Episode 2: Lord Fan sends knights to take Fan Xian to Beijing

Mr. Fan sent a red armored knight to Danzhou to pick up Fan Xian and go to Kyoto, but the old lady didn't hesitate to refuse. The people then knelt at the door. Fan Xian was very conflicted when he saw the situation. He wanted Wu Zhu to give him some advice. Miss Wu Zhu had done business in Kyoto before, and Fan Xian continued to ask, but he couldn't remember clearly. Fan Xian asked him about the killer of his mother, and Wu Zhu admitted that he was not clear either. He went on an adventure to investigate the truth in Kyoto or stayed in Danzhou to live a peaceful life. It was all up to Fan Xian to decide.

During the meal, the butler Zhou reported to the old lady that the red armored knights had been kneeling there, refusing to even use the food in the mansion. The old lady interrupted him directly to invite Fan Xian to have dinner, making it clear that she didn't want to care about them, and even housekeeper Zhou had no choice. Fan Xian didn't have the heart to care about these things. He stared at a plate of bamboo shoots on the dining table and was lost in thought. Just as the old lady was about to put down chopsticks, he quickly moved the bamboo shoots in front of him and asked Zhou Butler if he had brought them? The butler Zhou was very dissatisfied with his impolite behavior and reluctantly replied that Lao Ha, who was delivering groceries, was sick. This was brought by his nephew. As Fan Xian asked, he wolfed down the whole dish in a few bites, then quickly retreated and ran out.

As soon as he arrived at the yard, Fan Xian vomited and spat out all the food he had just eaten. At this moment, he realized that many maids and servants in the yard were lying on the ground in pain, vomiting and diarrhea. He quickly brought milk to urge everyone to vomit, but found that the Red Armored Knight was missing in the yard. Old Ha had been delivering vegetables to the mansion for many years, and Fan Xian guessed that he must have been coerced this time. However, the Red Armored Knight couldn't handle so much. Fan Xian also suggested that if it were to lure the tiger away from the mountain, he would let them go back to protect the old lady. He came to Old Ha's house alone, carrying a knife.

In a courtyard, Fan Xian saw Lao Ha tied to a pillar. As he was about to approach, he found the gate slamming shut. A man in a black cloak with a cold face was looking at him, and the person who came was Teng Zijing, a member of the Jiancha Academy. This time, he was ordered to come and pursue Fan Xian. As soon as Fan Xian spoke, Teng Zijing waved his cloak and found dozens of flying knives hidden inside. Fan Xian cursed loudly and got into a fight with him. Teng Zijing's attack was fierce, but fortunately, Fan Xian had undergone the devil's training of Five Bamboo over the years, and his skills were also very agile. The two of them fought for ten moves, but suddenly Fan Xian covered his chest and fell to the ground. It turned out that Teng Zijing had poisoned the dagger.

Teng Zijing relaxed when he was hit and asked Fan Xian why he didn't let those red armored knights in just now. Fan Xian didn't answer, just gave a faint glance at Lao Ha beside him. Teng Zijing didn't expect that he would risk his own life for the sake of being a vegetable delivery person. He was about to come forward and end Fan Xian's situation, but he realized that he couldn't use his martial arts skills. Only then did Fan Xian, who was originally weak, stand up. He has been trained by Fei Jie since childhood, and he doesn't know how much poison he has taken. Ordinary poison has no effect on him, and he also smeared poison on his own dagger.

Under the pressure of Fan Xian, Teng Zijing revealed that he had followed a secret order from the Supervisory Yuan to come and kill the national bandits. Fan Xian was greatly shocked upon hearing this. He took out the token presented to him by Fei Jie and told Teng Zijing that he was just an illegitimate child of the Fan family, with no power or influence, and was not a traitor. This secret order may be problematic. Teng Zijing also realized something was wrong at this moment. Fan Xian continued to inquire and found out that it was Zhou Butler who cooperated with Teng Zijing to poison the vegetables.

When Fan Xian returned to the mansion, he saw Zhou Butler bound and kneeling in the hall. Zhou Butler's situation was exposed, but he still spoke confidently that everything he did was for the Fan family. He was sent by his second wife Liu Ruyu to prevent Fan Xian from returning to the capital to compete for family property and disrupt the house. The old lady nodded at the words, got up and walked to Fan Xian, telling him that he must be tough when he grows up. Then, she asked the servants to break Zhou Butler's leg and throw it onto the fishing boat, so that he wouldn't have to go ashore for the rest of his life. The butler Zhou only realized at this moment that the old lady, who seemed to dislike Fan Xian for so many years, was actually protecting him.

The old lady told Fan Xian that it was Liu Ruyu who sent a letter asking Zhou Butler to cooperate with the Assassin of the Investigation Institute, with the intention of putting him to death. Fan Xian, however, had already made up his mind to go to Beijing to investigate on his own. He had been hiding for so many years, but still couldn't escape, so he decided to welcome him on his own. If it were Liu Ruyu, he would indicate that he had no intention of competing for family property. The old lady saw that he had already made a decision and learned that he would set off for Kyoto tomorrow, feeling extremely uncomfortable. It turns out that there have been assassins in the Dan Mansion since childhood. Fan Xian was worried about the safety of the old lady, which made her indifferent to him. On the other hand, Teng Zijing also received an urgent order from the Supervisory Yuan, which found that someone wanted to use the hands of the Supervisory Yuan to kill Fan Xian. In order to investigate the truth, Teng Zijing requested Fan Xian to pretend to kill him.

Before leaving, Fan Xian bid farewell to Wu Zhu and told him that he was going to Kyoto to investigate the truth about his mother's murder. However, he did not want Wu Zhu to continue living with him and for himself, but hoped that he could also find what he wanted to do and live his own life. Wu Zhu felt that this sentence was very familiar. He thought for a long time and remembered that Miss had said similar things. He found a box and told Fan Xian that it was the one Miss had left behind. The thing he wanted to do the most was to open it, but he didn't have the key. The quality of the box was unknown, and Fan Xian struggled to open it. Therefore, Wu Zhu decided to enter Kyoto to retrieve the key, but he would go first. The two agreed to meet in Kyoto.

The next day, Fan Xian bid farewell to the old lady and set off for Beijing with the Red Armor Knight. On the way, Fan Xian unexpectedly discovered that Teng Zijing disguised himself as a servant and infiltrated the convoy. Teng Zijing also told him that the Red Armor Knight had taken him to Beijing to get married, which surprised Fan Xian greatly. The convoy walked for several days and the road went smoothly. On this day, Teng Zijing suddenly rushed into Fan Xian's carriage, and then a caravan walked towards him. Teng Zijing told Fan Xian that this caravan was disguised by people from the Supervisory Yuan, and Fan Xian unexpectedly discovered that Fei Jie was also involved.

Fan Xian secretly followed him, and Fei Jie also saw him, so he secretly found an opportunity to meet him once. Fei Jie told Fan Xian that he was sending Yan Bingyun to the Northern Qi spy station this time, and all of this was ultimately for Fan Xian. Originally, Teng Zijing was under the command of Yan Bingyun from all over. People from all over took action against their own Tisi, and this responsibility must be borne by Yan Ruohai. Yan Bingyun is the son of Yan Ruohai. The dean was very angry about Fan Xian's matter, so he dismissed Yan Bingyun from his position and sent him to Northern Qi to take over the spy network. Yan Bingyun secretly sent his subordinates to retrieve the Tisi token from Fan Xian's hand, but was stopped by Fei Jie and had to give up.

Afterwards, the journey was smooth sailing. Soon, Fan Xian and his delegation arrived in Kyoto. When they arrived at the city gate, Wang Qinian, a document from the Supervisory Yuan, suddenly stopped the convoy. He praised Fan Xian eloquently and tricked him into buying a fake map for two taels of silver. In order to cover up Teng Zijing's entry into the capital as soon as possible, Fan Xian had to become the scapegoat. Not long after entering the capital, Teng Zijing bid farewell to Fan Xian and reminded him that Liu Ruyu might not allow him to enter the mansion so smoothly.

The convoy continued to move forward, and Fan Xian leaned out to gaze at the bustling street view. He didn't even know that in a nearby residential building, a group of disheveled women were waiting for him. As soon as he approached, they rushed forward in an attempt to ruin Fan Xian's reputation. Unexpectedly, the carriage suddenly stopped not far from the residential house. A simple and honest middle-aged man escorted the guard and drove Fan Xian back to his mansion, while all the women in the courtyard had already been taken and killed.

It was said to be sending Fan Xian back to his mansion, but the carriage circled around and stopped in front of a temple. The coachman used the excuse of internal urgency to leave. Fan Xian got off the carriage with suspicion and wanted to enter the temple to have a look, but was stopped by a cold faced guard. The two slapped each other. Fan Xian didn't want to cause trouble and was about to leave when the guard suddenly opened the door, saying that his owner allowed him to enter the temple to worship, but only allowed him to enter the side hall.

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Joy of Life or Qing Yu Nian (庆余年), is a Chinese web novel written by Mao Ni (猫腻). The novel was originally published by China Literature Limited's Qidian platform.

You can search for "Joy of Life" to read, or visit this URL: https://www.webnovel.com/book/7961226605002505