Joy of Life Episode 15 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Wang Qinian met Fan Xian at the commander’s family residence, where the entire household had been brutally wiped out. Wang Qinian expressed deep regret for not informing them sooner, believing it might have averted the disaster. Fan Xian, however, viewed the massacre as a calculated warning, designed to make him stop his investigation, but delivered just a moment too late. Wang Qinian deduced that such a swift and thorough annihilation could only be orchestrated by someone of immense power.
He also confirmed that a token found at the scene belonged to a Beiqi secret agent, making it highly probable that Cheng Jushu was indeed a Beiqi operative. Fan Xian sarcastically acknowledged the "honor" of being targeted by an unnamed powerful figure collaborating with Beiqi to end his life. Despite the escalating danger, he was unyielding, vowing to uncover the true culprit and ensure Teng Zijing’s sacrifice was not in vain.
Setting aside complex political implications, Fan Xian focused on the assassination itself. He questioned how the assassins knew his route to Joy Tsin House, concluding that only someone with knowledge of his appointment could have leaked his whereabouts. He specifically suspected Si Lili from Joy Tsin House, noting that her demeanor was unusually composed for a courtesan. They immediately headed to Joy Tsin House, only to find it closed.
Upon inquiry, they learned that Si Lili’s pleasure boat had been burned that very afternoon, and the imperial office was investigating. Si Lili herself, they were told, had already left the capital city. Disheartened by Si Lili’s disappearance, Fan Xian felt at a loss. Seeing this, Wang Qinian revealed his hidden talent: he was one of the two master trackers in the Investigator's Office, the other being Zong Zhui.
Wang Qinian explained that his clerk position was safe, but having recently been dismissed from the Investigator’s Office, he needed to support his family. He offered his services to Fan Xian, requesting a monthly salary, land, and oxen, excitedly adding that his daughter loved pork belly, so ten extra pigs would be fantastic.
He warned Fan Xian of the perilous journey ahead, suggesting that Si Lili, likely a Beiqi secret agent, would have meticulously planned her escape, making their pursuit fraught with danger. Fan Xian, driven by a desire to avenge his friend, readily accepted the challenge. Before their departure, Wang Qinian insisted on collecting his tracking equipment from home.
Fan Xian found Wang Qinian's extreme caution around his house amusing, realizing he was thoroughly dominated by his formidable wife, Mrs. Wang, whom he endearingly called "tigress-like." Moments after Wang Qinian slipped inside, sounds of a woman scolding and a man begging for mercy erupted. He soon emerged, carrying a case and bearing a fresh handprint on his face, yet seemed content. Observing that time permitted, Fan Xian decided to visit Lin Wan’er to bid her farewell.
Under the cover of night, Fan Xian entered Wan’er’s room through the window, finding her awake and lost in thought. She expressed her worry about his public killing of Cheng Jushu but found solace in knowing he did it to avenge Teng Zijing. Fan Xian informed her about Si Lili’s involvement in the assassination and her subsequent flight, explaining he had to pursue her and urging Wan’er not to worry. As he turned to leave, he asked for a hug.
Wan’er initially remained still, but as he moved towards the door, she rushed to embrace him, confessing her constant concern and pleading with him to return quickly if he did not wish her to suffer. At dawn, as Fan Xian and Wang Qinian attempted to leave the capital city, Zhu Ge and his subordinates blocked their path at the city gate, intending to arrest Wang Qinian for secretly reviewing confidential documents.
Fan Xian presented his Director-General token, asserting that Wang Qinian acted under his orders. However, Zhu Ge dismissed this, believing Fan Xian was being manipulated. Just then, Fan Jian, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, arrived with a contingent of imperial guards. Confronted by Fan Jian’s unexpected display of authority, Zhu Ge grudgingly relented, allowing Fan Xian and Wang Qinian to pass.
Fan Jian expressed his concern for Fan Xian’s safety but ultimately permitted him to proceed, advising extreme caution. Wang Qinian observed that Fan Jian wielded extraordinary power, noting that these imperial guards were usually reserved for the Emperor himself, a testament to Fan Jian’s deep, long-standing relationship with Emperor Qing, which dated back to the Emperor's days as a crown prince. News of Fan Jian’s intervention reached the palace, prompting Emperor Qing to summon him.
The Emperor feigned anger, reprimanding Fan Jian for overstepping his authority. Unfazed, Fan Jian calmly explained that he was merely interpreting the Emperor’s true intentions. He reasoned that Emperor Qing allowed Fan Xian to learn of Cheng Jushu’s release, permitted his public execution, and suppressed Zhu Ge’s attempts to punish Wang Qinian, all to encourage Fan Xian to continue the investigation.
Fan Jian elaborated that Emperor Qing sought to test Fan Xian’s capabilities and judgment before entrusting him with control of the Neiku treasury, a position fraught with intricate power struggles. He asserted that tracking Si Lili was a crucial test of Fan Xian's analytical and executive skills under pressure. Amused, Emperor Qing accepted Fan Jian's wager that Fan Xian would successfully capture Si Lili.
Fan Xian and Wang Qinian gathered information from the city gate guards, who reported that Si Lili had left the city in a black cloak, heading north, followed by several other cloaked figures who then dispersed to create confusion. This confirmed Si Lili’s elaborate escape plan. Wang Qinian then demonstrated his skill by using a slingshot to bring down a carrier pigeon from the Investigator's Office.
He explained that such pigeons often passed through this area from northern towns, and having raised pigeons himself, he knew the Investigator's Office sent multiple birds, so the loss of one would typically go unnoticed, attributed to natural predation.
The message carried by the pigeon confirmed that the Investigator's Office, under Zhu Ge's direction, had indeed deployed multiple secret agent teams to pursue Si Lili northwards, and two of the decoy teams had already been intercepted, though none of them was Si Lili. Using his meticulously drawn map of the land, Wang Qinian identified a specific town that Si Lili would inevitably pass through if she were genuinely heading north to Beiqi.
He proposed that they could patiently wait to intercept the Investigator's Office convoy returning with Si Lili and then use Fan Xian's Director-General token to take custody of her for personal interrogation. However, Fan Xian felt an increasing sense of unease. He reconsidered Si Lili's actions: burning her pleasure boat and staging such a conspicuous, multi-pronged escape to the north. He realized that if her true goal was merely to escape unnoticed, she would have disguised herself and left discreetly.
Her dramatic actions—the burning boat, the prominent departure, and the scattering decoys—were designed to attract maximum attention, a classic "trick to lure the tiger from the mountain." This elaborate ploy, he concluded, was meant to divert everyone's focus to the north. Given the heightened tensions between Nanqing and Beiqi and the heavily fortified northern border, a direct northern route, even if attempted subtly, would be too risky for a true Beiqi agent.
Therefore, Fan Xian surmised, Si Lili was not among the northern-bound teams, and her actual escape route lay elsewhere. Fan Xian asked Wang Qinian if any other routes could lead to Beiqi without heading north. After careful consideration, Wang Qinian proposed an alternative: traveling eastward to a coastal city and then returning to Beiqi by sea. He identified Danzhou harbor, Fan Xian's childhood home, as the most probable port for such a journey.
They also determined that instead of departing through the north gate and then turning towards Danzhou harbor, a route obstructed by mountains and passes, the most convenient path would be to re-enter the capital and depart through the east gate. Indeed, Si Lili had taken this eastward route. After her decoy teams had left the capital, she cleverly used the excuse of seeking medical treatment for an illness to pass through the city guards at the east gate.
She then rode swiftly eastward on horseback until she reached an inn, where she stopped to rest. Coincidentally, not long after she checked in, Fan Xian and Wang Qinian also arrived at the same inn. Initially, Fan Xian was eager to continue their pursuit, but Wang Qinian, drawing on his experience, insisted that rest was often more crucial than constant travel when tracking someone. Si Lili, from her room, overheard Fan Xian's voice and immediately hid behind her door.
Wang Qinian, unaware of her presence, simply requested a premium room from the waiter. Si Lili, contemplating an escape, hesitated. When she saw the waiter carrying food to Fan Xian and Wang Qinian's room, she quickly called him over. As Wang Qinian and Fan Xian settled into their room and received their meal, Wang Qinian enthusiastically discussed how Si Lili, with only one horse, wouldn't be able to outpace them over long distances without proper rest and premium fodder.
However, just as he was about to eat, Fan Xian immediately recognized that the food was poisoned. Fan Xian stepped out and summoned the waiter, who initially lied, claiming the food came directly from the kitchen without anyone else touching it. Fan Xian, feigning panic, dragged the waiter back into their room, pointing to Wang Qinian, who was dramatically pretending to be dead with blood oozing from his face, and threatened to report the murder to the authorities.
Terrified, the waiter quickly confessed that the young lady from the room directly opposite theirs had indeed handled their food, claiming she wanted to check its quality before ordering her own meal.
