In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Li Chengqian's eyebrow twitched slightly as he brushed aside Li Chengze's provocative hand: "No need for Second Brother to trouble yourself; the medicine will surely cure the illness."

Hearing the hidden veil of sarcasm in the Crown Prince's tone, Li Chengze's eyes flashed. "Then I will await good news." With that, he turned to leave.

Before the two princes left, not a single official dared to move an inch outside.

All eyes were on them, watching their open and covert attacks, and sighing at the ever-changing political landscape of the Qing Kingdom.

The Crown Prince followed in Li Chengze's footsteps, walking alongside him. To outsiders, it appeared as if they were chasing each other, locked in a fierce and irreconcilable struggle.

"Your Highness, are you truly heartbroken?" Li Chengze whispered quietly, turning his head slightly, so that no one but Li Chengqian could hear him.

Li Chengze had long suspected that the Crown Prince had harbored ambitions towards a rival faction, but the fire was not yet burning bright enough and should burn even more intensely.

"Whether it's true or false depends on what others want to see." Li Chengqian spoke in riddles that both of them understood, also testing Li Chengze's reaction.

Li Chengze twitched the corner of his mouth, hiding the smile in his eyes, "It seems that it's better to just watch the show."

"Second Brother also loves watching plays?" "Second Brother also wants to be emperor?"

"Second Brother has always only loved reading." "I won't argue with you about rebelling."

Li Chengqian was delighted to hear this; it seemed that this person was no longer planning to compete with him for the throne.

As he pondered what to say next, Li Chengze strode forward and, with Fan Wujiu's help, climbed into his carriage.

Fan Wujiu, who was left outside, left with the carriage without giving Li Chengqian a single glance.

The groom at the manor kept the carriage steady, and the shouts of the street vendors did not bother Li Chengze.

Spending a lot of time with Tao Jingyang, he inexplicably grew to like this down-to-earth atmosphere.

Maybe I used to like it, but I'm just not used to it now.

Fan Wujiu followed below the small window of the carriage, listening to the sounds inside and around him.

"Wujiu, we need to think of a way to help the Princess earn more money."

Fan Wujiu rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword and asked in confusion, "This subordinate does not understand, please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Just a while ago, His Highness said he was going to rob the Eldest Princess of all her money. How come he has changed his mind now?

“Things are different now. How can they do big things without money?” Li Chengze said, flipping through the ledgers in the car.

“I remember there’s a weapon dealer in Xihu. Send our people to make contact, bring back the news, and then pass it on to the Princess.”

"Yes," Fan Wujiu nodded.

"And regarding the industries in Northern Qi, we should have our people turn a blind eye and report any developments immediately."

"Yes," Fan Wujiu replied repeatedly, mentally listing the first, second, and third tasks to be done.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The sweltering heat of late summer is making people uneasy, both in the Southern Qing and the Northern Qi.

During the mission's stay in Northern Qi, carrier pigeons carried news from both countries.

In the afternoon, Fan Xian had just left the Northern Qi palace when he hurriedly returned to the inn.

He pushed open the door with his right hand and stepped across the threshold with his left foot. He was displeased to see Tao Jingyang lying lazily on the chaise lounge.

"You won't come with me to the Northern Qi palace on business, but instead you're just loafing around here all day." Fan Xian gets furious whenever he sees Tao Jingyang idling around.

"Hey, hey, hey, the guy outside who's keeping watch on you must be bored to death. Since he can't keep an eye on you, he starts keeping an eye on me. Am I being wronged?"

Before Tao Jingyang could say anything, Fan Xian walked to the table as if he knew the way well, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

Tea helped him catch his breath, and then he said, "If you ask me, the Northern Qi royal family is in too much chaos. In comparison, the Qing Kingdom is much better; at least it doesn't have so many messy affairs."

"But you, from the very beginning, warned me to be careful of Haitang Duoduo and that little emperor. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Tao Jingyang didn't even lift his eyelids, speaking lazily, "Being careful is just being careful, it doesn't mean anything else. Aren't you used to using poison? Of course, I'm just telling you to be careful not to get drugged."

Upon hearing the words "drugged," Fan Xian became even more confused. He simply got up from his seat and went to Tao Jingyang's chaise lounge.

He grabbed Tao Jingyang's arm, trying to shake her awake. "Who would dare to drug me? Besides, the world's number one poison master is my master. What kind of medicine could possibly knock me out? What a joke."

Tao Jingyang chuckled twice, raised his eyes to look at Fan Xian, and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips.

Fan Xian felt a chill run down his spine from the laughter. He lowered his arm, took two steps back, and whispered, "Why do you laugh so lewdly?"

Tao Jingyang thought to himself, "So you're the only one who knows the word 'sleazy'? If I hadn't warned you earlier, who knows how many kids would have been born by now..."

"The delegation must have been exhausted from their journey, and 'Young Master Fan' seems to have lost quite a bit of weight. He looks much more handsome than he did in Nanqing."

"I don't know if it's because I've grown up and matured, or if the feng shui of Northern Qi is just more nourishing..." She spoke in a sarcastic tone, her words laced with mockery.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Fan Xian hurriedly interrupted her, "You..." He stammered for a long time before finally realizing what he meant by "Young Master Fan".

Upon considering the context, Fan Xian suddenly realized, exclaiming, "Si Lili often calls me Young Master Fan, and the young emperor also occasionally calls me 'Young Master Fan'."

His eyes were deep, and he said, "You mean, that young emperor of Northern Qi has taken a fancy to me?" He put his left hand on his hip and rubbed his chin with his right hand, pacing back and forth in the room.

Tao Jingyang didn't want to see his smug look, so he simply closed his eyes again.

But he was soon shaken awake by Fan Xian. "I was wondering why I felt like I was being watched as soon as I entered the palace. It turns out I've been targeted again."

"Yes, everyone loves you."

Fan Xian saw through her perfunctory attitude, scoffed, and made conversation, saying, "Anyway, you don't have much to do in the delegation, so why don't you come to the palace with me next time? That way, if I really encounter any 'misfortune,' you can rescue me."

Tao Jingyang didn't even raise one eye, but closed his eyes and said, "You only go back to the delegation once every ten days or half a month. How do you know if I'm just trying to find some peace and quiet?"

Besides, where would I find the time to "rescue" you? I'm busy every day, okay? Last night I even took those on lookout duty on a patrol around the cemetery.”

After saying that, she woke up and realized that she probably wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so she stood up, stretched, and started to walk out of the inn.

"What, are you leaving before you've finished speaking?" Fan Xian's tone suddenly turned cold.

Listening to Fan Xian's intriguing words, Tao Jingyang looked him up and down. "Oh, right, I haven't asked you what you came here for today."

She sat down at the table, gesturing for Fan Xian to sit down as well, "Let's talk."

Fan Xian was unusually silent for a while, considering how to speak, but he felt that Tao Jingyang must have known all along. Thinking of this, Fan Xian felt a strange tightness in his chest.

After thinking for a long time, he decided not to beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Do you know that he's smuggling in Northern Qi?" Fan Xian placed his hand on the table.

"I know." The answer came almost without hesitation.

"Do you know who he was smuggling with?"

"I know, it's with the Princess." Tao Jingyang poured tea into their cups.

Tao Jingyang's actions were observed by Fan Xian. "So, Li Chengze conspired with the Eldest Princess to assassinate me in Niulan Street, causing Teng Zijing to be seriously injured and suffer damage to his internal energy..."

You knew all of this too?

Fan Xian frowned, staring intently at her.