Little Pink Starfish

The World of the Upper Class

Gu Xinglang signaled two guards to carry him closer to Yu Xiaoxiao. Pointing at the heap of Zhao estate guards sprawled on the ground, he said coldly to Zhao Qiuming, “Prime Minister, is this your Zhao estate’s idea of hospitality?”

Seeing that her Little Gu was done hiding his identity, Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t bother either. She tugged off her face veil and looked at Zhao Qiuming. “Yeah, this is how you receive—” She paused mid-sentence, forgetting the idiom. In a low voice, she asked, “What was that last part again?”

Gu Xinglang looked up at his wife. Fine. He still believed she was a well-rounded genius in both brain and brawn. “Hospitality,” he whispered.

“Oh right, hospitality,” Yu Xiaoxiao turned back and finished the line with all the righteousness in the world. “I’m telling my dad. My Imperial Father.”

Zhao Qiuming tried to stay composed. “And does injuring so many people in my estate count as the Princess’s idea of hospitality?”

Yu Xiaoxiao glanced at the scattered guards. “They didn’t hit me—would I hit them otherwise?”

From the ground, the second-in-command chimed in, “Exactly! One hand doesn’t clap on its own. This is a setup! Princess, report this to the Emperor!”

Yu Xiaoxiao gave him a thumbs-up. Smart cookie. Even knows how to file imperial complaints.

“Pffft!” Zhao Qiuming coughed up another mouthful of blood. Shameless! A royal princess with the gall of a bandit!

“Father!”

“Prime Minister!”

Zhao Second Young Master and the surrounding retainers panicked at the sight.

Yu Xiaoxiao curled her lip in disdain. So what if he’s coughing blood? This one next to me’s been vomiting for half the night and is still watching the show.

As his world spun, Zhao Qiuming thought bitterly, This Yu Linglong is even more shameless than me!

With the chaos centered around Zhao Qiuming, Gu Xinglang leaned toward Yu Xiaoxiao and whispered, “Why did you come here?”

Yu Xiaoxiao bent down and whispered back into his ear, “To frame him.”

Gu Xinglang’s body jolted. He looked at the broken door bolt and the sea of unconscious Zhao guards. This is “covert framing”? Looks more like a full-blown raid.

“What next?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked. “Leave, or set the Zhao estate on fire too?” The Huixin guards had seen her and the second-in-command walk into Zhao’s mansion—technically the frame was set. But just leaving without a flourish… that felt like a waste.

Gu Xinglang hated the Zhaos, really did. But hearing his wife suggest arson yet again, he still shook his head. “B-better not.” They’d already set two fires in Fengtian tonight. And two more yesterday… This can’t become a hobby!

Zhao Second Young Master had been glaring daggers at the “shameless couple” whispering sweet nothings in broad daylight. But then, seeing yet another person enter the Zhao estate, he tugged frantically at his father’s sleeve.

Zhao Qiuming looked up—and nearly stopped breathing. Jingmo?! He came too?!

Prince Jingmo stepped into the estate, pausing at the broken door bolt under his foot. Then he surveyed the bodies littering the floor. After a moment of silence, he thought, Worried about Princess Linglong being bullied? What a joke.

“Eh?” Yu Xiaoxiao turned around. “Jingmo? Why are you here?”

He walked up to her and asked, “Princess, are you hurt?”

Yu Xiaoxiao blinked. By who? These people? Are you serious?

The second-in-command’s eyes widened in awe. So this is the world of the elite—always someone stronger, someone more shameless.

Jingmo winked at Yu Xiaoxiao.

Yu Xiaoxiao looked down at her Little Gu. She was having trouble interpreting the eyebrow wag from this rumored lover of the tyrant empress. Was that happiness?

Gu Xinglang said mildly, “The Princess’s injuries will be seen to by the imperial physicians.”

Somehow, he was the one who understood her best. Jingmo felt very attacked by this reality.

“You…” Zhao Qiuming pointed trembling fingers at the three of them. But what could he say? A princess, a prince consort, and the heir to Zhuri—who could he possibly shout at?

“Quite the display of power, Prime Minister Zhao,” Jingmo said, tone icy. “Sending your guards to attack the princess and prince consort? This is how the Fengtian court handles royal family members?”

The guards on the ground silently screamed: We’re the ones who got beat up!

“I don’t get it either,” Yu Xiaoxiao added. “Why does he think he can stomp all over me and Little Gu?”

Jingmo smiled. “The Prime Minister has long enjoyed the Emperor’s favor. I suppose he got cocky and forgot his place as a subject.”

“You—” Zhao Qiuming was shaking with rage. If they keep going, are they going to accuse me of treason? If the Emperor bought Yu Linglong’s nonsense again… Zhao Qiuming blacked out and collapsed in his chair.

“Father!” Zhao Second Young Master cried.

Zhao Qiuming lay there, motionless.

“Call a doctor!” the second son shouted.

But no one moved—Yu Xiaoxiao was still standing at the gate like a guardian deity. Who dared leave?

“Use the side gate!” he barked. And then wanted to puke blood himself. The Zhao family can’t even leave through its own front door now?!

“Let’s go,” Gu Xinglang told Yu Xiaoxiao. Seeing Zhao Qiuming like this, he was satisfied.

Yu Xiaoxiao followed him out.

Jingmo gave a nod to his guards, who lifted the barely conscious second-in-command off the ground.

At the gate, Yu Xiaoxiao glanced back at the Zhao house. She was not content. So she yanked off half of the mansion’s front gate.

The estate fell into total silence.

Everyone stared at the petite princess holding up half a solid iron-and-bronze door—easily a hundred pounds or more—with just one hand.

Then Yu Xiaoxiao regretted it. Oh no, I blew my cover… Will Little Gu think I’m a monster now? Would he believe she was just naturally this strong?