On the third day after the Waking of Insects, the willow branches of the Forbidden City sprouted new green leaves, and clumps of catkins drifted like broken snow, clinging to the vermilion columns of the Yanxi Palace. Su Jinli reclined on a soft couch by the water, a handful of roasted melon seeds in her hand, when she suddenly felt a subtle kick in her stomach—not strong but distinct enough to startle her so much that her fingertips trembled, and half a melon seed kernel nearly rolled into her clothes.
"Run slower!" She looked up at the moonlit gate, her voice soft with the tenderness of a new mother. Princess Shou'an rushed in, clutching a gilded brocade box. The hem of her pomegranate-red palace gown swept the moss beneath the corridor. A jade hairpin lurched to the ground at her temple, and a few wisps of snow-white willow catkins clung to her hair.
"Sister Su!" The princess slammed the brocade box down on the rosewood table. The moment the lid popped open, the pearl tassels clattered and knocked over the nearby bowl of abortion-preserving medicine. The dark brown liquid spread across the rosewood tabletop, emitting a bitter odor. The girl's eyes flushed, and beads of sweat dripped from her nose. "The Concubine Shu said I stole her Dongzhu hairpin!"
The ambergris in the copper incense burner burned faintly, and wisps of blue smoke rose from the hollow lotus petals. Su Jinli set down the melon seed dish and gently placed her palm on her slightly swollen belly—where she and Jiang Yan's child was nurturing. The fetus, as if sensing its mother's emotions, gave another gentle kick, as if to cheer her up. "Which hairpin?" She suppressed her smile, her voice a little deeper.
"It's the one from the flower viewing banquet three days ago!" Princess Shou'an stamped her feet anxiously, her palace shoes embroidered with lotus flowers treading on the medicine stain. "The Concubine Shu picked it off herself and gave it to me to play with. She said I looked better in it than she did. This morning she sent a maid to ask for it. I clearly remember putting it in the third layer of my makeup box, but when I opened it just now..." The little girl's voice choked, "It's empty!"
Outside the window, a clatter of footsteps echoed, accompanied by the tinkling of rings and bracelets. Su Jinli lifted a corner of the soft curtain to see Concubine Shu, leading a procession of palace maids and eunuchs, passing through the corridor. Her pale yellow palace dress, embroidered with twin lotus flowers, shone a dazzling burst of color amid the swirling willow catkins. She had a new coral bead hairpin on her head, its solid gold foot holding three round red corals. It trembled slightly with every step, blurring the makeup at the corners of her eyes.
"Princess Shou'an, please don't hide it!" Nanny Zhang, who was following behind Concubine Shu, shouted in a shrill voice, holding an empty brocade box in her hand. The moon-white soft satin lining the box still bore the indentation of the pearl hairpin. "That is Concubine Shu's heirloom, the Nine Phoenix Eastern Pearl Hairpin!"
"I didn't hide it!" Princess Shou'an was so scared that she hid behind Su Jinli, her small hands tightly grasping the hem of her dark blue palace dress, her knuckles turning white. "I returned it to Concubine Shu after I finished using it yesterday!"
Concubine Shu walked to the corridor, covered her mouth with a brocade handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers, and let out a series of chuckles: "What nonsense are you talking about, sister?" She looked up at Su Jinli, a subtle smugness flashing in her eyes, like a fox that had stolen a chicken. "Yesterday, the princess wore the pearl hairpin and played in the imperial garden for a whole afternoon. Her little mouth was as sweet as honey, saying that she had never seen such a beautiful hairpin. My heart softened, so I allowed her to take it back to the palace to enjoy it for a few days. But when I sent someone to get it this morning, they said it was gone. Isn't this..." She dragged out the last word, her eyes sweeping over Princess Shou'an, "Is it difficult for you?"
Su Jinli's fingertips tightened slightly. The fetus in her belly moved again, this time with a little more force, as if reminding her of something. "Are you sure, Concubine Shu, that the pearl hairpin was lost in the Princess's palace?" She met Concubine Shu's gaze, staring at her slightly trembling eyelashes—a sign of guilt.
"What else?" Concubine Shu spread her hands, her gilded armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "In the entire harem, only the princess wore that hairpin yesterday. Now it's gone, who else should I ask if not her?" She turned abruptly to Nanny Zhang and ordered sternly, "Search! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find the pearl hairpin!"
"Wait." Su Jinli stepped forward, the hem of her dark blue palace dress brushing the moss in the corridor, leaving a faint trail. She recalled the time in her past life when her stepmother, under the pretext of "discipline," had brought her maids into her boudoir and rummaged through everything. The humiliation she felt was still as vivid as yesterday, even after all these years. "A princess is a noble woman; how can she be searched at will?"
Concubine Shu raised her eyebrows, shaking her coral pearl hairpin even more anxiously: "What does Madam Su mean by this? Are you trying to protect the princess?"
"I just feel like something's fishy." Su Jinli's eyes fell on the brocade box in Nanny Zhang's hands. "If it's a family heirloom passed down from her mother's family, why did Concubine Shu casually give it to the princess yesterday? And why is she suddenly so eager to ask for it today?"
"This..." Concubine Shu was speechless for a moment, the smile on her face froze into a hard shell. "If the princess likes it, I will give it to her. Now that it's gone, I will find it and explain it to my mother's family!"
Just then, a familiar sound of footsteps echoed outside the moonlit gate, accompanied by the soft clatter of a kite's bamboo ribs. The emperor, dressed in moon-white formal attire and clutching a butterfly kite, froze at the commotion in the courtyard. "What's going on? Such a commotion! I can hear it from three blocks away in the Qianqing Palace!"
Concubine Shu immediately put on an aggrieved expression and knelt on the blue brick floor with a plop. The hem of her goose-yellow palace dress spread out like a crumpled flower: "Your Majesty! My Nine-Phoenix Pearl Hairpin is missing. It must have been taken by Princess Shou'an... I dare not ask about my royal bloodline, so I can only come to ask the princess for it..."
Princess Shou'an was so frightened that she burst into tears and hid behind Su Jinli, sobbing: "Father! I didn't take it! The Concubine Shu gave it to me yesterday, and today she said she wanted to take it back, but I can't find it..."
The emperor frowned, looking at his daughter whose face was red from crying, then looked at Concubine Shu who was kneeling on the ground, and waved his hands impatiently: "It's just a pearl hairpin, it's lost, it's lost, is it worth making such a fuss?"
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