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!
In the wise words of protagonist Li Yu, sob sob sob it's over.
This has been such a warm hug of a series, with precious characters, an adorable romance, lots of humor, and the perfect happily ever after for our lovers and their family. It has brought me so much joy, and I highly recommend it.
I know this is a beloved series but sadly it’s not for me 😔. There were SO many super cute moments and a very satisfying ending but it’s just not enough for me to love it.
I’m glad this story exists and I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad to be done with it 🥴
✔️comfort read ✔️cutie pie MC ✔️green AF ML ✔️adorable, healthy relationship ✔️humorous ✔️low-stakes ✔️light-hearted ✔️uncomplicated ✔️unserious
🐠I don’t really care for mpreg and I don’t really care for kids in my books (sorry) so it is definitely on me for reading this this series knowing what it was about.
Sometimes fluffy, fishy fun is reason enough to read a book. The fourth volume of “The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Fish” by Xue Shan Fei Hu is heart-warming with only the slightest tinge of danger. It is essentially a healthy, reciprocal relationship that is threatened by some court intrigue and some frustrated characters who try to advance themselves by causing harm to others. These books are not deep, but they are sweet.
The main premise is that Li Yu has transmigrated into a novel that he was reading in the modern world and by the fourth volume he has fallen in love with Prince Jing whom he has married and now they are the proud parents of four sons. The number of babies may sound like a lot, but since Li Yu is a fish in the setting of the novel, he was able to lay eggs rather than undergo a pregnancy with four babies. Li Yu’s life in the novel is controlled by an unpredictable and mercurial fish-scamming computer system and so he was able to choose a fish pregnancy rather than a human one. In this volume, Li Yu however makes a mistake and ends up with a human pregnancy, resulting in the painful birth of a daughter. So the series contains both fish preg and mpreg as well as fish transmigration. Surprisingly, all of these tropes seem quite normal in the world of the novel. But the confluence of so many tropes might not be everyone’s cup of tea…
Most of this fourth and last volume in the series is plot-driven. The emperor realizes that one of his sons is bad news and the son whom he had believed was disabled is the person best able to rule. This lesson feels satisfying, because Prince Jing has behaved well both as a loving husband and father as well as a son. Also, as it turns out he was poisoned as a baby rather than being unable to speak from birth. It is perhaps a little sad that the inability to speak in itself disqualifies him from power but the books are set in the world of ancient China so it is acceptable enough because of the chronological distance.
The main attraction of this series is the main couple, Li Yu and Prince Jing. They have some character development but mainly they discover the positive aspects of their significant other throughout the novels. This is not a series with psychological depth or shocking plot twists but it is a sweet exploration of two people who fall in love and have a family. They meet obstacles along the way but they overcome them together, because they are decent people.
There is a brief interlude in the modern world, where Prince Jing also acquires the ability to turn into a fish. This is fun but not especially significant. It does, however, explain the ending of the series, because Prince Jing has built a vast underwater, crystal palace and people often observed that, “This koi fish was always playing with a large, black fish. Sometimes, they would be surrounded with a few smaller fish. At first there were four of them; then it became five” (p. 426). So, the main family are both humans and fish; transmigration has given the whole family the opportunity to live their lives both as humans and fish, thus allowing them to stay together forever.
"Xiaoyu, you saved me. I remember now. My life is yours. If it's you, it's all right."
I just wrapped up The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish Vol. 4 (got the special edition with that funny-looking bookmark!), and I already miss the cozy, chaotic energy of this series. The baos are still absolutely adorable—especially Dabao, who somehow has the emperor wrapped around his tiny paw. The relationship between Li Yu and Prince Jing continues to be ridiculously sweet, and it warms my heart how deeply they care for each other, even in the middle of all the palace drama.
This volume had its serious moments, but also so much silliness that I occasionally forgot it wasn’t a children’s book—until a sudden (not really)spicy moment reminded me otherwise. The story is light, funny, and just a little bit ridiculous in the best way. I love how Prince Jing still thinks of Li Yu as “his fish” even in human form, and Li Yu’s bursts of jealousy are hilarious. That said, the plot is definitely moving, and we’re seeing just how far certain characters are willing to go. It’s not super intense or dark, which made it the perfect break after reading something more angsty.
I liked the book cover, but the interior illustrations didn’t really do it for me—though I appreciate they’re there. I kind of wish there had been more dialogue, especially now that the stakes are rising and the characters are evolving. Still, this was a really enjoyable volume. It's heartwarming, funny, and easy to love—definitely something I’ll revisit when I want a feel-good read with just the right splash of drama.
The ending was super cute! I really needed a long side story. (If you know, you know!) I may have cried This series is such a good read after getting through some angsty and soul-wrenching stories! Prince Jing's love for Li Yu is so sweet it's almost tooth-decayingly so! And the adorable fish babies just add to it! I don't really know how to review this novel, but I loved it regardless! I'm mostly an angsty person at heart, but there are moments when you need a good, sappy love story to cleanse your soul! Anyway, if you want a cute, happy, and sappy story that will make you smile, please give this a read
Everything wraps up nicely in the finale for this series. I especially liked the twist involving the sixth prince which was a highlight for me.
In Vol 3, Li Yu gives birth to 4 sons while as a fish who then become human. In Vol 4, the m-preg continues sadly and he gives birth to a daughter while as a human. This went on for too long unlike in vol 3 and was really unnecessary, which is why I'm not giving this 5*.
Is this series perfect?
No. Some parts are definitely filler and it does drag at times. Vol 1 is the strongest in the series imo and contains the most humour.
Would I recommend it still?
Yes. It never failed to put a smile on my face and the characters are really likeable. I can see myself re-reading it when I want to escape the 'cold harsh reality of life'.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A wholesome and funny series overall. This volume had a lot of drama and plot twists, and some of them were sold very quickly, but that's pretty much the pace of this story.
it had me laughing the whole way through, and it was cute, fluffy fun, and yes, I enjoyed the whole fish mpreg scenario. I loved the babies they were adorable, and the ending was perfect ! 🥰 I just wish there was more - sob sob sob hahaha 🐟🐠
"The emperor, who once turned his entire manor into a giant pond, insisted on renovating the palace so that it could be an even more majestic pond. Apparently, beneath the water, there was a beautiful miniature palace, aptly named the Crystal Palace. Inside the Crystal Palace lived the pet fish that the emperor had had back when he was just a prince. It was a silver koi with flecks of gold; people saw it often. This koi fish was always playing with a large, black fish. Sometimes, they would be surrounded with a few smaller fish. At first there were four of them; then it became five. Everyone said these pets took after their masters; the emperor's seven pet fish looked extremely like the emperor, the empress, and their five royal children."
What a precious way to end a novel. 🤍🖤 It was so cute. I'll have to decide what to rate the whole novel. This one was definitely very wholesome. 4.5/5 🌟
I loved how even the Tianchi and Xuebao weren't left behind in the fish adventures and Tianchi got his own fish turning scale. 🖤ღ´͈ ᵕ `͈ )♡⃛(´͈ ᵕ `͈ ღ
I really liked how the author wrapped up everything the last 6 chapters. Including the future and what it held for the empire, even enough to empower women in the sexist society of dynasty times.
There was a time in this volume that I thought it dragged or seemed to repeat the circumstances again and again, and that was a little frustrating, but nothing terrible. I certainly loved the couple's relationship. It made me feel like love truly exist. (。•́‿ •̀。) Onto the next adventure.
Also, Chu Yanyu deserved better, his ending left a sour taste in my mouth. 😩
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My hot take: Li Yu could survive transmigrating into Proud Immortal Demon Way, but Shen Yuan could not survive transmigrating into The Tyrant and his Delicate Concubine. Anyway this was the most wholesome way to wrap up this series. This book was straight up cavity inducing sweetness. I love this series, I'm so sad it's over now.
What a fun end to a very silly and fun series! I will always say I think this story was a little long, but I also thoroughly enjoyed most of it! I love Li Yu and Prince Jing so much and THE BABIES <3333 seriously had just such a blast keeping up with this story for the past year:)
"This koi fish was always playing with a large, black fish. Sometimes, they would be surrounded with a few smaller fish. At first, there were four of them; then it became five. Everyone said these pets took after their masters; the emperor's seven pet fish looked extremely like the emperor, the empress, and their five royal children."
SONO DISPERATA 😭 non avevo idea che una lettura che mi aveva incuriosito per i tantissimi meme che si erano stati costruiti sopra, mi avrebbe sorpreso così tanto. ovviamente, già dai primi volumi, avevo capito quanto questa storia sarebbe stata speciale per me. i personaggi, Li Yu e Mu Tianchi in particolare, sono davvero così carini che è impossibile non volere loro bene 😭 e ovviamente lo stesso vale per i figlioletti e ovviamente l'ultima arrivata, la principessa.
ho apprezzato tantissimo la prima parte che ha visto risolversi i vari dramma di palazzo che apprezzo sempre tanto, e con questo pizzico di funny moments nel mezzo, è stato ancora più piacevole. tutti i capitoli dopo sono stati di una tenerezza incredibile, dal parto fino all'arrivo nel mondo moderno di Li Yu, che ha permesso a lui di essere finalmente sincero sulla sua condizione (e ho AMATO il fatto che venissero spiegate le nostre tecnologie e Mu Tianchi lmao) e così anche il nostro tiranno è diventato un pesciotto, that's cute 😭
menzione d'onore per Li Yu e il suo voler aiutare le donne di quel periodo con quella associazione, il nostro pesciotto femminista ha passato un bel messaggio e ne sono super super felice!
5 ⭐️ anche se ne avrei date di più per questo romanzo finale, mi è piaciuto davvero tanto tanto, una delle letture più dolci e cute di quest'anno 😭☀️ consiglio TANTISSIMO a tutti, è una lettura proprio perfetta per staccare la mente ma senza essere trash o altro! super super cute 🫶🏻🫶🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The delightful and silly story of a transmigrating fish in a book about ancient China comes to an end in this volume. It doesn’t go out in a bang or with high emotions. It ends with a sweet happily ever after.
The last volume is slightly uneven. The main story about those plotting against the emperor comes to an end already during the first third of the book. There are some surprises in store for the reader and Li Yu both, but thanks to his ingenuity, a coup is thwarted and the emperor survives another day. As a reward, Prince Jing is finally named the crown prince.
It’s what Li Yu had been tasked to do by the fish scamming system, but apparently it isn’t enough. The final tribulation isn’t over. The rest of the book meanders to that goal with small side steps that include people realising Li Yu and the beloved pet fish might be the same.
Mostly, it’s about family stuff. The biggest drama comes from another pregnancy. This time Li Yu accidentally chooses the wrong option and has to go through it in human form. He is not happy, sob, sob. A little girl is born and instantly made a princess by the happy emperor. But it appears she’s not able to turn into a fish like her brothers and fish father.
And then, finally, the last tribulation comes to an end. Li Yu learns that the only reason it hadn’t was because Prince Jing was afraid it would make Li Yu leave. But he promises to stay forever. As a reward, Li Yu is now a human that can turn into a fish, not a fish that can turn into a human. And he’s given an option to return to his life and not remember what took place in the book world. Obviously, he refuses. But he’s given a chance to visit once, and he can take someone with him. It’s a nice side quest, but it could’ve been better.
The book ends with a brief description of the happily ever after for the pair. A prosperous empire and a good rule follow when Prince Jing becomes the emperor instead of the tyranny of the original story. And finally, no family member is left behind when it comes to fishy antics. The end.
This was a delightful ending, but much of it was just fillers to make the required word count. The reader slightly disconnects from the story, and while there are cute moments, they remain a bit distant. There are barely any fishy antics and the children are sidelined from the action. But the love between Prince Jing and Li Yu is wonderful and their happily ever after is well deserved. All in all, a lovely, delightful story.
Nice fun finish to this book . An easy read but NGL I did find the focus on the fish children and the way they were written to be slightly annoying. I much preferred the interaction between the MC and ML and wish more time was spent with them then the kids . Cute modern chapter at the end too
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Honestly, the palace drama left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. It felt like it was dragged on too long, and although there were subtle hints earlier, the sudden introduction of new characters, antagonists, and hidden plots that tried to remedy the plot holes didn’t really work for me. It felt forced, and I believe the politics could’ve wrapped up in a more sensible and emotionally satisfying way.
That said, I still absolutely love this book. Prince Jing continues to be the epitome of a loving husband, he’s literally so down bad for Li Yu, and it’s beautiful. The way he cares for Li Yu and their children just melts my heart. Who doesn’t love a man who loves his spouse with everything he’s got?
And Li Yu? He’s not just a cute and witty protagonist but he’s also a literal advocate for women’s rights. Founding a society to support women, pushing back against oppressive norms... he’s out here doing the work, and I love that for him so much.
Moving to Chu Yanyu... my heart breaks a little for him. He was used most of his life and just wanted someone to cherish him. Yes, he did awful things, he even tried to hurt Li Yu and the children, but I still wish the author gave him a more thoughtfully written arc. There was so much potential in his character that just didn’t fully get explored.
Despite my issues with the palace politics and anything else, the story remains sweet, soft, and deeply satisfying. I just wish we had a few extras or side stories—something to let us spend more time with their adorable little fish family. Still, I’m happy. This novel may not be perfect, but it gave me characters and moments I’ll cherish.
4 stars, rating and review for the entire novel Well, wasn't this one of the most self indulged things I've ever read. This silly novel has, for the most part, been like a therapy of sorts for me. After the usual angst and tragedies and trauma the other books usually cause me, this low to no stake novel that's lowkey just fluff and ridiculousness was everything I needed. It was so fun, I really didn't take anything I read too seriously (even though I still really dislike one scene in volume 2), and just enjoyed the ride. Tianchi and Li Yu are two jealous but loving freaks, and they made me laugh a lot, very happy that there was no fish fish bones or fish ash in sight.
Alright. It was cute. I took about a month off from the series in between volume 3 and volume 4, and I think this actually helped refresh my reading experience for the story as a whole. Compared to the previous volume, this one didn't drag nearly as much—volume 3's pacing felt very slow at times, mostly due to the heavy focus on the "cutesieness" of the four babies (which got old pretty quickly for me). When plot advancement did happen, it was often displaced by those wholesome family scenes, which slowed the pacing even more and made plot development seem unattached or distant from the rest of the novel. But in this volume, most of the complaints I had from the previous were resolved. The pacing felt brisk, but not rushed, the cute family moments weren't over-emphasized and seemed well-placed in between larger plot-heavy arcs, and the final villains lurking in the background were brought to the surface and dealt with. Even with mpreg (which isn't a trope I typically go for), I still found the family moments enjoyable and the relationship development between Li Yu and Prince Jing healthy and wholesome. However, there was a bit of imbalance between the story's weight on the four baby boys and the single baby girl—it seemed she was born and then quickly tossed into the background for the remainder of the novel. Lots of personality development for the four boys over the course of several volumes, but there's comparatively little mention of the daughter as she takes a backseat to larger plot events that the author explored outside of their happy little domestic sphere. But the story must go on, and unfortunately, the new baby couldn't just get up and walk around with our protagonists everywhere they go.
Personally, I had a hard time following some of the characters' motives throughout the story, particularly any of the characters who had beef with the emperor or the servants from Prince Jing's young young past. It felt like Loulan's revenge on the emperor came out of left field, and perhaps that's just me forgetting mentions of this plotline from previous volumes, but it's introduced as though it's new information in this volume. I don't expect plot-heavy, high-stakes drama from this series as it's meant to be a lower-stakes plot with heavier emphasis on the comedy and romance, but it does make plot-related events feel random and abrupt.
**SPOILERS: The emperor and imperial family is held hostage, one of the princes dies, and a huge subplot is finally uncovered with the Loulan kingdom's long-held grudge against the imperial family, but it's resolved quite effortlessly...and a bit violently. The sixth prince, arguably the biggest thorn in everyone's side since the beginning of the novel, is killed quite suddenly and with no one to bat an eye about it.
"Nobody expected Consort Zhang to kill her own son. Everyone watching sensed the danger present and shuddered in fear. The emperor couldn't believe it.... [he] looked back at her with a fierce glare." (pp. 180-181)
And thus ends the largest villain of the story. Shot down by an arrow with no family to mourn him, killed by his own mother. On the one hand, I think it's what he deserves as he was trying to bring down Prince Jing and the others the entire time, but on the other hand, I feel some empathy for a character whose own mother and father couldn't be bothered to shed a tear over his death. This moment marks one of several throughout the series that had so much gravity, but was dealt with or resolved with too much levity.
In this same vein, Chu Yanyu's storyline came to a melancholic ending. He gives his last hurrah, an attempt to sway Prince Jing in his favor to bolster his own status in the court by exposing Li Yu as the man-fish/fish-man he really is. His attempt flops, however, as of course our protagonist Li Yu will always win, and Chu Yanyu is swiftly dealt a punishment deserving of his crime. Excruciating physical beating which leaves him permanently disabled and banishment as a commoner to the cold palace where he's robbed, dowsed in dog's blood, and ostracized for the remainder of his lonely life. As Li Yu cold-heartedly puts it: "Chu Yanyu should have just stayed where he belonged!" (p. 308) This part of the story will stick with me for a long time. I have a soft spot for the vindictive-concubine/sex worker archetype in most stories as their vindication is usually a result of abandonment and neglect trauma, and Chu Yanyu's lifetime of being used, cast aside, betrayed, and unloved left me achingly sympathetic to his plight and angry at Li Yu's flippant justification of "what goes around comes around" (p. 308). Chu Yanyu's over-the-top punishment was meant to be a light-hearted, humorous moment, I'm sure, but the author dug his metaphorical grave a little too deep in this case. It actually made me dislike Li Yu a little more.
Another plot point that made me dubious of Li Yu's character (and my overall ability to like him as a protagonist) was his ventures into women's rights...This was a strange plot twist. It made sense for Li Yu's (purportedly) sympathetic personality to want to help the sixth prince's widow get her feet back under her and regain some status and semblance of respect after her husband's betrayal, but he goes even further—expanding this sudden burst of philanthropy to establishing a whole widow's liberation/women's rights movement in ancient China. This felt like the author's attempts to promote women's rights and portray Li Yu as progressive and feminist BUT after the Chu Yanyu ordeal, I have a hard time viewing Li Yu as a grounded, humanistic type and more of a flippant, go-with-the-flow, whimsical type. (And in Chu Yanyu's case, dare I say Li Yu is...petty?) Li Yu reflects heavily on how he just wants to help even one person, if only he can make a small change in this world he's now adopted as his own, then he'll feel like he's done something meaningful with his life.
I guess this is all just to say that Li Yu's depth and morality is a bit questionable. I had similar thoughts about the duality of Prince Jing's character earlier on in the series. Li Yu's initial impression of him as the cruel, violent tyrant is at odds with the prince's inner capacity for gentleness and doting on the ones he loves. This duality should work to provide a character with depth and realism, but for some reason it came across as underdevelopment. Not a huge deal, as, again, this isn't meant to be an especially thought-provoking or heavy series, but as a character-driven reader, feeling disconnected from characters does affect my ability to fully immerse in the world.
My biggest "complaint" about the series is that it bridges a confusing gap between a heavier, plot-driven palace drama and a light-hearted system-shenanigans comedy. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did make the two elements of the novel feel like just that—two distinct plots that sometimes didn't mesh together into one.
Does it all wrap up well in the end? Yes. The ending fit the series very well—it was quick, but not rushed, light, but not negligent of the readers' need for a sense of all's well that ends well. The brief modern-day chapter where Prince Jing gets to experience Li Yu's fish-scamming system for himself was fun and felt like a good book-ender to match the very beginning of the series. You can't get more wholesome than a book about a man getting turned into a fish ending with him finding a family that can turn into fish with him.
“Tianchi, if you could speak one day, what would you want to say?”[…] Prince Jing had actually thought about this before. He smiled as he wrote, I would want to say “Royal Father”, and call out to the children. Most of all… most of all, I want to call your name.
questo penso che sia il danmei, tra quei pochi che ho letto finora, che più mi abbia scaldato il cuore e fatto emozionare e pensare che sia già giunto al termine mi fa provare un po’ di malinconia. in questi pochi mesi mi sono davvero affezionata tantissimo alla storia ed ai suoi personaggi e sono davvero felice e grata a me stessa di aver cominciato a leggere questo romanzo (grazie meme del fish mpreg). detto questo, consiglio davvero tantissimo questo romanzo a chiunque abbia bisogno di leggere una storia dolce e leggera con i suoi momenti di gioia ma anche di tristezza. per quanto mi riguarda 5⭐️ più che meritate!!🐟🩷
(gli ultimi capitoli dove Li Yu porta Tianchi nel mondo moderno vivranno rent free nella mia mente per sempre)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
All in all the whole series was an okay read for me.
I loved the start and I remember how much I giggled, reading the first volume. Yet, I’m not a big fan of mpreg and honestly found the many genius children exhausting (like they were one and already starting to write - wth?). Also, one weird pregnancy was more than enough but we got another one (and countless more children were looming on the horizon) and this whole huge family spiel was way too much for my liking.
Another thing I didn’t like in this last volume: How one baddy showed up after the other but the level of obstacle to overcome them didn’t rise equally. Also, the main villain was just disappointing to me (what a meagre explanation was that?).
I liked the trip to the modern world our MC and ML took and I also enjoyed the overall sense of humour in this story.
Mostly - unpopular opinion incoming - this story felt overrated and forgettable to me. I’ve seen so many praising reviews and can’t relate to them. Honestly, I’m glad I only bought the ebooks and didn't spend more money on these books.
Having a hard time deciding whether I should rate it for what it is, or take into account the broader picture. What it is is an ultimate comfort read and palate cleanser, and it does this job fabulously. The characters and their relationship are adorable, nothing is too serious, and nothing ever goes wrong. On the other hand, well, nothing ever goes wrong, it's not the most existing book, and a bit short on literary value (though I did have fun with friends translating sexy puns). But would I read it if I didn't have volumes of suffering before me? Not sure.