Joy of Life Episode 40 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Shangshan Hu had long seen through Fan Xian's intention to use him to kill Shen Zhong. He couldn't think of a better plan for a moment, so he decided to go along with it. After first rescuing his adoptive father Xiao En, he planned to take the opportunity to kill Fan Xian, then quickly ride to the border, gather his army, and rebel. Fan Xian immediately reported his plan to Yan Bingyun.
Yan Bingyun repeatedly emphasized that Shen Zhong could not die. He repeatedly checked the ledger Wang Qinian brought back, which was vastly different from the one the Investigator's Office received. A large sum of money was unaccounted for, and this money was sent into Qing Kingdom territory through Shen Zhong's Jinyiwei. Fan Xian never expected that Princess Li Yunrui would be involved in smuggling. This money was enough to assemble a battalion of the highest standard of private soldiers.
Yan Bingyun wanted to find out the truth from Shen Zhong, but Fan Xian absolutely refused. He had put in tremendous effort to plan how to eliminate Shen Zhong, and with success so close the next day, he didn't want his efforts to be in vain. Yan Bingyun reasoned with him using facts, and the two of them argued fiercely when they disagreed. Fan Xian ignored Yan Bingyun's dissuasion and insisted on acting the next day.
Before leaving, he also instructed Wang Qinian to keep a close eye on Yan Bingyun's every move to prevent him from obstructing. Early the next morning, Shangshan Hu brought masked men to the address Fan Xian provided. Shen Zhong had already stationed heavy troops in that large courtyard. Shangshan Hu and his guards used iron chains to sneak into the courtyard from the rooftops. Shen Zhong was overseeing from the mountaintop.
Seeing Shangshan Hu and others had entered the courtyard, he gave the order for a full-scale attack. Both sides engaged in fierce fighting. Tan Wu took the opportunity to rush into the small wooden house and rescue Xiao En. Shangshan Hu rushed over to provide support. Tan Wu carried Xiao En on his back, ready to leave, but they were completely surrounded and couldn't break free for a moment. Shangshan Hu wanted to risk his life to charge out.
Tan Wu and others all knelt down and pleaded with Shangshan Hu to leave quickly and avenge them later. Shangshan Hu had no choice but to retreat under the cover of his brothers. When Shen Zhong learned that Shangshan Hu was surrounded, he personally came to the large courtyard to supervise the battle, only to find that Shangshan Hu was nowhere to be seen.
Tan Wu claimed that he wanted to save Xiao En and that it had nothing to do with Shangshan Hu, but Shen Zhong was relentless, threatening to use Tan Wu's head to implicate Shangshan Hu. Tan Wu and his brothers grabbed several jars of wine, poured them over themselves, and then set their bodies on fire. The scene instantly turned into a sea of fire. The big fire burned the house to ruins.
Tan Wu and the others were charred beyond recognition. Shen Zhong specifically sent people to check the person Tan Wu was carrying. All the characteristics completely matched Xiao En. Shen Zhong determined that Xiao En was undoubtedly dead. He ordered the burial of Tan Wu and the others' bodies, then took his men to search Shangshan Hu's mansion.
The drunk Jinyiwei guard in charge of burial counted the number of bodies and found there was one extra, but he didn't pay attention. Shangshan Hu had used a substitute body to replace Xiao En, which was how he survived. Fan Xian hid to the side and saw Xiao En crawl out from the pile of bodies. He followed closely behind, seeing Xiao En staggering towards the direction of Shangjing.
Fan Xian reminded Xiao En not to enter the city, especially since Shangshan Hu's mansion was already heavily guarded. Xiao En quickly retreated in the opposite direction. Shen Zhong led his men to break into the general's mansion and saw Shangshan Hu calmly reading. Shen Zhong told him about Xiao En being burned to death. Shangshan Hu ignored him. Shen Zhong gloated over Xiao En's death and deliberately used provocation to try and anger Shangshan Hu.
Shangshan Hu suppressed the anger in his heart and did not react. Shen Zhong was very frustrated. He had already prepared to die, wanting to provoke Shangshan Hu into killing him so that Shangshan Hu would also be held responsible, but unexpectedly, he did not fall into his trap. Xiao En encountered He Dao Ren halfway. He Dao Ren tried to deceive him in every possible way. However, Xiao En was severely injured and could only struggle to cope.
Unexpectedly, He Dao Ren pierced his abdomen with a sword. Fan Xian arrived soon after and watched the staggering Xiao En escaping. He pleaded with He Dao Ren to let Xiao En go, but Shen Zhong had sent Lang Tao to lie in wait ahead. Xiao En was certainly going to die this time, and Fan Xian could do nothing. Xiao En, holding his bleeding abdomen, slowly retreated, only to be caught by Lang Tao.
He had no choice but to brace himself for a fight. Fan Xian quickly put on a mask and went to help. Lang Tao raised his hand and brought down his blade, injuring Xiao En. Fan Xian quickly helped Xiao En up and escaped, ending up at the edge of a cliff. Lang Tao closely followed them. Seeing this, He Dao Ren quickly came to help.
On the surface, he was helping Lang Tao, but when Lang Tao was not paying attention, he pushed Fan Xian and Xiao En off the cliff. Lang Tao wanted to go to the bottom of the cliff to look for Fan Xian and Xiao En's bodies, so He Dao Ren had no choice but to accompany him. They took people to search the bottom of the cliff but found nothing.
Fan Xian and Xiao En were caught by branches on the cliff face, which was how they narrowly escaped death. Ying Zi received the last secret report from Fan Xian before he arrived in Shangjing. He quickly reported it to Chen Pingping. Chen Pingping learned that no further news had come back from Fan Xian and told him to keep it a secret from Fei Jie. Fei Jie had long suspected that Chen Pingping was hiding something from him.
He secretly poisoned Ying Zi and searched his chest, finding the secret report. He also curiously removed the mask from Ying Zi's face and discovered it was an acquaintance. Fei Jie angrily went to confront Chen Pingping, condemning him for not bringing the black knights back. Chen Pingping, instead, reminded him not to reveal Ying Zi's identity. Confused, he called out Fan Jian. The two of them took turns accusing Chen Pingping.
Chen Pingping agreed to explain the reason, but couldn't let Fei Jie hear it. Fan Jian helped Chen Pingping leave, leaving behind a harsh warning: if anything truly happened to Fan Xian, he would accompany Fei Jie in causing chaos in the capital. Fei Jie was unrelenting, stating that if something happened to Fan Xian, he would make the whole world pay. Fan Xian took Xiao En to hide in a cave by the cliff.
He wanted to treat Xiao En's injuries, but Xiao En knew that his meridians were severed and there was no hope of recovery. Xiao En couldn't help but laugh up at the sky. Before he died, he wanted to tell Fan Xian the secret he had hidden.
