Joy of Life Episode 4 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Fan Xian pushed open the study door and stood respectfully in front of his father, Fan Jian, who was handling official business. Fan Jian simply told him to close the door and ignored him afterward. On the other side, the Second Madam instructed the servants to clean up the servants' kitchen for Fan Xian to stay in.
Upon learning that Fan Xian had been in the study for a long time without coming out, she uneasily sent Fan Sizhe to find out what was happening. Unexpectedly, Fan Sizhe took advantage of the maid's inattentiveness and slipped away. As night began to fall, Fan Xian kept standing and watching Fan Jian handle official business until he finally stopped. Only then did he kneel down to greet him.
Fan Jian asked Fan Xian what kind of person he wanted to be. Fan Xian honestly said he didn't have grand ambitions, only hoping for a peaceful life, immense wealth, beautiful wives and concubines, and a dashing demeanor. Fan Jian then asked how he planned to get rich. Fan Xian mentioned the common methods used by transmigrators, such as making glass, soap, and white sugar.
Who knew that these things had already been invented by Ye Qingmei back then, but were only supplied to the nobility and thus didn't spread widely? Fan Xian could only sigh, "Why was my mother born, and then me?" Following this topic, Fan Jian brought up that after Ye Qingmei's death, the businesses under her name were taken over by the imperial family and became part of the imperial treasury.
Since Emperor Qing didn't have time to manage them, they were handed over to Princess Li Yunrui. The princess possessed peerless beauty and a gentle temperament. Although not Emperor Qing's biological sister, she was highly trusted and had not yet married. Fan Xian hadn't expected his seemingly serious father to gossip with him and teased if he had taken a fancy to the princess.
Fan Jian was helpless and told him that the princess and the current prime minister, Lin Ruofu, had an illegitimate daughter named Lin Wan'er. Only a few people knew about this matter, and Lin Wan'er was the woman he was to marry upon his arrival in the capital this time. Emperor Qing had given an oral decree that whoever could marry Lin Wan'er could take over the imperial treasury.
This was also the reason Fan Jian brought Fan Xian back to the capital. This was the best time to reclaim Ye Qingmei's businesses. There were many people who did not want Fan Xian to take over the imperial treasury, and one of them was Princess Li Yunrui. Late at night, Li Yunrui personally entered the palace to request an audience with the Empress Dowager.
Citing Fan Xian's lack of virtue and talent as a reason, she pleaded with the Empress Dowager to prevent Fan Xian from marrying Wan'er. The Empress Dowager, upon hearing her words, gave a look to Eunuch Hong, the head eunuch beside her. Eunuch Hong understood, walked over to Li Yunrui, and suddenly slapped her hard.
The Empress Dowager warned Li Yunrui that only Emperor Qing could make decisions regarding matters of the inner palace, and this slap was a reminder for her to know her place. Fan Xian had thought that if the princess disagreed, the marriage wouldn't happen. However, Fan Jian told him that the princess couldn't decide Lin Wan'er's marriage; only Emperor Qing could. Emperor Qing had four sons.
The eldest prince was in charge of the military outside, and the fourth prince was young. Currently, the ones contending for imperial power were the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. The princess had always supported the Crown Prince's faction. Emperor Qing absolutely could not allow the financial power of the imperial family to be controlled by the Crown Prince, and therefore decided to change the person in charge.
This was likely also the reason for Fan Xian's assassination attempt in Danzhou. Fan Xian thought Fan Jian's words were biased towards Liu Ruyu, so Fan Jian took him to confront Liu Ruyu face-to-face. Fan Jian asked Liu Ruyu if she had instructed Steward Zhou to assassinate Fan Xian.
Liu Ruyu was very shocked upon hearing this and urgently explained to him that doing so would bring her no benefit at all, and would even enrage the master and have her kicked out of the Fan manor. Upon hearing this, Fan Ruoruo felt there was some truth to her words, but Fan Xian felt that a few sentences from her couldn't prove her innocence. During the meal, Liu Ruyu's demeanor suddenly changed, becoming very affectionate towards Fan Xian.
Fan Xian also played along, and they interacted back and forth like a close mother and son. Fan Sizhe was very puzzled by this scene and quietly asked Ruoruo about the situation. When he heard that Fan Jian suspected his mother wanted to kill Fan Xian, the chopsticks in his hand fell in fright. After the princess left the Empress Dowager's palace, Gong Dian came to summon her to see Emperor Qing.
As soon as the princess saw Emperor Qing, she knelt down and proactively admitted that she did not want Wan'er to marry Fan Xian. Emperor Qing accused her of not speaking directly and instead sending people to ruin Fan Xian's reputation. The princess said she didn't know what Emperor Qing was talking about. Emperor Qing then told Gong Dian to investigate the situation.
A moment later, Gong Dian reported back after investigating that the person who went out of the palace for procurement today was Court Lady Han, but she had already committed suicide. Emperor Qing heard this without a ripple of emotion. Instead, he asked the princess to stay and wait for someone together. After a long time, Crown Prince Li Chengqian rushed over anxiously. He immediately admitted that the matter with the court lady was arranged by him.
The princess sat calmly in her chair. Emperor Qing laughed and reprimanded them, saying that the princess hadn't admitted to anything. As the Crown Prince, contending for power was inevitable, but he couldn't lose his bottom line and certainly shouldn't use such vile methods to damage the foundation of the imperial family. After saying this, he threw the list of dismissed officials to him and had the two of them leave together.
After the meal, Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe said their goodbyes. Fan Xian, holding Liu Ruyu affectionately, was also about to leave, but Fan Jian kept Fan Xian back alone. He knew that Fan Xian had secretly hidden Teng Zijing to help him come to the capital and warned him to be cautious in the capital. He also took out a wanted poster from his pocket. Fan Xian opened it and found that it was for capturing Teng Zijing.
Fan Jian told him to be careful of the Crown Prince and stay away from people from the Investigator's Office. He also mentioned that his mother had been killed by others back then, and the reason he was kept in Danzhou was to protect him. As for the marriage with Lin Wan'er, he told him not to worry. Fan Xian felt stifled upon hearing Fan Jian's words, which were all about the imperial treasury.
He directly stated that he was a living person with flesh and blood, and that imperial treasury might be very important to him, but he already had someone he liked and would certainly not trade his life for a business. The princess looked at the list and understood that Emperor Qing had not stopped the Crown Prince from contending for power, but was merely warning them not to cross the bottom line of military power and governance.
She heard that Fan Xian had taken on an alias and written a marvelous book titled "Red Mansions". She planned to make a move from where Fan Xian was most renowned. When Fan Xian returned to his room, he saw a room full of servants cleaning. His kind persuasion was futile, so he pretended to be angry and scared them away. Taking advantage of the dead of night, Teng Zijing sneaked into Fan Xian's room.
Before he could see Fan Xian, he bumped into Fan Sizhe and, in a panic, had to hide under the bed. Fan Sizhe didn't pay much attention and said directly that he shouldn't have treated him that way today, and invited him to eat at a restaurant together tomorrow. Just as Teng Zijing came out, he was caught red-handed by Fan Sizhe again in a surprise return. Fortunately, Fan Xian suddenly appeared and said that he was the guard who protected him on his way to the capital.
