Joy of Life Episode 41 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
Fan Jian, consumed by anger, confronted Emperor Qing in the Taiping Residence, accompanied by Chen Pingping. Fan Jian accused Emperor Qing of recklessly endangering Fan Xian by withdrawing the black knights and leaving him alone to face Xiao En. Chen Pingping, however, insisted that Xiao En would eventually reveal the secret he had guarded for so long to Fan Xian.
He explained that withdrawing the black knights was a critical part of the plan to make Xiao En believe his earlier fabrications and to enable Fan Xian to extract Xiao En's hidden information, asserting it was the Emperor's directive, aimed at serving the interests of the Qing Kingdom. Chen Pingping then recounted Xiao En's family history: before his formal marriage, Xiao En's son had a child with a courtesan named Yuxiang.
Xiao En, known for his strict upbringing, discovered this affair and forced his son to end the relationship. After capturing Xiao En, Chen Pingping learned about this illegitimate grandchild and strategically used this information. Instead of directly threatening Xiao En, he cultivated a twisted sense of hope in him.
Following Emperor Qing's directive, Chen Pingping would reveal fragmented details about the child's life, implying the child was being raised as a loyal Qing subject, nurtured to despise Northern Qi and eventually destroy Xiao En's legacy. He intentionally avoided revealing the child's exact location, knowing that Xiao En, being shrewd and suspicious, would piece together the clues himself and thus believe the fabrication more firmly, specifically inferring the child was in Danzhou.
Fan Jian strongly condemned this manipulative plan, fearing for Fan Xian's safety if Xiao En failed to fall for the trick. He questioned the cruelty of using Fan Xian's life as a pawn, especially since Fan Xian was Ye Qingmei's son. Emperor Qing, growing impatient with their argument, reiterated that his actions were for the country's benefit.
Chen Pingping clarified that he harbored no personal vendetta against Xiao En; he viewed their past actions—Xiao En crippling him, and Chen Pingping retaliating by capturing him and killing his family—as a fair exchange. Meanwhile, trapped in a cave on a cliffside, Xiao En, severely wounded and knowing his death was imminent, decided to reveal his long-held secret to Fan Xian. He initially assumed Fan Xian had saved him to uncover this secret, but Fan Xian denied it.
Puzzled by Xiao En's sudden willingness to speak, especially as it involved his mother, Ye Qingmei, Fan Xian listened intently. Xiao En deduced that Fan Xian, an illegitimate child raised in Danzhou who quickly rose to become the Director-General of the Investigator's Office, was actually his lost grandson, the son of Yuxiang. Fan Xian, however, rejected this claim forcefully, even making a rude joke about the name "Yuxiang."
Xiao En further explained that the withdrawal of the black knights and Fan Xian's rapid promotion were all part of Chen Pingping's elaborate scheme to make them "fight each other." He also noted the absence of any concrete evidence, like a jade pendant or birthmark, and saw this as a deliberate tactic by Chen Pingping.
Xiao En believed this was designed to make him infer the truth himself and then experience the cruel torment of patricide should he kill Fan Xian. Xiao En revealed that he had pieced together the entire deception through Chen Pingping's fragmented hints, recognizing the flaw in the plan. Due to this realization, he had prevented Shangshan Hu from killing Fan Xian earlier.
He shared the truth with Fan Xian now simply because he was dying, leaving the burden of this knowledge with him. Xiao En then began to tell the true secret, a tale from twenty years ago. It concerned a mysterious place and a remarkable person. Driven by a desire to surpass his illustrious brother, Zhuang Mohan, and establish his own name, Xiao En took his mother's surname.
The former Emperor of Northern Qi, obsessed with the pursuit of immortality, had discovered a clue pointing to a "divine temple" located in the distant north. A thousand-man expedition was dispatched, led by Xiao En and Ku He. At that time, Ku He was not yet a Great Master, but his deep interest in celestial philosophy and his royal lineage made him a suitable choice to accompany the mission as a supervisor.
Fan Xian, upon hearing this, realized Ku He's royal background and the implications it held, though Xiao En asserted Ku He had no interest in politics. Their journey northward, beyond Beilao Pass, led them into a desolate, snow-covered land. The extreme cold, blinding snow, and harsh conditions decimated their ranks. Many went blind, fell ill, or succumbed to the elements, reducing their formidable thousand-man force to a hundred-man team.
Supplies vanished, horses were eaten, and starvation stripped them of their humanity, turning them into ravenous beasts who resorted to cannibalism. Eventually, only Xiao En and Ku He remained. In their deepest despair, they experienced what Xiao En described as a "Heaven's wrath"—an unending period of polar night, which Fan Xian named "polar night." Ku He, deeply religious, prayed fervently, and Xiao En joined him.
They subsisted on bitter green algae found beneath the snow, enduring the darkness until, inexplicably, the sun finally returned. Shortly after, they discovered the legendary divine temple. It appeared suddenly, as if from nowhere, an imposing structure with grey walls and a distinctive brown gate, which Xiao En noted was similar to Northern Qi's temples but different from Southern Qing's.
They found themselves unable to touch the gate; when Xiao En tried to push it, it seemed to magically shift just out of reach, always a hair's breadth away, as if separated by an entire world. When Ku He, believing Xiao En's heart was not sincere enough, prayed devoutly and tried to touch it, the temple briefly vanished and then reappeared in its original spot.
Suddenly, the gate opened from the inside, and a woman, whom Xiao En described as a "fairy," emerged. She wore unusual clothing that she described as "modern." She found their reverence amusing, asking if they were "stupid" for kneeling. Ku He, overcome with awe, immediately prostrated himself, though Xiao En remained skeptical, seeing no practical benefit in prostrating before her.
The woman, Ye Qingmei, gave Ku He a "secret manual" for cultivation, noting his suitable physique, and advised them both to leave quickly as the temple was dangerous. She mentioned that "something" was pursuing her friend inside. As Xiao En tried to touch the gate again, the temple vanished and reappeared behind them, prompting them to follow Ye Qingmei down the mountain. Near Beilao Pass, Ye Qingmei bid them farewell.
She stated that "something" was chasing her friend, whom Fan Xian deduced to be Wuzhu, and she needed to help him. She warned that their survival chances would be minimal if they intervened. Ku He, treating her words as divine instruction, immediately departed, and Xiao En, recognizing his own limitations, followed.
Ye Qingmei then implored them to keep the divine temple's existence and her connection to it a secret, explaining that the temple's appearance shifted according to one's understanding, and more importantly, a malevolent entity was imprisoned beneath it. If too many people sought the temple, this entity could escape, bringing about the end of the world. Xiao En solemnly promised to guard this secret with his life.
Ku He, however, reinforced the secrecy with a grim threat: he would kill Xiao En if he ever divulged the information. Fan Xian, processing this incredible narrative, realized that his mother, Ye Qingmei, indeed came from this divine temple. He pondered the nature of the "chasing" entity and the "bad thing" imprisoned beneath the temple, which remained a mystery.
Xiao En explained that he passed this secret to Fan Xian as a means of survival and even a way to manipulate Chen Pingping, who seemed excessively obsessed with Ye Qingmei and the temple. He speculated that this desire to protect the secret was also Ku He's motive for wanting him dead, fearing Xiao En might use the knowledge of such a sacred place to regain power.
True to Ye Qingmei's words, Ku He, armed with the "secret manual," rapidly achieved the status of a Great Master within a few years. Xiao En then recounted Ye Qingmei's subsequent travels. She journeyed widely, accompanied by a blind servant, presumably Wuzhu. She visited Dongyi Town, where she met Si Gujian, and later came to Southern Qing, interacting with Ye Liuyun. Thus, as Fan Xian noted, she met three of the four Great Masters of the world.
She settled in Southern Qing for about a decade, establishing powerful firms, inventing many wondrous things, and accumulating vast wealth, becoming "the richest person in the world." Xiao En attributed her extraordinary achievements to her origin from the divine temple. Finally, Xiao En dropped the ultimate revelation: this extraordinary woman, Ye Qingmei, had "fallen in love with a mortal and married into the royal family of Southern Qing."
He clarified that she married the prince who is now the reigning Emperor Qing. Though they never had a formal wedding, their relationship was genuine, and Ye Qingmei conceived a child with Emperor Qing. This last piece of information, learned by Xiao En before his capture and imprisonment, stunned Fan Xian. He realized, with profound shock, that he was not the son of Fan Jian, but the illegitimate son of Emperor Qing and Ye Qingmei, making him a hidden prince.
Xiao En then cautioned Fan Xian about the dangers of the capital, reminding him that both the former emperor and his own mother had met their demise there, suggesting that staying in Danzhou would prolong his life.
