Joy of Life Episode 29 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Grappling with the profound revelations from his mother Ye Qingmei's letters, Fan Xian found himself with more questions than answers. He was particularly perplexed by her assertion that "vitality Qi" didn't exist, a notion at odds with his own martial arts practice. Despite the allure of deeper mysteries, Fan Xian ultimately decided to set them aside for now, choosing instead to fully embrace his life in this era and prioritize the well-being of those around him.
Wuzhu supported this decision but cautioned Fan Xian to ensure his recent secret infiltration of the imperial harem remained undiscovered. Fan Xian confidently assured Wuzhu that his actions were untraceable. However, Fan Xian's confidence was immediately shattered when Wang Qinian burst in, frantic, to announce that their palace escapade had been exposed. Wang Qinian recounted being intercepted by Chen Pingping and Master Shadow while discreetly escorting the locksmith out of the city.
Master Shadow had produced the locksmith's house key, revealing the man was Chen Pingping's spy, a discovery that underscored the sheer breadth of Chen Pingping's intelligence network within the capital. Despite this, Chen Pingping sent a message through Wang Qinian, assuring Fan Xian that his nocturnal activities would remain secret and that he would provide cover and support for any actions Fan Xian wished to undertake.
Although surprised by Chen Pingping's unexpected backing, Fan Xian decided he would first attempt to handle the crucial task of returning the fake key to the Empress Dowager's palace himself, reserving Chen Pingping's assistance as a last resort. To achieve this, Fan Xian turned to his fiancée, Lin Wan'er, recognizing her unique advantage of having grown up in the palace. He requested her assistance in entering the palace disguised as one of her accompanying eunuchs.
Wan'er agreed but, in a playful act of defiance, subjected Fan Xian to a tedious and arduous lesson in eunuch etiquette before finally relenting. When she pressed him for his true motives, Fan Xian candidly confessed to having broken into the imperial harem the previous night to retrieve a key from the Empress Dowager's palace, a key intrinsically linked to his mother's past.
He emphasized the urgency of returning it that same day, explaining that his honesty was a testament to his promise never to lie to her. Wan'er, though startled by the magnitude of his confession, seemed to accept his sincerity. Accompanied by Fan Xian in his eunuch disguise and other attendants, Wan'er entered the palace. Noticing an unusual number of guards, she subtly inquired with a palace maid.
The maid revealed that a thief had indeed broken in the previous night, adding a rather scandalous detail: the "thief" was rumored to have been meeting the Princess Royal's maidservant for a tryst. Finding the story unbelievable, Wan'er nonetheless cast a pointed glance at Fan Xian. Leveraging her close bond with the Empress Dowager, Wan'er presented homemade pastries and pest-repelling fumigants, deeply touching the elderly royal.
Seizing a prime opportunity, Wan'er subtly asked about Eunuch Hong's whereabouts, learning he had been temporarily assigned to assist Emperor Qing following the previous night's intrusion. Realizing this cleared a path, Wan'er then suggested a stroll in the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers while servants used the fumigants to rid the palace chambers of pests. The Empress Dowager readily agreed, unknowingly facilitating Fan Xian's delicate mission.
Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoyi reported to the Princess Royal that the Beiqi mission was making preparations to depart. However, the Princess Royal remained preoccupied with the mysterious palace intruder. When Yan Xiaoyi mentioned that Hong Sixiang recognized Si Gujian's fighting style during his encounter with one of the assassins, the Princess Royal immediately spotted a critical inconsistency: Hong Sixiang engaged the assassin around 11 PM, but Yan Xiaoyi only detected a second intruder near her palace after 1 AM.
She deduced that if the assassins' true objective was her, the two-hour gap suggested an entirely different agenda. To uncover the truth, she instructed Yan Xiaoyi to obtain an Imperial Decree from the Empress Dowager, authorizing a comprehensive search of all palace areas for anything missing or unusual.
While Wan'er skillfully entertained the Empress Dowager in the garden, Fan Xian, under the cover of the fumigation, stealthily returned to the Empress Dowager's palace and successfully swapped the stolen key with its fake counterpart. At the same moment, Yan Xiaoyi arrived at the Empress Dowager's palace to request the Imperial Decree. Despite being informed that the Empress Dowager was in the garden, he sensed a lingering presence within her chambers and attempted to investigate.
However, palace maids firmly blocked his entry, citing palace rules. Yan Xiaoyi reluctantly proceeded to the garden, where the Empress Dowager, after granting the Princess Royal's request, suddenly remembered the secret compartment under her bed. Rushing back, she dismissed all attendants, opened the compartment, and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the key, completely unaware of the substitution.
Yan Xiaoyi reported back to the Princess Royal, informing her of the martial arts master he sensed in the Empress Dowager's palace, despite the maids' denials. This deepened the Princess Royal's suspicions. She found it highly improbable that Hong Sixiang, a renowned Great Master, would fail to apprehend an assassin, even one employing Si Gujian's techniques.
She speculated that Hong Sixiang had been intentionally lured away, and the assassins' effortless infiltration and subsequent disappearance strongly suggested they were the Empress Dowager's own people. Fan Xian's impromptu poetry performance at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest had turned him into a national sensation. Despite the unknown origins of the poems, Chen Pingping saw an opportunity to elevate Qing's cultural prestige.
He ordered the Investigator's Office's Eighth Division to immediately publish the poems, explicitly forbidding any further investigation into their source, and actively encouraged the public belief that Fan Xian was a "poetic genius." Soon, Fan Xian's poetry collection was ubiquitous, cementing his fame. This rise was quickly followed by a public scandal: as Xin Qiwu was publicly extolling Fan Xian's virtues, countless leaflets descended upon the capital.
These papers meticulously detailed accusations of treason against Princess Royal Li Yunrui, alleging secret dealings with Beiqi, and even a scandalous affair with Zhuang Mohan. The Princess Royal, realizing the devastating power of public opinion, understood these leaflets were designed to corner her, while her maid worried deeply about Emperor Qing's inevitable reaction. Emperor Qing, holding one of the defamatory leaflets, discussed the escalating scandal with Chen Pingping.
While the Emperor dismissed the rumors of the Princess Royal's affair with Zhuang Mohan as absurd, he acknowledged that the widespread public uproar demanded a swift resolution. Chen Pingping subtly pressed, asking if His Majesty desired a mere "result" or the "truth." The Emperor did not answer directly and simply dismissed him. Meanwhile, Yan Ruohai, incensed by the allegations that the Princess Royal's actions had led to his son Yan Bingyun's capture, confronted Zhu Ge.
He vowed not to let the matter rest if an internal conspiracy was responsible. Yan Ruohai explicitly stated his distrust of Chen Pingping, suspecting that Chen Pingping's overt support for Fan Xian was intended to undermine his son, whom he viewed as Fan Xian's primary rival among the younger generation.
Fan Xian, reveling in the public chaos he had meticulously orchestrated, boasted to Wuzhu that his method of distributing the leaflets was flawless and untraceable, ensuring he could observe the unfolding drama from a safe distance. However, his triumphant declaration was abruptly cut short by the arrival of Chen Pingping. After a quick scan for Wuzhu, Chen Pingping presented Fan Xian with a leaflet, directly accusing him.
Fan Xian's denials were met with irrefutable evidence: the Investigator's Office's Eighth Division, under Xuan Jiu, had meticulously analyzed the paper's unique materials, processing, and texture, identifying it as a specific Hexi Circuit product. Crucially, the immense quantity of this particular, uncommon paper found throughout the capital could only have originated from Fan Xian's own Danbo Bookstore, leaving him no room for further denial.
Flustered by this unforeseen exposure, Fan Xian jokingly blamed his brother, Fan Sizhe, for purchasing cheap paper, acknowledging his own oversight in underestimating the Investigator's Office, particularly its Eighth Division. Chen Pingping reminded him not to dismiss the formidable institution, emphasizing its founding by his mother, Ye Qingmei. Chen Pingping then pressed Fan Xian on the truth behind the leaflets' accusations.
Fan Xian clarified that while the rumored affair was false, the Princess Royal's betrayal of Yan Bingyun was indeed true, a confession he personally overheard during his palace infiltration. He justified his actions by stating that the Princess Royal had initiated attempts on his life, leaving him no choice but to retaliate.
Acknowledging that public opinion alone wouldn't suffice, Fan Xian revealed his next strategic move: to leverage Guo Youzhi, the Minister of the Board of Rites, as the key breakthrough in his plan against the Princess Royal. Fan Xian elaborated on his suspicions regarding Guo Youzhi, recalling how Guo Baokun's drunken boasts at a banquet had hinted at Guo Youzhi being the crucial intermediary between the Princess Royal and Zhuang Mohan.
He also pointed out Zhuang Mohan's mysterious disappearance upon his initial arrival in the capital, suggesting Guo Youzhi, who was among those who met him, likely facilitated a secret meeting. Chen Pingping confirmed that the Investigator's Office had already investigated this, capturing Guo Youzhi's carter, who confessed to secretly transporting Zhuang Mohan to the imperial harem that night, where he was met by another contact. With this solid evidence, Chen Pingping asked Fan Xian about his ultimate objective.
Fan Xian declared his unwavering resolve: to have Princess Royal Li Yunrui permanently removed from the capital. Chen Pingping promptly presented his memorial to Emperor Qing. Confronted with the damning evidence, the Princess Royal admitted that Guo Youzhi was her follower and that she had met Zhuang Mohan. She attempted to deflect the accusations of treason by claiming she merely sought Zhuang Mohan's guidance on ancient texts and vehemently denied betraying Yan Bingyun.
Emperor Qing, appearing skeptical of her explanations, asked Chen Pingping if he had anything to add. Chen Pingping shrewdly bypassed the "ancient texts" excuse, instead highlighting the Princess Royal's direct violation of the rule against imperial harem involvement in politics by secretly cultivating Guo Youzhi, thereby accusing her of forming factions for personal gain. Cornered, the Princess Royal had no choice but to confess to this offense.
When Emperor Qing calmly asked for her proposed resolution, she coldly recommended that Guo Youzhi, for his collusion with the imperial harem, be handed over to the Ministry of Penalty. When Emperor Qing pressed her, asking if she wouldn't even protect her own man, she ruthlessly declared, "the law is merciless," and that Guo Youzhi had brought his fate upon himself.
Emperor Qing, after a brief, mirthful laugh, dryly remarked that she was indeed a true descendant of the imperial family. Soon after, Guo Youzhi's mansion was sealed off. Guo Baokun frantically protested, asserting his father's high official rank and threatening to complain directly to the Emperor. However, Guo Youzhi, observing the presence of both Ministry of Penalty officials and Imperial Guards, understood that his fate was sealed by Emperor Qing's direct command.
In despair, he urged his son, Guo Baokun, to publicly denounce him in memorials, to declare a complete break in their father-son relationship, and to accuse him of "wild ambition" to safeguard his own future. Guo Youzhi tearfully expressed his regret at being unable to continue protecting his son's path to success.
