Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 180 The Golden Hairpin
"My lord, look at this gold hairpin!" Rong Wanyin picked up the gold hairpin and walked towards Yan Mingzhang. Yan Mingzhang, Moyun, and Changfeng all stood up to greet her.

Yan Mingzhang took the gold hairpin and examined it carefully. The head of the hairpin was indeed stained with oil, now blackened. He wiped the oil off with a white handkerchief, then carefully observed the size of the hairpin. He then inserted the hairpin into the hole in the chicken leg bone—it was the perfect size! The hole in the chicken leg bone was made by the gold hairpin!

Yan Mingzhang closed his eyes and pondered, pulling his memory back to before the old beggar ate the chicken leg. He carefully recalled the scene. It was as if a painting was frozen in front of him. He carefully observed every detail, wondering who the owner of this golden hairpin truly was.
"How did this gold hairpin end up inside the lantern?" Mo Yun asked in a low voice, somewhat puzzled. "This person is really too rich! Just throwing it away like that! It's a gold hairpin!"

"They probably knew we found the hole in the chicken leg bone, so they discarded the murder weapon," Rong Wanyin analyzed. "However, judging from the grease on the hairpin, the murderer didn't even wipe it after stabbing the chicken leg bone; they just threw it away!"

"You didn't find this gold hairpin greasy and didn't want to put it back in, so you just threw it away?" Mo Yun said incredulously, nudging Chang Feng and whispering, "That's too rich! If you don't want it, give it to me!"

Changfeng nodded in agreement.

"Could the murderer be a woman?" Mo Yun asked, somewhat surprised, glancing at Chang Feng.

Changfeng pondered for a moment, nodded, and then shook his head: "Very likely, but not necessarily, because this is a pawnshop after all, and anyone could get such a gold hairpin."

Unexpectedly, the two spoke a little louder, and Yan Mingzhang, despite having his eyes closed, heard them clearly.

When he found the golden hairpin in an inconspicuous spot on the person's head, his suspicions were confirmed—it was indeed this person! But what was the motive? When Yan Mingzhang opened his eyes again, there was a subtle, complex emotion in them.

After opening his eyes, Yan Mingzhang replied, "The murderer is indeed very rich."

"Young Master Yan, do you know who the murderer is?" Qian Shoujun, the boy in white, asked eagerly, his initial aloofness completely gone.

Although the boy in black, Qian Shouyu, did not speak, he stared at Yan Mingzhang with bright eyes.

Yan Mingzhang nodded: "Please ask the two managers to let the guests out!"

The guests gradually entered the hall. Everyone stared at Yan Mingzhang, waiting to see what he would say. These were all influential figures, none of whom could be offended. Yan Mingzhang, however, remained calm, silently observing each person entering the hall.

There was an object on the stage covered with a red cloth.

"Gentlemen, I just found a treasure while inspecting the scene. I would like to ask a distinguished person to help me verify this treasure." Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Wasn't this supposed to be about investigating a case and finding the murderer? Why was he looking at a treasure? However, no one raised any objections for the time being. Let's see how he will cover up his lie.

"Would you do me the honor of meeting Miss Yan'er?" Yan Mingzhang said with a smile, pointing towards the direction of Room Number One.

There was no response from Room Number One, so it seemed that Miss Yan'er didn't want to come down. Someone below jeered, "Oh dear, what's wrong? Is she feeling guilty?"

"Could she be the murderer?"

"I think so!"

Yan Mingzhang glanced at the people cheering in the crowd. Who else could it be but Mo Yun and Chang Feng? Yan Mingzhang suppressed a smile and exchanged a knowing look with the two of them.

"Who's afraid? Who said I'm afraid?" A pretty young lady in an apricot-colored long gown gracefully emerged from room number one.

It was Yan'er. She walked to the center of the stage, looked at the treasure covered by the red cloth, and asked, "Is this the treasure you mentioned?"

"Yes, this is the treasure." Yan'er ripped open the red cloth, revealing half a chewed-up chicken leg bone. The bone was greasy, with bits of meat still attached and discolored marrow inside. Yan'er even smelled a faint stench. Her face paled, and she took a step back, covering her nose with her sleeve. The thought that this bone had come from the mouth of that filthy, smelly old beggar made her nauseous. "A stinky chicken bone spat out by an old beggar is a treasure? How dare you play tricks on me like this! I'll cut your tongue out!"

“Miss Yan’er, please don’t worry,” Yan Mingzhang opened the white cotton handkerchief in his hand, took out a gold hairpin from inside, and showed it to everyone. “This half chicken leg bone is naturally not a treasure, but paired with this gold hairpin, it is a treasure.”

A flicker of panic crossed Yan'er's face, but she forced herself to remain calm. She thought to herself: as long as I deny it, none of them will dare say anything.

Yan Mingzhang explained the method of the crime in detail: "Everyone, the key to this case is how the old beggar was poisoned. The murderer used an object to make a small incision at the back of the chicken leg bone and then stuffed poison into it. It seems that the murderer observed how the old beggar ate chicken legs. The old beggar would bite the chicken bone into pieces and eat the marrow inside. So if a normal person ate chicken legs, they probably wouldn't be poisoned at all. Only the old beggar's way of eating chicken legs could cause poisoning."

Yan Mingzhang raised the gold hairpin, then used the handkerchief to lift the chicken bone, and inserted the gold hairpin into the hole in the chicken bone, fitting it perfectly!
The crowd was in an uproar. Who could be so heartless as to attack an old beggar?
"So, the owner of this hairpin is the murderer?" someone among the guests asked.

“Exactly!” Yan Mingzhang nodded and showed everyone the end of the hairpin. The fact that the end of the hairpin was so dirty meant that after the murderer used it to make the hole, he hid it in the lantern and didn’t even bother to wipe it clean.

Yan Mingzhang stared intently at Miss Yan'er, desperately suppressing the surging anger in his eyes, his face revealing only a hint of coldness. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and slowly said, "The owner of this golden hairpin is none other than Miss Yan'er."

Yan'er had made up her mind and would never admit it. She raised an eyebrow and sneered, "You say this gold hairpin is mine, so it's mine? Do you have any proof?"

Yan Mingzhang nodded: "Yes. First of all, I have a photographic memory. When Miss Yan'er went on stage to draw various treasures, her back was to me, and the gold hairpin on the back of her head was stuck in this spot." As he spoke, he pointed to the spot where the gold hairpin had been.

Yan'er threw her head back and laughed, her eyes full of mockery: "You say you have a photographic memory? By that logic, I also have the ability to fly and disappear into the earth! You think you can fool me with just a few empty words?"

Yan Mingzhang pointed to the other gold ornaments on Yan'er's head and said in a deep voice, "Of course there is other evidence as well."