The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

by Xue Shan Fei Hu

Synopsis:

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

With their union blessed by the emperor and four baby heirs in tow, Prince Jing is well on his way to clinching the position of crown prince. But Li Yu can’t pat himself on the back for a job well done just yet! Prince Jing’s crafty brother still lurks in the shadows plotting against him.

As Li Yu dives deeper into the sixth prince’s schemes, he uncovers a dastardly conspiracy that ripples from Prince Jing’s childhood, forming a tsunami poised to plunge the imperial palace (and its allies) into total chaos! Li Yu will have to use all the fishy tricks at his disposal if he wants to keep his new family safe!

The fourth volume of The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish brings the whole thing to an end and wraps it up neatly with a bow, but dang, there’s a lot that happens in this volume still. After all, Prince Jing isn’t the crown prince yet, Li Yu still wants to have another baby, and there are those mysterious secrets that the fish-scamming system keeps showing him.

In general, I loved it. The babies are adorable, Li Yu and Mu Tianchi’s bond has become really strong (if sometimes in need of a tad more communication), and the political plot all works out and some of the secrets start to make sense.

I did want to address one thing, though: in this volume, the disabled tyrant is cured, in fact. Mu Tianchi’s mutism isn’t genetic, but has been caused by a low-dose poison he was given at birth. Once the poison is discovered and cured, he begins to be able to speak. You could argue that this is plot-necessary because otherwise he couldn’t become the emperor (at least not without becoming a tyrant), and also that Chinese culture isn’t in quite the same place about stuff like disability — but it’s still worth knowing, and worth knowing as well that there’s a brief mention of Li Yu telling the children that Mu Tianchi isn’t “different”, he’s “just sick”, implying it would be bad if he was disabled.

In the series as a whole, Li Yu never looks down on Mu Tianchi for being mute, and Mu Tianchi is always very capable — it’s just that it’s unacceptable for the emperor’s heir to be unable to speak. That said, that scene where Li Yu tries to explain away disability so as not to make the children think their dad is “different” suggests the author might treat permanent disability quite differently. So tread with care: there are some not-great attitudes toward disability swimming around the edges of the story and occasionally casting some shadows.

There are a few things that don’t entirely add up, plot-wise — e.g. the babies’ paternity was already confirmed on birth: Mu Tianchi offered his own blood for it rather than disturb Li Yu for his, I remember that scene clearly. Was that never communicated to the emperor? Not that he ever seems to genuinely doubt the children’s paternity anyway, but that whole bit is never mentioned as a reason why.

…But mostly I just loved it, really. It’s very sweet.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

by Xue Shan Fei Hu

Synopsis:

A FINE KETTLE OF FISH

When Prince Jing is sent to quell the disturbance at the western border, there’s no question that Li Yu will accompany him—as his boyfriend and as his pet fish! Li Yu’s mission is to help Prince Jing secure his position as heir to the throne. However, the new couple is in for a surprise when Li Yu makes a much bigger splash in the imperial line of succession: even male fish can lay eggs now!

With four bouncing baby fish in tow, Li Yu and Prince Jing must work extra hard to dam the trouble brewing at the border. Despite the challenges, Prince Jing is determined to make Li Yu his official consort. Will the emperor approve of this unusual union? And how will Li Yu and Prince Jing protect their new family from the treacherous machinations of the imperial court?

Volume three of Xue Shan Fei Hu’s The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish gives us Li Yu and Prince Jing’s trip to the borders — ostensibly out of the emperor’s favour, but ready to prove themselves and (in Prince Jing’s case, anyway) ready to make a good case that they should be given official sanction to marry. Plus, the system’s tricked Li Yu, and now there are babies on the way!

How this volume hits depends on how you feel about Li Yu and Prince Jing having kids, basically. There’s some other politicking, and some development in their relationship (including their marriage), but the babies are a pretty major feature, especially in the second half of the book.

For me, I thought it was adorable. I love the emperor’s reaction to them, I love Li Yu and Prince Jing’s growing excitement about and love for the babies, and I had so much fun with the babies’ silly hijinks as well. And I loved that Prince Jing and Li Yu are growing into themselves and maturing as a couple as well (though Li Yi remains a precious cinnamon roll).

I know a little about how the story ends, and I’m looking forward to volume four very much. It’s silly and a ridiculous concept and satisfying as heck.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

by Xue Shan Fei Hu

Synopsis:

Li Yu is settling into life in the lap of luxury as Prince Jing’s spoiled pet, especially now that he can turn back into a human once a day. Prince Jing seems infatuated with Li Yu’s human form, and romance begins to swell between the two men. Yet the secret of Li Yu’s identity lurks beneath the surface of their bubbly relationship.

Meanwhile, there are bigger fish to fry in the Imperial Court. It seems like every time Li Yu smacks down one of Prince Jing’s scheming brothers, another one emerges to plot against him! It’s up to Li Yu to make sure his handsome prince gets the happy ending he deserves. But will Li Yu himself be a part of the Prince’s future?

I went onto reading volume two of Xue Shan Fei Hu’s The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish more or less right away — I love Li Yu and Prince Jing, and I badly needed to read more about their adventures. Li Yu isn’t always the brightest, but he means well… and Prince Jing is an entitled and sometimes ruthless prince, but he cares strongly for Li Yu, and I love the combination of them.

I also loved that Prince Jing works so hard to obey the rules Li Yu sets, and to make Li Yu see that he’s serious. The calligraphy put up all over the palace, aahh…! “There are no other lovers. I adore you.” So cringe, but so sincere as well: Prince Jing can’t exactly shout after him, or voice his feelings aloud, so he finds his own way to shout it from the rooftops.

I love as well that Li Yu has a think about whether this has a future, whether he can be with a fictional character, and basically concludes that his feelings are real, and he cares deeply for Prince Jing, so he needs to seize the chance. He rarely stops to angst that “oh, these are just characters in a story”, but he also hasn’t entirely lost sight of it.

I’m always mentally comparing it to that other isekai-with-a-system danmei I’ve read, The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, and thus it’s a relief that the characters communicate about things, that Li Yu isn’t deeply closeted and is quite open to the relationship, and that they actually get down to it and get together before they nearly wreck each other and end the world. I love Shen Qingqiu, but Li Yu is adorable, and though there are some similarities in the setup, this is a very different relationship that I’m enjoying very much.

It’s all ridiculous, you can’t take it too seriously at all… but it’s a lot of fun, and genuinely sweet. I immediately went on to the third volume!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)