Little Pink Starfish

The Princess and the Seventh Prince Share a Mother

“Big Bro!”

The former pirates howled as they rushed forward, trying to save their boss.

Yu Xiaoxiao lifted her foot and stepped on the Boss’s shoulder. Her little deerhide boot hovered dangerously close to his throat.

The pirates instantly froze, silent and still.

“Sister-in-law!” Gu Xingyan, who’d been dazed in the treetop, suddenly perked up and shouted, “Finish that bastard off!”

“Mm,” Yu Xiaoxiao nodded, taking her cue from Second Brother. “I’ll get revenge for you.”

Xiao Wei felt like he might never be able to look Gu Xingyan the same way again. You’re letting the princess avenge you? Second Young Master, have you no shame?

The Boss looked up at Yu Xiaoxiao and asked, “You’re Gu Xingyan’s sister-in-law?”

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded. “That’s right.”

The Boss’s face turned ashen. Who else could Gu Xingyan’s sister-in-law be? His voice trembled. “You… you’re Princess Linglong?”

“Yep,” Yu Xiaoxiao said cheerily. “Now tell me what’s going on here.”

The Boss coughed up more blood. He’d heard the stories—Princess Linglong was trained in martial arts. But still, wasn’t it overkill for a royal princess to be this damn terrifying?

The Second-in-Command, who had just learned from Er Gouzi that this was indeed Princess Linglong (and that he was the one who’d given her the token and map), felt his vision darken. Could he pretend this had never happened?

Seeing the Boss stay silent, Yu Xiaoxiao’s tone sharpened. “Don’t talk? Then die.”

The Second-in-Command trembled as he stepped out from the crowd and said, “Princess, this… this is all a misunderstanding.”

Yu Xiaoxiao’s face was still blank. “You call kidnapping a ‘misunderstanding’?”

Xiao Wei chimed in coldly, “You kidnapped the Seventh Prince and the Second Young Master. Prepare to die.”

So the baby really was the Seventh Prince. The Boss felt immense relief. Thank heaven he hadn’t followed through with what their secret patron at the palace ordered…

“Princess,” he said quickly, “this wasn’t a kidnapping. I even sent word to the Gu residence.”

The Second-in-Command added, “Yes! I personally gave the message to the Princess.”

“You said it was a letter greeting my grandfather!” Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, greetings… were you actually sending greetings to all of Little Gu’s family, huh?!”

Suddenly, her murderous aura exploded. The Boss and Second-in-Command nearly peed themselves. What—greeting Marshal Gu is a crime now?

“Kill them,” Yu Xiaoxiao ordered Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei. “Leave no witnesses.”

“Ah!” came a cry from the arms of Xiao Wei—it was Yu Ziyi, who had woken up.

Everyone turned to look at the baby prince, who was… clapping.

“Kill them,” Yu Xiaoxiao said again. “Even Little Seven thinks we should wipe them out.”

“Eee-ya!” Yu Ziyi cheered, still clapping.

…

The valley echoed with the sound of the Seventh Prince’s gurgles and claps. Not a single adult dared speak. Who would ever again claim the princess and the prince didn’t share the same mother?

Yu Xiaoxiao snorted coldly at the Second-in-Command. Fools who don’t know the script are so pitiful. That baby? Once, without flinching, he’d thrown a torch and burned his own sister to death. When it came to cruelty, no one in this world could outmatch him.

At that moment, the sound of horses came from beyond the valley.

The Boss’s expression twisted. He could tell—at least thirty horses were coming. His voice trembled. “H-How’s that possible?” The path into this valley was treacherous, full of switchbacks and hidden tunnels. Without a guide, outsiders shouldn’t have been able to find them. Sure, the Princess and her two men were skilled—experts always had their tricks—but thirty more people all arriving together? Someone on the inside must’ve betrayed them!

Yu Xiaoxiao had been ready to snap the Boss’s neck with a kick, but paused at the trembling question. “What’s impossible?”

The Boss replied, “How could outsiders find their way here?”

Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Second-in-Command gave me a map.”

The Boss felt as if his heart had bled dry. Now he remembered—both the Second-in-Command and Er Gouzi had told him about the ‘maid’ they’d recruited from the Gu household. How good was their eyesight to mistake the Princess for a maid?!

The Second-in-Command looked at Yu Xiaoxiao, practically in tears. “Princess, let me explain—”

“Explain?!” Yu Xiaoxiao snapped. “You didn’t give me money for the pig head meat, your letter ‘greeted’ all of Little Gu’s family, and you said this mountain was crawling with fat rabbits. Where are they, huh? I haven’t seen a single rabbit! You lied to me!”

That’s not the main issue right now, is it?!

Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei wanted to kneel right then and there. Only our princess could be so petty at a time like this.

“Where are the rabbits?” Yu Xiaoxiao demanded.

“I… I’ll take you to catch some,” the Second-in-Command offered.

“And my pig head meat?”

“E-Eaten…”

Yu Xiaoxiao looked down at the Boss and asked, “Did you eat it?” Honestly, if there had been fat rabbits, she wouldn’t have minded losing the pig head meat. She wasn’t about to quibble with working folk. But these jerks lied to her, faked the rabbit story, kidnapped her Second Brother, her baby prince, and Nanny Wei—how could she not hold a grudge?!

The Boss shook his head violently. Every instinct screamed that if she found out he’d eaten the meat, he was dead.

“Then who did eat it?” Yu Xiaoxiao demanded.

All the ex-pirates clamped their mouths shut. No way they were admitting to the pig head meat now.

At the valley entrance, Li Yuanle had just arrived. Staring stiffly at the bizarre scene before him, he turned to Gu Xinglang. “Qinghui, can you explain what… what this is?”

Sitting inside the carriage, Gu Xinglang was equally frozen. His wife stood there among injured men, someone was half-buried in the dirt, a giant black bear and two cubs lay off to the side, and beneath a crooked tree were two people, with two more up in the branches… This whole scene defied explanation. And the tree was far enough away that Gu Xinglang hadn’t yet recognized his second brother.

“Should we fight or not?” someone beside him asked.

“Let’s go check first,” Gu Xinglang replied.

The group moved forward.

“Princess,” Xiao Wei murmured to Yu Xiaoxiao as they got close, “the Prince Consort is here.”

“Little Gu!” Yu Xiaoxiao waved cheerfully at Gu Xinglang.

The Second-in-Command and the rest turned to look. They didn’t recognize Gu Xinglang’s group, but they definitely recognized Li Yuanle—even if he were reduced to ashes!

General Li rode forward, glanced at the pirates, and sneered. “We meet again. Where’s Xiong Xiong? Dead yet?”

The Second-in-Command and crew looked like they were ready to die with dignity, battered and bruised but standing tall. They refused to speak.

Yu Xiaoxiao asked, “Brother Li, who’s Xiong Xiong? You looking for a bear too?” She pointed to the adult and baby bears. If he wanted bear paw, well, she already had the goods.

Li Yuanle was momentarily thrown by the “Brother Li” comment. But then he saw the man buried under Yu Xiaoxiao’s foot, and his concern evaporated. Smirking at the Boss, he said, “Xiong Xiong, already halfway to the grave before you’re even dead?”