Joy of Life Season 2 Episode 6 Recap, Plot

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

The second prince Li Chengze, upon hearing that Fan Xian’s mission and the crown prince Li Chengru’s cavalry would arrive in the capital on the same day, secretly ordered both to enter through the northern gate. The Ministry of Rites, concerned about potential congestion, sent Xin Qiwu to ask Fan Xian to give way to Li Chengru. Fan Xian, unwilling to yield, pretended to consult the Grand Princess of Northern Qi and subtly hinted at her not to back down.

As she was there on orders to marry Li Chengru, the matter concerned not only her personally but represented all of Northern Qi. She firmly refused to give way to her future husband. Xin Qiwu, being of low rank, dared not anger the princess and returned to report. Crown Prince Li Chengqian welcomed Li Chengze and the third prince Li Chengping at the city gate. Just as Fan Xian’s mission arrived, Li Chengru’s cavalry galloped from the opposite direction.

The two teams met outside the gate. Fan Xian dismounted and greeted Li Chengru, but the prince, arrogant by birth, dismissed Fan Xian and demanded he give way. The Grand Princess insisted that Li Chengru should yield. Fan Xian fanned the flames on the side. Enraged, Li Chengru threatened to kill Fan Xian. Unafraid, Fan Xian stood his ground. The two sides drew weapons, tension rising.

Just as a battle seemed imminent, a sudden violent wind swept through, filling the air with yellow sand, obscuring vision. The people and horses of both sides were thrown into chaos. Two of Li Chengru’s warhorses were startled and charged toward Fan Xian. Wang Qinian shouted for Gao Da to protect him. When the storm passed, calm was restored, but the two horses lay dead in a pool of blood.

Even the battle-hardened Li Chengru hadn’t seen clearly what had happened. He marveled at Gao Da’s swift action and, though grieving the horses, hated Fan Xian even more. The Grand Princess stood up for Fan Xian, but Li Chengru, unrelenting, drew his sword to kill him. Li Chengqian arrived just in time to ease the situation. He warmly welcomed Li Chengru into the city. The Grand Princess, willing to pay for the dead horses, still refused to give way.

Li Chengru was furious. He never wanted to marry the Grand Princess, resented being forced back to the capital, and didn’t want to hear her nagging. He sought a chance to speak to her alone. Worried the matter might escalate, Li Chengqian stepped in as mediator, urging a truce. Neither side relented. Li Chengru mocked Fan Xian for marrying above his station with Lin Wan’er. Fan Xian retorted sarcastically.

Li Chengqian, all smiles, held their hands and led them into the city. Li Chengping hadn’t seen his brothers in a long time and was visibly emotional, clinging to Li Chengru with endless questions. Li Chengze and Fan Xian, enemies at first sight, immediately exchanged verbal barbs until Li Chengqian interrupted. Li Chengping recognized Fan Xian as the one who knocked him out at Baoyue Brothel and tattled in front of Li Chengru.

Li Chengru questioned Fan Xian for attacking a prince. Fan Xian forced Li Chengping to reveal the location, and Li Chengping, flustered, didn’t dare say Baoyue Brothel and lied that he had mistaken someone else. Li Chengru let the matter drop. Once inside the city, Fan Xian was summoned by Qing Di for questioning. Qing Di then hosted a family banquet, calling together the four princes and Fan Xian. Grand Eunuch Hou helped the bruised Fan Xian into the banquet.

Struggling to sit, Fan Xian groaned in pain. Li Chengze, hearing he had been beaten by Qing Di with a court staff, secretly rejoiced. Acting as if nothing had happened, Qing Di asked Fan Xian to recount his Northern Qi journey. Enduring the pain, Fan Xian briefly spoke of what he saw and heard. Qing Di eagerly asked about the temple’s location.

Fan Xian said he had learned from Xiao En that it lay in the far north beyond Northern Qi. Qing Di decided to destroy Northern Qi first. Fan Xian reported Li Chengze and Li Yunrui’s long-term smuggling with Northern Qi’s Jinyiwei. Qing Di was furious. Li Chengze quickly knelt and loudly declared his innocence, accusing Fan Xian of slander. Qing Di demanded evidence, but witness Shen Zhong was dead.

Fan Xian proposed using the Imperial Inspectorate’s vast intelligence network to investigate, showing his Commanding Officer’s badge. Qing Di threw it into the lake behind him. Fan Xian was stunned. Seeing Qing Di protect him, Li Chengze praised Fan Xian’s achievements and mentioned that his sister, Fan Ruoruo, was one of the capital’s few talented women, asking Qing Di to arrange a marriage between her and Li Hongcheng. Qing Di agreed on the spot.

Fan Xian strongly objected—Li Hongcheng was a notorious playboy and Li Chengze’s ally. He would never let Fan Ruoruo marry him. But Qing Di’s word was law; Fan Xian couldn’t resist. Grateful for Fan Xian’s contributions and for bringing back Zhuang Mohan’s literary legacy, Qing Di granted him the title of First-rank Southern Marquis. Then, Qing Di changed the topic and declared Li Chengze would marry Ye Ling’er, the daughter of the capital garrison commander Ye Zhong.

Li Chengze protested, but Qing Di was resolute. Fan Xian again pleaded for punishment of Li Yunrui and Li Chengze, but Qing Di rebuked him harshly for lacking evidence and stormed off. Fan Xian, deeply disappointed, left as well. Li Chengze realized Fan Xian had been faking injury all along—Qing Di never hit him. Li Chengqian caught up with Fan Xian, who sat sulking.

He was furious at Li Chengze, who not only used Baoyue Brothel to frame Fan Sizhe but now tried to humiliate him with Fan Ruoruo’s marriage. Li Chengqian advised patience—gather evidence slowly, or Qing Di wouldn’t punish them. Though witness Shen Zhong was dead, Fan Xian still had evidence that Li Yunrui and Li Chengze used the Shijia Town smuggling route. He asked Li Chengqian to send people to gather proof.

Li Chengqian said that by the time his people arrived, Li Chengze had already burned Shijia Town to the ground, leaving no clues. He lamented the plight of the townsfolk and condemned Li Chengze’s cruelty. Fan Xian was disheartened—his evidence chain had been completely severed. But he was unwilling to give up. Li Chengqian encouraged him to first reclaim his role as Imperial Inspectorate Commanding Officer, then seek revenge slowly.

The Empress, Li Chengqian’s mother, once hated Ye Qingmei, whom Qing Di favored. Now, years later, Ye Qingmei’s son Fan Xian was in the capital and gaining attention. She closely monitored his every move. Already filled with anger, the Empress was infuriated to hear that Qing Di had invited Fan Xian to a royal family banquet.

When she saw that Li Chengqian had filled his room with paintings of court ladies, she grew even angrier and summoned Li Chengqian, forcefully demanding to know who the woman in the painting was. Li Chengqian was so frightened he knelt and begged for mercy.

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