Ch 77: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Jing Li’s eyes turned red instantly.

These past days, he often grumbled about the little one growing inside him. One moment, he’d complain that the little fish was growing too slowly, not considerate of his father, and causing him to miss out on going to the city with Qin Zhao. Another time, he’d say that this little creature was ruining his figure, and he wondered if he’d ever get back in shape.

But in the end, it was his child, carried for so long, and he naturally loved it.

How could it be gone after a single night’s sleep?

Jing Li felt his belly carefully. The familiar swelling from carrying a child had completely vanished.

His abdomen was back to its original flatness and firmness, with only a faint ache when he pressed on it, as if the pain was just in the skin, but so slight that, focused on Qin Zhao just now, he barely felt it.

The little fish was really gone.

“…Am I still dreaming?” Jing Li looked up at Qin Zhao and murmured.

Qin Zhao didn’t yet know what had happened. Seeing the young man in his arms suddenly tear up, he anxiously asked, “What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting? Let me check—”

As he placed his hand over Jing Li’s belly, his words halted.

The child… where was the child?

Realizing something, Qin Zhao’s gaze drifted to the pool beside them.

No way…

Noticing Qin Zhao’s gaze, Jing Li looked over too and, with a sluggish expression, opened his mouth, “Did I… deliver the little fish… in the water?”

Qin Zhao: “…”

Jing Li: “…”

Heaven knows, Jing Li was aware that fish give birth with relative ease, but he’d never imagined it’d be this simple. Who just goes to sleep and wakes up with a baby delivered, with no feeling at all?

But there was no time to think about that now.

The pool was fed by a running stream, and Jing Li had no idea when the little fish might have escaped from him. If it had floated off into the creek, it would be a problem.

Qin Zhao didn’t let Jing Li get in the water. He helped him onto a bamboo chair to sit down, rolled up his trousers, and waded into the pool himself, parting the aquatic plants and searching carefully.

Jing Li’s eyes were still red as he waited anxiously on the shore.

Moments later, Qin Zhao straightened up, and Jing Li hurriedly asked, “Did you find it?”

“Mm.” Qin Zhao gave him a reassuring smile, “Come take a look.”

He bent down and parted the plants, revealing a tiny, translucent fish egg about the size of a fingertip, lying quietly amidst the greenery.

“…Come eat something first; stop staring at it.” Qin Zhao brought in the food and saw Jing Li still glued to the fish tank, calling him back with a sigh.

On his way back from the city, he had stopped by Yun Guan Temple and brought back the fish tank Jing Li liked.

He’d intended it for Jing Li to use during pregnancy, but now it was set up to care for a little fish egg instead.

The tank had been filled with fresh water, water plants, and pebbles and placed on Jing Li’s desk. He lay beside it, staring unblinkingly at the little life within.

Qin Zhao had even woven a tiny bed from bamboo leaves, placing it among the stones. The fish egg lay in this little cradle.

This egg was different from ordinary fish eggs, a bit larger and a faint pink, semi-transparent, with a smooth and soft surface, plump and round, though its insides were still too blurry to see.

The surface of the tiny fish egg rose and fell slightly, like the steady breathing of a child in deep sleep.

Jing Li held his breath, as if afraid of disturbing it.

Qin Zhao sighed helplessly, walked over to the table, and, without saying a word, scooped Jing Li up from the chair and carried him to the bed. “Eat first, then get some rest. The little fish isn’t going anywhere.”

Jing Li glanced longingly in the direction of the desk and replied absentmindedly, “I know…”

Qin Zhao: “…”

For the first time, Qin Zhao felt his place in the family was challenged. He consoled himself by thinking that since the little fish was newly born, he couldn’t hold it against him.

Jing Li insisted he felt fine, but since he’d just given birth, Qin Zhao didn’t want to take any chances.

He kept Jing Li from getting out of bed and brought the porridge over to him.

The porridge was made with chicken broth, cooked until soft and fragrant, with the chicken fat skimmed off and only some finely shredded chicken added, making it light and nourishing.

Qin Zhao had already asked around and learned that after childbirth, it’s best to eat more nourishing foods to aid recovery.

However, in this village, conditions were tough, and meat was rare. When a woman gave birth, the most a family could offer was a couple of steamed eggs for the new mother.

After Jing Li finished the porridge, Qin Zhao pressed the boy back into bed before he could return to look at the fish egg. But Jing Li was adamant about watching over it and, unusually, refused to listen to Qin Zhao. Their back-and-forth lasted only a moment before Qin Zhao resigned himself. He moved the small table by the bed aside and brought over a chair to place the fish tank securely on.

Now, Jing Li could lie in bed and turn his head to see his newborn.

This arrangement satisfied both of them. Jing Li lay on his side, tracing patterns on the tank wall with his finger. “When do you think he’ll hatch?”

Jing Li hadn’t expected to give birth to a fish egg.

According to some old folklore, when a human and a spirit had a child, the offspring should be a human baby. He had even worried whether his anatomy, different from that of other twin souls, would affect how he could give birth.

Yet here it was, a tiny creature born so easily.

And it was in the form of a fish egg.

Ordinary fish eggs hatch within a few days, but according to Abbot Jing Chen, koi eggs could take decades before they hatched.

His baby… couldn’t take that long, could he?

“Don’t worry.” Qin Zhao tucked him in, his voice gentle. “I don’t think he’ll make us wait that long.”

Jing Li made a soft sound in response, still a bit uneasy.

He murmured, “I hope he hatches soon.”

After a moment’s pause, he added, “Do you hope he’ll be a boy, a girl, or… a shuang’er?”

In this era, most wouldn’t wish for a child to be born as a shuang’er. After asking, Jing Li realized his question might have been a bit odd, but Qin Zhao replied, “Any is fine.”

Qin Zhao leaned down and kissed Jing Li’s forehead. “No matter what, I’ll love my child as they are.”

After settling his little fish in bed, Qin Zhao finally took a moment to go to the kitchen and eat something himself. When he returned, Jing Li was already asleep.

Jing Li’s childbirth had been easy, with no apparent pain or injury. But even an effortless delivery took some energy. Earlier, he was still riding the excitement of the newborn’s arrival, but now, with everything calming down, he finally felt a bit tired.

Jing Li slept deeply, undisturbed even when Qin Zhao climbed into bed.

Sensing a familiar presence in his sleep, Jing Li instinctively snuggled closer, finding a comfortable position in Qin Zhao’s embrace and continuing to sleep soundly.

Qin Zhao, smiling, held him tightly and then glanced over at the fish tank.

The tiny fish egg lay quietly in its bamboo leaf cradle, its colors even more translucent and beautiful in the sunlight.

Qin Zhao was captivated.

He hadn’t rested properly in days to make it back as quickly as possible; he hadn’t slept at all last night. But he didn’t feel tired at all.

In his arms was his gentle, warm young husband, and beside him, their newborn little one.

It was worth it.

As if sensing his gaze, the little fish egg in the bamboo leaf cradle trembled slightly.

Qin Zhao’s eyes lit up.

The tiny egg seemed to awaken from a dream, its round little body turning as it rolled around in its bamboo leaf bed.

The bed wasn’t big enough to contain all its movement. Sure enough, after a few moments of rolling left and right, the fish egg tumbled off the edge, bouncing onto the pebbles with a slight spring.

Already so mischievous, even at birth.

Qin Zhao shook his head in amusement, reached into the water, lifted the egg, and placed it back into its bamboo cradle.

The little fish egg seemed to tire of playing, rolling in a circle beside his hand and affectionately nudging Qin Zhao’s fingertip before it settled down again.

A small smile played at Qin Zhao’s lips, and an unexpected memory surfaced in his mind.

“You say this fish egg hasn’t hatched in decades, so why did it hatch just as I arrived? Big head, small body—so ugly.”

“All right, not ugly… Can this little fish actually understand me? Will it one day transform into human form?”

“The abbot says you bring good fortune. If you truly become human one day, don’t forget to repay my kindness.”

…

Qin Zhao returned from his recollections.

The fish egg in his memory had been a deeper color, the same vivid red as the little koi’s scales. Back then, Prince Rong had stayed at Yun Guan Temple, and one evening, while admiring the lotus in the courtyard, he had witnessed the fish egg’s hatching.

The newborn koi had been adorable, with a round head and long tail, full of energy, swimming circles around him tirelessly.

Qin Zhao stroked the fish egg gently, chuckling softly.

The Prince Rong of those days would never have imagined that his words would one day come true, unknowingly sealing his own fate.

Mysterious indeed.

The little one was born unexpectedly, and since they didn’t yet know if it was a boy or girl, Jing Li didn’t rush to name him, simply calling him “Xiao Yu” as a nickname for now.

…

About seven or eight days later, Chen Yanan returned, bringing news that Qin Zhao had been named the top scorer in the examination.

No surprise there.

According to Chen Yanan, the second-place finisher in this exam was from a nearby county and was also the top scorer in that county’s exam, having received a recommendation letter from the county magistrate before the provincial exam.

As for why he could only come in second, it was likely due to the significant gap in their abilities.

Several of those who had formed a mutual support group with Qin Zhao performed well, too. Even He Zhixing, who had the lowest score in the county exam, managed to pass among the last few in this exam, making him eligible to register for the college examination.

With this, they could continue supporting each other when Qin Zhao registered for the college examination, saving a lot of trouble.

The college examination, held twice every three years, is presided over by a commissioner appointed by the current emperor. The next one is in August, and missing it would mean waiting another year.

Now, with only a little over three months until the exam, in previous years, some students might have chosen to delay by a year to have more preparation time.

But this year was special.

After passing the college exam, there would be a chance to participate in the township examination.

The township examination is held every three years, with the next one being next year. Skipping this year’s college exam would mean missing the upcoming township exam, with the next chance being three years away.

Chen Yanan didn’t particularly mind this.

The higher one goes in the imperial examination system, the fewer are admitted, and the harder it becomes. Even the village head had repeatedly failed the township exam back in the day, so Chen Yanan didn’t have high expectations.

However, after passing two exams consecutively, his confidence had grown significantly, so he was eager to push forward and complete the college exam.

Whether or not he would participate in the township exam was another matter.

As for the others, Chen Yanan had already asked before, and none of them wanted to miss this college exam.

“He said they’ll stay in the county to study, and I’m planning to go to the county too, to study under Mr. Wu. What about you? Would you like to join us?” Chen Yanan asked.

This time, Qin Zhao, having secured the top spot, didn’t celebrate as grandly as before. He simply invited Chen Yanan to a meal in town, which was their way of marking the occasion.

Qin Zhao shook his head in response. “I’m not going to the county this time.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go; it just wasn’t convenient at the moment.

He hadn’t planned on revealing the existence of the little fish at home to anyone.

“Then are you staying in the village?” Chen Yanan thought about it and muttered to himself, “That makes sense. Since you’re not going to the academy, it doesn’t matter where you study.”

Qin Zhao didn’t respond.

In the village, things weren’t exactly convenient either.

Everyone knew Jing Li was pregnant, and although his child hadn’t been born yet, they just passed it off as the child growing slower than usual, using the timing as a way to keep things under wraps.

But now, it was getting harder to hide.

If they didn’t want anyone to find out, they’d have to go somewhere where no one knew them.

Chen Yanan was still chattering on about something beside him when Qin Zhao suddenly interrupted, “Can you lend me some money?”

Chen Yanan paused mid-sentence, “How much do you need?”

“Two hundred taels.”

Chen Yanan spluttered, “Cough, cough, cough…”

“Brother, Qin, big brother—I’d have to sell myself to come up with that kind of money!” Chen Yanan looked at him with a complicated expression.

Qin Zhao stayed silent, so Chen Yanan continued, “If you really need to borrow money, isn’t there someone more suitable in town?”

“Who?”

“Fang Tianying,” Chen Yanan replied. “That guy’s loaded; he’d definitely be willing to lend it to you.”

…

Qin Zhao returned to the village before nightfall.

He’d originally planned to bring Jing Li with him to town for dinner, but Jing Li had refused. Ever since they’d had the little one, Jing Li rarely left the house.

Not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t want to.

With the little fish egg still in its early form, he felt uneasy leaving it alone at home.

Qin Zhao pushed open the gate to the bamboo courtyard, where several lamps were lit, illuminating the once-quiet courtyard with a warm glow.

There was no one outside; the main house door was open. Qin Zhao went inside, searching until he finally found his little koi in the fish tank.

“What are you doing in the fish tank?” Qin Zhao asked. “I brought you dinner; come out and eat.”

The little koi only flicked its tail, looking up at Qin Zhao with a pleading gaze. “I can’t come out right now; you feed me, won’t you?”

Qin Zhao raised an eyebrow, finally noticing his little koi’s peculiar position.

The koi was lying on the bamboo leaf bed, which wasn’t very big and was almost entirely occupied by him, with barely any space left for the little fish egg inside.

“…Are you…”

Qin Zhao frowned, hesitating before asking, “Are you trying to incubate the egg?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the little fish egg suddenly wriggled out from under the koi’s belly, spun in place, and landed on a pebble.

Qin Zhao could’ve sworn he saw a trace of grievance in the tiny fish egg.