Ch 50: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Jing Li had long known that Qin Zhao could be quite wicked in certain ways, but he hadn’t expected that this wickedness would reach its peak in the bedroom.

Qin Zhao kissed Jing Li tenderly, starting from his trembling eyelids and slowly making his way down, eventually capturing Jing Li’s helplessly parted lips, effectively silencing him.

By the time Qin Zhao let him go, Jing Li was left speechless.

Even before his transmigration, Jing Li had never been so overwhelmed. Qin Zhao, using just one hand, completely controlled him, yet refused to grant him any relief. Instead, he patiently whispered in his ear, asking if he liked being teased like this, asking which pressure felt the best.

Jing Li was nearly driven to the point of reverting to his original form.

But Qin Zhao simply said, “Hold on.”

Tears welled up in Jing Li’s eyes as he tilted his head back, exposing his vulnerable neck, with faint red scales appearing here and there. Qin Zhao hadn’t even untied his clothes, merely slipping his hand inside, making Jing Li shiver uncontrollably from the heat.

“This is your punishment,” Qin Zhao said.

Despite Qin Zhao’s tendency to tease, when it came to giving satisfaction, he was more than capable. Not long after, Jing Li, blushing furiously, tossed the soiled clothes and bedsheets into a basin and took them out to the courtyard to wash.

Qin Zhao leaned against the newly changed bed, listening to the soft sounds of water from the courtyard, and started to feel like something wasn’t quite right.

But what choice did he have? His little wife wouldn’t even let him get out of bed.

Qin Zhao sighed, planning to have a good talk with Jing Li when he returned.

He wanted to explain that while he was still somewhat weak, he was perfectly capable of doing some household chores; it wasn’t like he couldn’t get out of bed. And that just because he couldn’t exert himself too much didn’t mean they couldn’t be intimate at all—there were certainly ways to make it less strenuous, and he didn’t mind giving them a try.

But all those plans went out the window when his little husband finished washing the clothes, climbed into bed, and snuggled into his arms with a flushed face.

His little husband was so obedient, he decided not to trouble him further.

There was plenty of time.

However, the days ahead weren’t as easy for Qin Zhao as he had imagined.

At first, Jing Li had been cautious, avoiding too much physical contact with Qin Zhao out of concern. But as the days passed and Qin Zhao’s complexion improved, even to the point of joining him in harvesting vegetables and delivering them to the Fang family, Jing Li finally felt at ease.

Even though he knew it was the effect of the pills, Jing Li was reassured that he wasn’t negatively impacting Qin Zhao’s health.

Before his transmigration, Jing Li was not yet twenty, at the peak of his energy. Having now tasted the sweetness of intimacy, he became even more attached to Qin Zhao than before.

Though he was shy about expressing it, his actions spoke volumes.

Nights were one thing, but even during the day, he constantly wanted to be close. When Qin Zhao read, Jing Li would stay by his side, serving tea and water. When Qin Zhao cooked, Jing Li would help with small tasks. And before going to the fields or the market, he’d always ask for a kiss from Qin Zhao.

At first, it was fine, but as time went on, Qin Zhao started to feel a bit overwhelmed.

Especially since this little fish only cared about his own satisfaction, running off after a kiss without giving Qin Zhao any chance to reciprocate.

It wasn’t that Jing Li did it on purpose.

Sometimes, when he was close to Qin Zhao, he could feel Qin Zhao pressing against him. Of course, he wanted to reciprocate, but he still remembered Old Dr. Xue’s advice: Qin Zhao’s body was still weak and couldn’t afford to lose too much energy.

So, Qin Zhao would just have to endure for a little while longer.

“I’m heading to the fields now,” Jing Li said softly, leaning in for a sweet kiss.

Qin Zhao tightened his grip around Jing Li’s waist, his lips brushing against Jing Li’s as he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Jing Li, who was sitting on Qin Zhao’s lap, could clearly feel a certain change pressing against his thigh. His eyes darted away. “No need, I’m just going to harvest some corn. You can’t really help with that, so just rest at home.”

Thanks to the Fang family’s purchases, most of the vegetables in the fields had already been sold. These days, the corn in the fields had ripened, and after selling the vegetables, Jing Li had been busy harvesting the corn.

Qin Zhao frowned slightly. “The corn still isn’t fully harvested?”

“Almost… almost done,” Jing Li replied, looking a bit guilty.

Qin Zhao felt that something was off.

That patch of corn was planted by Li Dali, and it was less than half an acre. Did it really need five days to harvest?

Qin Zhao said, “Let me help you.”

“No!” Jing Li firmly opposed. “You’re just starting to feel better, and Dr. Xue said you need to rest more. How can you go work in the fields? Don’t worry about me. I’ll finish it today, really.”

Qin Zhao lowered his eyes. “Alright then…”

He took Jing Li’s hand and noticed a small rough patch on the area between his thumb and forefinger—a scar from when Jing Li had hurt himself working in the fields.

The scabbed wound itched slightly under Qin Zhao’s touch, making Jing Li flinch, though he didn’t pull his hand away.

Qin Zhao said, “You’ve been working hard.”

“It’s not hard at all.” Jing Li wrapped his arms around Qin Zhao’s neck and nuzzled against his shoulder. “Get better soon, then you can come help me.”

Most of the vegetables in the field had been sold, and the remaining ones that could be stored longer had been picked by Jing Li and brought home. The field was now more than half empty. Qin Zhao had bought some new vegetable seeds suitable for planting in this season, but he reduced the amount significantly this time.

Firstly, his body hadn’t fully recovered, so Jing Li was doing most of the farm work, and Qin Zhao couldn’t bear to let him do too much.

Secondly, Linxi Village would start planting wheat in the fall. If they used the field to grow vegetables now, by the time the vegetables matured, they would miss the best time for sowing wheat.

They had debated several times about whether or not to plant wheat.

Wheat required more attention and effort than vegetables. When they initially rented the land, Qin Zhao hadn’t yet decided to take the imperial exams, so he had plenty of free time.

Now, however, things were a bit more complicated.

The student exams involved three rounds: the county exam in February, the provincial exam in April, and the academy exam in August.

The county exam in February was held in the county town, so the travel time wouldn’t be much of an issue. But May was typically the time for harvesting wheat, and by then, Qin Zhao would likely be in the provincial capital.

“But you have me,” Jing Li said, not seeing any problem. “I’m pretty good at farm work now. I’ll accompany you to the provincial capital for your exam in April, and when we return, we’ll still have time to harvest.”

On this matter, Qin Zhao uncharacteristically gave in to Jing Li and agreed.

“Alright, I really should be heading out now,” Jing Li said. “If I don’t go soon, I won’t finish before it gets dark.”

Though he said that, he didn’t make any move to leave.

Qin Zhao held his gaze for a moment, then pulled him into an embrace and kissed him.

After the kiss, Jing Li, now satisfied, skillfully slipped out of Qin Zhao’s arms. “You’ve just taken your medicine, so go rest for a while. I’ll be back by the time you wake up.”

With that, he turned and walked out into the courtyard.

Qin Zhao: “…”

He’s getting better and better at teasing and then running away.

Jing Li closed the courtyard gate, but instead of heading to the fields, he walked straight in the opposite direction.

Qin Zhao didn’t sleep for long. Recently, he had begun to adjust to the effects of the medicine, so he didn’t always feel drowsy after taking it.

When Jing Li hadn’t returned, Qin Zhao went to the courtyard to wash his face, then returned to the bedroom.

There were several books laid out on the desk.

After feeling a bit better, Qin Zhao had contacted the bookstore in town and resumed copying books. It was no longer the right season to gather herbs in the mountains, so this was his only source of income. He couldn’t possibly rely entirely on his little fish to support the household.

Qin Zhao spread out the paper and began copying.

The books sent from the bookstore were mostly study materials for next year’s imperial exams, so Qin Zhao took the opportunity to recite them from memory while copying.

Strangely, although there were some books he had never heard of before, once he read them through, he could recall and recite them fluently, as if he had once known them by heart.

Had he… really studied these books before?

Perhaps it was the effects of the Chenhuan San gradually wearing off, but recently, Qin Zhao had been dreaming more frequently, and the dreams were becoming increasingly chaotic. These scattered memories still couldn’t be pieced together, but they were giving Qin Zhao a vague sense of foreboding.

It felt as if… once he truly recovered those memories, they might bring some sort of trouble.

Qin Zhao put down his pen and pressed his fingers to his brow.

None of this, however, deterred Qin Zhao from continuing his search.

He wanted to understand what those fragmented memories meant, to know who he really was, and most importantly, to find out who had turned him into this.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

“…Qin Zhao, cough, cough, are you there?”

During the transition from summer to autumn, many people in the village fell ill. Ever since the villagers learned that Qin Zhao had some medical knowledge, they often sought him out for consultations and prescriptions, finding it more convenient than going to Huai Xia Village.

Qin Zhao got up to open the gate, and sure enough, it was a villager from Linxi Village.

At a glance, Qin Zhao could tell the man’s condition and invited him inside.

“It’s a cold,” Qin Zhao said as he released the villager’s wrist after taking his pulse. “I’ll prescribe you two doses of medicine. Boil them at home and take them twice a day. Your family should take the medicine as well.”

The villager’s voice was hoarse. “This illness is contagious?”

“Yes, colds are most easily contracted during the summer-autumn transition, so it’s important to take preventive measures,” Qin Zhao explained.

“I’ll have to be careful then. My son is only two years old, and I don’t want him catching it too.”

Qin Zhao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll prescribe an additional dose for your child, suitable for young children.”

“Thank you, thank you.” The villager thanked him profusely and insisted on giving him some payment.

Qin Zhao originally didn’t charge the villagers for medical consultations, but recently, with so many people falling ill and seeking his help, the villagers felt it was only right to offer something in return. After a while, they began to bring payment on their own.

Qin Zhao didn’t refuse, accepting the payment and seeing the villager out of the courtyard.

As the villager was leaving, he mentioned, “Oh, by the way, I probably caught this from Uncle Lin a couple of days ago. I noticed your husband has been over there these past few days too. Make sure he takes some medicine so he doesn’t get sick and pass it on to you.”

Qin Zhao frowned. “He’s been at Uncle Lin’s house?”

“You didn’t know?” the villager replied, coughing. “Uncle Lin’s whole family came down with colds, and they haven’t been able to work in the fields. Your husband has been helping them out for the past few days. Didn’t you send him there?”

Qin Zhao fell silent.

He was aware that Uncle Lin was sick—he had helped prescribe the medicine for him—but as for Jing Li…

How did that little guy end up doing farm work at someone else’s house?

Qin Zhao didn’t offer much explanation, simply smiling and saying, “Yes, that was me. I almost forgot.”

The villager didn’t suspect anything and left after thanking him.

Qin Zhao stood there for a moment, deep in thought, then decided to head out as well.

He went straight to Uncle Lin’s house.

The door was tightly shut, and the sound of coughing could be heard from inside. Qin Zhao knocked on the gate, and a hoarse voice came from within: “Who is it? We’re all sick right now, no visitors.”

Qin Zhao replied, “It’s me, Qin Zhao.”

Uncle Lin opened the door, but he didn’t come out. Instead, he asked from a distance, “Qin Zhao, what brings you here? Cough, cough…”

Qin Zhao thought for a moment and calmly replied, “I wanted to ask if my husband is here.”

Uncle Lin said, “Your husband is probably out in the fields right now. We’ve been so grateful that you let him come help us these past few days. Otherwise, I don’t know who would have taken care of the crops in our fields.”

“Oh, wait a moment.” Uncle Lin went back inside and counted out a few copper coins, then handed them to Qin Zhao over the fence. “This is your husband’s wages for these days. We agreed on ten coins a day for watering and weeding.”

Qin Zhao glanced at the coins; there were at least forty or fifty, which matched the amount for the past four or five days.

Helping with farm work in the village wasn’t a bad thing. Even if Jing Li had told Qin Zhao directly, he wouldn’t have objected.

So why did Jing Li hide it from him?

Qin Zhao didn’t take the money, saying instead, “Uncle Lin, you should give it directly to him. All the money in our household is managed by him.”

Uncle Lin smiled knowingly. “I understand. It’s the same in my household.”

Uncle Lin put away the coins and added, “By the way, he asked me the other day if there was any other work in the village. Are you short on money for medicine again? If you’re really having trouble, I can lend you some. Don’t let your husband run around working so much—he’s still young and frail. He shouldn’t be exhausting himself like this every day.”

Qin Zhao shook his head, feeling puzzled.

Since Jing Li had taken over managing the money, Qin Zhao rarely asked about it.

But Jing Li always reported to him how much he earned and spent each day.

Qin Zhao hadn’t needed to spend money on medicine recently, and they had sold plenty of vegetables from the field, not to mention the payment Qin Zhao had just received from the bookstore for the last batch of copied books.

Why was the little guy so eager to make money?

Qin Zhao didn’t say much, but he did ask Uncle Lin not to mention his visit to Jing Li. Then he turned and went home.

Family matters, after all, should be discussed privately behind closed doors, without involving outsiders.

When Jing Li got home, it was already dusk.

He carried a basket of corn on his back and quietly pushed open the courtyard gate, peeking his head inside.

Qin Zhao was sitting in a bamboo chair reading a book. Hearing the noise, he looked up and said, “What are you looking at? Come in already.”

Jing Li responded with an “Oh” and walked in with the corn on his back.

Great, Qin Zhao hadn’t gone out looking for him.

After finishing the watering at Uncle Lin’s house, Jing Li had also stopped by the Wang family’s place on the east side of the village to help cut some pigweed. By the time he finished, it was already getting late. Fortunately, he had already harvested the corn from their own field over the past few days, so he could head straight home.

Jing Li piled the corn he brought back in a corner of the yard and went inside to change clothes.

Corn stores well and, if properly stored, can last until winter, so Jing Li didn’t plan on selling it. Besides, according to their earlier agreement, half of the corn from the field would be given to Li Dali’s family.

Jing Li filled a bucket with water, transformed back into his original form, and rolled around in the water, cleaning himself thoroughly before changing into clean clothes. Just as he finished, Qin Zhao came into the room, grabbed a towel, and helped him dry his hair.

Qin Zhao asked, “Was today tiring?”

“Not tired,” Jing Li replied. His skin was fair and radiant, and despite working in the fields every day, he hadn’t tanned like the other farmers. He glanced at Qin Zhao through the bronze mirror, his eyes bright. “I’ve already harvested the last of the corn from the fields, and I’ve arranged for a family to come collect the stalks. They’ll be here tomorrow.”

Qin Zhao nodded, his gaze lowering just in time to catch sight of Jing Li’s hand tucked inside his sleeve.

There was a spot of red on his index finger—it looked like an injury.

Qin Zhao frowned and reached out to grab his wrist. “What happened to your hand?”

Jing Li instinctively tried to pull back, but he couldn’t break free.

When Qin Zhao lifted his wrist, he realized there wasn’t just one wound on Jing Li’s hand.

Several small cuts marked his fingertips, the blood had already clotted, but the wounds stood out starkly against his fair skin.

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Jing Li said, feeling a bit guilty. “I accidentally hurt myself while working.”

In truth, these were cuts from the sharp blades of grass when he was cutting pigweed.

It was Jing Li’s first time doing this task, and he wasn’t experienced, nor did anyone teach him. At first, he didn’t pay attention, and it wasn’t until he had finished cutting all the grass that he realized his hands were covered in cuts.

Qin Zhao asked, “Did this happen while picking corn?”

“Y-yes,” Jing Li stammered, almost unable to meet Qin Zhao’s gaze. He braced himself and added, “I’ll be more careful next time. Please don’t be angry…”

Qin Zhao could tell that these weren’t the kind of injuries one would get from harvesting corn, nor from watering Uncle Lin’s fields. The little guy had likely taken on more work in the village.

His eyes darkened slightly, but he didn’t say anything, instead turning to the bedside to fetch the medicine box.

Jing Li called out to him cautiously, “Qin Zhao…”

“I’m not angry,” Qin Zhao sighed.

He retrieved the ointment and returned to Jing Li, gently taking his hand and carefully applying the medicine.

Jing Li continued to explain, “…These cuts will heal by tomorrow, really. You don’t need to worry or be concerned…”

His ability to recover had always been good. The wounds he got last time when he went into the mountains to find herbs healed completely in just two or three days, without leaving a single scar.

After carefully applying medicine and bandaging all of Jing Li’s wounds, Qin Zhao finally said, “As a punishment, you’re not allowed to do any work for three days, no matter the reason.”

Jing Li lowered his eyes and obediently replied, “Understood.”

Seeing Jing Li’s submissive behavior, Qin Zhao recalled what Uncle Lin had mentioned and hinted, “If there’s anything you want, you can tell me directly. I’ll buy it for you.”

There’s no need to make yourself suffer like this.

Jing Li was startled.

Why did Qin Zhao suddenly ask this?

Did he find out?

Jing Li’s expression stiffened slightly, and he forced a smile. “I-I know…”

He then asked, “By the way, enough about me—how are you feeling today? No discomfort? And you didn’t… didn’t go out wandering, did you?”

The guilt in Jing Li’s eyes was clear, and Qin Zhao knew what he was really asking.

“No,” Qin Zhao replied with a gentle smile. “I slept all afternoon, and I slept very well.”

Since his little fish didn’t want to reveal what was going on, he must have his reasons, and Qin Zhao saw no need to expose him.

Hearing this, Jing Li visibly relaxed. When Qin Zhao got up to put the medicine away, Jing Li reached out and stopped him.

Qin Zhao had made quite a fuss, wrapping Jing Li’s hands completely in bandages, which looked a bit alarming.

Using the small bit of his fingertips that remained uncovered, Jing Li gently scratched Qin Zhao’s palm and softly said, “Um, is that all for the punishment…?”

Here we go again.

After not seeing him all afternoon, the little guy came back with injured hands, now trying to win some favor.

Qin Zhao bent down, lifted Jing Li’s chin, and gazed into his eyes. “The punishment is enough as it is, no bargaining.”

Jing Li averted his eyes and mumbled, “Oh…”

“But, there’s something else I can give you.”

“Hmm?”

Qin Zhao lowered his head and kissed his slightly parted lips.

“This isn’t punishment, it’s comfort.”

“You’ve worked hard these past few days.”