Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork

Li Yu had good reason to want to win Prince Jing over.

He had read the original novel. He knew that although Mu Tianchi was cast as a tyrant, he had not started out as a monster who killed without batting an eye.

When Mu Tianchi was still Prince Jing, he was, at worst, aloof and cold, with little feeling for others. His congenital inability to speak had long since disqualified him from inheriting the throne. Yet the prince least likely to become emperor had climbed toward it step by step, then purged the court and imperial harem in a swift, bloody crackdown. A silent, icy prince had truly become a cruel tyrant who struck terror into the entire realm.

That change had involved a long emotional journey. It had not happened overnight, and its many twists and turns could not be explained in a few words. Since Mu Tianchi was still a prince, his personality had yet to take that tyrannical turn. In other words, this future tyrant had not actually reached the point of lopping off heads at the slightest provocation.

The fact that Mu Tianchi had caught the big white cat but had not put it to death was proof enough.

The big white cat had offended Prince Jing. He had punished it, and the punishment had certainly seemed cold and merciless, but afterward he had let it go rather than spilling its blood on the spot. After he became emperor, that would have been all but impossible. Clearly, the current Prince Jing merely repaid every slight; he was not yet brutal. And wasn't the fact that he had saved Li Yu, a fish, another ready-made example?

So it was easy enough to understand why the system wanted him to complete these tasks: to change the tyrant's disposition.

Taking action while Mu Tianchi was still Prince Jing was better than trying to salvage things after he really became a tyrant.

To complete his task, Li Yu had deliberately swallowed his pride. Since he was going to be Prince Jing's pet fish, taking the initiative to show his owner some affection was perfectly normal.

But getting Prince Jing to recognize enthusiasm in a fish's wiggle-wiggle-wiggle was no easy feat. Li Yu blew bubbles until his mouth ached. He had managed to draw the prince's gaze, but that indifferent expression remained, like an iceberg that would never melt.

Before long, Li Yu was getting tired.

All his hard work had not coaxed so much as a hint of a smile from Prince Jing. Instead, Eunuch Wang Xi, standing behind the prince, let out a little snort of laughter.

"Look, Your Highness. The fish you saved has perked up. It can even sneeze."

Wang Xi poked his broadly smiling face out from behind Prince Jing and cheerfully watched the little carp blowing bubbles.

This fish was rather interesting. It had been so limp and motionless earlier that Wang Xi had thought it would not survive, yet here it was, full of life again after such a short time.

Li Yu: "..."

Hey, get it right! This is a greeting, not a sneeze!

Li Yu blew another bubble at Wang Xi in protest.

What else could he do? Humans could not understand fish language, and swishing his tail hurt. All he could do was keep blowing bubbles.

That only deepened Wang Xi's misunderstanding. The fish was blowing bubbles so often that he began to look worried. He cautiously asked Prince Jing, "Your Highness, could this fish be ill? Why is it sneezing again?"

Li Yu: "..."

You're sneezing! Your whole family's sneezing!

Before Prince Jing could respond, Li Yu, fed up with being misunderstood, angrily blew a long string of bubbles.

Wang Xi immediately grew anxious. "Your Highness, could the fish be choking on water??"

Prince Jing: "..."

Prince Jing could not speak, but he was neither blind nor deaf, and he understood perfectly well what was going on. How could a fish sneeze or choke on water? That shrewd fellow Wang Xi was plainly saying these things for his benefit, to amuse him.

But this fish...

It really was unusually lively.

Mu Tianchi had never seen such a lively fish. As he watched the fish blowing bubbles nonstop in the celadon bowl, with an aquatic leaf draped over its body, the corners of his lips lifted without his realizing it.

"Master! Prince Jing! Look over here! Hurry, look over here!"

Lying beneath his waterweed blanket made it hard to move. After only a moment's hesitation, Li Yu abandoned the blanket he had broken off not long ago and swam happily toward Prince Jing.

The second step of the main quest was to interact with the tyrant. He had just blown several bubbles, but the system had given him no notification. That meant bubbles alone did not count.

This system, which kept giving a poor fish a raw deal, had never told him what it meant by interaction. Li Yu could only feel his way forward and boldly experiment. Opportunities to face Prince Jing like this were rare. He had to make the most of this one, preferably by completing the entire second step in a single go.

It was rather strange, really. Prince Jing could not speak because of a condition he had been born with, while Li Yu spoke fish language that no one could hear. In practice, that left him much the same as someone who could not speak. In a way, he and Prince Jing were fellow sufferers.

But if neither of them could make an audible sound and communication was so difficult, how were they supposed to interact?

Li Yu racked his brains for every little trick he knew. The lush green waterweed beside him suddenly brought the maddeningly catchy Seaweed Dance to mind. Why not perform a little Seaweed Dance for Prince Jing? If there was no interaction, he could create one!

The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

Except—he was still injured. He could not go flailing his fish tail around. In that case, he could keep his lower half still and move only his upper half, where the injuries were milder and did not hurt as much.

No sooner had he thought of dancing than he started. Imagining himself as an adorable strand of seaweed, Li Yu twisted his upper body in exaggerated, undulating waves.

Mu Tianchi and Wang Xi: "..."

Prince Jing stared at the little carp without blinking. He was increasingly convinced there was something unusual about this fish, but with his cold expression, even a little inward surprise seldom showed on his face.

Beside him, Wang Xi felt as though his eyes were being assaulted. He swallowed and managed to say, "Your Highness, this fish... could it be having cramps?"

Actually, Wang Xi's first impression had been that the fish was wriggling around to please Prince Jing. But Eunuch Wang had only ever heard of clever cats and dogs understanding people. Could a fish really be that intelligent?

Reason told him it was impossible, so Eunuch Wang leaned toward cramps.

Li Yu: "..."

You're having cramps! Your whole family's having cramps!!

Wang Xi had ruined the mood over and over again. Li Yu no longer felt like continuing his Seaweed Dance.

He had danced for so long, and still the system had given him no notification at all. Li Yu simply stopped dancing and zipped onto the white stone bed for a short rest.

The first skill he had unlocked after transmigrating into a fish was swimming. By now, he was quite at home rising and sinking through the water.

Prince Jing had been watching him the whole time. When the fish stopped moving, he looked thoughtful.

Wang Xi immediately found a new opening. "Your Highness, why has the fish stopped moving?"

Li Yu: "..."

Being a pet fish was so hard. Why did he keep running into a nitpicker?

Li Yu restrained himself and turned away. He could not keep sulking. He needed to concentrate on completing his task as quickly as possible.

"Hey, System. What counts as interaction?"

Li Yu tried calling out to the system. If even the Seaweed Dance did not count, this task was one hell of a rip-off.

Apparently, even the system could not bear to watch any longer. It gave him a hint: "Interaction means actions exchanged back and forth."

Li Yu: "..."

At last, Li Yu understood why he had worked so hard without managing to complete the second step. From beginning to end, he had been the only fish moving enthusiastically, while Prince Jing had not budged. How could that count as a "back-and-forth" interaction?

Then how could he get Prince Jing to move, too?

Li Yu sank into thought. This was, after all, a tyrant master whom even the Seaweed Dance could not move. Sob, sob, sob. A fish's life was so hard.

While Li Yu focused intently on his problem, Wang Xi kept a constant eye on the fish as well.

Eunuch Wang had an agenda of his own. Prince Jing had personally found this little carp, personally rescued it, and personally brought it to this palace residence. Having served Prince Jing for many years, Wang Xi knew very well that His Highness's heart was even colder than his expression. He seldom cared about anyone or anything. What did it mean that he had acted so out of character and intervened to save this fish?

It meant the fish had caught His Highness's eye. His Highness had taken a little interest in it. He had even ordered Wang Xi to prepare a fishbowl and place the fish inside. Wasn't that exactly what someone keeping a pet fish would do?

Wang Xi did not care what sort of pet he kept. He was so happy he could not stop grinning. His icy Highness was finally showing a little warmth.

Wang Xi had made several rambling remarks, but he did not dare say it outright. He feared that, once it was pointed out, Prince Jing's stubborn streak would kick in and he would refuse to keep the fish. That was why Wang Xi had taken such a roundabout approach.

He noticed that Prince Jing's gaze kept following the little carp. When it wriggled about, the prince had given no clear response, but neither had he immediately turned and left. When the little carp stopped swimming, Prince Jing's expression remained unchanged, yet the corners of his lips, which had finally lifted a fraction, quickly sank again.

That meant he was a little displeased.

Wang Xi saw it and fretted. This was no way to keep a fish. How could simply staring at it nonstop be enough?

Wang Xi reckoned that Prince Jing, who had never kept fish or any other living creature, did not know what to do. He ventured, "Your Highness, this fish... could it be too hungry to move?"

Mu Tianchi shot him a quick glance.

Knowing that meant he was to continue, Wang Xi explained with a smile, "People lose their strength when they're hungry. This old servant was thinking that fish must be like people: they need a full belly to have any energy. I've already prepared some fish food. Why not let me feed it a little?"

Mu Tianchi considered this for a moment, then nodded lightly.

Wang Xi bowed and deftly drew two bamboo boxes from his sleeve. He opened them one after the other. One was filled with red fish food and the other with green, each morsel rolled to the size of a grain of rice.

Mu Tianchi: "..."

Wang Xi pinched out a few morsels and, in front of Prince Jing, scattered them into the blue-and-white porcelain fishbowl.

Deep in thought, Li Yu caught the scent of food. He had not eaten anything since becoming a fish, and his empty stomach immediately began to growl.

Was there something good to eat?

Li Yu looked around. The red and green pellets scattered through the water soon caught his attention. They smelled unbelievably good—more tempting, even, than the delicacies he had eaten before.

He would not have the energy to complete his task on an empty stomach... Having promptly convinced himself, Li Yu swam over and circled one of the red pellets.

This looked like... fish food?

He had heard that some fish food was made from flour and some from insects. He did not know which kind this was, but it smelled so good. He wanted it so badly...

Li Yu despised himself for adapting to a fish's tastes so quickly, even as he practically drooled with hunger.

In the end, appetite conquered pride.

How... did fish eat, again??

Li Yu hesitantly approached and nudged the fish food gently with a fin.

Suddenly—he felt an intense gaze fasten on him.

Li Yu looked up to find Prince Jing's dark eyes staring at him unblinkingly.

Li Yu: "..."

H-he had meant to be a little more refined, to "hold" the fish food in his fins while he ate. But what if Prince Jing noticed something was off...?

Prince Jing might be unable to speak, but his mind was sharp!

Li Yu hurriedly snatched the food into his mouth and slipped beneath his waterweed blanket.

Having to eat like a fish right in front of Prince Jing was inexplicably embarrassing. Better to hide while he ate, then get back to the task afterward.

The savory morsel quickly dissolved in his mouth. Li Yu smacked his lips a few times. Wonderful! It was made from flour!

But why did that rich flavor taste so much like fish-fragrant shredded pork?

...Whatever. As long as Li Yu had something to eat, that was enough. Fish-fragrant shredded pork was a perfectly good flavor. It offered some consolation for his inability to eat human food.

Li Yu quickly finished the entire red pellet, but he was still very hungry. He decided to go out and look for a few more.

Knowing Prince Jing was watching, and afraid the prince would notice something strange, he took only one morsel at a time, sneaking off to eat it before coming out to find another.

Little by little, he discovered that the red fish food was tastier than the green. The green was rather bland.

Meanwhile, Prince Jing watched the little carp eating for quite some time, his gaze intent and unreadable.

For an instant just now, he had actually thought the way the little carp nudged its food with a fin looked somewhat human.

But very soon, he could no longer quite make it out.

Author's Note:

Prince Jing keeps a fish, but Wang Xi is the one who worries most. Hahaha!

Mini Theater:

Li Yu: The red fish food is yummy. Master, I want lots of red! (Raises a fin.)

Prince Jing: Be good. There'll be even tastier things later. Do you want some?

I made up the fish-fragrant shredded pork fish food. Don't take it seriously~~

There's actually no fish in fish-fragrant shredded pork, just like there are no wives in wife cakes!