Joy of Life

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The carriages sporting obvious Overwatch Council insignia made their way smoothly through Jingdou’s west gate. At Xinjiekou, the carriages split up. The two carriages in the lead slipped unremarkably into the flow of the Jingdou streets, turning southwest. In a moment, it had left behind the liveliness and entered the noble and quiet east side of town.

In the distance, one could see Fan manor, but the carriage did not stop. Instead, it turned north. The closer it came to the Royal Palace, the quieter it became. Driving by the governmental buildings and King Jing’s manor, which had its doors closed for a long time, they arrived on the street of Prince Heqing’s manor.

They were still some distance from the front door. Fan Xian could faintly hear clamorous noises at the door. It seemed something lively was happening. He rubbed his itchy nose and thought he had guessed right again. The young lady of the Wang family had indeed come angrily to Prince Heqing’s manor.

Concerning the Emperor’s thoughts, Fan Xian had guessed something of it after seeing the young lady of the Wang family impersonating Ye Ling’er outside the city gate. Since the Great Prince was being forced to take on a Secondary fei in preparation of the wangfei being deposed, then this Secondary fei must not be of lowly birth. Only then would she be able to become the future wangfei. Furthermore, this young lady was Wang Zhikun’s favorite daughter. When the Great Prince led the army North, he would have his father-in-law leading the Yangjing camp in support. On the battlefield, if there were barriers between the main and deputy general, it would have great benefits for the larger picture.

As for whether the Emperor would worry that the Great Prince and Wang Zhikun controlled too many soldiers between them after the young lady of the Wang family became the Heqing wangfei, that would be a problem for the future. With the lesson of the Second Prince before him, Fan Xian did not think the Emperor would allow his son to have many opportunities to think of wild things.

When the daughter of an important military official married a prince, the prince would quietly be on his guard. Otherwise, no one knew if he would end up like Li Chengze, completely sold out.

Fan Xian couldn’t resist laughing.

…

…

The Emperor’s plans were very far-seeing. If the Great Prince led an army to attack Northern Qi, the Great wangfei’s Northern Qi Princess identity would be a difficult obstacle to get around. Fan Xian had a powerful sense of antagonism toward this plan. Putting aside the Northern Qi Princess’s relationship to him and the vile actions of the young lady of the Wang family outside the city gate, Fan Xia had already developed the deepest doubts toward the Emperor’s sense of taste.

When choosing a daughter-in-law for oneself, one had to choose a good one. With a woman like this, if she truly entered the manor, it would probably cause the entire family to have no peace. Fan Xian immediately countered his unspoken criticism of the Emperor. The Emperor had never cared much about women. Marriage was just a negotiation. As for whether this woman’s personality was good or if she would bring any benefits for his son, they were not things he cared about at all.

As for the fact that the entire manor may become upset at the young lady of the Wang family entering it, this might be exactly the effect the Emperor wanted to see.

The Great Prince’s status was noble, so Prince Heqing’s manor took up half of the street. The eastern part of the city was quiet. No one dared to laugh at the Great Prince in such an important location. Although there were loud arguments outside the Prince’s manor, other than the Overwatch Council’s two carriages, there was no one else watching.

“Sir, it seems inconvenient for us to go over right now. Should we go home first?” Although Fan Xian had gone as an imperial envoy to Xiliang, he had been carrying out a secret edict. So, he did not have to enter the Palace to debrief the moment he returned to the capital. Mu Feng’er watched as the front doors of Prince Heqing’s manor became a market square. He thought the Prince must be embarrassed. If the Commissioner went to visit now, it might be inconvenient.

Mu Feng’er was still not as good at guessing Fan Xian’s thoughts as Wang Qinian. Fan Xian had come to Prince Heqing’s manor just so that he could watch this show. He listened intently in the carriage and understood why there was such a disturbance. The young lady of the Wang family’s voice was so loud it was difficult not to hear.

It turned out that although the Emperor’s edict for the Great Prince to take on a Secondary fei had not been made public, he had already done some things secretly. Those who should know of this news already knew. The Great Prince and Wang Zhikun knew even more than others.

The new Commander of the Jingdou Garrison, Shi Fei, had personally invited the Great Prince to a banquet and orchestrated a “coincidental meeting” between the Great Prince and young lady of the Wang family. Unexpectedly, the Great Prince was a straightforward man. Upon seeing the young lady, it was as if he saw a ghost. He escaped in a panic, not giving her any chance to speak. The young lady had lived all her life in Yanjing. As the daughter of the Governor, she had never endured such humiliation. After thinking about how she would have to be a pitiful Secondary fei after entering the manor, she felt an anger suffocating her heart.

Knowing the Palace’s imperial edict for her to marry the Great Prince, what was the point of being angry at her? The young lady could not understand it no matter how much she thought about it. As a worshipper of the previous pride of Jingdou, Ye Ling’er, she greatly admired the Prince, who had once led troops in battle on the Western frontier for many years. Now, no one whether she had been provoked by her serving girls or if it had been her own idea to try and split hairs. Regardless, she had completely disregarded etiquette and rode into the capital to the Prince’s manor.

After learning about this matter, Shi Fei wasn’t careless and quickly sent people chasing after her. After chasing her to Prince Heqing’s manor, no one was able to deal with her. No one could drag her back.

The excuse the young lady used was also laughable. She said that she had come to Prince Heqing’s manor to greet the wangfei. Fan Xian had to admit that while this excuse was absurd and laughable, the communication between the noble women in Jingdou was quite common.

Even Fan Xian had not thought the wangfei would be just as straightforward as her man. The front door was tightly closed. All guests were refused. There wasn’t even an excuse of the family not being at home. They directly said that the manor was busy and they were not taking guests.

The young lady felt humiliated. She thought to herself that she had already willingly lowered her status and came to visit her, the outsider woman, yet she was using her status to close the door in her face. Thus, she had begun to make a scene outside of the manor. This girl had Ye Ling’er’s straightforward nature but did not have any of Ye Ling’er’s sense of propriety. She fussed and raged. It truly gave one a horrendous headache.

Her family’s attendants and guards looked with horror at the scene. Looking at Prince Heqing’s tightly closed front door, they felt angry and helpless. They thought to themselves, This is Prince Heqing’s manor. Even if the young lady could do as she wished in Yanjing, how could she act so thoughtlessly in Jingdou? If she truly angered the Prince, who knows what he will do?

Fan Xian looked with irritation and disgust at the scene in the distance. He was thinking that if the Palace and Shi Fei truly had the intention to do so, how could they not stop a pampered and reckless girl from acting so rudely? He was afraid that the scene was purposely created by someone with an agenda to make the Great Prince unhappy and create a fuss the entire city would know about. In the end, the Emperor would speak to tidy up this matter and have the Great Prince suffer in silence.

When the time came, the Emperor could quietly say, The young lady has strong feelings for you and has already chased you to your door, are you not going to take responsibility? Or, The people of Jingdou all know of this matter. As the eldest son of the royal family, how can you not think about the face of the royal family? I give you half a month to conclude this matter. Take that woman into your home. I won’t blame you.

These were all dastardly ideas that could not be seen by others. Yet, it was precisely these tricks that Fan Xian was the most familiar with. He furrowed his brows. The Great Prince had always treated him generously. He would deal with this difficult matter, or, at least, this dastardly matter currently happening. He gave an order to Mu Feng’er. “Go knock on the door.”

…

…

The two black carriages drove toward the Prince’s manor. The wheels squeaked like they were providing an inharmonious accompaniment for the young lady’s endless and merciless forceful voice outside the manor’s front door.

There were about 30 people gathered around the front door to the manor. They were all family soldiers the Wang family had brought from Yanjing, including the housekeeper and servants the Jingdou Garrison had transferred to the young lady of the Wang family. One of the housekeepers had a sorrowful face and was begging the young lady to leave the old master some face and stop making a scene. If their family became a joke in Jingdou, how could the Wang family stay there?

When the two carriages drew closer to the front doors, the housekeeper quickly shut his mouth. In any case, the young lady of his family was not willing to listen to his words.

The family soldiers and servants were looking at the two black carriages with wariness. They were concerned that since this young lady was throwing a tantrum, if it was seen by others and the news got out, it would probably not be good.

The young lady stood with one of her feet on the stone lion and pointed at the manor’s doors, still giving off the energy of Zhou Xinshi facing the ocean. She continued to curse endlessly.

Fan Xian’s voice came out of the carriage, “Whose family does this girl belong to? Throwing a tantrum on the street, does she have no manners?”

These words sounded old and decrepit. They were full of contrived melodrama and had taken Fan Xian a long time to think of while sitting in the carriage.

When these words came out, the faces of the people around the manor changed greatly. These words seemed normal, but they were unusually vicious. They immediately took the young lady’s present actions and linked them to family teachings. It appeared they he was criticizing this young lady, but he was actually attacking those behind her.

A family soldier stared at these two carriages. Forcing down his anger, he said, “May I ask who has arrived?”

Other than the young lady, there were no idiots in the Wang or Shi family. Since the newcomer said such big words in front of Prince Heqing’s manor, they had a background. This family soldiers had already found the purposely displayed mark on the carriage and knew that the other person was an official of the Overwatch Council.

Of the entire Qing court, there were not many who did not give face to the Yanjing faction. The officials of the Overwatch Council had this confidence because they had a protective old senior. Although the old man in the wheelchair was gradually retreating, following immediately after him was a young brat who was even more protective. Furthermore, this young man did things even more ruthlessly. Plus, his background was even more unfathomable. He entered the capital less than five years ago and had already killed a number of ministers. Even people such as the Crown Prince and Eldest Princess had fallen to his hands.

With such a person protecting them, it was understandable that officials of the Overwatch Council would speak so arrogantly. Before this family soldiers had returned to the capital, he had received the Governor’s secret orders. He was to endure silently in Jingdou and be particularly careful to not offend the Overwatch Council. Hearing the person in the car mocking the teaching of the Wang family, the family soldier was still able to suppress his anger and maintain a calm questioning.

The person in the carriage did not immediately reply to his answer. A subordinate lifted the curtain. Fan Xian walked down from the carriage and through the crowd. He approached Prince Heqing’s tightly closed front doors. He turned his head to glance at the woman standing on the stone lion.

Although the young lady of the Wang family acted rashly and spoke in a forceful tone, she was still humiliated and yelling with endless rage at the manor’s front doors until she was watched for a long time by the young Overwatch Council official.

She glared viciously at Fan Xian and cursed, “What are you looking at? Close your dog eyes!”

As she said these words, the entire scene fell silent. The Overwatch Council subordinates behind Fan Xian stared coldly at the young lady standing on the stone lion. Mu Feng’er’s face twisted like he could go up at any moment and beat up the young lady.

The family soldier and housekeeper noticed the situation was not right and quickly came forward to stand between Fan Xian and their young lady. The housekeeper lowered his head and repeatedly apologized. The expression of the family soldier was also very uncomfortable.

Fan Xian looked at the scene and felt more certain in his guess that the young lady’s troublemaking was provoked by someone else. The housekeeper of the Wang family probably didn’t even know the reason. Only with such a composed subordinate would Wang Zhikun feel comfortable in having his pampered daughter return to the capital. How could they allow this young girl to charge to Prince Heqing’s manor?

Fan Xian looked at the housekeeper and asked, “Which family do you all belong to?”

The housekeeper saw that his attitude was not common. Although he didn’t know what level official he was, officials of the Overwatch Council often had noble titles other than their court positions. Not daring to neglect him, he said, “I am the housekeeper of the Wang family. We have just returned from Yanjing. The young lady has lived for a long time in Yanjing and does not understand the customs of Jingdou. If she has offended you, please forgive her.”

Young Lady Wang listened to the two of them talking and pulled back her foot from the stone lion. With a scolding voice, she said, “What is this? Is there need to talk to him so gently?”

The old housekeeper’s mouth tasted bitter. The old master had ordered them to act meekly in Jingdou. No one knew what kind of mindless illness the young lady had caught to shake off her family’s objections and charge to the prince’s manor. She had even called the young official a “thing.” Jingdou was not Yanjing. The water here was too deep. Any person on the street could have a terrifying history.

“Yanjing?” Fan Xian said with slight surprise. “The family of Governor Wang?”

Young Lady Wang stared at Fan Xian and said, “You know my family? And, who are you?”

Fan Xian didn’t even glance at her. To the housekeeper and family soldier, he gently said, “Quickly have your lady leave. The Palace hasn’t made an edict yet, and she’s here making a scene. If this gets out, how will she face people?”

The housekeeper and the soldier repeatedly agreed. However, they looked at each other and didn’t go help the young lady. They had already tried a few times earlier with no effect. Fan Xian only now realized that the old housekeeper had a few whip marks on his face. Although the strikes had not been deep, they were gradually seeping blood.

He turned his head and saw that the unruly young lady was holding a horsewhip in her left hand. His expression involuntarily darkened. Such a loyal housekeeper should be treasured. Yet, she had used a whip to beat him. His impression of this woman worsened extremely.

Coincidentally, it was at this moment that the young lady noticed that Fan Xian had not paid attention to her question and stuck her nose in the air. Her anger came from more than one source. Being kept outside Prince Heqing’s front door for half a day had caused her to lose face. Now, an unnamed young official gave her attitude. How could she endure further? Her anger burst forth and tears swam in her eyes. She swung her left hand and struck down with her whip.

The horsewhip came whistling down and almost touched Fan Xian’s nose. He only looked at the girl and thought mockingly to himself that in his reborn life, all the women he had met had their own charms. In Danzhou, he couldn’t find an evil tyrant even if he wanted to find one. Who would have thought that he would finally meet a frail fish eyeball now?

With a few puffs, a number of cold winds flashed by. The horsewhip in the young lady’s hands broke into four pieces in front of Fan Xian and fell to the ground.

How could the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau allow an unruly woman to hurt their Commissioner? With a flash of cold light, six or seven metal drills surrounded the young woman.

The housekeeper and family soldier had not thought that this young Overwatch Council official would have so many aces at his side. Their hearts jumped. They worried about the young lady’s safety. They lined up neatly in front of her. If it had been any other day, they probably would have guessed Fan Xian’s true identity. However, everyone in Jingdou knew that the little master of the Overwatch Council was on his way back from inspecting Xiliang Road on the Emperor’s behalf. Thus, they did not think it was him.

The two sides had their swords drawn and crossbows wound. They could start fighting outside the manor at any moment. Although the Overwatch Council’s swordsmen were terrifying, the family soldiers that Yanjing Wang Zhikun had sent to protect his daughter were also no layabouts. Most miraculously, Prince Heqing’s front gates were still tightly closed.

Fan Xian did not get angry. On the contrary, he smiled sweetly and looked at the young lady of the Wang family. “You can continue to curse and scold. I won’t stop you. However, in the future, I will have to go ask Wang Zhikun how an odd one like you is raised. Tomorrow I’ll have to go talk to Shi Fei. As your uncle, if he doesn’t have time to discipline you, does he need me to do it?”

The scene exploded into noise. In the Qing court, there were only, at most, three young people who called Governor Wang and Commander Shi by their names. Other than the two princes, there was only that young man. The housekeeper and family soldier met each other’s gaze. They saw the shock and regret in each other’s hearts. Their mouths began to tremble.

It was the young lady who was an idiot. Hearing the other person calling her father’s name, she said angrily, “Who are you? How dare you criticize my father and say you will discipline me!”

Fan Xian glanced at her and said with a cold smile, “I can even subdue the wild horse that is Ye Ling’er, much less a lame donkey like you.”

Having said this, he paid no more attention to the terrified figures of the Wang and Shi families. Walking up the steps, he hammered on Prince Heqing’s front door and angrily said, “Have you watched enough? Open the door for me!”

No matter how stupid the young lady was, she finally realized the identity of the other person. Her mind became a mess. Tears poured out of her eyes, but these tears fell rather mysteriously.

The front doors of the manor were finally pulled open a crack, but no one showed their face. It looked like the manor was only preparing to let Fan Xian in and was still on guard against the young lady, a person at the level of a savage beast.

Fan Xian suddenly turned his head and asked as he looked at the young lady, “You like the Great Prince?”

No matter how liberated the Qing customs were, asking such private questions in front of so many officials and servants was inappropriate. The housekeeper and family soldier gritted their teeth. Disregarding Fan Xian’s identity, they prepared to speak out and scold him. Unexpectedly, the young lady gritted her teeth and said in a loud voice, “I do like him, what about it?”

“Nothing about it. I just wanted to tell you that if I say this thing isn’t going to happen, then it won’t happen. Even if it was going to happen, it isn’t…” He paused then mockingly said, “After cursing for half a day, do you want to come in for some tea?”

The young lady stood frozen in her spot. She had unconsciously decided to escape back to Uncle Shi’s home. She felt that the young noble in front of her was strange. It made her feel inexplicably afraid. After a moment, she composed herself. Throwing down the broken shard of her whip, she stopped the housekeeper’s obstructions and followed behind Fan Xian into the manor she had thought about for a long time. However, her way of entering this time was rather special.

The front doors of the manor closed tightly behind the two of them. Regardless of whether it was the subordinates of the Overwatch Council or the housekeeper and family soldiers of the Wang and Shi families, they were all blocked outside the manor. No one knew what plans Fan Xian had for bringing the young lady into the manor.

Fan Xian actually thought that it was strange the young lady had looked at him directly and bravely, or brashly, followed him into the manor. More than strangeness, an odd feeling rose from the depths of his heart. He thought that although this woman was crafty and unruly by nature, did not care for the servants at all, and her way of offering her heart was too ugly, at least she had one positive attribute of Ye Ling’er’s.

She had a straightforwardness that was different to the usual young ladies in Jingdou.

“The edict from the Palace has not come out. Did you think about how your father and Commander Shi would feel about you running here to make a scene?” Fan Xian turned and chased the housekeeper of the manor to the side. Looking at the young lady of the Wang family, he coldly said, “As a child, filial piety is the most important word. Making such a scene, do you know your mistake?”

The young lady looked with shock into Fan Xian’s eyes. She knew the identity of the person in front of her. She also knew of his power and abilities. Furthermore, she knew that the young lady of the Ye family, who was her favorite person, was this man’s secret unnamed disciple. She still had not thought that after entering the manor, his first words would be like her father giving her a lesson. Her eyes reddened. She burst into noisy years. Sniffing, she said, “He… He’s scolding me for being shameless…”

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