Little Pink Starfish

The Best Reward of This Life

The rain had come suddenly and poured down hard. Inside the carriage, Yuxiaoxiao was completely drenched, but thanks to her excellent physical condition, she didn’t shiver or sneeze. She was only worried about her pig head.

No matter how much Xiao Zhuang cared about his image, he wouldn’t dare toss aside the pig head their princess had entrusted him with. Hearing her call from the carriage, he immediately replied, “Don’t worry, Princess. I covered it with a rain cloak—it didn’t get wet.”

Relieved, Yuxiaoxiao turned to Gu Xinglang. “I ran into two guys on the street just now. They asked me to deliver a letter to Grandpa.”

“A letter?” Gu Xinglang asked, surprised. Someone delivered a letter for his grandfather through the Princess?

Yuxiaoxiao pulled out the letter… and froze. The heavy rain had reduced it to a soggy ball of pulp.

Gu Xinglang glanced at the destroyed paper and twitched his lips. “Xiaoxiao, what kind of people were they?”

“Human males,” Yuxiaoxiao answered seriously.

Gu Xinglang: …

Yuxiaoxiao tried to carefully peel apart the paper ball, but the moment her hand touched it, it completely fell apart.

Gu Xinglang pulled his dripping-wet wife into his arms, warming her up with his body heat. “Did they say what the letter was about?”

“Oh,” Yuxiaoxiao said, “just a greeting for Grandpa. They were buying pork head meat from Brother Niu. When they found out I was from the Gu family, they gave me the letter.”

Whoever this “Brother Niu” was, Gu Xinglang didn’t bother asking. All he heard was “I’m from the Gu family,” and that alone put him in a great mood. Holding her close, he asked, “Did they seem like bad people?”

“Bad?” Yuxiaoxiao considered it. “No way. That Second Chief guy looked a bit scary, but that Er Gouzi—he didn’t even fight back when he got hit. No way someone that wimpy is bad.”

Gu Xinglang was reassured. He tossed the ruined paper out the window. “Many people write letters to greet my grandfather. It was probably from an old subordinate. No big loss.”

Yuxiaoxiao asked, “Really?”

“Really,” Gu Xinglang took off his outer robe and used it to gently dry her soaked hair. “We’re almost home. Are you cold?”

Yuxiaoxiao shook her head. This kind of rain was basically just a free bath. But she was still thinking about the letter. “What if those guys ask Grandpa later and he says he never got the letter?”

Gu Xinglang chuckled. “We military men don’t fuss over things like that. Unless it’s a critical war message, Grandpa wouldn’t even remember it.”

“Good,” Yuxiaoxiao was reassured. It was just a letter—she’d say hi to Grandpa in person next time.

“Let’s not mention it to Grandpa,” Gu Xinglang added.

“He’d scold me?”

“He’d scold me.” That much, Gu Xinglang was sure. His grandfather wouldn’t blame the princess for losing a letter—but would definitely explode at him for letting her get caught in the rain.

“Then never mind,” Yuxiaoxiao said. “Nothing happened anyway, right?”

But Gu Xinglang’s mind flashed back to the Taoist’s words. He rubbed his forehead. “Right, nothing happened.”

Yuxiaoxiao unwrapped the pine nut candy and rice cakes from her waist. The pine nut candy looked okay, but the rice cakes had turned into a soggy, unrecognizable paste. She groaned.

Gu Xinglang glanced over. “That’s pastry? Don’t worry, Xiaoxiao. We’ll buy more later.”

There was no way she could give these as gifts now. Yuxiaoxiao decided to eat them herself. She also pulled out the wooden token and map the Second Chief had given her. The token was damp but intact—the map, however, was a waterlogged mess. Just black smears. Nothing legible.

Gu Xinglang took the wooden token and examined it. “What’s this?”

“The letter guys gave it to me,” Yuxiaoxiao said. “They invited me to visit Yunyun Mountain. Xiao Gu, let’s go tomorrow! Catch some fat rabbits!”

Yunyun Mountain was a remote, uninhabited mountain. Why would you need a special token to enter it? Gu Xinglang frowned, sensing something odd.

“They even called me sister,” Yuxiaoxiao added. “Xiao Gu, do I really look that young?”

Sister? Gu Xinglang’s face darkened immediately.

“I even gave them half my pig head,” Yuxiaoxiao added helpfully.

Gu Xinglang quietly slipped the token into his pocket. “If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, we’ll go to Yunyun Mountain.”

Yuxiaoxiao snuggled against his chest. “Fat rabbits, see you tomorrow!”

When their carriage finally arrived at the Gu estate, they were greeted by a wave of noisy celebration.

“What’s going on?” Gu Xinglang asked from the carriage.

The steward, smiling brightly, reported, “Third Young Master, the emperor issued an edict—Old Marshal, Young Master, and Second Master have all been reinstated to their original posts.”

Yuxiaoxiao poked her head out of the carriage. “Back to their posts? Didn’t the emperor say he was going to promote Big Brother and Second Brother?”

The steward was stunned. “Your Highness… the decree only mentions reinstatement. There was no promotion.”

“I’m going to the palace!” Yuxiaoxiao immediately tried to jump out.

Gu Xinglang pulled her back. “Princess, even this much is already a great favor from His Majesty.”

Pulled back inside, Yuxiaoxiao grumbled, “How can someone with a golden tongue go back on his word?”

Just imagining the emperor seeing her now made Gu Xinglang shudder. If her father saw her like this, he’d probably go insane.

“I’m going,” she insisted. “How can he break his promise like that?”

“Xiaoxiao, listen to me,” Gu Xinglang held her close and whispered, “Getting promoted without merit—neither Big Brother nor Second Brother would want that.”

“No merit?!” Yuxiaoxiao said. “Didn’t you guys win a battle?”

Gu Xinglang leaned close to her ear. “It was me who drove off the Zuoyou forces.”

Yuxiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “You’re stealing your brothers’ credit? Hey, that’s not okay! Where’s your brotherly love?”

Gu Xinglang: …

“I’ll go get justice for them!” she declared again.

But Gu Xinglang wouldn’t let go. “Xiaoxiao, if the army doesn’t reward fairly, how can it remain a real army?”

That silenced her. Of course military discipline mattered… but she was still upset. “Then what about your reward? You sat in prison for nothing, got beaten for nothing, lost your leg for nothing?!”

Gu Xinglang chuckled. “Didn’t His Majesty give me you as a reward?”

What the— Yuxiaoxiao was annoyed. So she was the prize?!

“You are the best reward I could receive in this life,” Gu Xinglang whispered, holding her tightly. “The best.”
Sever your emotions? He kissed her earlobe gently. For this princess, he would defy fate itself.