Joy of Life Season 2 Episode 20 Recap, Plot

> Joy of Life Season 2
> Joy of Life Season 2 Recap

The proctors escorted examinees to the latrine. Worried about tampering, Fan Xian sent Wang Qinian to check. Wang Qinian discovered fire oil inside. If an examinee took a candle into the latrine, a fire—or even explosion—could occur. Fan Xian ordered Guo Zheng to rebuild the latrine. Guo Zheng was furious. Fan Xian had already replaced the candles and water, and now he was targeting the latrines. Guo Zheng refused to cooperate.

Anticipating this, Fan Xian had Deng Ziyue bring members of the Imperial Inspectorate’s First Division to dig up the latrine. He also demanded Guo Zheng use high-quality nanmu wood and premium stone left over from the exam courtyard renovation. Under pressure, Guo Zheng reluctantly complied but was inwardly resentful and vowed to find another opportunity to frame Fan Xian.

To ensure the smooth running of the three-day exam, Fan Xian not only arranged food and facilities for examinees but also had the Imperial Inspectorate staff on standby at the exam site. Li Chengze, upon learning of Fan Xian’s thorough preparations, realized there was no opening to exploit. He told Xie Bi’an to order Guo Zheng to stop.

He couldn’t figure out how the newly arrived Fan Xian knew the exam rules so well and suspected someone in the Ministry of Rites was advising him. During his inspections, Fan Xian paid special attention to Shi Chanli, Yang Wanli, Cheng Jialin, and Hou Jichang. He found Yang Wanli’s writing elegant and articulate, better than his own. After three days, the Spring Imperial Examination concluded. The candidates handed in their papers, and the next step was name concealing and transcription.

Staff first covered the names, then recopied the papers to prevent graders from identifying handwriting. Fan Xian, worried about tampering, supervised the process. Due to the high number of candidates, the staff worked until nightfall. Guo Zheng advised Fan Xian to go home and rest. Fan Xian had heard from Guo Youzhi that some used the paper length to cheat or marked the papers during transcription. Guo Zheng pretended ignorance.

Fan Xian warned the staff that any cheating would result in death. Guo Zheng had planned to mark Li Chengze’s disciples’ papers, but Fan Xian’s strict orders scared the staff into completing the work properly. The grading was conducted under strict isolation, but Fan Xian remained on site until it was done. Except for Shi Chanli, who failed, the other three passed. Fan Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Having not slept for days, he was completely exhausted.

Wang Qinian drove him home in a carriage, and Fan Xian fell into a deep sleep from fatigue. After the exam, the candidates were also drained and went home to rest. Cheng Jialin slept for an entire day and night. Yang Wanli and Shi Chanli resumed studying once they awoke. Hou Jichang brought them roast chicken and suggested they relax and consider visiting Fan Xian. Fan Xian went straight to bed after returning home, too tired to eat.

Wang Qinian picked out the meat from the dishes to bring back to his daughter Wang Ba. Deng Ziyue came to deliver the exam results and saw Wang Qinian picking meat. Worried Deng would report him, Wang Qinian invited him to eat and drink. Fan Xian woke up, and Deng Ziyue quickly handed over the results. To Fan Xian’s surprise, the outstanding Yang Wanli had failed.

Sensing something was wrong, he took Wang Qinian and Deng Ziyue to the Ministry of Rites to investigate. At the Ministry, Fan Xian discovered that except for Yang Wanli, all other exam papers were normal. He clearly remembered Yang’s essay and realized someone had switched names—Yang was replaced by a disciple of Li Chengqian. Furious, Fan Xian vowed to investigate and clear Yang’s name.

Deng Ziyue warned him to reconsider, as he had already clashed with Li Chengze and would now offend Li Chengqian. But Fan Xian didn’t care—he wanted the exam to be fair. He ordered Deng Ziyue to seal the examination courtyard. Without his order, no results were to be released. Fan Xian and Wang Qinian rushed to the Eastern Palace to confront Li Chengqian. He stated his case bluntly.

Li Chengqian tried to show off women's clothing he had designed, but Fan Xian wasn’t interested and distractedly humored him, curious about whom the clothes were for. Li Chengqian dodged the question but admitted his disciple had impersonated Yang Wanli, claiming he was unaware. Fan Xian suspected Li Chengze’s manipulation to sow discord between them. Neither wanted to back down, so they went to the palace to report to Qing Di.

Li Chengze heard that Fan Xian had sealed the exam site and gone with Li Chengqian to the palace. He grew anxious, suspecting Fan Xian had tricked him. Fan Xian and Li Chengqian arrived at the palace. Chief Eunuch Hong Zhu, the new head of the vegetable inspection bureau, led the way.

Grateful to Fan Xian for toppling Eunuch Dai, Hong Zhu had been promoted after retrieving Dai’s shoes and guessed Fan Xian had come to seek justice for the examinees. Fan Xian was impressed by Hong Zhu’s cleverness and understanding. Fan Xian and Li Chengqian entered and saw Chen Pingping presenting past records of exam corruption to Qing Di. Impatient, Li Chengqian reported that someone had impersonated Yang Wanli and tried to frame him.

But Qing Di was more focused on rooting out systemic corruption in past exams. Fan Xian volunteered to investigate thoroughly, and Qing Di readily agreed. Fan Xian left the palace carrying a huge stack of files. Hong Zhu had been waiting outside and suddenly knelt to thank him profusely, leaving Fan Xian confused. It turned out Hong Zhu was from Yingzhou. The Yingzhou governor had killed his entire family—he only survived because he wasn’t home.

After entering the palace, he was cared for by Eunuch Hong and changed his surname. No one in the palace knew his past. The list of corrupt officials Fan Xian had given to the Censorate included the Yingzhou governor, who had since been executed. Grateful beyond words, Hong Zhu regarded Fan Xian as his benefactor and Fan Xian wanted to cultivate him into a trusted confidant.

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