Chapter 42: Family Relics, Hidden Mysteries

There was a gentle knock on the side courtyard door late in the night. Qingzhu had just dozed off when she was awakened by the faint "dong dong" sounds. She tiptoed to the door and peeked out through the crack. In the moonlight, a hunched figure wrapped in a tattered gray cloak, clutching a cloth bag tightly in his hand, could it be Yunzhi's wet nurse, Madam Zhang?

"Madam? Why are you here?" Qingzhu hurriedly opened the door and lowered her voice to a very low voice. "The palace is under strict control now. If you are discovered, you will be beaten to death!"

Nanny Zhang coughed twice, her face weathered, but her eyes were filled with anxiety. "I know it's dangerous, but if I don't come soon, the young lady will really be beyond help!" She stuffed the cloth bag into Qingzhu's hand and said, "This is something left by the madam. It's the plum blossom hairpin that the young lady wore when she was a child. There's something hidden inside. You must give it to the young lady in person and let her take a good look. Maybe... maybe it can help her."

Just as Qingzhu was about to ask more, Aunt Zhang turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the words "Don't let anyone know." Qingzhu clutched the cloth bag, her heart pounding, and hurried back to her room.

Yunzhi was still lying in bed, staring at the tent ceiling with her eyes open. She looked the same as she had during the day, though her face seemed even paler. Qingzhu walked over to the bedside and handed the cloth bag to her. Her voice trembled slightly, "Miss, it's Aunt Zhang. She's brought you something. She says it's the plum blossom hairpin that Madam left behind."

At the mention of "mother" and "plum blossom hairpin," Yun Zhi's hollow eyes finally flickered. She remembered that plum blossom hairpin; it was her mother's favorite piece of jewelry. The silver hairpin was carved with a plum blossom in full bloom, with a small ruby ​​embedded in the center. She had always loved playing with her mother's hairpin as a child.

She slowly raised her hand, and Qingzhu quickly placed the cloth bag in her palm. The bag was old and rough to the touch, and the hairpin inside, through the fabric, had a familiar shape. Yunzhi's fingers unconsciously stroked the bag, and after a long moment, she slowly opened it.

The silver hairpin lay in a cloth bag. The body had darkened with age, but the ruby ​​still shone. She picked up the hairpin, her fingertips touching the cool silver surface, and suddenly remembered her mother's deathbed—her mother lying in bed, just as pale and powerless, yet still holding her hand and saying, "Zhi'er, live well and don't trust people you shouldn't trust."

Tears fell without warning, hitting the hairpin with a subtle sound. This was the first time she had cried since the miscarriage, not because of despair, but because she remembered her mother and the home that had not yet been devoured by the conspiracy.

"Girl..." Qingzhu looked at her, feeling both distressed and relieved - at least, she was no longer lifeless.

Yun Zhi said nothing, simply holding the hairpin and rubbing the veins of the plum blossom. Suddenly, her fingertips touched the ruby ​​at the center of the flower, and it felt a little loose. She was stunned for a moment, remembering her mother always saying when she was a child, "This hairpin holds my love." She hadn't understood it then, but now she felt something was wrong.

She scratched the ruby ​​with her fingernails, and to her surprise, it actually moved! Holding her breath, she gently turned the gem, and with a soft "click," a small secret compartment popped out from the hairpin near the pistil!

Tucked into the secret compartment was a small, folded piece of paper, yellowed and brittle, as if it had been stored for years. Yun Zhi's heartbeat quickened instantly. She carefully took out the paper and unfolded it. The handwriting on it was already a little blurred, and only a few scattered words could be made out: "Ruined Temple in the Western Suburbs", "Uncle Liu", "Secret Letter", "Shen Family".

The words "Shen Family" exploded like thunder in Yun Zhi's ears. She clenched the note tightly, her knuckles turning white. When the Yun family was raided, everyone blamed her father for collaborating with the enemy. But before her death, her mother vaguely mentioned, "The Shen Family harmed us." She was young at the time and didn't take it seriously. Now, it seemed her mother's words were not groundless rumors!

A ruined temple in the western suburbs? Uncle Liu? A secret letter? What were these? Were they clues left by my mother? Was it evidence that could prove the Yun family's innocence?

Countless questions flooded her mind, and finally, a faint light ignited in Yun Zhi's hollow eyes—no longer the dead silence of despair, but a trace of inquiry and a subtle glimmer of hope. She refolded the note and slipped it into the hairpin's secret compartment. She then turned the ruby ​​back to its original shape, then clutched the hairpin tightly against her chest.

She couldn't just let it go. Her mother had left clues, and Aunt Zhang had risked her life to send her the hairpin, hoping she could uncover the truth and avenge the Yun family. The child she had lost, the pain that pierced her bones, and Xiao Jin's indifference and cruelty, none of it could be endured in vain.

"Qingzhu," Yun Zhi said, her voice still hoarse, but with a firmness that was not there before. "Please prepare some dark clothes for me, and find a cloth bag that will not be easily discovered, and put some dry food and water in it."

Qingzhu was stunned for a moment, then reacted, her eyes lit up: "Miss, you want to..."

"I'm going to the dilapidated temple in the western suburbs to take a look," Yun Zhi looked at Qing Zhu with determination in her eyes. "I can't let go of the clues my mother left behind. Even if I can't find any evidence, I'm going to try."

Qingzhu nodded quickly: "Okay! I'll prepare it right away! Don't worry, young lady, I will help you!" She turned around and was about to run out, but was stopped by Yunzhi again.

"Don't let anyone know," Yun Zhi lowered her voice, "especially the people in the palace. We can only travel at night to avoid the guards."

"I know!" Qingzhu nodded heavily and ran out with brisk steps, more energetic than before - she knew that her girl was finally waking up and finally living for herself.

Yun Zhi lay in bed, clutching the plum blossom hairpin tightly in her hand. The cool silver surface against her palm brought a touch of warmth to her heart. She stared at the ceiling, no longer with a blank stare, but silently calculating—how to avoid the guards, how to find the dilapidated temple in the western suburbs, how to find that "Uncle Liu," how to obtain the secret letter that might exist.

She didn't know what dangers lay ahead, nor did she know if she would ever find the truth. But she knew she could no longer allow herself to be bullied or at the mercy of fate. She had to stand up and seek justice for herself, for her mother, and for the child she had lost.

The moonlight from outside shone through the cracks in the window, falling on her face, making the light in her eyes brighter and brighter. The dead lake of her heart finally began to ripple because of the plum blossom hairpin that carried a secret, and this ripple would soon set off a storm.