Chapter 86
“Actually, I really didn’t expect to get married so soon …” Li Yu said with a smile.
King Jing, “…”
King Jing was very depressed. He had long realized that Xiaoyu had never mentioned anything about her status in front of him. As a demon, she didn’t care about such things. Why didn’t Xiaoyu want to marry him even though she had already given birth to a fish cub?
King Jing felt even more uneasy. He lowered his eyes and gripped the marriage contract tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.
It was true that Li Yu didn’t want to be a princess consort or an empress in the future. This was the truth. He was still very young, and his vision for the future was more about being in love with each other and being down-to-earth. He didn’t want to fight for a title or status for himself. Moreover, in his original world, men couldn’t get married, so Li Yu didn’t think there was anything wrong with this.
However, he also sensed that King Jing’s mood had become gloomy. He knew that he had said too much, so he quickly asked for the marriage contract back.
“Although I didn’t think of it, I didn’t say no either.” Li Yu, who had said the wrong thing, quickly corrected himself.
King Jing raised his head and looked at him with his dark eyes. Li Yu didn’t know why, but he actually sensed a trace of grievance in the other party’s eyes, and his heart trembled.
King Jing … Was he acting coquettishly with him?
Li Yu stammered, “Your Highness, please don’t be like this. I, I promise you!”
After Li Yu finished speaking, King Jing still didn’t move, as if he had been wronged to the extreme.
Li Yu’s heart softened, and he hurriedly wrote his name on the blank space on the other side of the marriage contract.
In addition to a signature, a seal was also required. Li Yu didn’t have a seal, so he was looking for an inkpad to stamp his name on. King Jing silently took out a small seal from his sleeve and handed it to Li Yu.
This small seal was carved out of crystal, and the top of the crystal was embedded with a lively little goldfish. Li Yu’s name was printed on it.
Li Yu, “?? Your Highness even prepared this! ”
King Jing nodded and gave the seal to Li Yu.
Li Yu immediately used such a beautiful seal. Then, together with King Jing, they pressed their fingerprints on each other’s seals.
The moment the handprint fell, his heart raced. He thought of Ye Qinghuan and his wife, and the commoner couple he saw in town. He was about to be like them and start a family in the truest sense.
What he felt at this moment was not hesitation, nor was it worry about the future. Instead, it was the faint joy of having the dust settled.
Only then did she realize how blissful it was to marry the one she loved.
King Jing read the marriage contract again. After confirming that there was no mistake, he handed the marriage contract to Li Yu for safekeeping.
Although the marriage of the prince was decided by the Emperor, the marriage contract written by the Emperor was still valid.
This was enough for the Emperor to clearly see his intentions.
Don’t worry, leave Imperial Father to me.
King Jing gave Li Yu a note.
“I’m not worried. Your Highness, don’t be too anxious.”
Li Yu was really not worried. Since he had signed the marriage contract, the position of Princess Consort and Empress would naturally be his. He did not doubt King Jing’s feelings for him, but it would not be easy for him, who had no background, to request for a title for him. Li Yu was quite open-minded. If the Emperor did not agree this time, he would wait for King Jing to ascend the throne.
“Your Highness, you don’t have to force yourself. If things don’t go well, just let it go. I can wait. It’s okay.” Li Yu was half hinting and half encouraging.
King Jing shook his head. He knew that Xiaoyu did not care about these things, so he would care for Xiaoyu.
I have my ways. King Jing kept him in suspense.
Since he hinted like this, Li Yu was also full of confidence and looked forward to it.
Since Li Yu had signed the marriage contract, King Jing asked Wang Xi to start preparing for the wedding. It was still too rushed to consummate the marriage. King Jing wanted to compensate Xiaoyu with a formal wedding. He had personally written the memorial and sent it to the Imperial City. On the other hand, his arrangements were also in full swing. He believed that by the time the imperial edict arrived, everything would be ready.
King Jing would plan for the outside world. Li Yu just had to wait. Right now, he had a more important task, which was to raise the fish.
King Jing could help him incubate the fish, but he could not help him teach the fish. Only he, who was also a fish, could try to communicate with the fish.
They spent two days together, day and night. Li Yu could finally recognize who was who. Da Bao’s tail was slightly longer. Er Bao’s stomach was very round even if he did not eat. San Bao was the first to grow multi-colored scales. Si Bao was a fish that was often muddle-headed. If the four fish gathered together to eat, the fish that was always late would definitely be Si Bao.
Other than feeding the fish, Li Yu also began to try to talk to the fish.
Other than Si Bao, the other fish were very smart. They quickly learned to “eat” and “swim”.
When Li Yu said “eat”, they would gather around and wait for the food. When Li Yu said “swim”, they would follow behind Li Yu.
Li Yu was worried that the fish would get lost while swimming, so he gently swung his tail in front of Da Bao and made a biting motion. The smart Da Bao immediately bit his tail fin. Li Yu then taught Er Bao to bite Da Bao’s tail fin. So on and so forth. The fish and he became one, so that no one would get lost.
Three of the four fish quickly became one with their father. Only the fourth fish was still at a loss. Li Yu noticed that this fish’s reaction was always a little slow. He did not scold it. Instead, he used his mouth to nudge the fourth fish in a friendly manner and put it on his head.
This way, all the fish could move together with him again.
However, he took extra care of Si Bao. Da Bao, who was biting his tail fin, could not stand it anymore. Together with his two younger brothers, they swam in front of Li Yu.
Li Yu: “…”
Should he be happy that the other cubs were jealous so quickly?!
Li Yu also understood the dilemma of an old father. Favoring one and discriminating against the other was not a good role model. Li Yu simply put all the fish on his head. The fish excitedly swung their tails like he did. It seemed that they were all very happy.
Li Yu continued to teach the fish to speak.
“Daddy!” He demonstrated loudly.
The fish looked at him in confusion. They did not know what to do.
Li Yu realized that the method was wrong. He thought about it and brought a peach blossom cake over and tore it into small pieces.
Li Yu circled around the peach blossom cake and continued, “Daddy!”
Only the fish that said it right would get to eat the peach blossom cake!
The sweet peach blossom cake attracted the fish’s attention. Da Bao tilted his head and asked tentatively, “Daddy?”
Da Bao was so smart!
Li Yu wanted to give him a fin. Really, who said that fish were stupid!
Li Yu rewarded Da Bao with a small piece of peach blossom cake. Da Bao wagged his tail happily and ate it in big mouthfuls.
Er Bao and San Bao saw Da Bao get to eat with their own eyes and were probably envious. They imitated Da Bao and said, “Coy?”
Li Yu: “…”
Li Yu thought that although Er Bao and San Bao did not get it right, their first time was not bad.
Li Yu also gave Er Bao, San Bao, and San Bao peach blossom cake to encourage him.
His brothers had all set good examples. Only Si Bao was left. Li Yu nodded gently at Si Bao.
Unexpectedly, Si Bao was still in a daze. It seemed that he did not understand. Li Yu was wondering what was wrong with him when the fish suddenly sank.
Li Yu: “…”
The frightened Li Yu quickly rushed over and held Si Bao in his mouth.
Did he fall asleep? Li Yu was angry and amused at the same time. Who exactly did this fish take after?
“Daddy!” Li Yu taught Si Bao again seriously.
Si Bao felt wronged. Under the guidance of his father, he blew two small bubbles.
Li Yu: “…”
No, no, he must learn to call him daddy!
Li Yu tempted Si Bao with the peach blossom cake. In the end, Si Bao managed to get it right.
King Jing came to see his wife and son. Li Yu was playing with them with a string of fish.
“Your Highness, the sons know how to call him daddy!” Li Yu said happily.
King Jing did not understand fish language. He smiled as he watched the little fish swim around.
Li Yu deliberately held a piece of peach blossom cake in his mouth. He wanted to try it in front of Old Gong and tell the fish that this tall and handsome man was also their daddy.
He took out the peach blossom cake. Before he could say anything, the fish had already called out “daddy” in unison. Led by Da Bao, the four fish happily rushed toward the peach blossom cake.
Li Yu: “…”
He felt that the fish seemed to have misunderstood something.
King Jing originally only kept one fish in his house. Now that there were four more fish, it would attract attention. King Jing simply told the people in the residence that these fish were Xiao Yu’s children, so that the fish wouldn’t have to hide all day.
King Jing’s fish was now very big, so it was normal to have fish babies. His subordinates didn’t think much of it, and no one asked where the legendary “mother fish” was. This was because even horses could be bred, so it was very suitable to breed fish.
Wang Xi was very fond of his master, Xiao Yu. With a few more small fish, Wang Xi was so happy that he couldn’t close his mouth. King Jing told Wang Xi to pay special attention to the safety of the fish babies and listed it as a top priority. Wang Xi quickly understood.
Eunuch Wang’s mind was quickly calculating:
His Highness values Master Xiao Yu as much as Young Master Li. Then, wouldn’t His Highness value Master Xiao Yu’s fish babies as much as Young Master Li’s son?
Speaking of which, if Young Master Li really had a son, whose son could it be?
Heh, wasn’t this just a roundabout way of reminding him to treat these little fish as his little masters?
Wang Xi wanted to have little masters so much that he was going crazy. He immediately went to do it meticulously.
Imperial City, Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Ever since King Jing arrived at the western border, the Emperor would ask about the situation in the western border every few days. He would also read the memorials from the western border several times.
When King Jing first arrived at the western border, he encountered assassins. The Emperor was very worried about King Jing’s safety, so he sent many guards and imperial physicians over. He also secretly ordered the generals near the western border to immediately send troops to rescue King Jing if he asked for help.
The Emperor began to feel that he might have taken a very bad step. It was a small matter if King Jing couldn’t complete the trial, but what if he couldn’t come back for good?
The Emperor was worried for more than a month. Before the imperial physicians could reach the western border, the Emperor received a second piece of news from the western border. It was a battle report.
King Jing fought the bandits and won the first battle.
The battle report explained in detail the reason why King Jing had decided to fight, as well as the specific strategy of the attack.
The Emperor was first furious because of the rampant bandits, then shocked by King Jing’s decisiveness to kill. In the past, the Emperor had sent many experienced soldiers to the western border, but none of them could defeat the bandits. King Jing had never fought a battle before, but he had the courage to fight the bandits and even defeated them. The Emperor was extremely worried, but he was extremely happy.
It seemed that King Jing could still bear the heavy responsibility and didn’t let him down.
Although the Emperor was happy, he didn’t praise King Jing too much in case he became arrogant. The Emperor still wanted to see King Jing’s achievements in the western border, so he ordered Steward Luo to send a set of good armor to the western border.
The Emperor was very proud of his son. He ordered the Ministry of War to analyze the battle report in detail and simulate the situation on the sand table. Even the Minister of War praised King Jing’s god-like command of the army. The Emperor couldn’t be more pleased after hearing this.
In addition to the battle report, King Jing also mentioned a young man named Li Yu in the memorial that came with the battle. It was said that this young man was very knowledgeable and had helped King Jing a lot. King Jing also said in the memorial that they won the battle with the bandits because of this young man’s advice. King Jing wanted to reward this young man based on his contribution and asked the Emperor for permission.
The Emperor was very happy. It was just a small matter. King Jing even wanted to ask for permission?
The Emperor waved his pen and approved.
The distance between the Imperial City and the western border was very long, so it was very inconvenient for news to come and go. By the time the Emperor received the second and third memorials from King Jing, another month and a half had passed.
Since the Emperor allowed King Jing to reward him based on his contribution, King Jing calmly listed all kinds of rewards for Li Yu in the next two memorials. After weighing the pros and cons, there were always some areas that weren’t satisfactory.
Seeing King Jing’s attitude, the Emperor was very likely to continue the discussion. The Emperor was already somewhat impatient and felt that King Jing was being too cautious. But because of Li Yu’s meritorious service, the Emperor replied to let King Jing consider the matter carefully.
After another month, the Emperor received the fourth memorial from King Jing.
