In order to prevent the little koi from becoming distracted by his possessions, Qin Zhao has arranged for the servants to take care of him since the little koi came to his house.

Although he rarely visited in person, he never forgot to ask about the little fellow's condition every day. Now that I think about it, this little koi has indeed been acting a bit strange lately.

"You said that the little fish has been hiding at the bottom of the water these days and hasn't come out. When did it start?" Qin Zhao asked.

The maid who was in charge of feeding the little koi knelt before Qin Zhao, not daring to look up. Her voice trembled with nervousness, "About seven days ago."

Qin Zhao: "Tell me in detail."

The maid replied "Yes" and explained, "Before, the little koi would occasionally come out to play with the servants, but since seven days ago, it has always stayed at the bottom of the water. It only reluctantly surfaces when I go to feed it, and then immediately hides back under the water after eating. It seems..."

Qin Zhao: "What?"

"It seems... like he's hiding from something."

Qin Zhao frowned slightly.

Seven days ago.

He met the young man seven days ago.

Qin Zhao fell silent.

Although the maid had been in the Regent's mansion for many years, she rarely had the opportunity to speak to the Regent alone like this. The quieter the room became, the more frightened she became, almost crying. "I told the steward about this a few days ago, but he said the prince has been busy these days, so..."

The maidservant finally couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into tears: "This servant absolutely did not bully the little koi. This servant really doesn't know why it suddenly became like this!"

Qin Zhao: "..."

Did he say anything?

The Regent pressed his eyebrows together and said, "Calm down for a moment. I have no intention of blaming you."

If the young man was really the transformed koi, the reason why he suddenly hid from others could only be that he was worried about being seen by Qin Zhao.

But why is he hiding?

Did I bully him by giving him food and drink that night?

Qin Zhao was a little puzzled and waved his hand: "Forget it, you go down first."

The maid stood up tremblingly and bowed to him. Qin Zhao caught a glimpse of the maid's red eyes from crying and suddenly called to her, "Wait a minute."

Qin Zhao paused and asked uncertainly, "Does it look... really scary to me?"

.

The Regent is truly terrifying.

Jing Li hid under the water, blowing bubbles dejectedly.

Seven days ago, after escaping from the Regent, he didn't even bother to return his stolen clothes, but took them directly back to the bottom of the lake. He hid the stolen clothes behind a reef at the bottom of the lake, and as for himself, he would never dare to go ashore again.

Thinking back, given the Regent's attitude that day, Jing Li felt he must have been exposed. Otherwise, why would the Regent have gone to such lengths to turn the entire palace upside down looking for him?

As a result, he didn't even dare to change back into human form to steal something to eat.

Hate.

...I'm so hungry.

"Little Koi, it's time to eat!" Someone suddenly called him from the water.

Jing Li looked up at the water, a little surprised.

Isn't it time to feed now?

The little koi fish wagged its tail and swam toward the surface of the water, cautiously poking its head out from among the lotus leaves.

The one who came was the maid who used to feed him. She was standing on the shore of the lake. When she saw the little koi fish pop up, she waved at him with the food in her hand.

What she was holding in her hand... was actually a pastry???

Before Jing Li could think about it, the maid broke off a small piece of cake and threw it into the water. Although Jing Li felt that there was something strange about it, at that moment, his body was out of control and he swam over quickly and bit the cake in one bite.

The next second, he was caught tightly by the fishing net that was suddenly pulled up.

Jing Li: “…”

This is what the legend says: the brain doesn't move as fast as the body.

When Jing Li was pulled ashore and saw the Regent slowly coming out from behind the tree, he thought desperately in his heart.

.

The room was silent, and the air was filled with a faint scent of incense.

On the table was a fish tank filled with water, and a small koi fish was placed in the fish tank. This time, there were no decorations in the fish tank, and the bottom of the water was empty. The small koi fish could only curl up at the bottom of the fish tank, the whole fish curled up into a small ball at the bottom of the water, looking a little pitiful.