Work Text:
“Baba, I want to swim too!” cried little Qiong Xue, tears already starting to form at the corners of her eyes. She was upset at being left behind again, yes, but she also knew everyone was weak to her crying.
Li Yu sighed as he cradled her in his arms. “Snow Bao, don’t cry, don’t cry! You’ll be able to join us very soon. I promise. The water is too cold for you like this, and you’ll catch a cold if you don’t wait.”
They’d been through this many times before. Little six year old human girls weren’t suited to swim in the cold pond water. Qiong Xue had been told on numerous occasions the story of how her dad got sick from being in the water, and he had even been an adult at the time. Then there was also the story of how her other dad had almost drowned once. There was no way they were going to let a child so small go in the water.
Li Yu, being from the modern era originally, knew that children his daughter’s age were technically old enough for swim classes. But this wasn’t the modern era they were raising her in. They didn’t have any kiddie pools, only a very cold pond. Soon enough, she would be seven and unlock her fish form. Until then, she could wait.
“But…But my geges get to go swim with you! I don’t want to stay with Wang Xi this time!” Qiong Xue was nearly sobbing.
“They had to wait until they were seven as well. You know that. It won’t be long, your birthday is coming soon. We’ll get you lots of presents to make up for it!” Li Yu promised.
At first, the only fish was Li Yu himself. When he gave birth to his four sons, they were fish too, but they couldn’t change back once they switched to humans. Then, the system unexpectedly gifted Mu TianChi with the ability to change into a fish for two hours a day. When their sons turned seven and gained back the ability to become fish, only Qiong Xue was left. She was the only one of the children born as a human. Still, Li Yu was confident she would be a system fish as well.
It could be quite difficult to balance life between being a fish and being a human. Mu TianChi, who only had the ability to change for two hours max, had to always choose just the right time to turn so that he didn’t waste it. Li Yu and their sons, who could change forms at will, had much more freedom, yet still ended up in much more trouble. They spent more time as fish, therefore, more time for them to get caught.
Luckily, they were never caught outright. There were more than a few suspicious happenings and sideways glances that let Li Yu know not everyone was oblivious, but that was all. Only Ye QingHuan and the JinJue Princess were fully aware of the family’s strange ability.
The kids were very understanding towards the fact that their abilities were to be kept a secret. Maybe a little too understanding. On several occasions, Li Yu thought they were screwed until the kids jumped in with the most perfect excuses.
As she got older, Qiong Xue especially became a huge help. If her brothers were in fish form and a servant began to question where they were, she could instantly silence them with her tears. Usually, one of her dads would stay human to accompany her, though.
Qiong Xue pouted as her dad went to play with her brothers in the pond. Her other dad, the emperor, was supposed to have some time soon to play with her. It wasn’t as though she was neglected. She might even be the most spoiled rotten of all the royal siblings. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to go swimming too.
She was definitely going to make things difficult for Wang Xi in the meantime.
…
The little princess’s seventh birthday was tomorrow. Qiong Xue was buzzing with anticipation. Soon she would be just like her four geges! She hoped her fish form would be just as pretty as er-ge’s.
A small part of her was worried she wouldn’t get a fish form at all. However, this was quickly dashed by her dads’ warm smiles.
“Snow Bao! You’re such a big girl now. Tomorrow, you’ll get to swim with us!” Li Yu swept his daughter into his arms.
Mu TianChi nodded and wrapped his arms around the both of them. Soon, there would be seven fish in the pond.
Throughout the day, Qiong Xue played with her brothers. It was getting late, but si-ge insisted on playing one more round of hide and seek. This was not Qiong Xue’s favorite game. Sometimes, her brothers would cheat by turning into fish to hide. Da-ge had put an end to it when he saw how upset it made her, but she would still accuse them of doing it when she couldn’t find them.
Because they lived in a palace, they had to set some rules about where they were allowed to hide. It had to be somewhere their dads and servants would be able to find them or they’d get in trouble. It also couldn’t be too far away or Qiong Xue’s little legs would get tired.
“I don’t wanna seek this time! I’ll play one more if you do it, si-ge,” Qiong Xue said.
Her si-ge nodded vigorously. “Okay! I’m seeking! Everyone hide!”
The four remaining siblings peeled off in different directions. Er-ge and san-ge usually hid near each other no matter which direction they went. Da-ge always managed to find a very creative hiding spot and avoid being caught even without turning into a fish. Still, even he paled in comparison to Qiong Xue.
Being the smallest, she could fit just about anywhere. She was also very nimble and good at staying quiet when she needed to be. For this round, she decided to find a place with a view of the pond just in case any of her brothers considered cheating. Once she was thoroughly hidden, she softened her breathing and listened for any noises.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, she heard si-ge mumbling to himself as he searched.
“Not in any of the usual spots…What if I’m searching all night? What to do, what to do…”
Si-ge really was the silliest. He was the one who asked to play another round despite knowing how late it was getting. Besides, this happened every time. Of course they wouldn’t hide in the same spots as before or he’d find them too quickly.
When his voice gradually tapered off, Qiong Xue didn’t hear it again for a very long time. She was even starting to get worried. Her other brothers must’ve really hidden themselves well. It was probably because they didn’t want to go to bed yet.
After what seemed like an eternity, si-ge’s voice reached her ears again.
“Finally! I thought for sure they were going to come find brothers and sister without me. But if I don’t find them soon, they’ll call my bluff…”
It took Qiong Xue a moment to realize what must’ve happened. Si-ge had been caught wandering around by the adults and questioned about where his siblings were. He then lied and said he could find them soon. He was usually very honest, so why would he…
Splash. Qiong Xue looked towards the pond just in time to see her brother jump in. So that’s it then. He was convinced the others had cheated and turned into fish, which was why he didn’t want anyone else searching for them.
She wasn’t the only one who heard it. The sounds of her three other brothers’ voices drifted nearer as they approached the pond as well.
“Well isn’t this a twist! We didn’t cheat, but didi did!” San-ge said.
“He didn’t cheat, he just couldn’t find us. We were all close together, so if he couldn’t find one of us, he couldn’t find any of us,” Da-ge responded.
Qiong Xue chuckled. Her eldest brother had actually hidden near the other two this time? He must’ve had very little faith in the seeking skills of one tired si-ge.
“Let’s go in after him! He really will be searching all night if we don’t,” Er-ge suggested.
Soon after, Qiong Xue heard three more splashes. No fair! She couldn’t go in after them yet. What was she supposed to do?
Very quickly, she got her answer. A voice sounded in her ears, one that sounded exactly like her dad had said it would.
“New mission: Older Brothers Rescue is ready to start. Would you like to accept it?” the voice said. It could read her thoughts very well, so it already knew that Qiong Xue was aware of its identity as the system.
“Yes! Yes! I wanna accept. What do I have to do?”
“Host simply has to ensure her brothers make it out of the pond in time. Please do not worry.”
Qiong Xue: ???
She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. But it said not to worry, so maybe she should wait for her cue?
“Baos? Where did you go? It’s too late for this, you should’ve been in bed by now!” Li Yu called.
Thank goodness, it was dad! He could go in and get her brothers out of the pond. She was just thinking of calling out to him when she paused. What if it didn’t count as completing the mission if she didn’t get them out herself? This might be her only chance at becoming a fish, she had to be careful!
It was a good thing she didn’t call out. A moment later, she heard some servants come to lend her dad a hand in finding them. They weren’t allowed to see her brothers in fish form!
Silently, Qiong Xue slipped out of her hiding spot and tip-toed up to the pond. After glancing around to make sure no one was around yet, she got down on her knees and put her face in the water.
She’d done this a few times before. She may not be a fish yet, but she understood what it meant when her fish family blew bubbles and such. So, she blew into the water until her brothers noticed her.
They started swimming to the surface. Qiong Xue pulled her head out and heard the sounds of someone approaching. Oh no! It was still too early! Her fish brothers couldn’t run away.
Without thinking, she scooped her hands into the water and held her fish brothers to her chest. Then she ran away. The four fish were utterly dumbfounded. Couldn’t they just change back into humans now?
Whatever, it wasn’t important. Their sister carried them far away, turning down only the halls she knew were usually empty this time of night. Eventually they made it back to their room.
There was a fish tank inside for this express purpose. Qiong Xue dumped all her brothers inside it and sat down on the floor, wet and tired. She didn’t like getting her clothes damp, but at least she finished the mission. So why didn’t she hear the system yet?
“Snow Bao,” Mu TianChi said. Qiong Xue hadn’t even noticed him before, too focused on her singular goal. He stood with his arms folded, although she knew he wasn’t really mad.
“A-die! Sorry we’re late…were you and baba worried?”
Mu TianChi smiled gently. “Very. Did you complete your mission?”
Qiong Xue’s little jaw dropped. How did he know?!
Gathering herself, she stood up to her full (short) height and said firmly, “Yes. I completed it real good. So where’s my reward?!”
Suddenly, Li Yu entered the room with a grin. He’d let the servants know they could relax now.
“Snow Bao, come quickly. I’ll let you do one last thing before it’s time for bed.”
It had passed midnight just now. Therefore, Qiong Xue was officially seven years old. Eyes lit up, she scrambled for the door. Behind her, her four brothers changed back into human form and followed.
“Congratulations! Mission: Older Brothers Rescue has been completed. You can now claim your reward,” the system sounded.
Li Yu, TianChi, and the kids approached the pond together. They watched as Qiong Xue closed her eyes and entered the system to claim her reward. When she opened her eyes again, four little fishies gazed up at her from the water. She had a dad holding each of her hands.
“Are you ready?” Li Yu asked. Without answering, she touched the fish scale imprint the system had just gifted her and leaped into the pond.
From that moment forward, seven fishies could be seen swimming together in the emperor’s pond. He must be really good at raising fish.