Joy of Life Episode 37 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
The people of Shangjing hurled insults and humiliation at Fan Xian and the Qing Kingdom envoy team. Fan Xian saw that all of this was Shen Zhong's doing behind the scenes. He had Gao Da retrieve a flag from the baggage cart. He leapt onto the roof of the carriage, unfurled the military flag, and publicly announced that this was the military flag planted by the Qing Kingdom border army on the soil of Northern Qi.
The military flag fluttered in the wind. Fan Xian wanted to bring this military flag into the Northern Qi imperial palace. The people of Shangjing were enraged, and they protested together. Shen Zhong warned Fan Xian not to incite public anger. Fan Xian asked Gao Da for a spear and openly declared war on them. Wang Qinian was worried for Fan Xian. Zhao Zhelin of the Imperial Guards' Tiger Roar Battalion jumped up to fight Fan Xian.
Fan Xian effortlessly knocked him to the ground. Emperor Qing calculated that Fan Xian should have arrived at Shangjing, the capital of Qi Kingdom. He then ordered the million-strong border army to advance thirty li towards the Qi Kingdom border. Chen Pingping saw that Emperor Qing was using this to support Fan Xian. The young emperor of Qi Kingdom learned that Fan Xian was planting a flag and provoking people in the street.
At the same time, he heard that the Qing Kingdom army was bearing down. Before the young emperor could react, the Qi Kingdom officials immediately became flustered. At this moment, another person jumped onto the carriage roof and declared war on Fan Xian. Fan Xian knocked him to the ground with a few punches and kicks. Someone secretly tried to use hidden weapons, but Fan Xian caught him red-handed. He Dao Ren suddenly stopped Fan Xian's carriage.
He was Cheng Jushu's master and a ninth-level expert. He Dao Ren immediately began fighting Fan Xian without saying a word. Neither gave way. Fan Xian did not dare to prolong the fight and used all his vital energy to knock him off the carriage. He Dao Ren was not convinced and threatened to stab Fan Xian to death with a sword. Fan Xian knew he was certainly going to die and couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
Shen Zhong worried that the situation would escalate and be difficult to resolve. He signaled the Jinyiwei, and they swarmed forward and surrounded He Dao Ren. Shen Zhong advised Fan Xian to stop provoking, or the consequences would be unimaginable. Fan Xian quickly went along with the flow, put away the flag, and jumped down. Seeing this, He Dao Ren had no choice but to cease his efforts.
Fan Xian was also injured in the fight with him and coughed up a mouthful of blood on the spot, which scared Wang Qinian. Fan Xian had relied on his domineering vital energy to face Shangshan Hu and Haitang Duoduo along the way, but his subtle control was extremely insufficient.
The reason he stood on the carriage roof to plant the flag and challenge was to avoid the moves and techniques of Northern Qi experts and only compete with them using vital energy. Thanks to Shen Zhong's timely intervention, otherwise, Fan Xian would have been in grave danger. Shen Zhong took Fan Xian, Wang Qinian, and Gao Da to the palace to meet the emperor. The guards stopped Wang Qinian and Gao Da.
Shen Zhong only brought Fan Xian for the audience. Fan Xian presented the national letter to the young emperor. The young emperor glanced through it hastily and then asked Fan Xian which chapter his book had been written to. The civil and military officials discussed among themselves, and Fan Xian was also stunned. The young emperor had no choice but to dismiss the court and keep Fan Xian alone.
The Qi Emperor bowed and apologized to the Empress Dowager, who was governing behind a curtain, claiming that upon seeing the poetry god Fan Xian, he had been overcome with inspiration and lost his manners. The Empress Dowager walked out from behind, with Haitang Duoduo following closely. The young emperor wanted to go out for a walk with Fan Xian and discuss poetry, and the Empress Dowager also wanted to go along. The young emperor politely declined.
The Empress Dowager had Haitang Duoduo accompany them, which was actually to monitor their every move. The young emperor took Fan Xian and Haitang Duoduo to the pavilion in the imperial garden. Inspired, he composed a poem. Fan Xian praised him profusely, flattered him in every possible way, and used the most extravagant compliments. The young emperor was not annoyed; he had long heard from Haitang Duoduo about Fan Xian's various rogue behaviors.
However, Fan Xian flatly denied knowing Haitang Duoduo. The young emperor then pointed out their battle in the stone forest and revealed that Fan Xian wanted to join forces with the Empress Dowager to seize power. Fan Xian was immediately greatly alarmed. He had not expected that Haitang Duoduo, who was outwardly the Empress Dowager's confidante, was actually the young emperor's person. Fan Xian trembled with fear.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhong came to the inner palace to complain to the Empress Dowager, worried that the young emperor and Fan Xian were plotting something. The Empress Dowager sent Haitang Duoduo to stay by their side. Shen Zhong seized the opportunity to boast of his achievements, claiming to have killed the old嬷嬷 bribed by the young emperor. The Empress Dowager praised him highly.
The young emperor urged Fan Xian to quickly update the story of the Red Mansions and also asked for his help to eliminate the powerful minister Shen Zhong, who was loyal to the Empress Dowager. He promised to let him bring back Yan Bingyun soon. Fan Xian did not want to take the risk, lest he be accused of murdering a high-ranking official of another country. The young emperor repeatedly emphasized that Yan Bingyun was being held by Shen Zhong.
However, Fan Xian was not convinced. He felt that Shen Zhong had no reason to detain Yan Bingyun, so he said goodbye to the young emperor and left. Fan Xian went directly to Shen Zhong to ask for the person. However, Shen Zhong used the excuse that the Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching and that he had already obtained Emperor Qing's consent beforehand, asking Fan Xian to stay and celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.
Fan Xian proposed taking Yan Bingyun back to the envoy team's residence first. Shen Zhong used the excuse that he still had some things to ask Yan Bingyun. Fan Xian had no choice but to propose meeting him. Shen Zhong readily agreed but then asked him to wait patiently, citing complicated procedures. Fan Xian was so angry his teeth were itching, and he secretly vowed to find Yan Bingyun.
Emperor Qing invited Chen Pingping and Fan Jian to Taiping Villa to fish. Fan Jian was worried about Fan Xian and felt resentful towards Emperor Qing's actions. However, Emperor Qing and Chen Pingping were still chatting and laughing. Emperor Qing clearly knew there were no fish in the lake; he just wanted to reminisce about the past with them.
They both recalled the scene from back then: the three of them sitting here fishing, Ye Qingmei moving among them, her laughter and words still seemingly echoing, but now things were different. Fan Jian had no time to dwell on these past events. He accused Emperor Qing of not having left Fan Xian in Shangjing.
Emperor Qing felt that Fan Xian had had too smooth a journey and wanted him to undergo hardship in Qi Kingdom; otherwise, he would not be able to bear the heavy responsibility of being the foremost powerful minister in Qing Kingdom. Fan Jian also knew Emperor Qing's good intentions, but he just couldn't let it go. Fan Xian returned to the envoy team's residence and saw a group of Northern Qi warriors shouting loudly outside the entrance from a distance.
Their swords and blades were piled up like a mountain. Shen Zhong told Fan Xian gleefully that this was a custom of Northern Qi: they would throw their blades to challenge Fan Xian to a duel. Fan Xian saw that Shen Zhong wanted to wear him down with a relay battle. So Fan Xian had Gao Da fight these warriors. Gao Da was naturally eager to do so. The warriors lined up waiting to spar with Gao Da.
Fan Xian took Wang Qinian to the Tiaowang Inn to find Guo Baokun and sent him to inquire about the address of the Jinyiwei prison. Guo Baokun repeatedly confirmed that Fan Xian would rescue his father from prison after the matter was settled, then rushed out to ask around. Shen Zhong had already arranged people to guard outside the inn. As soon as Guo Baokun appeared, they immediately split up; one person tracked Guo Baokun, and the other returned to report to Shen Zhong.
