Joy of Life Episode 2 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Lord Fan sent the red-armored knights to Danzhou to pick up Fan Xian and take him to the capital, but the Old Madam refused without hesitation. Those people then kept kneeling at the entrance. Seeing this, Fan Xian was very conflicted. He wanted Wuzhu to give him some advice, but Wuzhu said that the Miss had done business in the capital back then. Fan Xian continued to inquire, but he said he couldn't remember.
Fan Xian asked him about the murderer of his mother, and Wuzhu frankly admitted that he wasn't sure either. Whether to go to the capital to risk investigating the truth, or continue living a peaceful life in Danzhou, all of this was for Fan Xian to decide himself. During dinner, Steward Zhou reported to the Old Madam that those red-armored knights had been kneeling there all along and wouldn't even accept the food from the manor.
The Old Madam directly interrupted him and invited Fan Xian to eat, making it clear she didn't want to bother with them. Steward Zhou had no other way. Fan Xian, however, had no mind for such matters. He was staring intently at a plate of bamboo shoots on the dining table.
Just as the Old Madam was about to pick up her chopsticks, he quickly moved the bamboo shoots in front of him and asked Steward Zhou where these bamboo shoots came from. Steward Zhou was very displeased with his impolite behavior and answered reluctantly that Old Ha, who delivered the vegetables, was sick, and these were sent by his nephew. Fan Xian asked while devouring the food, finishing the entire plate of vegetables in a few bites.
Then he quickly excused himself and ran out. As soon as he reached the courtyard, Fan Xian began to vomit, throwing up all the food he had just eaten. It was then that he discovered that many maids and servants in the courtyard were painfully lying on the ground, vomiting and having diarrhea. He quickly fetched milk to induce vomiting in everyone, but he found that the red-armored knights in the courtyard were gone.
Old Ha had delivered vegetables to the manor for many years, and Fan Xian guessed that he must have been coerced this time. The red-armored knights, however, couldn't concern themselves with this. Fan Xian also suggested that if it was a diversion (to lure the tiger away from the mountain), he told them to go back and protect the Old Madam. He alone, with a knife in hand, went to Old Ha's house.
As he entered the courtyard, Fan Xian saw Old Ha tied to a pillar. Just as he was about to approach, he found the courtyard gate closed with a bang. A stern-faced man wearing a black cloak was sizing him up. The person who came was indeed Teng Zijing, a member of the Fourth Division of the Investigator's Office. This time, he had been ordered to come and kill Fan Xian.
As soon as Fan Xian opened his mouth, Teng Zijing waved his hand and flicked his cloak. Inside, dozens of throwing knives were hidden. Fan Xian cursed loudly, stepped forward, and began to fight with him. Teng Zijing struck ruthlessly. Fortunately, Fan Xian had undergone Wuzhu's devilish training these past years, and his movements were also very agile. The two fought for dozens of moves when Fan Xian suddenly clutched his chest and fell to the ground.
It turned out that Teng Zijing had poisoned his dagger. Seeing that he was hit and relaxed, Teng Zijing asked Fan Xian why he didn't let the red-armored knights in just now. Fan Xian didn't answer, but just glanced indifferently at Old Ha beside him. Teng Zijing didn't expect that he would risk his own life for a vegetable delivery man.
Just as he was about to step forward and finish off Fan Xian, he found that he couldn't circulate his inner energy. While the originally weak Fan Xian stood up at this moment. He had been trained by Fei Jie since he was a child, and he didn't know how many poisons he had ingested. Ordinary poisons had no effect on him. And he had also smeared poison on his own dagger.
Under Fan Xian's interrogation, Teng Zijing revealed that he had received a secret order from the Investigator's Office to come and execute a national traitor. Fan Xian was very shocked upon hearing this. He took out the Prosecutor's waist token that Fei Jie had given him and told Teng Zijing that he was just an illegitimate son of the Fan manor, without power or influence, and not a national traitor. This secret order was likely problematic.
Teng Zijing also sensed something was wrong at this point. Fan Xian continued to inquire and found out that it was Steward Zhou who had colluded with Teng Zijing to poison the vegetables. When Fan Xian returned to the manor, he saw Steward Zhou tied up and kneeling in the hall. Steward Zhou's scheme had been exposed, but he still argued self-righteously that everything he did was for the Fan family.
He was sent by Second Madam Liu Ruyu, and his purpose was to prevent Fan Xian from returning to the capital to fight for family property and disrupt the household. The Old Madam nodded upon hearing this. She got up and walked up to Fan Xian, telling him that when he grew up, his heart must be ruthless.
She then had the servants break Steward Zhou's legs and throw him onto a fishing boat, telling him he wouldn't need to come ashore for the rest of his life. Steward Zhou finally understood at this moment that the Old Madam, who had seemingly disliked Fan Xian for so many years, was actually protecting him.
The Old Madam told Fan Xian that it was Liu Ruyu who had sent a letter telling Steward Zhou to cooperate with the Investigator's Office assassin; the intention was to put him to death. Fan Xian, however, had already decided to go to the capital to investigate himself. He had been hiding for so many years, but he still couldn't avoid it, so he might as well face it head-on himself.
If it was truly Liu Ruyu, he would express that he had no intention of fighting for family property. The Old Madam saw that he had made up his mind and learned that he would set off for the capital tomorrow. Her heart felt indescribably complicated. It turned out that assassins had been lurking in the Danzhou manor since his childhood.
Fan Xian was worried about the Old Madam's safety, which was why he had made her seem indifferent towards him. On the other side, Teng Zijing also received an urgent order from the Investigator's Office. The investigation found that someone wanted to use the Investigator's Office to kill Fan Xian. In order to investigate the truth, Teng Zijing asked Fan Xian to pretend to kill him. Before departing, Fan Xian went to say goodbye to Wuzhu.
He told him that he was going to the capital to investigate the truth behind his mother's murder, but he didn't want Wuzhu to keep following him, living for him. Instead, he hoped he could also find something he wanted to do and live his own life. Wuzhu felt this sentence was very familiar. He thought for a long time, remembering that the Miss had also said something similar.
He took out a box and told Fan Xian that this was left by the Miss back then, and the thing he most wanted to do was open it, but he didn't have the key. The box's material was unknown, and Fan Xian couldn't open it despite his best efforts. Therefore, Wuzhu decided to go to the capital to retrieve the key, but he would go ahead first. The two agreed to meet in the capital.
The next day, Fan Xian said goodbye to the Old Madam and set off for the capital with the red-armored knights. On the way, Fan Xian unexpectedly discovered that Teng Zijing had disguised himself as a servant and mixed into the convoy. Teng Zijing also told him that the red-armored knights picking him up to go to the capital was for him to get married. Fan Xian was extremely surprised upon hearing this.
The convoy traveled for several days, and the journey was relatively smooth. One day, Teng Zijing suddenly darted into Fan Xian's carriage. Afterward, a merchant caravan approached from the opposite direction. Teng Zijing told Fan Xian that this merchant caravan was disguised people from the Investigator's Office. Fan Xian unexpectedly found that Fei Jie was also among them. Fan Xian secretly followed them. Fei Jie also saw him, so he secretly found an opportunity to meet with him.
Fei Jie told Fan Xian that this time, he was sending Yan Bingyun to the Northern Qi intelligence station, and all of this, in the final analysis, was for Fan Xian. It turned out that Teng Zijing was a subordinate of Yan Bingyun in the Fourth Division. People from the Fourth Division taking action against their own Prosecutor - this responsibility must be borne by Yan Ruohai. Yan Bingyun was precisely Yan Ruohai's son.
The Director was very angry about Fan Xian's matter, so he removed Yan Bingyun from his position and sent him to Northern Qi to take over the intelligence network. Yan Bingyun secretly sent his subordinates to try and reclaim the Prosecutor's waist token from Fan Xian, but he was blocked by Fei Jie and had no choice but to give up. From then on, the journey was smooth. Soon, Fan Xian and his group arrived at the capital.
Upon reaching the city gate, Wang Qinian, a scribe from the Investigator's Office, suddenly stopped the convoy. He spoke eloquently, praising Fan Xian greatly. He tricked him into spending two taels of silver on a fake map. Fan Xian had to act as the scapegoat to help Teng Zijing enter the capital as quickly as possible. Not long after entering the capital, Teng Zijing said goodbye to Fan Xian.
He also reminded him that Liu Ruyu likely wouldn't let him enter the manor so smoothly. The convoy continued forward. Fan Xian leaned out, staring intently at the bustling street scenes. He still didn't know that inside a civilian house not far away, a group of disheveled women were waiting for him. Waiting only for him to get close, they would swarm him, intending to ruin Fan Xian's reputation with this.
Who would have thought, the carriage suddenly stopped not far from the civilian house. An honest-looking middle-aged man sent the guards away. He himself drove the carriage to send Fan Xian back to the manor, and all the women inside that house had already been captured and executed. Claiming to send Fan Xian back to the manor, the carriage, however, took a detour and stopped in front of a temple.
The coachman left under the pretext of needing to relieve himself. Fan Xian got off the carriage, half-believing, half-doubting, wanting to go into the temple to have a look. But he was stopped by a stern-faced guard. The two exchanged a palm strike.
Just as Fan Xian, not wanting to cause trouble, was about to leave, the guard suddenly opened the door, saying his master allowed him to enter the temple to worship, but only permitted him to enter the side hall.
