HAVING BEEN the favored concubine for several years, Noble
Consort Qiu knew the emperor still had a soft spot for Prince Jing, which
was why she harbored such great resentment for the prince. What if this
incident brought the emperor's anger down on her—and in turn on the
second prince, just when he was on the verge of becoming the crown
prince!
Noble Consort Qiu refused to let herself and her son suffer through
such a disaster, so she came up with what she felt was an ingenious idea.
"Zhao-er, come. Don't make a sound. Let's…let's hide the fish,
quickly."
Mu Tianzhao was bewildered.
Lady Qiu didn't want other people to get involved. Qianqing Palace
was not her territory, and the emperor was right there, on the throne—if she
asked her trusted servants to deal with this, it would only serve to attract his
attention. The fewer people who knew that Prince Jing's fish had died, the
better.
Noble Consort Qiu and the second prince neatly blocked the bowl
from onlookers' curious eyes, quietly devising a plan.
First, Lady Qiu would hide the fish, then pretend to notice that the
fish had vanished, triggering a search party ordered by the emperor. While
everyone was distracted, she'd have time to furtively
acquire another live fish. She would then have someone find it at just
the right time and place. It would be a flawless switcheroo.
"Won't someone be able to tell?" Mu Tianzhao was a little hesitant.
His ascension to crown prince was tantalizingly close and he didn't want
anything to endanger it.
"What are you afraid of?" Noble Consort Qiu laughed coldly. "A fish
like this, it's just a soup ingredient. They all look the same. Prince Jing probably won't even be able to tell the difference." Noble Consort Qiu was
brimming with confidence, convinced her plan was foolproof—otherwise,
she wouldn't have dared to come up with something like this. What else
was she supposed to do? Just wait around for Prince Jing to make her life
difficult?
She took another glance at the flipped-over fish floating on the water.
They had to hide the fish well so that no one would be able to find it. The
best place would be inside her sleeves. No one would dare search the noble
consort!
Suppressing the urge to hurl, Lady Qiu reached for the fish using her
handkerchief. Just as she was about to touch the fish though, the very tip of
its tail, which had originally been motionless, started to shake. Then it
started struggling.
Noble Consort Qiu and the second prince jumped. Stunned,
Mu Tianzhao asked, "Mother, wasn't that fish supposed to be dead?!"
How could a fish come back to life? This was way too bizarre!
Noble Consort Qiu didn't have time to speculate any further, nor did
she have time to respond to the second prince. She'd wrapped the fish up in
her handkerchief, but it was still very slippery—and now it was squirming
around quite hard. If she let it slip out of her hand and fall onto the floor,
here in Qianqing Palace, right in front of the emperor…
She had already taken the first step; there was no turning back now!
Sweat continued to bead on the noble consort's forehead. This
woman had lived in the lap of luxury for a long time now, so she didn't
have much grip strength. Furthermore, she was dealing with Li Yu, an
expert at struggling. This time, he went all out. With his newly stronger tail,
it didn't take much for him to escape from her grasp.
This was the closest the little carp was ever going to get to Lady Qiu!
By now, Li Yu had a lot of experience swinging his tail around. He
calculated the distance and made a clean swing. His original plan was to
jump onto the noble consort and give her a good scare—then, in the ensuing
chaos, he'd snatch the pearl. If that didn't work and he ended up on the
floor, he could just swing his tail a couple more times to try to get back into
the bowl. The bowl was very close by. Being away from the water for such a short amount of time shouldn't be a problem… And besides, he had all
that fresh water stored in his inventory.
But unfortunately, he used too much force. With one flip, he managed
to set a whole new record, landing smack dab in the middle of the noble
consort's face. Uh oh—
Noble Consort Qiu's vision was suddenly obstructed by something
cold and slippery. Prince Jing's fish had thrown itself onto her face! She
screeched in terror. "Ahh—!"
Her scream instantly lit a fire under Li Yu. This was, after all, the first
time he had ended up on someone's body—er, face—as a fish. His tail
flapped furiously in alarm, slapping the noble consort's face over and over
again!
The second prince didn't even know how to react. The flurry of
slapping noises finally jolted him out of it, though, and he yelled in a panic,
"Mother, Mother! Someone, come quickly! Save my mother!"
"Zhao-er, get it off! It's on my face, it's on my face!!" All that the
shocked and terrified Lady Qiu could see were wet gray scales. She
couldn't stop screaming. Mu Tianzhao wanted to help, but his hand froze
midair, too afraid this fish would fly onto him next. Who knew what might
happen?!
In the chaos, Li Yu found a suitable position on the noble consort's
face and swished his tail once again, aiming for the glistening white pearl.
This time, he took careful command of his strength to slap the golden
hairpin with pinpoint accuracy. Bingo! The pearl fell from the hairpin onto
the floor, just like he planned.
Noble Consort Qiu had put a bit of thought into choosing her hairpin,
hoping to entice the emperor even when night fell with this priceless
luminous pearl—but now she was panicking too hard to fret about her hair
accessories.
Li Yu flapped his fins a few times, straining to reach the fallen pearl,
but it was no use. That pearl was standing between him and turning back
into a human, and it was about to fall onto the golden bricks.
It was all or nothing! Li Yu flung himself toward the jewel.
Meanwhile, the emperor had been enjoying his tea while he waited
for Prince Jing when he suddenly heard the noble consort and the second
prince shouting and yelling. The emperor rushed over along with Head
Eunuch Luo to see what had happened, only to find the noble consort with
her hair in disarray, face paper white. Her hands were flailing about,
clawing at nothing, while the second prince stood off to the side in
uncertainty.
The emperor didn't see Li Yu. Of course he wouldn't notice a little
carp on the ground, chasing after the pearl, when the consort and her son
were making such a fuss.
"What is going on?!" demanded the emperor, furious.
Li Yu couldn't reach the luminous pearl. As it hit the floor and rolled
away, he made a lunge for it, but it was too late. Just as he was about to
reach the pearl, a pair of hands materialized from above and pressed down
on his little fish body.
Who was getting in the way of completing his quest?!
Incensed and indignant, Li Yu glared up—and straight at Prince
Jing's face. Li Yu could see anger simmering beneath the surface.
F-fuck. Here he was flopping around, high off adrenaline at the
prospect of completing his quest, only to get caught red-handed by the
tyrant. Li Yu blew a listless bubble. He wanted to hide and flat-out deny
everything. But he was in Prince Jing's palm—there was nowhere to hide!
Had Prince Jing seen him slap Noble Consort Qiu and steal the pearl?
He had to be in big trouble with the prince! But he wasn't playing around
for no reason.
Noble Consort Qiu was definitely going to report Li Yu to the
emperor for what he just did, but so long as he returned to the bowl before
the emperor noticed him, there was no way the emperor would believe her.
After all, how could a fish jump out of the bowl, humiliate Lady Qiu, and
then jump back in?
Right, he needed to get back. It felt awful to be out of the water. He
had to figure out a way to return to the bowl without Prince Jing noticing…
but that was way harder than tricking Lady Qiu had been. Prince Jing was
no fool—Li Yu had to be careful.
While Li Yu was still racking his fish brain for ideas, Prince Jing
slipped him gently back into the water.
Li Yu was shocked and relieved to find himself surrounded by water
in his bowl again. Wow, the tyrant actually put him back! He wiggled a bit
to demonstrate his affection, but Prince Jing glared at him again. The little
carp could clearly read the threat in the tyrant's eyes: I'll deal with you
later.
Li Yu shrunk back.
Wait, is that why he didn't get mad earlier? He was saving it for
later?
He didn't want to be fish soup, and he didn't want to die either, so Li
Yu decided he might as well let the tyrant pinch him a few more times. He
arched his back into Prince Jing's hand in an effort to wiggle his way back
into the prince's good graces. Surely letting Prince Jing get a few squeezes
in would get him out of trouble?
Prince Jing stared, unimpressed.
"Your Imperial Majesty, please believe me. I don't know why Prince
Jing's fish just leaped onto my face…"
Lady Qiu was still in shock as she knelt in front of the emperor,
weeping. She loathed Prince Jing with all her heart, so much that she
wished for his death. Did she fall into his trap? Had Prince Jing acquired a
fish with the ability to resurrect itself for the sole purpose of embarrassing
her in front of the emperor?
This terrifying ordeal had Noble Consort Qiu shocked out of her wits.
She felt like everyone and everything was out to get her.
The emperor rubbed his temples and looked over at Prince Jing,
faintly confused. Prince Jing scoffed and gestured at the bowl, placed not
too far away, with his chin. He'd made sure no one was paying attention
when he put the little carp back in. Since Noble Consort Qiu had bribed
people to slander him, he'd give her a taste of her own medicine. Let her
have a turn at being unable to explain herself.
Prince Jing took another glance at the intriguing little carp that had
managed to create this situation for him. What divine fortune.
The emperor ordered Luo Ruisheng to investigate the scene, only to
be informed that Prince Jing's fish was swimming happily in its bowl. This
time, the emperor was irate. "The noble consort is telling a bald-faced lie!
Prince Jing's fish is clearly still in its bowl!"
Lady Qiu felt all the blood rush to her head. Fury and anxiety
saturated her voice. "Your Imperial Majesty, it's true! That fish flew out just
now!"
The emperor's brows furrowed. "So you're saying a fish can fly. And
not only can it fly, but it flew out, harassed you, and then somehow flew
back?"
At this point, the fish was like a trigger for Noble Consort Qiu. She
nodded furiously. "That's exactly it. Zhao-er saw it too."
"Noble Consort, have you gone mad?" The emperor sighed, disbelief
written all over his face. Lady Qiu had seemed fine before, but all of a
sudden, she was kicking up a fuss, spewing all sorts of foolishness. A fish
that could fly? How was that possible? If she hadn't gone mad, why else
would she talk such nonsense? And even mess up her own hair?
"If you want to make up ridiculous stories, then so be it. But do you
have to try to drag Zhao-er down with you?"
Mu Tianzhao had opened his mouth to corroborate his mother's
account, but on hearing the emperor's words, he shut it again. Noble
Consort Qiu kept shooting him pointed looks, but…since the emperor
didn't believe her, the emperor would only become more upset if he insisted
on backing her up. What was the point of playing the hero for a fleeting
moment?
Mu Tianzhao would give up anything for the position of crown
prince. In a sensible tone, he said, "Royal Father, you're right. I…I did not
see it clearly."
Mu Tianzhao guiltily avoided his mother's look of disbelief. He was
about to become the crown prince—was it wrong to have some self-
preservation?
The emperor said unhappily, "Noble Consort, even Tianzhao agrees.
What do you have to say for yourself?"
Lady Qiu bit her cherry lips. "Your Imperial Majesty, I…I forgot
myself and misspoke. Please forgive me."
Even her own son had turned his back on her, so what else could she
say? She'd had a momentary lapse in judgment? It didn't matter how much
she complained, it was useless if the emperor didn't believe her. The best
thing for her to do now was to keep her head down and wait for the
emperor's anger to dissipate. There was no need to fight with a stupid fish.
Right at the moment that Lady Qiu admitted her folly, Prince Jing's
boot stepped on an embroidered handkerchief. Wang Xi, who had been
following behind Prince Jing, rushed forward and picked the handkerchief
up.
Wang Xi shook the handkerchief out to check who it belonged to and
let out a shocked exclamation.
"Wang Xi, what is your issue?" groaned the emperor, whose head
was beginning to hurt from all these things happening one after another.
Wang Xi said, "Your Imperial Majesty, this servant just picked up the
noble consort's handkerchief…but why does it have fish scales on it?"
As he spoke, Wang Xi raised the handkerchief so that everyone could
see. A handkerchief embroidered with crab apple flowers. Even the emperor
knew it belonged to the noble consort. And just as Wang Xi said, there were
a few fish scales still stuck to it.
Why would the noble consort's handkerchief have fish scales on it?
There was only one fish in all of Qianqing Palace!
Prince Jing's fierce eyes flashed over to the noble consort, his gaze as
sharp as a knife. Wang Xi immediately spoke for the prince. "Fish scales are
part of the fish. They don't fall off for no reason. Did the noble consort do
something to our Master Fish while our prince wasn't here?"
As expected of Prince Jing's spokesperson! A powerful attack from
Wang-gonggong. Li Yu was delighted. But when did he become a master?
He was just a fish!
Master? The emperor was speechless.
Wang Xi beamed as he explained, "Your Imperial Majesty, this
servant heard this from Xiaolinzi first. Xiaolinzi called the noble consort's cat Master Cat. It's only logical for His Highness's fish to be Master Fish."
As the master of the world, the emperor was everyone's master. Was
the noble consort trying to put the cat and the emperor on the same level by
calling it "master"?
"Nonsense. Do not call them that in the future." The emperor glared
at Lady Qiu. "Noble Consort Qiu, what did you do to Prince Jing's fish?
Why are there fish scales on your handkerchief?"
There was no way the noble consort was going to admit she had used
the handkerchief to pick the fish up. She hadn't realized it at first, but the
moment she walked over to look at the fish, the tables had been turning
against her. This fish definitely had it in for her. She'd barely even had time
to do anything to it—the fish was clearly the one who was tormenting her!
Noble Consort Qiu sobbed. "Your Imperial Majesty, why don't you
ask Prince Jing? He was the one who bullied my Piaoxue first…"
"Your Imperial Majesty!"
Throwing everything to the wind, Wang Xi fell to his knees and
declared loudly, "People are always taking advantage of His Highness's
inability to speak in order to frame him. As you know, his injuries take a
long time to heal; it's been true since he was young, all the imperial
physicians know this. When His Highness was changing just now, this
servant noticed a large bruise on his leg. Its position matches the body
shape of that cat. That day, the noble consort's cat ran into His Highness
first—that's why His Highness taught it a lesson. This servant implores
Your Imperial Majesty to believe His Highness!"
A bruise from the cat? Noble Consort Qiu's pupils constricted. Why
hadn't she thought of such a flaw in her plan?
The emperor was very upset to hear that Prince Jing had been
"injured," and he immediately called for an imperial physician to "treat his
injury." Once the doctor confirmed that there really was a bruise, the
emperor was no longer able to contain his ire. "It's just a cat—how dare it
injure a prince?! It seems he was right—it really did deserve it.'"
If the cat was the one who ran into Prince Jing, Xiaolinzi must have
lied. A quick investigation uncovered the truth: he had been bribed by the
noble consort. Qianqing Palace was a bloodbath.
The flames of the emperor's temper surged to a fierce blaze. He
hadn't announced the crown prince yet, and Noble Consort Qiu was already
out for Prince Jing's blood. When she became empress dowager in the
future, would Prince Jing make it out alive?
The emperor confined Lady Qiu to her palace, where she was banned
from coming out without a summons. Originally, he'd been planning to
promote her to imperial noble consort7
soon after her birthday, but he really
didn't feel like it anymore. Even looking at the future crown prince, the
second prince, put him in a foul mood.
Lady Qiu could have never predicted that her carefully planned
scheme would be thwarted in the end by a mere fish.
Li Yu had really gone above and beyond this time. It was rowdy out
there in the palace, and listening to the kerfuffle was making him sleepy.
Thinking there were still a couple pieces of food left at the bottom of the
bowl, Li Yu managed to pull himself together enough to swim over and eat
the fish food. Just as he was about to doze off, he was hit with a feeling that
he had forgotten something.
…Wait, the clear, bright pearl! He'd almost forgotten! Li Yu
immediately flew up to the surface, scanning his surroundings. There it
was! The pearl was sitting all by its lonesome in a corner of the palace. No
one had realized the noble consort's hair ornament was missing a luminous
pearl.
Li Yu was itching to go for it. All he had to do was sneak out and
grab the pearl. Even a touch would be good! Perhaps that would be enough
for a "quest complete."
But just then, Wang Xi strolled over, all smiles, grabbed his bowl,
and headed outside.
What???
It turned out the emperor was still reprimanding Lady Qiu. Prince
Jing didn't have the patience to listen any longer, so he got up to leave. The
little carp that had accompanied him to meet the emperor obviously had to
leave with him too.
"Hey, are you kidding me? I haven't grabbed the pearl…"
Wang Xi was only a few steps away from leaving the palace, bowl in
hand, when he saw the little carp leaning against the rim of the bowl. It
seemed to be staring longingly in a particular direction.
Wang Xi nearly laughed out loud. He shook his head. He must be
imagining things.
As he watched the pearl get farther and farther away from him, his
chances of completing the mission dwindling, Li Yu felt himself deflate.
Right next to him, Prince Jing noted that the little carp looked listless. He
considered for a moment, and then ordered a servant to go and take a look.
Before long, the servant came back holding a pearl.
Prince Jing recognized the luminous pearl; it was the same one the
noble consort wore on her head. He was very sure this was what the little
carp had been looking at, because when he emerged from the side hall after
changing, he saw the little carp flopping after it. It wanted the jewel that
badly?
"Master, Master, please give me the pearl!" An invigorated Li Yu
swam over. He shimmied cutely, trying to cozy up to the prince by
swimming in circles around his hand. It was obvious Li Yu was trying to
kiss up to him.
Did the fish think wiggling cutely a few times would get him the
pearl? It wouldn't be that easy. Prince Jing still had a bone to pick with him.
With a faint smile, Prince Jing slipped the pearl into his sleeve.