Little Pink Starfish

Minister Ai Is No Match for Minister Zhao

The slave dealer and the crowd of Vermilion Bird citizens were stunned—after all, it was their emperor who had decreed the Jiang family’s punishment. Was this girl… insulting their monarch?

“Who exactly are you?” the slave dealer snapped, his expression changing the moment he came to his senses. He held the title of royal merchant, which gave him authority over the Jiang family slaves. If word spread in Chiyang City that he didn’t act when someone slandered the emperor, the consequences would fall squarely on him.

“Let go of your hand,” Yu Xiaoxiao said coldly, staring him down.

“You came to cause trouble, didn’t you?” The man’s face twisted with menace. Thick features, years of blood-soaked dealings, and an innate brutality made him look truly fearsome—perfect for scaring the weak and elderly.

But Yu Xiaoxiao? She was unfazed. Scary? This guy hasn’t seen zombies.
“Yep,” she nodded calmly.

“Do you even know who I am?”

“Nope,” she replied flatly. “Not interested.”

“You—!” The dealer jabbed a finger toward her, seething. She’s got guts, I’ll give her that!

Yu Xiaoxiao pointed to the hair he was still yanking on. “What, are you bald and jealous of people with actual hair?”

Everyone instinctively looked at the glaring bald patch atop his otherwise ringed-with-hair head. A snort of laughter rippled through the crowd.

The dealer was furious. “Do you know who I am?!”

“I already said: not interested.”

“Jiang Zhuojun,” the dealer turned to the boy with a grin full of malice. “You always insisted your Jiang clan was innocent, never betrayed the country. If that’s true, why would some random girl show up for you?”

The crowd erupted again. In any country, traitors were the ultimate enemies of the people.

As curses rained down, Jiang Zhuojun looked at Yu Xiaoxiao with a faint smile. “Thank you, Miss, for your righteous words. But we’re just slaves. Not worth your trouble. Please leave before they hurt you.”

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at him in a daze. This is Jiang Zhuojun? She remembered him as a cold, aloof figure who only softened a little for the brutal Empress. Even killing seemed as casual as chopping vegetables to him. But the broken, bloodied teen before her? It just didn’t add up.

“One tael of silver,” someone in the crowd called out.

Yu Xiaoxiao looked over. A fat, middle-aged man surrounded by guards had just emerged from the throng.

The dealer immediately dropped Jiang Zhuojun’s hair and scampered over with a bow. “Lord Ai, my deepest apologies for not welcoming you sooner!”

“Who’s this clown?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked Xiaozhuang.

“No idea,” he said. “Some kind of official, I guess.”

The newcomer strolled up to Jiang Zhuojun and smirked. “Didn’t expect to fall this far, did you? My father says we don’t need to force you. If you’re willing, come back with me to the Ai estate.”

The dealer nudged Jiang Zhuojun with his foot. “Quit pretending to be dead. You’ll be living the good life at the Ai estate. Not satisfied?”

Yu Xiaoxiao muttered to Xiaozhuang, “Feels like they’re pimping him out.”

Xiaozhuang… Well, if Jiang Zhuojun were a girl, yeah—but he’s a guy…

Jiang Zhuojun looked up at the fat man.

“Well?” the man asked.

“I’m willing,” Jiang Zhuojun replied.

“Little brother!” the young woman wrapped in Xiao Wei’s coat wailed.

Yu Xiaoxiao rubbed her nose and stepped forward. She looked at the fat man and muttered, “Fat is one thing, but you’re short too.”

The dealer had never met anyone who could roast people like this. Seeing Lord Ai’s face darken, he immediately barked, “How dare you! This is Lord Ai’s son!”

Ai Prime Minister’s son?

Yu Xiaoxiao clenched her fists. “Your dad’s a prime minister too?”

Ai Jun sneered, “Now that you know, scram.”

Yu Xiaoxiao muttered, The Ai Prime Minister is worse than our Zhao Qiuming back home. At least Zhao’s sons look like actual humans.
“And if I don’t?” she asked Ai Jun.

He trembled with rage.

The dealer shouted, “This is Vermilion Bird’s business. Outsiders like you have no say. Get lost!” He’d seen her skills, and didn’t want to fight if he could avoid it.

Yu Xiaoxiao looked around at the crowd and said, “Who says I’m a foreigner? I’m from Vermilion Bird.”

The crowd… With that accent?! You’re the boldest liar we’ve ever seen!

“Xiao Wei,” Yu Xiaoxiao called. “Untie the Jiang family.”

“You just stand there?!” Ai Jun screamed at his guards. “Are you all dead—”

Yu Xiaoxiao casually lifted him and slammed him headfirst into the stone platform. His head stuck out while the rest of him was buried like a radish.

Xiaozhuang drew his sword and rushed to free Jiang Zhuojun.

Ai Jun’s guards finally tried to intervene—but one by one, Yu Xiaoxiao planted them like seedlings into the stone.

The slave dealer pissed himself. That’s stone, not mud! Who the hell has the strength to drive people into rock like that?! Still, he had no choice but to order a counterattack. If he didn’t, Prime Minister Ai would kill him for sure.

“Get her!” he shouted.

Yu Xiaoxiao flashed forward, grabbed his neck—and moments later, he too was planted headfirst into the platform.

Some citizens fled, others charged forward to “protect national honor.”

In moments, the once-orderly slave market was chaos.

Xiaozhuang helped Jiang Zhuojun up.

The boy was dazed. “P-Princess?” he asked.

Just then, Gu Xinglang arrived with Da Dangjia and the others. Seeing their princess mid-battle, the former pirates didn’t hesitate. Without waiting for orders, they roared and joined the fight.