Little Pink Starfish

The Cost of Wanting to Be a Wise Ruler

Mouth.

That word alone had Gu Xinglang—still a rather innocent young man—mulling for quite a while. When he finally figured it out by himself and looked down at his wife’s cherry-red lips, the fire in him whooshed into a blaze again.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao was fast asleep in his arms, occasionally smacking her lips like she was still dreaming of food.

With a wife who only lights fires and never puts them out, what could Gu San Shao do? Nothing—except silently endure.

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The next morning, the long-lost sun reappeared in the sky. Its rays began to melt the snow, and icicles on the eaves dripped like a gentle rain beneath the sunlight.

Gu Xinglang and Yu Xiaoxiao went separate ways—he went to bid farewell to Madam Xu, and she entered the palace to discuss the matter of Yu Ziyi (Seventh Prince) with her father.

After court, Emperor Xianzong sat wearily with heavy black circles under his eyes. Seeing his daughter again, he groaned, “Why are you here again? To talk about life again?”

Yu Xiaoxiao replied, “Nope.”

“Then what?” Xianzong squinted at her. “If not life, then why come?”

“I mean, we don’t really have much life to talk about anyway,” Yu Xiaoxiao said seriously. “Father, our life goals are clearly different.”

Xianzong downed half a cup of tea. So this is the price of wanting to be a wise ruler! His daughter clearly had a full night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast before entering the palace, while he—the emperor—barely slept, rose before dawn, scarfed a few spoonfuls of congee, and went straight to court. Thinking about the mountain of “crap” awaiting him, Xianzong felt quite bitter.

While her father drank tea, Yu Xiaoxiao casually reached out and took a pastry, chomping down more than half in one bite.

Xianzong sighed to her. “Linglong, being your father is hard.”

“Got another problem?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

“A minister said today, if we want to ease the burden on the people, we have to cut taxes.”

“Then cut them.”

“But if we don’t collect taxes and Mo Wen brings troops again, how am I supposed to fight without money?”

Now that was a dilemma. Yu Xiaoxiao sat thinking deeply before asking, “Are you really that broke?”

“I just gave away a huge sum,” Xianzong replied with a pained look.

“Really?” Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “For what?”

“Birthday gifts,” Xianzong said miserably. How is my daughter this slow?

“Then why don’t we send fewer?” Yu Xiaoxiao retorted. “Little Gu told me there were over sixty chests!”

Xianzong clutched his chest. Even so, he shook his head. “That’s already the bare minimum. Any less, and I’m afraid Li Xiaoyuan will make trouble for you two in Suzaku.”

Yu Xiaoxiao slapped the table. “Over sixty boxes and that’s ‘less’? That greedy old bastard! What’s that idiom again…?”

“Insatiable,” Xianzong supplied.

“Right! He’s just plain insatiable!”

Xianzong sighed again. What could they do? Feng Tian was a small kingdom. Their ancestors didn’t leave them with a strong foundation—what could their descendants do now?

Yu Xiaoxiao asked, “Dad, when’s your 50th birthday?”

Xianzong blinked. *What, you think other nations would send *me* grand tributes? Keep dreaming.*

“Linglong,” he said patiently, “We’re Feng Tian, not Zhurì or Eternal Life Temple.”

Yu Xiaoxiao puffed out her cheeks, her face expressionless.

Unexpectedly, Xianzong found her rather cute—then slapped himself. Snap out of it! This is the same girl who can kill an entire battlefield with a sword swing!

He chugged more tea. Every conversation with her is like surviving a battle.

“I swear, one day I’ll unify the world!” Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly declared.

Pffft—Xianzong spewed tea.

Being from a weak country was just so frustrating! In that sour mood, Yu Xiaoxiao devoured another plate of pastries.

Xianzong poured her a glass of water. “Linglong, your father knows you’re strong, but before unifying the world, how about we just focus on not perishing as a country?”

Yu Xiaoxiao moved on to plate number two. Having such a useless dad was really tragic.

Xianzong had just gulped down half a teapot of tea—his bladder now uncomfortably full—when he remembered, “Wait, why did you come again? Just here for the snacks?”

The hidden guards all sighed in relief. Finally, His Majesty’s back on track. No more life talks ending with sneak visits to taverns.

Yu Xiaoxiao replied, “I’m here for Little Seven.”

“Oh.” Xianzong understood. “What did your husband say?”

But Yu Xiaoxiao had grown a bit smarter. She wiped the crumbs from her lips. “What’s it got to do with him?”

“Alright, alright,” Xianzong gave in. “What’s your plan?”

“Let Little Seven return to the palace,” Yu Xiaoxiao said bluntly. “I’m afraid he’ll die here before he even grows up.”

Xianzong’s eyes bulged. “You mean I can’t protect him?”

Yu Xiaoxiao calmly said, “You need protection yourself.”

“I’m the Emperor!” Xianzong slammed the table.

Yu Xiaoxiao pointed to the corner. “There’s a shadow guard standing right there.”

Tears welled in Xianzong’s eyes. Could he get a little respect around here? Was it really that hard?

The shadow guard in question also cried inside. *He was *that* well hidden—how did the Princess still find him?*

Yu Xiaoxiao asked, “Can you give Little Seven the same treatment?”

Xianzong huffed, “Of course I can!” What, just assign a few guards? Not a problem!

But then Yu Xiaoxiao added, “Even if the treatment’s the same, what good is it? You’re an adult—if you’re in danger, you can shout, run, or roll on the ground and beg. But Little Seven can’t even talk yet. What’s he supposed to do?”

Roll on the ground and beg?!

Xianzong rubbed his forehead. His head hurt.

The hidden guards whispered among themselves: Did the Princess really say that? Ha ha…we forget everything now.

“I’ll take Little Seven to Suzaku with me,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “Didn’t that teacher in the study hall say, ‘Reading ten thousand books is no match for walking ten thousand miles’?”

Xianzong barked, “Enough!”

Little Seven was just a toddler—he couldn’t even speak yet! Read what books?! If she wanted an excuse, could she not have come up with something halfway decent? At least give him a ladder to climb down!

So frustrating!