Joy of Life Season 2 Episode 17 Recap, Plot

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> Joy of Life Season 2 Recap

Wang Qinian, upon hearing that Shi Chanli was staying at the Tongfu Inn, sent Deng Ziyue with others to protect Shi Chanli, fearing someone might try to silence him. He Zongwei knelt at the Fan residence, refusing to get up, begging Fan Xian to take him as a disciple, but was rejected. Shamelessly, he insisted on recognizing Fan Xian as his godfather, just to gain fame in the upcoming Spring Examination.

Disgusted by his obsequious behavior, Fan Xian forcibly drove him away. Fan Xian took Wang Qinian to the Tongfu Inn to find Shi Chanli. Deng Ziyue reported Shi Chanli’s every move in detail and had even investigated the other three examinees sharing the room—Yang Wanli, Cheng Jialin, and Hou Jichang. The four of them were now building walls at the Examination Institute.

Curious about the wall construction, Fan Xian took Wang Qinian and Deng Ziyue to see what was going on. Guo Zheng, the Minister of Rites, had assigned the renovation of the courtyard walls to the examinees, wanting the poor candidates to earn some money. He even supervised the work personally, striking various poses with lumber for a painter to sketch him. Pretending to be an examinee, Fan Xian joined the construction.

He greeted Shi Chanli, who introduced Hou Jichang to him and revealed that the new bricks were of poor quality, inferior to the old ones. Yang Wanli wanted to report the substandard materials, but Hou Jichang urged him to consider the bigger picture and not ruin his future over this. Yang Wanli had no choice but to carry on working. Hou Jichang and Shi Chanli told Fan Xian that all the examinees working here were registered.

They hoped to leave a good impression on Guo Zheng, which might earn their papers priority in the grading process. Hou Jichang even exposed the corruption of the Spring Examination—high-ranking officials, the palace, and the Imperial Academy each recommended their favorite students. Examinees with money and influence pulled strings to become protégés of these figures, while literary elites were also given preferential treatment. The number of spots left for the thousands of ordinary candidates was very limited.

The Spring Examination had become a mere formality, and the majority of candidates were just filler. Learning the inside story from Hou Jichang, Yang Wanli, and Shi Chanli, Fan Xian went straight to Guo Zheng to question the issue of inferior bricks. Guo Zheng claimed he was an honest official who hadn’t embezzled a penny. All the replaced wood and stone materials had been documented and stored in the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse.

He only wanted to use the renovation to gain some merit. As for the examinees working today, they were trying to take shortcuts and had no chance of succeeding in the exams. Fan Xian wanted to ensure fair competition for every candidate and burned the list of those working on the site. This year, a large number of examinees came to the capital for the Spring Examination.

The inns couldn’t accommodate them all, so many had to sit along the streets, studying diligently. Seeing this pained Fan Xian. No matter how hard these examinees tried, it was all in vain—they were just sacrifices to the system. Li Chengze ordered Xie Bian to send someone to follow Fan Xian.

Learning that he had gone to the inn to find Shi Chanli and then visited the examination site, and found nothing suspicious, Li Chengze still remained cautious and had Xie Bian arrange for someone to monitor Shi Chanli. Officials in the court sent their trusted aides to bring gifts and lists of examinees to Fan Xian, asking him to look after their protégés. Gift boxes blocked the gate of the Fan residence, and more people continued arriving.

The household staff was overwhelmed. Seeing this from a distance, Fan Xian and Wang Qinian got out of their carriage midway. Fan Xian immediately recognized Xin Qiwu, who came in plain clothes to deliver a list. Not wanting to be seen, Fan Xian quickly pulled Wang Qinian aside to hide. Fan Jian guessed the intentions of those officials and ignored them. Left with no choice, the officials deposited their gifts and lists before leaving.

Li Chengqian entered the Fan residence through the back door with lavish gifts. Fan Xian wasn’t home, but Li Chengqian became very interested in the waterwheel Fan Xian had developed and squatted down to tinker with it, accidentally breaking it apart. Fan Xian returned just in time. Li Chengqian took out a list of protégés and asked Fan Xian to give them special treatment during the exam.

Later, Lin Ruofu sent someone to summon Fan Xian to pluck his beard and pick red berries for Dabao. Fan Xian was puzzled by these requests. Lin Ruofu warned Fan Xian to be cautious during the Spring Examination or face dire consequences. He too had received many examinee lists from civil and military officials and had strategist Yuan Hongdao rigorously filter them, finally selecting a few outstanding candidates for Fan Xian to give extra attention.

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