Little Pink Starfish

Yu Linglong, Cease This Instant!

Gu Xingnuo was doing everything he could to distract Emperor Xianzong—from military stipends at Wangxiang Pass to the need for fortifying its garrison town. He racked his brain trying to keep His Majesty’s attention away from the beautiful woman approaching. Since he couldn’t stop the emperor directly, all he could do was keep him talking.

While Grand Tutor Fenglin’s gaze was locked on Zhao Yingqin, Yu Xiaoxiao was staring at him. Seeing the lovestruck look on Fenglin’s face as he looked at the girl known as Er Qiu, Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but sigh. Is this the power of true love?

“She’s that pretty?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked Gu Xinglang.

Gu Xinglang immediately shook his head. Even if this Zhao Third Miss looked like a celestial fairy, or was an actual fairy, as long as she was Zhao Qiuming’s daughter, he wasn’t going to like her. He glanced at her again—she was getting closer—and whispered to Yu Xiaoxiao, “Looks like she’s sick.” His wife might be small, but she had curves. This Zhao Third Miss? All skin and bones.

Then again, she didn’t look like Zhao Fei at all. Maybe Yu Xiaoxiao was right—maybe she wasn’t Zhao Qiuming’s daughter after all.

As Gu Xinglang continued to glance at Zhao Yingqin, Yu Xiaoxiao started to feel annoyed. With a little stomp, she marched forward. Gu Xinglang opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but before he could get a word out, his wife was already standing in front of Zhao Fei and her sister.

Zhao Fei saw Yu Xiaoxiao appear and immediately choked on her sobs. Ever since the empress died, every encounter with this girl had ended badly for her.

The eunuchs and maids escorting Zhao Fei dared not take another step. The princess’s reputation for being violent was well known—who dared provoke her?

“Here to see your father?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked Zhao Fei.

Zhao Fei wept, “Princess, how is my father?”

“No idea,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied. “If he’s not dead, he’ll probably lose a leg. You really that heartbroken?”

“What does Your Highness mean by that?”

“You want to see your dad, fine.” Yu Xiaoxiao tilted her chin at Zhao Yingqin. “Why bring Er Qiu with you?”

Zhao Yingqin paled as soon as she heard Yu Xiaoxiao use her original name. Deceiving the emperor was a capital offense. What young woman wanted to die?

Zhao Fei’s heart trembled too, though she kept her face calm. “Your Highness, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who is Er Qiu?”

“You,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied flatly. She knew Zhao Fei was pretending again. Dealing with pretenders was easy—just punch them—but judging by Gu Xingnuo’s signals, now wasn’t the time for violence.

Zhao Fei saw Yu Xiaoxiao’s poker face and immediately grew suspicious. Why only say “you” and nothing else? Is she waiting for us to admit it ourselves? If we reveal this girl is just a commoner in disguise, it’ll be the Zhao family’s ruin. Zhao Fei glanced at the young woman beside her. She has to die.

She’d already been jealous of Er Qiu’s beauty. Now she wanted her dead.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao was thinking: Even if I know the plot, how do I prove it? Go to her hometown to find witnesses? Damn, where is Er Qiu even from?!

As both sides hesitated, Zhao Yingqin suffered the most. Her mind was racing—It’s over. I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. What should I do?!

“Father!” Zhao Fei suddenly cried again. In that moment, she’d calculated the risks. Since this girl was already in the palace under the Zhao name, she had no choice but to let her continue the act. The Zhao family had already passed the point of no return.

Zhao Yingqin wept along with her. But while Zhao Fei was faking it, Er Qiu’s sobs were genuine—from fear and despair.

Emperor Xianzong, meanwhile, had grown annoyed with Gu Xingnuo’s endless talk. Everything he says is just a roundabout way of asking for money. “Just submit a petition!” Xianzong snapped, turning his head toward the sobbing women. One voice was familiar—Zhao Fei’s. But the other was like a warbler’s song, light and sweet. Who was that? He had to take a look.

Gu Xingnuo saw the emperor’s gaze drift and sighed in defeat. In Fengtian, a single beautiful woman could resurrect a ruined family. This sort of thing was absolutely possible here.

“Linglong,” Xianzong called out before even seeing clearly. “Don’t bully Consort Zhao!”

Zhao Fei glanced toward him and whispered to Zhao Yingqin, “Go to His Majesty.”

Zhao Yingqin trembled, legs weak. She just stood there, sobbing.

“Go!” Zhao Fei scolded in a low voice.

Though she whispered, Yu Xiaoxiao heard her. Go to the emperor? With a light tap of her toe, she landed right in front of Zhao Fei and Zhao Yingqin.

“What do you want her to—”

“What are you doing?!” Zhao Fei shrieked before Yu Xiaoxiao could finish. If people hadn’t seen the princess just standing there, they might’ve thought she was trying to kill Consort Zhao.

Yu Xiaoxiao ignored her. She looked at Zhao Fei, then examined Zhao Yingqin’s face. A normal human face, sure, but maybe a size smaller than usual. Big eyes, though not as big as Little Six’s. So this is Wen Fenglin’s true love? Compared to my ferocious empress self from the future, what’s the big deal?

When Yu Xiaoxiao reached a hand out toward Zhao Yingqin’s face, Zhao Fei panicked. Is she trying to disfigure her?!

“Princess!” Zhao Fei cried, voice cracking. “If you still bear a grudge against me, take it out on me! This is my younger sister—she’s just a child. I beg Your Highness to spare her!”

Zhao Yingqin looked at Yu Xiaoxiao like she was the embodiment of death, backing away in terror. She didn’t want to die.

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t respond to Zhao Fei. What was the point of talking to someone who was pretending to be pitiful? She reached out and grabbed Er Qiu’s collar. “Where’s your sister? Why did only you come to the palace?”

When Er Qiu heard her ask about Da Dong, she nearly had a breakdown. Does the princess want to drag us both to our deaths?! She shrank back even harder.

Yu Xiaoxiao frowned. “If you won’t talk, I’ll start using force.”

Xianzong was just arriving at that moment. Because Er Qiu kept her head down in fear, he hadn’t seen her face yet. But judging by her figure—oh, she definitely had potential.

Seeing his daughter gripping a young woman by the collar, Xianzong quickly shouted, “Yu Linglong! Cease this instant!”