Little Pink Starfish

Chancellor Zhao Reports the Assassin Has Been Caught

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at Wen Fenglin. Wen Fenglin looked back at her. Compared to the hostility in Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes, the calm and gentle demeanor of Master Fenglin was far more endearing to those watching.

Emperor Xian rushed forward, completely disregarding his royal image, stopping only when he reached his daughter. “Why are you still in the palace? Didn’t your father tell you to leave with Gu Xinglang at dawn?”

“Sissy!” Yu Xiaoxiao snapped at Wen Fenglin.

Emperor Xian turned to look at the young master from Yongsheng Temple. Seeing the calm, unconcerned look on his face, the emperor cursed inwardly: What a faker!

“What’s he doing here?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked her muddle-headed father.

Emperor Xian sighed, looking rather sad. “Concubine Li has passed. Master Wen came to perform rites for her soul. I am extremely grateful.”

The young master of Yongsheng Temple personally coming to perform a soul-releasing ritual for Concubine Li—this was something many would beg for on their knees. So even though Emperor Xian knew his daughter would go crazy the moment she saw that pretty boy, he couldn’t turn the offer down. Hurting the Li family’s feelings wasn’t even on his radar. All he knew was that rejecting Wen Fenglin would be a slap in the face to Yongsheng Temple. That would be suicide.

Soul-releasing rituals and such sounded like nonsense to Yu Xiaoxiao. “He’s like this and still thinking about Concubine Li?” she whispered to the emperor.

“Shut up,” Emperor Xian replied. “He had nothing going on with Concubine Li.”

Yu Xiaoxiao looked up at her muddle-headed father. “You think Concubine Li could’ve had a lover? Father, you’ve got zero confidence.”

“No,” Emperor Xian said. “It’s because you—” Then he stopped. He suddenly remembered his daughter hadn’t said anything out of line yet today. That realization made him feel even worse.

“Ahem,” Xiao Wei coughed awkwardly as he got up from the ground.

Yu Xiaoxiao glanced at him. Then it hit her—Concubine Li didn’t have a secret lover. She had a true love! Crap. She turned to look at her muddle-headed dad, and her eyes filled with sympathy. Other than being a bit dumb, he was a classic tall, rich, and handsome man. And yet women just didn’t love him!

Emperor Xian grew wary under that sympathetic gaze. “What are you planning?”

Xiao Wei tugged at Yu Xiaoxiao. They should go find Xiao Zhuang.

“Xiao Wei, get your paws off her!” Emperor Xian snapped.

Xiao Wei quickly retracted his hand.

“Back up,” the emperor ordered. “Three meters away.”

“Look over there,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, turning the emperor’s body toward Master Fenglin. “Why are you staring at Xiao Wei? Can you do your job or not?”

Master Fenglin smiled at the emperor. “Your Majesty and the princess are quite the pair—truly enviable.”

“He’s my real dad,” Yu Xiaoxiao retorted. “If you’re missing fatherly love, go find your own dad.”

“Um,” Emperor Xian stepped forward and placed his daughter behind him. “I’ll take the master to Concubine Li’s shrine.”

Standing behind her father, Yu Xiaoxiao clenched her right hand tightly. The veins and tendons on the back of her hand bulged under her skin.

In the clear autumn sky, thunder rumbled faintly once more.

Emperor Xian panicked at the sound and shouted at the sky, “Wait until he’s outside the city walls! Strike him after he leaves the city!”

No one else understood what the emperor was yelling about, but Yu Xiaoxiao did. Her muddle-headed dad had told her—if lightning was going to strike Wen Fenglin, it had to be after he left the capital of Fengtian. Yu Xiaoxiao relaxed her clenched fist and turned to Xiao Wei. “Let’s go.”

Seeing the thunder stop after his cry, Emperor Xian sighed in relief. Good, the empress understands my position.

“Linglong—” he turned around, intending to coax his daughter to go back to her husband’s house, only to see her heading off with Xiao Wei. And judging by their direction, they weren’t going toward the palace gate. “Linglong, where are you going?” he shouted.

“Do I still have to accompany you to receive guests?” Yu Xiaoxiao snapped angrily.

Everyone around was grateful she didn’t use the word “service” instead. Somehow, whatever she said always seemed to carry a double meaning.

“If the princess has no other business, why not come with me to the shrine?” Master Fenglin finally spoke. Having been ignored by the royal father and daughter this whole time, he wasn’t angry. He smiled and asked Yu Xiaoxiao, “What do you say?”

Emperor Xian nearly spat blood. He had never seen anyone so eager to die!

To Yu Xiaoxiao, Wen Fenglin was the embodiment of darkness. She looked at him warily. “What are you plotting?”

“I simply wish to invite the princess to accompany me,” he replied.

Emperor Xian quickly said, “Master, please forgive her. Linglong still has things to attend to with her husband’s family and can’t stay in the palace. Xiao Wei, escort the princess out at once!”

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at the smile on Wen Fenglin’s face. Something felt off.

“Your Majesty,” a eunuch stationed at the palace gate came running up. “Chancellor Zhao and the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple are outside requesting an audience. They say the assassin from last night has been caught.”

“That fast?” Emperor Xian didn’t quite believe it.

Yu Xiaoxiao scoffed. “The thief yelling to catch a thief?”

Emperor Xian ordered the eunuch, “Summon them in.”

The eunuch bowed and ran back toward the palace gate.

Master Fenglin said, “Your Majesty, then this humble monk will go on ahead to the shrine.”

“Yuanle,” the emperor called to General Li. “Accompany the master to Concubine Li’s shrine.”

Li Yuanle obeyed and joined Master Fenglin’s side.

As the group headed to the shrine, Emperor Xian frowned. The assassin was clearly sent by that pretty boy. Can Zhao Qiuming really catch someone from Yongsheng Temple? That doesn’t make sense. Emperor Xian shook his head. No, that sissy probably saw that the assassin failed and figured I wouldn’t drop the matter. So he got Zhao Qiuming to deliver a scapegoat. No wonder that pretty boy showed up here today. Watching Wen Fenglin’s retreating figure, he muttered, “So that’s what you’re playing at.”

“What did you say?” Yu Xiaoxiao stuck her head in front of him.

“Just get out of here!” Emperor Xian pushed her head away. “Don’t cause trouble for me. Where’s Gu Xinglang? I’m already up—why’s he still in bed?”

Yu Xiaoxiao ignored him and mumbled something indistinctly, then left with Xiao Wei.

“Where are you going?!” the emperor shouted.

“Princess?” Xiao Wei asked nervously. The emperor had yelled like that, and they were just turning their backs on him?

“Don’t look back,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “If Wen Fenglin doesn’t die, someone must be praying really hard for him.”

Emperor Xian watched his daughter and her little guard run off. He turned to his attendants. Who could I possibly send that would bring her back?

All the imperial guards stared at the ground. Even if they could catch the princess, they didn’t have what it took to make her leave. This job was way beyond them.