Joy of Life Episode 17 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Si Lili was taken away by the Investigator's Office, Ye Ling'er refused to tell the truth, the clues were exhausted, the road ahead was blocked. To avenge Teng Zijing, Fan Xian had only one path left. In the afternoon, Fan Xian was leisurely eating in the courtyard. Not long after, Wang Qinian climbed over the wall carrying a large box. It was the same wine jar, the familiar face-plant.
Wang Qinian got up holding his old waist and muttered, complaining why Fan Xian didn't move the wine jar. Fan Xian laughed, saying he always sneaked in like this, and if he moved the wine jar, how would he know he had arrived. The two bantered for a few moments. Fan Xian handed him the promised silver note and said that the tasks concerning 'niu', 'di', and 'zhu' had already been assigned. Wang Qinian was very satisfied.
Fan Xian then asked a couple of casual questions about his wife and child. While asking, Fan Xian suddenly blurted out where Si Lili was being held, and Wang Qinian answered truthfully without hesitation. Immediately, Fan Xian asked Wang Qinian to draw a map of the Investigator's Office's entrances and exits, as well as the guard situation. Wang Qinian knew he was going to take a great risk, but he did it anyway.
Just then, Fan Ruoruo came to find Fan Xian and told him about her visit to the Eastern Palace today. Ruoruo had always suspected that the Crown Prince wanted to kill Fan Xian. Her visit revealed that the Crown Prince was not as the outside world claimed, being inferior to the Second Prince and weak in character, but rather a person who was good at hiding and had a deep scheming mind.
It is worth mentioning that although she could not tell if the Crown Prince intended to kill Fan Xian, she discovered a secret. There were many paintings of ladies in the Crown Prince's study, each lifelike but without facial features. It was likely because he was deeply in love and did not want others to know the identity of the woman. Ruoruo deduced that the person the Crown Prince liked might be Si Lili.
Because of her identity as a Northern Qi spy, he could not be close to her, which was why he attacked Fan Xian, who had spent a night with Si Lili. Fan Xian was speechless after hearing this. If it were true, the plot would be too melodramatic. Wang Qinian finished drawing a rough map of the Investigator's Office dungeon and gave it to Fan Xian. That night, Fan Xian, dressed in a night suit, planned to sneak in.
Unexpectedly, on the way, Wang Qinian suddenly appeared. He knew Fan Xian was determined to go, so he wanted to give Fan Xian his prized possession. Fan Xian refused his kind offer, knowing that if he were caught, he would likely implicate Wang Qinian. He arrived at the entrance of the Investigator's Office and saw the inscription left by Ye Qingmei on the stone tablet. Only then did he understand why Ye Qingmei wanted to change this world.
People are born without noble or humble status, but in this world, status is everything. The Investigator's Office was heavily guarded. Fan Xian followed the map and quickly entered the dungeon during a guard gap. Unbeknownst to him, as soon as he entered, the guards who had just left quickly returned to their original positions, as if the gap was deliberately created for him to enter. The dungeon was empty, with only Si Lili locked alone in an iron cell.
As soon as Fan Xian saw her, he proposed an exchange. Si Lili asked him to turn his head and look first. Fan Xian quickly turned around, only to find that Yan Ruohai was already waiting for him in the cell. Yan Ruohai did not explain, only took out a key and told him he was the chief interrogator.
Sending him away at noon today was also to worry that the person behind it would know he was the chief interrogator and might do something unfavorable to Fan Xian if cornered. Then he left. Seeing this scene, Si Lili did not understand Fan Xian's status, that he was so highly valued by the Investigator's Office. Zhu Ge waited for Yan Ruohai at the entrance of the dungeon. He did not understand why Yan Ruohai was protecting Fan Xian.
Yan Ruohai told him that it was the Director's intention and that he was just following orders. Fan Xian told Si Lili that her life was now in his hands and asked her to tell him the ins and outs of the Niu Lan Street assassination. Only then did Si Lili have no choice but to tell the truth. She was originally from Northern Qi, tasked with lurking, and had the authority to coordinate her colleagues in Kyoto.
Except for orders from the Northern Qi imperial family, she was not subject to any restrictions. Until someone discovered her identity as a spy, and Cheng Jushu, who was lurking outside the capital, was also captured by this person and secretly sent into the capital. Logically, only important figures in Northern Qi had the right to know Cheng Jushu's whereabouts. She guessed that her own identity was also leaked by high-level Northern Qi officials.
Cheng Jushu was unruly and did not yield to coercion, but would act according to a token. That person then came to the Drunken Immortal Inn and forced Si Lili to hand over her spy token. On that day, she did not know that the person they wanted to kill was Fan Xian. After hearing about the Niu Lan Street assassination, she burned her boat and left the capital, but she was still caught back by Fan Xian.
Fan Xian pressed her for the identity of the person behind it, but Si Lili insisted that she would never tell unless he let her leave the city. Si Lili had undergone spy training and was not afraid of torture. Fan Xian knew that the only way to deal with someone like her was psychological attack.
He told Si Lili that he would not torture her, but would dig a sufficiently small secret room in the deepest part of the Investigator's Office dungeon, where she would be locked alone, without light or any sound, only endless darkness and silence. Hearing his words, Si Lili involuntarily became nervous, but stubbornly said she could die. Fan Xian smiled at her words.
He directly threw out a bottle of poison and told her that taking one pill would result in instant death. He could see that Si Lili had no intention of dying; she had even remembered to tidy her hair before going down to the dungeon. How could someone who couldn't let go of her appearance let go of her life? Pushed step by step by him, her psychological defense finally collapsed, and she told him the mastermind through tears.
Wang Qinian was still worried about Fan Xian. He followed close behind to check the situation, but was caught by Zhu Ge and others. Wang Qinian pitifully told them that he had come to get the silver noteed in a document. Zhu Ge was half-believing and sent someone to verify. After the interrogation, Fan Xian took out a piece of paper and gave it to Zhu Ge. On it was a list of Northern Qi spies in Kyoto.
He also told him that he had promised to spare Si Lili's life and not torture her, only imprison her. Zhu Ge questioned his authority. Yan Ruohai interrupted, saying that Fan Xian did have this authority because it was the Director's intention. Fan Xian saw Wang Qinian and did not expect him to be willing to take such a risk for him, sighing that he was a good person.
The next day, Fan Xian had Fan Sizhe clear the way, leading a group of people with drums and gongs to the Royal Villa to request an audience with Lin Wan'er. The Second Young Master was so angry when he heard the news that his face turned green. He ordered his subordinates to strengthen defenses and kill Fan Xian as soon as he entered the courtyard. Wan'er was very anxious seeing her second brother and her beloved at loggerheads.
She secretly sent a maid to warn Fan Xian. At the gate of the Royal Villa, Fan Sizhe's group made a commotion. As expected, a maid opened the door. Fan Xian went in with her. On the way, he met Wan'er's maid. The maid whispered for him to leave quickly, saying the Second Young Master wanted to kill him. As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of waiting guards surrounded them.
Fan Xian was outnumbered and had no choice but to climb over the wall and leave. Only then did Wan'er relax. Lin Gong simply told her not to have any more illusions about Fan Xian, as their father had already decided to cancel the marriage.
Fan Xian came to find Ye Ling'er and told her that he already knew the person who gave the order was Lin Wan'er's second brother, Lin Gong, and that after investigation, Lin Gong was a firm supporter of the Crown Prince. Ye Ling'er saw that he indeed knew and advised him to just drop the matter and not bring disaster upon the entire Fan Mansion for the sake of a mere guard.
