Ch 35: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

The next morning, Jing Li opened his eyes and immediately realized he was still sleeping in Qin Zhao’s arms.

Qin Zhao hadn’t woken up yet.

Jing Li looked up at him, seeing Qin Zhao lying quietly beside him, his eyes slightly closed. From Jing Li’s angle, he could clearly see each of Qin Zhao’s distinct, slightly curled eyelashes.

Even after living together for so long, Jing Li still found himself a bit dazed.

He had never seen anyone as handsome and attractive as Qin Zhao.

And it wasn’t just his appearance—his knowledge, his integrity, his kindness—everything about him was impeccable.

And yet… this person treated him so well.

Jing Li stared blankly at that sleeping face, and before he knew it, his hand reached out on its own, gently poking Qin Zhao’s face.

Warm, firm, smooth.

That face was quite thin, which might be the only thing imperfect about Qin Zhao. Jing Li couldn’t help but wonder what he would look like if he weren’t ill.

“…What are you thinking about?” Qin Zhao had opened his eyes at some point, his voice carrying the slight raspiness of early morning.

Jing Li, caught off guard by Qin Zhao’s gaze, shivered and instinctively tried to back away.

But Qin Zhao still had one arm around his waist, cutting off any retreat.

Jing Li was too nervous to look up and mumbled softly, “I wasn’t… I wasn’t thinking about anything.”

Qin Zhao clearly didn’t believe him.

But he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he raised the hand that had been around Jing Li’s waist and gently pinched Jing Li’s face, casually saying, “Just returning the favor.”

Then he got up and started putting on his clothes.

Jing Li stayed in the same position, motionless, realizing after a moment that his ears were burning. Frustrated, he touched his ears, and by then, Qin Zhao had already handed him his clothes. “We agreed to go to town today. Get dressed quickly.”

They had just moved into the new house, and there were still some things they needed to buy.

Like plants for the garden.

They took a cart to town, with Jing Li handling the payment, and then they headed to the market.

Ever since deciding to let Jing Li manage the money, Qin Zhao had stuck to his word, not keeping even a single coin for himself.

In town, there was a flower market where the entrance of the small shops was lined with all kinds of flowers.

“Eight coins for this packet of seeds?” Jing Li was incredulous. “That’s way too expensive…”

The shop owner, a kind-looking middle-aged woman, wasn’t offended by Jing Li’s comment. She simply said, “These are begonia seeds. This is the perfect time of year to plant them, and a single blooming plant can sell for dozens of coins.”

“Um…” Jing Li looked troubled.

The packet had about twenty seeds, and even if half of them sprouted, it would be considered good.

To fill their courtyard, they’d need at least three or four packets.

The shop also sold seedlings, but those were several times more expensive than the seeds—way out of their budget.

Jing Li, managing the money on his first trip to town, was facing a huge challenge.

He turned to look at Qin Zhao behind him, who simply smiled at him and said, “If you want them, just buy them.”

The flower shop owner chimed in, “Exactly, this flower blooms beautifully, and both the nectar and petals can be used to make desserts. Your husband said it’s fine to buy them, so what’s there to worry about?”

“He’s not my—” Jing Li instinctively started to deny it, but Qin Zhao gently hooked his finger around Jing Li’s.

Jing Li pressed his lips together and didn’t continue speaking.

…Do they really have to keep up the act even here?

Jing Li stayed silent, but the hand holding his didn’t let go either.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jing Li’s eyes wandered around before landing on another type of flower seeds on the counter. “How much are those?”

The flower shop owner, still watching their clasped hands with a smile, brought the seeds over for Jing Li to see. “These are mixed flower seeds, only two coins a packet. They don’t sprout as much, but each packet has more than twice the amount of seeds as the other ones.”

A packet for two coins, three packets for six coins.

These seeds were mostly wildflowers, with various types mixed in. Some were common, but occasionally, you’d get a rare one—it all depended on luck.

However, since the seeds were mixed with different types of flowers, planting and caring for them wouldn’t be as easy as a single type of seed.

But Jing Li was very satisfied.

After all, these were just for decorating the courtyard. Even though they would take more effort to care for, the end result would be more impressive.

“Is this okay?” Jing Li asked Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao calmly replied, “It’s all up to you, my dear.”

Jing Li: “…”

Under the shop owner’s teasing gaze, Jing Li bought three packets of seeds. The shop owner even threw in a small packet of rose seeds as a gift, wishing them a long and happy life together.

Jing Li left the shop in a manner that almost resembled a hasty retreat.

Knowing that his little fish wasn’t good at handling teasing, Qin Zhao didn’t say anything further. He politely thanked the shop owner before stepping out.

After buying the seeds, they headed to the bookstore to purchase some books.

There were two bookstores in town, and Qin Zhao took Jing Li to the one he was more familiar with.

It was still early, so the bookstore wasn’t busy. The shop assistant was standing by the door, wiping down the bookshelves. Seeing Qin Zhao enter, he greeted him warmly, “Qin Zhao, how have you been feeling lately?”

Qin Zhao nodded, “Better.”

“I thought so, you look much better than you did in the winter,” the assistant said. “It’s perfect that you’re here. Just a few days ago, our shopkeeper was talking about how the booklist for next year’s imperial exams was released in the prefecture. There are a few books that are selling fast, so he wanted me to bring the samples to you to copy.”

Most of the books sold at the bookstore were printed, but they were expensive, and with so many books required for the exams, many people couldn’t afford them. Buying handwritten copies was a more affordable alternative.

However, copying books paid much less than editing—only about fifty coins per book.

The advantage was that copying books required much less effort than editing.

And since Qin Zhao planned to take the imperial exams next year, he needed to study those books anyway.

Qin Zhao asked about the titles, then nodded, “No problem. Have the shopkeeper prepare them and send them directly to the village.”

“You’re always so straightforward. By the way, this is…?” The assistant’s gaze shifted to Jing Li.

Qin Zhao replied, “This is my husband. We’re here today to buy some introductory learning books.”

“Hu… Husband?” The assistant exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, you’ve been busy! It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already got yourself a husband?!”

Qin Zhao just smiled without answering.

The shop assistant made a few more playful comments as he led them inside. “Just follow this path to the end and turn right; the beginner’s textbooks are all the way in the back.”

Qin Zhao led Jing Li forward, but Jing Li kept his head down, staying silent. Qin Zhao leaned in slightly, asking quietly, “Are you upset?”

The bookstore was very quiet, and Qin Zhao kept his voice low.

“N-no,” Jing Li replied, averting his gaze.

He just felt that Qin Zhao was getting way too comfortable with calling him his husband.

Even though he knew they were just pretending in front of others, Jing Li couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. He quickly changed the subject. “Let’s just find the books.”

Jing Li had only learned a few characters over the past few days, but he was still far from being able to understand the texts, so he let Qin Zhao do the choosing.

Qin Zhao picked out two beginner’s books for learning characters and then grabbed a few more books for the imperial exams. Just as he was about to call Jing Li back to the counter, something else caught his eye.

In the middle of one of the shelves, a brightly displayed row of popular storybooks caught his attention.

At the very top was the third volume of Secrets of the Spring Boudoir.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Jing Li was still engrossed in flipping through some books, trying to recognize any characters he knew, and didn’t notice him. Qin Zhao’s eyes flickered slightly before he discreetly pulled out one of the storybooks and slipped it in among the books he had selected for the exams.

As the assistant tallied up the books, he chatted away, “So, you’ve finally decided to take the imperial exams? Our boss has been saying you should try it for ages. It would be a waste of such talent if you didn’t! Sigh, our boss’s son is about to take the scholar’s exam for the third time next year. Who knows if he’ll pass this time.”

The bookstore assistant was quite the talker and could go on endlessly. When he picked up the copy of Secrets of the Spring Boudoir, he paused, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, so you read this too?”

Jing Li looked up.

Since handwritten books could have errors, Qin Zhao prudently bought only printed copies. The printed books in the store mostly looked the same—dark blue covers with the title written on them, making them hard to tell apart just by looking.

But the book in the assistant’s hand had a bit of decoration on the cover. It was not only thinner than the other books but also had a lighter-colored cover.

Jing Li didn’t recognize the characters on it, so he asked, “Is this also a book for the imperial exams?”

Qin Zhao’s expression remained perfectly calm and untroubled, and he nodded. “Yes.”

The assistant: “?”

Qin Zhao lifted his eyelids slightly, giving the assistant a meaningful look.

The assistant: “…”

Understanding dawned on the assistant, and he nodded at Jing Li. “Yes, it’s for the exams.”

Printed books were much more expensive than handwritten ones, and the stack of books cost over five hundred coins. However, Jing Li never hesitated to spend money on important things, so he happily paid the bill, and then he and Qin Zhao left the shop carrying their books.

As the two left, the assistant watched their backs, muttering, “He looked like a serious guy.”

He shook his head with a smirk, clicked his tongue, and then pulled out his own copy of Secrets of the Spring Boudoir to read in a corner.

Qin Zhao and Jing Li wandered around the market for a while longer, buying some daily necessities, before taking the ox cart back to the village.

They went to the fields first to check on them. Just as they had been told, the damaged seedlings had been replanted, and even the other vegetables had been tended to, with water carefully sprinkled over them.

“It must have been Brother Da Li who did it,” Jing Li said.

Qin Zhao nodded.

Li Dali was an honest man, so his actions didn’t come as a surprise to Qin Zhao.

By taking care of the fields, Li Dali had saved them a lot of trouble. The two of them walked around the fields and, finding nothing else that needed tending, headed home.

As they approached the bamboo courtyard, they noticed a figure sitting at the gate.

It was Li Dali.

It was already nearing noon, and the sun was blazing. Li Dali had clearly been sitting there for some time, as his forehead was covered in sweat.

When he saw Qin Zhao coming from the direction of the fields, he immediately realized that they had already checked the fields. He scratched his nose awkwardly, saying, “I took the opportunity to help out a bit when I was replanting the seedlings yesterday.”

Qin Zhao nodded and opened the gate. “Come in and sit.”

Jing Li busied himself with putting away the things they had bought that day, while Qin Zhao invited Li Dali to sit at the table, pouring him a cup of water. “Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

Li Dali was extremely thirsty. He gulped down the entire cup of water before sheepishly smiling. “It’s about my younger brother.”

Qin Zhao remained silent, refilling his cup.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Dali continued, “A Yu has always been a bit of a troublemaker, and even his father can’t control him. But he really dotes on A Xiu, his younger sister, so that’s why he…”

Li Dali wasn’t a man of many words and let out a sigh. “The little rascal got a good scolding from our father yesterday and knows he was wrong. Qin Zhao, if you want any compensation, just say the word. Whatever we can do, we’ll do.”

Qin Zhao looked at him for a moment without responding, then simply said, “Wait here a moment,” before heading into the bedroom.

A few moments later, he returned and placed a few copper coins in front of Li Dali. “This is for the weeding and watering you helped with. Take it.”

Li Dali frowned, asking, “Qin Zhao, what do you mean by this?”

Qin Zhao replied, “Replanting the seedlings was something your family owed as compensation. But for the other tasks, I can’t accept the help without giving something in return.”

“You…” Li Dali was puzzled by his intentions. “So you’re not going to pursue this any further?”

Qin Zhao sat down at the table, calmly saying, “As for the issue between Li Hongyu and me, if he knows he was wrong, then why aren’t he coming to me?”

Li Dali was momentarily at a loss for words.

Qin Zhao continued, “This matter concerns Li Hongyu alone. It’s not right for you to speak on his behalf. I appreciate your intentions, Brother Dali, but whether it’s an apology or a discussion, it should be him coming to me directly.”

“…If there’s nothing else, please take your leave.”