Joy of Life Episode 22 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Wu Zhu recalled Chen Pingping avenging his mistress by drenching the capital in blood. Under the stimulation to his brain, he remembered that the Taiping separate residence where his mistress used to live was five li east of the city.
Fan Xian was worried that going directly to investigate would be noticed, so he planned to gather a few people to go out of the city under the guise of an outing, and then seize the opportunity to look for the key. The next day, the three siblings of the Fan family set off early. When they reached the city gate, Lin Wan'er's carriage was already waiting for him.
Ye Ling'er was originally sitting with Wan'er, but Fan Xian shamelessly held onto Wan'er and wouldn't let go. She really couldn't bear to watch, so she ran over to Ruoruo's carriage. Seeing Fan Xian make Ye Ling'er leave in a huff, Lin Wan'er felt both sweet and shy with just the two of them left in the small carriage. She quickly changed the subject and asked why they weren't leaving yet.
Fan Xian smiled mysteriously at her and said there was one more person. At that moment, the sound of horses' hooves clattered from outside. Wan'er lifted the carriage curtain and saw that Dabao was sitting inside the carriage. Today was clear and bright, the spring scenery was beautiful, and with friends and loved ones by his side, it was truly a good time for an outing.
As soon as the war started, Yan Ruohai was busy arranging secret reports at the border, making him extremely occupied. The war was progressing very smoothly, causing officials in the Six Ministries to start clamoring, believing they should launch a full-scale attack to capture Bei Qi. Zhu Ge reported to Chen Pingping that many people in the Investigator's Office also held this view.
Chen Pingping didn't care about these things; Emperor Qing had decided on a plan of gradual encroachment, and those who defied the imperial decree had only one outcome in his eyes. Not long after Zhu Ge left, Shadow appeared silently. He told Chen Pingping about Fan Xian's outing to the suburbs of the capital. Chen Pingping frowned and asked why he hadn't gone to protect him.
Shadow coldly replied that he couldn't go because if something happened to Chen Pingping, he wouldn't be able to rush back. Chen Pingping was puzzled. Shadow continued, saying that there were now other hidden voices in the Investigator's Office, and some people had had enough of Chen Pingping's control. He cautioned Chen Pingping, especially to be careful of the people around him.
On the surface, Zhu Ge followed Chen Pingping's orders to investigate and suppress this matter, but in fact, he knew that the person stirring up trouble in the Investigator's Office was Yan Ruohai. After all, they had been colleagues for many years, and he privately advised Yan Ruohai to stop. Yan Ruohai, however, said that his son, Yan Bingyun, was still in Bei Qi, his life hanging in the balance.
Only by quickly destroying Bei Qi could Yan Bingyun return soon. Moreover, he was also acting for the sake of Qing. Zhu Ge was speechless, but a faint worry began to rise in his heart. Fan Xian and his group arrived in the suburbs. Fan Xian and Wan'er sat under a tree, while Dabao and Fan Sizhe played by the river poking at insects.
Ruoruo had wandered off somewhere, Wang Qinian was sleeping soundly in the carriage, and only Ye Ling'er had nothing to do. Feeling extremely bored, she went to find Dabao, wanting to teach him some martial arts moves. Fan Sizhe, however, pulled Dabao aside and whispered that Ye Ling'er was a tigress and told him not to pay attention to her. Unexpectedly, Dabao turned around and told this to Ye Ling'er.
Ye Ling'er was so angry she chased after Fan Sizhe to hit him. The three of them ended up chasing and tumbling around together. Fan Xian hadn't expected these three to be able to play together. Lin Wan'er told him that Dabao still had a child's heart and that his willingness to come out with Fan Xian was a great show of trust in him. Wan'er felt very grateful for Fan Xian's kindness towards Dabao and also felt more guilty.
Last night, Lin Ruofu had come to the royal separate residence late at night and instructed her to find an excuse today to be alone with Fan Xian, preferably away from everyone, and to enter the woods by herself. It turned out that Lin Ruofu had not dismissed his suspicion of Fan Xian.
He held an assumption in his heart: if a master was hidden by Fan Xian's side, even if Fan Xian was in the city, that master could go outside the city to assassinate Lin Gong. Therefore, he wanted to conduct one last test on Fan Xian. He sent all the masters from his mansion outside the city to assassinate Fan Xian.
Once it was confirmed that there really was such a master by Fan Xian's side, he could confirm that it was he who killed Lin Gong. Conversely, if there wasn't, he would fully dedicate himself to nurturing Fan Xian. What Lin Ruofu didn't know was that the news of his late-night meeting with Wan'er had already reached the Crown Prince, who was personally rushing to the suburbs of the capital, also planning for a "suburban excursion".
Dabao and the other two somehow found a fishing net and were having fun catching fish. Fan Xian was watching with great interest when Wan'er suddenly stammered and suggested going for a walk with him to a secluded spot. Fan Xian was puzzled. Just then, Ruoruo returned. She handed Wan'er a flower crown and suggested that Fan Xian also pick some flowers to make a flower crown for Wan'er by hand.
Fan Xian took the opportunity to get up and leave with Ruoruo. In fact, although Ruoruo said she was going to pick flowers, she was actually scouting the way for Fan Xian. Fan Xian originally wanted to go alone, but Ruoruo insisted on accompanying him. Thinking that Uncle Wu Zhu was there, he didn't stop her.
The siblings didn't walk far before they saw a large house nestled among blooming flowers and green trees on the other side of the river. On the other side, Wan'er was anxiously waiting for Fan Xian, Ye Ling'er was dozing off, and only Dabao and Fan Sizhe were playing enthusiastically. At this moment, the Crown Prince suddenly appeared, startling Wan'er. The Crown Prince told everyone not to make a fuss and called Wan'er aside for a private talk.
Wan'er didn't understand what the Crown Prince wanted to tell her. The Crown Prince directly asked her what Lin Ruofu had told her during his late-night visit. He guessed that Lin Ruofu had not completely let go of his suspicion towards Fan Xian, but that Wan'er must be in a difficult position caught in the middle. Wan'er didn't know how to answer. The Crown Prince then said that he knew who killed Lin Gong.
He asked Wan'er to tell Lin Ruofu that the killer was indeed a Grandmaster. As the two were talking, a group of masked men in black suddenly rushed out from the bushes. The leader held a knife against the Crown Prince's neck and said that Fan Xian's end was near. Lin Wan'er quickly explained that this person was not Fan Xian. The Crown Prince was bewildered and asked Wan'er if this was his father's doing.
Hearing this, the leader immediately explained that he and his group had no connection to the Prime Minister's mansion. In their panic, their masks even fell off, making it both infuriating and amusing to watch. Fan Xian observed for a while and found that there was no weeds on the walls of the mansion, indicating that someone regularly maintained it. However, there was no smoke from cooking fires near noon, which proved that no one was living there.
Moreover, the area around the mansion was unusually quiet, without even bird calls, which made him feel a faint sense of unease. As the two were talking, a sharp sword suddenly flew through the air, passing between him and Ruoruo and sticking into a tree. Fan Xian walked closer to examine it, when two more arrows attacked. When he turned around, he saw Ruoruo had fainted on the ground.
Fan Xian was startled, but fortunately, it turned out Wu Zhu had knocked her out. Wu Zhu told Fan Xian that the archer was a Ninth-Rank archer. He decided to hold that person off himself and let Fan Xian take a detour to enter and search for the key in the bedroom opposite the square tower in the lake. He also reminded him to focus on checking the bookshelf and under the bed.
Fan Xian was curious how Wu Zhu would lure the enemy. Wu Zhu turned around, pulled the arrow from the tree with his bare hands, and casually threw it towards the opposite side. Fan Xian watched with his own eyes as the arrow pierced through the courtyard wall, gaining a further understanding of Wu Zhu's superhuman abilities. After a while, the separate residence on the opposite side indeed opened its door.
Several guards walked out, carrying items such as a table, grill, fruits, etc., and placed them one by one on the riverbank. Then, a man walked out carrying a precious bow. This person was none other than Yan Xiaoyi, the Commander of the Imperial Guards. Yan Xiaoyi ate while shouting towards Wu Zhu's direction, asking him to shoot another arrow and try again.
Wu Zhu ignored him, while Fan Xian quietly entered the separate residence from the other side as planned. Soon, he successfully found the bedroom. Just as he was searching on the bed for a few moments, he suddenly discovered that there was someone behind the screen in the room. He drew his dagger and quietly approached, and was startled to find that the person sitting there was Emperor Qing.
Outside, Yan Xiaoyi finished the watermelon and roasted lamb leg like a whirlwind. Seeing that there was still no movement from the opposite side, he prepared to leave. But just as he turned around, Wu Zhu pulled out another arrow from the tree and shot it towards him. Yan Xiaoyi discovered Wu Zhu's location, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and with repeated shots, he literally shot down the large tree where Wu Zhu was hiding.
However, Wu Zhu had already prepared. He used his staff as a pivot and lay flat on the ground on his back. Seeing no one behind the tree, Yan Xiaoyi quickly led his men back into the courtyard. Emperor Qing snatched the dagger Fan Xian had hidden behind him as soon as they met. Fan Xian nervously made the excuse that he had come to ask for a drink of water.
Emperor Qing didn't expose him, only saying that an old friend of his used to live here and that he would come to visit in his spare time. Fan Xian couldn't help but ask Emperor Qing what kind of person the owner of the house was. Emperor Qing didn't answer, but instead changed the subject. At this moment, Yan Xiaoyi had already rushed back to the separate residence.
He knelt outside the door and loudly reported to Emperor Qing about what had just happened by the river, asking about his safety. Emperor Qing said he was fine, but Yan Xiaoyi heard that something was wrong; there was more than one person in the room. While drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, he also asked Emperor Qing if he wanted to eat. Emperor Qing subconsciously replied that he had already eaten.
Suddenly, he remembered something, quickly rolled over and pushed Fan Xian away, then ran to the door and opened it, telling Yan Xiaoyi that Fan Xian was an attendant official of the Imperial Court and that he was not under threat.
It turned out that Yan Xiaoyi had strength above the Ninth-Rank, only a step away from being a Grandmaster, and a master above the Ninth-Rank could hear the breathing of two people even through a wall, and even distinguish their positions. Afterwards, Emperor Qing instructed Yan Xiaoyi not to stop Fan Xian from leaving later and also told him to transfer a battalion of troops to guard this place after returning to the palace. From then on, no one would be allowed to approach this separate residence.
