Little Pink Starfish

The Prince Consort Is Missing

The two old maids were startled the moment they saw Gu Xinglang’s eyes, but it was already too late to retreat.

Gu Xinglang, whose legs supposedly couldn’t support him, slowly rose from the flower terrace. To anyone watching, he seemed to be walking completely normally.

The two old maids turned to flee, only to realize that Gu Xinglang, who had just been on the flower terrace, was now right in front of them. Before they could launch an attack or defend themselves, Gu Xinglang’s hands had already covered their faces.

“Who are you?” Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly leapt onto the peak of the watchtower, her eyes guarded as she looked at the man in black robes before her.

The man in black seemed slightly surprised by Yu Xiaoxiao’s sudden appearance. He took a small step back before saying, “Princess Linglong?”

“I asked, who are you?” Yu Xiaoxiao stood on the sloped rooftop. Her body tilted with the angle, yet she stood as steady as a rock.

The man in black chuckled and said, “The princess’s martial skills are indeed unexpected.”

Yu Xiaoxiao had run out of patience. After setting fire to the Book Viewing Pavilion, she had climbed to the rooftop, intending to enjoy a glimpse of the moon. But instead of the moon, she saw a person standing atop the tallest building in the palace. Before climbing up, she had spent some time observing him from below. The person stood completely still, like a corpse, which made her suspicious and prompted her to investigate. To her surprise, as soon as they exchanged words, it became clear that she didn’t know this man at all—yet he acted as though he was very familiar with her.

“I’m asking you one last time,” Yu Xiaoxiao said coldly to the man in black. “Who are you?”

The man subtly curled his left pinky finger, tucking a bronze bell into his sleeve. Then, flipping his body, he suddenly leapt into the air like a bird returning to the forest, soaring away from the watchtower.

What the hell?!

That escape was way too clean-cut. Yu Xiaoxiao immediately took off after him, only to find that the guy was incredibly fast. Even with her genetically enhanced body, she couldn’t catch up right away.

At the same time, Xiao Wei jumped from the third floor of the Book Viewing Pavilion, carrying three terrified young eunuchs over his shoulder. Once on the ground, he set them down and shouted, “Get out of here!”

The three eunuchs didn’t even have time to thank their savior before they were pushed along by Xiao Wei. Supporting one another, they scrambled out of the pavilion courtyard.

Xiao Wei glanced at the flower terrace but saw no sign of Gu Xinglang. His heart dropped into panic. “Prince Consort!” he shouted as he rushed to the terrace.

The flowerbed, still lush even in autumn thanks to the palace gardeners, was now cast in red by the firelight. The shadows it threw on the ground were large, twisted, and terrifying.

Xiao Wei stood frozen at the edge of the terrace. Before he even got close, the thick smoke made it almost impossible to breathe. And when he finally reached the flowerbed, a pungent, bloody smell hit him, making him gag. Covering his nose and mouth, Xiao Wei followed the source of the blood stench. When he circled to the back of the terrace, he saw two headless corpses.

A single glance told him they were women’s bodies. He sighed in relief—it wasn’t Gu Xinglang. But as he examined them further, even Xiao Wei, who had seen the princess dismember enemies without flinching, found himself retching. The two corpses were entangled together, not decapitated by weapons, but with their heads seemingly crushed by bare hands. Shredded flesh clung to pale white tracheas, a grisly sight that burned into Xiao Wei’s eyes.

He staggered back a step and shouted, “Prince Consort?! Prince Consort?!”

Two imperial guards, hearing the alarm in his voice, rushed over. Before they could even ask, one look at the corpses had them retching on the spot.

Xiao Wei didn’t have time to care about them. He ran a full circle around the flower terrace, jumped into the flowerbed to search again, then leapt back out. Grabbing another guard who had just arrived, he shouted, “There’s an assassin in the palace! The Prince Consort is missing! Go find him, now!”

The guard froze for a second upon hearing the word “assassin,” then turned and ran, yelling, “There’s an assassin!”

The palace, already in chaos, descended into complete disorder.

Seeing that he couldn’t command anyone effectively, Xiao Wei stomped his foot and ran out of the courtyard. Yelling Gu Xinglang’s name, he began a frantic and aimless search across the palace.

When Emperor Xianzong heard that an assassin had infiltrated the palace, he turned and roared at the two imperial generals beside him, “What is going on?! Why do I even keep you?!”

The two generals immediately dropped to their knees, begging for forgiveness.

“Go catch them!” Xianzong bellowed. “I don’t need you kneeling—I need you out there catching the assassin!”

Xiao Wei came running over, panic written all over his face. He fell to his knees when he saw the emperor.

Xianzong recognized him and, trying to restrain his rage, said, “You haven’t left the palace yet? Take Gu Xinglang and go—I don’t have time to worry about him now.”

“Your Majesty,” Xiao Wei cried, “the Prince Consort is missing! I can’t find him!”

An assassin setting fires in the palace? Clearly out for blood. Now Gu Xinglang had vanished? Xianzong put the two facts together and nearly dropped the baby in his arms. “Gu Xinglang is missing?” he shouted. “Weren’t you watching him?! Where could he have gone—he can’t even walk! Where the hell could he run to?!”

He might not like that Gu family brat, but he definitely didn’t want his daughter widowed so soon!

Xiao Wei, guilt-ridden and panicking, said, “I—I went to save people, Your Majesty! I deserve to die!”

“I swear—” Xianzong looked like he was about to kick Xiao Wei to death.

Xiao Wei kowtowed hard. “Your Majesty, I found two old palace maids’ corpses in the courtyard of the Book Pavilion. The Prince Consort, he—”

“Don’t you dare jinx your master!” Xianzong cut him off and ordered his men, “Go! Search every corner of this palace! Find the Prince Consort!”

“We obey!” the guards by his side chorused.

Just then, little Yu Ziyi, who had been asleep, burst out crying again.

Xianzong, irritated beyond belief, gently bounced the baby in his arms. “Don’t you start too!”

Jingzhong stepped up. “Your Majesty, allow me to carry the Seventh Prince.”

When Xiao Wei heard this, he was about to resume his search for his master. But the secret guards were blocking his way. Desperate, he risked getting himself killed by running toward the emperor and said, “Your Majesty, let me take the Seventh Prince out of the palace!”

Xianzong looked at Jingzhong, then at Xiao Wei. After a brief moment, he handed the child over to Xiao Wei and said, “What do you mean ‘out of the palace’? Stay right here!”

If Xiao Wei left the palace now, his daughter would immediately suspect that something terrible had happened to Gu Xinglang. And if she stormed the palace in rage, Xianzong thought grimly, he might as well go greet his ancestors early.