finally moving her gaze away, and waved to Zhou Ziqin: “I’m leaving!”

Zhou Ziqin reluctantly waved goodbye to her, then muttered: “Really, no matter how well she gets along with us, she still has to go back to the Wang family in the end—can’t be helped, since Wang Yun is her fiancé.”

Li Shubai pressed his lips together in silence and strode past him.

“Hey, why are you suddenly ignoring me?” Zhou Ziqin quickly hugged the box and hurried after him: “Your Highness, wait for me…”