Episode 3: Fan Xian falls in love at first sight with a chicken leg fairy

The cold faced guard allowed Fan Xian to enter the temple. Fan Xian was worried that it was a trap, so he casually asked a few more questions. The person saw that he didn't even know why the temple was, and Fan Xian was not interested in these mythological stories. After hesitating for a while, he still walked into the temple. As soon as he entered the temple, Fan Xian saw a group of sword wielding guards guarding the courtyard. He had to enter the side hall and looked left and right to find that there was no ambush. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

There is no statue of a deity in the side hall, only a mural depicting the people from the temple capturing giant beasts and passing on cultural rituals on the wall. Fan Xian, who comes from modern times, naturally does not believe in these so-called deities. He casually picked up a fruit from the offering table and took a bite, muttering that if there were really deities, he would send an envoy to tell himself why he had gone through this experience. As he was muttering, the altar suddenly moved, causing his pear to fall out of his hand. After hesitating, he lifted the tablecloth and saw a beautiful little fairy holding a chicken leg looking at him in shock.

The two of them looked at each other, and Fan Xian felt that all the blood in his body had flowed into his heart, slowing down his brain. He asked the woman in a daze if she was sent by a divine being? The woman was Lin Wan'er, the daughter of Prime Minister Lin Ruofu. She saw Fan Xian's appearance very interesting and didn't look like a bad person, so she crawled out from under the table. Fan Xian saw that she was not a fantasy, and in excitement, she even vomited blood. Lin Wan'er approached with concern to check, and Fan Xian casually comforted her that she had become accustomed to vomiting. Lin Wan'er was amused by his witty words.

The atmosphere between the two was good. Suddenly, the maid's urgent call came from the courtyard. Lin Waner stuck out her tongue, gave the chicken legs to Fan Xian, and hurriedly left. Before leaving, he gave him the chicken legs in his hand and ran out happily. Fan Xian was stunned by Lin Wan'er's smile as she looked back, only to realize that she had forgotten to ask her name. She quickly went out to chase after her, but unfortunately, Lin Wan'er had already boarded the carriage and left. Lin Wan'er has been in poor health since childhood, and her family is extremely strict. Every time she comes out, she secretly runs out to play. Unexpectedly, this time she meets Fan Xian. The maid understood her feelings, but also worried about her body. Sure enough, Lin Waner coughed blood again when she was excited, but she couldn't help but laugh again when she remembered what Fan Xian had said earlier.

Upon returning to the palace from the Qingdi Temple, the palace scripture took the initiative to mention Fan Xian after bringing people to the quiet street. He believed that there must be some loopholes in Fan Xian's ability to pass through the numerous hidden sentries next to the temple. He requested a thorough investigation of the Forbidden Army from top to bottom, but Qingdi calmly said that it was not necessary. Halfway through, a group of armored imperial guards rushed towards the city. Gong Dian immediately had someone stop them. Emperor Qing asked the leader to respond, but the person did not approach either. They only took two steps forward and knelt down the path into the city. A palace maid was preparing to block the way, and all the people were killed.

After the Forbidden Army left, Emperor Qing's carriage stopped by the roadside. He asked Gong Dian to scoop himself a bowl of Chaos from the Chaos Shop on the street and casually asked Gong Dian who the boy who entered the temple was. The Palace Code reported that it was Fan Xian, the illegitimate son of the Minister of Revenue in Danzhou. It was only then that he realized that Fan Xian's entry into the temple was probably arranged by Emperor Qing. Emperor Qing asked the palace scripture again, why did he let Fan Xian in? Who was it that ruined Fan Xian's reputation by letting maids on the way to the city? Gong Dian hesitated and answered one by one. Finally, Emperor Qing calmly asked him if he really liked the paintings given to him by the Crown Prince. Gong Dian was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.

The coachman led Fan Xian to the entrance of the Fan Mansion. Fan Xian got off the car and knocked on the door, but there was no response. After a while, a maid opened the side door to invite him in. The maid told him that the master had not returned to the mansion yet, and this was all arranged by the Second Lady. Fan Xian didn't cause any trouble. He followed the maid into the mansion with a good temper, but found that everyone was acting extra carefully along the way. After inquiring, he found out that Second Lady was taking a nap. This second lady is taking a nap in the backyard, and no one in the entire mansion dares to speak. Her authority in the Fan Mansion is evident.

At this moment, a young man dressed in silk ran out after the accountant with a stick. Seeing his imposing appearance, Fan Xian also guessed that this person must be the precious son of the second wife - Fan Siche. Fan Siche didn't ask Fan Xian who he was when he saw him, but he didn't hesitate to ask him if he knew who he was, and even asked him to open the box in his hand for him to see. Fan Xian laughed instead of getting angry at the words and let him try it out on his own. On the other hand, the second wife learned that Fan Xian had already entered the mansion and specifically instructed her servants to take him to the courtyard and wait until she woke up.

Fan Siche appeared to be domineering and arrogant, but in fact, he had no confidence in himself. He tossed around for a long time but couldn't open Fan Xian's box. In a fit of anger, he told Fan Xian that the entire Fan Mansion respected him and that he had to do whatever he wanted them to do. Fan Xian jokingly teased him. If he had his servants kill him, would they listen or not? Fan Siqi thought foolishly for a long time, but he knocked him out. Fan Xian followed the maid all the way to the inner courtyard, but was told that the second lady was taking a nap and asked him to wait here. He knew that this was the second lady's suggestion, but he didn't object on the surface.

Gong Dian came to pay his respects to Crown Prince Li Chengqian with a few calligraphy and paintings. The Crown Prince was very friendly when he saw the palace, but to his surprise, the palace tore up his favorite calligraphy and paintings in front of him and requested the Crown Prince to take back the gifted paintings. The Crown Prince's face gradually darkened, and the palace felt both heartbroken and afraid. He told the Crown Prince in detail about what had happened today, informing him that Emperor Qing was probably dissatisfied with his private dealings with him. He also explained that he no longer had any preferences. Although the Crown Prince was angry, he had no choice but to take back his calligraphy and paintings.

Madam Er took a nap and asked about Fan Xian's situation. Unexpectedly, she found out that Fan Xian had also moved a chair to sleep in the yard. She angrily went out to wake him up, accusing Fan Xian of not understanding etiquette both inside and outside, and Fan Xian also followed her politely. At this moment, Fan Siche, who had reacted, came to settle accounts with Fan Xian with a stick. The second wife deliberately avoided the scene, and if Fan Xian and Fan Siche withdrew, he would fall into a trap. Fan Xian was not surprised or panicked, and leisurely sat down to watch him fiddle. Just as Fan Siqi was about to take action in a fit of anger, Fan Ruoruo arrived in time to stop him. Fan Ruoruo is the eldest lady in the mansion, who has been in charge of Fan Sichuan since childhood. Fan Sichuan saw her like a mouse seeing a cat, so he had to honestly apologize and admit his mistake to Fan Xian. The second lady didn't expect to be disrupted by Fan Ruoruo's plan after thousands of calculations. Looking at her foolish son who only wanted silver, she felt both angry and anxious.

The two siblings were very happy to reunite again. When they arrived at Ruo Ruo's room, they saw that it was filled with rare treasures. If you tell him that these are all gifts from others, they are all for the "Red Chamber" that Fan Xian once told her. Fan Xian didn't expect that the story he told his sister would be well-known to everyone, but he didn't know how to explain it, so he had to let her misunderstand. The siblings were chatting when servants came to report that Lord Fan had returned to the mansion and asked Fan Xian to meet him in the study. Fan Xian packed the chicken legs in a wooden box and asked Ruo Ruo to help him keep them, then went to the study alone.

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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