Little Pink Starfish

A Girl’s Silvery Bell Voice

Yu Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Zhuang and said, “You already held her little hand. What more do you have to say?”

Xiao Zhuang racked his brains—When did I ever hold that girl’s hand?!

Seeing Yu Xiaoxiao haul Qian Mingzhu toward the carriage, Gu Xingnuo quickly spoke. “Princess, if you take Miss Qian back with us, her father will know we were behind all this tonight.”

Xiao Zhuang jumped in, “Exactly, Princess! We can’t bring her!”

Yu Xiaoxiao turned and said seriously to him, “Once she’s your wife, she’s one of us. Her dad becomes your dad. So what if he knows?”

Xiao Zhuang looked at Gu Xingnuo. Wait… we’re just deciding things like this now?

Gu Xingnuo was also trying to figure out how to talk his little sister-in-law down.

Xiao Zhuang pointed at Gu Xinglang and asked, “Then is the prince consort also His Majesty’s son?”

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded without hesitation. “Of course. Isn’t a son-in-law a son? Uh, I remember Mammy once said something about a ‘half-son.’ What does that mean, anyway? Mammy’s going through menopause right now, so I didn’t dare ask. Didn’t want to set her off emotionally again.”

Gu Xingnuo felt dizzy and waved his hand. “Princess, what are you trying to say?”

“What does ‘half-son’ mean?”

“It’s just another way to say ‘son-in-law.’”

“So it’s like… you split your son in half?”

“Why would anyone do that?!”

“Then why call it half-son?”

“Because a son-in-law is not exactly the same as a son.”

“What? But they’re all family, what difference does it make? Big brother, are you half my brother?”

At this point, Gu Xingnuo had lost all confidence in this conversation. His sister-in-law clearly had no grasp of the cultural subtleties, so how was he supposed to explain?

Xiao Zhuang backed away—best not to get involved in this one.

Gu Xinglang tried to mediate. “Princess, it’s just a figure of speech. Don’t worry about it.” Not that he would ever dare call the Emperor his dad—especially this Emperor. Gu Xinglang internally scoffed. No thanks.

“Fine,” Yu Xiaoxiao muttered. “Anyway, it doesn’t affect my appetite.” With that, she climbed into the carriage with Qian Mingzhu in tow.

Gu Xingnuo chuckled. That part, at least, was definitely true.

Gu Xinglang looked at Qian Mingzhu. “Are you really taking her to our estate?”

Yu Xiaoxiao asked, “Is that bad?”

“It’s… probably not a good idea.”

“Xiao Zhuang,” Yu Xiaoxiao turned to him, “you really don’t want her as your wife?”

Xiao Zhuang shook his head so hard it looked like a rattle drum. He absolutely did not.

“What a pity,” Yu Xiaoxiao muttered. She raised a hand, about to toss Qian Mingzhu out of the carriage.

“Wait,” Gu Xingnuo stopped her.

“You like her, big brother?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked excitedly.

“No! Absolutely not,” Gu Xingnuo shook his head frantically. His wife was sweet and demure, but still jealous—he didn’t want this getting back to her.

“Then what?” Yu Xiaoxiao was puzzled. Xiao Zhuang didn’t want her. Yu Xiaoxiao was a woman too and not into girls, so she couldn’t offer the girl happiness. Naturally, she had to toss her.

Gu Xingnuo glanced at Xiao Zhuang.

That look sent chills down Xiao Zhuang’s spine. He felt like a beast had just fixed its gaze on him.

“Take her to my private estate,” Gu Xingnuo said quietly. “Xiao Zhuang will watch over her.”

“Why?” Xiao Zhuang wailed. He still had two little kids at home waiting to be fed—when would he find the time to babysit this lady? “Can’t Xiao Wei do it?” he asked.

Gu Xingnuo shook his head. “Xiao Wei’s injured. You want him working while wounded?”

“Injured?!” Xiao Zhuang was shocked.

“Mhm,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “He fought several Yongsheng Temple monks on his own and got hurt.”

“How many?” Xiao Zhuang asked.

“Uh, I didn’t count,” Yu Xiaoxiao said shamelessly. Why bother? They all got beat up anyway.

“Mount up,” Gu Xingnuo ordered. “This is a direct command. Your horse is behind the cart.”

Xiao Zhuang trudged toward the back with drooping shoulders.

“Should we go to the estate too?” Gu Xinglang asked his brother.

“I’ll take you two home first,” Gu Xingnuo said. “I’ll go to the estate to oversee things.”

“You’re not eating yuanxiao?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

“Save me a bowl, Princess,” Gu Xingnuo joked.

“Okay,” she nodded seriously.

“Let’s go,” Gu Xingnuo said, closing the carriage door and calling out to the wall corner.

One of his trusted guards ran out, hopped on the cart, and drove them out of the alley. Xiao Wei rode alongside on horseback, eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Meanwhile, Boss Qian was perched atop a ladder, peering over the wall at the retreating cart as it disappeared toward the eastern end of the street.

“Master?” asked a guard standing beside him.

“Follow them,” Boss Qian gritted out. “Find out who they are!”

“Yes, sir.” The guard jumped down and ran off.

Boss Qian hadn’t treated his wounds yet, but the bleeding had stopped. His gut throbbed in pain. Don’t let me catch you, he vowed. Or I’ll tear you apart piece by piece!

“Master!” A shopkeeper from the bank came scrambling toward him.

Boss Qian said, “Quit wailing. What happened? I’m still here.” After all, they’d already taken his daughter—what more could life throw at him?

The shopkeeper sobbed, “Bad news! Those monks… they’ve been killed! Their corpses are charred, and the carriage they arrived in—it’s gone! Along with everything on it!”

Boss Qian, still standing atop the tall ladder, stared blankly. *What does that even mean? The monks from Yongsheng Temple got killed? Their treasure stolen? And all of it happened on *my* watch?!*

“Master, what should we do?” the shopkeeper cried.

“Yongsheng Temple…” Boss Qian muttered. His eyes rolled back—and he tumbled off the ladder, fainting dead away. At this point, the only road ahead seemed to be a direct line to the underworld.

Just then, the second-in-command of the bank crawled out through a doghole and took off at a dead run. The street was deserted—not a soul in sight. Naturally, all of his so-called “brothers” had vanished too. He was furious—What kind of useless gang had he gotten himself mixed up with?!

“Excuse me, did something happen at Huixin Bank?” Just as he was fleeing for dear life, a silvery, bell-like voice rang out beside him, stopping him in his tracks.

He skidded to a halt and turned back.

A plump, petite girl stood by the roadside, looking uneasy. “Can the bank still exchange money?” she asked.