Joy of Life Episode 27 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Emperor Qing saw the poem on the scroll and immediately his face darkened. Zhuang Mohan claimed that even without looking at the scroll, one could see the clues. The meaning in the last four lines of this poem was desolate and downcast. How could one write such a mood without having experienced great ups and downs in life? Fan Xian, however, paid no attention, only burying his head in drinking. Soon, his eyes became blurred.
Zhuang Mohan continued, saying that Fan Xian was young and renowned, and it was impossible for him to have such a melancholic state of mind. A young man feigning sorrow goes too far and becomes a laughingstock. Seeing that Fan Xian had brought such disgrace upon Qing Kingdom, Emperor Qing's face was so dark it could drip water.
Guo Baokun could no longer suppress the joy in his heart and proactively stepped forward to report that Fan Xian was a fraud seeking fame, having shamed all the scholars of Qing Kingdom. He pleaded with His Majesty to strip him of his official titles, banish him from the capital, and never employ him in this life. Fan Xian was relatively calm. He retorted to Guo Baokun, asking why he was still so overjoyed if he had shamed Qing Kingdom.
When exactly did he know that Zhuang Mohan would debate the truth in the hall? Otherwise, why would he have asserted so confidently the moment he entered the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests today that he would see Fan Xian's ruin? Guo Baokun couldn't justify himself. Guo Youzhi quickly stepped forward to smooth things over for his son, stating that there had always been discord between them, and their dispute was irrelevant to the larger picture.
However, the matter of Fan Xian's plagiarism should be severely punished, otherwise it would be difficult to quell the murmurs of the common people. Things had reached this point, and Fan Xian could no longer avoid it. He picked up his wine cup, walked to the center of the main hall, and admitted that the poem was indeed copied by him, but it was copied from the work of Du Fu, the Sage of Poetry from Shangling.
It had nothing to do with Zhuang Mohan's teacher. Zhuang Mohan said angrily that he had devoted his life to literature and had never heard the name Du Fu. Fan Xian said seriously, there was no Du Fu in historical records because he belonged to a world of unparalleled elegance and dazzling literary talent, a world that could even be called the immortal realm. That was a painting left behind in his dreams, a fragment of his lingering memory.
These truthful words, however, earned him a hall full of laughter. Guo Youzhi immediately reported to Emperor Qing, requesting that Fan Xian be charged with deceiving the monarch. Fan Xian ignored him, turned to Zhuang Mohan, and asked if his teacher had any other unknown poetic works. Zhuang Mohan said there was only one. Fan Xian laughed unrestrainedly, grabbed a wine jar, and asked for paper and brushes. Upon seeing this, Eunuch Hou immediately offered to transcribe for him.
Perhaps Fan Xian was truly drunk. His body drifted through this world, while his soul retained memories from his previous life. There was no one he could tell, no one he could trust. Sometimes, he was even lonelier than the emperor on the throne. In the past, Li Bai composed three thousand poems with a jar of wine; today, Fan Xian drunkenly recited a hundred poems.
The people present became more surprised the more they listened, and more silent the more they listened. It was as if he wanted to recite all the poems in his mind in one go. In the end, it took seven or eight eunuchs wielding brushes just to keep up with his speed. It wasn't until Fan Xian finished reciting that Guo Baokun mumbled drunkenly about the so-called immortal realm in this world.
The Second Prince chimed in, asking him, if there were no immortal realm in the world, where did these poems come from? Guo Baokun blurted out, "Then Fan Xian must have written them himself." After saying this, he felt something was wrong and quickly changed his tune, saying that even if he wrote a thousand or ten thousand poems, it couldn't prove that the seven-character poem wasn't copied.
The Second Prince scoffed, saying, if a person could casually recite famous lines that would be passed down through the ages, why would he need to plagiarize? Fan Xian swayed unsteadily to Zhuang Mohan's seat, pointed at his nose, and laughed, saying that when it came to annotating poetry and prose or being a literary giant, he was inferior to him. But when it came to reciting poetry and being a person, he was inferior to himself.
After saying this, he collapsed to the ground drunk, unconscious. Zhuang Mohan's reputation of over seventy years was ruined in one morning. Feeling both shame and guilt, he vomited blood on the spot and fainted. The night banquet thus turned into a farce. Who knows how many were happy and how many were sad? Wang Qinian carried Fan Xian back to the manor. Fan Xian whispered in his ear that the plan remained unchanged.
Fan Jian and Liu Ruyu heard from Eunuch Hou about how Fan Xian had greatly enhanced the nation's prestige at the night banquet. Fan Jian was filled with pride, and Liu Ruyu busied herself with arranging for Fan Xian to sober up. It was Ruoruo who took the initiative to personally look after Fan Xian and persuaded everyone else to leave. As soon as they left, Fan Xian took out a pill and swallowed it, then he vomited profusely.
Hong Sixiang reported everything that happened in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests to the Empress Dowager, saying that after today, Fan Xian had truly become the 'Little Immortal Poet Fan', and it was clear that Zhuang Mohan was indeed lying and slandering him. The Empress Dowager sighed that Zhuang Mohan, at his age, had ultimately failed to preserve his reputation in his later years, and ordered Hong Sixiang to leave.
On the other side, Emperor Qing looked at the transcribed poems of Fan Xian and sighed that Qing Kingdom was founded on military might, and in terms of literary achievements, it was far inferior to Qi Kingdom. This had also been the previous emperor's heartache. He couldn't believe that in a single night, they had left Qi Kingdom far behind, as if it were a dream.
After sobering up, Fan Xian entrusted Ruoruo with guarding the room, put on night clothes, and met up with Wu Zhu outside the palace. Fan Xian was worried that Wu Zhu's features were too distinct and told him to make sure not to be recognized. Wu Zhu, however, said that his clothes and sword were stolen from the Dongyi diplomatic mission. Even if they investigated, they wouldn't trace it back to them.
He used to do this kind of thing often when he was with Miss, so he was used to it. According to the plan, Wu Zhu would distract Hong Sixiang for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and Fan Xian would enter the palace to get the key. Wu Zhu climbed over the wall and snuck into the imperial harem. He was quickly discovered by Hong Sixiang.
Wu Zhu lowered his voice and said he had taken a wrong turn, then ran away. How could Hong Sixiang let him leave so easily? The destructive power of two grandmasters fighting was astonishing. Wu Zhu deliberately used the moves of Sigujian, making Hong Sixiang even more unwilling to let him go. The two leaped and bounded, quickly moving far away.
Fan Xian had been lurking in the shadows, and seeing Wu Zhu leading Hong Sixiang away, he leaped over the wall into the palace. Yan Xiaoyi, who was leading a patrol, heard the movement. He ordered someone to fetch his bow and arrows, leaped onto the rooftop, wanting to locate the source of the sound. Fortunately, Fan Xian was well-prepared. Yan Xiaoyi's hearing and eyesight were extraordinary, but there were many people in the palace.
As long as he didn't jump or run quickly, or climb high, it would be difficult to be discovered. Following the route in his memory, Fan Xian quickly found the Empress Dowager's palace. He added incense to the censer, knocking out the Empress Dowager and the palace maids on night duty. Then, he opened the secret compartment under the bed and successfully stole the key.
After leaving the palace, Fan Xian met up with Wang Qinian and had the previously arranged locksmith duplicate a fake key. However, when returning the fake, Fan Xian saw Li Yunrui's personal maid entering the palace with a mysterious person wearing a cloak and a veiled hat. A thought sparked in his mind, and he followed them all the way. It wasn't until they reached the Eldest Princess's palace that he discovered the person was actually Zhuang Mohan.
It turned out that the Eldest Princess had revealed Yan Bingyun's identity in exchange for Zhuang Mohan ruining Fan Xian's reputation at the night banquet. And Zhuang Mohan, who had spent his entire life upholding his integrity, did this surprisingly to save his biological brother, Xiao En. Now, Zhuang Mohan's goal had been achieved, but the Eldest Princess's plan had completely failed. She was both angry and hateful.
She told Zhuang Mohan to tell the Emperor of Qi Kingdom that he owed her a favor, which would have to be repaid in the future. Zhuang Mohan didn't understand why the Eldest Princess was so determined to kill someone as talented as Fan Xian. The Eldest Princess said viciously that she just wanted to see him cornered and desperate. Fan Xian was startled by this remark.
He turned back and saw the Eldest Princess's personal maid walking along the corridor. In his panic, he accidentally made a noise and was discovered by the maid. The two quickly exchanged blows. Although Fan Xian had the upper hand, this alerted Yan Xiaoyi. He fled with all his might, but was still shot down from the top of the wall by Yan Xiaoyi's arrow. By the time Yan Xiaoyi arrived with the imperial guards, there was no one there.
On the ground, there were only a broken arrowhead and shattered cloth. Yan Xiaoyi was sure his arrow would wound anyone it hit, and immediately ordered the imperial guards to spread out and search carefully.
