Joy of Life Episode 19 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Lin immediately summoned Fan Xian after Lin Gong's death. Just as Fan Xian was in a difficult position, the Imperial Guard arrived at this moment, and Emperor Qing sent an oral decree summoning him to the palace for an audience. The one who led Fan Xian into the palace was Eunuch Hou, who was also the mysterious driver who took Fan Xian to the temple last time.
Fan Xian then realized with a start that entering the temple that day was Emperor Qing's intention. As he walked, Eunuch Hou instructed Fan Xian to be careful with his words and actions in front of Emperor Qing, and especially not to touch the bows and arrows inside the palace, as those were the Emperor's beloved possessions. As they walked, Fan Xian suddenly saw a masked figure in black fly over a high wall.
Fan Xian was greatly surprised that there was an assassin in broad daylight, but Eunuch Hou said there was no need to be surprised. Now that the State of Qing was powerful, Bei Qi and Dongyi City feared Emperor Qing like a tiger, and assassinations had become commonplace. As expected, the assassin was quickly dealt with by Gong Dian. Eunuch Hou told Fan Xian that Gong Dian was the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard and served before the Emperor.
Fan Xian immediately realized that Emperor Qing was likely also in the temple that day. Emperor Qing received Fan Xian in the Imperial Study. When he saw Fan Xian arriving, he deliberately hid, observing Fan Xian's words and actions from the shadows. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a while, Fan Xian actually called out to Emperor Qing loudly. Emperor Qing had no choice but to come out. When Eunuch Hou saw Emperor Qing, he immediately reminded Fan Xian to kneel.
But Emperor Qing asked Fan Xian if he wanted to kneel. Fan Xian subconsciously replied that he didn't. Emperor Qing gently allowed him not to kneel, which made Eunuch Hou beside him feel both surprised and nervous. Emperor Qing asked Fan Xian if he had seen the assassin just now. It turned out that this assassin was from Bei Qi. He was discovered by the Investigator's Office on his first day in the capital.
During his time in the capital, he was subtly influenced by six people one after another, strengthening his belief and finally resolving to act today. Most importantly, those six people were actually Qing's secret agents, and instigating him to assassinate was precisely Emperor Qing's directive. The war between the State of Qing and the State of Qi had been planned for a long time and could not be without cause; that assassin was the reason for sending troops.
Although this plan left some obvious traces, it happened to coincide with the Niu Lan Street assassination case. Fan Xian killed Cheng Jushu, interrogated Si Lili at night, and Bei Qi secret agents were lurking in the capital. This was an even better reason to attack Qi. Afterwards, Emperor Qing, on the grounds of executing the assassin and capturing the secret agent alive, specially appointed Fan Xian as Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
Just as Fan Xian was about to thank him for the grace, Emperor Qing suddenly dropped a question, asking if he had killed Lin Gong. Fan Xian immediately denied it, saying he had no reason to kill him. Emperor Qing then said that Lin Gong had planned the Niu Lan Street assassination case. Fan Xian naturally did his best to deny knowing about it.
Emperor Qing didn't care if what he said was true or false, only telling him that the Crown Prince already knew about this matter. Before his voice fell, the sound of the Crown Prince requesting an audience came from outside the door. Fan Xian didn't want to see the Crown Prince, so Eunuch Hou came out and told the Crown Prince that Emperor Qing had something to instruct the Assistant Minister, Fan Xian, and would not grant an audience today.
The Crown Prince snorted coldly after hearing this, bowed deeply towards the study, and left indignantly. Eunuch Hou returned to the study and was startled to see Fan Xian playing with a bow and arrows in the room. Emperor Qing told him that he would have to deal with the Crown Prince himself. Fan Xian took the opportunity to ask if Prime Minister Lin was looking for him also because of this matter.
Emperor Qing said mysteriously that Prime Minister Lin had already agreed to his marriage with Wan'er. As for the specifics, he would know the reason when he arrived at Prime Minister Lin's mansion. Before Fan Xian left, Emperor Qing casually pointed out something to Fan Xian, saying that he appeared sincere and straightforward, but in reality, every move he made was a disguise.
Hearing this, Fan Xian's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he broke out in a cold sweat due to the Emperor's capriciousness. Prime Minister Lin's advisor, Yuan Hongdao, came to the Investigator's Office to find Zhu Ge. The guard checked the interrogation tools he carried with him and became suspicious of him.
Seeing that the guard was unwilling to announce him, Yuan Hongdao casually picked up the needle in his hand and pressed it against the guard's throat, strongly expressing his intention again. On the other side, Ye Ling'er hurried to find Fan Xian and asked if he had killed Lin Gong. Hearing Fan Xian's denial, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fan Xian ordered Wang Qinian to pass a message to Fan Ruoruo, asking her to tell the Crown Prince about his whereabouts. Fan Ruoruo came to the Eastern Palace and told the Crown Prince about Fan Xian's whereabouts. After hearing this, he remained calm and told her that he already knew about this matter, saying that Fan Xian's trip would likely end in misfortune, and Prime Minister Lin was bound to find out the reason for Lin Gong's death.
On the other side, Yuan Hongdao found Si Lili through Zhu Ge. Si Lili denied ever telling Fan Xian about this matter. Yuan Hongdao subjected her to torture to test if she was lying, but Si Lili never changed her statement. Yuan Hongdao interrogated for a while, then Yan Ruohai appeared and invited him out. Fan Xian came to the Lin Mansion alone. The guard opened the door and led him in.
In the courtyard, he happened to meet Prime Minister Lin's eldest son, Lin Dabao. Fan Xian then played a game with Lin Dabao for a while. Prime Minister Lin observed their interaction secretly from the side. To his surprise, Fan Xian was very patient with the mentally challenged Dabao, and the two got along very happily.
Yuan Hongdao told Prime Minister Lin about Si Lili's matter and felt that Fan Xian didn't know Lin Gong was the murderer of Niu Lan Street. After Prime Minister Lin learned this, he asked Yuan Hongdao to go into the palace and inform the Crown Prince of the situation. Dabao brought Fan Xian to the study to meet Prime Minister Lin.
During their conversation, Prime Minister Lin took out Lin Gong's handwriting and told Fan Xian that Dabao had a serious illness when he was a child, and after recovering, he became like this. Although he had grown up, his mind was like that of a child. Among his three children, Dabao was mentally challenged, Lin Wan'er also suffered from consumption, and only the second son, Lin Gong, was relatively healthy.
Now that Lin Gong had been killed, the Lin family's hope was completely gone. Prime Minister Lin even directly told Fan Xian that Lin Gong was the mastermind behind the Niu Lan Street assassination, wanting to test Fan Xian's attitude towards the Lin family. Fan Xian pretended to have just learned about this, not understanding why Lin Gong would want to kill him. Seeing that his reaction didn't seem fake, Prime Minister Lin finally let down his guard.
He now only hoped that Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er would marry as soon as possible, and in the future, the Lin family's assets and connections would also be handed over to him, as long as he protected Lin Wan'er and Dabao. Fan Xian stated that this was not a transaction, because he already had Lin Wan'er in his heart.
