Joy of Life Episode 41 Recap
> Joy of Life Recap
The more Fan Jian thought about it, the angrier he became. He pushed Chen Pingping to Taiping Villa to confront Emperor Qing, accusing him of removing the black knights and leaving Fan Xian to face Xiao En alone. But Chen Pingping insisted that Xiao En would tell Fan Xian the secret hidden in his heart. Chen Pingping also talked about Xiao En's family background.
Xiao En's son fell in love with a courtesan named Yuxiang and had a son with her, but Xiao En's family rules were very strict and he would never allow a courtesan to ruin the family reputation. After Chen Pingping captured Xiao En, he swore to train Xiao En's grandson to utterly hate Northern Qi, so that he would personally destroy everything Xiao En had.
For years, Chen Pingping often disclosed news of Xiao En's grandson to Xiao En, who believed it to be true. Fan Jian complained that Chen Pingping shouldn't have lied to Xiao En and implicated Fan Xian. If Xiao En wasn't smart enough, Fan Xian would face disaster. Emperor Qing was very annoyed by their bickering and repeatedly tried to stop them, but Fan Jian wouldn't give up.
Chen Pingping admitted that removing the black knights was to make Xiao En believe all his previous lies, and also to make Fan Xian extract the hidden secret from Xiao En. As Chen Pingping expected, Xiao En believed that Fan Xian saved him for that secret. Fan Xian was bewildered. Xiao En had been trapped in Southern Qing for many years, yet the secret he guarded with his life was so easily told to him.
Xiao En first explained that Fan Xian's mother was murdered, and that Fan Xian was not Fan Jian's son. Fan Xian calmly continued to listen. Xiao En even claimed that Fan Xian was his grandson, which greatly surprised Fan Xian. Xiao En recounted his son's story in detail, convinced that Fan Xian was his grandson. Fan Xian knew he wasn't, but he couldn't help but curse him in his heart.
After Chen Pingping captured Xiao En, he also inquired about the courtesan and her grandson. He used this to threaten and test Xiao En, who, fearing his grandson would be silenced, had kept this a secret. Xiao En learned that Fan Xian grew up in Danzhou as an illegitimate child.
Chen Pingping deliberately arranged for him to rise quickly in a short period and intentionally withdrew the black knights at a crucial moment, aiming to make Fan Xian and Xiao En fight each other. Fan Xian felt these were just guesses. Xiao En claimed that based on the details Chen Pingping had revealed over the years, he was certain that Fan Xian was his grandson. He pointed out that Chen Pingping's mission for Fan Xian was to kill him.
Fan Xian wanted convincing evidence, but Xiao En couldn't provide any, because Chen Pingping hadn't given him any evidence. Still, Fan Xian couldn't understand it. Xiao En told Fan Xian the secret hidden in his heart. Twenty years ago, Xiao En became the head of the Imperial Guard through his own abilities, but people still felt he benefited from his older brother, Zhuang Mohan, who achieved success at a young age.
Xiao En was unconvinced, so he took his mother's surname and vowed to achieve great merit. The former emperor of Northern Qi was obsessed with the art of immortality. He used the entire nation's resources to find a clue. He heard that the art of immortality was hidden in a distant temple in the far north. The former emperor sent Xiao En and Ku He to lead a team north, past the Northern Prison Pass. They gradually reached desolate lands.
The further north they went, the colder the weather became. They arrived in a region of perpetual snow. Many people's eyes were blinded by the white snow, and more and more fell behind. Adding the dead and the escaped, the thousand-man team became a hundred-man team. Supplies were lost, food ran out, and horses were eaten. The remaining people, tormented by hunger, turned into beasts, cannibalizing the bodies of those who fell.
In the end, only Xiao En and Ku He remained. Just then, Ku He and Xiao En encountered the wrath of heaven. The heavens brought boundless night. Ku He thought they had angered heaven and prayed devoutly to the heavens. They found bitter green algae under the snow to sustain their lives, and finally, dawn broke. Soon after, Xiao En and Ku He found the legendary temple.
Xiao En clearly remembered that the temple seemed to appear out of thin air. He and Ku He climbed hundreds of steps to the temple's brown main door, but the door was visible yet intangible. When Xiao En reached out to push the door, it moved as if by magic, always staying just slightly out of reach, as if separated by an entire world. He tried many times but couldn't touch it.
Ku He felt his heart wasn't sincere, so he personally reached out to try. The temple then disappeared and immediately reappeared from the sky in its original spot. Just as Ku He and Xiao En were at a loss, the door suddenly opened from the inside. A fairy named Ye Qingmei walked out. Ku He immediately knelt in piety. Ye Qingmei took out a secret manual and gave it to Ku He, telling them they could practice according to it.
After saying these words, Ye Qingmei carried a large box down the mountain, reminding them that there was danger in the temple and to leave quickly. Xiao En went to touch the main door again. As a result, the temple suddenly disappeared and quickly reappeared behind them. Xiao En and Ku He caught up with Ye Qingmei and left together.
As they neared the Northern Prison Pass, Ye Qingmei claimed she was going to help a friend in trouble and told them to go ahead. Ku He obeyed her without question. Ye Qingmei asked them to keep the temple's secret and explained that the temple would change based on people's understanding and cognition, and that something very terrifying was suppressed beneath the temple. If it escaped, the world would be over.
Fan Xian concluded that the friend his mother, Ye Qingmei, spoke of was Wu Zhu. The temple remained a mystery. Xiao En wanted Fan Xian to use this secret as a foundation for survival and even to control Chen Pingping. Ku He worried that Xiao En would use this secret as leverage for a comeback, so he spared no effort to eliminate Xiao En.
Fan Xian also learned from Xiao En that his mother, Ye Qingmei, traveled extensively, accompanied by a blind servant. She had been to Dongyi City, met Si Gujian, and later went to Southern Qing. Ye Liuyun had also interacted with her. For about ten years, Ye Qingmei remained in Southern Qing, establishing businesses and creating many wondrous things, even becoming incredibly wealthy. Xiao En heard that Ye Qingmei eventually married the current Emperor Qing. They did not have a formal marriage, but Ye Qingmei became pregnant with Emperor Qing's child. Fan Xian was utterly stunned.
