Joy of Life Episode 20 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Lin Ruofu burned the characters written by Lin Gong in front of Fan Xian, indicating that he would let go of the past in the future and focus on supporting Fan Xian. He also told him to be careful of the Eastern Palace. Firstly, Fan Xian needed to take the Imperial Treasury away from the Eldest Princess; secondly, his close interactions with the Second Prince would naturally cause misunderstanding from the Crown Prince. The capital is a deep place.
If he doesn't choose a faction to align with, it will inevitably bring disaster upon himself. The best way is to be impartial and avoid meeting with the Crown Prince and the Second Prince as much as possible. Fan Xian was worried that the Crown Prince saw him as a thorn in his side, and that if the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, it would bring disaster upon the Lin family.
Now that he was to become the Lin family's son-in-law, he naturally belonged to the Lin family. Lin Ruofu sighed and said that he would try his best to mediate. If the Crown Prince consistently regarded Fan Xian as an enemy, the position of Crown Prince could just as easily be occupied by someone else.
When Fan Xian left, he told Dabao that he would marry Wan'er in the future and would treat him to cakes and take him to see the sea. Dabao was greatly pleased by his coaxing. However, Dabao often mentioned Erbao Lin Gong, which made Fan Xian feel somewhat complicated inside. Fan Xian gently told Dabao that Erbao had gone to a very, very distant place.
Who knew that Dabao immediately realized that Erbao had died, just like the small animals he had raised before. Wan'er had told him that death meant going to a very, very distant place and never returning, but one day he would also go to that place. So, although Dabao missed him, he wasn't sad; he looked forward to the day they would reunite. Yuan Hongdao reported the results of interrogating Si Lili to the Crown Prince.
He didn't understand why Lin Ruofu had decided so quickly to entrust his daughter and the future of the Lin mansion to Fan Xian. Lin Ruofu said calmly that he had previously seen Fan Xian and Dabao together. In fact, Prime Minister Lin knew clearly that even the servants in the mansion always looked at Dabao with mockery and disdain. Most people looked down on him and were impatient to talk to him.
But when Fan Xian was with him, his smile was sincere, and he could see that it came from the heart. At that moment, he decided that if Lin Gong's death had nothing to do with him, the Lin family would choose him as their future support. When Fan Xian left, Dabao was reluctant to part.
He felt that Fan Xian was different from the people Prime Minister Lin had called over before, because those people didn't like playing with him; they only smiled at him when his father was present. But he didn't tell his father about this, because if his father knew, he would scold those people. Fan Xian was attracted by Dabao's innocence and kindness.
In the days since he came to the capital from Danzhou, he had met many people, and he felt that Dabao was more lovable than most of them. Dabao was very happy to hear him praise him and repeatedly urged him to come and play with him often. Fan Xian left the Lin mansion in a happy mood. Not long after, Wang Qinian, covered in sweat, caught up with him.
He quickly told Fan Xian that the Crown Prince had left the Eastern Palace and was going to the Investigator's Office to see Si Lili, or rather, he was going to rescue Si Lili. The Crown Prince told Ruoruo that he would swear as the Crown Prince that if she told the truth of the night interrogation, he would rescue her from the dungeon and ensure her safety. After hearing this, Fan Xian rushed to the Investigator's Office.
He knew clearly in his heart that the only reason Si Lili hadn't told the truth until now was that she knew the Investigator's Office valued Fan Xian. Therefore, as long as she was held in the Investigator's Office, she wouldn't speak. If she knew the Crown Prince would save her, she would definitely tell the truth.
As long as Si Lili told the truth, the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Lin, and even His Majesty would believe that he had killed Lin Gong. The two hurried to the Investigator's Office and found that the Crown Prince had already arrived. They had no choice but to hide in the shadows to observe. Now they could only hope that someone could stop him and prevent him from entering the Investigator's Office, otherwise it would be a dead end.
Fortunately, Emperor Qing had issued an imperial decree that no princes were allowed to interfere with matters of the Investigator's Office. Wang Qinian guessed that the officials inside the office would not let the Crown Prince in. The Crown Prince stopped at the entrance of the Investigator's Office with his elite guards. As expected, Zhu Ge came forward to stop him.
But the Crown Prince was not afraid; he arrogantly told Zhu Ge that he was going to force his way in, unless Zhu Ge dared to lay a hand on him. Zhu Ge naturally wouldn't take action, but Yan Ruohai dared. He threatened that if the Crown Prince continued to trespass, he would have to knock him unconscious.
The Crown Prince seemed to be provoked by him and actually ordered his guards to draw their swords, intending to force their way in. Seeing this scene from the shadows, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. He hadn't expected the Crown Prince to be so aggressive, and he even considered packing his bags and fleeing the capital. Just then, a familiar rumbling sound came from the street.
Fan Xian quickly went to look and found that it was the black knights escorting the Director back. After Chen Pingping got out of the carriage, Fan Xian saw this prominent figure, second only to one person in the capital, for the first time.
Curious about his legs, Wang Qinian told him that years ago, Chen Pingping had led the black knights on a thousand-mile raid to capture Xiao En, the greatest villain of Bei Qi, but after being injured in that battle, he could no longer walk. Chen Pingping saw the Crown Prince leading the guards and treated him like a child playing house, simply and lightly telling him to go back. How could the Crown Prince tolerate his attitude?
He loudly questioned him, asking since Chen Pingping's power was immense, did he dare to kill the Crown Prince? Chen Pingping calmly said that laying hands on the Crown Prince was not the way of a subject. The Crown Prince then thought Chen Pingping didn't dare stop him. He grabbed a knife and was about to rush inside.
Seeing this situation, Wang Qinian took out a dagger from his waist, aimed it briefly, and suddenly shot it towards the Crown Prince. With a single phrase, "Protect the Crown Prince," Chen Pingping had people forcibly pull the Crown Prince away. After meeting Chen Pingping, Fan Xian finally understood why the black knights had appeared in time that day. Wang Qinian admitted that he had indeed been specially arranged by the Director to be by his side.
Chen Pingping was very close to Fan Xian. He brought up some past events about Ye Qingmei, and his words were full of nostalgia. However, Fan Xian still remained wary of him. Seeing that he didn't trust him, Chen Pingping wasn't angry and also told Fan Xian that he didn't need to worry about Lin Gong's matter anymore; he would personally conclude it.
After Wang Qinian and Fan Xian finished eating, Fan Sizhe came to find Fan Xian after listening to storytelling at a teahouse, intending to discuss opening a shop with him. Before they could talk much, Eunuch Hou arrived with people, ordering Fan Xian to enter the palace. Fan Xian entered the palace and saw Prime Minister Lin. He went in with him to meet Emperor Qing. It turned out that the reason he was called here was for a confrontation.
The Crown Prince suspected that Fan Xian and the Second Prince were the murderers of Lin Gong. Emperor Qing watched them argue endlessly. He didn't favor either side but asked for the opinion of the victim, Lin Ruofu. Lin Ruofu then placed the blame on Chen Pingping, believing it was the Investigator's Office's negligence. Emperor Qing indeed summoned Chen Pingping. As soon as he entered the palace, Emperor Qing pretended to blame him for incompetence. However, Chen Pingping told him that he had already found the murderer, who was Four Gu Jian from Dongyi City.
